#bye lofty

[riverstardis]

high tide:

here we go😥😥

aw connie pulled some strings to get emilie in a good hospice

jez! him trying to flirt with connie and then his face when she introduces herself as the clinical lead sjsjdjfkfk

is that patient in sex education? just looked it up and yes she is. i miss when they used to put the full cast list up on the website not just the main ones

aww they’re looking at childhood photos. it must be so weird for them realising that they’d never actually seen pictures of themselves at that age before

cal telling ethan to go breathe into a paper bag SJDFKFKKF

emilie asks ethan if he’ll get the test done and he doesn’t answer but then later says he will and then cal crashes the ambulance trying to stop him finding out that his results are already there😭😭

“your sense of responsibility is pathologically stunted” “i just don’t think the world’s gonna end every time i leave the house. you’re like one of those nut jobs who walk around holding placards predicting apocalypse. you’re a disaster fantasist” pretty succinct descriptions of their characters tbh sjdkfkfk although ethan’s life is basically just one disaster after another can you really blame him😭

i love how they’re both so aware of how fucked up they are. and they’re both trying so hard to hide it from other people, especially ethan because cal does kind of use it to his advantage a little to seem dark and mysterious to women (taken from his character bio) whereas ethan tries to hide it completely

they’re a bit wrapped up in it all at this point but i wonder if afterwards at any point they really thought about how much of The Way They Are, which they probably couldn’t explain before, could be explained by them being neglected and then taken away and adopted

aw lofty’s patient turns out to be diane’s daughter and she’d come to take pictures of him to put on twitter but he wasn’t like she thought he’d be

they’re so funny😭

ethan saying they could be at the hospice right now if they’d left it to him but no cal had to make a big spontaneous gesture and now emilie might die on the side of the road and cal says at least he’s trying something and the side of the road is better than some hospital trolley and ethan actually walks off to look at the tyres instead of responding which probably means he knows cal’s actually right for once but doesn’t want to admit it sjdkfkfk

cal carries on “oh hang on, you’d prefer that wouldn’t you? because then you could control it. like you love to control everything. antiseptic ethan bubble, never taking a chance. like a selfish, misanthropic little baby” “what did you call me?” “you heard me.” what cal’s describing sounds an awful lot like an anxiety disorder to me🤷🏽 well except the selfish misanthropic little baby part that’s just him being mean

i’m sorry but there is absolutely no way that police officer didn’t see ethan go into the ambulance as she approached them😭

this is a perfect example of why having sibling relationships is SUCH a good idea because only siblings could bounce back from the argument they just had in about 5 minutes flat (it’s also why will was never gonna work as a cal replacement for ethan because if they argued like that they just,, wouldn’t be friends)

cal’s like why do i always do this why do i never think things through and ethan’s like no it’s me who hasn’t been thinking and says that he’ll be there for him when he opens his test results

ethan calling emilie mum for the first time🥺 though does that actually reflect how he feels about her or is it still for cal’s benefit??

jez giving iain a piggyback sjdkfkfk

“charlie we need you. it’s lofty. he’s gone up into the ceiling” coming full circle then? back into the loft

emilie saying cal’s a dreadful driver sjskfkfk

lofty’s decided to leave. he’s going to do a charity walk and then after he says he’s going to retrain as a bereavement counsellor. well that doesn’t happen does it? actually idk how long it is before he joins holby?

ethan being scared of crabs skskdkfk i love him

aww emilie’s crying watching them :(

cal is going to open his results and ethan says how he wishes he would’ve told him so they could do it together and cal’s like “we did do it together” and pulls out ethan’s envelope and explains how he took his blood

CAL BESTIE WHEN HE SAID HE WISHED YOU COULDVE DONE IT TOGETHER HE MEANT THE WHOLE PROCESS NOT JUST HAVING THE RESULTS SUDDENLY PRODUCED WITH NO CHANCE TO PREPARE

noo he looks terrified i can’t watch this🫣🫣🫣

zoe saying to dylan that she knows how close he got with lofty and how much he’ll miss him and dylan says “he was just a nurse. and not a particularly competent one” but his face says otherwise :(

aww everyone group hugging lofty🥺

here we see cal’s new and improved year of birth: 1984 (instead of 1986 which it was earlier in the series) which they must’ve changed because they’re about to show ethan’s date of birth too for the first time and in deciding what year ethan should’ve been born they realised they’d made cal too young because 1986 is the latest ethan could possibly have been born to be where he is in his career but if ethan turned 2 when cal was 4 they can’t have been born in the same year

i’ve paused it to mentally prepare and i’m actually shaking rn wtf someone tell my brain it’s just a tv show😭

ethan points out that the statistics aren’t in his favour after cal’s result is negative but actually his personal chance hasn’t changed it’s still 50% it’s just that it seems to get worse because if you take their chances together, it’s more likely that one of them will have it than neither of them having it, but with cal testing negative that takes away his part of that and the chance that one of them will have it change to just ethan’s individual chance (yes i did just pause it again to draw a probability tree)

THE STORY ABOUT HIS FUTURE😫😫😫😫😫😫😫😫😫

“cal and i are doddery old men by then. cal’s on his 4th wife” this is now even worse than it was originally because NOT ONLY is ethan not going to make it to that age, CAL DIDNT MAKE IT EITHER NOR DID HE EVEN HAVE A FIRST WIFE LET ALONE A FOURTH WTF CASUALTY I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU

[luna-loveboop]

Luna, my dear sweet friend, can I pick your brain?

Lofty gave me a veeerrry good scenario for a Time vs Sky conflict, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on what that could look like? I picked 2 very mature characters and now I have to make them brawl lolol

I think the best route (for me at least) wouldn't involve the master sword or Hylia. So this would be a personality conflict. I don't wanna spoil the scenario she gave me, so I thought I'd ask for your general opinion on what you think would make them fight, personality wise🥰

Feel free to delete if you don't care to go over this, but I thought I'd ask cus you're really good at going in depth with character analysis❤️

BYE FRIEND😀 also I hope you're doing well and you're amazing and wonderful❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

YES ok so personality conflicts between Sky and Time. There's... a lot to look at there lol.

So I'm just gonna look at each of their personalities +flaws, and then how they interact :))

Soo for Time

Time is dad. He's older and more experienced- and he's still a stubborn gremlin like all of them. He's patient with them but also stern- he cares very deeply about all the boys and Sky is no exception

I don't doubt for a second Time wants to be just as close to Sky as the others

One of Times biggest flaws is the idea of a closed mindset. Which makes sense, since we know Time's ending as the hero's shade- he spends years in that mindset of regret. Time has these thoughts of being too old to change (<no), and allows himself to keep holding onto bitterness, especially about the sword. Which he has good reason to be a grumpy old man already, with the mental and physical age difference, but still

Time is obviously capable of changing his mind- as Wind took a challenge to prove

But overall Time is still. He's not super expressive, my man likes to just be. He wants to be still and live, and hero as needed, and not be a super crazy hero, but just a chill dude with malon.

Time is patient and stern and calm and good. He is also closed and stubborn. That's all good, but it doesn't always work the best with Sky.

So Sky.

I literally love this ask because I could rant forever about his flaws to talk about them more (no one kill me).

Sky very highly values being a hero as part of who he is- in contrast to time who literally just doesn't want to.

I see so much of Sky's patience. And with good reason- with others Sky is endlessly patient and calm in resolving conflict. He's emotionally intuitive and intelligent and awesome

But Sky is also I think extremely impatient. With himself, and with things around him that aren't going well.

He wants answers and he wants them now, which is kind of scary from him. I see a lot about Skys temper, but I don't want to forget how much of that is from impatience- not knowing how to handle things going slow.

Because things moving fast and violently is how it needs to be right? *cough cough IMPA

For all sky is extremely patient with others feelings, he is one of the most impatient people with himself and his circumstances. Which a lot of comes from immaturity, which is my next point-

Sky is. A monster with pranks. I don't even know why it took me so long to realise this was Sky-

Saying 'I know we should help but this is too funny'. Twilight and wild are looking disturbed and like they want to help, and Sky and legend are just cold-blooded leaving four struggling for his shield and taking bets. He's very immature, and furthermore, he doesn't really respect Time as an authority as much in the face of pranking/joking

Bro is not remorseful at all I swear-

I also think 'nice hair' Sky is a little... idk judgy? With people he doesn't get along with as well. Like Hyrule. (Wait I haven't yet I gotta rant on that sometime sorry- but yeah he and Hyrule don't vibe well)

Sky can also be unrestrained with his words and snark- his words can practically be a prank in itself 'nice hair' 'am I late?'. I think sometimes he toes the line with pranks and joking around (like that one quest where you could break Peatrices heart?), and same with his words. Overall he's a snarky and sharper person- and being able to pull off good pranks and jokes isn't inherently a bad thing- he's smart. He's a kind person too, but I think sometimes his words and actions can be too sharp.

I think Jojo also said in the post with their ages that she made him slightly younger because of his immaturity compared to twilight. Do with that what you will

So point is, Sky has flaws that are mildly subtle but still prominent, like his impatience with himself and situations, his immaturity with joking and temper and words, and I hc he's a slightly judgy person. 'Nice costume' to Zelda like SKY but I swear I love him. Don't kill me for discussing flaws please I have a dog

So how this comes together with between him and Time is pretty cool-

Skys impatient, and Time has a resistance to change in his mindset- which means that as far as the sword, Sky wants change now, he wants validation and Time to not hate it. Time does not care about this because the sword hurt him and he's spent years hating it.

But with situations and stuff, especially with the entrance arc, we can see Sky being very impatient after Twi's injury- from what I can tell he wants to rip dinks throat out. But it's still subtle- what's not as subtle is how much Time wants to slow down. He wants to hold them back and protect them, and Sky is impatient in a frustrating situation. I could honestly see Sky wanting to run after the shadow on his own right now (sorry, I've been rereading elastic heart). Sometimes patient + wanting to hurry up doesn't work well.

If you think about it in relation to their journeys it makes sense that they are portrayed this way. Skys journey was about rushing and trying to hurry up. Times journeys were horrifying, with this insane feeling of running out of time.. but he could still turn back said time.

I can't even count the number of people I've seen say they tried to rush through the eldin temple as fast as possible on reruns- after Impa telling him it was too late trying to run as fast as possible even knowing it wouldn't change anything. That translates into skys character, and it must be insanely frustrating for him.

They are both heros. Time's journey was about saving the world and Sky's was about trying to kill a god. It's a big disconnect between them- one is patient and one is not, one doesn't want to be a hero and one's life is being a hero dating a goddess. One lightheartedly jokes and one throws a love letter down the toilet (SKY), one is older and one is immature. Yet on the surface Time wears a scowl and Sky is as soft as can be.

They are so very different in so many ways, but so much alike- they are both heros, they both want to be young and playful at heart. They both really like stabbing things and setting them on fire. And also saving the world.

They are also both extremely mature in ways beyond their years and endlessly kind.

I love them so much.

I wasn't sure to say this in the post bc the ask is about personalities, but I feel like another major issue between them could be whatever happened with Time and timelines and the triforce. Obviously the timeline is messed up. I also have not played times games... but I think in timeline talk one he mentioned the triforce of courage ended up broken? I can see Sky not taking well to all of that.

Soooo in terms of personality conflicts that would make them. Fight? Yikes what are you planning Oma, I would say there's several possible triggers outside of the master sword and Hylia (which I think is wise of you to avoid btw)

I think that Skys impatience contrasting with Time's fixed mindsets can have issues. But the way Sky has shown no acknowledgment of Time when he's tried to stop the boys goofing off w/ pranking can also be a trigger- as well as that sharp and sometimes insensitive snarkiness in Skys words we all know and love. They have. A lot of issues. lol.

Yeah! I uhh hope that helped and was relevant or made sense at all- I swear I love these guys. These two are fun to look at because outside of the obvious stressor of the sword they have a lot of other issues as well. They have differences in thinking and personality that can lead to a lot of tension between them.

Thank you for the ask and I can't wait to see what you come up with

The art and comics is by Jojo @linkeduniverse au :D

Thank you for listening to my rant, and here's one of my favourite pictures of these guys

Simply majestic <3

:)

@skyloftian-nutcase

[ssweetener]

☼*·ꕤ eternal sunshine: track by track with ariana grande summary ☼*·ꕤ

starts the interview off by saying she did not plan to make music or an album and was opposed to coming out with music until after both parts of wicked were out. when the strike began, she went to new york "for fun" and "to see how it would feel". max martin spent a week with her at jungle city studios and "it all just started pouring out" ariana went to the studio everyday by herself and thought that if the music was coming out of her organically, it should be shared that way. ariana says that her relationship with music has changed a lot through taking space from it. she's learned a lot from and through galinda and healed a lot of parts of herself alongside and through her that helped heal her own personal stuff that she had going on in her life as well as her relationship to music and being an artist. she talks about struggling with her persona and how being able to come home and sit with it and evaluate the things that weren't working helped her fall in love with it again. she thinks everything happened exactly how it was meant to be

☼

bye: hardest song to write on the album. it was written on a day where she was very upset and emotional so a few different versions of the song exist. she was more reactive when recording and it ended up not representing what she actually felt. "bye" is a very simple, and silly lyric but it was hard because she desperately didn't want it to feel like a fuck you. she wanted it to feel like a "i need to leave, so bye." she wanted the song to be rooted in self awareness and not a fuck you, you go. the song is meant as a "with love, i'm degrading from the situation" which is why it's the first track after the intro "end of the world" because the intro to the album asks a question, takes accountability and is self aware. says her biggest fear when it comes to songwriting in general is even if the concept is strong, she doesn't want it to come across as harsh. the reason why she felt okay to go there is because of her mom. growing up she feels she wanted what she didn't have. her parents got divorced (for all the right reasons) and she understands they weren't supposed to be together but she held onto the idea of happily ever after. she says her mom is massive example of not doing that. she's learned that her fears replicating a certain cycle were actually the opposite and she realized she wanted to be so much more like her mom than she actually was. ariana wanted to have the strength to say "bye" kindly when something wasn't fucking right - it's a simple as that. says her mom is the strongest, most brilliant person she know. "bye" is a disco track, which is joan's favorite thing in the world so it feels like her mom's song, or a song she wrote from her perspective, because it's something she watched her do multiple times. ends by saying she doesn't feel like she has to be afraid of byes when there's a lot of love involved because it means listening to your soul and not being afraid to be uncomfortable

don't wanna break up again: ariana describes the song as the hangover to "bye" because it's kind of like "okay, this has happened but i'm reflecting" and there's a lot of polarizing feelings. the two songs show all of the complicated emotions and feelings that come with loving and leaving back to back

saturn returns interlude: eternal sunshine (the song) feels like a "wake up" moment, like a pivotal moment in the story and it felt like the the interlude sets up the rest of the album. dianna garland is the speaker and is an astrologist that she was introduced to by her friend will loftis who choreographed yes, and? they met on the set of wicked and ariana says it felt like a cosmic collision. will sent her the vocal that he chopped and put together and said it reminded him of ariana, ilya salmanzadeh put orchestrations under it and she fell in love with it. ariana says she's very in to astrology and believes it is a tool to help us hear what we need to hear sometimes and [a way] to look forward with hope and awareness but also reads us to filth when we need to hear it eternal sunshine: has adored the film since she young. a huge jim carrey fan and always has been. she was always attracted to the idea of writing a song around the film but once she realized that the rest of the songs were kind of forming a story that was similar to "eternal sunshine of the spotless mind" where there's a cycle that everyone is trying to break, the title fell into place. she's her most productive when she's open and pretends like nobody is going to hear the music

supernatural: says it's the horniest song on the album. that's literally it true story: a true story based on all untrue events. ariana was writing a batch of music for a scrapped seth macfarlane show that both the hook of "true story" and "fantasize" are from. says she wanted to save some of the ideas she was coming up with with max martin for the show for the next album she put out. even though it was leaked and the public already heard an old version of it, she wanted to reclaim it because she loved it and it felt important to make it into what it was supposed to be originally. she didn't want to let the people who stole her music win. the production, the vocals and lyrics were completely changed and ariana says the leaked version of the song was just a seedling of what it was meant to be

the boy is mine: "that's going to be everyone's favorite, unfortunately." the version of "fantasize" on the album that [fans] wanted to have but is sexier and naughtier. more provocative then the rest of the music but is "not about what you think it's about." had an old song from years ago that sampled "waterfalls" by TLC called "you" that was supposed to be on sweetener. says she's a 90's baby and has so many 90's interpolation idea samples in her brain and this one finally found a home. she wanted it to come after "true story" on the track list because "the boy is mine" is her playing the bad girl

yes,and?: felt like it was the right introduction to the album because it is it's own and she feels like it sets the tone by saying "everyone has shit going on that you don't know about, so just shhh" that's the message of the song and she thins it's funny that people share motivational quotes on instagram and are so toxic positive and then their next post is the meanest thing she's ever read in her entire life. "yes, and?" is a reminder that everyone is on the same journey in a different way and on a different level. she liked it because it expressed a whole bunch of feelings she's had for the past [forever] of her career. there's always been conversations about her body, her face, her hair, etc and "if you change it or correct it then it's wrong again for different reasons" shes just going to be, because she just fucking loves being and she wants everyone to feel that way as well

we can't be friends (wait for your love): starts off by saying the strings at the end of the track make her really emotional and she loves them. she wanted it to be something everyone could relate to, it can be about whoever you want it to be about. when asked about who the song is about, she said she has a hard time going into specifics about who or what a song is about because that's not the point of it. she feels it's up to people to make of it what they will

i wish i hated you: cries on the last verse of the album. she's glad the feeling was captured on the album but it's one that she won't ever listen to or sing live. ariana thinks it's a very important color to exist on the album because it's an important piece of the puzzle. she's happy to acknowledge the goodness and the effort and that it just was not correct. she doesn't need to pretend [that person] was a monster to make peace with the ending, but it would be easier if they were. "it could have not been right, but that person can still be a good person" and she thinks that's a really important song to write. says she feels like it completed the family of breakup songs on the album where she wrote from a more hurt or upset place, and it comes from a more aware and grieved place where she "can give credit to and make peace with this and not carry the version i had of you when i was upset. grieving would be so much easier if we hated that person... it would be like good riddance. but capturing the complexity of what happens when you don't is imperative and protective"

imperfect for you: the last song she finished on the album and her favorite. she thinks it's her favorite sonically and because it's very trippy (for her) and rubber soul vibes and that is her favorite music to listen to that she hasn't gotten to explore herself. says it was really fun to lean into and make something 60s and organic feeling

ordinary things: nonna was very excited to be on the album and moved by it. the album starts with a question: "how do i know if i'm in the right relationship?" and ends with an answer from a person that ariana loves and trusts and cherishes. ariana records nonna for hours when she's with her because she's the funniest person on the planet and the snippet on the track comes from an hour long recording of her (nonna) and her friend shirley bitching about men and feminism. someday there will be an extended cut of the song where more of the conversation will be heard. in her head, there was a version of the album where she was going to interview nonna and her friends and family [the strong women] in her life and showcase stories about love and learning and relationships as interludes from the women that she loves so much but she didn't have time to do it

ends the second part of the interview saying she announced the title of the album on jim carrey's birthday and didn't realize. agrees that his art has had a huge impact on her and says that she thinks he is "fucking brilliant" she is enamored by his ability to "take all of these broken pieces of himself and apply them to these different characters and heal through them and make use of them" and thinks it's beautiful. zach applies that analogy to what she has done with the album and ariana thanks him for it

[charmsponies]

I get asked about Beddy Bye Eyes a lot, how the eye sockets work and what they look like on the inside. Here is an example if you are curious, the second image I put my camera lens up to the inside of the head so you can see into there. The Eye sockets are like a little bubble that's been molded into the plastic itself, and its big enough to fit the eye mechanism.

When people usually remove the eyes (shudders to think about it) They either force the eyes out through the front or use a tool to go inside the pony, cut the back of the eye sockets, and pull the eyes out that way. If you pull the eyes out from the front there is a great risk of damaging the eyelid or face area.

Here is an example of a damaged BBE face, they often have cracks or dent in the plastic if there is too much force applied. I do not actually know if this Lofty has had her eyes removed or not, but that's the type of damage you see on BBES that have had eyes too forcefully removed. This Lofty is also one of my BBEs where that specific eye is offset in the the eyesocket, making it so that eye has a tendency to become cross eyed. For the record that can also happen in ponies with undamaged faces, but this lofty is the example I own where the crosseye is the most obvious because I believe it's due to when her face got damaged.

She's a special girl! Baby lofty loves you!

Anyways, there is a lot of readily available information online about removing beddy bye eyes (as most people dislike them and want to sculpt over their eyes with clay to make them non bbe) but there isn't as much readily available information about fixing their eyes or giving them new eyes. However, all that really needs to be done is for replacement eyes (either bought, borrowed from another doll, or homemade using something like resin or clay) to be inserted properly into the head. This can likely be done the same way people safely remove the eyes: By cutting the socket through the back and inserting the eyes that way

I cannot claim to be an expert (I have not yet gotten the chance to experiment much with eye replacement) But I am an avid BBE fan and I plan on posting more about how their eye sockets work, researching into making or buying them eye replacements, and trying to make tutorials as to how to go about replacing the eyes if you want to save a baby with no eyes/damaged eyes :3

For the record Baby lofty will not be "fixed" she is cute to me-

[cissyenthusiast010155]

My Guardian Angel ~Broken!Rita Calhoun xFem Younger!Investigator!Reader (Liz Donnelly x Alex Cabot) feat. Rafael Barba & Olivia Benson

Summary— AU where Rita has an abusive husband, and one night, after he storms out, Rita calls Reader. Reader brings Rita to the person who helped her with her own haunted past, Elizabeth Donnelly. Alex, Barba, and Liv makes appearances. What does the night have in store for Rita and Reader…?

Mommy… Master List

Requests & Prompt-List

Warnings: angst, a little fluff, dead dove: do not eat, implied abuse, implied sexual assault, implied abusive husband, comforting, crying, alcohol consumption, anxiety attacks, a little self destructive behavior, mentions to prostitution, SVU things, Elizabeth Donnelly, Alex Cabot, Rafael Barba, Olivia Benson, Liz and Alex are a bit of a power couple, gray ending, etc.

Enjoy (;

You didn’t know Rita Calhoun well. At least not originally. From the moment you did meet, you both couldn’t deny the connection between the two of you. You had always lived in coinciding worlds, she was a New York defense attorney, and you were an investigator for 1PP, occasionally lended out to SVU.

Originally, she was the lawyer whom you had hired for your idiot of a brother when he had been caught and charged with soliciting a prostitute. You had met with the high class woman on a couple of occasions, to discuss your brothers bail, probation, trial, payment, and anything else pertaining to his case.

You saw yourself intrigued by her elegant manner, high end fashion, and confidence. Soon you saw yourself get hooked to the tiny smiles and chuckles you managed to pull from her when in private. You found yourself fighting to make the woman laugh as much as you could, her laugh always seemed to make your day. And during the trial, your eyes were on her the entire time. You lived off those days outfits that Rita would strut into court in.

So when you checked your phone late Friday night, the last thing you expected to see what a very many handfuls of missed calls from Rita Calhoun. You saw that she had left a voicemail in the last call, so you pressed play.

“Heyyyy Y/N… S-sorry to be bothering you so I know it’s^^late… I… I just… I don’t know what to do, call me back k bye”

It was Rita alright, but something was very wrong. She had been stammering and hiccuping throughout the entire voicemail, and had broken into sobs by the end. She sounded like she’d been crying and drinking for far too long… Her sounds triggered memories of your own life, memories that you had gone to great lengths to bury.

You immediately called the woman back. The dial rang for a couple tones, then it shut off. You hit call again. The second time, she picked up. You heard a sniffle and then a choke sob.

“H-hey…” she practically whispered.

“Rita, Hi, is everything alright?”

“I…” She stammered, before the call went silent.

“Rita?” You asked, your concern growing.

“N-no” She whispered, then letting out another choked sob.

You took a deep breath and your instincts kicked in once more. You got Rita to give you her address and told her that you would be over as soon as possible. That night you broke the made the most traffic violations in your entire life.

You entered the house, the front door having been unlocked which was mildly concerning to you. You walked through the lavish, lofty apartment, until you found Rita curled up facing away from you in the living room on the floor with a full bottle of wine in her hand. Your heart sank and a lump came into your throat. You hated how normal and used to this sight you were. Because not too long ago, this had been you…

You dropped to the floor, immediately going to comfort the woman. You carefully removed the alcohol, setting it aside. Rita let out a choke sob, immediately curling up into your lap. As she turned to face you, you saw the massive black eye that she had. Your eyes scanned her entire body, finding more red, raw skin marks along her arms and some blue bruising on her neck. Your heart nearly broke as Rita sobbed into your lap.

“I—im s-sorry… I didn’t-didn’t know who t-to call…! It’s it’s stupid, nothing really—” Rita choked out, muffled as she cried into your chest.

You knew this behavior. You knew it all too well.

“Hey hey, it’s okay. I’m here Rita… It’s all going to be okay. Can I touch you, honey…? Would that be alright…?” You very gently asked the woman, coming a little closer to her, trying to show that you were no threat.

Rita nodded as her cries were muffled by her face being in the crook of your neck. She clung onto you like her life depended on it.

“Ok, good… you are doing so good for me, Rita. Take some deep breaths for me? Can you try to do that?” You comforted the woman, bringing your hands around to hold the woman in your lap.

You could hear Rita trying to take some deep breaths as she nodded, although her hiccups made it more difficult.

“Good, very good, Rita.” You praised, then bringing your hands to cup the woman’s cheeks and direct her scattered gaze to you.

“Now Rita this is important… I need you to come back to me and think, okay?”

A slow nod.

“Is he going to come back anytime soon…?” You softly asked.

Rita’s eyes widened and she began to panic at your question. Your hold on the woman only tightened and you insisted on her answer.

“I know you don’t want to think about it, but I need to know if you’re safe staying here Rita.” You explained firmly yet lovingly.

Rita took some more deep breaths before stammering,

“I… he he’s gone out… drinking…” she gulped, “Be back late…”

Her eyes were red and glossy, and they only panicked more at the idea of her husband returning. You rubbed her back and caressed her check in comfort.

“Ok. We need to get you to a hospital, Rita…” you gently said, knowing the possible outlast that your words might cause.

Rita practically jumped out of your lap and was quick to stand up and start pacing in the living room. Her fingers were red and raw and fidgeting. Her gaze scattered everywhere. You slowly stood up and tried to corner the woman into your embrace.

“No no no hospitals… hospitals means cops and that means court and no no—” Rita rambled, her thoughts spiraling more and more.

You grabbed the woman’s hands, clasping them in your own to ground the woman. Her sobbing gaze finally met yours once more.

“Okay. That’s okay. Rita, listen to me, is there anywhere you can go to stay for the time being…?” You softly asked.

Rita’s lip began to tremble and her knees buckled, her body falling into yours. Luckily, you managed to gently catch and carry the weight of the woman while she regained partial strength.

“N-not RAF—Rafael… he can’t know, no no no one…” Rita choked out in gasps.

When she wasn’t able to come up with any other options, your mind went to the person who had helped you.

“Okay okay, that’s okay, Rita. How about Elizabeth? You know Judge Donnelly? She’s a close friend and I know she can help…” you spoke with understanding and reassurance.

Rita looked up to you from collapsing in your arms and nodded slowly. But her eyes told you that she had sunken too far into her thoughts, that you would have to start making the decisions in her best interest until she came back to you.

You gently placed Rita back on the couch, quickly going to the kitchen to grab her a water, while you then ran around the place, trying to pack her a weekend back. After about 15 minutes, you had the bag in hand and you were leading the woman out of the house and into a cab. The entire cab ride, Rita was snuffling and silently sobbing in your shoulder.

Once you reached Liz’s brownstone, you violently knocked on the door, Rita protected being you and holding your hand. The door flew open but it wasn’t Liz, it was a blonde. Your eyes went wide and you gulped, suddenly regretting not having double checked with Liz beforehand.

“You’re Y/N, right…? I’m Alex.” The tall blonde spoke slowly yet confidently.

“Yes, um is Liz home?” You said, quickly getting to the point while trying to hide Rita behind you to the best of your ability.

But Liz had told you about Alex, she was sharp, didn’t miss a thing.

“Yea, she’s in the kitchen… Is that Calhoun…?” Alex hummed, leaning against the doorway.

You took a deep breath and brought Rita to stand next to you. Alex’s jaw dropped and she took a step back in shock.

“I just… we needed a safe place to go for the night and Liz always said her door was always open and I’m sorry if we intruded, I just can’t handle this, I mean I know Liz can handle it, and so I thought—” you rambled.

Before you could say another word, the blonde was pulling you and Rita into the brownstone, closing the door behind her and marching straight up to Liz in the kitchen.

“Is that our take-out, bunny…?” Liz hummed, while sipping some wine before her gaze met yours and then Rita’s disheveled state.

“Oh my god.” Liz immediately put her glass doing and rushed over to Rita, her hands wandering all over the woman, her gaze scouring the woman’s injuries, “Rita, Darling, what happened…??”

Rita’s lip trembled before more violent sobs came out. No coherent words were possible for the woman at this point, all she could do was embrace Liz and sob into her chest. Liz happily consoled the poor woman before her gaze meet yours along with the go bag.

“I’m sorry…” you mouthed, referring to breaking up her and Alex’s obvious night together.

“Hush now, you did the right thing, take Rita’s things to the first bedroom on the second floor.” Liz told you, waving off your unneeded apology.

You immediately nodded and went to go up the stairs. Then Luz turned to Alex.

“Go run a bath, warm not too hot.” Liz spoke firmly.

Alex was off to the master bathroom after a quick nod. When you both returned, you found Rita clung around Liz like a Koala, clinging on for dear life and continuing to sob in her chest. The sight brought flashbacks of the night you had stumbled up on Liz’s doorstep, in an eerily same condition as Rita…

Liz soothed Rita while guiding her to the master bathroom. The older blonde sent you a comforting gaze with a nod, telling you that she had it. You placed a hand on your heart and took a shattered breath, nodding slowly.

It was then that you noticed Alex coming up beside you. You turned your head to her slightly.

“I… I just didn’t know where else to go… I’m sorry if I ruined your night…” you breathed out.

Alex brought a hand to your shoulder and reassuringly squeezed your skin lightly. Her eyes twinkled with sympathy and care.

“Hey, it’s okay. You made the right call. And hey, I’m glad to finally meet you.” Alex sighed, “Can I get you anything…?”

You nodded and then sighed yourself.

“Tea maybe…? Or fuck some scotch now that I think about it…”

A deep chuckle reverberated throughout Alex’s chest as she nodded in agreement, going to the kitchen and pulling a bottle out of the liquor cabinet. She poured two glasses and handed you one of them.

“Thanks” you muttered.

Alex hummed an of course in response, before going to sit down in the classy living room. You sat across from her, sipping your scotch lightly. The blonde looked you dead in the eye, as she sighed.

“Liz told me a bit about you and that night.”

You gulped and struggled to maintain the intense eye contact. You knew that Liz and Alex were close, really close, however it still was hard to reconcile another person knowing something so vulnerable about you. But if Liz trusted Alex with it, so did you.

“Yea… I was and am still so grateful to Lizzie for all that she did for me…” you confessed.

“Lizzie…?” Alex chuckled dryly with a cock of an eyebrow.

“Yea…” you breathily chuckled, “Her and my dad worked together…”

Alex smiled lightly in understanding, nodding along, waving her hand in the air and prompting you to continue, knowing from what Liz had said that that wasn’t the whole story.

“Yeah they were colleagues, and so I saw Lizzie at events and she’d been at my childhood home a couple times… I’d always been pretty independent, both my parents working all the time, and me being the oldest led to me getting used to being on my own. And then my parents divorced, and I got even more alone…” you sighed.

Another wave of sympathy washed over Alex’s face, as she sipped her scotch and listened intently.

“I’m sorry. I definitely know the pains of divorced parents…” Alex sighed.

You smiled lightly and nodded, before continuing you tawdry tale,

“Anyways, Lizzie was one of the only people who reached out to me, to y’know check on me and stuff. She’s always been in my corner, and she’s practically filled the role of a mother ever since the divorce…” you spoke out softly.

You could tell that Alex knew most of this, and that she was waiting for the part about how this all connected to Rita, so you cut to the chase.

“Anyways, about two years ago, I meet and started to see this guy… Looking back, he was a lot like my father, and I should have recognized the warning signs earlier… But I didn’t. And I let it go on for an entire year… Until…” you sucked in a breath, “I wound up on Lizzie’s doorstep, heart broken and bruised…”

You saw Alex’s audible gulp at your last sentence. You saw how her hand tightly clutched her glass, her knuckles almost white. With a deep breath, she nodded and prompted you to continue with her hand once more.

“Anywho, Lizzie helped me get my shit together and throw him out of my place and my life. I’d taken his abuse for a whole year, and I’m still recovering to this day from the number he did on me…” You concluded your story.

Alex then stood up and came to sit next to you on the couch you inhabited. Her hand came to squeeze your shoulder reassuringly.

“I’m so sorry that you had to go through all of that…” Alex sighed, “I hear you, recovery takes time.”

You took a breathy, deep breath with a shaky nod, all the memories of your past coming up as you talked about it all. But her touch was soothing. It was then that Liz emerged from the hallway and came into the living room with a sigh. The older woman sat down next to you, a hand running up and down your thigh in reassurance.

“She’s okay, Rita is going to be fine.” Liz hummed, before stealing your glass of scotch and sipping away at it.

You didn’t mind the cheeky gesture, lord knows she needed the relaxation, merely humming and nodding in response.

“She’s in the bath, and she’s asking for you…” Liz spoke once more.

You sucked in a breath and nodded, starting to stand up. As you went to leave and find Rita in the master bath, you turned back towards Liz and Alex, who were now snuggling lovingly on the couch.

“Thank you Lizzie… Really, thank you.” You breathed out shakily.

Liz met your gaze, her eyes filled with love and care, and the older woman nodded.

“Anytime, sweetheart.”

You nodded lightly with a small smile, before turning around and making your way to find Rita. By the time you reached the bath, you found Rita passed out in the warm water, snoring lightly and peacefully. You noted how graceful and content Rita looked asleep. Coming up to the tub, you sat down next to the rim, and proceeded to tuck a stray hair behind Rita’s ear.

She must be exhausted… you thought. And your suspicions were confirmed as the woman continued to sleep until the water in the tub threatened to go cold. It was then that you gently nudged the brunette out from her slumber. She snorted lightly as her eyes fluttered open. Her gaze still looked shattered and sad, and her lip was still lightly trembling.

“Fuck I’m mm sorry, I must have fallen asleep—” Rita rambled in a quiet mumble.

“Hush, none of that. It’s completely alright…” you comforted the woman, raising your hand for her to stop.

Rita shut her mouth and blushed a little, then shivering in the now cold bath water.

“Thanks…” she whispered.

“Of course. Now let’s get you out and into something warm…” you hummed, grabbing a fluffy towel from the bathroom cabinet and then reaching your hand out towards Rita.

Rita happily took your hand, then climbing out of the tub, then you proceeded to wrap the woman up in the warm towel.

“M-my clothes…” Rita murmured, looking to the ground as fear lurched in the pit of her stomache at the idea of having to wear her bloodied clothing.

You gently rubbed her towel wrapped shoulders with a light smile.

“I grabbed some things before we left your place, the bag is on the toilet. It will have to do for now, until we figure out what to do…” you cooed caringly.

Rita blushed lightly and muttered a thank you. You told her it’s was the least that you could do, before giving her a kiss on the forehead and leaving her in the bathroom to go through the bag and change.

As you exited the room and walked back into the living room, you found Liz and Alex right where you had left them, with Alex curled up in Liz’s arms. Liz’s head popped up from her gaze on Alex back to you as you came into the living room and took a seat on an opposing couch, with a pondering look on your face.

“I know that look…” Liz hummed cheekily, taking another sip of your scotch, “What’s on your mind, kiddo?”

You bit your lip, pulling out your phone, before looking over to Liz.

“I was thinking about maybe calling Barba…” you mused aloud, your mind questioning on what to do next.

At this, Alex perked up to. Liz’s eyes widened and her expression was a knowing one, one that quickly understood your line of thought.

“I see… What did Rita say?” Liz hummed, placing the scotch back on the table and much to Alex’s delight starting to massage the young blonde’s shoulders.

You looked away from Liz at her words, and back to your phone.

“When I asked where she could go, she said not Rafael… I know that their friends, she’s mentioned him before… But he could help…” you sighed, inwardly conflicted.

Liz sighed at your admission. And she seemed to be in deep thought for a moment before she spoke,

“When you came to me, did I call anyone…?” The older woman asked you.

You bit your lip and sighed.

“No…”

“Exactly. Even though I wanted to… Probably would have called Liv, but I didn’t. Because you didn’t want me to.” Liz spoke,

You once again looked to the ground instead of meeting the older woman’s gaze.

“I’m not saying that Barba is a bad idea…” she slowly explained, “I think that it would be best if we ask Rita first.”

“Ask me what?” Rita’s timid voice echoed through the expansive living room and kitchen.

All three of your heads swiveled with extreme speed to the end of the hallway where the brunette stood. She padded her way through part of the kitchen and then into the living room. You immediately scooted over and lightly waved her over to come and sit. Rita did exactly that before repeating her question, more vocal this time.

“What did you want to ask me first?” The woman spoke.

Liz and Alex immediately eyed you, quirking their eyebrows and very clearly telling you that since this was your idea, you were the one who was going to say something. You gulped, turning your body more towards the group. Your gaze met Rita’s and you reached your hands out to grasp her left available hand and reassuringly squeeze it.

“I… We were talking about maybe calling Liv… or Barba…” you shakily breathed out, squeezing her hand lovingly while speaking to comfort the woman.

The same panic from earlier this night came rushing back to the woman’s gaze. But she was a little more collected now, and she seemed to handle the surge of emotions better this time around.

“I…” Rita stammered, “I don’t know…”

She slumped forward a bit and closed her eyes, a singular tear escaping her eyes. You immediately extended your arm and brought the brunette into your soft embrace.

“That’s okay. We can deal with all that later… How are you feeling…?” You gently spoke.

“Exhausted…” Rita choked out, “and stupid… like it’s all my fault…!”

The broken defense lawyer turned completely towards you, clinging to your frame as she began to cry into your shoulder. You gently caressed her back and shoulders reassuringly.

“That’s it, it’s going to be ok, Rita… It’s all going to be okay…” you soothed the woman.

“B-but how do you know that…?”

You sighed.

“Because… I’ve been through something eerily similar…”

At this, Rita pulled back and looked at you with eyes full of empathy.

“I’m so sorry…” she uttered, fully processing the words you had just spoken.

You smiled lightly and cupped Rita’s face.

“It’s okay… I’m past that now. Now I’m here for you… Now how about bed…?” You hummed caringly.

Rita nodded and hummed a soft thank you, before you guided the woman up and to one of Liz’s many guest bedrooms. You stayed with her until she was asleep, which didn’t take too long, but you stayed nonetheless, before then turning in for the night yourself in another guest room, which Liz had so kindly offered you.

~~

Rita spent the rest of the weekend at Liz’s. Liz and Alex were more than happy to host, and they graciously let you stay as well to keep an eye on the broken brunette.

Then come Monday morning, you were walking into the SVU squad room with Rita anxiously by your side. You grabbed her shaky hand and squeezed it reassuringly, as your other hand rapped on Captain Liv Benson’s office door. Neither of you expected Barba to swing the door open, and he sure as hell didn’t expect to see Rita.

Liv ushered you in, and Rafael could immediately sense something was wrong. Rafael simply closed the door behind you, not bothering to leave.

“Rita, Y/N, how can I help you?” Liv spoke.

Rita shuffled her feet and looked to the ground. You squeezed her hand again and whispered that it was going to be okay.

“Wait what is going on…?” Rafael cut in.

Liv sent Barba a warning glance for him to be quiet to let you or Rita speak. You gently looked towards the brunette, whose lip was now trembling.

“I… I was raped…” Rita shakily breathed out, as a small tear rolled down her left cheek.

~~~

Part 2 with a happy ending…? Or maybe something more angsty…? 😏

Alex Cabot Masterlist

Olivia Benson Masterlist

Rita Calhoun Masterlist ~Coming Soon (;

Elizabeth Donnelly Masterlist ~Coming Soon (;

Rafael Barba Masterlist ~Coming Soon (;

[tbzhours]

come to me

hyunjae x you, enemies to lovers au, college au, fluff, smut

[summary] hyunjae may be the (annoying) key to your heart [warning] smut [words] 2.7k [a/n] i don’t think this is much of an etl but i still hope you all like this! ♡��

Watching the clock, you stumbled through the kitchen with your backpack on as the last resort, getting the warm toast in the toaster before heading out of the door. Your hair was a mess but you didn’t want to miss today’s class and get a tarty mark. You were ready to fail another class because you couldn’t get up early enough. 

With the toast hanging in your mouth after you closed your door, you heard Hyunjae, your next door dormie, walking out of his apartment room at the same time too. He looked like he just got out of bed, like the usual, when you both stared at each other for a second, hands still on your own door knobs. 

There wasn’t a chance to let him beat you as you both scrambled down the hall, shoulders bumping into each other through your paced walk. You took out the toast from your lips and held onto it when you suggested, “Hey, why don’t you take the stairs today?” 

“Ha, nice try. The elevator fits more than one but if I get there first, bye bye.” He waved at you while your race was still on. 

You huffed, “I’m gonna get there first, don’t you dare.” 

“Try me.” Hyunjae took your toast from your hand and took a big bite before your eyes widened. He handed it back and smiled before he saw the elevator door opening. 

You took it back and ran into the door with him, getting stuck on the edges. You gave him a glare and pushed him on his side to give yourself room to go through before he whined in pain, covering his mouth or the food would fall out. 

“Tried, and I won.” You smiled in victory, taking another bite from your toast. 

“Not really.” He chuckled and clicked on the main floor button. He made a face at you, shaking his head along. “Because I’m already in here.” 

You squinted another glare and crossed your arms as the door closed. He was definitely more annoying than last semester. It took you days of seeing him on your apartment floor a few weeks ago before you realized he was the TA in one of your old classes. He was so strict and such a smartass that seeing him in his regular lazy outfits made you wanna clown him, but that wouldn’t work because he would just clown you back and you would lose. Again. Luckily, you didn’t have any classes with him except with the fact that he’s now your next-door mate, and everyday, it would cross your mind of the damn chances. 

The elevator door finally opened and Hyunjae stuck out his tongue at you before walking out first. You almost threw a punch but held it back. You hoped you wouldn’t meet him here again when you come back later. 

That evening after your busy day, you were at ease, a relieved smile squirming through your face when you reached your floor. There was no one in sight as you hopped through the hall, hands in your pockets as you hummed a happy tone. 

Once you reached your door, you realized you didn’t grab your keys before you left that morning. You hit your head before you sent a text to Jacob, the residential coordinator of the building, before sighing with your head against your door. You whispered and shook your head, “The perks of living alone.” 

Minutes later, you heard the elevator door open. You jotted your head up and turned it toward the sound but you had a disgusted look when you saw Hyunjae. His laugh echoed through the hall as you turned back to your door, setting your head there again with your eyes closed. You wished he would just ignore you but you knew he wouldn’t. 

“Got locked out again?” He questioned, a lofty smirk painted across his face as he grabbed his keys out from his pocket. 

“Get lost.” You demanded, soft-toned though filled with irk. It only made him chuckle with his lips closed. You barely heard it, other than the shuffling breaths from his nose. 

“If you’d like, you can come over until Jacob gets here.” He offered but you sent a threatening squint. 

Right then, Jacob reached your floor and called out your name, giving you and Hyunjae a wave. You smiled in relief and gave him a wave back. You looked at Hyunjae once more before sticking out your tongue. He shook his head with a tiny smile before he opened his door and left the scene. 

Days went by without seeing Hyunjae much. You only recalled seeing him in the library, studying prettily with his coffee and hearing him through your door when he left his place or when he came back. The only weird thing was that he was the first thing in your mind when you woke up this morning. You got up earlier than usual and fixed yourself a good breakfast before you leaned onto the kitchen counter with a cereal bowl in your hands. 

A good thought of his determined face when walking out of your rooms made you laugh. Right before you took a spoonful, you slipped out a ”Sure, he’s pretty cute-” 

You stopped chewing, realizing what you just said, and you knew how much this meant to you when it shouldn’t. Your heart was racing and you couldn’t comprehend what your words were telling you. You got up and took a million bites of your breakfast before you set the bowl in the sink. 

“I don’t like him, I don’t like him.” You repeated to yourself when you gathered your things and left your place. You were whispering them as you walked through the hall, pacing up just like when you did with Hyunjae almost every day. 

Once you got to the elevator, staring straight at your door after going through the doorway, Hyunjae suddenly came out of his room, looking like the usual mess he was. You had already stopped chanting but once he saw you and started to run toward you, you repeated the words as you tapped on the close button so he wouldn’t make it. 

Your heart didn’t feel at ease still, when Hyunjae screamed your name in defeat as the door closed. 

Even later when you came back first, waiting by the main floor elevator, you didn’t expect Hyunjae to stand next to you when you got lost in your crushing thoughts. 

You jumped, holding your chest when he stood there, glaring at you because he wasn’t going to fight you this time. You fixed yourself and glared back before facing the elevator door, noticing your shared reflection. 

“I’m gonna beat you next time.” Hyunjae whispered loud enough just for you to hear before you glared at him through the door. 

When the door opened, you both walked in without fighting and stood in silence. Your hand was holding onto the strap of your backpack and it brushed against when it came down. The quietness got awkward as both of your eyes widened. Your face blushed with your fingers curling into your palm while he held in his breath. You peeked at the floor number and wondered why it was so slow. It didn’t beat your racing heart as you cursed in your mind. 

Once the door opened up on your floor, you ran off first, whispering to yourself in a chant again, “I don’t like this feeling. Please make it stop.” 

Hyunjae was still standing in the elevator, his hand holding his heart before hitting it, wondering why it wouldn’t stop. 

Nights later, Hyunjae came up to his room and found you standing in front of your room, a deja vu to him because your head was on the door. You slowly turned to his direction when you heard his keys jingling. 

Upon seeing his face, your cheeks bloomed. You remembered seeing him in the same cafe you were studying in today, realizing how awkward interacting with him was then, other than his sneaky tongue two days ago. His laugh was admirable as you saw him smiling with his groups of friends but you quickly looked away, denying that the sunlight behind him was blinding you and not him. He didn’t catch you staring but little did you know, there had been a soft touch from his lips when he looked at you. 

It almost seemed desperate, wanting to see Hyunjae close just to kick his ass again but you held back, inhaling to perhaps start a conversation but he beated you. 

“Last chance to come into my apartment room.” 

You lost as he let you in. You followed him, eyes gazing through the room that mirrored yours. You looked back at him when he offered some snacks, leading you to the kitchen. You quickly complied and leaned your back against a counter. When he turned away, you couldn’t help to stare at him and as if he could tell, you looked away again and crossed your arms awkwardly. 

You cleared your throat, “Don't think I’m staying long.” 

Hyunjae smirked. It wasn’t cocky but somehow it ticked you off. He shrugged and set some snacks on the counter next to you. “Just until Jacob gets back. I heard he’s taking care of some deep secret business.” 

You scoffed at his sneaky voice and thanked him quietly for the snacks when you opened a bag. Hyunjae did the same, watching how quiet you had gotten. He cleared his throat too, to lure the awkward air away and leaned onto the counter beside you. 

“Anyway, you live alone?” He asked and flashed a smile. 

“Yeah. You too?” 

“No. I have a roommate but he’s barely here. I only see him on the weekend.” 

“Weird.” You commented, not knowing what to ask next. It’s even weirder that you just realize it now. 

Hyunjae smiled at your single word and turned forward. There was something tingling in his heart but he couldn’t pick it out. 

“I think it’s time for me to ask Jacob for another spare key.” You sighed.

"Why? You might lose it again anyway.” He bickered, his voice in a tease. You glared at him but he continued to bother you with that smile. The second you looked away from him, he suddenly softened his tone. "I mean, you can crash at my place if it ever happens again.” 

“What? Are you asking me to sleep over?” You stared at him in disbelief. He was more annoying than before but deep down, you could tell, he was sincere, for once that was. For a second, you knew what he meant but you weren't so sure too. You hated implied requests, despite the gush of warmth running through your touching arms but all of a sudden, you felt like you wanted him. Being this close, your stomach had already lit a bubble needing to be filled. 

The evening didn’t seem so cold when Hyunjae heard your laugh afterwards. It's not weird at all, having such a normal conversation with you because you both would always bicker at each other. He's thinking too much that you shook your head, discarding the question when you turned around. 

"Anyway, where are your cups? I need a drink." You opened a cabinet above you as Hyunjae smiled. 

He got up and walked around you to open the cabinet next to you. He grabbed a cup and handed it to you. "Here you go." 

"Thanks." You quickly turned away so he wouldn't see your blush. He hummed as you could feel him staring as you poured the drink into your cup. You took a sip and set it down before slowly turning to meet his eyes. No, actually, your eyes were lingering at his lips that you had to ask him, "Can I kiss you?" 

"W-what?" Hyunjae was taken back, not expecting that to come out of you. He laughed, "(Y/N), why would you-" 

His eyes widened at your tight kiss. Your hands were lapsed on his shoulders for a good five seconds before you pulled back, lightly gasping for air. Right before you could apologize, he moved in and connected your lips together. His arms wrapped behind you to pull your body to his and his lips were moving in desperation, wanting you more than ever. 

The session intensified as he pushed you against the counter, your cup tipping over as the drink spilled. It didn't take long before he pulled you up onto his hips with the help of the counter. Your legs tangled behind him when you felt your butt getting wet. 

Hyunjae walked you over to his room, your every part still touching as the door closed. He fell over you on his bed before gazing at you in a sneaky smile. 

"Tell me this is what I came over for." You whispered, catching your breath underneath him. Your arms were tangling over his shoulders as your hands ruffled his hair. 

"You keep forgetting your damn keys." He argued, obviously playing around when he tilted his head. 

"Fuck those keys. Just fuck me." 

Hyunjae loved the sound of that. Your lips danced against each other as you both took your clothes off, giggles whispering through as he got back over you. He planted kisses all over your body. He could smell the juice that soaked through your pants where it left a sweet smell on your butt cheek. You giggled when he planted a wet kiss there. Quickly, he got up to put protection on when you sighed, taking a deep breath from your racing heart. 

You gasped when he pulled you by the thighs, making you fall your head over his pillow. He hovered over you and kissed your lips with his moving jaws, sliding his bulge against your wetness below. You moaned softly and long, feeling weak against his mouth then he looked down and guided his dick into you, one deeper push at a time. 

Your moans went over your head as your hands gripped on his bedsheets. You thought it was sexy of him to cover your lips with his where your moans sang together. His thrusts were slow but when he left your lips and held his hands on the head bed behind you, he went faster and deeper, shaking the bed as you grip behind his hips. 

You were blazed up all over, buckering your hips for a better hit from him and you rolled them against his pound, causing him to groan. He leaned beside your ear, whispering as it shivered down your spine. "You're good at this." 

"Should of done this sooner." You teased back before reaching up to kiss him. 

Hyunjae continued to push into you as your lips glided down to his shoulder and neck, leaving marks as he held a hand at your butt cheek to maintain the glorious thrusts. You were going to come through but you cursed instead of telling him. 

"Holy fuck." He didn't slow his pace and tried to thrust harder into you and repeatedly as he chased his high. He held onto your hips with both of his hands and his strings shot out, one at a time into you. He threw his head back as he was shaking. You were still rolling your hips as you moaned at the tipsy feeling in your stomach, letting him finish before he breathed hotly. 

Hyunjae gazed at you as you lied there, a chuckle shared before he kissed your lips. This time, softly. He slipped out of you and rested beside you. He held onto your hand as you both were catching your breath the millionth time today. 

“Do you want to study together sometimes?” He asked. It sounded like a date as you shook your head and got over him to fix his hair and plant a big smooch on his lips back at him. 

The next time you met was at the same cafe and you already ordered some things before he arrived after his class ended. Hyunjae didn't know that he was going to take a bite of your favorite muffin when you tried to win it back. Maybe he did know when he really took a bite of it with that funny smile. "Oops.” 

[i-am-bitterly-jittery]

On Death's Doorstep (pt 40/53?)

[<<First],,,,[<Prev],[Next>] [ODD Masterlist]

Word count: 1547

Rating: Teen

Pairings: Creativitwins

Warnings: suggestive clothing, alcohol, shenanigans, crimes

~~~START~~~

“ROMAN!” 

Roman jolted awake as their sibling threw themself onto his bed, causing him to bounce slightly. Remus didn’t seem to care that he’d been sleeping as she wiggled her way up until their head was on the pillow next to his.  

“What?” Roman groaned, their attempts to pull the duvet over his head hampered by Remus weighing the covers down.  

He used to have his own floor, so it was at least a little harder for Remus to bother them during their beauty sleep, but now he was staying in her guest room, and they could barge in whenever she wanted. Like when he was trying to sleep, for instance.  

“It’s midnight,” Remus explained, as though that meant anything.  

“So?” If Roman ducked a little, he could hide their face under the corner of the duvet.  

“It’s our birthday.” 

Oh.  

Their birthday.  

They’d forgotten about their birthday, what with everything else going on and all.  

Roman shimmied his hand out from under the comforter and held his pinky out to their sister.  

“Make a wish,” they said. She twined her own pinky with his and they both closed their eyes.  

This was their tradition, to make a wish on their birthday. They didn’t know when they’d been born, so they just did it at midnight.  

There were rules to the wish:  

It had to be lofty — too lofty to actually achieve, at least before their next birthday, anyway.  

It had to be selfish — no wasting it on anyone else.  

It had to be different — no wishing for the same thing every year.  

With those rules in mind, Roman closed their eyes and wished to be cast as the first gay Disney prince — his wishes were usually pretty similar every year, but he made sure they varied enough to follow the rules.  

“Roman?” Remus whispered after they had spent a few minutes in silence, eyes still closed.  

“Yeah?” He had almost drifted off again, but they fought to keep awake.  

“Can I sleep here tonight?” 

“Yeah.” They gave up on staying awake, but they thought he heard Remus whisper a thanks before they were out.  

The next morning, by unspoken mutual agreement, the two got dressed in their most flamboyant clothes and took full advantage of being two of the three people who could safely leave the building by hitting the town. They always preferred to be just the two of them on their birthday, which really worked out this year as Roman highly doubted either of their friends remembered — heck, Roman had almost forgotten, he could hardly blame Janus or Logan if they had forgotten too.  

The first stop on the birthday docket was their favorite cafe where their favorite baristas, a blue and pink haired woman named Jinx, was ready with their usual, plus two birthday cake pops.  

“Birthday pops for the birthday twins,” Jinx laughed as Remus snatched up her order hungrily.  

“Jinx, my love, I don’t know what we would do without you!” Roman pretended to swoon.  

“Die miserable, I’m afraid,” Jinx shook her head in mock sadness.  

“All too true!” Roman agreed. “Alas, if only I were in to women, and you attracted to men, we would be unstoppable!” 

“The gods are conspiring to keep up apart!” Jinx pretended to swoon as well.  

“Well if you ever get tired of flirting with Roman,” Remus rolled their eyes, having devoured their entire breakfast sandwich already. “I’m always available to be the other woman.” 

“Betrayed!” Roman cried dramatically. “And by my own flesh and blood no less!” 

Jinx laughed again, but valiantly attempted to sober up as another customer came through the door. “I still have to work, but you two paint the town red for me — or green, as the case may be — alright? Happy birthday.” 

“Goodbye, my beloved!” 

“Bye Jinx!” 

The two left the cafe, and once back out in the sunlight, Roman couldn’t resist twirling and allowing their scarlet skirt to flare around them. For just a moment, their spirits soared, then reality came crashing back on him.  

“We’re bad friends,” they observed glumly, the sunny weather no longer reflecting his mood.  

“Nah,” Remus waved his concern off. “We can’t exactly help anyone at this stage, and lying around feeling like shit isn’t gonna help anyone at any stage.” 

“You don’t feel bad that we’re treating ourselves?” 

“Nope! As Janus likes to say: self-care, bitch! They’d want us to be selfish today, as long as we aren’t getting in their way — which we’re not.” 

“A lot’s changed in a year.” Roman observed.  

“Hmm,” Remus agreed halfheartedly. “Maybe by next year we can overthrow the government!” 

“Please tell me that’s not what you wished for,” Roman begged — that sounded like a lot of work.  

“Nah, it’s what I wished for last year.” 

Roman stopped in his tracks to groan, but Remus kept walking, forcing Roman to rush to catch up.  

The second stop in their birthday outing was an occult shoppe in the mall that sold candles that Roman liked and oddities that Remus liked. Before and after the shoppe, they did some window shopping — also known as casing the joint, a birthday wasn’t a birthday if they didn’t commit some crimes — at the surrounding stores.  

In the center of the mall was a large, multileveled fountain. Roman and Remus spent over an hour and twenty-three dollars in dimes trying to outdo each other in terms of tossing coins into the fountain. Tosses were judged both on style and on distance from the fountain when the coin was tossed, bonus points were awarded depending on which level of the fountain the coin landed in. People sent them strange looks as they did this — while dressed in a flamboyant acid green bedazzled suit and a scarlet ball gown — but the twins hardly cared.  

They had lunch in the mall food court before heading back to their lair in order to suit up and rob the stores they had scouted earlier in the day. Coincidentally, the mall was the same one Thomas and Nico had been abducted from; the damage had been repaired, but Roman got some satisfaction in undoing those repairs.  

It was just a simple smash n’ grab, and with no heroes in the city, there wasn’t much resistance. With Dr. Frankenstein and Serpentine busy trying to infiltrate the government, the task of causing chaos throughout the city fell mostly on Gemini’s shoulders (there were other villains too, but Roman found most of them to be pompous jackasses not worth collaborating with), and petty crimes like robbing stores in the mall were encouraged. Roman ended up taking home a gorgeous ruby necklace that he would, unfortunately, have to be an idiot to wear in public any time soon; Remus got a large, glittering skull ring that she insisted on naming Yorick.  

They returned to their lair to stash their ill-gotten gains before returning to Remus’s their shared floor to pull off their third wardrobe change of the day. After grabbing a quick dinner at one of the food trucks that hung around the park, their final destination of day would be The Wrecking Ball, so Roman put on a pair of red booty shorts, a white mesh cut out top, leather harness, and a pair of white leather Prada boots he’d recently lifted.  

They met Remus, now wearing a pair of baggy black cargo pants, adorned with dozens of chains and spikes, six inch platforms, a thick leather collar, and a green crop-top that said in glittering letters WHORE,  back in the living room, and the two set out.  

The bar was packed by the time they arrived, the music blaring so loud that they could hardly think, their ears throbbing from the vibrations. The dance floor was packed, drinks sloshing wildly as bodies collided against each other to the beat — the DJ was keeping the energy pulsing, mixing Cher into Kylie Minogue into Britney and beyond. It didn’t take the twins long to find some marks to sucker into buying them drinks — a vodka cran for Roman, and a Dirty Shirley for Remus — before they abandoned their new suitors and hit the dance floor.  

They lost themselves in the beat, pickpocketing the occasional unsuspecting victim but predominantly just enjoying themselves, grinding against strangers and screaming the lyrics to Barbie Girl. Their drinks never ran empty — the club was packed and it was all too easy to bat their eyes and obtain another one. Roman felt like a prince when the DJ mixed Happy Birthday into the set-list for them, and he certainly auditioned plenty of handsome strangers for the role of prince charming.  

Roman wasn’t sure when it was that they managed to drag themselves back home, but even as exhausted as he was, they couldn’t help but notice a folded paper card lying on the kitchen island.  

Happy 23rd Birthday  -Janus 🐍 

Happy Birthday. There is a cake in your fridge, my apologies for not remembering sooner.   Regards, Logan 

Roman smiled and placed the card back on the counter. The cake could wait until tomorrow, when they could have their friends around them, and Patton, and Remy, Babs, Thomas, Nico. And maybe soon they could have another cake to share with Virgil… 

For now though, it was time for bed. 

~~~END~~~

Full disclosure, I did not write the clubbing scene because that is something I don’t know anything other than theory (I’m not a fan of loud, crowded places), my friend wrote that.

While I was waiting for my friend to read this chapter and fill in the club scene, I wrote the next chapter, so you’ll get that pretty soon :)

ODD taglist:

@royalty-of-all-things-snuggly @pixelated-pineapple @arsonic-knight @misunderstood-shadowling @lost-in-thought-20 @remy-the-lemon-berry @jinxcrafter @apinkline2715 @gothfoxx @donutsarepartybagels @xoaningout @meganmoneky14 @lunatatic

[skelechuuchuu]

Angels in Bungou Stray Dogs.

〈Manga spoilers〉

Each of the Decay of Angels aims to bring destruction to whomever they consider to be “angels.” This idea is centralized in the fight between Fukuchi and Tachihara, wherein Fukuchi details that the “angels” are “those who hold the reins over the people. Never dirtying their own hands, unstained by mud… sending those below them to the battlefield, taking fortune and pleasure, but none of the responsibility. A lofty presence, ever out of reach” (Ch. 91).

Essentially, angels are those who stand above society, and control others through such power. The Decay of Angels aims to destroy this power, one way or another.

I believe we can take each of the Decay member’s goals and attach them to this ideal.

Fukuchi

Fukuchi stated that politicians were the angels he was after. It is unclear if this is his true motive, since Fukuchi (later on in the same chapter) replied to Tachihara, who asked if that was truly his motive, “For now, it is. By next year, it’ll be the prologue of my autobiography, thanks to the Page.” So, we can’t truly say for certain that his underlying motive is truly to kill politicians (and some of his actions even contradict this, I may argue, but that’s for another time), but that’s what we’ve been told thus far.

Dostoevsky

We are led to believe that Dostoy is after ability users. Although less canonically secretive than Fukuchi’s, I say “led to believe” because Dostoy is, essentially, a little bitch, and I don’t trust him. But his motive in canon has remained consistent in the scenes where he appears. I have previously theorized that his motives to abolish ability users is because they are allowed to wield enough power to functionally place them on another plane from non-ability users (cue Ranpo and others saying an ability user is always stronger than one without an ability) (also the entire concept of Aya, which I feel might be related to all this… anyways!). Dostoy may well wish to kill ability users because they stand above and often control and oppress non-ability users. Having read Crime and Punishment, this potential motive would somewhat fit with similar themes in the novel. There are other possibilities, and of course this isn’t confirmed anywhere, but it sounds cool to me personally thanks bye.

Gogol

Gogol desires freedom over his own soul (and sometimes mentions all homo-sapiens? so maybe he wishes to prove the existence of free will for everyone? who knows), which entails that something is currently controlling it. In this case, to put it shortly and highly simplistically, the entity controlling Gogol is his own emotions and primal instincts/desires. In joining the Decay, Gogol is able to break free of the oppression his own brain has over him.

Sigma

This one is perhaps simpler. Sigma wants to not be used or controlled by anyone else. It’s sort of his whole thing. His goal in joining the Decay is to end the oppression he himself has faced, and to create an environment wherein no one can ever control him again.

Stoker

Bram’s goals are slightly amiss, because he didn’t choose to be a part of the Decay of his own volition. The only times we ever really see a drive to action shine through is in regards to Fukuchi’s control over him, and ending that control. He’s already aided Aya in this goal several times in the vampire outbreak arc. Basically, Bram desires to stop the forces controlling him.

Some extras on angels

I think we can push this idea of angels being above others and having control over others a bit further.

Yosano, for instance, is deemed the "Angel of Death" due to her ability being able to control the death (or lack thereof) of soldiers during the war. Her power was used to sway the tides of the war, in a sense, controlling the outcome.

The play in Untold Origins is another example, which details a group of angels cast out of heaven. The play mentions ability users in the play, and commonly equates them with angels. I'm fuzzy on the details (haven't read the LN in a while) and I can't be bothered to look rn.

In the prison escape arc, Dazai mentions how an angel whispered in his ear to relay information. He's most likely either referring to the Time Cat Lady or Ango, both of which would fit into this angelic narrative. Time Cat Lady is an ability user, and specifically is using her ability to relay such information to Dazai, whereas Ango is a politician, who is actively using his power as a government personnel to communicate with Dazai.

That's all bye.

[saragrekey]

little art chat before I go to sleep… this is nothing important just a thought dump/update/blogpost idk

So we’re a little over a week into my junior year of college and as expected! I don’t want to do my schoolwork I just want to draw lol.

When I first started my whole -drawing everyday to improve- thing last summer, I was just drawing pinterest faces, so I’d spend 30 minutes in the morning doing a sketch and that would fill my quota for the day. Now that I’m learning how to draw from imagination, my goals are so much more lofty and I have a lot more to practice. Which is been so fun!

But maybe too fun!

I’m struggling to pull my focus away from drawing. This was already an issue during the summer when I didn’t have many responsibilities, and now I obviously have a lot more on my plate. And I just cannot bring myself to focus on school.

Which is something I’ve struggled with for awhile, I’m just completely burnt out of the cycle of working at maximum capacity and pulling all nighters for an exam or critique over and over again. I’m just very over it, lol, but on the same note, I have such deep rooted anxiety about getting in trouble for not having my work or getting a bad grade. So you can see the predicament I’m in!

Idk. I’m not very smart or gifted when it comes to school but I got good grades in high school without having to study, so I just never figured out how to really learn and study correctly. Every assignment, lesson, exam is just a task to be completed, not building upon a collection of knowledge. Why would I review the course a little bit each day when I can cram it all the night before the exam and get the same grade? /j

A lot of it is of course just skills I gotta develop. I definitely need to improve my discipline and time management.

This was not meant to be about school lol. But all that to say, I just can’t seem to care about my homework, and improving my art is infinitely more important to me. But that’s obviously not how it works. I have that thing where I crave routine but can’t stick to one. I daydream about having a super nice organized routine where I can fit a couple hours of practice here and enough time for homework and maybe a little time for video games every once and awhile. I miss video games.

Hopefully I’ll find my footing as we progress through the semester. If you see me start talking about doing any kind of inktober, yell at me bc I definitely don’t have time for it 😭

I’ve not posted any art in awhile! I have been going through a bit of a rusty patch, kinda from school disrupting my life and also I got sick this weekend so I didn't really draw at all. I think the current stage I'm at is really committing what I've learned this summer to memory, to kinda have this basic style to draw from. Because it's like, I have the knowledge but if I don't reinforce it I will forget lol. My next big focus is I want to improve on expressions and overall adding more character to my sketches. I feel like rn a lot of my drawings just look like dolls.

All this to say, I did not do my accounting homework I drew Amphibia fanart instead lol. Here’s a time skip Marcy doodle for reading. It’s actually a few weeks old but I really like it, I feel like the 3-dimensionality of her face is right.

Ok bye love u have a good day!!

[mylittlelofty]

beddy-bye eye lofty transparents !! 💝

[habitual-irony]

YooA — "Rooftop" English lyrics

(I'm on the rooftop.)

The soles of my feet, (dizzy) This distant height, (watch it) A forest of buildings filled with lights (oh it's my avenue).

Now, between dreams and reality, Body crouched somewhere, A bird at the end of the rooftop railing. (Li'l bird)

Yeah, even if it's perilous and dangerous, With greatness and dignity, I walk one foot before another on this rooftop (oh). From somewhere I hear A melody, symphony, Close your eyes one more time and play it.

I can. I trust myself. A note studded with stars, I want to reach those dreams. (I'm getting closer)

Yeah, I'm a little bird in the cage (in the cage). Not easy to understand, someone like me. (Oh, no you can't) I am rather happy right now, (nuh-uh) Oh, so I'm going to leave you. (You don't understand)

On the rooftop, (uh uh uh) Bye-bye, I should get going. (On the rooftop) On the rooftop, (uh uh uh) Oh, so I'm going to leave you.

Shh, every night, without anyone knowing, I walk the tightrope. Have you seen?

In that moment, I'm the freest in the world, A bird atop the lofty cage.

This beautiful world—the city and I, those clouds and moon— I can't stay anywhere forever.

Yeah, I'm a little bird in the cage (in the cage). Not easy to understand, someone like me. (Oh, no you can't) I am rather happy right now, (nuh-uh) Oh, so I'm going to leave you. (You don't understand)

On the rooftop, (uh uh uh) Bye-bye, I should get going. (On the rooftop) On the rooftop, (uh uh uh) Oh, so I'm going to leave you.

Even if I feel peaceful every day In your arms, Sometimes I suffocate. Maybe I, I am just made this way, My heart unable to Belong anywhere. (Don't find me)

Yeah, I'm a little bird in the cage. Not easy to understand, someone like me. I am rather happy right now, Oh, so I'm going to leave you.

On the rooftop, (uh uh uh) Bye-bye, I should get going. (uh uh uh) On the rooftop, (uh uh uh) Oh, so I'm going to leave you.

(Huh, on the, on the, on the rooftop.) (Huh, on the, on the, on the rooftop.)

[alwayschasingrainbows]

Okay, but Long John's sense of humour is actually so cruel. Still, I smiled at Emily's letter to Ilse:

"Dearest Ilse,” wrote Emily, her hand shaking a little but her lips firmly set. “I am going to die. I have been poisoned by an apple Lofty John had put for rats. I will never see you again, but I am writing this to tell you I love you and you are not to feel bad because you called me a skunk and a bloodthirsty mink yesterday. I forgive you, so do not worry over it. And I am sorry I told you that you were beneath contemt because I didn’t mean a word of it. I leave you all my share of the broken dishes in our playhouse and please tell Teddy good-bye for me. He will never be able to teach me how to put worms on a fish-hook now. I promised him I would learn because I did not want him to think I was a coward but I am glad I did not for I know what the worm feels like now."

Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery

[luna-loveboop]

Linktober day nine- Mystery

It's. Wind as the math meme. Pretty sure no one expected to see math meme Wind on an egg today, but here we are. Wind is trying to figure out the entire Loz timeline based on the hero of time and I love him for that. Can't wait till he starts interrogating Legend.

His face is hard, this is why I don't draw- I forgot people have noses and eyebrows like five times.

Also close up of his confused interpretation of the timeline because Lofty said I could post any stick figures I want and I'm proud of my tiny Time and Malon.

@skyloftian-nutcase

Ah yes the three timelines. Dead, married, and ocean.

Ok bye

:)

[ohc-and-the-music-tapes-archive]

Article about best shows in 1999, mentioning the Music Tapes. Daily Hampshire Gazette, 30 December 1999

transcript:

In case of APOCALYPSE, remember this 1999 was a good year for music

KEN MAIURI Clubland

WELL, before I head down to the bomb shelter, I suppose I should type this final column so I don’t annoy my editor. Okay, so I don’t really expect a Y2K apocalypse, but as a kid I always had some strange fascination with those depressing “good-bye, civilization” movies (“The Omega Man,” “Soylent Green,” all five “Planet of the Apes” epics), so a small part of me is a little worried that After The Crash, Charlton Heston will eventually be the last surviving human being, roaming the desolate January countryside, baring his teeth and cackling maniacally about the damn insanity of it all and shooting out lonely storefront windows with one of his many guns. I guess I should give him something interesting to read.

Live music in 1999. It was a very good year, Chuck. Maybe it’s just the rosy glow of the yes-it-works-now-but-it’s-hours-from-fritzing computer screen I'm staring at, but I can’t think of any show I saw this year that was so awful that it needs to be brought up again now. I'll just let the uninspired performances fade away and shine a battery-powered light on the wonderful shows that I want the world to remember.

Certainly one of (if not THE) best things I witnessed this year was the Music Tapes at Flywheel back in July. Led by Julian Koster, the joyous band from Athens, Ga. created a truly original musical universe and led the entire audience into it. The group didn’t play “regular” guitars (but rather electric banjos with violin bows) and they didn’t play “regular” drums (for rhythm, band members jumped on pallets covered with amplified wire mesh), and they made a racket on other giant, hand-built wooden instruments (which looked like things you’d see as part of a miniature golf course). They even had a talking television as a full-fledged band member.

Maybe that description screams novelty act,” but the Music Tapes weren't kidding about all the odd instrumentation or strange lyrics about aliens and conqueror television sets and “marching father fists” and reindeer and Superman and more. It was their fantasy world and they created it and believed in it — which was interesting — but what ultimately made the show so memorable was how Koster and company freed themselves through this childlike atmosphere. They really played their hearts out, and, though you’d never know from their purposefully muddy CD recording, the songs were beautiful, sort of melancholy yet triumphant, full of harmonic contours that would make Brian Wilson perk up his ears. And those songs played with such total emotional abandon, made the Music Tapes’ performance one of the best shows I've ever seen.

Ah, lofty talk. Well while I'm at it I should restate my undying love for Sloan, a Canadian quartet that played the Iron Horse back in February and won my heart with their perfect pop songs.

Since that show the band has put out an amusing but disappointing live CD and a slipshod studio record, but none of that can take away from the silly rush I felt when I heard the boys sing their songs live for the first time. Four-part harmonies, better-than-your-best-stereo sound (thanks to two live sound engineers), a relatively small crowd, and lots of goofy energy from the band. If you don’t own the record “Navy Blues,” buy one now, listen to it immediately, and let the songs make a new home in your head before the CD player dies.

‘Another great show was Wilco at the Calvin Theater just a month ago. The quintet gave a startling performance that started with frontman Jeff Tweedy’s apparent annoyance at the seated, well-behaved audience. The band’s usually friendly songs immediately grew chips on their shoulders, turning into unpredictable brats bristling with screaming feedback, fall-apart endings, and volume shifts. There was some weird, aggressive electricity in the air for sure, and it was great feeling it crackle through the room ... though maybe I was just in the mood for some emotionally damaged pop music.

What else was best about 1999?

The Soul Brains (otherwise known as the legendary punk-rock quartet Bad Brains) played downstairs at Pearl Street in March and tossed around a monstrous crowd with whiplash punk-metal and heady reggae. And Patti Smith made hundreds of fans’ year just by walking out on stage, but her Pearl Street show in September was full of powerful speech and song that never rested, even when Smith herself had to (thanks to the oppressive heat).

So: lots of good shows. We were spoiled around here. (I didn’t even mention the fine appearances by such luminaries as Lee “Scratch” Perry and Brian Wilson and Steve Lacy and Richard Thompson and ... )

And that’s it, I think. Not a column worthy of going in the ol' capsule, I suppose, but I'll still click Save. Just for old times’ sake.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Hi Lofty!!!!!

Today was the first day of the year that I've seen the sun :)

Wow, so pretty!! ❤️😍 Jealous that you have snow, we got two ice storms here and then it got so unseasonably warm it feels like the beginnings of spring outside.

Have you not seen the sun because it’s been overcast or do you live somewhere where the sun goes bye bye for a few months at a time?