#did i write these close the tab and just totally forget? (apparently)

[stabbyfoxandrew]

what the fuck?

i went to work on cosmic lost and found (for the first time in... months) and... i have almost four chapters DONE in this doc??? what the fuck???

depression really does cause memory loss...?

[purplepalmdelight]

why life is still okay (rambling fic rec pt. 1)

firstly: shout out to @trulyalpha for apparently owning my entire bookmarks page on ao3 (bc i only realised all my favourite fics were written by the same person,,, yesterday. bc im really smart like that) anyway breakdown of why she’s a stoncy saving grace thanks!!!

you ease my mind, you make everything feel fine.

(https://archiveofourown.org/works/13842039)

yes this fic is from 2018. yes i read it every other week. it’s good for the SOUL. jonathan getting taken care of is always just such a good and sweet concept (maybe it’s my intense, undying love of him, but he deserves to be taken care okay) and. okay i’ll admit, sometimes i forget how fucking FUNNY this fic is, but it’s genuinely hilarious, okay? you gotta trust me on this. it makes me cackle at inappropriate times absurdly often. ("Hi." "Hi." "I want you, you fuck." is a top line. i laugh so hard every TIME.) all three of them are so incredibly in character, and somehow this NAILS the fact that they’re all massive disasters pretending to be confident. and i’m not someone that reads ~smut~ often (though it’s more mentioned than described, very non-explicit) but this didn’t make me even the least bit uncomfortable. it felt very natural and in character and made me laugh as much as the rest of the story. all in all, i always come away a little more in love with the characters, and that’s a really precious feeling.

you could be the one to make me feel something

(https://archiveofourown.org/works/14269476/chapters/32912745)

i take back everything i’ve ever claimed. this IS the funniest piece of writing i’ve ever read, and it WILL remain so, probably until the day i die. i honestly... barely have words. my expectations were high when i started it, but in retrospect, they were LEAGUES below what i got. the characterisation, the progression, the dialogue, the story; from the overarching aspects to the tiny details, it’s impeccable. i genuinely read this twice in one day, and then again the next. every single part of it is so good, but in terms of FAVOURITES... the christmas section. hilarious. down to its bones, well crafted and heart felt. it hits me right in the chest every time. the story, from the beginning, has me just as in love with nancy and steve as jonathan is, and as everything grows more intense, so does my investment. it pulls me in and doesn’t let me go until it’s good and ready to see me leave. again, the sexy aspects are so in character and natural that it’s uncomfortable or weird to read and instead just leave me grinning like an idiot. also ( “It did frustrate me, in more ways than one. It’s also a weird plan, like … did you expect me to be so overwhelmed by the power of a boner that I’d just admit my feelings?” is SUCH a funny line, i think about it literally every day. literally. every. day.) the characters are afraid to be messy, to make mistakes, and they all feel so ALIVE that when i leave the story, i feel like i’m leaving a friend. it’s honestly beautiful and honestly breathtaking. this story is better than a lot of published books, honestly, and i’m so grateful for it. so thank you.

i crash my car ‘cause i wanna get carried away!

(https://archiveofourown.org/works/17131202)

...you really wanted to make me cry, huh? i cried out of grief, yeah, out of the depth of nancy’s guilt and the pure rawness of her mourning, but i also cried out of catharsis as she came to terms, and out of laughter a few times. the bit about total eclipse of the heart as a motif was... that was so well done. i hate drawing comparisons, so please understand that this is criticism of a concept and not a particular story, but in so many stories then nancy’s grief feels... trivialised? that’s not quite the right word. romanticised, maybe. as someone who has lost a friend in the past, it’s just... it doesn’t feel realistic? and that’s okay, because it’s hard to nail something you haven’t experienced, and i wouldn’t wish the experience on anyone. it’s just that stories like this, where i can really resonate with nancy and follow the journey of her recovery WITH her are so rare. this story is a gem, it really is. i don’t love it for all the same reasons as the others, but i love it fiercely all the same.

there’s nothing magic going on, and then along came you

(https://archiveofourown.org/works/14994137)

sure, you could be the one is the funniest fic i’ll probably ever read, but nothing magic is such a close second. it’s laugh-out-loud, get-tears-in-your-eyes, fall-out-of-your-chair, and it’s also so goddamn SWEET i can hardly stand it. of the several fics i generally group together in my head (nothing magic, you could be the one + its sequels (might have to make an individual post about this series), laugh until we think we’ll die, and got nothing for you; all very similar, yet incredibly unique) nothing magic is the shortest, but that doesn’t mean it compromises on quality, oh no. it just means i can read it quicker, and therefore more often! when it’s late and i’m tired and i need a laugh to calm down before i sleep, i generally go search this fic up. remember when i mentioned the whole “being just as in love with nancy and steve as jonathan is” thing? it’s like that except... almost funnier. in you could be the one, it’s just that the story naturally tugs you into adoring these two messy, silly, sweet, amazing young adults, because how could you not? how else could you possibly feel? but here, they are genuinely just... that funny. they are actually just so funny that you as a reader click with them and find yourself grinning like an IDIOT because oh my god you’re disasters. maybe it’s the inherent relatability of a tired highschooler trying to make it through the summer and hating his job along the way, but this fic hits right in the heart every damn time.

got nothing for you other than love

(https://archiveofourown.org/works/17596658)

"You trust me," she says.

They both know it's a fact, not question, but he still says, "Of course."

and

By then, his shell wasn't something he could step out of. It was part of him. But that was okay. He didn't need more. What he had was enough.

He always did have trouble with wanting more.

and

"Hey, babe?" Nancy turns her head to look at Steve, touching his shoulder. "Can you buy me a drink?"

"Sure thing. What d'ya want?"

"Surprise me. Not like that time we were here and you snuck out the store, went to a smoothie stand, and came back with a mango smoothie."

Steve grins. "But I did surprise you."

and

"Do you have food in the backseat?"

"The sandwich has only been there for like, two weeks—"

and

"Ugh. Too much cheese. I'm lactose-intolerant, remember?"

"False, you're not intolerant of anyone except people over the age of fifteen with bowl cuts and guys who wear shorts in the winter."

and

"Where are you off to? I'm your only friend," Kali says, frowning.

and

"You good, man?"

"Yeah," he says, his throat dry, "I'm great."

"Yeah, you are," Nancy says, and he is. He is.

and i can’t continue because that’s, like, barely halfway into the fic and i’ve already skipped so many of my favourite lines and i would have to skip so many more. you see what i mean about sathana being funny as hell? and like all the others, it’s not just the humour here. i mean... it is, because it’s SO FUCKING FUNNY I LITERALLY CANNOT SAY THAT ENOUGH but the reason it’s so funny is because it’s so candid. it’s so smooth. the whole thing flows. you’re not left feeling that you’ve missed a piece or that anything was sacrificed; you just feel like you’ve read something incredible. this fic is an experience of its own that i honestly have never experienced before. it’s sweet, and it’s gentle, and it’s just so overwhelmingly good that i don’t think i’ll ever quite get over it. in short? it’s a blessing. my expectations were high, but holy fuck did you blow them to bits.

one more favourite line:

Things are ending, things are starting, and everything looks bright. It won't always be that way. The sun's got to set at some point. But, gazing up at the sky, at the pink bleeding into orange, Jonathan figures it'll have to rise again. No matter what happens, these two things are constant.

"Hey, you look awfully lonely," Nancy calls out, walking towards him, reaching out to him with the hand not in Steve's.

Well. Maybe not just those two things.

that scene, in general, is beautiful, and it wraps the story up on such a genuine note. it feels like a film with how clearly i can picture it. it feels like no fic i’ve ever really read before. it feels... good. i guess i don’t really have the words. it just feels so good.

as an overall statement on why i call her my favourite author... it’s the realism. maybe that’s surprising, considering how many times i said “funny” or “hilarious” in here, but in the end, i wouldn’t be so attached to her work if it didn’t feel so real. i can open a tab and instantly get transported to a home i’ve never lived in. it’s comfortable. it’s sweet. and the dialogue/banter is always perfectly crafted. there’s just never really a downside to her fics, honestly. even if i wanted to search, i don’t think i’d find one. not even one of those “their only problem is that there’s not more to enjoy” kind of comments, because every single one feels perfectly crafted in its own right. it doesn’t need more or less. it stands for itself and it’s goddamn good at it.

i didn’t anticipate having to do multiple parts on this post, but- surprise surprise- i haven’t even gotten to my favourite one yet! so yeah, pt. 2 will be written after i finish the history essay trying to murder me, god knows when that is. in the meantime, please go give her some love and adoration. she deserves it.

[el-pintor]

Thoughts about the Christmas special

This will be a long, long, long post...

First, I write about ZhanYi and then about Tianshan.

ZhanYi:

Jian Yi's comment about his strength:

— Jian Yi mentions that he is so strong that he could pull trees out. This is pretty interesting information. Because this could indicate the time during the kidnapping, depending on how seriously you can interpret the statements. Did he continue to train or drill? Is it the result of training with He Cheng?

- In addition, this drunk talking could also refer to earlier chapters. Jian Yi has a desire to become stronger because he felt helpless against Mo. Incidentally, it is the first appearance of Mo.

The apartment:

— Whose apartment is this? Probably Zhen Xis, since Jian Yi is only at Xi's apartment in the future chapters. In contrast to earlier insights, the apartment is also pretty tidy.

– However, the interior differs massively from the previous chapters. I don't expect Zhen Xi and Jian Yi to be living together at this point. Old Xian just may not have used the previous references.

— So the connection between the two seems to be as strong as ever since Xi possibly brings him home to his flat instead to Jian Yi's.

- And another proof of how much Xi's character has changed. Because in the beginning, he didn't want anything more than kicking out Yi as soon as he showed up.

- He also apparently abandoned the violent nature. Instead of beating him up, he sits down on the couch with him in an embrace and falls asleep. He doesn't even take off his jacket, but lets Jian Yi willingly hug him.

- Somehow cute. Nevertheless, I hope that he will soon no longer keep Jian Yi friendzoned and return his feelings.

- Just as home furnishings have changed, Zheng Xi's character has changed.

— But maybe that's Jian Yi's apartment after all. No one knows about his living condition.

- Does he live alone? Or with his mother? Maybe he's back in He Cheng's care? Does Zheng Xi even know Jian Yi's address?

I hope we can find out more soon.

Tianshan

I think there are a lot of inconsistencies and you don't really get their behavior.

First of all a few trivial comments.

Rings:

- He Tian wears the ring he took himself as a gift. Coincidentally, it also fits like a glove. Either it would be too big for Mo anyway, or you can adjust the ring.

- In the first panel, it seems that Mo is also wearing a ring.

He Tian flirting:

- He Tian goes straight to the attack and leaves no unnecessary time and doubts about his intentions: After flirting, he just takes off his jacket and throws himself and Mo on the bed.

- He is hopelessly in love and love everything about Mo.

- That Mo has a newfound interest on studying turns he even more on.

- I think despite the fact that the room is too small for him, he will develop a secret preference for the bed. Because it's narrow and there is no place to escape and to keep a certain distance. So perfectly made for  cuddling and sticking close together.

The apartment, Room, whatever you can call it:

- I immediately noticed the rule with books (if they were books).

- The guitar on his bed plus other books.

- At first I thought that the "apartment" consists of only one room, but the kitchen and at least the bathroom are missing.

- it's quite empty and reminds of He Tian's empty apartment.

- Still, it's pretty run down and seems so cold. I hope Mo doesn't freeze.

Living condition:

- The question, of course, would be why Mo lives under this condition, although he would have it better in his mother's old apartment.

- Did he want to become independent as quickly as possible and therefore moved out so as not to further burden his mother?

- However, I hardly think that his mother would have been satisfied with the condition of the apartment, because the condition is worrying. I don't think he invites his mother over to his house.

-I don't know if that is standard in China when you don't have money. In addition, 19 is still quite young. Many people still live with their parents at this age.

- Did something happen to the mother? Hopefully not.

But maybe Mo is just rebellious and proud that he could afford something of his own.

Indications of Mos' current activity.

- As I said, I immediately noticed the rule with books (if they were books). Which of course is totally untypical for Mo, since he was never interested in books and learning.

- Are these cook and music books?

- Can someone tell me what's written on this book?

- The book in He Tian's hand has an unusual book form. So I suspect that this is a music book with notes or tabs. It seems to be at least a book for studying.

- So does Mo study anything with music and do his part-time jobs to finance it?

- Does he study anything else?

- Does he go to university at all?

- Or does he really earn his money only with part-time jobs? Obviously he won't make much money with it, so they could only be an interim solution if Mo didn't want to keep this lifestyle for life.

- For the university in China you need a lot of money, which you couldn't pay on your own. But there is the possibility of scholarships (I just assume that there is also something like that in China). Maybe he got a music scholarship?

- Mo doesn't seem to have many things. Of course, the books and the guitar are striking.

The guitar

- At first glance, the guitar is reminiscent of He Tian's guitar, which he would like to give to Mo.

- If you take a closer look, they are identical in shape and color, but they are two completely different guitars.

- He Tian's guitar is an acoustic (or concert) guitar and Mo's is an electric guitar.

- Could it be a little mistake from Old Xian?

- Perhaps this is also a later gift from He Tian after Mo learned to play guitar with the acoustic guitar and get advanced. A lot of people start with an acoustic guitar before playing electric guitar.

- Maybe the guitar is from the same serial production.

- Maybe He Tian owns the acoustic guitar and buys an electric guitar for Mo from the same series after Mo's interest for learning guitar has been completely awakened.

- By the way, you need a guitar amplifier for full fun with an electric guitar. I didn't see it in his room.

- Unless this could be an amp. Does anyone know what this thing could be? For me this could be organizers.

- It's s also extremely inconvenient in an apartment to turn it up fully. (Do more people actually live there? The apartment looks more like an old rehearsal room or a garage. My rehearsal room looked something like this, that's why the associations).

- You can also play the electric guitar on headphones, but that's pretty impractical because of the sound (it differs, if you use headphones ir not) and you still need an amp.

- By the way, music it's a costly pleasure. So, it is all the more interesting what exactly Mo does and how he finances everything.

- But I think those are little things that Old Xian probably doesn't think about (something that you easily can forget) .

- I wonder if Mo is in a band. Maybe with Zhen Xi together.

So now to the most complicated point:

Hey Tian, ​​his disappearance and the relationship with Mo.

- One learns that He Tian was not in China for a while.

Many questions arise from this:

- When was he gone?

- How long was he gone?

- Has he been away for a long period of time or is it a coming and going? A lot of it is pretty unclear, so you could guess both.

- The fact that He Tian was away for a long time speaks for the fact that he has never been to Mo's apartment. Has Mo just recently moved there?

- What is also new for him is that Mo reads books or even studies. You should actually know that if you were in regular contact. So is this a recent Mo hobby? That is rather unlikely. So how much did they really have to do with each other in the 4 years?

— However, there are some arguments against staying longer:

- He Tian knows where Mo works. If He Tian had been away for years, how would he know where Mo works? From Jian Yi or Zahn Xi? Maybe from Mo himself? Mo would most likely not give it away. So He Tian should at least stop by for visits.

- The second thing that speaks against it, is that Mo knows where He Tian lives. He Tian probably didn't change his apartment, but could have been if you weren't in the country for a long period of time. At least that doesn't indicate radio silence.

The relationship with Mo:

- After the chapters and all the hints, it was thought that the penny had finally fallen between the two, but no.

- Their relationship to each other has not really changed.

- Mo is still dismissive to He Tian.

There are several reasons about this matter:

— 1. Mo feels hurt and probably betrayed too.

- He Tian asked Mo in middle school not to abandom him. Now HE was the one who left and left Mo behind. Depending on the point in time at which this occurred, it is logical to first react in a negative manner.

— Nevertheless, He Tian seems to be a part of Mo's life, which he does not really want to give up and maybe also gives evidence that he might misses him.

The following aspect indicate

- He lit a cigarette, reminiscent of He Tian.

- He is still wearing his earrings.

- In addition, the design of his electric guitar is similar to He Tian's.

— 2. Mo couldn't build a closer bond with He Tian because He Tian left the country right after middle school.

- How can you build a relationship if you hardly see or not see each other?

- Mo has problems with trust. So I can imagine, that this could be extremely bitter for him and he is angry. Especially if he had open up to He Tian and then his gone.

— 3. Mo is just too stubborn to admit his feelings and get involved with He Tian and is a tsundere, so he have to act this way.

- Definition of a tsundere: "A tsundere is a character, most often female and in anime, who switches from being tough and cold towards a love interest into being soft and sweet"

- Well, I'm not so keen on these whole tsundere explanations. Of course his character is like a tsundere but it would be to simple to explain his character so one sided.

- Even tsundere characters can make progress and that's what I missing. The reationship between those two is going back and forth mostly two steps back and one forth. It's like they are stuck in this, just like ZhanYi are stuck in their relationship. But in this matter you know that Jian was gone for three years. Still I hoped Zhan Xi would finally admit his feelings, but he rather go with the safety zone. The case of Tianshan is way more complicated: You don't know what happened between them in these years. But He Tian seems to be in love more than ever and Mo seems to that he still hasn't figured out his feelings and doesn’t give the attention that He Tian wants. Mo is 18 or 19, not 15 anymore and I wish he would act more mature. But on the other hand, He Tian is really pushy again and is testing his limits. It's understandable that Mo acts irritated.

- So I think they are still don't there where you can call this a mutual relationship.

- They will eventually in the future, but this will take a lot more time obviously and they have a long road ahead.

Of course there is progress:

- Mo seems to have grown used to He Tian's approach.

- He is less aggressive, can even be touched, and he doesn't immediately panic. In the other special he even voluntarily shares a room with He Tian.

- On the other hand, He Tian seems to have become more courageous, so you thought, they really started out with a physical relationship.

- He gives away condoms, hugs him profusely, and tries to get to his butt (other special).

- Maybe they really did have an on-off thing.

- Old Xian indicated that He Tian was allowed to stay the night. So Mo doesn't throw him out. The only question is whether he is allowed to sleep in bed or whether the floor has to suffice.

- So yeah, for me this is really confusing.

Other abnormalities:

- Where's the dog?

- Did Xi stays true to the music? So far there has not been a hint of a musical instrument at his flat.

- What about Yi? Does he continue to play the guitar?

- And He Tian?

- When and why did Mo get his second piercing?

- He Tian doesn't seem to wear the chain with ring. Maybe he get it later?

[yugyummygot7reactions]

His Secretary

Pairing: Yugyeom x Reader

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 1,732

Getting this job was exactly what you needed at this point. You were fresh out of school and just moved into an apartment downtown. The job was to be the assistant for a Mr. Kim. He was the youngest CEO in the history of JYP and he apparently needed you as much as you needed this job. 

You were informed that he had only been CEO for 6 weeks and he had gone through 9 assistants in that time. You didn’t even understand how that was possible, but you were always up for a challenge and this one seemed just right. 

You showed up and settled into your desk. You were escorted by security and told that your next instructions would come directly from the CEO. Your boss hadn’t shown up yet, so you sat and waited, writing notes of thing to do once you could figure out how to log in to your computer.

You were looking down when a jacket came flying through the air and landed on your head.

“Hang that up and meet me in my office in 5 minutes or less or don’t bother even coming in.” 

You were shocked by his words, but recognized his voice from somewhere. You rushed to hang up the coat in the armoire that was off to the side of the room and rushed into his office to get further instructions.

“Congrats,” he said facing the window away from you, “You already made it longer than 5 of my previous assistants.”

He turned around and you saw him look you over once. His face scrunched in confusion and he rushed to find your file on his desk. It was in his flurry of chaos you realized that you did recognize his voice. It was Kim Yugyeom. Your old crush from middle school and high school. He moved to Seoul years ago to train to be a performer and his group did really well for a while. He fell off the public radar after that and you didn’t realize it was him who took over JYP. 

After searching for what seemed like hours, even though it had only been a few moments, Yugyeom turned to you and asked, almost breathless, “What’s your name?”

“My name?” you asked, shocked at first that he didn’t recognize you, “It’s Y/N”

“Y/N.” He said quietly, “You are excused. I’ll have someone from HR come and teach you the ropes.”

You walked out quickly and quietly and sat down at your desk. Of course he wouldn’t remember you. You hadn’t seen him in person in over 10 years. You only knew his looks because he was an idol for so long. 

You were looking down at your hands, fidgeting while thinking about your past with your new boss when you heard footsteps approaching.

“He already has another new assistant?” the voice asked to himself as he approached your desk. “This man need to figure his shit out.” He took a deep breath and stopped walking. “I’m Yug- uh Mr. Kim’s best friend, Bam Bam, buzz me into his office.”

“Bam Bam?” You asked as you looked up. You knew him from before they were famous too. If Yugyeom didn’t recognize you, he surely wouldn’t.

“Holy crap! Y/N??” He asked as he ran around your desk and gave you a huge hug. “I didn’t know you were working for Yugyeom now.”

“Ah. Today is my first day. You remember me?” You asked, spirits lifted.

“OF COURSE!” Bam Bam yelled as he hugged you again. “We used to be so close before Yugyeom and I had to move. After we left we never heard from you again.” Bam Bam leaned in towards your ear, “that part crushed Yugyeom.” He pulled back and smiled as Yugyeom’s office door opened.

“Why are you so loud?” Yugyeom asked as he held the door for Bam Bam before looking at you, “He is one of 4 people you can always let into my office, even if i’m not here. The list is on your computer.” He pulled Bam Bam inside and shut the office door.

“DUDE THAT’S-” You heard Bam Bam start through the frosted glass before Yugyeom shushed him. The rest of their conversation was quiet enough you couldn’t hear it. How you wished you could be a fly on the wall. 

Someone from HR showed up and showed you how Yugyeom wanted you to do your job. He was apparently very unorganized and to make up for it, you had to be scary organized. That’s why he fired 4 of his assistants. You knew you could keep up. If he was anything like the Yugyeom you grew up with, you could figure out his train of thought in no time.

You lasted through day 1. After that, everything fell into place. Bam Bam came by almost every day to see Yugyeom in the morning and would go out to eat with you for lunch. You picked up as friends again just like they had never moved. Once you took the time to set up a new organizational system for Yugyeom and learn how he was systematically ignoring the system, you were able to track down anything and everything he needed. Sometimes you even knew what he was going to ask for before he asked for it. It was a perfect workplace combination. 

Unfortunately, that is all it was. You knew that Bam Bam told Yugyeom exactly who you were, but the CEO never did anything to express that he remembered you. Being around him so much was bringing back old feelings, but you knew you could never act on them. The feelings were one-sided in the past, and they still are now. 

It was especially hard when you saw the old Yugyeom slip through. A soft smile at a video on his phone, his contagious laughter with Bam Bam, the shadow through the frosted glass when he took a dance break to clear his thoughts. The three things that drew you to him in the past, making each day harder. 

Bam Bam surprised you after about 5 months of the job and instead of going out, he decided to bring lunch to you.

“Yugyeom’s out today. Let’s eat in his office.” He said as he pushed the button on your desk to open Yugyeom’s door. “He has REALLY comfy couches in there.” 

“If he finds out he’ll fire me!” You said as you chased Bam Bam into the office.

“I can be here whenever I want and you are here with me. So no rules are broken. Don’t worry Y/N, I won’t let him fire you even if he did find out.”

“Fine, but I’m leaving the door open just in case I’m needed.”

“You do you, fam”

The lunch was fun and Bam Bam was right, the couches were really comfortable. Just as you were getting ready to clean up, Bam Bam got a serious look on his face and pulled you back down onto the couch.

“Can I ask you something?”

“You can ask me anything Bammy.” You said, smiling as you popped a cherry into your mouth.

“Are you still in love with Yugyeom?”

You choked on the cherry so fast, Bam had to slap your back a few times to help you out. 

“Do I-- Yugyeom??” You asked, face blushing.

“I know you used to love him when we were kids.” he started as he still rubbed and patted your back, “And I also know you saw us in concert numerous times and kept tabs on him after we left.” You looked away, embarrassed. “Are there still feelings there?”

“Even if there were,” you started, “and this is totally hypothetical...If there were feelings there, I couldn’t act on them, so why does it matter?”

“So you do still love him?”

“Of course I do.” You admitted quietly. “I thought I stopped, but working for him now, I can see that it never did. That’s why I’m looking for a new job. I can’t work with someone I love so much.”

“You can’t leave.” A voice said from the doorway. “I need you.”

You jump up and panic, cleaning up what was left of the lunch and scrambling.

“Mr. Kim. I- ...You-...You weren’t supposed to hear that.”

“Which part?” He asked as he approached you, voice soft and gentle.

“The first pa- the sec-. Both?” you said, confused. “Just please forget you heard that conversation.”

“I can’t.” He said calmly as he approached you and took your hand in his. “I love you too. I always have.” A tear streamed down his face, “I was so lost when you stopped texting me when we were kids. I always thought you hated me for leaving. I never forgave myself.” He paused and swallowed hard, “When you appeared as my secretary I thought it was fate giving us a second chance, but I was too scared to say anything to you. If you didn’t feel the same way it would burden you, but now that I know. I want to be with you.”

“You can’t date your secretary, Yugyeom.” you said, trying to back away. 

“Then you’re fired.” he said, very seriously, “You are the best secretary I’ve ever had, but secretaries are replaceable, true loves are not.”

“Yugyeom-”

“No. No buts. If you can’t be both, then you can be my true love. I’ll hire a male secretary too, just so you can’t get jealous. You can help find the replacement if you wa-”

You kissed him. You had to shut him up and this was the only way you could think of.

“DAMNNNNNNNNNN” You heard Bam in the background, a middle finger was Yugyeom’s only response once he realized what was happening.

“Yugyeom. I will find a way to make my job and us work, but nothing here can change. Inside of JYP we are just boss and secretary, outside of JYP we can be whatever you want us to be.”

Yugyeom smiled and hugged you tightly.

“Can we make one exception to that?” He asked as he pulled back to look you in the face, “I want to fuck you on my desk once.”

“I’m OUT!” Bam Bam yelled as he scurried out of the room closing the door behind him, leaving you and Yugyeom alone and laughing.

“You know, Yugyeom...I think we can make that happen.”

[ohblackdiamond]

little t&a (paul/gene, nc-17) (part 2 of 29)

part 1   part 2   part 3   part 4   part 5   part 6   part 7   part 8   part 9   part 10   part 11   part 12   part 13   part 14   part 15   part 16   part 17   part 18   part 19   part 20   part 21  part 22   part 23   part 24    part 25   part 26   part 27   part 28   part 29 

Four weeks before KISS gets back on tour, Gene discovers that Paul's been cursed by a groupie. For the sake of KISS' finances, Paul's comfort levels, and Gene's libido, this crisis must be resolved. Sexswap fic. In this chapter:  "What do you mean, what else was I doing? I woke up with tits! Don't you think that's a little fucking traumatizing?" Gene and Paul try to pinpoint the root cause of Paul’s predicament.

          Gene carried the groceries in for Paul. It felt like the lousiest apology, but he didn’t know what else to do. Paul looked as if he were seconds from tears—pretty horrifying, for Gene to try to realign his whole thought process, to try and reconcile the Paul he’d known for the last eight years with the pretty brunette currently slumped over the kitchen island—and Gene didn’t know how to mitigate that, either. Paul wasn’t much of a crier. Under the circumstances, though, Gene couldn’t exactly blame him.

           “I shouldn’t have done that.”

           “Forget it.”

           “Look—I thought it might be you from the tattoo, but I had to make sure—”

           “You made sure, okay? You definitely did that much.” Paul’s elbows were resting on the counter. His mouth was pressed against his clasped hands, muffling his words. “Fuck it, Gene. You were supposed to just write me back.”

           Gene rolled his eyes.

           “Yeah, you cut off contact with everybody a month before we go back on tour, and then you send me a two-sentence postcard and expect me to act like a fucking pen-pal. C’mon, Paul.”

           “Well, obviously, I didn’t want you coming over! You think I wanted anyone to see me like this? I already had to run Peter off!”

           So that had been him earlier. Shit.

           “How did this even happen?” Medically, it was impossible. Paul probably hadn’t had this little hair on him since he was ten years old. To say nothing of the drop in height, or the total reconfiguration of his body shape. He still looked pretty similar in the face, same big brown eyes, same slightly crooked chin and full lips, but the features were a little softer. Really, he looked like a good bit like his older sister, although Gene knew better than to mention it. Paul hadn’t seen Julia in at least three years.

           The guys had always made fun of Gene for his lack of discernment, and he knew there were plenty of women that looked like dogs dotting his photo albums, but Paul was—actually kind of pretty. Or would be, if his eyes, always a little sad-looking, weren’t all watery and his mouth wasn’t glued in that firm line behind his hand. Even Peter, who, oddly enough, probably had better taste in women, looks-wise, than any of the four of them, had said Paul was cute. And the tits—shit, Gene was distracting himself. Paul had taken his time answering anyway.

           “How should I know how this happened? I woke up like this!”

           “When?”

           “Wednesday morning.”

           “That’s five days. You’ve been like this for five days?” Before Paul could answer, Gene added, bewildered, “Have you gone anywhere?”

           It wouldn’t have surprised him much if Paul had holed up in the house the entire time. He did that enough normally. Gene could understand that, to a point. Gene never knew what to do with himself off-tour, either, except get laid, but Paul usually added a healthy dose of self-pity on top of the lays. Given what had happened to him, he’d probably been feeling sorrier for himself than usual.

           Paul surprised him by bringing his hands down from in front of his mouth and nodding.

           “I drove to Peaches yesterday.”

           “You drove?”

          “You think I could’ve convinced my chauffeur I was Paul Stanley?”

           “Might have an easier time with him than you would a cop.”

           “A cop? I’m a great driver—”

           “You don’t have a license right now.”

           Paul’s lips pursed and he went quiet for a while. Like the full magnitude of his situation had only just dawned on him. Not that Gene wasn’t sympathetic. This was going to screw him over, too. The new tour a month away, and their frontman not only entirely unable to prove his identity, but—really, assuming he got the other guys and their management to believe him, what was he supposed to do? Strut onstage in that sequin-studded jumpsuit, singing about the dick he didn’t even have? Even Bill Aucoin couldn’t spin a story about Paul getting a sex change into anything close to palatable for the magazines and papers. If they didn’t get this shit fixed and turn Paul back into a guy, KISS was sunk.

           Gene let the silence hang in the air rather than try to fill it up with small talk or reassurances. He got up and started taking Paul’s groceries out of the paper bags, just to give his hands something to do. A wrapped package of deli meat, several cans of Tab, a bunch of celery, and a loaf of sandwich bread were all that was in the first bag. The groceries of a depressed catalog model, not a rockstar. He put it all up in the pantry and fridge unceremoniously. Paul didn’t have a breadbox, so Gene left the loaf on the counter next to the sink. The second bag of groceries was just as dismal, maybe worse—peanut butter, saltines, apples, and, horrifyingly, a box of Kotex. Shit. Had Paul already given up on going back to normal, or—

           “You’re not on the rag, are you?”

           “Fuck, no. Put that back.” Paul was going crimson. Gene felt sorry enough for him to drop the Kotex back into the bag and return to his seat across from him at the kitchen island.

           “Are you planning to just wait around for it? Haven’t you done anything yet?”

           “Gene, I don’t know what to do. I did get some books sent over.” Paul got up and went to the living room, returning with some paperbacks under his arm, which he dumped on the kitchen table. Usually, Paul’s reading material consisted of teenybopper magazines with his face on the cover, contracts, and his own unflattering comics of his bandmates. Now Gene found himself next to copies of The Lesser Key of Solomon, The Secret Lore of Magic, and LaVey’s The Satanic Rituals. He could’ve sworn the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up just from cracking the spines. Gene tried to swallow his nerves as best he could, tried to look at the whole deal clinically, never mind what years of yeshiva and the start of rabbinical school had taught him, but every sigil-covered page made him feel a bit ill.

           “You haven’t tried any of this, have you?”

           Paul snorted.

           “Fuck, no. I’m already going to hell, there’s no point in expediting the trip.” He blew his bangs out of his face with a breath. They settled back in front of his eyes almost immediately, and he shook his head. “I just wanted to read up. I thought if I could figure out how it happened, I could get someone else to reverse it for me.”

           “Like a witch.”

           Paul flinched slightly.

           “Well, yeah, since that’s probably who did it in the first place.” He was standing behind Gene, reaching over him and pointing at the book he’d opened. “Oh, it’s in this one. Hang on.”

           Gene shifted obediently, trying to ignore the feeling of Paul’s bare chest pressed against his back. He knew Paul wasn’t coming onto him, not consciously, at least, but—fuck, the last several years on the road had spoiled him. Every chick he got near wanted to get laid, if not by him, then by one of his bandmates. But Paul wasn’t actually a chick, a fact made all the more apparent by how utterly oblivious he was to the fact that his bathrobe was halfway open, again.

           He handed Paul the book. Paul was thumbing through it before long, in his usual way, licking his finger with every pageturn. Gene could see the remnants of black nail polish on his fingernails—still aggressively manicured—and a couple of marks beneath his knuckles.

           “What happened to your hands there?”

           “Huh? I bit them.”

           “Why?”

           Paul shrugged and cleared his throat.

           “Anyway, found it.” He pointed to a passage alongside a lithograph of a lion head. “‘Marbas, alias Barbas is a great president, and appeareth in the forme of a mightie lion—'”

           “Paul, the e on the end of ‘forme’ is silent.”

           “Shut up—‘he bringeth diseases and cureth them, promoteth wisdom’…. It’s in here, I swear—there! ‘He changes men into other shapes.’ So that’s probably the demon that whoever it was conjured up.”

           Paul looked more than vaguely pleased with himself. Gene almost felt bad for not being impressed. Almost.

           “That’s all you’ve come up with this whole time.”

           “It’s only been five days, Gene, I—”

           “What else were you doing?”

           “What do you mean, what else was I doing? I woke up with tits! Don’t you think that’s a little fucking traumatizing?”

           “You had—” Gene just shook his head.

           “I don’t have anything, Gene. You said so yourself. I don’t even have access to my own bank account. I’m done once the cash runs out.”

           Gene started to ask how much cash Paul had on hand, then thought better of it. Probably not a whole lot. Paul had the annoying habit of charging everything he could to either the label or the KISS Corporation proper while they were on tour, and not letting anyone know until the following board meeting. Off-tour probably wasn’t much different.

           “Did you make a list?” he asked finally.

           “A list?”

           “A list of anyone you think could’ve done this to you.”

           Paul shook his head.

           “That’s the thing. Nobody I know would’ve wanted to do this to me.”

           “Then maybe it’s someone you don’t know.”

           “Like who? Gene, what good does it do anybody if I’m stuck as a girl?”

           “Revenge. You have any exes into the occult?”

           “Not that I know of.” Paul cocked his head, considering. “Mostly they break up with me, not the other way around.”

           “Groupies, then?”

           “Gene, I don’t—take notes on every girl I fuck, it’s not that important to me.”

           “Did you get with anyone strange lately? Maybe, I don’t know, a cult member or something?”

           “I don’t think so—”

           “Anyone ask you anything weird? Or try and get a lock of your hair?” Gene’s knowledge of the occult was limited, but he did vaguely remember needing—what was it, the person’s clothes or hair before any magic could be done on them. At least, that was how it worked on Dark Shadows.

           “That happens every tour at least three times.”

           “I’m trying to figure this out for you.” God. Paul had had almost a week that he could’ve spent seriously researching his predicament, and all he’d done was buy a couple of books, send Gene a postcard, and sit around moping. “Did—”

           “There was this one girl who yanked out some of my chest hair a couple weeks ago,” Paul said slowly. “I didn’t really think much of it at the time. I thought it was, y’know, a kink thing. It was cool, right, kind of a you’re the boss deal—”

           Gene winced.

           “Did she say anything?”

           “She said she was going to make me feel like she did.”

           “And you didn’t think that was strange.”

           “No! It was while we were doing some S&M shit!” Paul’s face was going slightly pink. “It was fun! You go on tour and you end up with a lot of real desperate virgins and groupies with V.D. and none of them really—they just wanna do what you want, they don’t wanna ever take the lead, and this girl, she had me up against the—”

           “I get the idea,” Gene snapped, although he didn’t at all. He wasn’t picturing the encounter as it’d happened, just Paul as he was right now, up against the wall, breasts heaving, one long leg hooked around his waist. Fuck, was it hard to look at him. Gene had never been ashamed of his own lasciviousness until faced with the one person who noticed it and needed it least. “Okay. We’re going to get this taken care of.”

           “How?”

           “I’m calling Ace.”

           “Ace?” Paul was almost squeaking. “Don’t call Ace!”

           “Relax, I’m not gonna tell him what happened.”

           “Then what are you—”

           “Just trust me, Paul.”

           Gene got up and walked over to the kitchen phone. Paul looked as though he were about to argue, but then he just shook his head, watching carefully as Gene punched in Ace’s number.

           “Hey. Hey, Jeanette, this is Gene. Is Ace around? Let me talk to him for a second.” Gene rubbed the back of his head with his free hand while he waited. He could hear Jeanette calling Ace over, and a little shuffling, just before Ace picked up the phone.

           “Hey.”

           “Hey, Ace.”

           “You find Paulie?”

           “Yeah. Yeah, he’s fine. I’m at his house.”

           “What was he pulling that prima donna crap over, anyway?”

           “He’s…” It was hard to talk to Ace casually with Paul staring at him. “He’s fine. Just paranoid.”

           “Paranoid? Why?” Ace sounded a little disbelieving. Gene couldn’t blame him. “He didn’t start on some shit, did he? Thought all he took was white cross.”

           “He’s not on anything. He’s worried about the tour.” Gene paused. “You still go to that psychic, don’t you?”

           “Sometimes. Why?”

           “Do you have her number?”

           “Gene, you don’t believe in psychics or any of that—”

           “Yeah, but Paul does. I thought I’d make him an appointment, ease his mind some.” Gene watched Paul’s brow furrow, one corner of his mouth lifting up in a wary expression.

           “You’d make it for him?” Ace’s tone was dubious. “I’ve got her number somewhere. Let me find it.”

           Gene heard rustling in the background, and Ace asking Jeanette where the address book was. Jeanette said something in return, and then Gene was almost worried they’d both forgotten about the call until he heard Ace’s high voice back on the line.

           “Okay. Her name’s Suzie, she’s got a little office over in the Bronx if you wanna pop over in person. I dunno the address, though, you’ll have to call.” Ace rattled off the phone number as Gene scrambled for a pen and paper. He had to settle for a napkin. “Hey, could you tell Paul to call up Peter sometime? He’s getting kind of worried.”

           “Yeah, I will. It’s nothing personal.”

           Ace laughed.

           “Pete ain’t gonna believe that secondhand, you know that. See you, Geno.”

           “Bye.” Gene hung up the phone. Paul got up from his chair.

           “You’re getting me an appointment with Ace’s psychic.”

           “Yeah. Do you have to check your dance card first?”

           “Psychics can’t reverse curses,” Paul said flatly.

           “Do you have a better idea?”

           “No.”

           “Then you’re going.” Before Paul could protest, Gene snatched the phone off the hook again and started dialing. “Get dressed. I’m pretty sure she’ll be willing to pencil you in quick.”

[lapeaudelamemoire]

Ffs idek what to say to my professor. I’m writing her at like 4 something in the morning being all “Hi yes I wrote you last Friday about like technical difficulties with my assignments saving backdrafts right, well now I reviewed my quiz answers for the online timed quiz and one of the questions isn’t the answer I chose, pls help, can you give me that mark pls ):”.

I spent several days with like 6 word documents open (for some reason they like to give me information about assessments in word docs), about a hundred internet tabs open with .pdf journal articles, a music program that I can’t close without being denied access to it again once I do that so just left idling, and it all ran fine. Fucking fine. And then, I actually close it all when I finished the essay, which I thought I’d gotten away with bc Word froze when I finished with my final draft and tried to save it and close but when I reopened it it had thankfully saved, hahah, and restarted my laptop to do this quiz.

And then it starts lagging. Throughout the quiz it’s fine. It’s actually like, really smoothly switching between tabs and processing pages, which by the way, is fucking daftly set-up, because each question is on separate single pages. It’s just that it’s scrolling like a nurse out of Silent Hill. And then - and then - just as the timer starts counting down - idk, I guess more code is being run ‘cause the countdown goes red in the last ten seconds and the thing also then has to execute a ‘close quiz’ function - the fucking page freezes, I frantically click at it, apparently I click in the wrong place, which is the only explanation I can think of and which seems immediately plausible, Occam’s Razor, because when it cuts to the review immediately, being computer-marked, the stupid answer has changed.

Idek. I can’t even cheat, bc it’s open-book, being an online do-it-at-home quiz, I can’t even see the right answers, there is no indication as to which questions are incorrect, there isn’t even a mark out of the total score given. It just tells me my percentile. Which this glitch has dropped me from a high distinction to a distinction.

But fucking damn. It sounds like such a fucking trite excuse, like “oh yes my screen froze I guess I clicked in the wrong spot as the thing timed out and closed, idk what happened, but like, that’s not my answer in the submitted review version I can access.”

There’s probably nothing she can do about it, and idk if she will believe that, at all. Lol if I were her I’d be like “yeah tough luck that happens ey.” I even did this quiz early so I wouldn’t forget, or put it off. Ugh.

[therainroguefanfiction]

🔥 ℝise Ⱥbove I̾t ◈ Chapter 016 [A Hard Lesson]

📑 Table of Contents | ◂Backward

Word Count: 2,938

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

〈“There’s a moment in your bones, When the fire takes over. Blood is running, Heart is pumping, as the battle gets closer.” The Score, “Unstoppable”〉

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

I stifled a yawn as I walked to school. Man, why did I stay up so fucking late playing with that angry chihuahua? I had only planned on playing for a few hours, but his trash-talking got under my skin and I refused to let him win bragging rights. Our match-up didn’t end until three in the morning when his mom came in and screamed at him to go to bed.

“You look like shit,”

“Fuck off, Bakugo.”

He grunted, yawning loudly from beside me. “You didn’t win,”

“Neither did you,”

“I would have if not for the old hag!”

I hummed, not really having the energy to argue with him. He got the same amount of sleep that I did, so how can he have the energy to be so loud? Kids these days are nuts. The classroom was full of energy too, but it died down a bit when we entered. Guess they remembered our little spat the day before.

My eyes landed on Midoriya, who was chatting happily with Ochako and Iida. Now that I know for certain that he’s Toshi’s successor, I feel this strong need to protect him and look out for him. Toshi can’t be with this kid at all times, but I’m his classmate, I can.

I stepped over to his desk, readjusting my bad. “Izuku Midoriya, right?”

His cheeks grew red. “Y-Yes. Did you need something, W-Winchester?”

“Hm, you can drop the last name. Let’s be friends.”

“Hah?!” Bakugo grabbed the back of my shirt, attempting to yank me back and away from the greenette. “Why the fuck are you tryin’ to befriend that nerd?!”

I scowled and whipped around, slamming my foot into his stomach. “Will you shut the fuck up? It’s too damn early for your issues!”

“Woah, she just attacked Bakugo!”

“They fought after class yesterday, too.”

“Yeah, what was that about?”

“Oh my god, what if they’re dating?!”

Oh for fuck’s sake. I ran my hand down my face, turning to look at the green-haired boy, my glare softening when he jumped. “Oi, Izuku.”

“I-I don’t mind being your f-friend, Winche – ah, Jen!”

“Oi, you damn bitch,” Bakugo growled, throwing at punch toward my head. I kneeled down, swiping his legs out from under him with my own. He jumped up quicker than I anticipated, explosions going off in his palms. I stepped back, fixing my stance as my hands started to heat up, fire licking the skin of my palms.

“K-Kacchan! W-Winchester!” Izuku looked between the two of us, his expression full of worry.

“Stop this immediately!” Iida demanded.

Bakugo smirked. “Fuck video games, I’ll beat your ass in real life instead!”

I grunted. “You can try. No guarantees I can control myself.”

“Enough,” Aizawa slid the door open, narrowed eyes going between the two of us. “Sit down,”

We stared each other down for a moment before I stood up straight, closing my palms to extinguish the flames. Smoke rose from my hands as I headed to my seat.

“This ain’t over, bitch!”

“Yeah, whatever.” I sighed, falling onto my seat. What is it about this brat that brings the worst out in me? He makes me wanna punch shit. He’s gotta have a second quirk that lets him push people’s buttons. And look, Peppermint is glaring at me again. Does he have a hard-on for Bakugo or some shit?

“Today’s training will be a little different. You’ll have three instructors – me, All Might, and another faculty member will be keeping tabs on you.”

Three teachers? Is this because of the break-in yesterday?

“Sir! What kind of training is this?”

Aizawa held out a card, the word ‘rescue’ written in big, bold letters. “Rescue. You’ll be dealing with natural disasters – shipwrecks, stuff like that.”

Gee, what a nice selection we have. Just shipwrecks, huh? I rolled my eyes. This sounds like it’s gonna be a pain.

“Disasters, huh? Sounds like we’re in for a big workout…”

“Totally!”

“Real hero stuff… This is what separates the men from the boys. I’m shaking with excitement!”

“Finally, I’ll get to show off how good I am in water, ribbit.”

“Guys, I’m not finished yet,” Aizawa said, annoyance lacing his voice. “What you wear in this exercise is up to you, I know you’re excited about costumes.” He clicked a remote and the shelves extended from the wall carrying the metal cases. “But keep in mind, you haven’t gotten used to them yet and they might limit your abilities. This special training is at an off-campus facility so we’ll be taking a bus to get there. That’s all. Start getting ready.”

Rescue training… I wonder what kinda shit we’re gonna be doing. I stifled a yawn as I grabbed my case and followed the girls to the locker room. Man, my stomach is killing me, I shoulda ate breakfast, but if I had, I woulda been late for class. I sluggishly pulled my costume on, ending up being one of the last girls to leave the room. The group was gathered outside, waiting for Aizawa to give them the order to get on the bus.

A whistle filled the air. “Gather ’round, class 1-A! Using your student numbers, form two lines so we can load the bus efficiently!” Iida ordered, blowing the whistle again.

Man, that shit’s fucking loud. He takes this shit way too seriously, what is with him? I ignored the group, stepping onto the bus and making a beeline for the backseat so I could get some peace and quiet. Iida was the last person on the bus, falling into his seat with his head in his hands.

“The bus’ open layout ruined my boarding strategy…”

“Iida, you really need to chill.”

“If we’re pointing out the obvious, then there’s something I wanna say. About you, actually.” Frog turned to Izuku, whose cheeks flushed at the sudden attention.

“About me? What is it, Asui?” His voice reflected the nervousness he was suddenly feeling.

“I told you to call me Tsu.”

“Oh yeah… right…”

“That power of yours…” she continued. “Isn’t it a lot like All Might’s?”

My body tensed and I leaned forward in my seat, making Tape Boy glance at me curiously from my right. Damn, this girl is really perceptive, ain’t she? And she doesn’t seem to have much of a filter, either. I mean, it’s hella obvious, but that’s beside the point. Shit, what do I do? Should I step in and change the subject? What if I start a fight with Bakugo? That always gets people’s attention. Can this kid handle it himself?

“W-What? Really? You think so, huh? I never really thought about that. I guess it’s kinda -” He started to ramble on as his panic built and I deadpanned. This kid is a fucking disaster.

“Wait, hold on, Tsu. You’re forgetting All Might doesn’t hurt himself, that makes a huge difference.” Red commented, making Izuku let out a sigh of relief. “Still, I bet it’s cool to have a simple augmenting type of quirk. You can do a lot of flashy stuff with it. My hardening is super strong and can destroy bad guys in a fight,” He held out his arm, skin hardening like rock. “But it doesn’t look all that impressive.”

“Ah, no way! I think it’s really awesome looking! You’re definitely pro material with a quirk like that!” Izuku is starting to fanboy again.

I sighed, leaning back in my seat and folding my arms behind my head. I wonder if I can get in a nap before we get there.

“You really think so? Seems like it’d be easier to be a popular hero if I had something flashier!”

Popularity ain’t everything, kid.

“My naval laser has the perfect combination of panache and strength.”

“But it’s way lame if it gives you a stomachache, sweety.”

“Well, if any of our classmates have pro quirks, it’s Todoroki, Bakugo, and Winchester.”

Wait, what? Why me? I barely even used my quirk.

“Sure, but Bakugo is always angry and Winchester is really anti-social so they’ll never be that popular.”

“What did you say?! I’ll kick your ass!”

I leaned forward, eyes narrowed at her. “Don’t fucking lump me in with this dumbass. I don’t want to be popular, people are dickbags.”

“Who the fuck are you calling dumbass, bitch?!”

“Would you prefer dipshit? Donkey? Angry hedgehog? Edgelord? Murder? There’s plenty to choose from for your ass.”

“I’ll kill you!”

“See?” Frog stuck her tongue out, pointing at us.

“You know, we basically just met you two, so it’s kinda telling that we all know your personalities are flaming crap mixed with garbage.”

“Is that the best insult you could come up with, brat?” I glared at Sparky, my eyes flashing as my hands started to burn a bit. “Maybe stop having your kid brother write your lines for you.”

His face flushed.

“You’re gonna regret the day you applied to this damn school, you loser! I’ll kill you!”

“Enough! Classmates are supposed to encourage each other!” Iida intervened.

“I’m going to encourage this dumbass to explode!”

“Wait, what did you just say? Phrasing, dude.”

I scoffed. “It’s easy to talk shit, especially when there’s a teacher around. Try doing it when we’re alone and see what happens.” I stared Sparky down and he swallowed, turning his face away.

“Alright, just apologize, all of you!”

“Sure, if they go first.”

“Like hell I will!”

“Hey, hey, we’re here!” Aizawa rose his voice as the bus pulled up to a stop. “Stop messing around.”

“Yes, sir!”

Everyone filed off the bus. Someone was standing outside waiting for us. Is that… the fucking Michelin man? The fuck, they really let anyone teach at this school, don’t they?

“Hello, everyone! I’ve been waiting for you!”

The group stared in awe and started going wild over this guy. Apparently, his name is Thirteen, the space hero. Honestly, I’m not too interested. I moved closer to Aizawa, putting him between myself and the group, lowering my voice. “Yo, teach. Can I skip this? I didn’t get much sleep last night, see and I -”

“No,”

“At least let me fin -”

“No,”

“Son of a -”

“I can’t wait to show you what’s inside!”

I followed Aizawa as the two teachers led us into the large, dome-shaped building. From the vantage point that the stairs offered, I could see the inside sectioned off into different zones.

“Holy crap. It looks like some kind of amusement park!”

“A shipwreck, a landslide, a fire, a windstorm, etc.” Thirteen began. “I created this training facility to prepare you to deal with different types of disasters. I call it the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, but you can call it the USJ!”

I resisted the urge to facepalm. What is with that shitty ass name? This guy has zero creativity.

“Hey, shouldn’t All Might be here already?” Aizawa moved closer to Thirteen. “Let me guess, he booked an interview instead.”

Thirteen moved closer, lowering his voice. I was close enough to hear them, but I don’t think the others were. “Actually, it’s something else.”

“Hm?”

“Apparently, he did too much hero work on the way to school this morning and used up all of his power.” He held up three fingers. “He’s resting in the teacher’s lounge.”

I scoffed, shoving my hands into my pockets, moving to stand against the pillar nearby. “Dumbass,”

Aizawa sent me a look. “That man is the height of irresponsibility. The clock’s ticking, we should get started.” He moved to lean against the pillar beside me, folding his arms.

“Excellent! Before we begin, let me just say one thing! Well, maybe two things, possibly three, four, or five.”

Oh my tap dancing fucking Satan. I facepalmed, ignoring the weird look from Aizawa.

“Listen carefully! I’m sure you’re aware that I have a powerful quirk.”

Nope, I ain’t.

“It’s called ‘black hole’.”

How edgy.

“I can use it to suck up anything and turn it to dust.”

“Yeah! You’ve used black hole to save people from all kinds of disasters before, haven’t you?” Izuku asked, excitedly, his eyes sparkling.

“That’s true, but my quirk could also very easily be used to kill.”

My body tensed up and I let out a sharp breath. That’s a lesson I had to learn on my own, the hard way. In a way, I’m relieved this guy is laying it all out on the table like that, I just hope these brats take it to heart and actually listen. I glanced at Bakugo.

“Some of you also have powers that can be dangerous.” He tilted his head just a bit in my direction and I could feel his eyes on me through that damn helmet. “In our superhuman society, all quirks are certified and strictly regulated, so we often over-look how unsafe it can actually be. Please don’t forget that if you lose focus or make the wrong move, your powers can be deadly.”

I lowered my head and crossed my arms, nails digging into the fabric of my overshirt. This guilt, this overwhelming remorse that I have to deal with… it will never go away. Never. I… I don’t want these brats to experience this, not even the ones that piss me off. Taking a deep breath, I pushed away from the pillar, moving to stand beside Thirteen, well aware of all the eyes now staring at me, including the two teachers.

I stared at the ground, shoving a hand into my pocket. “You’re probably thinking that it’ll never happen to you, right? That you’re strong enough, that you have enough control, but you’re fucking stupid if you think that. You could have all the fucking control in the world until you meet that one person, that one fight, that one decision that pushes you over the edge. You can feel your control slipping but no matter how fucking hard you try to pull it back, it’s just out of reach. It’s your body, your power and yet… you can only sit back and watch as it destroys shit.”

My hands clenched harder, nails digging into my skin as I looked up, narrowed eyes scanning the shocked expressions of my classmates. Bakugo’s accusing gaze, Peppermint’s guarded gaze, Fumi’s worried gaze.

I took a breath. “But that’ll never happen to me! Your arrogance, over-confidence, ignorance… None of it matters when you’re staring at the face of the life your power just claimed. The eyes that will never shine again. The lips that will never take another breath. What then? It’s far too late, then. Too late for your realizations. Too late for, ‘I should have listened!’. You can never take it back. All you’re left with is this overwhelming feeling of guilt, remorse, and even a little hatred toward yourself. Every human being has this… innocence within their heart. Think of it as a white rose – untainted, pure. When you take a life, whether accidentally or on purpose, that rose becomes tainted by their blood. You can never go back to how it was, you can never reclaim that innocence, you can never…”

I released a shaky breath when Thirteen placed his hand on the small of my back. God, get your shit together, Jen. I shook my head and forced a grin. “Well, that’s what I read in an Agatha Christie novel, anyway. Brilliant writer, that one.” I walked back over to Aizawa, refusing to meet his worried gaze. “Sorry for interrupting, sensei. Just felt like a good time to promote an author I love.”

The tense air dispersed, a couple of students laughing as they believed the act I put on. I’ve always been a damned good liar, maybe I shoulda been an actress. Still, I could feel Bakugo, Izuku, and Peppermint staring at me, but I didn’t let my grin falter.

Thirteen cleared his throat. “Thank you for your insightful… reading, Winchester. Please refrain from interrupting in the future.”

“Sure~”

“She’s absolutely right about everything she said, though. Even if you’re trying to do something virtuous, like rescue someone. Thanks to Aizawa’s fitness tests, you have a solid idea of your quirk’s potential and because of All Might’s combat training, you likely experienced how dangerous your powers can be when used against other people. Carry those lessons over to this class. Today, you’re going to learn how to use your quirks to save people’s lives! You won’t be using your powers to attack enemies or each other, only to help. After all, that’s what being a hero is all about – ensuring the safety of others.” He bowed. “That’s all I have to say, thank you so much for listening!”

The group cheered, hyped up by Thirteen’s speech.

“Right, now that that’s over.” Aizawa pushed away from the wall.

That feeling of crushing dread suddenly fell upon my shoulders, ten times stronger than it had been yesterday. My stomach turned, my legs shaking. What the hell… is this fucking overwhelming feeling? I… I feel like I’m fucking drowning…

The lights started to flicker and my attention snapped to the source of the crushing aura, right at the center of the dome where a fountain sat. A black and purple portal started to open. No… it can’t be him. I swallowed hard as people started to emerge from the shadowy gate.

I instantly recognized that Golem looking mother fucker from Gramp’s study and I started to have flashbacks of that night, of his lifeless body, of the blood, smeared all over that bastard. It’s them… the fuckers that turned my life upside down.

The fuckers that killed my Gramps in cold blood.

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

▸ Forward

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[imagines-in-progress]

Dia-Bad Ass

Series: Star Trek

Character: Leonard McCoy

A/N: So, like, this is totally self indulgent. I’m a type 1 diabetic and wanted to kinda write what I think it would be like to be a diabetic in Bone’s care. It’s not romantic in nature at all so, you won’t be finding anything like that in this fic.

You would think that living in a time of medical enhancements, there would be no such thing as sickness. Which is true, in a way. Most of all the major  from the 21st century have been eradicated, most except Type 1 diabetes. Of course, if caught early, the autoimmune disease could be stopped and eradicated from the body. But you were not so lucky. You started showing symptoms at the age of ten, much too old to undergo the treatment. So you joined the few thousand that still lived with it, day in and day out.

Life wasn’t so bad though. Modern medicine helped lessen the burden some, although your father would always say, “Why can they just cure it. Get rid of the whole illness once and for all.” Of course, there’s always more to issue like this. But you grew up despite your malady. You grew up to be smart, so smart in fact that Starfleet wanted you to join the academy early. Saying that physicists are in high demand and that they need the best minds up in space.

After the academy, you were soon placed on the USS Enterprise. You were ecstatic. You could not wait, to go. But you’re parents didn’t hesitate to show their concern.

“You have to promise you’ll take care of yourself. We can’t lose you up there. And if we do, I don’t want it to be cause your pancreas couldn’t hold out.” Your mother hugged you as you boarded the shuttle. And then you were off.

It’s been about a year since you’ve joined the Enterprise crew and you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Not to mention, your diabetes never came up, which was a relief. Back on earth once someone knew, it was all you were to them, their diabetic friend. But the only one who knew was the ship’s CMO, Dr. McCoy, and even he said that as long as you did what you were supposed to, you’d be fine.

//////////

I’ll be fine. Just a few more minutes… finish this assignment for Commander Spock. I’ll be fine. You sat at your workstation, pouring over some assignment given to you by Spock. It was important and you were determined to finish. So determined, that you had neglected to eat that morning… or that afternoon. You ate a small snack sometime ago and told yourself that you’d be fine come dinner time. You continued to worked and became so focused that you didn’t hear the door open or Dr. McCoy’s footsteps as he neared you.

“(Y/L/N)?” Dr. McCoy coughed to grab your attention, but you did not look up.

“(Y/L/N)!” He raised his voice slightly this time, you and others working looked up.

“Oh, Dr. McCoy. What can I do for you?”

He held out a cup to you.

“What is it?”

“Apple juice.”

You made a face and turned back to your work, “Oh, no thanks. That stuff does me no favors.”

“Do you not feel it?” His voice was tense, laced with worry.

“Feel what?”

“Your blood sugar's been dropping for the last hour.”

When those words came out of his mouth, you realize that your hands were shaking. That would explain why I can’t focus… You thought.

“Thanks for the heads up… Hang on. How did you know?” You turned in your seat to face the doctor. The look on his face was not a happy one.

“I’ve got an alert setup that tells me when your blood sugar drops or rises beyond the set parameters. It’s all connected to your CGM and pump.”

Your hand unconsciously gripped your arm where your constant glucose monitor sat. You thought you were the only one to receive those alerts.

“That sounds like an evasion of privacy Doctor.”

“Well, when it comes to the medical conditions of the ship’s crew, there really isn’t such a thing as privacy, Ensign.”

He held the cup out once again. “Drink.”

You frowned, but took the cup. You downed it as quick as you could and handed the cup back to Leonard.

“There. Happy?”

You turned back to your work, but didn’t hear the retreating steps of the grumpy doctor.

“Is there anything else Dr. McCoy?” You looked back at him annoyed.

“I’m going to stay here until your sugar’s back up. It should take about 15 minutes, but if it doesn’t come up, then we have to go to medbay.”

You scoffed, “I’m not going to medbay.”

“You are if I say you are.”

“No, I’m not. It’ll come up, just leave me alone!”

“God dammit woman. I’m not going to let you sit here and pass out. If I think there’s a danger to your health, you’re going to medbay!”

“Is there a problem here Doctor?”

You jumped at the sound of Commander Spock’s voice. You hadn’t even noticed him walk in. Dr. McCoy looked toward the vulcan, “Tell your Ensign that she needs to listen to me.”

“I am listening to him Commander, I just don’t like what he’s saying.”

“Perhaps I may be of some assistance?”

Leonard looked to you, a smirk on his face, “I’m sure that would be helpful. (Y/N), would you like to disclose to Mr. Spock on the medical issue you are currently experiencing?”

Damn. Dr. McCoy knew you didn’t like telling others about your diabetes. You shook your head and scowled up at Dr. McCoy, “No, that won’t be necessary.  I’ll return shortly to finish this assignment Mr. Spock.”

Spock nodded as you followed Dr. McCoy to medbay.

//////////

You ran down the corridor, not very well, but still running. “(Y/N)! Stop!” You could hear Dr. McCoy yell after you. It’s been like this for a week, Dr. McCoy chasing you down to scold you about your diabetes so, you had made it your number one priority to avoid Dr. McCoy at all costs. But you forgot that he could still track your numbers and ignoring a low blood sugar for the second day in a row, Dr. McCoy was sure to track you down.

“(Y/L/N)!” You could still hear his shouts come after you, you rounded a corner and into an empty meeting room. You stood still as you waited for McCoy’s footsteps to pass. When they did, you let out a sigh of relief.

“Who are you hiding from?”

You jumped at the sound of the unexpected voice and turned to face Captian Kirk.

“Oh Jesus, you scared me Captain.”

“Sorry. But this is my hiding spot, but I’m willing to share. If you tell me who it is you’re hiding from.”

“I’m hiding from Dr. McCoy.”

Jim laughed. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who does that. Why? You owe him a medical examination too?”

“No, nothing like that. It’s just….um. Well, I don’t like talking about it much.”

Jim’s expression turned serious. “It’s not like a personal problem right? Like a romantic issue?”

You made a face and shook your head, “Ew, no. He’s like twice my age. Not gonna happen. Ew. He could be my dad. Omigosh, why would you say that? Ughhh. That messed up my whole day.”

Jim laughed once more and sat down at the table. “Okay, okay. I get it. Then what's the problem?”

You looked at your boots, You should let him know. He’s the captain for crying out loud. It’s not like he’ll go around and tell everyone. You sighed and said, “I’m a type 1 diabetic.”

Jim straightened in his chair at your words, ready to fully listen.

“I haven’t been doing too good lately. And apparently, Dr. McCoy’s got my pump and monitor hooked up to his own PADD, so he can track my numbers too. It’s been a rough week. I’ve been forgetting to eat and waiting till the last minute to deal with my lows. I know it’s dangerous, but I don’t want Commander Spock to lessen my workload, just because I’m diabetic. I can do the work, I just wish… I just wish-”

“Bones wouldn’t worry so much?”

“Yeah.” You sat down next to the captain and pulled out some candy from your pocket.

“Are you low right now?”

You didn’t look up at him, just chewed your candy. Jim sighed.

“(Y/N), I’m going to tell you something, but you can’t tell Bones I told you this or he’s gonna make my medical exams worse than they already are.”

“Tell me what?”

“Leonard has a daughter, Johanna. Super sweet kid. Just turned five.”

“Okay?”

“Sometime before Bones and his ex-wife split, Jo got diagnosed with type 1.”

Your breath hitched. “But she’s pretty young right? She should’ve gotten the treatment.”

“Just barely. Bones will tell you that that’s one of the scariest moments of his life.”

“Huh…”

“So, I mean, let him worry. He’s scared for you, probably thinks of Jo every time he looks at you.”

“Yeah…Doesn’t make it less annoying though.”

Jim smiled, “No it doesn’t. But try to be better. I’m sure if you explain to Spock why you need to take some more breaks, he’ll understand. I’ll even talk to him if you want.”

“No, that’s okay. I’ve got this.”

Just then the door open and there stood Dr. McCoy with his ever present scowl plastered on his face.

“Bones! How nice-”

“I don’t have time for you Jim.” Leonard cut him off and look to you. “How are you feeling?” He asked with an edge to his voice.

“F-fine.” You said quietly, “I ate some of that candy you gave me. I can feel it kicking in.”

“Good. Let’s get to medbay. Make sure it gets up and stays up.”

“Right.” You stood and look to Jim. He gave you a smile and a wink before you left the room. Leonard stayed behind for one second and looked at Jim, “I’ll see you tomorrow for your medical exam.” The last thing you heard before the doors closed was Jim’s loud groan.

//////////

You woke up to the sound of beeping. Well, you tried to wake up, you were awake, but your body didn’t seem to follow suit. You sat up, immediately understanding what was happening. You looked to your PADD, a message from your pump flashed on the screen: Critical: Blood Sugar Low. You tried and reached for the small bag on your bedside table. Dr. McCoy had just given you a new bag of glucose tabs to treat your lows, but your hands were so unsteady that you couldn’t get a good grip on it. You heard it tumblr to the floor. Crap. I got to… I have to get to medbay. You were too weak to do anything yourself. Dr. McCoy. I have to call Dr.McCoy… You tried to sit up and stand, but you could tell that you wouldn’t stay upright for long. You tried to type out a message to Leonard, but your PADD slipped from your fingers and crashed to the floor. You groaned to yourself, it’s not safe to go by yourself. But you had to get to medbay some how, and it’s not that far from your room. You decided that you’d try and tough it out and get to medbay. You left your room, boots over your sweatpants, down to medbay. You stayed closed to the wall, not sure when your knees would give out.

“Ensign (Y/L/N)?”

You looked up to see Commander Spock coming down the hall.

“C-commander…” You stumbled a bit as you walked forward, grateful that Spock was there to help steady you. He held you up as you looked at him.

“Are you alright (Y/L/N)?”

“Medbay… I need to get to…” You didn’t get to finish your sentence before the world went black.

//////////

You sat up abruptly, instantly regretting doing so as a headache greeted you. “Shit.” You mumbled, looking around. You made it to medbay. Good. But I don’t really remember how i got here… You were in a private exam room, and just then Dr. McCoy walked in.

“(Y/N). You’re awake. How are you feeling?” He came up to you and checked the screen next to the biobed.

“I’m fine, I think. What happened? I’m getting bits and pieces of what happened, but…”

“Your sugar was so low, that you passed out. Spock found you barely conscious walking down the hall. What happened?”

“I… I woke up late last night. My PADD was going crazy, I tried to treat it but my hands were so shaky, I couldn’t even grab the glucose tabs.”

“You went low in your sleep?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, Let’s fix your insulin intake so that doesn’t happen. You’ve been doing better these past couple days.”

“Mostly because I’m tired of you hovering over me.”

Bones laughed, “Well, I wanna make sure you’re okay darlin’.”

“Well, thanks. I probably need someone to look after me.”

“Yeah, that’s what your mom said.”

“My mother?”

“Yep. She got in contact with me your first week here on the Enterprise. Made me promise to keep an eye on you. Of course, I said I would. It’s my job.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t like it when people hover.”

“She mentioned that as well.” Dr. McCoy handed you a glass of water and moved to the door.

“Let’s try and avoid another incident like this, okay?”

“Will do Doctor.”

Part 2

[ladydragonhawke]

Breath of the Dragon Chapter 7: Payment

A Fullmetal Alchemist fanfic.

20 years later after saving all of Amestris, the Elric brothers may have gotten themselves into something worse than human transmutation. Only the strength of their wit and knowledge they gained through their travels can aid them in the trials to come. They'll have to do more than just save Amestris this time, and this time alchemy can do more harm than good.

“Well this is a surprise, normally you’re not dressed till you’ve eaten. Something’s wrong, what is it? The dignitaries?” Lan Fan pondered as she took the nearest seat at a lavishly decorated table. Ling huffed in frustration at the complexity of his royal footwear that was beginning to get him flustered, but that wasn’t the sole reason. “Did you sense or feel anything odd last night?” he huffed, trying to keep his composure.

Chapter 1: A Little Tremor, Chapter 2: It Opens at the Close, Chapter 3: Blood of the Sage, Chapter 4: Only the Scent, Chapter 5: Blood and Grass, Chapter 6: Wide Awake

Chapter 7: Payment

“Please tell me you’ve got something for me General?” Fuhrer Roy Mustang breathed pleadingly into the phone, using his other hand to massage his temple. He expected not to hear any news about the dragon from Edward but had hoped his men would have something for him. 

“I do.” Mustang sat up removing his hand and focusing on the voice on the other end of the phone. “I have intelligence that the dragon crashed in Resembool and the brothers arrived...” There was a slight pause and General Armstrong’s tone gave away that something was off. 

“What’s wrong Armstrong?” Mustang prodded. 

“It appears a small group of possible Drachman spies were spotted following them.” The General whispered. 

“What does Drachma want with a dragon.” Mustang mumbled to himself. 

“I’ve sent for further reinforcements at the Elrics place of residence. Would you like me to relay anything to them, sir?”  

“Tell them to give me a damn call. And Armstrong, go lend them a hand would ya?” 

“Yes sir! It would be my honor to, sir!” With that they both hung up. 

Mustang sighed heavily and took a sip of water from his glass. Just then Riza Hawkeye stepped through the large wooden door and marched up to his desk. 

“So, any luck?” she set down a stack of papers on the right side of his desk, being sure the audible slap of the stack was heard. Mustang groaned at the sight of the papers, knowing exactly what they were for and not particularly looking forward to reading them. 

“It apparently crashed after sustaining heavy damage in Resembool, I sent General Armstrong to assist. There’s the possibility Drachma may have something to do with the dragon.” Mustang grumbled while picking up the first page to inspect it. 

“Or vice versa.” Riza added. Mustang gave a shrug, and after taking a peek at the contents of the first page on the stack, set it back down and leaned back in his chair.  

As it groaned in response, he let out a heavy sigh. “I may have to notify Olivier about this.” 

“Are you sure that’s wise, sir?” Riza was watching him with discerning eyes, studying his telling movements. Even though he often came across as lazy or uncaring, she knew better. She could see the clear worry and anxiety he so desperately hid beneath his candor.  

“I trust her, but…” he sat back up in his chair and cleared his throat, “right now we don’t want to have too many moving parts acting separately. I think it’s best to wait until I can get more information on this dragon. What does my advisor think?” 

“I agree sir. Shall I arrange a car?” Riza nodded her head in respect knowing full well what was to happen next. Mustang was never a patient man when it came to information being withheld from him. She knew it was better to indulge him than for him to go behind her back in secret, possibly risking his life in the process. 

“That would be lovely, thank you.” He smiled, thanking her with his eyes as she turned to leave. 

“You Elrics. What mess have you gotten yourselves into?” he sighed, returning to the first page on the stack of papers on his desk. He imagined it was best to do it now, since he would be out of the office for a short break. It was the holidays after all. 

 *** 

 Alphonse peered through the blinds with his binoculars as he watched three cars in the distance unload what looked like small ballistic missiles. He sighed loudly as he heard a pair of heavy footsteps behind him.

“There’s three cars now, they’re unloading something and setting up. But I can’t see much more than that.” Alphonse informed.

“Hmm, maybe we should fortify this place, like that dragon said.” Zampano grunted.

“I could build up some walls around us, but we won’t be able to see. And right now, we need to see what they’re planning, what we’re up against.” Alphonse stated thoughtfully. 

“Alphonse, Fuhrer Roy Mustang is on the phone for you.” Jerso announced through the living room. Alphonse turned with a frown as he handed the binoculars to Zampano and headed toward Jerso.

“Shit! I forgot we were supposed to update him when we could.” He raced to the phone and picked it up, clearing his throat before putting it to his ear. “Fuhrer Roy Mustang sir. I’m sorry we weren’t able to contact you sooner we…”

“It’s alright Alphonse, don’t apologize just yet. I got the gist of what was going on from Jerso. Has there been any change?” Mustang interrupted, the background while he spoke was loud with a rumbling noise and clicking every so often.

“There’re more than twenty from what we can see, and they seemed to have brought some heavy artillery with them.” Alphonse informed him with a hushed tone.

“Not that, but I’m sending some help your way. The dragon, what’s going on with the dragon and Edward. He said something about a transmutation happening?” Mustang asked hurriedly.

“The dragon,” Alphonse paused, realizing he never got to ask what its name was. He decided that was something he would bring up when they got back. “is getting Eds’ Door of Truth back.”

“What? How?” Mustang asked shocked.

“I don’t know, didn’t get the chance to ask. It seemed the dragon wanted to get him ‘fighting fit’ before the Drachmen did something.” Alphonse informed hurriedly.

“How long have they been gone?” Mustang asked, calmer.

“About two hours now. I don’t know how much longer they’ll be gone; did you want to leave a message for Ed?” Alphonse asked, worry starting to seep into his words.

“Tell him General Armstrong and I are on the way. That is all.” Mustang stated.

“You’re coming here? You sure that’s a good idea?” Alphonse asked whispering as he noticed one of the soldiers taking special interest in their conversation.

“It’ll be fine. I want to meet this dragon face to face, especially since it’s sentient. I’ll give you my car number, you call me when they get back. And keep me updated on those Drachman spies.” Mustang ordered.

“You forget Fuhrer that we’re not under the service of the military.” Alphonse said with a twinge of sarcasm, trying to imply something with his tone.

“Then I hereby draft Edward and Alphonse Elric in the service of the Amestris military and give you both the title of Brigadier General. I’ll write up the paperwork and send it out while I’m on my way. Sound good to you?” Mustang asked smiling.

“My brother and I accept. I’ll inform him when he returns. Anything else sir?” Alphonse asked while chuckling to himself.

“Just be careful Al, I want you all safe by the time I get there.” Mustangs words turned soft as he said them, betraying his stern leader front he was trying to uphold. Alphonse quickly jotted down the number as Mustang recited it, making double sure it was correct.

“Will do sir. See you soon.” Alphonse affirmed as he hung up the phone. He set it down with a sigh and straightened himself. He walked back into the room as Zampano and Jerso were exchanging binoculars. “It’s time to set some fortifications around here. I’ll need some backup.” He announced.

A few soldiers stepped forward offering their aid, which Alphonse greatly accepted. They went around the house quickly, Alphonse using his alchemy to form thick six-foot walls of stone and dirt around the house, while a soldier with a rifle provided information on the movements of the Drachman along with firepower should they need it. Jerso used his chimera body as a barrier between outside and Alphonse. Within a few minutes the entire house from top to bottom was covered, ready for almost anything. Alphonse made sure to create small windows that the soldiers could peer through to keep tabs on the spies still lurking around.

“That should about do it for now. Let’s see if they’re back yet.” Alphonse patted Jerso on the shoulder and turned just in time to see Winry running from one end of the house toward the door leading to the basement carrying an armful of medical supplies.

  ***

  Edward awoke in total darkness, feeling as if he was floating, or was it falling? He couldn’t even see his hands, or any part of him for that matter. He groped around trying to feel for anything as the mounting panic started to take over his mind. He was able to breathe, at least he thought he was, as he took deep breaths to try and calm himself. 

“Where am I? What is this place? Am I dead? What happened?” he thought frantically, attempting to move his arms in a swimming motion. 

Suddenly something grasped him on his arm, he panicked and went to grab at whatever had ahold of him. Then a soothing voice sounded in his head, “Calm Edward Elric. You are safe. Sorry about that, it’s been more than eight hundred years since I’ve last performed alchemy of this nature.” It was the voice of the dragon. He felt his entire body being enveloped in something that felt like a warm blanket as it guided them through the darkness. “It should be around here somewhere.” The dragon mumbled. 

“What should be? By the way you said it would only sting a little! I thought I was being burned alive.” Edward yelled with a twinge of fear. He wasn’t sure which was more unsettling, the all-white void that he knew of when he passed through his Portal of Truth, or this all black one, with no distinguishing markings or objects in sight. “How can you see in this darkness? It’s pitch black!”

“Would you rather I have told you it hurt like hell? Ah, I forgot. Let me fix that for you. Um, just don’t freak out too much, I don’t have much in the way of a physical form here like you do.” The dragon cautioned haltingly.  

A moment passed then Edward felt something warm touch the center of his forehead, as the warmth spread throughout his body he felt oddly at peace. That was until the darkness lifted suddenly and he was blinded by a vast array of glowing colors. It seemed as if they were floating in a vast space of colors of all the rainbow, which swirled and danced around him. His body jolted and jostled as he frantically looked around trying to look for anything recognizable for his mind to latch onto. The swirling of colors made him dizzy as he closed his eyes for a moment, taking a few deep breaths before opening them again and trying again. It was then noticed he was somewhat encased in a blob of black liquid; it was odd how none of the glowing colors and lights reflected on its surface. As if he was in the center of a liquid black hole. The black mass was warm and undulated as they moved through the colors. 

“You handled that quite well. Doing alright?” the mass spoke. 

“So far so good. Where are we?” he breathed heavily. 

“You have your Portal of Truth, and I have mine. But take a closer look around you, you may just figure it out yourself. Now where is that damn door?” the mass grumbled.  

Edward looked around squinting as he tried to focus on one particular moving mass of color. He gasped as he recognized a face hidden within the swirls of color. 

“Dad?” he whispered. “These are memories.” Edward mumbled as he looked around trying to find the more recent events. 

“Sort of. Do you remember what you saw when you passed through your door?” the mass queried. 

“I saw my memories, but also things I couldn’t normally see like atoms and events that I wasn’t around for. I also didn’t get to choose the path I took as I moved through it. It, moved me.” He recalled, his face frowning in contemplation.  

“This is similar to that, only on a much higher scale for a being like me. Instead of seeing only things from our world. I receive images, feelings, and knowledge from our universe. I’m also not confined to one plane of existence as you are. But it is more difficult to pass through. Where you were guided, I must find my own path.” The mass spoke with a slight tone of annoyance. “Ah finally! Ehrm, this might be upsetting for you. Just know this, keep your sense of self. Remember who you are, don’t get sucked into your feelings. I’ll be with you the entire time, but you won’t be able to hear, feel, or see me.” The black mass spoke quickly as they moved closer to a speedily growing black hole. As it grew ten times its size in a blink of an eye, Edward looked panicked at the black mass holding him. 

“Wait, what’s about to happen?” he screamed as the panic in his voice mounted. 

“You’ll see, you’ve experienced it yourself on more than one occasion.” The dragon said just as they were both swallowed.

 In an instant Edwards mind was bombarded with information and images of places and things that he couldn’t recognize. He thought back to the last time he had passed through his own Door of Truth and tried to compare it to what he was experiencing. This one was more verbal than what he was familiar with, and the images were a jumble of a mess as they flew all around him. Voices of all different kinds of languages spoke in disjointed sentences. As if he was running down a busy city street, he caught snippets of different conversations. “Don’t hurt him!” “He’s with me!” “I told you I could handle this…” “Ty durak! Ty dumal, chto smozhesh' zashchitit' ikh.”

He could handle the voices, that wasn’t as grating as the barrage of flashing lights that were growing in intensity even when he closed his eyes. He was flooded with feelings of sadness, happiness, and fear all at once. Making him nearly loose himself in the feelings of others, but he held firm by repeating his own name in his head like a mantra. Suddenly it was as if he was thrown to the ground, then lifted again to float in midair. With a jerk he was then sent flying in one direction then just as abruptly sent into another. He was getting jostled around in every which direction, and it seemed to have no end. He felt close to vomiting before he was thrown to the ground again, making him close his eyes and shout in shock. As he opened them, he noticed he was on a surface that was completely white. He looked up and realized he was in a rather familiar looking location. As he grunted to his feet, he looked across from him to find the dragon, in its regular form, but laying lifeless on the ground.

“Hey, you ok?” he said cautiously as he took a few steps towards it. The dragon grunted and moaned softly before raising its head.

“I had a passenger this time you dumbass. Couldn’t you have waited a moment longer for me to set him down before laying into me?” the dragon growled.

Edward was taken aback at first then realized it wasn’t him it was talking to, but a white shapeless mass that was near them.

“Why do you think I went easy on you? Plus, this one’s already been here before. He knows the consequences.” The mass said with a laugh.

“That was being easy?” Edward remarked under his breath.

“Don’t tell me you’ve come to fix him? He’s already paid his dues and gotten what he wanted in return.” The white mass said, still chuckling at the dragon who remained on the ground. Edward realized that the dragon took the brunt of the onslaught, after noticing a small pool of blood on the pristine white floor. As the dragon slowly stood the blood disappeared and it looked unharmed. Edward took note of the dragons face filled with annoyance and mild pain.

The white mass moved closer to the dragon as if to intimidate it. “You know what will happen if you go through with this, won’t you?”

“What will happen?” Edward was genuinely curious, and the fact he was starting to feel ignored was a bit annoying.

“You mean, she hasn’t told you?” the white mass gasped, “Oh, this is too rich. Shall I enlighten him for you?”

“Enlighten me on what? Just what the fuck is going on here? Is someone going to explain anything to me?” Edward shouted at them both. The dragon’s head remained lowered but released a deep sigh.

“Your father was essentially a human philosophers stone; he held the souls of many thousands of people within him while also retaining a massive amount of power while being invulnerable.” Edward nodded his head as if to say he already knew this, and it wasn’t news to him. The dragon continued, “He and I were the same in that regard, only I don’t hold or use the souls of humans within me. Nor when I use my alchemy, I don’t use power in the same manner as he did. My soul is equal to that of the entire population of Earth.”

Edward frowned, trying to make sense of what the dragon was saying. “That can’t be right, one being has one soul. My father was an exception because of the alchemy that was performed on him at Xerxes. How does your soul equal more than one?”

“Why don’t you just show him what you mean rather than sit here and waste your time? You do realize the longer you’re in here, the less chance you have of this working. Remember what happened fifteen hundred years ago? Because I sure do, and I had a blast.” The white mass laughed. Edwards face contorted into pure confusion as he looked to the dragon for clarification.

“He’s right, we need to do this. No sense prolonging the inevitable. I do have one tip for you before we start. No matter what he says, you answer ‘yes.’ Got it?” The dragon gave him a pleading look, which only made him uneasy.

“O-ok. But what the hell is happening?” Edward asked with anger in his tone.

“You’re getting your door back and all the perks with it, now stand over here.” The white mass ordered with a sigh. “I was so hoping to be able to tease you some more, but this will have to do.”

Edward followed the white mass a few feet away from the dragon. Then two simple circles appeared beneath Edward and the dragon with a singular line connecting the two.

 The white mass moved to the center of the line and announced loudly, “Do you Edward Elric condone to the return of your Door of Truth?”

 “Y-yes.” He stammered.

 “And do you ⇆△▶→↦◢↦   ▲↕↙↕⊲↓↔↦ agree to aid in the recovery of his Door of Truth?”

 “Yes.” The dragon said firmly.

 “To perform such an action requires the soul of a willing being as payment, do you accept this payment Edward Elric?” The white mass asked, if a mouth were present it sounded as if it would have been smiling.

 “What? But-“ he stopped as he saw the angry look the dragon was giving him with eyes that could melt steel. “Yes.” He muttered. He didn’t like where this was going but it didn’t seem like he was allowed to choose.

 “Are you ⇆△▶→↦◢↦   ▲↕↙↕⊲↓↔↦, ready to offer yourself as payment on his behalf?” The white mass asked. “You can back down now, no need to put yourself in any more pain than you already are.” It whispered, but just loud enough that Edward was able to hear.

“I’m ready, just do it.” The dragon stated firmly, continuing to stare past Edward.

 “Alright then, so shall it be.” The white mass announced and as it did so, the circles and line lit up brightly, blinding Edward for a few moments before finally dying down. He looked up back at the dragon who was now walking toward him.

“Turn around.” The dragon smiled.

He turned slowly, thinking something scary or the white mass was going to be behind him to shock him in some way. Once turned, his face lit up with a bright smile as he saw his door in all its glory stand before him. He inspected it and found a few things were different this time, he turned to say something about it to the dragon but found the white mass standing directly behind him. He flinched backward in shock as a smile appeared on it.

“Enjoy it. I know I’m going to enjoy watching what will happen next.” It chuckled with a twinge of malice.

“Edward, it’s time to go. I don’t want to stay here any more than I have to.” The dragon said as it moved between them utilizing its body as a way of separating the two. As it backed away it laughed haughtily.

“I’ll be seeing you ⇆△▶→↦◢↦   ▲↕↙↕⊲↓↔↦, sooner than you think.” He shouted as the dragon grew a few feet bigger and scooped Edward into his arms while flapping its wings.

“I know. See you.” The dragon mumbled under its breath with a hint of sadness in its tone. Edward eyed the dragon as they flew toward a growing black hole, looking for any sign of damage.

“How are you fine? And you’re able to come back with me?” Edward asked, still thinking of what the white mass had said to the dragon during the transaction.

“The payment doesn’t take effect until we leave here. Edward, I have to be honest with you.” The dragon stopped flying and set him down a few feet before the looming black hole near them. Edward looked at the dragon with worry as he watched her expression change from concern to sadness.

“I’m sorry. I truly am about your father, and everything that you and your brother had to go through.” The dragon sighed. Edward started to say something but was stopped by a raised claw. “I should have been there, with you all on The Promised Day. I was going to repay the kindness that your father had shown me all those years ago. If I had been there…” The dragon paused, swallowing hard. “Not to mention the trouble I caused when I broke out from the cave. I cannot even begin to ask for forgiveness for…” The dragon was stopped this time by a comforting hand resting on the top of the dragons lowered head. “I failed you, can you ever forgive me?” it finished, a single tear trickled slowly down its face. The way it said this felt almost like it wasn’t only speaking to Edward, he felt as if the dragon was asking everyone for forgiveness. He blinked a few times, thinking through what he wanted to say.

“My brother and I went through a lot of heartache, and a lot of pain. But we figured out how to manage it and pulled through. We had friends and loved ones to help us along the way. We all have our low points, and we help each other through them.” He spoke slowly and carefully, trying to convey what he felt with each word. “While I’m mad that you would offer yourself as payment for my Door of Truth, I can only trust you did so to help me. Of that I’m grateful, if a bit peeved. I don’t think anyone would truly blame you for what happened in Xing, even if Lan Fan did yell at you.” He chuckled a bit, remembering her anger but knowing she didn’t honestly blame the dragon for what happened. “I forgive you. But next time, can you tell me what you’re planning to do and not after?” he smiled.

The dragon gave a sigh of relief and nodded its head slightly, sniffling as it did so. “I can’t promise everything all the time, but I’ll do my best.”

“So, you going to tell me what happens when we get back or am I just going to have to find out?” he asked with a hint of sarcasm.

The dragon chuckled and cleared its throat, its face turning somber in the next breath. “It won’t be pretty, at first. It will all depend on how extensive your Door was to restore. You had seen the Truth and had passed through it many times. I could be unresponsive, unable to hear, see or feel anything. I could also be experiencing excruciating pain continuously while simultaneously being unable to hear or do anything.”

“It varies that much?” Edward asked, taking in everything as much as possible.

“It can.” The dragon affirmed.

“You’ve done this before. I could tell with the way that thing was talking to you.” Edward stated as matter of fact.

“I have.”

“How many?” he prodded. “If you don’t mind me asking.” He added, trying not to force his questions on the dragon.

“Too many.” The dragon sighed. “I lost count when it hit over three hundred.”

Edward drew in breath through clenched teeth and was about to ask another question but noticed that the dragons form was starting to waver, and its scales started disappearing. “You seem to be flaking.” He pointed out. The dragon cocked its head to look where Edward was pointing then gave a look of terror.

“I’m sorry but it’s time we leave now, I promise I’ll try to answer all your questions as best I can. When I can.” The dragon said as it lifted itself into the air with a flap of its wings while grabbing hold of Edward around the chest. He gasped at the tight grip as they lunged into the black void, returning once more into the mess of color and light. He breathed heavily as they passed through it, this time without the added effect of being thrown around. Once through the dragon returned to the form of a nonreflective black mass wrapped around him and carrying him through the colorful array of memories. They traveled quicker this time as a bright white light flashed in Edwards eyes and he was back in the basement of the Rockbell home. He was standing right where he was before the transmutation as he looked around to see no one was with him, well almost no one. He looked down in horror to find the dragon laying in a heap on the floor, trembling and spasming as the skin on the dragons body peeled away showing muscle and bone, then in the next moment healing itself. This seemed to happen endlessly all over the dragons body. The dragon would pant and breath heavily for a few moments while growling in pain then suddenly stop for more than a few seconds and start up again. It was as if Edward was watching the dragon die over and over again.

[soldierstark]

Why Am I Like This | Part 1 | JUGHEAD JONES X READER

Description: When talking about a possible homecoming date with her friends, the readers longtime crush Jughead Jones leaves Pop’s diner in a rush but forgets his beloved laptop. What Kevin, Veronica, Archie, and the reader stumble upon raised more questions than answers regarding an apparent secret crush Jughead has someone.

Word Count: 1601

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

For the record, I’m not normally the type of person to go snooping around in other people’s things. But alongside all the secrets that were unveiled in the wake of Jason Blossom’s murder, was the news that my longtime partner in crime/ friend I’ve had a crush on since the beginning of time Jughead Jones, was in love. And it all started one evening when I walked into Pop’s diner.

“Look who finally decided to grace us with her presence,” Kevin announced loudly as I approached the booth my friends were sitting at.

I rolled my eyes and gestured for Veronica to scoot over so I could sit down. Kevin was pressed up against the window with me and Veronica next to him while Archie and Jughead sat across from us.

“I’m sorry but you know that cross country has its state competition in a month. I gotta run my extra 6 miles a day to build endurance,” I once again explained. I waved over a waitress and ordered a serving fries while Archie and Kevin mocked me. Jughead sat at his computer typing away not once looking up from his screen.

Veronica leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Speaking of cross country, did I see you speaking with Matthew Jackson this morning during your before school practice.” This received a chorus of long, drawn out oooohs from Archie and Kevin.

Jughead stopped typing and looked up from his computer, suddenly very interested in our conversation. A piece of raven black hair fell in front of his crystal blue eyes. Veronica leaned back into her seat pleased with herself.

“What did he want?” Archie asked taking a sip of his milkshake.

I twiddled with my thumbs and rested my arms across the table in front of me. “Well,” I began giving Veronica a half-hearted glare. “He, -we talked for a while you know about the upcoming competition and then he asked me if I going to the homecoming dance next week.”

“(Y/N) you lucky little bitch. Are you telling me that you got a date with one of the hottest boys in school?” Kevin said in disbelief, his voice rising an octave every syllable.

That’s when Jughead stood up and started climbing out of the booth, backpack in hand. “I’m gonna head out guys. See ya in school tomorrow,” he said as he walked off, not sparing us a glance. My eyes followed his retreating figure until he was out of sight.

I tore my gaze away from his now invisible silhouette and replied to Kevin’s previous statement. “Not exactly,” I trailed off. “Yes he did ask me to go with him but, I turned him down.” I stood up and moved to the other side of the booth, sitting next to Archie so we weren’t so cramped.

“Why? He’s sweet, funny, and very easy on the eyes (Y/N). You could do a whole lot worse than him,” Veronica said with curiosity.

“I know but dances aren’t really my thing and I’d only go if I got asked by the only guy I want to be with which isn’t going to happen. So that’s that. Plus, he’s not really my type” I answered shrugging my shoulders.

“You gonna tell us who this boy you like is?” Veronica asked.

I shook my head no. The waitress came out with my basket of fries and sat them in front of me. I thanked her and ate one while smacking Archie’s hand away. “Back off ginger I just ran 6 miles let me eat.”

We sat and talked about random things until Archie interrupted me mid-sentence by tapping on my shoulder. “Hey (Y/N), is that Jughead’s computer?”

I looked where his eyes were trained and saw a familiar black laptop decorated with various stickers laying on the seat of the booth. “It took you that long to see it? God Jughead’s been gone for like 20 minutes he’s probably worried sick about that thing.” I spoke in disbelief.

Archie lifted the laptop up and sat it on the table. “Relax (Y/N) I text him that we have it and give it to him when I get home tonight,” he dismissed whipping his phone out of his pocket.

While Archie texted Jughead, Kevin reached across the table and snatched the laptop. “Hey!” I protested as he opened it up. “Leave it alone that’s Jughead’s most prized possession don’t go snooping around.”

Kevin ignored me and kept looking at the screen. Veronica leaned over and peered over his shoulder. “He doesn’t even have a password on it so he can’t be hiding anything that serious,” she said not looking away from the screen.

“Open libraries, files,” Kevin murmured loud enough for us to hear. I heard the clicking of the mousepad while he continued the scroll.

Archie’s phone went off and he picked it up to see who it was. “Jughead says thank you I was worried sick and to not touch it in all caps,” he said in a monotonous voice reading the text message.

“Yea, yea okay,” Kevin conceded leaning backwards away from the laptop.

“Wait!” Veronica screeched. She put her fingers on the mousepad and double clicked something. “There’s a document titled ‘why am I like this I hate myself low-key’.

Archie and Kevin started laughing while I’ll protested. “Veronica you, -we can’t read that it’s an invasion of privacy.”

“To late,” she replied with a smile. Everyone at the table went silent, waiting to hear her, well, Jughead’s words. “Oh my god,” she whispered to herself, her eyes darting back and forth across the screen.

Kevin’s jaw dropped as he read the document alongside her. “You have to read this,” he stated turning the laptop around so it faced us. Archie pulled it forward and started reading.

After seeing Kevin and Veronica’s reactions, my curiosity got the best of me so I started reading. And let me tell you, I’ve never read something so sweet that could break my heart this much.

I’ve never been the type to fall in love. Hell, I never thought I would but here I am cursing at myself for letting this happen.

Being a writer, it’s only given that I’ve read a lot of books as well. I’ve read many stories where a girl or a boy unwillingly falls in love with someone they shouldn’t. They always complain to themselves or their best friend about the whole situation because they don’t want to be in love.

I’ve always laughed at the thought, the thought that a person couldn’t control who they fell in love with. It seemed totally taboo, the phrase ‘the heart wants what the heart wants’ was total bogus in my mind. That all changed recently.

It took me a long time to realize that what I felt for this one girl was love and now that I know that it is, I’ve been trying like all hell to stop it. But I can’t which is ironic because I’ve made fun of plenty fictional characters who are in the same situation as I am now.

For months I’ve been waiting for these feelings to fade but they haven’t. If anything they’ve only been getting stronger, and it’s killing me on the inside knowing that nothing will ever happen between us. She’s so important to me and I can’t risk her walking out of my life because I decided to pursue things with her and it ended terribly.

I want her to be happy more than anything else. Even if that means she’ll never be with me and end up marrying someone else. I’d cut a vein out of my heart and bleed out a necklace if it would make her happy. That’s a real sucky way to feel about someone you can’t be with.

I couldn’t help but fall in love with her and though the whole situation sucks ass to say the least, I regret nothing. The real problem is, I don’t know how much longer I can stop pretending what we have is a never ending thing.

Why am I like this? I’ve had enough heartbreak for one lifetime. Give me a break.

Please.

My fingers trembled slightly as I closed the tab and turned off the computer. I closed it and handed it to Archie who put it in his backpack.

“Who do you think he’s talking about?” Kevin asked after a moment of silence.

“I have absolutely no idea, which is sad. I’ve been Jughead’s best friend since we were 8 years old. I always thought he’d tell me if he felt this way about someone,” Archie said in a quiet voice.

My mind was racing with images of every girl I’ve ever seen interact with Jughead. Though I felt like my heart was ripped to shreds, I wanted Jughead to be happy. Even if it wasn’t with me.

“Well we have to find out who he’s talking about,” Veronica said looking at all of us.

I nodded in agreement. “Jughead’s in love with a girl that he claims he can never be with. We need to find out who this girl is because for all we know she could be his soulmate. From the way he was writing about her I think the rewards outweigh the risks.”

Kevin and Archie nodded in agreement. I plopped another french fry into my mouth and stared out the window gazing out at the night sky.

“Alright then, that settles it. Kevin, text Betty. Tell her there’s another Riverdale mystery that needs to be solved,” Archie said. “And I know just where to start.”

[visiontothedark]

I don’t at all want to falsely raise anyone’s hopes, but

the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that there has to be a fourth episode.  I know that’s a conspiracy nutter, off-the-deep-end thing to say, I know that.  But once you’ve eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.  It’s literally the only theory that fits all the data.

- “Sherlock’s in love, but with who?”  fucking good question that they never answered

- “help us make television history” how exactly have they made history? maybe you could argue that they made Holmesian history by giving Sherlock a sister (though even that’s a stretch), but television history?

- “groundbreaking, insane wish fulfillment” WHEN?!  WHAT GROUNDBREAKING THING HAPPENED?!

- “love conquers all” love for your random sociopathic mystery sister yeah okay whatevs

- EMP or extended dream (or possibly the drugging of our narrators, though that seems less and less likely the more I think about it) are the only theories that really explain all the gaping plotholes and impossibilities that TPTB are refusing to address

- what was the point of Sherlock hacking Twitter?  why bring up that particular case?

- how did the same people who wrote the previous 3 seasons + TAB go from being two of the best TV writers we’ve ever known to being carelessly sloppy and abjectly lazy seemingly overnight?

- how could someone like Mark Gatiss, who’s gone on and on about the importance of queer representation–who’s contributed so much to London’s Switchboard, and has become a gay beacon of hope in the film industry–all of a sudden do a complete 180 and betray his own community by completely ignoring the Johnlock arc that’s been built into the show since the unaired pilot?  Moftiss aren’t idiots; they know exactly that this is the story they’ve been writing.  would they really queerbait us like this?  is that in character of them?

- speaking of characters, why was every single one OOC so much during this series?

- if not for the Johnlock arc, why tell us to pay so much attention to the subtext?

- why the radio silence on social media following TFP?

- why would The Princess Bride parallels suddenly just…stop?

- Arwel never knew what the elephants meant?  is that even possible at this point in the game?

- why did TPTB more or less advertise the episode leak?  why not make people sign NDAs at the screening three days before the public release?

- why else would everyone involved, including the actors, keep insisting that this series is the best one yet?  did they all succumb to temporary insanity at the same time?  was there something in the water at Cardiff?

- where was the 26 page dialogue?  what scene did Martin need to film alone while everyone else was at SDCC?  what happened to the John and Mary restaurant scene?

- TFP made no sense.  I’m sorry, but even if you liked it, you have to admit that it was all over the place and almost completely detached from the rest of the series.  a secret sister with mind-control powers that Sherlock wiped from his memory who can make glass come and go at will and escaped prison but still needed Moriarty brought to her and who made an entire building with fake walls in the space of a couple hours just for Sherlock to spend two minutes in and who paints ceramic dog bowls in her free time and apparently slung John over her shoulder before climbing down a well and chaining him to the bottom with chains that can magically disappear with the power of brotherly love?  Sherlock temporarily forgetting that glass reflects shit?  paintings that cry blood?  random clowns coming out of nowhere?  Mycroft not realizing that to open doors in your house all you need to do are fucking unlock them?  drones carrying patience bombs?  surviving the explosion without injury and somehow appearing in a boat in the middle of the ocean out of nowhere?  why did they even need to sneak into Sherrinford in the first place, when Mycroft was apparently calling the shots all along; he even stole the director’s office almost immediately after his “I’m not really a fisherman” reveal.  and Mycroft, in a fisherman costume?  do they deliver coffins to top-secret island prison asylums now?  why throw away the three Garridebs, one of Moftiss’s favorite ACD stories, when they could have chosen any three names?  “you were always the grownup Sherlock”? what’s with all the tranquilizers?  why was Greg the one to respond at the end of the episode?  asylum escapees aren’t his division. how did they even get to the Holmes house in the first place in that amount of time?  and where exactly did Mycroft disappear to when John was being tossed into a well and Sherlock was running around a fake cemetery with a Victorian lantern to light his path like he was fucking Elizabeth Bennet traipsing around a field at dawn?  and a fake cemetery?  what?  do you want me to keep going?

- “everyone gives up after three”  why three?  why that particular number?  I’m genuinely asking here–was that a coincidence or did they deliberately pick it for a reason?

- I realize that this has happened before with different shows on accident, but why are some official websites suddenly advertising a fourth episode that will air on the 22nd?

- Moffat just said in an interview that electing Trump was possibly one of the worst decisions in human history.  you know what would make television fucking history?  advertising a secret gay episode during his inauguration coverage–something everyone will be watching–so that instead of allowing a right wing conservative to have the world’s attention, it’s instead redirected to a liberal, LGBTQ positive, groundbreaking show.  what a giant “fuck you” that would be towards homophobes who are cheering Trump and Pence on.  could you imagine how many new Sherlock fans that would garner?  how much the BBC could gain from that?  how much the queer community could gain from that?

- “oh yeah TPLOSH that was great, great job writing a confirmed homosexual Holmes who takes drugs to repress his love for Watson, Thank you Billy Thank you Wilder, yeah we steal lines from that movie all the time and included the name Gabrielle Ashdown in T6T and tucked a flower behind John’s ear, we’re going to fix what Wilder always regretted never doing.”  two minutes later “what?  Johnlock?  don’t be ridiculous, that’s not the story we’re telling, we don't even like that movie.” lying liars who lie

- “we’re going to fix something that we think everyone else has gotten wrong”  what exactly have they fixed?  if there’s a possibility that this is the last season, this is sort of your last chance mate

- is “grumpy bisexual” even a stereotype outside of John?  if it is I’ve never heard of it, and I’m bi, so…

- “well, John Watson, get the hell on with it”  why that build up only to give John like four lines total during TFP

- literally, what was the entire point of TAB?  Sherlock realized that he always needed John to defeat the villain, and yet he ignored Vatican Cameos without second thought?  why is he regressing back to his series one attitude of “I work alone”?

- even if they planned on doing EMP and/or Johnlock in order to fix TFP’s mess, would they really risk waiting another three or four years?  unless they air it this coming week, their ratings next series will plummet because of the bad taste they left in people’s mouths

- “I think I’m going to write a poem in response to a critic accusing me of making Sherlock too James-Bondy” followed by TFP, one of the most ridiculously James-Bondy things I’ve ever seen?  they jumped from an exploding building for fucks sake

- why did they make Mary follow so closely to ACD’s Moran if to not confirm her as a villain?

- WHAT WAS IN JOHN’S LETTER!!!

- do they really expect us to believe that Rosie’s a real, living baby?  who are these people who are volunteering to raise John’s child for him while he’s out being bros with the Holmes boys?  John’s friends all hate him, why would they agree to do that?

- the final problem was Eurus?  the final problem was Redbeard?  the final problem was saving an imaginary child from an imaginary plane?  what exactly was this “final problem” supposed to be?

- what exactly did Mark mean when he said there might be too many endings?  what was with the cheeky wink?

- again, HOW WAS ANY OF THIS GROUNDBREAKING, INSANE WISH-FULFILLING, TELEVISION HISTORY?!

Again, I don’t want to falsely raise anyone’s hopes; to be perfectly honest, I’ve been desperately trying to talk myself out of believing in a secret fourth episode since TFP aired, because I don’t want to be crushed again like I was after seeing TFP.  But at this point, I don’t know what else to think.

I can’t think of anything else that makes sense.

[lisandyworldadventure]

Magnetic Island or shall we say Magic Island?

Arriving back into Airlie Beach we had 1 more night until we continued onto Magnetic Island. That day was spent yet again lazing around in the hostel mainly as it was raining quite a bit so hibernating for a few hours after all the Whitsundays antics was a good idea, especially in a nice air conditioned dorm room. In the evening we went out for a few drinks with some people from our sailing boat but ended up cutting the night short as we were due to be up at 4am the next day. Shame as there was some real entertaining beer pong action happening.

4am the next morning and the alarm goes off for a 5am departure, trust us this travelling can get quite stressful. Especially when there is a torrential downpour and arriving at the bus stop, Lisa does what is now known as a good old ‘valuables check’. As part of the check she realises she can’t find her glasses case. Heading back to the room and getting drenched in the process she returns even more stressed as she is not able to find it. We later of course find it as nothing ever gets lost, it’s just 'temporarily misplaced’. Well apart from a couple of torches which were left hanging up on the tent at Fraser Island! Although again you could say they werent lost as we know the exact location where they were left.

Enough about that as it was time to hop over to another island, Magnetic Island. Also known as Maggie Island, the name comes from the apparent “magnetic” effect it had on the ship’s compass of Captain Cook as he passed the island when sailing up the east coast of Australia back in 1770. Today that magnetism applies on visitors due to its large populations of endemic wildlife creatures including rock wallabies and koalas, its many beautiful bays and its easy going lifestyle. We chose to spend three nights here as the other option with our organised company would have only meant one night. And trust us, we did not regret our decision to stay that long.

Our first day on the island was cut short as it involved actually getting to our hostel of course. Still we managed to get over to the famous forts walk on the Western side of the island. Once littered with fortifications and trenches to protect Australia against any possible attacks from Japan during WWII, today the walk is popular amongst tourists due to the lookouts over some of the nearby bays and of course a great opportunity for spotting koalas. Introduced to the island in the 1930’s, today’s population is believed to be just under 1,000 koalas, not bad for a total population of around 40,000 in the whole of Australia. The reason they thrive is due to the unspoilt nature of the island. We managed to see 4 or 5 of the little furry creatures and even got to hear the strange humming noises they make. Heading to the top of one of the old lookout forts, we had some amazing views over Radical Bay and the the thick bush forest that covers the island, quite incredible. Now we know why these forts were placed here, the Japanese would have been seen a mile off. That night we returned to the hostel to win the weekly quiz, probably the least deserving of the $50 bar tab as we were all knackered after the 4am wake up that day. Still we managed a couple of free drinks, of course!

No hangover the next day and it was nice as we were able to soak up the sun and enjoy a full day lounging around the pool catching up on some of this blog and diary writing. It was whilst relaxing on the sun beds that we or shall we say Andy, got roped into partaking in the ladies night dress up. I guess for $1 punch backpackers will do anything right? That evening ended up being pretty social as we played innocent games that would become less innocent when you have to start taking clothes off to stay in the game (hard when you’re only wearing a dress). Lisa and Mark showed their skills at the 'bite the box game’ once again as they made it to the final round, not quite winning though. Mark took it one step further by winning the next game, 'semi naked musical chairs’. Yet again more free drinks, evidence in the picture of Mark above. Oh and one final thing Andy would like to say for this day:

I absolutely rocked that dress!

Our third and final day on Maggie Island we decided to rent a 4x4 to take us round some of the islands’ bays as well as other must see spots. But before we did we headed for the YHA hostel for their special 'koala breakfast’. Of course it didn’t involve eating the poor little endangered species but just a close ecounter with them, including a photo opportunity holding one. Prior to hugs we did actually have a proper breakfast and my word what a breakfast, the best we have had on our travels we would say! Everything from cereals and muesli to cooked breakfast, french toast, pastries, fruit and even freshly made pancakes, we were in breakfast heaven. Following the mammoth brekkie we had the opportunity to come close to some of the parrots and reptiles they had at the sanctuary. And of course one of the lizards decided to go for number 2 on Andy’s hand. If you thought such a small creature wouldn’t actually create that much excrement then think twice, it was pretty big. Despite this it was cool to handle them and Lisa even dared a kiss with the blue tongued lizard. Finally before leaving, the time had come for Lisa to have her much anticipated Koala cuddle as it was defintely one of her Australia’s must dos. Andy had already held one last time he was here but still he also got in on the action standing next to it. A good souvenir to have hanging on the wall one day, though our koala seemed a bit floppy.

Finally getting round to picking up the rest of our crew for our drive round the island, we headed for our first stop at Geoffrey Bay for some snorkelling. A little underwhelming with the waters being quite merky and not that many fish or coral. Hence why we swiftly moved on to our second bay (Radical) for a quick swim and some beach games. Apart from Horseshoe, all of the bays were incredibly peaceful with only just us there, giving them an extra special touch. We would have liked to have gone to Balding Bay, an even more secluded and nudist beach but it required a 20 min walk there and back, time which we did not have. Instead we headed to another snorkelling spot at Florence Bay. Another slight disappointment as the waters were incredibly merky here with particles of dust having fallen from the nearby rocks. The water was also strangely luke warm which we found so bizarre for such a big sea. What came next was certainly not disappointing as stopping on the side of the road to go to the Alma Bay lookout Mark saw a koala sitting right on the path, barely 3 metres away. Of course it ended up climbing the tree but we got a pretty good look at the ball of fluff.

Moving on from the small and secluded bays we headed up to Horseshoe Bay, one of the biggest and a little more lively as it has some residences, restaurants and shops on the waterfront. Here we had a spot of lunch overlooking the sea and then went for a swim inside the stinging net provided at the bay, so no need for the attractive stinger suits, a real shame as we were starting to rock those bad boys. Our penultimate stop was back where we originally started at Geoffrey Bay for our final wildlife encounter on the island. Hidden in the rocks near the water there were some cute little creatures also native to Australia, the wallabies. Here we saw tens of the little creatures and got to feed them for a while. They were also rather thirsty so a few of them got some water which they lapped up pretty dam quick. The final stop required a drive to pretty much the other side of the island at a place called West Point to enjoy the pristine sunset over the horizon. Getting here was half the problem but it was the first time we actually needed the clearance that the 4x4 offered as we drove for around 45 min on some unpaved roads with more potholes than you can shake a stick at. We did actually want to rent one of the iconic barbie cars that most people seem to go for whilst on the island but the clearance on those is too low for the unpaved roads. Arriving at West Point we were treated to a magnificent cloudy sunset, which in our opinions is one of the best as they make for awesome snaps. We could have stayed forever if it wasn’t for the fact that the car had to be back for 7pm, a deadline which we had already extended from the original 6pm drop off.

Wrapping up this section we have to say we absolutely loved Magnetic Island, we would even venture as far as saying that it was our favourite place on the whole of the East Coast. Being so close to charismatic creatures like koalas and wallabies, soaking up the sun on the many stunning bays, driving a 4x4 on unpaved roads and of course the breakfast (how could we forget) are just some of the experiences that we enjoyed so much.