#during geeked week too which is SO good

[harmonictechnicality]

Eddie develops a strange habit after sex. It’s not exactly cute or romantic or nice. Nothing bad either. It’s just… well, Steve isn’t too sure what it is. But every time, it’s the same damn thing.

He collapses onto Steve’s chest and says:

“My boyfriend is a cyborg.”

Usually, Steve is still recovering from the fucking downpour of post-orgasm endorphins. So he doesn’t question it. Hell, he stopped challenging Eddie’s tolerance to geek out months ago. Dude holds fantasy knowledge in his brain better than he holds his liquor.

Which is saying a lot.

Anyways, Steve never has the mental capacity to react or respond. Instead, he runs his fingers through Eddie’s sweat-soaked hair for awhile. Scratches out little patterns on his scalp because it always makes Eddie go limp. Quiet.

Quiet is a rarity for him. And while Steve is totally weak for Eddie’s chattiness, the quiet can be nice too.

The only reason Steve finally decides to ask about it is because Eddie slips up. Says it before they have sex.

Steve is against the bedroom door, his nails dragging down Eddie’s back. God, he loves this kind of kissing. The lung draining kind. The type that’s sort of filthy from all the heat and grinding. 

Eddie hasn’t marked him up this bad since that time someone at work noticed his neck. Asked if Steve was having an allergic reaction during an office-wide meeting.

And this is going to be even worse. Steve can tell by the sounds and the soft pricks of Eddie’s teeth. He can tell by how long Eddie spends over each spot, like the bruising skin needs more attention than the rest of him. Like licking them over will make the colors last longer.

The damage has been done. Really no point in stopping him when it feels so fucking good. Steve forgets to worry about  how mauled he’s gonna look tomorrow because his head is swimming with Eddie’s lips on his neck. His collarbone. His chest.

That’s when it happens. That’s when Eddie’s strange habit makes an early appearance. 

He kisses over the blistery mess he made, practically growls the words out this time: 

“My boyfriend is a cyborg.”

“Okay, time out.” Steve says. Heaves some air back into his lungs. Pulls Eddie’s face up before he can continue making Steve look like goddamn target practice. 

Eddie blinks a few times. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No.” Gonna have to wear fucking high-collared shirts all week, but whatever.

He’ll bring that up some other time. “Why do you keep saying that?”

“Saying what?”

“That… thing.” Steve barely can spit it out.  It’s like his throat is physically rejecting the nerdy shit he’s about to say. “You keep calling me… a cyborg or something.” 

“Oh that.” Eddie sighs. Casually shrugs to one side. “It’s your fault actually.”

“How is it my fault? I don’t even know what fucking language you’re speaking.”

Eddie walks over to the bed, chanting Steve’s name over and over. Definitely not in the way Steve prefers him to chant his name. Very un-sexy chanting.

“Remember that day you asked me to grab your car keys?” He asks, patting the bed for Steve to join him. 

No. “Kinda?”

Steve hesitates before walking over. He didn’t necessarily wanna stop their primal makeout session. But it was bound to lead to the bed at some point, so…

Just not like this. Not talking while fully clothed. Blech.

He sits next to Eddie. Hands awkwardly fidgeting in his lap.

“Well, I couldn’t find them.” Eddie admits. “So I ended up going through your desk drawers.”

Of course he did. Perpetual snooper.

“Ended up finding a binder full of medical records.”

Well shit.

Steve’s throat tightens. Swells around the sudden guilt he feels for keeping this from Eddie. 

“Why didn’t you tell me you had a metal plate in your head?”

“Dunno. Hardly even remember it.” That’s only partly true. Steve doesn’t remember the surgery or much of the recovery process. He was only a kid when it happened.

But he does remember the hospital smells. He remembers the sounds of his IV bag dripping throughout the night. All the sensory indicators are still fresh in his mind.

“Well, that’s why. You're part-machine.” Eddie points to Steve’s head, expression softening. “And every time we fuck around, I think about your bionic skull. And how glad I am that it keeps your brain from leaking out when I bend you over the way you like it best.”

Steve laughs. The jokes help lighten the mood. Not enough to replace it entirely, but enough for it to be easy to swallow again. 

They’re both quiet as they get ready for bed, folding the covers down. And yeah, sometimes quiet can be nice. Just maybe not right now.

“Hey, Eddie.”

“Yeah?”

Steve stares hard at the pillows. “Are cyborgs like… cool?”

Eddie pauses for a moment, then hops onto the bed. Starts crawling over to Steve with a smug grin. He lifts up to meet Steve’s lips. Kisses him sweeter than normal. Lighter. Starts nodding his head mid-kiss, keeps nodding as he breaks away.

“Yeah, babe. Cyborgs are so fucking cool.”

[bluesidez]

Gym Rat Miguel Part 12

content warning: Miguel is very dramatic in this one, mentions of food

word count: 4k (SHOUTOUT TO MY BETA!! @slushycoookie 🩵)

Prev | Next ✩°｡ ⋆⸜ 🎧✮ Masterlist

DISCLAIMER: This story is not canonical. 😒 Most, if not all, of the characters used are OOC. I literally can not stress this enough.

GymRat!Miguel who tries not to dwell on the fact that it’s been just about a month since he’s seen you. It’s the middle of the week and if he thinks about it too much, he’s going to go crazy.

It feels odd because you’re on the same campus as him. You’re not across the country. You’re not out of the country. You’re literally a short walk or drive away and neither of you have time to see each other.

He’s considering printing your pictures out and walking around with them like a forlorn lover looking for his lost soulmate. It feels like he’s back in his bedroom staring at your pictures for hours like a man at war aching for home.

He’s exhausted all of his options.

The couple-lunches have all been rain-checked, the weight of your workload trapping you in the Art building.

Your sleep schedule was terrible, if the late night TikToks and reels were anything to go by. He knew you had morning classes too so he could only assume you’ve had a few hours of sleep during the weeknights.

The weekends were for rest and he didn’t want to disrupt yours.

Your dorm tracked visitors which means he’d only have a few hours with you before curfew if you were even there.

GymRat!Miguel who misses you so bad he’s temporarily replaced his gym playlist for the one you gifted him.

His face is set hard, feet heavy as he sprints over a curved treadmill. After a few minutes he stops, takes a small break, and runs again.

Even the melodic and somber voice playing over a groovy piano couldn’t soothe his thoughts.

His heart rammed in his chest as sweat trickled down his face, his tank drenched and clinging to his chest.

Just a few more sprints to go.

GymRat!Miguel who slides the ear of his headphone off because Xina is standing in front of him, blocking his path.

“Anymore sprints and you’re going to pass out,” she hands him a towel.

“Maybe I want to,” Miguel grumbles, nabbing the towel and rubbing his face like someone spit on it.

Xina grabbed her ponytail and pinned it up, loose hair sticking to her neck. “Don’t say that. It’s not funny. I can only manage pulling your body to the entrance to the gym.”

Miguel snorted.

GymRat!Miguel who fills up the time that he used to spend with you to get to know his friends and meet others.

This meant having game nights with Peter and Ben. They were so close, not really, to convincing him to join their DND parties.

If he wasn’t with them, he was occasionally calling The Geek Squad and catching up. A Friendsgiving date was now tentatively on his calendar because of it.

Of course, his robotics team was still going steady. Aaron was interesting, if nothing else, and Margo was like the little sister he never had.

Then, there was checking up on Gabriel like a Tamagotchi. Was he eating ok? Did he need some money? Is he trapped in the subway? Did a rat eat him?

Gabriel had sent him a screenshot of his contact with his name being changed to “Mom #2.”

Miguel only scoffed and told Gabriel his name was going to get changed to “pain in my ass.”

The newest development, however, was Xina. Her transferring here felt like middle school when they used to be attached at the hip.

They had their programming class together two days out of the week, biweekly study sessions, and the occasional late night excursion.

It also explains why she’s eyeing him from the stairmaster while he heaves over the handles of the treadmill.

GymRat!Miguel who thanked Xina as she handed him his jug of water. He sat up from the bench to let her take a seat.

“So,” she started.

“I’m not helping you hack your professor’s dashboard. While you could do it, it’s not a good idea and quantum physics isn’t that-“

“It’s not that, you dick,” Xina pinched his side. “It’s you. What’s up with you?”

“Nothing is up with me.”

“Miguel.”

“Xina.”

“Now, you’re being a brat. Something is definitely wrong.”

Miguel picked at the peeling Game Over sticker on his bottle. He needed to tape it down or he’d lose it.

“I miss her.”

“Miss who? Your mom?”

“What? No. I miss my girlfriend.”

It was quiet between them, the sound of chatter and the clanking of equipment filled the white noise.

Xina tilted her head, “That bad?”

Miguel nods.

“When’s the last time you saw her?”

He takes a dramatic breath, “Our anniversary date. Last month. I feel…”

“Like you can’t function? Like it’s hard to think?”

“Is that pathetic?” Miguel winces. “I have a feeling you’re going to say that it is.”

“No, I don’t think that.”

Miguel pouts as he looks up. Xina shrugs and slides her hands on down her leggings.

“Remember the times I went boy crazy? All the times I came crying to you after they screwed me over, even when you already warned me they weren’t good guys? I think you deserve to be crazy about your girlfriend.”

“Thanks,” Miguel blinked. “You were way too nice to those first guys.”

“I learned though, didn’t I? I know a good guy when I see him, now,” Xina pushed at Miguel’s shoulders with hers.

“And now those self-defense lessons won’t go to waste, right?”

Xina snorted as she recalled the time she managed to flip Winston on his back at Miguel’s instruction.

GymRat!Miguel who watches Xina’s eyes grow in shock when he tells her how long he’s been dating you.

“Dang,” Xina stops in her tracks. “A year?”

Miguel puffs up his chest and stands a little straighter, a confident stride in his step, “One year and counting.”

“That’s,” Xina turns and waits for a car to go by. She readjusts her gym bag. “That’s awesome, Hare-Hare.”

GymRat!Miguel who feels the mood shift by the time he drops Xina back off. He’s not sure what’s brought it up, but now he’s nervous about upsetting her more.

He taps on the wheel, after he pulls into a park.

“You sure you don’t want me to get you anything? You don’t need to go anywhere?”

Xina unbuckles her seatbelt, “Nope. All good. See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” he watches her close the door before he can even finish. “See you.”

GymRat!Miguel who obliges when Xina texts him the next day to switch up their study session location.

Miguel wanted to keep the busy calm of the 1st floor of the library but Xina insisted on giving him a change of scenery.

“It’s good for you! You stare at the screen all day when you’re coding,” Xina slams Miguel’s car door to which he sneer at her for. “You need to look up and smell the coffee sometimes.”

“You just want a reason to not do your work.”

Xina turns around and walks backwards in front of Miguel, “And that’s completely fine. We should live a little.”

She trips over the edge of the sidewalk with a yelp and Miguel is quick to catch her, the panic on his face evident.

“See,” she grins as she pulls herself up by Miguel’s shoulders. “Living!”

GymRat!Miguel who lets Xina order for him while he finds a table.

The cafe was bright, white wood accenting the walls with vines and plants adorning the area. Salmon pink brought a pop of color to the sandy-looking tables and fairy lights hung in the corners of the room.

Miguel’s eyes grew as he saw the variety of desserts on display, his mouth itching to take a bite.

“No, no, no. Go away. I’ll pick something you’ll like,” Xina blocks Miguel’s lingering eyes.

Miguel clicks his teeth, “If it’s not good, I’m going to be really upset.”

“I doubt it.”

GymRat!Miguel who walks deeper into the cafe. He’s dodging ceiling plants left and right, but he’s sure that the best seats are in the furthest of the building.

He shuffles around a corner, eyes adjusting to the sun coming through window.

He blinks a few times and takes in the spacious area.

That’s when he sees you.

He walks fast, the strides of his steps wide.

The closer he gets, the stronger the smell of peaches builds. The sun was shining down like it granted Miguel one the greatest gifts of his life. Its rays danced across the spot that you're in.

He gets to your chair and pulled it out with ease, the sound disrupting the hushed corner.

A pen falls to the floor, voices are cut short, and arms are flailing but Miguel’s nose is buried deep into your neck.

Your arms tighten around his neck and your voice skips across his ears.

“I-” a kiss across your face, “missed you so much.” Miguel looks at you like you hold the stars in the sky within your palm.

“You scared the shit out of me, Miguel,” you say with no really malice in your voice. Your thumbs run across his cheeks, watching as he beams at you. You kiss him once or twice, heart fluttering as your feet dangle in the air.

“I hope there aren’t many people picking you up in the middle of establishments,” Miguel mumbled across your lips.

“Guys, there’s people staring at us,” a voice creeps in from the side of Miguel.

Miguel’s eyes follow it to see a deer-looking kid with hoodie pulled up over his ears.

“Who is this?”

GymRat!Miguel who is introduced to Miles, your freshman classmate that you’ve taken in.

He’s sitting across the table nodding along to you as you rave about Miles’ work. The entire time, his right hand didn’t leave your left one.

“So,” Miguel chimes in when there’s a pause. “Have you both been coming here a while?”

“Nah, I just dragged her out here recently. She never leaves the art building when a deadline is near. It’s kind of depressing-“

“You know, Miles.” You're holding back an eye roll. “There are times when you could just not talk.”

“No, actually tell me more,” Miguel insisted, attentive.

GymRat!Miguel who hurries to help a struggling Xina when she rounds the corner with a tray full of goodies.

A cinnamon roll, a lemon tart, a tall purple drink, and some warm tea is placed on the table while you and Miles clear the area.

You sit up straighter to watch Miguel pick up the tea cup and blow over it. “Tea? No milk with a pinch of coffee?”

“Amor…”

Xina looks over to his cup, “Did you want something else?”

“No, this is good, I haven’t had this in a while,” he takes a sip and hums while explaining to you. “I’ve been on this sweet drink kick since she let me try her frappe last year.”

“That’s rich because you always hated it when I got those.”

“To be fair, you downed like four of those in one day. I’m surprised your body didn’t go into shock.”

“I don’t know,” you shrug. “Four in one day must have meant you were going through it.”

Xina smiles and nods her head, “Exactly. And I told him-”

“We’re not doing this,” Miguel grumbled and stabbed his fork into his roll. “Four was way too much and she was bouncing off the walls all day just to crash and throw up on my shoes.”

“I said I was sorry about that!”

GymRat!Miguel who cuts pieces of his dessert to feed to you. You look at him incredulously as he insists on giving you bite after bite.

“Is it good?” Miguel asks chewing his own piece. You nod and he grins, happy in the bubble he’s created.

When Xina reaches for his plate for a piece he slides it away with ease, a move he knows too well.

“Why can’t I have some? I bought it.”

“You didn’t even ask!”

“Neither did she!”

Miles leans over to you, “I feel like I’m watching a fight between me and my baby sister.”

Miguel is pushing Xina’s hands away from his plate while she laughs up a storm. You think that it does mirror something like Gabriel and Miguel’s relationship, but something about Miguel isn’t the same.

GymRat!Miguel who continues his Tom and Jerry act with Xina even when the food is gone.

They were bickering over some formula that you couldn’t begin to figure out by yourself. To Miguel, it’s easy. To Xina, the setup makes no sense.

“How did you survive Ivy League without me?” Miguel asks as he reaches over and erases an error on her page.

“Like I do anything else, with peace.”

“So what you’re saying is,” Miguel points his pencil at Xina, “you hate me and I am not needed for problems 4 through 10.”

“No!” she panics, pushing his pen back to the paper. “I need you to start this one. I don’t understand it.”

“We just did one like this, though. It’s just the imaginary number all over again.”

Xina groaned and slumped in her chair while Miguel just turned back to his on work.

GymRat!Miguel who peers up from his computer to watch you work. You eyebrows pinch as your wrist moves across the large sketchpad in front of you. Your hand is moving fast and you’re so focused. Miguel hasn’t seen you like this before. In your element.

He leans his head on his hand, cheek squished and staring at you like he’s never seen you, like you were something to be admired.

You were pretty today, a sweater with some cartoon on it and some jeans that flared out at the bottom. Your bunny necklace was dangling around your neck and your glasses were falling down your nose.

You push them back and a smudge of charcoal from moving Miles’ artwork gets on your cheek.

“Stare at her any harder and she might grow something freaky,” Miles whispers.

Miguel falters and grabs a napkin, leaning to wipe your cheek, “She has something on her face.”

GymRat!Miguel who tries to be even more discreet as he watches you fill up the page. It’s mesmerizing seeing what you come up with.

He’ll type a little bit then look at your sketches, he’ll click a few links then look at your face. Sometimes, you would catch him looking and smile at resulting in his heart picking up.

Occasionally, Miles would ask your opinion on something and you would give him pointers, the two of you discussing something about focal points and rule of threes.

Miguel just wanted to put his stuff up and listen to you all day.

“What are you working on?” Xina asks, her voice breaking the silence. She’s staring directly at your drawings, fingers tapping against her notebook.

You perk up and flip your pad around, “It’s some ideas for one of our bigger projects! The theme is reinventing a classic, so I’m thinking something like a spin on Lady Godiva with a haunted theme and darker palette. Or The Fallen Angel with a bird’s eye perspective of him on the ground.”

You took a breath and flipped the page, “And then there’s The Kiss which I wanted to actually do a glaze to really give it that ‘mosaic’ look.”

Miguel leaned in with Xina to take a closer look.

The sketch was exceptional to say the least. Miguel wasn’t too sure how the original painting looked, but your drawing detailed a woman wrapped in these angular, moving shapes. Her face was angled up and a far-off look adorned her features. To her right sat a man whose lips were on her neck and his attention solely on her.

It was soft, yet strong. How you managed to put so much intimacy onto a single page was beyond him.

The feeling of it was familiar and when he looked up at you, he knew.

Miguel opens his mouth, “It’s..”

“Boring.”

“Beautiful.”

He turns to Xina with a frown on his face as she flips back to the front page.

“I mean, I think one of the other two is better, you know? More of a twist on the originals. The last one feels safe.”

The table is quiet as Xina’s comment marinates. She’s flipping further into your book and Miguel promptly snatches it from her and closes it a bit harder than he needs to. Miles shifts in his seat, chewing on the straw of his drink.

“Can you explain why it feels safe to you?” your fingers pick at a nail.

She looks up, “Well, don’t you want to stand out? Out of the others, I don’t think this one is that unique.”

“The point isn’t to stand out,” Miles chimes in. “The assignment is about remixing a classic and all three of these do that pretty well.”

Your smile is small, “Thanks, Miles.”

“So which one do you think is better?” Xina asks.

“The last one,” both Miles and Miguel say.

“It carries the emotion of the original while also bringing more focus to couple rather than the abstracted cloth. You can see the love between them in a way that the original doesn’t have and it’s not even painted yet,” Miles talks with ease. “But! That’s just my opinion.”

“I think it’s powerful,” Miguel hums. “You should go with that one.”

You nod, thumbing over the corner of the pages.

GymRat!Miguel who watches Miles nearly fly out of the cafe.

Something about catching the bus to go see a friend perform.

“Poor thing,” you mumble. “He didn’t even buy the tickets yet.”

GymRat!Miguel who can almost see the stress coming off of you in waves the later it gets in the evening.

“Are you alright?” Miguel places his hand over yours.

“Yeah, I think I need a nap.”

“Need me to drive you back?”

“No, it’s fine. You need to drive Xina back.” You start to pack up. “I brought my car anyways.”

Miguel follows your movements, hands putting his laptop up as well.

He hurries to pull your chair out and you thank him with a quiet voice. He follows you from the table to the door to your car. The scene is almost comical the way he’s in your peripheral.

“Will I see you again soon?” Miguel leans on the hood of your car, body practically falling onto you in the driver’s seat. “We gotta set up a date.”

“I’ll see what I can do, baby,” you rub his face and kiss the kicked-puppy look off of his face. “I’ll text you once I get back.”

“Please.”

GymRat!Miguel who throws his backpack in the backseat and slumps over the wheel once he’s certain your car was down the road.

“What now?” Xina patted Miguel’s back. “You miss her again?”

Miguel just dug his head onto the horn, the effect alerting anyone within 50ft radius.

“Ok, ok,” Xina yanked him up by his shoulders only for him to drop back down again. She sighs and grabs the back of his head with a slight yank to his hair.

Miguel swats her hand away with a grit to his teeth and a pinch to his brows.

Xina only holds her hands up with a grin lining her lips, “Calm down.”

“You’re really annoying me today.”

Xina drops her hands and her smile falters. Miguel straightens up with an apology on the roof of his mouth before Xina picks back up with joy.

“What I think you need is an awesome rager for your birthday.”

“No.”

“Why not? It could be fun!”

“I’m all partied out until next year.”

“Not even with your friends? People from your department? A couple of classmates? The robo nerds?”

“That’s robo rockstars to you.”

Xina laughed and buckled her seatbelt.

“I think it could be great, seriously. We’re doing it.”

Miguel only groaned and turned on the ignition.

GymRat!Miguel who wanted to use his Sunday for relaxation, a cheat day, maybe a game or two with Gabriel, Peter, and Winston.

Instead, he’s lying on his bed listening to Xina rant about one of her roommates using the sink as a trash can.

“Like we have a ridiculously expensive trash can that’s less than a foot away from the sink. It’s a simple spin and drop.”

“Ok, I get this is really gross, but don’t you have other friends you could bother?”

Xina pauses, and points her finger at him, “Hey, I’m here to help you out. If I wasn’t here, who knows how down in the dumps you’d be.”

“This isn’t helping me.”

GymRat!Miguel who answers his phone while Xina has managed to pull Peter into a game of Overcooked on his Switch.

“Hey, Ma.”

“Miguel! How do I connect your father’s computer to the TV? He found a movie that we could watch but the screen is so small.”

“He found a movie but can’t connect cords?”

“Just answer the question, mijo.”

Miguel sits up, prepared to spend at least forty minutes trying to explain what an HDMI cord is.

“Yeah.”

Xina gasps, pauses the game leaving a displeased Peter, and hops into the corner of Miguel’s phone.

“Hi, Mrs. O’Hara!”

“Hola, mi dulce niña! Hace mucho que no te veo. ¿Que tal te ha ido?“ (Hello, my sweet girl! I haven’t seen you in a long time. How have you been?)

“Más o menos, pero me alegro de verte.” (So-so, but I’m happy to see you.)

“No, Xina! ¿Qué tienes?” (What’s wrong?)

Miguel just plopped the device in Xina’s hand, “I like how you both started a conversation on my phone.”

“We’ve got important things to discuss,” Xina waved him off while she and his mother continued to fawn over each other.

Miguel just slid off the bed and joined Peter.

GymRat!Miguel who doesn’t get his phone back until curfew hours are around the corner.

Xina and his mom discussed everything from reality TV to recipes to her time up north. Xina left happier than when she came in which Miguel didn’t mind. He just wished he could have had the room to himself.

GymRat!Miguel who doesn’t see your message until he’s about to go to sleep.

“Baby”

“Let’s do something together on your bday”

Miguel unpeeled his eyes and typed swiftly.

“YES”

“YEESSSS”

“Best birthday ever already”

“Someone’s excited”

“I haven’t even said what we’re doing yet”

“What are we doing”

“Tell me please”

“Pleasepleasepleaseplease”

“Mmm”

“No”

“It’s a secret 🙂‍↔️”

“I can wait”

“That you are”

“Sometimes”

“😗”

“But mi luz I think Xina is trying to plan something too”

“Oh”

“Should we raincheck then?”

“NOOOOOO!”

“I can do both”

“I’ll literally split myself in two”

“You don’t have to choose”

“My gift is small”

“I want you to have fun on your special day”

“Can you come to the party?”

“I don’t want to miss it but I’ll have to see”

“If anything it’ll be much later”

“As long as I get to see you I’ll be happy”

“Good night bebé”

“Night!”

"Love you"

“Love you more"

divider by: @plutism 🩵

a/n: I have no notes other than school is starting back up so my posting schedule will be even more irregular. 🤠 Please bear with me.

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[vkelleyart]

This has been a huge week for my book. I’m beside myself with gratitude for the praise it has received from trade publications and book websites thus far, and SO happy at the incredible response from readers as well! 😭

At times like these when the world is falling apart, it feels like a hollow act to promote my work. But when I want to crawl into a hole, I try to remind myself that my book was conceived during the first 🍊presidency, was researched and written during COVID lockdown, and will be published at a moment in American history when the book’s message of collective liberation can make a difference. It may not change the minds of those whose values align with autocrats seeking to erase diversity, equity, and inclusion, but I didn’t write it for them. I wrote it for us. To remind us what we deserve and that it’s worth fighting tooth-and-nail for.

When the Tides Held the Moon has been receiving the sort of praise I never thought I’d see my name attached to. So while promoting it is something I’m still trying to get comfortable with, I can at least share these reviews and say, “People who know about books really liked mine. And I think you’ll enjoy it, too.” 💙

“Kelley debuts with a captivating and perfectly balanced blend of history, fantasy, and good old-fashioned carnival magic . . . The setting is transporting and the romance is heartrending. It’s a triumph.” — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“Kelley’s debut might draw comparisons to Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water, but this powerfully queer story will stand tall in its own right on any shelf.” — Library Journal (Starred Review)

“Kelley’s debut is a delightful queer romance with fantastical and historical elements — an unputdownable page-turner.” — Booklist

“Told in both prose (Benny’s perspective) and poetry (Río’s), this novel showcases not only Kelley’s gorgeous writing, which seamlessly blends Spanish and English. It also highlights her talent as an artist — her own illustrations pepper the book, capturing poignant scenes of danger, community, and love.” — Den of Geek

If you haven’t preordered the book yet, the campaign is still on! Click here to preorder from any of the four participating indie bookstores which will get you a free 6x9 print of Benny and Río, a “Love Rises” sticker, and either a signed and personalized copy of the book (available at Loyalty Books and The Ripped Bodice) or a signed Menagerie ticket bookplate (available through Meet Cute Bookshop and Blue Willow Bookshop)!

Full reviews are under the cut!

[bet-on-me-13]

Cass joins Team Phantom

So, we all know how Cass escaped her terrible dad at the age of 8 right? And how she is adopted by Batman at the age of 16-17 right? Well, what happened in between that time?

Cass has been on the run for Years now. She is 13, and at this point she has been on the run for nearly half of her entire life. So it's really no wonder that when she finally got to a relatively safe place after weeks of little food, little rest, and constant attacks by her pursuers, she accidentally fell asleep.

She woke up in a nice comfy bed, in a room that looked like an Astronomy Geek's dream. Once the people who found her noticed she was awake, they explained what had happened.

Their son, a boy named Danny, had found her passed out in their Shed the previous day while cleaning up. He had quickly brought her in and offered his Room so she could rest comfortably.

Cass doesn't really trust them, and tries to run more than once, but her weeks of constant exhaustion have finally caught up with her and she is stuck staying with them until she is fit to leave.

And unfortunately for her, the Fentons are very Endearing.

By the time she is healthy enough to leave, she genuinely wants to stay. So they unofficially adopt her, letting her stay in their house and sharing a room with Jazz (Danny did kind of need his room back, and Jazz was a good sister like that)

She ends up going to the same school as Danny and ends up befriending both of his friends, Tucker and Sam.

The day of the Accident, Cass is right there alongside Tucker and Sam as the Portal kills Danny.

After the Accident, she is a great help in teaching him some calming routines and meditation techniques so he can get a handle on his Powers much easier.

They also find out that standing in front of a Portal as it rips reality apart is just as bad as being inside of it. They all end up extremely liminal and get Powers. Tucker has Technomancy, Sam has Plant Powers, and Cass gets Shadow Manipulation (or whatever you think fits her)

She is having the best time of her life, but unfortunately it can't last forever.

About 2 years after the Accident, the GIW get a lucky shot on Danny. They were using one of the inventions the Fenton's had made before the Reveal (which was a good one) one that made Ghost Powers weaker for easier capture. While it didn't hurt Danny too much, it did weaken him enough that he flickered into his Human Form for just long enough for the GIW Agents to see him.

Now with Danny's identity exposed, the GIW could track down the Identities of the Humans who had been helping him all this time, aka, Tucker, Sam, and Cass.

During a Raid on Fenton Works, they all got seperated somehow.

Danny got injured protecting the Team, and had to be rushed to the Ghost Zone by Jazz, a stray shot from the GIW blowing up the Portal behind them. They ended up in the Far Frozen, to get Danny fixed up.

Tucker was arrested and sent to prison for a little while before a glitch in his cells Security System allowed him an opening to use his Powers to escape.

Sam was chased out of the Town by the GIW and ended up in the Forest nearby. She had to use her Powers to run away, disappearing too deep into the Woods for the GIW to follow.

Cass managed to sneak out, and ended up trying to save Tucker on his way to prison. She failed though, and the GIW chased her all the way to New Jersey before loosing her trail.

This is how she ended up in Gotham, and got adopted by Bruce Wayne. But she would never forget her first Family, and would try for years to see if she could find where they ended up.

Potential Part 2? Maybe, I have some ideas...

What do you think?

[kitthepurplepotato]

Chapter 24 - The boys are being sus (18+)

(ATTENTION: I’m writing the last chapter so if you have ANYTHING you want to see before this story ends, now it’s the time to speak up!!!! It’s now or never!)

Summary: You wake up to an empty bed and a distressed Eijirou is calling you, half-crying. What the actual f*ck are those two boys up to again?!

… oh, also, Melissa spills the tea about her plans to save Izuku’s career.

Warnings: Swear words, super cheeky smut which is absolutely skippable!

First Chapter Master List Support the potato

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“Is it even possible?” Izuku mutters, to no one I particular, his legs bouncing up and down, filling the room with a really annoying background noise. You can see the vein in Katsuki’s temple popping with every bounce; Eijirou is trying his best to not laugh at the comedic scene in front of him. There is a fond little spark in his eyes as he looks up at the blonde, probably extremely proud of his partner for not finishing the villain’s job by murdering the poor soul.

“It’s actually easier than you think.” Melissa grins on the TV screen, because using a phone for a video call is “so last year”, apparently. “You are almost healed already; the only long-term problem is the damage on your chest and your arms.” She dissapears for a second and comes back with her iPad, showing Izuku’s X-rays. “As you can see, your ribs healed up relatively well, but your bones are probably brittle around this area, making this your weak point during a fight. An armor would be a great solution, but an old-school chest plate would make your movements restrained, which is a no-go for you or to anyone in your line of job, really. There is a reason why you don’t see heroes in full armor. It’s safe for you but it might cost a life when you can’t react quick enough due to the armor being in the way. It can also make sneaking, or crawling out of small places impossible, making you the perfect target for being taken hostage. The same goes to your arms really.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound too good.” Izuku sighs, his body leaning closer to you, probably waiting for a calming embrace. You give him what he needs right away.

“Wait until she finishes, baby. We are talking about Melissa here.” You leave a tiny kiss on your boyfriend’s forehead.

“Listen to your girlfriend, she’s smart.” Melissa winks at you and continues. “So my plan is to use the same thing I used for your arm brace back in I-Island but with a twist; support items improved a lot since, and I also want to lace the brace with this brand new material that hit the markets a few weeks ago, really expensive but completely affordable for you if you keep your spending on the low for the next few months.”

“What is this new material?” Katsuki geeks out, clearly interested to get his hands on it after Izuku’s suit is sorted.

“Hmm, it’s hard to explain but I’ll try my best.” Melissa giggles. “It’s basically an armor but it’s flexible, kind of like Best Jeanist’s quirk combined with Gentle Criminal’s; it’s a thick thread that’s flexible and it also bounces back when hit. If I put a really thin, but sturdy plate right where Izuku is the weakest and use this thread for the suit on top, the damage can’t get to his chest and it can also hit the attacker like a boomerang. Now this is a great thing but also quite problematic; you don’t really want things to bounce back from you when surrounded by civilians, so I asked Mei to look into it as well. I’m thinking about giving this thread artificial intelligence so it can act as a double shield by hardening itself when surrounded by civilians but loosen up and fight with you when given the space to do so. This will take a few more months for me to perfect but I can make a temporary suit for you this month to ease you back into hero work. You won’t be able to take on the big missions with it, but you’ll be more than capable to go on patrols and deal with 90% of the usual crimes in the country. But take it easy for now, start part time, get used to the grind and I’ll work on your new, super high-tech suit in the background. How does that sound?”

“Wow, that’s… so soon.” Izuku looks a little bit disappointed and weirdly stressed about the new revelation. You look down at Izuku, whose head is nicely cushioned by your chest; it doesn’t look like he’s really focusing on anything right now, probably too busy having a fight with the other people living in his head.

“I don’t think Izuku is mentally ready to go back.” Katsuki whispers into your ears. Fuck.

“Uhm, Melissa, so…” you try your best to fake nonchalance as you stare into Melissa’s eyes through the screen, trying to communicate through telepathy. “I thought you said one of the uhm… things for Izuku’s temporary suit only arrives next month and you will probably need a few weeks after that to put the suit together, right?”

Let’s hope Izuku doesn’t question where you got this info from.

“Uhm…”

“So the suit won’t be done this month. Next month, maybe. Like… 6 weeks?”

“That sounds about right.” Katsuki joins the staring contest while Izuku mutters to no one, or to be exact, to someone in his head.

“Oh!” You swear you see a lightbulb switch in Melissa’s brain. “Yes! That’s right! Haha, sorry, my mistake!” She giggles sweetly and you can see Izuku’s shoulders loosing the tenseness they’ve had just a few seconds before. “I’ll leave you guys now, have a lovely day and see you soon!”

“Thank you, Mel.” Izuku gives the screen a tired smile as she disappears from the screen.

Everyone sighs in unison.

~•🥦•~

“Hey, Kat is acting weird.” Eijirou calls you out of the blue one morning, a month after the whole shebang with Gran Torino and Melissa. You look next to you to make sure Izuku is still asleep, but you find no one on the other side of the bed. Weird. Izuku doesn’t get out of bed without getting his morning cuddles. “I’m a really positive person and I think we are going steady but… I’m a little bit concerned he’s tired of me or something. Should I give him space? Should I talk to him? Actually, I don’t even know where he is… fuck… “ Eijirou mutters into the phone, clearly distressed.

“Okay, Ei, take a deep breath and tell me what makes you think he’s bored of you.” You mutter back, trying your best to ignore the absence of your own partner.

“He was on his laptop the whole day yesterday and didn’t let me take a peek, then I asked him to come to bed but he told me to fuck off so I tried to… uhm… get his attention in another way but he yelled at me?”

Oh. Now that he said that, the same happened to you yesterday. Izuku was on his laptop the whole day but you had your own projects to do so you didn’t really think about it being a problem; you were quite happy you are able to finish something without a distraction for once. Izuku was also quite distant when it comes to… well… love making, but after the conversation you’ve had a few weeks ago, he probably just needed some time to think about the way he thinks about sex and you, so while you really miss being close to him that way, you were glad he took your advice and decided to think about it a bit more before he indulges in his desires again.

“I don’t think the problem is you, Ei.” You sigh, laughing to yourself. “My bozo is also gone and had done the same thing yesterday.”

“I’m coming over.” Eijirou ends the call and you can’t help but laugh at that.

You should be stressed but you don’t have any bad feelings about this; all you feel is that you are going to have a really fun day investigating with Eijirou in a good “jealous housewife” way.

It’s actually quite endearing to think about it; a year prior, if someone would have told you you are going to have a field day with Red Riot himself, snooping after your boyfriend, pro hero fucking Deku, you would have laughed and sent the person to get their brain checked because something is definitely wrong in there; and let’s not even get you started on Red Riot being a damsel in distress, a gay one at that. Red Riot is the most heterosexual-looking hero in the whole field, which is basically the only reason Kiribaku shippers are never taken seriously. You’ve been a shipper yourself, back when the hero world was so far away for you, but even then, you thought this is all just a daydream in your fujoshi head.

Your life is a fucking fanfiction.

~•🥦•~

“What the actual fuck is that.” You mumble as Eijirou comes in through the WINDOW in good Deku fashion, looking like a hacker in those over-dramatized Netflix movies. He has a bunch of cables in his hand and a laptop with explosions engraved into the back of it.

“We will break into this, then connect to his phone and see where he is.” Eijirou states, seriously.

“You don’t need all those cables to do that. You probably know his password anyway.” You deadpan, still in your pajamas. They are Deku-themed.

“Shut up, I wanted to be extra.” Eijirou grumbles and sits down at the table. “Also, I don’t know his password.”

“Try EiLovesMeat” you giggle, but Eijirou only rolls his eyes at that.

“You are so funny.” He grumbles, but tries the password anyway. The laptop logs in.

“You are shitting me.” You both say the same sentence at the same time. All Meowt meows in the background.

“I’m his password?! That’s so manly!” Eijirou cries happily, almost forgetting about the “mission”.

“Ei, focus.” You tell him off, already halfway in the kitchen.

“Tea or coffee?”

“Protein shake!” Eijirou yells back. You really want to point out how that wasn’t on the list, but you kinda enjoy the domesticity of the moment.

“Cookies?”

“Duh! Chocolate chip?”

“Yup.”

“That’s my girl.” … okay, your mind is going in the wrong direction. This is not the time to think about all the Red Riot x reader fanfictions where Eijirou said the same phrase in a REALLY DIFFERENT scenario. “That face is making me uncomfortable. I’ll tell Deku.”

“Please, for the love of god, don’t.” You mutter with a red face.

“I could, but knowing him, he would make the same face as you are. He sent me more Tumblr links of that sort than what I dare to admit.” Eijirou giggles to himself.

“Pro heroes, other than Izuku… read fanfictions?” You gawk at the redhead while you shake up Eijirou’s protein shake.

“Mostly on drunken nights, but yeah, we do.” He grins. “Shouto is the funniest with these, read him a fanfiction while he’s drunk and he’ll keep telling you how he would never do any of that stuff, then give him another pint and watch him try to do them, failing miserably. No one ever wrote an in character fanfiction of him. It breaks his little heart… ahh I can see Katsuki’s phone! He’s in… wait, what?”

Your interest is peaked; you go over to look at the screen and you can’t believe your eyes.

“Osaka?! That’s like… 6 hours away?!” You yelp.

“… or 1,5 hours by plane to Kansai and then 50 minutes to Osaka.” Eijirou states. “Heroes don’t need to go through the same security system as the common folk, so they’ve probably did the trip in less than 3 hours which checks out with Katsuki’s absence. Let’s take a closer look.” Eijirou zooms in on the map. “Is that a comic store?”

You take a closer look.

“Yup, that’s the biggest nerd store in Osaka. They are famous for selling rare figurines and hard-to-get comics, sometimes even before the release date.” You mutter to yourself, thinking hard about the current figurines available on pre-order. And then it clicks.

“There is a new All Might Figurine coming out in a few weeks, apparently people went berserk for it and it got sold out in the first five minutes. It was also limited to one figurine per person…”

“THAT’S IT!” Ei yells, scaring the shit out of All Meowth.

“They need two each!” You yell back, so excited that people might think you just won the lottery.

“One to put out and one in pristine condition, still in the box.” Eijirou adds.

“Ei, I have an idea.” You grin at the redhead. “Why don’t we help them out?”

“They went to Osaka, so clearly, Tokyo doesn’t have this figurine available.” Eijirou sighs. “We can’t ask All Might for it, because that’s cheating, or at least the boys think so.”

“We can’t ask him to get us the figurines, but he can tell us who the main manufacturer is.” You grin to yourself.

Eijirou grins back.

In just a few minutes, you get the phone number you needed; All Might laughed at your silly shenanigans and told you you’ve made his day brighter. He also asked you to call whenever you are lonely. He’s a fucking saint.

In an hour, Eijirou and you are on your way to the factory. You had to play a damsel in distress to get in; using your connections to All Might and Deku was a no go as the boys were clearly trying to get the figurine fair and square. You can only hope that the fact that you got the number from All Might won’t be a problem.

“What if they get the figurine in Osaka?” Eijirou asks the million dollar question.

“We will give it away for charity.”

“I thought Izuku needs all the money for his fancy suit?”

“He needs his own money, not mine.” You blush as you stare out of the window.

“That figurine costs a fortune, you can’t be serious!” Eijirou gawks at you.

“… I live in a luxury apartment for free. And his happiness is worth so much more than a super cool, limited All Might figurine with a sparkly finish!

“… so YOU want that figurine to be displayed instead of sitting in the box somewhere in Izuku’s office.” Eijirou giggles to himself.

“You know me too well.”

~•🥦•~

The boss of the company who sells the figurine was a surprisingly good sport; apparently, you are not the first person who managed to get to him to get a figurine; apparently he’s happy to help everyone who sounds utterly frightened in the phone out of respect for their bravery; you wouldn’t do something so out of your comfort-zone if it wouldn’t be extremely important to you.

He also had a good laugh when Eijirou came in after you managed to get two figurines. He told you how he respects you not using his name to get the figurines then his eyes fell out of his sockets when you told him these figurines are for the top 2 heroes of the country. He said your secret is safe with him and took a selfie with Red Riot, because apparently he’s also all about manliness and Red Riot is his favorite hero of all time. Eijirou left the building with a blush on his face; his heart might be someone else’s but his eyes are allowed to wander from time to time and there was a lot to see on that guy, let’s just say that.

After you two say goodbye by your door, you put down the figurine right on the dining table.

Izuku comes home, utterly disheveled; he goes right to his laptop without saying hi, clearly disappointed in something. He sits down right by the figurine and doesn’t even look at it. You really want to laugh, but there is one thing that bothers you…

“You know I don’t appreciate you going away for a full day without saying anything, then coming home looking like shit and not even telling me what’s going on.” You close the laptop screen on him, because… well… you are offended.

“… fuck. You are right. I’m sorry.” He sighs, looking at the closed laptop screen. “It just… felt so good… doing this secret mission with Kacchan… just the two us. I think I needed that. I needed… to be alone with my best friend and just… be stupid. Rebel against the world.” He sighs. “I’m sorry.”

“Izu, you can’t just disappear without leaving a note. Not because you NEED TO tell me where you are but because it’s not safe for you to just disappear.”

Izuku looks like he’s about to cry; he finds your fingers with his own, and strokes just the tip of them like he’s too scared to do anything more to you. You lace your fingers together with his and sit in his lap, making sure he understands you are not actually mad right now.

“Sweets…”

“It’s okay. You can rebel. Just tell me about it. Or tell Eijirou. Tell one of us so we know you guys are safe. Also…” You give your boyfriend a knowing smile. “I also need to apologize because I’m quite sure I just ruined your fun.” You push the figurine in front of him. Izuku looks like he can’t believe what’s in front of him.

“OH MY SAINT ALL MIGHT?! How?! Wait, how did you know?!”

Izuku doesn’t even wait for you to answer before he starts opening the box. You can’t help but laugh at his shenanigans.

“Are you happy, Izu-Izu?” You mumble with a fond smile on your face as you take in the lovely little blush on Izuku’s face.

“I’m really happy, Sweets. Thank you.” Izuku pulls you close and hides his face in your neck. The figurine is left half-open on the table. “I still feel like I want to rebel, though. Maybe I should get that nipple piercing I was talking about for real.” Izuku mutters into your neck then starts peppering kisses all over it. You can feel the blood going into your lower body, really fucking quickly. The kisses get deeper, wet streaks of saliva left in their wake as Izuku starts to work his way towards your collarbone. With only one swift move, Izuku manhandles you into a straddling position.

Warning; gets super cheeky here! This is only for the people who are into smut, please feel free to skip this, it’s actually really cheeky, I’m utterly ashamed of myself but Izuku was really happy and they’ve been a bit distant in the last few weeks and… you get it.

“You mean… you want a piercing… here?” Your hand moves under Izuku’s T-shirt, slowly snaking up towards his nipples, touching every single muscle on the way up. Izuku moans loudly as your two fingers pinch his nipple and plays with the bud. “I don’t like that someone else will touch you here but I would really like to see you with the piercing so… I’ll allow it this once.”

“You think you are the boss of me now, fangirl?”

“I mean… I’m the only person in the whole world who owns your heart, so…”

“Okay, I’ll allow it this once. But boss me around once again…” Izuku tries to sound threatening but the blush on his face ruins his facade.

“And what, you’re gonna stuff my mouth with something so I can’t boss you around?”

Izuku bites his lips so hard they start to bleed a bit. His hips perk up just enough to make you understand, he finds this conversation extremely appealing.

“Nah, I’m just going to make sure you don’t have any brain cells left to make a proper sentence. But I like your brain so it would be counter-productive. And I also like to be bossed around by you.”

“You are really bad at this dirty talk, you know that, right?” You giggle, fondness obvious in your eyes as you look at the love of your life.

“I’m bad at dirty talk but I’m quite good in playing dirty.” Izuku grins as he puts you on the table with one arm. You really want to tell him off for using his arm so much but hell if you didn’t find this scene extremely hot… well, your brain is clearly gone already. Sorry, Izu-Izu.

It takes him half a second to slowly peel your short off with one single finger, removing it inch by inch, slowly and sensually. His fingertip feels like fire as it strokes your lower belly on his way down. You can’t help but whimper. “Nothing to say, huh?” Izuku grumbles into your ears, low and deep. He’s definitely hanging out with Kacchan too much.

“Not in front of All Might, Mr. Deku!” You play the fan girl and by the disgusted look on Izuku’s face, he’s really not into that. It actually breaks your horny little heart when he moves away from you, your panties snapping back in place as he takes a step back.

“Sweets, for the love of god, do not roleplay a fangirl when we actually get uhm… into it. I can only make love to my Sweet Pea.” Izuku moves the figurine to the coffee table and hides his face with the shirt he just pulled over his head in the sexiest way possible. Damn it’s hot in here. “Now he’s not looking. So where were we?”

“I’m… Sweet Pea.” You parrot like a good girl. Izuku grins at you menacingly, or at least he tries but really, he just looks… in love. Oh, how much you love this man and his incapability to be rough.

“You sure smell like her.” Izuku hides his face in your hair and takes an obsessive, deep breath which makes the blood rush into your core. Izuku might be soft and pliant but one thing he’s good at is being a sexy, obsessive beast when he’s in the mood. And as much as you like Izuku on a normal day, you cherish the shit out of these small moments when Izuku forgets his manners. There is just something beautiful about seeing this shy man feel safe enough to be a little bit freaky.

“How do I smell like?” You mutter as Izuku leaves wet kisses all over your neck again, his hands traveling up to your breasts at the same time.

“Flowery, like your face cream.” Izuku pants, his breath hot and heavy on the tip of your ear. “Your skin smells like sandalwood, because you stole my shower gel again. I really like it when you smell like me.”

“I know.” You whimper as Izuku’s hands find your breasts. You can’t help but moan as his hands engulfs your sensitive parts.

“You did this on purpose.”

“Maybe?” You admit sheepishly.

“I thought you… want us to do less uhm… stuff.”

“I’ve never said that.” You sneak one finger into the hem of Izuku’s trousers. “I said I don’t want you to use sex as a tool to wind down when you are stressed.” You tug on the fabric impatiently.

“Well, I was stressed. But now you got me the figurine I was stressing about so…” Izuku mutters and honestly… it all makes sense now. “Will you tell me how did you know I was looking for this figurine or do I need to use my seduction techniques to get it out of you?” Izuku’s palms grasp your chest almost painfully, but just in the right way. You are quite sure there is a massive wet spot on your panties by now.

“You would never do that.” You mumble defiantly. Izuku laughs.

“True. I’m not into that. So tell me or I’ll walk away.” Izuku pinches your nipples then slowly moves his hands away; you grasp his hands and put it back where “they belong.”

“Okay okay, I’ll talk.” You mumble quickly. Izuku giggles at how desperate you sound right now. “Eijirou hacked into Katsuki’s laptop… well, I told him what the password might be and he checked his phone gps from there… then I remembered that article about the All Might figurine being one per person and I knew you are too pure to ask someone to order you another one and… then I came up with the idea of getting them for you as a token of our love and… oh saint jesus.” You moan as Izuku’s hand wanders down to your lower belly then barges right into your panties.

“I haven’t even touched you yet.” Izuku giggles into your hair, his voice sweet as honey. “I’ll never get used to you being so… perfect for me down here. It makes me so happy. You make me so happy. Fuck, I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” You urge your boyfriend with a snap of your hips.

“It’s like I’m the fanboy… I can’t believe you are mine, that I can do this, touch you like this, be one with you whenever I desire, it’s like you are too good for me, too perfect, like a dream coming true…” Izuku, being unapologetically himself sniffles into your ear while his fingers find their way into your folds.

“I feel that way too, every time I wake up next to you. Every time you kiss me. Make love to me. Izuku, I love you so much it’s fucking ridiculous.” You move your hips once again and continue doing so until Izuku eases his first finger in. “I have no idea how I managed to stay away from you for so long.”

“We did a really shitty job at that, to be fair. I kissed you twice before we even got together. We slept in the same bed more times than we slept alone.” Izuku mutters with a fond smile on his face. Your hand sneaks towards Izuku’s trousers again, slowly opening the zipper, making some space for Izuku’s poor little friend, who’s clearly suffering inside his tight pants. Izuku uses his other hand to get rid of your panties, you doing your best to hop up from the table so the textile can get out of the way without an issue. Seeing the mess you’ve made already, you guys will need to get a new table before anyone comes over for a dinner party.

“Kiss me.” You pull Izuku close with one hand buried in his unruly hair while the other pulls on his trousers and boxers to finally free his gorgeous fucking dick, because you swear to god this thing between his legs is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen in your life except for all the other parts of Izuku. You take it into your hand greedily your hand moving up and down on his member, making Izuku moan sinfully as he devours your mouth in the most obsessive way possible. One finger becomes two, then three, your own hand losing rhythm as you get closer and closer to your climax. Without a single thought in your head you pull yourself closer to your boyfriend, slowly aiming towards your greedy folds with his member; Izuku whimpers as he feels your juices coating the end of it.

“Fuck.” Izuku moans and with one swift move, pulls you into him, grabbing you by your thighs so hard it will probably leave a mark.

You’ve never done this… this way. Without protection. It feels heavenly. You can feel his shape perfectly, his skin is so soft, it feels like silk inside you, it’s so different from all the other times, you can’t help but loose yourself in the feeling, sucking him in as much as you can while your arms reach for his neck to pull him closer, to kiss him stupid, he feels so good you are about to reach your climax after only a few seconds…

“Sweets, I need to get a condom, this is not safe.” Izuku mutters but his eyes say a different thing; they are full of lust, half- lidded from the pleasure, cheeks red from the restraint as he slows his pace to a steady, slow rhythm.

“Please…don’t.” You mumble, completely out of it; you are frustrated from being declined your climax, you are frustrated because you know he is right, you are frustrated because he feels so fucking good…

“We need to be sensible.” Izuku sighs, slowing his pace to almost nothing. You whimper. “I’m not ready for a baby yet. I need to heal and go back to my job, I want to marry you and enjoy each other for a bit longer, as selfish as it sounds… trust me, I’m frustrated to no end, because this is so fucking good, but Sweets… you worth so much more to me than these few minutes of pleasure. Thank you for your trust. Thank you for letting me do this. But let’s finish this safely so we can enjoy each other after without stressing about what we had done. Okay, Sweets?”

Your answer is a high pitched, offended whimper. Izuku rolls his eyes and pounds into you once more.

“Why don’t we move this to the bedroom? It’s really hard to kiss you everywhere in this position. Let me love you properly.” Izuku sweet-talks and it works; you pull yourself up to cling to his neck and Izuku pulls you up enough to free his member which you do not appreciate too much. “It’s okay, Sweets, just a few more steps.” Izuku leaves kisses all over your neck while his fingers find their way back inside you, even in this position. You calm down by the time you two get into the bedroom; he puts you down on the bed softly and gets a condom from the bedside drawer. He does a quick job with putting it on, but not without a grumpy sigh.

“You wanted it just as bad as I did, you liar!” You grumble, but Izuku only laughs.

“Of course I did, it felt otherworldly.” He rolls his eyes cheekily. “But this will feel otherworldly too… because it’s you.” Izuku slowly eases himself back, his whole body touching with yours; you are not sure when did you loose your own shirt but it doesn’t really matter.

Izuku loves you slowly and sensually for a really long time; and just as he promised, he made you feel better than ever. It was so romantic and so-so full of love, you kind of forgot how good it felt to have him inside you without the condom in the way. Izuku plops down next to you after you both had the biggest climax of your lives; he’s out of breath but smiles happily at you, pulling you close for a cuddle.

You are safe from here!

“I’ll never get bored of this.” Izuku mutters into the back of your neck. “And I’m so glad you talked to me about my bad habits. This… felt so much better, even though our time together was always good. Thank you.”

“Stop making me love you more and more every day.” You mumble as you leave a kiss on Izuku’s calloused palm.

“I’ll stop if you’ll stop.” Izuku sounds so happy and so carefree you kind of want to cry. This is the first time in so long he’s been able to sound like that. It fills you with pride; you’ve done that.

“Don’t you wanna open that All Might figurine? Because I really want to open that All Might figurine.” You snicker; Izuku jumps off the bed and takes you in his arms, bridal style.

“First we have a bath. Together. With bubbles.”

“Deal.” You leave a scorching hot kiss on your boyfriend’s mouth, who whimpers into the kiss.

“Behave yourself now. I have no stamina left for today.”

“Sorry, sir.” You snicker and let yourself be carried to the bathroom, half asleep in those perfect, muscly arms.

… next chapter!

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Potato ramble:

- Last warning: I’m about to write the last chapter (chapter 27) so if you have anything you really want to see, please let me know! Once I start writing that chapter it’s over so I’ll try to put it aside for a week so you guys can tell me your wishes 🩷

- I posted this chapter earlier than I said I’ll but the next one will be a few days late as Wednesdays are usually my work and therapy days hence I won’t have time to edit it on time! Just a heads up! I hope this being posted before Saturday makes up for it!

- Find yourself a guy like Deku, dude *sighs dreamily* Also, stay safe. Don’t be like you in this chapter! 😂

- I absolutely love this chapter! I hope you love it too! We are getting to the time skip chapters, so hope you are ready!!

- So Deku and that nipple piercing… do you guys think he’ll have the balls to get it done? If he does have to balls to get it done, are you ready to see him? Because as I said, I do have a Vogue cover with Izuku half naked sitting in my art folder, ready to be posted… 😂

- I love Izuku’s innocent way of rebelling. He’s such a great guy 😭 dude I don’t want this ficc to be over, like EVER, I’ll literally cry when this is over 😭

- ALSO, are you guys interested to get an extra KiriBaku chapter which shows how they ended up as a couple? Because I have one, even though I want to re-write the whole thing, but it’s on my wish list so please, if you are interested, let me know! Seeing you guys excited about things motivate me a lot!

TL: @garfieldthomas @porusuniverse @stickygumchewer @sixxze @mily-moo @aei-sedai-moiraine @aymasakusa @katsuari @kenzie-deadly @shiviwrites07 @lukerycyja-reblogs @cloroxisadelectabletreat @coffeent @kisskissshutmydoor @bobcar1 @yazminetrahan @cringefan @ronimacaroni77 @themultifandomgirl @dangerousluv1 @emperatris-rinaka @shotos-angelic-whore @angelsdemonsmonsters @norvacaine @rei165 @unofficialmuilover @yao-ai @happydragonfrog @eeerreehhh @vinivave @alyss-eiz @sleepisfortheweakpooh

[sihtricfedaraaahvicius]

Game Night

Note: just another silly little fic that turned out longer than planned. Also; I use the terms geek and nerd here in a way that some may find rude, but it's written from readers perspective, and not my own, just fyi. 

Warnings: 18+, smut/fluff.

pairing: Modern!Sihtric x you (f)

summary: a game night turned steamy. 

wordcount: 3,1k

Masterlist

Osferth was without a doubt the biggest nerd you knew, but also one of your best friends regardless of how much of a geek he was. He always told you about the latest card game he had scored or that sick new board game that just got on the market. You didn't care much for it but always let him ramble on. And now, after years of begging, he had finally persuaded you to come to one of his game nights, which he held weekly in his basement. You knew he had several friends who participated in the games and shared Osferth's enthusiasm, but you had never met any of them and only heard of some by name. You figured them to be just as passionate as Osferth, and probably less good looking than your best friend too, because he may be a huge nerd, but he was a handsome one and even you couldn't deny that. His dating game was quite good and you knew he saw multiple ladies at once sometimes, which was a big turn off for you and withheld you from even entertaining the thought of dating him. Thus you were more like brother and sister.

The main reason why you had agreed to join one of the game nights was so Osferth would finally stop nagging about it, and you were curious what was so interesting about those games anyway and what actually happens during those famous nights. You were also curious about his friends, and fully expected them to be the stereotypical nerdy dudes who still didn't know deodorant is a thing they could use, and you thought they would probably make for good gossip material with your girlfriends. 

But you couldn't have been more wrong. 

You were greeted by three handsome men, who were seated on separate couches around the large table in Osferth's dimly lit basement. You were introduced to Finan first, an Irishman with dark hair and a good beard, who gave you a flirty wink upon meeting. Up next was a guy named Uhtred, who's accent you couldn't quite place, but with his long locks tied back and the sides shaved he was pleasant to the eye, and he flashed a friendly smile. Lastly your eyes landed on Sihtric, who was immediately intrigued by your presence, which didn't go unnoticed by Osferth, and the pretty dark-haired boy with the bold haircut perked up as he eyed you up and down with a curious smile. Just as you wanted to make a positive remark about his half shaved cut, you were interrupted when an older man rushed down the stairs onto the basement, panting while he apologised for being later than usual. You learned that the man who had joined the party was named Pyrlig, and he announced that, 'The brothers are coming.'

Shortly after Pyrlig's announcement you heard the sound of heavy boots stomping down the stairs along with a howling laughter, and that's how you were introduced to the brothers Erik and Sigefrid, who were clearly the life of the party, and with them the group was complete for the night. Everyone had taken their regular seat while you still stood awkwardly as you took everything in; the massive boardgame upon the table, the deck of cards next to it and the multiple dice along with enough booze and snacks to last a whole week. You also took notice of the lack of women and, being the only lady, you felt a little nervous. Osferth came up to you and told you to just pick a seat and join the table, promising the game wasn't hard to understand, but you protested at the suggestion of playing.

'But I don't know this game… I'd rather just watch,' you chuckled nervously, 'I can sit back there,' you pointed towards a couch in the corner.

'Don't be silly,' Osferth smiled, 'join us, you can just tag along with one of the guys.'

You shrugged lightly and reluctantly agreed, then asked who you should tag along with as you looked at the few empty spaces left, contemplating your options. The only couch that had no space left was that one the brothers sat on, which was a relief because the one named Sigefrid was pretty loud… and drunk. Osferth hadn't forgotten about Sihtric's interest upon seeing you, and it was hard to forget as the handsome stranger kept eyeing you up, so Osferth nonchalantly cocked his head towards his friend. A visible disappointment appeared on the face of each man in the room when you made your way over to Sihtric, apart from Osferth and Sihtric himself. Osferth had never been romantically interested in you, so he didn't care where you sat and, naturally, Sihtric flashed a cocky smile toward the others as you sat down next to him. Everyone made peace with the decision merely a split second later, and their regular chatter and laughter filled the room again while you got comfortable.

Sihtric leaned in immediately and held out his hand, 'I didn't quite catch your name, darling,' he lied with a warm and low voice.

You felt your cheeks heat up and repeated your name as you took the hand of your gaming partner for the night.

'Beautiful name,' Sihtric smiled and kissed the back of your hand, while his mismatched eyes remained locked with yours, 'for a beautiful lady.'

You giggled softly and waved off the compliment, but the damage had already been done. Sihtric's eyes lingered on you after he had let go of your hand. He placed his arm on the backrest of the couch, around your shoulders without touching, and he then sat back, relaxed while manspreading. You swallowed hard and checked him out from the corner of your eyes, as he casually drunk beer from a bottle while Osferth tried to get everyone's attention so the game could start.

Your eyes were pleased with the sight of the man on your left, who was dressed in all black; black boots, black skinny jeans with a black leather belt, and half buttoned up black blouse on top. His dark facial hair matched his dark eyeliner, and the few scars on his pretty face didn't bother you. You found it hard to believe that this guy, who was quite intimidating with his good looks and visible tattoos, was as much of a dork as your friend was. 

Everyone listened when Osferth spoke to the group, except you, because you were too busy distinguishing what Sihtric smelled like. Your conclusion was that he smelled like cedarwood and amber, accompanied by a hint of mint and the faint smell of cigarettes. And then, as if to nudge you out of your thoughts, Sihtric bumped his knee lightly against yours, which made you look up at him. He winked with a sly smile after having earned your attention, and you knew you were in for an interesting night.

About two hours had passed since the game got kicked off, and you still had no idea what was going on at the table. You had witnessed grown men argue, trying to cheat, curse at each other, and you were sure some of them kicked each other under the table every now and then too. It was an eventful sight and it looked like the game was still far from over. You didn't mind it though, because the pretty boy next to you had scooted closer not long after the game had started, to show you the cards he was to keep hidden from the others. According to Sihtric he was in a good position, for he held important parts of land and had an army closing in on the other gamers. And despite the fact you had no real idea of what his cards meant, you were impressed anyway for some inexplicable reason.

Sihtric seemed smart and patient during the game, despite the rash decisions he can make in real life, as he had told you, and he leaned in closer every now and then to discuss what his next move on the board should be. You loved the fact that he tried to include you, and that despite the fact your advice was useless or simply non-strategic, he never stopped discussing the options with you. You also enjoyed how he had smoothly lowered his arm off the backrest, and eventually rested nonchalantly around your neck, while you had placed your hand on his thigh under the wooden table, out of sight for everyone else.

As the hours passed by and the game progressed steadily, the rivals of your game partner became more and more drunk, until a petty argument broke out and everyone was accused of cheating. Osferth desperately tried to calm the competing men, while Sihtric just threw his cards on the table and dedicated his full attention to you, for there was no saving that game anymore. Sihtric wasn't drunk, perhaps a little tipsy, but the others were so far gone they couldn't even stand on their feet anymore. And no one even noticed how you and Sihtric had eventually moved to the lone couch in the darkened corner.

Sihtric had pulled your legs over his as you sat back, and he leaned in close, one hand on your thigh while his other held your chin lightly and his mismatched eyes looked you all over.

'So… how did a girl like you end up in a place like this?' he smiled with hooded eyes, completely smitten and captivated by you.

'Because of Osferth,' you replied, returning the rather dazed look as you were just as head over heels as he was, 'he's been telling me about his game nights for years, so I finally came over to make him stop asking me to come.'

Sihtric hummed softly with a smile, his hand moving moderately up your thigh as he nuzzled your nose, 'well… I'm glad you're here.'

'So am I,' you smiled with warm cheeks, your hands trailing mindlessly over his muscular chest, feeling the warmth of his body as your fingers grazed his exposed skin.

'You liked the game then?'

'I didn't really care about the game.'

'Then why are you happy you're here?' Sihtric asked playfully, already knowing the answer but wanting to hear it spill from your kissable lips.

'I think you know,' you chuckled and moved your fingers through his dark, soft curls.

'Do I know?' he taunted and leaned in, his lips faintly touching yours.

'You know,' you whispered, not telling him what he wanted to hear just yet.

'Hm… I know I wanna take you home,' he smiled and squeezed your thigh, 'and I also know I want you to tell me where you are most sensitive.'

You grinned and played with the pendant he wore around his neck, 'And what if I won't tell you?'

'Then you can show me.'

'Show you?' you feigned confusion, 'how?'

'By taking my hand and guiding it.'

'And then?' a cheeky smile appeared on your face.

'And then,' his breath tickled your lips as he chuckled, 'then I'll make you feel really good, darling,' he husked, 'would you like that?'

'Yeah,' you breathed, almost desperately, and you trailed your fingers down his chest to undo another button of his blouse, aching to see more of his scarred torso.

'Yeah?' Sihtric murmured and dragged his lips down your neck, where he left you short, mischievous kisses and wet kitty licks in between.

'Fuck,' you exhaled sharply with a smile, your hands on his chest underneath his blouse, feeling the rapid beating of his heart while you felt his lips curl into a smile as they were pressed onto your neck.

'Fuck?' he repeated with a devilish tone, 'you wanna fuck?'

You hummed approvingly as he leaned back to look in your eyes. He took your chin, his thumb circling your parted lips while he bit down on his lower lip before he brought face closer to yours again.

'Yeah?' he whispered, smiling, 'you want me to fuck you, darling?'

'Please,' you almost whimpered as you struggled to downplay your desperate need.

'What was that?' he clearly jested and shoved his hand between your thighs.

'Please,' you giggled and mindlessly grinded against his hand, 'please… I want you to fuck me.'

Sihtric smiled, and he took your hand as he got up, leading you discretely up the stairs while the others were still arguing over the game. Upstairs, in the hallway, Sihtric turned to you and placed one hand on your waist, pulling you closer, and the other on the back of your head as he finally kissed you after having endured hours of unbearable tension. He pushed you up against the wall and kissed you deeply, his tongue down your throat while you felt his trapped arousal pressing through his tightened jeans. You rubbed your palm over his hardened cock and he moaned into your mouth while he grabbed a fistful of your locks, and he yanked your head slightly back to make you look up at him after he broke the kiss.

'Upstairs,' he uttered, his enamoured look never leaving his face.

You knew Osferth's place all too well, and clearly Sihtric did too, for you both knew of the spare room on the second floor and you were quick to pull him with you up the stairs. You began to unbutton the rest of his blouse while he kissed you, and you both nearly stumbled as you clumsily climbed the steps while being all over each other.

'We should be quick,' you mumbled in between kisses as you reached the bedroom, 'before anyone will notice we left.'

'Trust me,' Sihtric husked and pulled you in the room, 'they won't notice, so I'll be taking my time.'

He kicked the door shut and buried his face in your neck, while his hands held your waist as he pushed you backwards to bed. Your hands were in his hair, your head thrown back while you enjoyed the touch of his lips on your sensitive skin.

'What's your favourite position?' he murmured in your ear as you slid his blouse off his shoulders.

'Doggy,' you grinned, 'but…' you paused and took his face, 'you're too beautiful. I want to see you while you fuck me.'

Sihtric chuckled, and it was evident that he enjoyed seeing you as well, so he cocked his head towards the desk with a mirror above it, and he smirked. You kissed him as he unbuttoned your jeans, and he spun you around to face the mirror once you reached the desk. You giggled with anticipation when Sihtric pulled your jeans and panties down, just low enough to have quick access, and he did the same with his own jeans, then he took off your shirt.

'Anything to worry about?' he asked and pulled out his cock as he stood behind you.

'All clean,' you smiled, 'and protected. What about you, handsome?'

'All clean,' he reassured with a wink and lined up with your soaked folds, wasting no more time and pushing himself inside you with ease.

You gasped and grabbed onto the desk as you felt him twitch inside you with each slow stroke, hitting all the right spots, keeping a steady and calm pace while filling you up entirely. You felt his big and warm hand on your waist, while he slid his other up into your hair, and he grabbed a fistful to pull your head back and make you look up into the mirror, locking his dazed eyes with yours while you were both smiling lustfully. You quickly started to curse under your breath as you watched him take you, to which his parted lips curled into a smug smile, and he leaned in closer.

'Does that feel good, darling?' he murmured in your ear, along with his raspy breathing while the desk rattled with every deep thrust.

'Mhm, so good,' you hummed.

'Yeah?' Sihtric chuckled, 'so do you.'

Then, he suddenly picked up his pace, and he fucked you with fast and short thrusts until you couldn't think straight anymore and your tongue hung out of your mouth. You struggled to keep your eyes open while Sihtric dumbed you down, and he yanked your head slightly backwards again when he noticed your struggle.

'Don't look away from me,' he growled sweetly, 'I'll stop if you won't look at me,' he threatened and moved his hand from your hip down to your core.

He stimulated you with with his fingers while he continued to fuck you, making you a trembling and moaning mess until you both came and then started to laugh, out of breath, at the impulsive absurdity that had just occurred in your best friend's spare bedroom. You gasped lightly when you felt the pretty boy pull out, after making sure you had taken his entire load and wouldn't waste a drop, and he gave you back your shirt before he pulled his jeans up again. When you were both decently dressed again he carefully took your face in his hands and kissed you admiringly and sweetly. You wrapped your arms around his neck as he leaned his forehead against yours, and you sighed softly.

'It's late, but I don't think I want to leave you just yet.'

'Good,' Sihtric whispered and nuzzled your nose, 'because I wasn't going to let you leave yet.'

You smiled and he captured you in another kiss, which was rudely disturbed when suddenly the bedroom door flung open and a drunken Irishman stared at you both as you were all tangled up, leaning back against a closet. You and Sihtric looked at Finan with wide eyes, knowing you got caught and he had the ability to make it a whole happening in front of his friends.

'Uhh,' Finan sounded and then burped loudly before he turned and closed the door again, 'nope, I don't see them anywhere either,' he shouted and stumbled down the stairs again.

You both sighed and laughed with relief, then kissed again before Sihtric took cupped your cheeks.

'Are all game nights like this?' you asked.

'If you mean getting drunk and arguing, then yes,' Sihtric chuckled, 'but this… what we did, that is new,' he smiled and pecked your lips, 'are you coming next week too?'

'I don't know,' you shrugged playfully, 'will you make me?'

'Yeah,' Sihtric said with a cocky smile, 'I'll make you come again, darling.'

taglist: @foxyanon @alexagirlie @sihtricsafin @neonhairspray @gemini-mama @lexwolfhale @sigtryggrswifey @skyofficialxx @djarinsgirl27 @m-a-s-h-k-a @verenahx @mrsarnasdelicious @diiickbrainn @little-diable @maii777 @urmomsgirlfriend1 @dixie-elocin @elle4404 @bubblyabs @ylvie50 @succnfuccubus @hb8301 @willowbrookesblog @apolloanddaphnis @jennifer0305 @carnationworld @justanother-sihtricgirlie @stark-head @il0vebeingdelulu @thenameswinter99 @deathbluestar113

If you want to be added to/removed from the taglist, message me 🖤

[avelera]

Oh GOD you, too, are an online lectures geek pls consider this your invitation to talk about favs--ones that stuck with you, current obsessions--the more the better! In trade, I'll tell you the two things I'm currently adoring: Yale's Open Course podcast on The Civil War to Reconstruction done by David Blight (man forgot more than ten other civil war historians know even if he mumbles *constantly*) and A History of Christianity by Diarmaid MacCulloch (so! worth the Prime BBC free trial <3)

Hiya! Don't mind if I do!

So 99% of the lectures I've watched lately are on the Great Courses Plus which was recently and stupidly renamed "Wondrium", which I find profoundly stupid because instead of just saying, "Hey, check out the Great Courses, yeah you can kinda guess what the streaming service offers," I have to instead explain what this nonsense term "Wondrium" means, ANYWAY, they've got lectures about basically everything.

Essentially, it's Netflix but for college lectures. YouTube has become so unreliable as far as what's actual information and what's completely made up or even racist conspiracy theory BS that I find it completely untrustworthy. Also, most documentaries are trying to prove something new, or offer a new angle on something, OR they're SO rudimentary and 101 that even for topics I know less about in history I tend to already know everything they're going to say.

So I pivoted to college lectures because 1) it's a whole series so like, dozens of hours I can just throw on in the background while doing something mindless and 2) I know it's going to be trustworthy, reliable, and provide me a baseline on a topic instead of some "new controversial spin" on it. Like, goddammit, sometimes I just want to better understand the history of Ancient Egypt, not your stupid theory about how they were secretly all space aliens or that we've got the carbon dating all wrong or whatever made up nonsense.

So, here's a list of some of my favorites!

Hannibal: The Military Genius Who Almost Conquered Rome - I consider myself about as near an expert as a non-academic can get on Rome and this lecture actually taught me some things, which is rare, so I recommend it as a fantastic deep dive!

How the Crusades Changed History is a pretty good short version that I recommend to anyone who enjoyed The Old Guard's Nicky and Joe BUT, for the best Crusades lecture, I'd recommend this History of the Crusades podcast. Sharyn Eastaugh is not just insanely informative, but her dry wit made me laugh out loud at least once an episode at the sheer hapless ineptitude of the Crusaders.

In the Wake of the Plague is a fantastic new lecture by Wondrium, the lecturer is amazing and it provides a lot of objective insights into how humans react to plagues that is VERY relevant to current events, BUT their lecture on **The Black Death in general is the one that got me obsessed with their lecture series. I watched it in the first week of Covid lockdown and let me tell you, having this super in-depth, objective look into how people behaved during the Black Death was incredibly valuable (and chilling) going into those years because it all played out with astonishing similarity. Also, anything by that lecturer, Dorsey Armstrong, is awesome. She's a Medievalist of the highest order. I also recommend her lecture on King Arthur.

**The Birth of the Modern Mind: The Intellectual History of the 17th and 18th Centuries - this one wins the award for "Lecture I thought most likely to bore me to tears that ended up being the single most fascinating I've heard in YEARS." Seriously, the way it explores the evolution of how we think in the modern era, through the philosophers who first conceived of these ideas, was jaw-droppingly fascinating. I also recommend it to writers of historical fiction and fantasy for a crash course, by proxy, of how to write people who think differently than you.

The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World - I once had beef with a post here on Tumblr that claimed that academic Classicists don't care about slaves or normal people during the Roman Empire, which is just profoundly absurd. I pointed out this lecture to them if they actually wanted to learn more about the subject instead of complaining that an art history professor may not have been prepped for a lecture about the lives of enslaved people in Ancient Rome. If that is a subject of interest, this lecture is great.

The Real History of Pirates - a must-listen for OFMD fans who want to get an introduction to historical pirates and the history of pirates in literature, which "Our Flag Means Death" owes as much if not more to than the historical figures.

**Turning Points in Middle Eastern History - One of the first lectures I listened to and still one of my enduring favorites. It's the first one I picked up for writing my Old Guard fic, Lights Out, when I wanted to write Joe from a more informed angle and I learned so much.

Understanding Japan: A Cultural History - One of my favorite lectures based on format, the lecturer picks a literary work or cultural concept as the entry point to explore the timeline of Japanese history. It's a fantastic way to give a wider and more holistic look at each era, pairing it with a cultural touchstone.

Shout-out to "The Mysterious Etruscans" because I just think they're neat. The lecturer is also very good and I highly recommend his lecture on ancient cities as well which taught me a lot that I didn't know.

Also a shout out to, "Warriors, Queens, and Intellectuals: 36 Great Women before 1400" for its subject and the lecturer who is great and she also has a really fascinating talk about the history of Spain.

Ok, I THINK that's some of the top ones! ;D

[witchyintention]

The Right Timing: When to Work Your Magic for Maximum Power

Description: Timing is everything, especially in magic! Learn how to align your spells with cosmic forces for the best results.

Magic isn’t just about candles, herbs, and willpower—it’s about timing. Sure, you can do a spell whenever you feel like it, but why not supercharge your results by working with the universe instead of just winging it? Whether you’re casting under the full moon, aligning with planetary hours, or avoiding Mercury retrograde disasters, the right timing can be the difference between instant results and crickets.

So, let’s talk about how to time your magic like a pro—no more guessing, just pure cosmic precision.

Moon Phases: Your Magic’s Best Friend

The moon isn’t just a pretty nightlight; it’s a powerful force that influences energy, emotions, and magical workings. Each phase holds a different type of power, so aligning your spells with the lunar cycle can amplify your results.

New Moon – Fresh starts, new beginnings, setting intentions. Ideal for manifestation spells, planning, and long-term goals.

Waxing Moon – Growth, attraction, and abundance. Perfect for money magic, love spells, and anything you want to increase.

Full Moon – Peak power, clarity, and illumination. Great for divination, psychic work, or any spell that needs extra oomph.

Waning Moon – Release, banishing, and letting go. Time to kick bad habits, cut toxic ties, or do that freezer spell on your annoying neighbor (ethically, of course).

🌕 Bonus Tip: Eclipses are wild cards—they shake things up and bring sudden changes. Some witches avoid spellwork during an eclipse, while others use the chaotic energy for deep transformation. Choose wisely!

Planetary Days and Hours: Because the Universe Runs on a Schedule

If the moon is your general guide, planetary influences are your fine-tuning tool. Each day of the week is ruled by a different planet, which means certain energies are stronger on certain days.

Monday (Moon): Emotional work, dreams, intuition.

Tuesday (Mars): Courage, protection, strength, motivation.

Wednesday (Mercury): Communication, wisdom, travel, business.

Thursday (Jupiter): Luck, prosperity, success, expansion.

Friday (Venus): Love, beauty, relationships, harmony.

Saturday (Saturn): Banishing, discipline, protection, endings.

Sunday (Sun): Power, vitality, healing, success.

For even more precision, you can use planetary hours, which divide the day into segments ruled by different planets. That’s right—Saturn’s influence isn’t just on Saturdays, but at specific hours of the day, too. If you really want to geek out, you can use a planetary hour calculator to schedule your spell down to the minute.

Retrogrades: Proceed with Caution (or Don’t, If You Like Chaos)

Ah, Mercury Retrograde—the cosmic event that turns texts into misunderstandings, tech into paperweights, and travel plans into a mess. But Mercury isn’t the only planet that goes retrograde!

Mercury Retrograde – Communication breakdowns, tech failures, and general confusion. Avoid signing contracts, starting new projects, or sending that “we need to talk” text. Perfect for reflecting, revising, and reconnecting with the past.

Venus Retrograde – Relationship drama, financial instability, and bad haircuts. Not the time for major love spells or beauty rituals!

Mars Retrograde – Low energy, frustration, and conflicts. Pause aggressive spells and avoid confrontation magic.

Saturn Retrograde – Lessons in discipline, structure, and karma. Good for inner work, but don’t expect shortcuts.

Jupiter Retrograde – Slow luck, delayed opportunities. Time to reassess goals instead of chasing new ones.

🌟 Pro Tip: Retrogrades aren’t all bad—they’re great for reflection, internal work, and fixing past mistakes. Just don’t expect things to move forward smoothly.

Solar and Lunar Eclipses: Magical Wildcards

Eclipses are powerful, but unpredictable. A solar eclipse is great for resetting intentions, while a lunar eclipse is deeply transformative. Some witches avoid spellwork during eclipses, while others harness their power for shadow work, truth-seeking, and breaking through barriers.

If you choose to work with eclipse energy, be prepared for unexpected outcomes. Think of it as the universe saying, “Oh, you want change? Buckle up.”

Sabbat and Seasonal Magic: Aligning with the Wheel of the Year

The Wheel of the Year provides natural checkpoints for your magical workings. If you like working with seasonal energies, these are perfect times to perform certain spells:

Samhain (Oct 31) – Ancestral work, spirit communication, shadow work.

Yule (Dec 21) – Rebirth, renewal, protection.

Imbolc (Feb 1) – New beginnings, inspiration, cleansing.

Ostara (March 20) – Growth, fertility, abundance.

Beltane (May 1) – Passion, love, creativity.

Litha (June 21) – Strength, success, manifestation.

Lammas/Lughnasadh (Aug 1) – Harvest, gratitude, prosperity.

Mabon (Sept 21) – Balance, reflection, preparation

These festivals are great for big-picture spellwork, helping you align your intentions with natural cycles.

So, When Should You Cast Your Spell?

In short, it depends on your intention. If you’re casting for love, do it on a Friday during a waxing moon in Venus’ planetary hour. Need to break a bad habit? Try a waning moon on a Saturday in Saturn’s hour. The more aligned your timing, the stronger your magic will be.

But let’s be real—keeping track of moon phases, planetary days, hours, and retrogrades can feel like juggling flaming wands while blindfolded.

Why Guess When You Can Know?

If you want to take out the guesswork and make sure your spell timing is on point, I offer custom astrology readings that help you align your magic with cosmic forces for maximum results. Don’t leave your spells up to chance—work with the stars, not against them.

🔮 Check out my shop for a custom astrology reading! Ko-Fi

Other Links

[rockinlibrarian]

My Current (again) Hyperfixation: The Legion Soundtrack

I read like three posts in a row-- and left an encouraging comment on one saying much the same thing-- saying GEEK OUT OVER WHAT YOU WANT TO GEEK OUT OVER UNABASHEDLY, PUT THAT LOVE IN THE WORLD EVEN IF ONLY YOU APPRECIATE IT-- just as "David Redux" was playing on my computer. Again. Because I have been hyperfixating on the Legion soundtrack for the past two-ish weeks and playing my playlist on repeat. In this case it was actually just part of my "Psychedelic and Prog Rock" playlist because I've been trying to branch out, but still, I feel the need to gush, but I've been RESTRAINING MYSELF BECAUSE WHO REALLY CARES... but this is a sign, isn't it? So allow me...

*ahem* Those of you who have been following me for any amount of time are probably aware that I'm a fan of the FX show from 2017-2019, Legion, a highly-mindtrippy, oft-problematic, X-Men spinoff about mentally-ill superpowered folks, for which I have written the vast majority of my fanfic. I first checked it out because showrunner Noah Hawley (whose Fargo I'd loved) crossed with the X-Men?! I stayed around because PSYCHEDELIC TRIPPINESS. Which includes the soundtrack. And honestly, maybe it's the soundtrack I love most of all.

There are two, possibly three, parts here. The needle-drops are A-PLUS, perfectly used in the storytelling, and just generally good songs, most of the time (yeah, a few I don't like. But then, sometimes that's what you need to tell the story). A lot of them are genuinely psychedelic or at least prog-rock, but even the ones that aren't are USED psychedelically: ironic in tone, simply capturing an odd fleeting emotional state, whatever. There are some well-known songs like "Speak To Me/Breathe" (more about the Pink Floyd connection in a bit), and a lot of rarer songs from lesser-known artists that I am ETERNALLY GRATEFUL to music supervisor Maggie Phillips for introducing me to. I ended up buying albums from The Beta Band and Secret Machines because of songs used in this show.

I feel like a lot of people had this reaction when "Undiscovered Firsts" by Feist played in Chapter Four of Legion, but this is one I immediately tracked down to purchase, like, after that episode. It might have been later than that. But it's definitely the first Legion-prompted music I purchased at SOME point:

Yeah, looking at the comment section of that youtube video, it's pretty much all "Legion sent me here!"

But the needle-drop I've been most obsessed with during this current binge is Radiohead's "The Daily Mail":

It is constantly in my head and I don't mind at all. It captures my underlying emotions lately (and I didn't even realize this until rewatching Chapter Five with closed-captions-- rewatching the show is another way I've tried to branch out from JUST relistening to my playlist over and over-- but the lyrics are eerily timely, too). It builds, and then it's over too soon, and I feel the need to start it from the beginning.

Here's a Spotify playlist I used for reference when building my own collection:

There are two three reasons I made my own playlist on my own computer out of my own collection. Probably the most important one that just occurred to me is because then I'm not reliant on Spotify. I own this music dangit! I can listen without commercials or supporting shady streaming services! Anyway, another is because there are a few songs on here I WOULD rather not listen to, thanks, why should I force myself? Thirdly, and originally most importantly before I remembered the "not reliant on Spotify" thing, is it only includes "songs," not OST instrumental background music, which is necessary!

I mean listen to this:

That's basically the main musical theme of the series and sums up what it's all like and is also gorgeous.

Score writer Jeff Russo has stated many times in interviews that Pink Floyd is one of his biggest influences in general, and that he specifically leaned into that influence in the music for Legion. Well, whaddya know, my second-favorite band!--and for that matter, there's Beatles influence in there, too. Actually in the comments of the link I put to "David Redux" above, somebody said "This is literally I Want You(She’s so heavy) like just straight up that song." ...yeah so? No seriously it's not JUST straight up "I Want You (She's So Heavy)," but the influence is clearly there. There are definite bits of the score you can point to and say "Ah! Pink Floyd!" about, too, but mostly it's less blatant. But still-- the FEELING is there, that eerie, dreamy, sometimes disturbing feeling.

--Slight tangent about Pink Floyd and psychedelic music in general. It CAN be disturbing, and that's the POINT. It shakes you out of your comfort zone. Now, when I was a teenager and first getting into "Classic Rock," I HATED Pink Floyd. Not just meh, not just didn't care for, ACTIVELY HATED. And I was like, "Yeah, sorry, no way this is EVER going to grow on me." And I don't think it ever DID grow on me-- it just immediately flipped a switch-- from UTTER LOATHING to me buying a copy of Wish You Were Here at the used CD store and thinking, in that moment, oh darn, I think Pink Floyd has suddenly become my second-favorite band. Now, I wrote a whole long thing about my feelings about psychedelic music about 2/3s of the way into this article, so I'll leave you with the link and get back to the Legion soundtrack.

The Floyd influence extends across ALL of Legion, actually, not just the background music. The show's heroine is named after founding Floyd member Syd Barrett (who, notably for purposes of this show, had quit the band due to mental illness). I already mentioned the "Speak to Me/Breathe" needle-drop, and in Season Three there was a literal performance of "Mother":

Admittedly, I have the original Floyd track on my playlist, not this performance.

But that brings us to the third part of the Legion music story: a lot of songs actually PERFORMED for the show. Often IN the show. Usually by the characters themselves, though once the band Superorganism actually appeared in the show to accost one of the characters with a performance of their song "Something for Your M.I.N.D.":

In what is one of my favorite episodes of television ever, Chapter Seven (which when I opened up IMDB just now to make sure I was spelling Maggie Phillips' last name correctly, I noticed is ranked as the top episode there, 9.3 stars out of 10), Oliver Bird (whom you've probably heard me mention because he's one of my favorite characters ever--my third-favorite in this show only because the Loudermilks exist) conducts/wills into existence an eerie arrangement of "Bolero" that scores the frickin' amazing climax of the episode (cw for some creepy body horror and a bit o' gore if you watch this whole video):

Oh oh oh the most amazing thing I've ever seen on TV is this mind-battle of "Behind Blue Eyes" from Chapter 19:

But we were talking about the MUSIC, not so much the SHOW, and one of the other aspects of Performed for the Show is a whole series of covers Russo and showrunner Hawley recorded together as, technically, needle-drops, but often incorporating themes from the score, like the intro to their "Cornflake Girl":

This makes for really unique covers that sometimes sound completely unlike the originals but actually are really friggin' good in and of themselves. I think my favorite is their "Fly Like an Eagle" which is WAY un-Steve-Miller-Band:

Note that the intro is blatantly the intro to Pink Floyd's "Echoes"!

Which is how I managed to branch out to my full "Psych and Prog Rock" playlist in the end-- "ooo, I really want to listen to 'Echoes' now"!

OKAY. RIGHT. So if anybody else gets hyperfixated on psychedelic music, let me know, because it's such a weird thing to hyperfixate on. But never mind. I HAVE NOW SHARED WITH YOU SOME AWESOMENESS. LISTEN WELL.

[reniworks3106]

My Thoughts on The Cuphead Show

Wow, cuphead is trending?! Well, in that case, it is a good time to discuss my latest podcast.

I loved The Cuphead Show! I first discovered it during its development stage in like May 2021 (or something?) and when I saw the leaks, I figured that I would love The Cuphead Show and I'm glad I was right! The problem was at the time the Cuphead Show came out in 2022, I didn't had Netflix, so I watched clips of the show posted on YouTube. Then, fast forward to June 2022 during Geeked Week: I got to see a sneak peek of "The Devil's Pitchfork" Table Read and let me tell you my reaction on how that episode ended (Spoilers): When I realized that the Devil kidnapped Mugman, I was shocked to sickness, as my stomach got really sick!! I didn't feel well for a few days. It took a lot for me to process what happened and then wait for what happens next.

As I was predicting what happened next prior to the release of "The Devil's Revenge," my thoughts were that once Cuphead found a way into hell, he would have to face Vile Mugman in an epic battle to get him back to normal before facing off the Devil. However, too bad it didn't happen, but despite that, I kinda liked how it actually ended. Looking back, I could see why Vile Mugman wasn't added yet: it's only the 1st Season and it's way too early to add serious epic battles in this Season, such as a would-been Vile Mugman battle. But nonetheless, I loved the Pitchfork Saga as it is (as well as the rest of the other episodes).

Now if the Cuphead Show were to be renewed, I had an idea on my mind: remember how in Cuphead's Nightmare that Elder Kettle became a skeleton? Well, since Mugman being kidnapped in the game came true, what if (since it's confirmed that Evil Cuphead and Vile Mugman will be added in the possible 2nd Season) the Evil Cup Bro. clones would kidnap Elder Kettle too, which would then result in a dark tragedy of Elder Kettle by either the Evil Cup Bros. or the Devil (in my opinion, it would definitely be the Devil!)

Well, that's all I wanted to say. I just hope the Cuphead Show gets renewed next year (fingers crossed) since it's the key part of me to finish up my Cuphead AU called "The Inkmaster Chronicles". My pilot of it will be on AO3 by the end of this month (or the end of this year). Thanks for reading my ramblings!

[sleepy-vix]

hello hello hello!! i hope this day is treating you well <3

so. erm. i finished if we were villains one second ago. there are tear tracks still glistening on my face. and i have Thoughts TM

to be frank i wasn't a fan of most of the book (i found the very excessive shakespeare-quoting stilted, pretentious and cringey — and i'm saying this as a person who quotes shakespeare too much for the average sane person and is very annoying about it) but something changed when i was reading act five. i then proceeded to cry through the end bit of act five and the whole epilogue.

i have no idea what i feel about it skjfksdfj i have no idea when i started caring about these pretentious ass bitches enough to cry over them, seeing that for most of the book i was just incredibly annoyed by all of them. although i am proud to say i clocked james and oliver for what they were in their first few interactions. the power of the gaydar ladies and gents

i think part of the problem was that i was comparing it to the secret history so much in my mind (which is practically literary perfection in my mind. i personally believe that donna tartt is a greek muse in disguise and should be treated as such/j) it just paled in comparison — honestly, people need to stop comparing the two or just lumping them into "dark academia" (i'm personally not the hugest fan of aesthetic-based grouping for book recs, but that's a rant for another day)

i think it's a one-time read for me. like yes it was definitely an... interesting experience but probably not good enough to reread? i don't know?? i have zero idea if you like this book or not i just know that you've read it — so apologies if i accidentally offended you or something 😭😭 i would love to hear your thoughts on it though (especially the ending)!

I READ IT BACK IN GRADE 8 DURING THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS AND I WAS JUST DEPRESSED FOR THE WHOLE 8 WEEKS LMAO

im like ehhh about it now 😭 which is sad because i was so obsessed with it i made a playlist for james and oliver (im such a geek it's actually so embarrassing 💀)

also i completely agree with you about the shakespeare quotes. it got to a point where i would just skip the quotes and only read the actual writing because is it ever THAT serious?

also i have a few other icks about the book:

- oliver and meredith getting together (that was so ???? like i lowkey hated oliver for that)

- filippa's character. it was so ?? like m.l. rio did such a bad job writing her... the idea of her character is awesome but the execution was really not, which was disappointing.

but in general i really liked it :) i read it before the secret history, so thankfully i never unconsciously compared them with eachother (which i've heard is actually really common between people who read tsh first).

i agree with you in the dark academia lumping thing sooo much. like, you often see them side by side, but the only thing they have in common is a friend group + one person dies + school setting. which really doesn't mean much considering that alot of stories are set in schools and include friend groups.

also not to mention that tsh is twice the size of iwwv 😭 idk i get so defensive when ppl bash iwwv for being worse than tsh (even tho i agree)

tbh i loved it alot but i wouldn't reread it either because the oliver and meredith parts where so 💀

m.l. rio is writing another book btw! its called grave digger. im looking forward to it because i'd like to know if she's actually a good writer or if she was only good in my 13 year old mind.

im so happy that u sent me this ask :)) its not very often that i get to talk abt iwwv with a person who agrees with me that the book is sad but not that good

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

Hey Ralph! I was wondering if you have any advice on dealing with the new year coming. I often get really anxious around the new year bc of all the productivity, must be better, must level up, must change yourself tremendously, must learn new things and try new hobbies and don’t quit kind of atmosphere that comes around this time of year. I hate it but fall for it every year and just feel bad about myself. I always with resolutions with things I genuinely want to do, but it always feels so daunting. I always feel such immense pressure to be better but never actually stick to it anyway so I feel like a failure. I feel like there’s something wrong with me. But I can’t accept that there are other perspectives. I also get a lot of pressure from family to get a new job, make more money, read self help books, etc. all throughout the year and it just ramps up during this time. I hate it but still feel the pressure to follow these ideas. Have you ever experienced something like this and if so how do you deal with this?

Oh anon - I'm so sorry your brain and people around you are fucking you up in this way. Sending heaps of love. Sorry this is too late to help with the specific new year's resolution question - but I hope it's helpful.

I definitely have had feelings like this, particularly this time of year. I remember a couple of years where I started feeling like things were going well and then when I hit any obstacle it felt like the entire year was ruined

You're feeling anxiety. And the thing about anxiety is that it's very easy to think that if we just do what it wants - it'll go away. But it doesn't - it asks for more. But at the same time if you fight anxiety it also gets worse. It's very easy to be anxious about something and go "I shouldn't be anxious" and be off in an anxious loop.

The goal, unfortunately, can't be to eliminate those thoughts, but to accept them and therefore minimising their power. It's really hard, and super annoying, but I do think it's the main way through.

A few bits of practical advice:

If at all possible stay away from the worst bits of social media for the next week or so (keep to tumblr where the only new year content I've seen is Virginia Wolf's New Year's Resolutions which were very wholesome). Not in a commitment to improve yourself - but just to stay away from media that reinforces your brainweasels while it's at its worst.

Create space away from your family. What this looks like will depend on what your life looks like. But their pressure will

I really enjoy Oliver Burkeman for this (this is a good sample - there are heaps of his columns at the Guardian and his book 4,000 weeks should be accessible on libby). He's a reformed productivity geek and he's providing an alternative perspective - while acknowledging their power. He has a new year podcast.

If you're thinking about New Year's resolutions next year - maybe think specifically about how to make things easier at this time of year (could you resolve to minimise your exposure to New Year content?)

I hope this help - but the important thing to remember is that you will find your way through this. It might be hard and feel hard today - being a person is often hard. But however this new year's goes, or next, you will learn how to make things work for you a little bit more.

[lestappenforever]

Quick and Weekly (or rather race week specific) kind of analysis, basically just my takes on what went on during the race.

WE NEED TO GET THE YOUNGER ROOKIES SEATS. Ollie was an absolute beast yesterday, finish p7, managing the tyres, MANAGING A 7 TIME WORLD CHAMPION BEHIND HIM, holding off the rest of the pack, close to overtaking george, just Nico with his experience was able to hold him off a bit longer. Scoring more points in F1 than F2. Scoring more points than almost half of the grid. All with just one free practice session. This kid has a future (the only driver I could actually call kid😂)

Ferrari look fast. Finally being able go see Charles’ pace yesterday, in addition to not being fucked over by strategy or any shit, they’ve done a pretty good iob on that car. I mean, a rookie scored on his debut, and so far, a Ferrari’s always been on the podium. Of course this is just the second race, but still.

Haas aren’t that shit this year. The car looks good. Kevin was an absolute MENACE yesterday. Holding off Yuki, Esteban, Zhou, Valtteri, Alex, Logan, Daniel ALL WHILE HE KNOWS HE HAS A 20 SECOND PENALTY. Also Nico’s pace was pretty good, holding off Zhou and Alex, and kind of with ease. Apparently having a TP other than Guenther is proving to something quite positive.

RB are in shambles. Like, Yuki was pretty good, but wasn’t able to convert his p9 quali to points, and Daniel is just not doing well, that even with that 20 second penalty to Kevin, he’s still dead last. (Maybe it wasn’t McLaren, it was the choice of leaving red bull back in 2019) (I have a whole thing in my head about Daniel, and I still want to make sure if the facts and data before sharing it). But it might have been a miss that RB didn’t get Liam in this season, but we never know. I mean, Helmut Marko did say that there could be mid season surprises. And so far, non of the RB drivers seem or look to be even in contention for that Red Bull seat, in all honesty, it appears so far that Checo is more likely to keep his seat for 25!

I am not 100% convinced with either McLaren or Mercedes. Like yes both are consistently scoring points, and gaining, but I can’t really find that speed. Like they are okay, better than last year, but not Ferrari level improvement. Also, the strategy that both teams put Lando and Lewis on (especially Lando) cost him a better position, more points, maybe even a podium let’s be real.

Williams are okay. Ngl, I love James Vowels, his technicalities and as he said in DTS his geek-inees (hoping to be like him honestly one day). I feel like, Saudi and Bahrain aren’t really their tracks, because they did well, both Logan and Alex gaining positions. They are a team I’m waiting and hoping to see thrive, because Alex and Logan both deserve it.

Stake were okay, especially with that Zhou crash in FP3, like he couldn’t even qualify, but strategy kind of wasn’t ideal, and in all honesty, they’re just kay, not too fast, but not too slow.

And finally, our leaders. Despite everything, they do be cooking (Adrian and Max, you’ve both done it). That speed, the tyre deg, just everything about that car is phenomenal. And Max deserves it, after everything he’s gone through in his life, and he deserves to re-write the history books, which he already is, with re-reaching seb’s record not even 6 months after breaking it. This man who everyone is bored of his dominance are all going to be crying and missing him after he retires (I DON’T WANT TO THINK OF THIS DAY, BECAUSE I’LL BE THE FIRST ONE IN TEARS) but Max Emilian Verstappen is something that hasn’t come and probably won’t come again in Formula 1 and Motorsport history.

So yeah, that’s kind if my inital takes in the race, kind if a mini summary as well, and may we always listen to the Dutch National Anthem because I’ve been emotional this week with Max and everything happening around him.

This is such a wonderful analysis that really doesn't need anything added to it because you've got this spot-on, so I will try to keep my own thoughts relatively brief.

Ollie did incredible and I am so excited to see him in F1 permanently. Him and Liam? The future is bright.

I am cautiously optimistic about Ferrari and I really hope that, for once, they won't fuck themselves over which is in no way, shape or form a guarantee.

K-Mag did so fucking well, and it brings me so much joy seeing my fellow Scandinavian putting on such a performance. And Nico had a decent race, which also makes me happy. It's obviously far too early to be sure, but their new team principal seems to have been a good choice.

VCARB are just... Well, I'm not even going to utter my thoughts. All I will say is that there is no way in hell Daniel will be a good replacement for Checo. Claiming Daniel is better than him is just laughable.

McLaren and Mercedes are giving Ferrari 2023 vibes with their strategy calls yesterday, and it will be interesting to see how they develop over the season.

I truly hope Williams will improve over the course of the season, because I want to see Alex and Logan do well so fucking badly.

As for Stake: they were unlucky, and I'm just glad Zhou made it out of that crash unscathed. It's a shame he missed out on being able to qualify because holy hell did that team do their fucking best trying to get his car ready. I want to see him, and Bottas, do well.

As for Red Bull, they are as impressive as I hoped they were going to be so far this season, and as a Max girl it makes me laugh seeing Max haters bitch about his dominance making the sport boring. I, for one, am having the time of my fucking life. I won't even think about him retiring at this point, and will just keep enjoying every race for as long as I can. And seeing Checo starting off the season in such a strong manner fills me with joy. I am by no means Checo's biggest fan, but the shit he went through last season at the hands of disgusting Helmut Marko and the F1 community at large has me wanting him to suceed. Put some respect to his name because God knows he's fucking earned it.

Thank you so much for sharing yet another wonderful analysis, my darling. You have no idea how happy it makes me, and how much I appreciate it. ❤️

[agapi-kalyptei]

happylog, week 35/2024

still riding that high from the last pancake party. it's good to feed people and make them meet other new friends

gave away some more Red Gold and I'm left with just two last tubes that are already booked, so nothing goes to waste

i was greedy/naughty though and opened the Erős Pista jar for myself and wow it's so so good. so worth the [bodily function censored]

I actually opened MuseScore and worked on my quartet piece for a few hours, for the first time since like April/May

mental clarity is slowly returning. I might write about it separately but antidepressants+adhd+long covid combo really did make me delusional in the past few years

as the weather's slowly getting colder (NOT you, thursday and friday!! gross.) the migraines are also going away

asked in work if I should work on any other tasks and they said no. so I'm just geeking out about PostgreSQL internals and thinking about to make videos for youtube shorts about it (and a longer one later)

dinner with an old friend in V! can't believe we've met what... 9-10 years ago?

dinner in V! have I mentioned? V? food? great food? In V? the restaurant? that has good food? gosh i love this place. the staff still recognizes me even if I haven't been there much in the past few... yeah. you know

got new sweatpants. they're not as soft and stretchy like the old ones, but that's a good thing because they're 100% cotton and 0% microplastic, hopefully

just tried out the new running shoes. gosh they're instantly comfy, they're easy to put on and off,I can't believe I scored them on literally the first try in the first shop, even the size was just right.

not-so-happylog week 35/2024

skipped Kommi's party on Friday I kinda wanted to go, kinda enjoyed my social anxieties, but ultimately got a migraine which solved the problem for me

skipped ERSO Day on Saturday health was bad, it was a nice sleepy weather I didn't really plan to go, but also felt wrong not to go also felt wrong to not finish the footage I promised, uh, two years ago

ultimately, it's good that I have something firm to measure my level of delusions against. I'll still have to make a formal apology to K2rt, and I still want to finish the footage, but at this point I'm pretty sure the audio from all the chamber concerts is just too garbage to be salvaged for anything other than like 15 second fb/insta stories, and hopefully the main concert is still doable, but most of it is probably copyright-unpublishable because ContentID sucks

I'm still mulling over the encouragement I received during the dinner. To be myself, to create something, without expecting adventurous life or aiming too high or trying to be someone I'm not. To just record or share a piece of my life that's mine, without worrying whether it's better than what others are doing. FOMO is just wasted energy.

[extramundi]

Sorry Arnold, Michael Biehn is the real star of The Terminator.

Biehn initially perceived the script as potentially cheesy and worried it could result in a silly sci-fi movie if handled by a less skilled director. However, he was drawn to the complex character of Kyle Reese and believed he could deliver a strong performance regardless of the film's success.

He told SyFy in 2019: "In the hands of anyone other than Jim Cameron's, it probably would've been a silly movie. This story about a man sent from the future to 1984 to save a woman from a robot also sent from the future.

"The reason I took the role was because I really liked the character of Kyle Reese and I knew I could play that character really well. Even if the movie didn't do well, that was a really good character: a great fighter in love with the woman he was sent to protect. That part made me think, 'Well, I can probably come out of this unscathed.'"

Biehn says his memorable audition for The Terminator saw him initially bring a Southern accent from another role into the reading. It didn't go down too well and he thought he had blown his chances of the part. Yet, despite this hiccup, he impressed Cameron.

Biehn's confidence in the project grew after spending time with Cameron during a delay in production. He was impressed by Cameron’s serious approach and deep understanding of the story, which gave him more assurance about the film's potential.

"[Cameron] could answer any question I had about the story and how he was going to shoot it. When you're around Jim, even for a little while, you're quickly aware of how extremely talented he is. And so I had a little more confidence when we started making the movie than when I first read the script."

Yet, despite the film being iconic today, it didn't make Michael Biehn a star. It did enjoy a solid performance at the box office, making around $40 million on a $6.5 million budget, but The Terminator did not initially rank among the top 20 films of 1984. It received mixed reviews, including criticism from major outlets like the Wall Street Journal.

Biehn recalls, in an interview with Den of Geek: "What happened was that everybody starting getting their VHS recorders, and they started buying the tapes, and the video stores started opening up right around 1984, 85, and that’s where everybody saw the movie, on their cassette players.

"So it was a hit, but it had been a slow build. You know, people talk about it being an iconic movie, with iconic characters and so on – it was never that back then, and you have to remember, too, that Arnold was not a superstar. He was basically a body builder and Mr Universe and, with all respect due to him for being Mr Universe, but all he had done at that time was Conan, and people didn’t take him particularly seriously as an actor. And he only had two lines in the movie!"

Biehn believes the film's popularity grew in popularity as Schwarzenegger's celebrity grew. "It wasn’t like that movie came out and [people thought] “Oh Michael Biehn’s a star! He’s getting offered stuff right and left!” It just didn’t happen that way. It just came out slowly, and so I didn’t realise it was going to be anything until… I don’t even know when!

"Maybe, like, the early 90s, when they made T2, I figured, 'Okay, they’re gonna make T2, that’s Jim… and then they’re gonna make T3.' And then you realise this is a big deal, but it’s very hard to pinpoint the time when I knew it was going to be very good."

One of Biehn's favorite stories from making The Terminator was when he was called by Cameron to watch a rough cut of the Tech-Noir shootout.

"We worked eleven weeks on The Terminator, and they were hard: streets of Los Angeles, night shooting, etc. We finished shooting on a Saturday morning (when the sun was coming up) and I got a call from our producer, Gale Anne Hurd, on Sunday. Jim had a rough cut of the Tech-Noir scene and he wanted me to come to see it. I wanted to stay in bed all day, but I went over to his office.

"When I arrived, he was manically typing something, and he didn't even realize I was standing in his doorway, watching him for about thirty seconds. Before he showed me the rough cut of the Tech-Noir scene, I asked him what he'd been working on. He said, "Well, 20th Century Fox is interested in doing a sequel to Alien, and they've asked me to write a treatment." That's Jim Cameron for you. He doesn't have an extra 10 minutes."

[suspectjpg]

HURT　ME?　　♫　　KNOW　YOU　WON'T　HURT　ME!

[     lola tung ,  cis  woman,  she/her   ]     ⸻     have you seen CRYSTAL "MOONEY" SONG?　yes,　the TWENTY - ONE year old JUNIOR that’s usually wandering around campus? they’re currently focused on BIOLOGY,　so we’re sure they’ve been super busy with studying.　according to rumors, they were michael’s HALF - SISTER and he knew they GRAVELY INJURED SOMEONE IN A HIT - AND - RUN.　does it make sense considering they’re known for being DRIVEN as well as BLUNT?　either way,　the phantom is threatening to bring scary things to light,　but let’s hope whatever they’re hiding stays in the dark.  [  maria,  21,  she/her,  mst,  body horror ]

rly quick stats

introducing crystal moon song

known as. mooney

dob. 2003 march 23

zodiac big three. aries sun, scorpio moon, virgo rising

sexuality. bisexual

extracurriculars. model un, book club; i think she'd also be in an intramural soccer or volleyball team and i am *palms out* asking for her teammates

inspirations. kim kelly (freaks and geeks), mandy milkovich (shameless), kat stratford (10 things i hate about you), jade west (victorious), miranda hobbes (sex and the city)

biography

tw car crash

mooney was born crystal moon song to her mama, esther song. the way she came wasn't very conventional. esther & michael kepler's father were friends from college, still so close decades later that esther asked him to be the sperm donor for the child she was hellbent on having after coming out of a loveless marriage and a career she hated. he agreed! it went well, and esther moved to cottonwood, arizona as soon as she knew she was pregnant. while mr. kepler wasn't involved in her life all that much, mooney and her mom would often make the drive to california to pay the keplers a visit during school breaks, and even christmas/thanksgiving a couple years.

if mooney's full name didn't gave it away, just know that esther is like the final boss of all hippies. she moved to cottonwood to start a psychic business in downtown sedona, which was only a short drive away. she's big on spirituality, connecting with nature, mediation, and whatnot.

esther always said that mooney was the universe's ultimate test of patience for her, with her sarcasm, dry humor, and iron will-- all decidedly the very opposite of esther. but mooney would argue that she needed traits like that, to keep her mother's feet planted firmly on the ground and reel her back in through every disastrous fling.

mooney always had a bit of a temper too, and she started playing soccer to have some kind of outlet for it. she's good too! really good. esther's got the money to really pimp her out, with her own soccer coach, soccer camps during the summer, etc. she plays all the way through high school, team captain and the whole nine yards.

it ends badly. mooney was only 15 when she gravely injures a pedestrian during a hit-and-run. she had taken her mom's car to go to a party. it was dark. she was still a little drunk. it's bad. it's worse because she ran away. three weeks later, and she finds out that the person suffered a head injury that landed them in a coma.

much to her luck, esther used to be a judge. she talked and talked and pulled strings she hadn't pulled in years to get mooney out of the situation scot-free, all on the condition that esther pays for the family's medical bills. that meant no more investing in mooney's sport. it also meant dipping into her college fund. it was tragic, but it was also esther's version of a 'lesson' for mooney.

slowly, she fell out of love with the sport. all of her club friends drifted away from her and she quickly found out that the only reason she really liked playing it was because she liked the people she was playing with. that, and the guilt just weighed on her. she looked elsewhere for her passions, for her comforts.

she just so happened to find them in the sciences, specifically biology. it turns out she got more out of the hikes and the camping trips her mother forced her on as a kid than just realigned chakras, or whatever her mom said. she loved nature above all else! wanted to understand the why behind everything she saw and so she saw to it, devoting a huge chunk of her time to academics through the rest of high school.

she gets a pretty nifty scholarship from golden state for her stellar grades. it's not everything she hoped. it's not playing on the women's soccer team for some ivy league miles away from home, but it's fine. she hustles to pay for what her scholarship doesn't cover every term, and that's been her life for three years.

personality

mooney is aggressive. in everything she does. she's abrasive, irritable, rough around the edges, and highly! judgemental! can come across as a know-it-all, and a snob, but it's just because she knows better than you do and she can prove it. her words. has made her fair share of people cry because of her need to punish idiocy.

but she's also incredibly loyal to the few people she's got in her corner. while she will go to extreme lengths to get revenge, she won't shy away from helping her loved ones with the same ferocity. she is equal parts brave and hard-working. an academic, even now. definite gym bro too, with the highlights of her workout pics and everything.

loves fiona apple and mitski and telling people 'you just don't get her like i do'.

wordle and duolingo streak warrior!!!

doesn't wanna admit it because she's so science and logic driven but she so buys into the whole nature-spirituality-yoga-pilates-green-juice-every-morning schtick her mom's got going on. she's the plant mom friend. she's a birder too, like seriously. has a note on her phoone full of all the different birds shes seen.

doesn't drive anymore. could never get over that mental block to get behind the wheel again; it makes her too anxious. so she either walks, skateboards, or ubers everywhere.