#edit: OH THANK GOD I WAS FINALLY ABLE TO POST IT

[wasitforrevenge]

new romantics pt 2

pairing: MODERN AU!college azriel x female reader

warnings/content: suggestive language, yearning!!! alcohol and drugs mentioned, two love sick idiots, some parts are flashbacks, this is not edited…ill do it later sorry, photos from pinterest

word count: 4.5k

summary: the start of long weekend vacation starts, azriel surprises you and both of you struggle with holding your feelings inside.

authors note: i feel like i use too many of the same words im trying here please! anyways hi part 2 of my azriel fic! i think im gonna write 4 chapters, i’ve already started on part 3 and can’t wait to post! hopefully this weekend, azriel smut coming soon!!!… i am so excited i can’t stop blushing as i write it so! enjoy this part and hopefully i’ll have the next one out soon! thank you for all the likes and comments! i appreciate all the feedback thank you all!

the next friday afternoon, you’re sitting in the last row of the room, fake listening to your english lecture droning out your professors voice with thoughts of azriel. as always. you truly wonder how you manage to keep passing.

this is your last class before a four day weekend, your whole day has just dragged on and frankly, you’re exhausted and just want to go home and do nothing all weekend.

your head has running with thoughts of last weekend all week. its been driving you mad. you’ve never been one at being able to talk about your feelings, like at all. growing up an only child left and never having any more than just a couple friends you knew growing up left you lonely.

but once you became friends with azriel, you just felt like you belonged somewhere. the days you just spend laying around and talking about anything and everything. whether its what some dumbs said in class, the best dad joke you can find to the hardcore shit from your childhoods.

the only thing you could never talk to him about was… him. all you wanted to do was confess to these feelings but yet you haven’t. how can you just admit to your best friend that you’re in love with him.

that’s also something you came to the conclusion to over this week. that you’re in love with him. you thought azriel was driving you mad before you realized this but afterwards… it was so much worse!

when you and nesta finally connected after the party, she for sure entertained your delusions. you told her about everything that happened, leaving out the way he talked to you and held you. that was something you wanted to keep for yourself.

you’re deep in your mind over him, yet again, when you hear a psst from behind you.

and there he was.

azriel peeking his head through the slightly propped door, he grinned when you looked back towards the door to see what was behind you. your eyes grew wide… he’s supposed to be in class right now but you couldn’t even think about that as he stuck his hand and motioned for you to come, there you were making sure your professor was turned to the chalkboard before grabbing your bag and going with him.

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

when you got outside your classroom, azriel grabbed your hand and brought you directly to the car. he opened your door and let you in before sitting in himself. your eyes focus on the sight of his scarred hums gripping the steering wheel and all you can think about is that video of the girl saying “you wish that was you huh you wish that was you!”

he’s always done that and it sends butterflies through you every time. once he got in and started driving… away from the direction of your apartment. when you turning to look out the back window, you notice a couple bags in the back seat.

“oh my god az pleasseee tell me where you’re taking me” you groaned pretending to be annoyed at the man in the drivers seat.

he looked over at you again and the sparkle in his eyes just sends you back to when he was staring down at you laying on his chest, cuddled up against him.

he laughed and said, “sorry can’t tell you it’s a surprise.”

you groaned again, even louder this time. “this better be good i missed the rest of the class for this.” you would miss every lecture for this man and he wouldn’t even have to ask.

“oh don’t worry princess, it’s insanely better than whatever that professer was saying… not that you were paying attention to anyway.”

you turned to look at him, mouth open wide and mumbled a shut up. he laughed so hard and then of course you had to laugh, but your eyes couldn’t ignore the way his chest lifted and the muscles in his arms contracted. what you would do to feel him hold you again.

the drive continued with you guys laughing and singing to the playlists on your phone. another thing you guys love to do is to blurt out states on license plates when you see a new one, something that azriel, of course, excels at and seeing them first every time.

about 3 hours later, you pull into a long driveway in the middle of the woods. you didn’t mind the long drive, in fact you and azriel mainly take backroads every time you guys go out just to take in the scenery. the trees and mountains on this drive particularly blew your fucking mind.

“is this where we going?” you ask looking out the window like a little kid, fingers holding on the door. azriel couldn’t help but look over at you as you spoke, his heart swelled at the sight of you.

the way your hair moved from the window open, how your skin gleamed in the sun shining through the windows of his old mustang and the look of utter excitement that coated your face the whole drive.

he doesn’t answer and just keeps driving up the dirt road before your eyes land on a beautiful, old wooden house next to a huge lake. you’re in awe of the masterpiece before you as you notice two cars already in the driveway. you know right away by rhysands honda civic and nesta’s toyota rav4, that everyone is here.

you can’t help but internally scream right now. you can’t believe that azriel has brought you here, and kept it a secret for you don’t even know how long. you look at him, eyes wide and he can’t help the smile that breaks out on his face when you look him.

you smile back at him, even bigger than the one he gave you if possible before your eyes turn to the front door and you see nesta and cassian standing there waving at you to come inside.

you go to open your door but azriel is there doing it for you before you even notice he got out of the car. even though you loved sitting in his car engulfed in the smell of him, you couldn’t wait to get out and spend the weekend here.

you step out azriels car, breath taken away yet again at the view in front of you. nesta is throwing herself into your arms before you even realize, engulfing you in a huge hug.

as she pulls away, you see through the corner of your eye azriel and cassian getting your bags from the car. she grips your hand lightly in yours and starts pulling you towards the house as she asked you about your drive up.

walking inside the house, she let go out of hand and spun around in a circle yelling “TADA” as you both laugh. your eyes dart across the house to the two big L black couches, along with a couple comfy chairs, a fire place along a wall that had shelves covered in books and photos. floor to ceiling windows covered the outside of the house giving you an amazing view of the trees, mountains and lake surrounding the house.

to your left, you see a open wooden kitchen, cabinets littered the walls with a huge two door fridge with a huge kitchen island, covered in different bottles of alcohol. oh yes you guys will be partying it up over this long weekend.

you hear the steps of people behind you, hoping to see azriel again you couldn’t stop staring at him during the drive up. everyone he caught you staring he smiled at you and just kept on driving, like it was perfectly normal. you turn around to see rhys and feyre walking down the staircase next to the entrance way of the house along with azriel and cassian walking into the open front door.

your smile widened as you saw him and you felt nesta jab her elbow into your side and you gave her a glare before she smiled wide at you, before leaving to walk to the kitchen.

you laugh in your head and walk towards azriel to greet everyone, “hi friends!” you said as cassian pulled you into a bear hug. what you didn’t see was cassian give azriel a wink as he embraced you. he pulled away with a laugh before both feyre and rhysand brought you in for a hug.

as they let you go, nesta called everyone to come to the kitchen. they followed but you stayed there as you watched azriel move your bags off to the start of the stairs to take up to your rooms later so you guys can join your friends in the kitchen. he turned around he saw you there watching him. he swears his heart almost explodes out of his chest every time you look at him.

azriel was ready to tell you that he was in love with you. it’s a feeling he refused to admit for years up until a couple months ago. despite not admitting it, deep down he knew what it was, he never had anyone treat him like you did. the way you cared about him and just treated him normal after so many people in his life have just walked on eggshells around him.

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

when he met you, he was attached to you from the start. he knew a lot about greek mythology, taking the class was just something fun for him and when you and him got partnered together, he knew it was the beginning to an end. the way his heart started beating faster when you came around, the way his hands got sweaty when you accidentally brushed hands or when your thigh rested against his while sitting next to each other in the library.

cassian and rhysand knew something was up the way azriel came into rhysand’s apartment. the faint blush still on his cheeks, and the smile that didn’t seem to disappear. this had been happening a lot over the past couple weeks when they saw him.

azriel walked in, backpack slung over his shoulder as thoughts of you looking beautiful, sitting across from him at the coffee shop you guys were studying at that night. he didn’t even glance towards the couch until he heard cassian call out to him, “what’s the smile for az?.”

azriel turned towards his brothers, seeing their own smiles painted on. azriel laughed as he walked over and tossed his bag into the chair beside him before taking the seat next to cass.

he swiped a hand over his face and sighed in exaggeration, “what smile?” when he looked towards them, the shit eating grins on their faces said it all. they knew about the unrequited crush he held onto for mor, they knew what his family did to him, all they hoped is that whoever was making azriel smile this much wouldn’t break his heart.

a few weeks later, azriel walked into his own apartment, with you in tow. after he came across you in the elevator, he realized it made spending time together a lot easier. after class one evening, he invited you over one night to join in on movie night with his friends.

he finally told his friends who you were a couple days ago. they couldn’t even remember a time they had seen him talk about something so passionately, rhysand and cassian don’t even think that he registered it. azriel was still insisting that you guys were just friends.

that night was spent watching the jurassic park series. you were so relived walking to his apartment, you were nervous to meet his friends but he assured you everything would be okay and there was nothing to worry about. you loved that about him, sometimes you didn’t even realize how much you stressed yourself out, but every time you spoke it, azriel was there assuring you everytime.

after three movies, four bags of popcorn and a ton of candy, you were starting to doze off. you were so comfortable on the couch surrounded by the way azriel’s apartment smelt.

azriel, who was sitting next to you, noticed that you were getting sleepy and leaned down to whisper in your ear, “hey princess, i’ll walk you down.” you nodded to him with a smile. he stood up and offered you his hand. you guys said your goodbyes and everyone pulled you in a hug. you loved his friends already, nesta especially.

he holds his your soft skin with his own flawed, he could never really get over the way you felt against him. during this point of him liking you, the touch was minimal but he ate it up every time. azriel opened the door and walked out behind you, his hand ever so lightly grazing over the small of your bag where your t-shirt had ridden up.

“but the scene of the t-rex oh my god az,” you laughed lightly as you were exiting the elevator on your floor. he shook his head at you, “no way the scene with the kids in the kitchen was the best in the first one!” he insisted throwing his arms up in exaggeration.

“okay az whatever you say.” you giggle as you approach your door, turning around to face azriel behind you and grab your keys out of your shorts pocket. you look up and meet his eyes as he towers over you. you stand in silence staring at each other before you tear your gaze away, you wonder how long you’d been staring at him like that. he gives you a smile as you look down nervously with your keys in your hand. you turned back to unlock your front door then moved back to face him to say goodnight.

“thank you for movie night az, we have to do it again.” he brings his hand to your cheek and moves a piece of hair that fell into your face from your messy hair clip, he tucks it behind your ear as you look up at him again. “of course, its rhys’s turn next but you can have the one after him.” he said with a laugh as he stepped closer to you. your feelings for azriel were getting worse. it was an innocent crush at first but now… he’s all you could think about. your heart was basically beating out of your chest, your chest almost brushing against yours, you could feel the warmth of his body spreading over yours.

he was pressing against you now as he leaned down, you watched him as his face made it to yours, you were so eager to kiss him but instead he brushes his lips against your ear to whisper, “goodnight sweetheart, ill see you tomorrow,” as he gripped the doorknob behind you and opened the door for you. he leans back and gives you a huge smile as you step back into your apartment, mostly in shock at the way his body felt against yours. you smile back at him before whispering back, “goodnight azriel.” and shutting your door.

azriel is still in front of your door, a few moments longer than he should been after you were in your apartment. he shakes his head with disappointment in himself as he finally walks away. he was so centimeters from your lips and just couldn’t do it. what if you weren’t into him? he didn’t want to press your boundaries, he needed to know this was reciprocated before he did anything.

as much as he wanted to go back there and knock on your door until you opened it, so he could pick you up in his arms, carry you to your bed and fuck you like it was the last night in the world, he just could not.

at least… not yet.

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

you don’t even know what time is it now as you all sat outside on the patio behind the house. it overlooked the huge, dark lake with trees covering every inch that surrounded you, not another house in sight. it was incredibly peaceful as you sat on the swinging bench in the corner with azriel, your legs over his lap as you both held drinks in your hand. the sky lit up with stairs as you looked around at your friends talking amongst themselves. you guys spent the day playing drinking and card games. playing cards against humanity with the inner circle was truly a remarkable time. feyre and rhys made homemade pizzas for dinner and they were amazing. you guys laughed for hours and now out on the deck, everyone else sat in chairs around the fire pit as you guys passed a few joints around.

azriel was laughing at whatever cassian said along with rhys while feyre and mor chatted, she showed up halfway one of your card games. amren was nesta sat in the chair next to the bench you and azriel were sitting on as you both sipped on glasses of red wine, talking about the last smutty books you were reading.

as you spoke to her, you couldn’t help by getting distracted at azriel holding the bottom half of your leg with his hand as they rested of his lap while the other one left a glass of whatever they were drinking now. he was just barely moving it back and forth but god it sent chills through your body, it doesn’t help that nests speaking about whatever book she was reading lately as you focused back on what she was saying, trying to get the thought of him touching you farther up out of your mind.

“the slowburn was top tier,” nesta said to you giving you a wink as she sipped her wine, “but oh my god the way they fucked,” letting out a frustrated groan, she shook her head as you both laughed.

“yeah nes, just wait until the sequel, if you thought that was good… you’re in a for treat.” you wiggled your eyebrows at her and laughed. you hear azriel laugh next to you and turn your head towards him. drunk you wants to kick everyone to their rooms and take him, here and now… but alas you’re stuck just staring at the beautiful man in front of you. the way his muscles flex when he laughs, and the way his chest moves. his tattoos peek out of the collar of his shirt and all you wanna do is hold him in your arms.

an hour goes by hanging out by the fire before everyone else else heads to their rooms, leaving you and azriel swinging on the bench smoking another joint. he blows the smoke out in a laugh as you guys talked about the last episode of parks and rec you guys watched. you couldn’t wait to spend the rest of the weekend with him. it just felt a little too natural.

“oh my god duke silver… i just cant,” you laughed as he handed you the joint. azriel laughed, “ron swanson is the best part.” your heart starts beating faster as his hand is now actively rubbing up and down. this bench was surprisingly comfortable but

“along with april,” azriel said and you couldn’t help but agree, they just really are. you hit the joint a few times and pass it back. “okay az, i’m tired now,” you look at him with a small smile on your face. “okay let’s go,” he said with no hesitation. you let out a little laugh and move your legs off his lap, instancing losing the warm of his legs and hands on you.

you guys head into the house and azriel grabbed your bags to carry them up to the 2nd floor of the house, you guys walk down a hallway to the end and he stops in front of the door on right. “here this one is mine and that one,” he said pointing to the one directly across from his, “is yours.” he smiled at you before you turn and open your door as he opened his.

you grabbed your suitcase and carried it into the room and shut the door. you move and find the light switch. locating it, you switch it up and look around the room in front of you. only to find mor asleep on the bed. you quietly groan, out of exhaustion, drinking all day on vacation really takes it out on you. you aren’t close enough with mor so you cant just slide in next to her, so now you’re stuck with your last option.

azriel.

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

immediately after entering the room, azriel took a seat on the edge of the bed. his hands still warm from rubbing them on your legs as you sat next to him the whole time. he looked at them, the scars were hard to deal with but never once it did bother you. but they bothered him for some reason, old insecurities and harsh memories all wrapped in something he has to live with everyday.

when his hands are on you, it’s a different story. it’s something he never wants to stop doing. he’s mesmerized by you entirely. he’s in the midst of his thoughts about you when he hears a low knock on the room to his room. he stands up and opens it.

seeing you standing outside his door in the dimly lit hallway, suitcase next to you, hand up about to knock again. he sees you jump at the way he opened the door so fast, not expecting him to be there already.

“hey princess, did you get lost?” azriel said as he leaned on his shoulder against the doorway, a smirk across his tired face.

“mor is asleep in my bed…” you grumble, “can i sleep with you?” you ask him.

a millions are in his head at once. mainly the last time you guys had slept next to each other, the night that he beat the shit out of that guy for touching you, the warm of your body against his, it was like that the entire time. something that he wanted forever. he wanted you in his bed, right now.

with his mind crowded, azriel just nods as he picks up your bag handle and brings your suitcase in the room, shutting the door and locking it behind you after you stepped in.

“thank you az,” you tell him sheepishly.

“you didn’t even have to ask,” he says smiling at you, he points to the other door in the room, “there’s the bathroom so you can get ready for bed.”

“thank you, i’ll be back.” you tell him as you walk towards the bathroom. he watches the door shut behind you, he needs to get himself together before you come out, the thoughts he’s been having all day about you, clothed and naked, where consuming him, yet again.

he realized that you didn’t take anything to the bathroom when he hears the sink turn on. before it’s off, he moves to his own suitcase and grabs a large t shirt he brought and a pair of boxers for you to wear, he loved when you smelled like him. he grabbed out a pair of gray sweatpants for him to change into.

he hears the bathroom door open and looks over to you stepping out. you give him a smile as he watches you walk to suitcase next to his. you pulled out your toiletries bag and were about to pull out your pajamas before azriel had to cut in.

“here you can wear these,” azriel told you, he felt his face grow red, cursing himself for not holding himself together. “thank you az.” his gaze moves down to your lips as you smile at him, taking the clothes from his hand, he feels your fingers brush his. he watches as you turn back around and head to the bathroom to change for bed.

azriel took this time to change into his own sweatpants while he waited his turn for the bathroom. he connected his phone to the tv and put whatever episode of park and recs you guys left off on, leaving it on for background noise and he turned off the light, leaving the room with a small glowing lamp in the corner by the door.

azriel watches the tv from the edge of the bed as he sees you from the corner of his eye come out of the bathroom. dressed in the clothes he gave you, his heart started beating faster.

“i feel like i’ve said thank you a thousand times but thank you again az,” he heard you say as you walked towards him. he looked up to meet your gaze as you stood, almost in between his thighs as he rested his hands on them, “thank you for bringing me here, this place is fucking beautiful- i can’t wait for tomorrow, you’re amazing az thank you,” he feels your hand reach up and hold his cheek, rubbing it thoughtfully over his sculpted cheekbone.

he couldn’t help the way his cheeks heated up under your gaze, “thank you for coming with me, this will probably be a weekend you will never forget,” azriel said with a nervous chuckle, rubbing the sides of your hips.

azriel heads to the bathroom to brush his teeth and go to the bathroom before you guys go to bed. when he comes back, he sees you in the blankets like it’s the most normal thing you’ve ever done. the comforter is pulled up to your chin as your eyes linger on the bathroom door as azriel stepped out.

he moves toward the bed and walks around to the opposite side of the bed, sliding in next to you before he lays on his side, facing your back. the show plays in the background as he watches you turn to face him.

azriel lifts his arm and brushes some of your fallen hair behind your ear as he spoke, “i’m glad we’re here.”

“me too az,” you say quietly.

his hand rests on your cheek before azriel watches you move to cuddle into his chest, just wanting you to be closer to him. he wraps his arm around your body, pulling you closer into his body as he kisses your forehead.

“goodnight princess.”

“goodnight az.”

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

thank you all for the support, love and feedback! here’s the taglist for this! thank you guys so much! comments and feedback are always appreciated

@purple-haired-faerie @thespencerhastings-blog1 @scorpioriesling @kitsunetori @scooobies @elsie-bells @nickishadow139 @lilah-asteria

[bronx-bomber87]

Good evening fandom! Welcome to my inaugural mini review post. Holy hell I can’t believe we’re finally here. These probably won’t be as detailed as normal like I mentioned. Mini review is the goal. It’ll be initial thoughts and feelings. Which will be fun cause all the other seasons other than S5 I had ton of time to reflect on moments. These thoughts for S6 could change when I rewatch the season for review purposes this summer. The exciting thing is having those first reactions. That's what these will be.

So you're getting hot off the presses thoughts haha I just watched it couple hours ago. These are thoughts I had while it was happening. With some editing to make it readable ha Want my reactions be as authentic as possible with these. Why I avoid spoilers tbh. Be interested in seeing what everyone else’s are as well. The gif library was an absolute turd so I didn't get to use all the gifs that were made yet. So I made some. Anyways this so friggin exciting to delve into so let’s get started.

6x01 Strike Back

Tim got scruffier from the finale to now-and I’m here for it. Mm. Plus he's in Metro gear. Phew Lord. Something about scruffy Tim gets me going. Adore them riding together automatically after their battle. I truly love it. The little things I continually love with them. Also LOVING the Metro call sign. Yum If this going to be his call sign all season I am about it.

Oh my lord why is her sitting at his desk so squee worthy to me? It’s getting me all in my feels. I love that Lucy can just use his office as her own. So cute using it to steal it for some study time. I love this so very much. Then her asking if they can ride together so he can quiz her? Tim doesn’t hesitate for a moment before saying yes.

Still amazes me we’re in the place with them. The Tim of old would’ve groaned and moaned about such a task. He jumps right on it for her. Ready to help her out. Even though he’s not sure how much it’s gonna do. Clearly very aware Primm is out to get her. That is common knowledge now.

Lucy is right when she says it sucks. That she has to battle this and face possible wild cards.. It isn’t fair when she's earned her spot more than most. Fought and clawed for everything she's done in this department. Definitely more than Nolan... Hey wouldn't be a review if I didn't pot shot Nolan would it? lol I love Tim finding a solution for them. Saying they can take out do the box calls all day. Widen her knowledge a bit on it. Sharpen her skills with odd calls.

I love her grateful smile when she says 'Thank you.' Loves this man. Damnit they’re so cute their banter coming out of his office is on point. Tim saying she learns best when she’s pissed off. I mean if that isn’t her rookie experience with him in a sentence. Lucy saying this feels like she is giving him permission to be an ass. Heh it kinda is no matter what Tim says.

You know he kinda loves being able to make her his boot again in some form. He is going to enjoy himself with this. There is no doubt about it. That's why he's doing that smile of his. Lucy calling him out knowing this man so well. Pointing her finger and all. God I love these idiots so much. Tim trying to tell her just his smile. Uh huh sure it is Tim.... Lucy following after him with a smile of her own. These dopes I've missed them so damn much.

I’m very much loving Tim has not really shaved in 6 weeks ha. The scruffy remains and I’m excited about it. Lucy is starting to question asking Tim to help her. We all know she learns best from that man sitting next to her though. I also always enjoy when she gets to drive. Another micro shift that has changed that I love so much. Her heart eyes when he says Angela’s cop brain is just booting up LOL Loves this goober of man.

Lucy absolutely losing it and going on a rant of epic proportions had me rolling. LOL Massive emotional downward spiral happening here. I’m dying as I watch Tim take it in. God Eric the master of expressions crushing it again. This was a huge one for her holy crap. Nuclear really. Well done Melissa getting all that in with one breath basically. By the time she’s done I’m cackling at Tim’s expression. LMAO Oh my god these two. God I’ve missed them so much it pained me.

Lucy knowing Tim's reply without even looking at him. Just epic married status at this point. Doesn’t even have to look at him or for Tim to say anything. It’s already there because of that crazy good connection they have. How deeply they know one another. It’s so good. Tim being the smart man he is says nothing. Lucy knowing he’s thinking it haha

Lucy coming to conclusion she will do crazy wild card during the day and the manual at night. She will sleep when it's over LOL Tim shaking his head. Knowing there is nothing he can say right now that'll make this better. Or to derail her crazy train of thought. This is like S1/S2 them with the added benefit of them being together now. It’s glorious.

Getting serious Plain Clothes Day vibes from this episode as well. Except this time Lucy light years away from who she was then. Confidently reciting what she’s going to do Tim nodding along. Tim wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t rock her boat a little though. Lucy getting in her head about the crime scene now. Tim isn’t wrong she did tick all the obvious boxes. That the point of today is looking for wild cards. That’s what he wants her to engage that brilliant brain of her's in. It's why he's here.

To zero in on the 'Out of the box thinking'. Poor Lucy spirals out not being able to decide if she wants his help or not. I ADORE Tim telling her it’s ok to not know the answer. Not shaming her in the least just needing her to make a call. God how far we’ve come. Tim pushes her because he knows that is when she learns best. Trying to add a little urgency to her decision making. Unfortunately it backfires. I kinda loved them calling each other by their ranks in this heated exchange.

Lucy is so flustered it’s giving me PCD vibe once again in the best way. The sprinklers turn on and Lucy panics. There’s the wild card….We watch as a bullet leaves this man’s body and enters the storm drain never to be seen again. Lucy being so very disappointed in herself. It’s reminiscent of the disappointment she showed in s1 but only now she's far more experienced. So it hurts much more now….Oh Lucy my heart. You poor thing. Couldn’t have gone more wrong if she tried.

I can’t believe they played clown music upon her entrance.... Beyond cruel but that's cops. Always taking shots when people mess up spectacularly. Tim trying not laugh.... Babe she is spiraling right now maybe don’t lol Poor thing I would be mortified too. I love how both Tim and Lucy smile when they see Wes and the wee one. My heart. She wants Wes's opinion and he just crushes her with logic. Ugh She needs a hug. Bad day for our girl.

Lucy continues to break my heart as they sit in front of the crime scene. She is on the verge of tears. Verge of a breakdown it feels like as well. Killing me softly. Saying she should skip the detectives exam. My girl. Tim doesn't want her to give up. I will say this fight I feel like I would be Tim. Trying to be so supportive it’s come off as agreeing with her she can’t do it. When really he was just trying to be supportive of whatever she wants.

Can't win for losing right now Timothy. She is in a bad way right now. Lucy has some weight to her argument though. if I was her in this moment I would feel the same way. If I’m in a bad headspace I need reassurances. So I can relate to both of them in this fight. It’s not a fun time for either of them. Tim is still learning that emotional depth he needs to have with her in these moments.

Being supportive has worked before so he's not sure why it's backfiring right now. They’re solid but always room to grow beauty of them. Lucy spots someone pull up to crime scene crying. She has them peel out with Tim not really understanding why. Lucy catching her digging through her trash. She ends up getting a confession. Phew Well done Luce.

Oooh this final scene. Oh my damn lord. This is some PRIMO productive angst holy hell. Eric and Melissa came out swinging with it. I knew they were going to have one more scene about it. I just didn't think it would be this explosive. I adore Tim picking up on how short she is with him. Grabbing her by the arm and confronting her. Growth continuous growth for them both continues to show. Love it. Look at Tim being the one to come at this. I’m so proud of him.

Throwing her words from 5x21 somewhat back at her. Saying this isn’t going to work if she isn’t honest with him. Then Lucy really lays into him. Now do I think he purposely undermined her? No I don’t. Not ever. That’s not in his DNA to do that to someone he loves. I was deeply hurt for him when she suggested this. You can see how hurt he is when she says as such. He’s getting emotional and it makes me as well. I just wanna hug him.

Tim as we know is a DEEPLY loyal person. Also one of my main relations to him as a character. To purposely hurt someone they love isn’t fathomable to a loyal person. It's unthinkable. You have to hurt them first. To undermine Lucy would be to hurt her so he would never. To be accused of such by your favorite person? That cut's so insanely deep for him. I haven’t seen him this hurt since the 'Tim Test' line from her in 4x08. I’m legit wounded for him. He is so upset she could think that of him.

Now Lucy might be onto something with the subconscious part. He could’ve done it not realizing what he was doing. Because love isn’t rational. Man is hardwired to protect her and want to keep her safe. So I could see this especially with her psych background. I think this is solid guess at what happened. Now was this the right time to lash out at him for Isabel stuff? I don’t know…

Felt like a low blow when he was already down for the count. She is throwing him daggers with her eyes most of this conversation. Feels like its more than just the UC right now but that's just my guess at this point. Let's not forget she was having UC doubts towards the end of last season.

Now do they need to have these fights and conversations? HELL YES. My god this subject needs to be discussed. Especially with how 5x20-5x21 were. Want to reiterate this is my first impression. I was literally writing this as I experienced their fight for first time. When I rewatch it this summer this could change. My POV could shift. But right now I see a man who only thought he had her back and was raked across the coals in this moment.

So for me right now in this moment I feel like Lucy had pent up frustrations and took it out on Tim. The protective side of me for him isn’t pleased with that tbh. Doesn't mean I love Lucy any less. I adore her so much. You all know that. But my gut leaned towards Tim in this fight. That may be bias idk but it’s how I felt when it was said and done. Tim was very very defensive when she brought up Isabel. Which hasn't happened in awhile. But his emotions were heightened and he was on the defensive before they'd reach the topic of her.

Lucy basically kicked him while he was down and he felt it. I'm not discounting her feelings at all. She is allowed to feel overwhelmed. Has every right to be. She is STRESSED and it is coming out in all kinds of ways. Ways that aren't like her. I think she stewed on this thought the ENTIRE shift and it came out in the worst way. Which also isn't like her. What she did had him defaulting back to old school Tim. Cutting off the conversation before more emotions were to be had or he said something he would regret.

Basically cut the fight off at the knees and walked away. Lucy’s face says it all when he walks away. She wasn’t expecting that. Shocked he just left her like that. Oh Lucy, you wounded him more than once and he retreated HARD. Leaving her standing there wondering what the hell just happened? God this is so good though everyone. This is the type of angst I'm all for. What a way to start the season off hot damn. Hurts so good angst to get us going. I could not be more excited for where we go this season. Feel free to comment on this. Love to chat with you all about this. All uncharted territory for us all. We're in for quite the ride.

~~~

Side notes-non Chenford

Who are these friggin people? They’re insanely ruthless. Like Rosalind level ruthless in how they just dispose of people. Sending two their team out as a distraction to be blown up. Jesus. Then sniping their own guy. They’re smart but cold af. Then killing who I thought was the boss at the end. Shit. Consider me intrigued.

I liked the 6 weeks later. Makes sense need to do a time jump.

Celina being more afraid of Tim than Harper. LOL little does she know they’re basically the same person haha

Poor Aaron wants to be back in the game and can’t be. I agree with Grey he’s not ready even if he thinks he is.

God I love Nyla Harper. Took that mofo out like the complete bad ass she is. Came with repercussions which made me sad for her.

Angela being more excited to see burritos than her husband lmao I love this woman.

Feeling little potential flirty action for Aaron and his therapist.

[bichietozier-s]

🕷️Catch You On The Web!!🕸️

An Itafushi spiderman socmed au ❤️

In which Yuuji Itadori, newly a sophomore in college who still has not a clue what he wants to do with his life, gets bitten by a radioactive spider and gains new abilities, stats and powers. He's coasting on his raw athletic ability, a full-ride scholarship handed to him despite his less-than-perfect grades, when he realizes he's got way more ahead of him than he'd ever imagined. Including, but not limited to, a newfound crush that also throws him for a loop.

you are reading:

Prologue | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 (coming soon!)

notes:

teehee megumi crisis moment // tw: i think i put kms jokes in this part? i cant quite remember but i usually toss those in with megumi so just a warning 🫶🏻

edit: forgot to add that loml and kirbys gay friend are nobara pov, while the rest are all megumi pov 🙂‍↕️ should be obvious enough who were talking to though! :3

Megumi sat down on his lofted dorm mattress, out of breath, with slightly reddened cheeks and eyes wide. What the hell was that???

He posted his vague tweet and instantly flopped back onto his bed, still wearing his jacket with his shoulder bag still tucked around his body. He laid there for a while simply staring at his ceiling, catching his breath and replaying that moment over and over and over in his head.

Again… What the hell was that?????

He certainly got what he’d gone for, getting to witness exactly what the beefed-up jock meant when he said “superhuman abilities”. But, even though he had expected to see Yuuji there after Yuta let him know he was on the team, he truly hadn’t expected the interaction he’d gotten. 

Still, he finds the only thought repeating itself in his head to be, “what the HELL was that?”

The question repeats itself as a way to ask literally, what the hell did he just witness? But also, it functioned as a way for him to ask himself what happened to him. Why did he freeze up so badly? Did he make himself look like a fool because of that? He couldn’t stop staring at Yuuji, but somehow, he couldn’t even muster up a response.

Not even a thank you. 

Shit. Now he would have to seek the other boy out again just to thank him. Or, maybe just this once, he could hold up that facade that he was a heartless asshole who didn’t care about anyone or anything. Especially the guy he’d just met days ago and immediately found attractive despite the lack of a brain in his head.

Oh, yeah. He just thought those words. He found him attractive. 

This was something he could never share with the rest of the world. Under any circumstances.

After another 10 minutes of staring at his ceiling, replaying the scene over and over and over and OVER, still wearing his jacket and bag, he realized that he would never be able to keep this a secret, who was he kidding? Also, he would definitely be seeking Yuuji out on purpose again. Whether to Yuuji’s knowledge or not, he didn’t care.

Did that make him weird? Or a creep? It didn’t matter. 

His phone buzzed in his hand.

He had been laying here for a little over a half hour doing this. God damn he was pathetic.

Why did he have to find the way-out-of-his-league, no-brained-idiot jock attractive? He was doomed.

His phone buzzed in his hand once more, so he picked it up to see replies coming through on his stupid tweet. He huffed out a loud sigh, before hoisting himself up off of his bed, finally removing his bag and jacket, and then responding to them.

Nobara had expertly tracked down Yuta through the internet (read: found him through Yuuji’s private account on twitter) and got his number so she could conspire with him over Yuuji’s own love life.

She had little to no knowledge on this “pizza guy” who wasn’t even the pizza guy, and had never met Yuta before, although she’d heard plenty about him through Maki. From what she could tell though, he seemed like a fine dude.

After the brief introduction she offered to him, Nobara and Yuta began sharing their own stories on the perspectives they had to offer for each boy in question through a facetime call. Nobara needed to know more about this “Megumi”, how he truly fit into all this, and especially if he was even worthy enough to consider as a possible partner for her best friend. And Yuta was simply here to offer that information up to her.

He started from the beginning of this school year, telling Nobara everything he could offer up that might overlap for her. Anything that had to do with Yuuji, from the fact that he lives in the room above Yuta himself and his boyfriend Toge, all the way down to the last time he spoke to him, filling in all of the blanks that had to do with Megumi, as well.

The pieces were already falling into place for Nobara. She was seeing how they were all somehow connected to one another without even knowing or realizing it. 

After Yuta had wrapped up his storytime, Nobara shared hers, which as she had expected, was minimal in comparison to what Yuta offered for her (especially considering she needed some extra intel on who Megumi even was, whereas Yuta at least knew Yuuji pretty well). 

Where Yuta explained the progression of events with Yuuji acting odd, not being able to sleep and all of that, Nobara was able to offer insight on those things. She also was able to connect things Yuuji had told her about with things that Yuta knew of Megumi and what he’d been up to.

And then came that tweet from Megumi, not even an hour before Yuta and Nobara had their girl talk session. 

“So, obviously since you don’t know Megumi, you wouldn’t know about this, but…” Yuta trailed off as he ran to grab a screenshot of Megumi’s recent tweet to send to Nobara. “Look at what he tweeted a little while ago,” he said, the sound of a shit eating smirk evident in his voice.

“Oooooohhhh, interesting, okay,” Nobara hummed out, pursing her lips, her face showing her deep, deep thought process. “And this is after he supposedly went to a practice for the football team?”

“Yeah, and like, he said he only wanted to go because he’d heard some other dude from the team talking up this other guy who apparently had superhuman strength or some shit,” Yuta said, not realizing exactly who the “guy with superhuman strength” was. 

But luckily, Nobara was a professional at gossip. So she caught on incredibly fast. 

“Oh! So he was going to specifically check out Yuuji, got it,” she laughed, saying it sarcastically and assuming they were both on the same page. Well, they certainly were now. 

“WAIT-” Yuta yelled. “NO WAY.” 

Nobara looked back at him through her phone screen with raised eyebrows.

“OH MY GOD, YOU’RE RIGHT! HE WANTED TO GO TO WATCH YUUJI! TOGE!” Yuta looked off to the side of his phone screen where Nobara couldn’t see, or hear, Toge. Soon she was watching Yuta communicate with his mute boyfriend, signing out of habit even though it wasn’t necessary as he yelled about Yuuji being the reason that Megumi wanted to go watch the football practice.

He finally came back to the phone screen, a huge grin plastered on his face. “I can’t believe I didn’t catch on to that before, but I guess I didn’t really have all the details on Yuuji’s weird increase in strength,” Yuta said to Nobara. “But, do you think he even knew it was Yuuji? I mean, I hardly knew anything about Yuuji’s strength and shit, Megumi definitely wouldn’t. They only met for the first time a few days ago, and clearly Megumi was as disinterested in Yuuji as he is with anyone else. If not moreso. He also told me he didn’t even know Yuuji was on the team, I suppose…” He trailed off at the end, realizing that Megumi definitely didn’t know it was Yuuji prior to going.

Nobara thought for a moment. “Yeah, I guess you have a point. He probably didn’t know it was all Yuuji they were talking about, but if he didn’t know then, judging on that tweet, he definitely knows now,” she stressed the word ‘definitely’, laughing as she finished her thought. She was right on the money with that one.

After the two talked for nearly two hours, they finally ended the call with Nobara needing to get started on her hour-long-before-bed-self-care routine, promising Yuta an exciting update by the end of the night.

“What are you gonna do??” Yuta asked, morbidly curious of what this devious girl he just met was capable of.

“I’m requesting assistance from the queen, of course,” she wiggled her eyebrows, before bidding him goodnight, and telling him to extend that to Toge as well. 

As soon as that call ended, she flew to text her girlfriend, roping her into this wildly massive scheme she was planning.

author's note:

SO SO SORRY FOR THE LONG PAUSE BETWEEN UPDATES GUYS AAAHHH i got super duper sick (i had pneumonia 🤪) and then i just have been lazy and keep putting off actually formatting the post for this bc it takes me like a good 20 minutes at LEAST bc of how i do it eugh BUT ITS HERE NOW!! next part is not yet in the works but it wont be as long of a break inbetw i prommie 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

and as a reminder pls just ask to be added to the taglist if youd like 🙂‍↕️

jump to:

Prologue | Previous | Next (coming soon!)

taglist:

@meme-ty7 @runfrme @poemeater @gemicorn

[rweoutofthewoods]

Actual honesty for once:

oh my god I am so sorry i sobered up I am deleting my weird posts. BUT tonight I realized a lot of my drunken rambles have a lot of truth in them that I've never been able to say sober before.

So some honesty.

Drunk me was right, I don't enjoy being here anymore, in fact every time I log onto tumblr or scroll my dash I'm filled with dread. And I've tried to pull back multiple times but I always come back, and I can finally admit it's been leading me to move on. If you've seen me go through this before you might think "oh my god shut up she's so dramatic" but really my halfhearted attempts to take a break were really just steps forward towards finally making my decision and sticking with it.

I'm setting rules for myself. I am not scrolling tumblr anymore, I am not posting aside from once a week on Friday when I've set my app blocks to let me in so I can link the chap of whatever I updated and answer a few asks, only relating to fics. I need to set my boundaries while also keeping a balance of being able to interact with you guys and express my gratitude, so I'm finding my balance and finally stepping back for good. I had an all or nothing attitude which is why I always had trouble sticking with a decision to step back from the social aspect of the fandom.

So you can still send me things, but know I won't answer them until Fridays and I'm drawing a hard line for myself.

I won't be posting or updating this week, so I will be back on the 10th. Ily all and wish you well and can never thank you enough for the support and love you've sent me even when I've been off the rails and it was probably evident. I'm still on the fence about leaving the marauders fandom entirely, but no matter what I will finish my WIPS I promise, so you won't get rid of my entirely.

MWAH ily all and if you want to talk to me privately I can dm you my discord goodnight and ty for everything.

(I'm so sorry I was still not sober when I wrote this I'm like disgustingly embarrassed so I edited it greatly 😭)

[gumnut-logic]

Alexander Sweetapple and the Volcanic Island (Part 2)

Sweetapple Series Alexander Sweetapple and the Volcanic Island - Part 1 | Part 2

This one was actually written a while ago, but it wasn't working, so I finally sat down tonight and ironed it out a bit better. Well, I hope it's better because it hasn't been read by anyone and it is nearly midnight here.

Many thanks to @onereyofstarlight for the original reread which needed the editing and partial re-write ::hugs tight:: and also to @womble1 for writing part one and being a wonderful support for this series.

Also to all of you who have given your time to support Mr Sweetapple. With out you guys, he would not be the person he is.

The first bit of this might seem familiar as I posted it as a WIP Wednesday at some point, probably on the wrong day of the week.

Again, this is male/male romance, so if that isn't your thing, this isn't your fic.

I hope you enjoy these 2200-odd words.

-o-o-o-

“This is the Comms Room.”

Virgil put a gentle hand on Alex’s lower back to direct him out of the elevator and around a corner.

“This is where we brief and debrief missions.”

The room was huge. Massive glass doors opened onto a triangular balcony giving a fantastic view of the Island’s caldera.

Alex frowned at the glass doors, which were also triangular. He could see the track in the floor that they obviously followed to slide open and closed, but due to their triangular shape they wouldn’t be able to open on a straight plain. The glass must retreat down into the wooden floor somehow.

He built possible solutions in his head, throwing out unsatisfactory calculations, one after the other.

“Alex?”

“Huh?”

Virgil was frowning at him and Alex realised he was several steps closer to the doors than he had been…and standing in the middle of the room building door designs in his head.

“I’m okay.” Maybe a little stunned by…well, everything…but okay. Maybe he was just grasping at the familiar?

That hand appeared in the small of his back again.

He quite liked it being there.

“This is my brother John.”

Startled, Alex turned and came face to face with the one Tracy brother he had yet to meet. Red hair, blue and gold uniform…

“Hello, Alex. It is very nice to finally meet you.” Mr John Tracy held out a hand.

Oh, wow. “You’re the Voice Who Answers?”

“Yes.”

“The Eye in the Sky?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Thunderbird Five!” Oh my god!

“That would be me.”

Alex turned to Virgil. “This is amazing! I knew he was real! I knew it!”

Virgil had a very odd expression on his face.

Alex would analyse that later because he was talking to Thunderbird Five! He turned back to John to find a smirk on the man’s face.

“The rumours of my non-existence have been greatly exaggerated.”

A laugh burst out of Alex.

Now Virgil was frowning at him.

“Well, it looks like you’ve been out-classed this time, Virgil.” Mr Scott Tracy, no hologram required, appeared from behind the grinning astronaut, one arm resting across John’s shoulders, with a smile all of his own.

Alex’s eyes widened as he realised exactly what he had been saying, how it might appear, and, oh god, what had he done?!

It was only the soft hand at the small off his back that held him in place. The hand that slipped further around him and drew him gently closer to Virgil.

That soft and deep voice. “I’m not worried. John lives to be mysterious.”

“Hey!”

“What? Admit it, you love living on a super-secret space station.” Virgil’s arm was very warm.

“Yeah, but-“

Scott Tracy rolled his eyes in such a goofy manner, Alex was questioning if he was actually the same professional super god he had always thought him to be. “Face it, Johnny, he’s got you there.”

“Don’t call me ‘Johnny’.”

Scott squeezed him gently. “You’ll always be Johnny to me. Especially when you think I don’t know about half the things you get up to up there.”

John frowned. “What?”

But Scott was nodding. “Yes, I do know about the discos and the light displays.” He tapped his nose. “A little bird told me.”

“Well, the little bird and I will be having words later.”

Virgil half whispered in Alex’s ear. “Scott is toast.”

Commanding blue eyes were darting between two brothers. “In any case, welcome to Tracy Island, Alex.”

“Uh, thank you. Uh, for having me…and mum.”

His mother was off somewhere with Mrs Tracy. The two of them appeared to be embarking on a friendship that had Alex just a little terrified.

Mr Tracy’s eyes darted ever so slightly in Virgil’s direction before returning to Alex. “You are most definitely welcome.”

-o-o-o-

Mr Tracy and John excused themselves after that and retreated to a desk on the far side of the room.

Virgil returned his hand to Alex’s back and led him down into the sunken lounge, offering him a seat.

“Sorry about that.” Alex wanted to crawl under the couch cushions.

“About what? John?”

Alex nodded.

Virgil snorted. “You made his day. Living in space is his preferred place but out of sight is out of mind and sometimes he can be forgotten.” A sigh and Virgil looked over at his red-haired brother. “It doesn’t hurt to remind him of how valued he is.”

“He lives up there?”

Dark eyes turned back to him. “Yeah.” His voice was wistful and Alex received the distinct impression that Virgil preferred John stay on terra firma.

“You don’t like him being up there?”

“I like it that he’s happy.”

Alex reached over and slipped his hand into Virgil’s, interlacing his strong fingers with his own and squeezing just a little.

Virgil looked at him and smiled, leaning towards Alex, enough for their shoulders and arms to touch.

For a moment, it was very, very nice.

But then Virgil looked down and frowned “Alex, there’s something you need to know.”

Alex immediately backed off. “I’m sorry-“

Virgil’s eyes widened. “No. No, this…” He held up their clasped hands, not letting Alex pull away. “…this, is wonderful.” He reached out with his other hand and nudged Alex closer, drawing their foreheads together gently. “Trust me on that.”

A blush rose in Alex’s cheeks. “Okay.” It would take some getting used to.

Though that hand on the back of his neck teasing the short hairs at the base of his skull - that he could really get used to.

It was very distracting.

“Alex, I need to tell you about Māhia.”

His heart stopped.

“What about Māhia?”

“We took some damage in the earthquake.”

Alex pulled away. “What? Are they okay?”

The hand moved to Alex’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “They’re fine. Everyone is fine. There were a few minor injuries, but everyone is safe.”

“What happened?”

“One of our buildings collapsed-“

“Which one? Who was hurt?”

“The main lab building, but everyone is okay.”

His heart was racing. “Erica?”

“Scott pulled her out. Some bruising and a broken arm.”

He let out a breath. Thank god. “She kicked me out. Said I should go to Gisborne with my mother for lunch.”

“We know. Scott may want to talk to you about updating your location when leaving the premises.”

There was something in Virgil’s eyes. “Oh god, you thought I was in a collapsed building?” A ragged breath. “I’m so sorry, I-“

“Alex, it’s okay. It was an error. We will learn from the error.” The ghost of a smile. “You were in a collapsed building. Just not that one.”

And Virgil had been looking for him. Alex reached up and brushed the hair above Virgil’s ear, cupping the side of his face. “I am so sorry.”

“It’s done. You’re safe, and that’s all that matters.” But Virgil was leaning into his hand.

Alex reached out and drew him into a full-on hug. “I am sorry, Virgil.”

Those strong arms wrapped around Alex and for a moment everything was perfect again.

But his thoughts fell back to Māhia.

As if reading his mind, Virgil pulled away and caught his eyes. “We can contact Erica, if you like?”

Alex nodded. Virgil turned towards his two brothers over by the desk. The two brothers Alex had forgotten were in the room.

With this amount of repeated blushing, his circulation system was getting a good workout.

John nodded when Virgil asked him to put them in contact with Erica. And Alex was immediately distracted by the pink head of hair that sprung up in the centre of the lounge.

The head spun in his direction. “Alex! Oh, thank god! Are you okay? Oh! Of course, you’re okay, because I saw you and…Oh! Hi, Virgil!” A knowing smile spread across her face. “Congratulations, I hope.”

Alex stared at her. “What? How do you-? Are you okay? Virgil said you were hurt?”

She waved an arm in plaster and Alex’s eyes widened. “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it. But you, I hear there have been developments.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

Alex felt the blush to end all blushes creep up from his toes, conquer his face and take on his hair follicles. No doubt his hair was as red as that of Thunderbird Five.

Thunderbird Five!

Wait…

“What did you hear, Erry?”

“Hear, saw, it’s everywhere. You two are the talk of the planet. Virgil, you know how to kiss a boy. I’m almost jealous.” There was admiration in her eyes.

“Erica!” It was impossible to be more embarrassed.

“What? Check the nets. You can’t tell me the sight of you two reuniting during a major disaster, like that, doesn’t pull the heart strings. I had tears of joy in my eyes, really. Fred had to get me a tissue.”

“Fred?”

“Oh, um, yeah, he’s been helping me.” She looked away a moment, then held up her injured arm. “You know, with this.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Anyway, this isn’t about me, it’s about you and your torrid love affair with a Thunderbird.”

“What?” This time it was Virgil with the outrage.

Erica immediately backed off. “Sorry, Mr Tracy.” But her trepidation didn’t last long. “Just stirring his pot. He needs regular agitation or he petrifies.”

Alex glared at her.

She sobered. “Honestly, Sweet-pie, I’m really happy for you. Happy that you’re safe, and happy that…well, you know.”

Alex looked at his feet and shifted where he sat. Erica might niggle and nag him, but she really did do it all from a kind heart. “Thank you, Erry. I’m glad you are safe, too.”

“Erica?” Mr Tracy stepped down into the lounge. “I hope you and your team are following the media blackout protocol on this matter.”

Erica stared at him for a solid moment.

Uh-oh.

“Mr Tracy, how could you think that our team would ever let Alex down like that! Our lips are sealed. We at Tracy Industries save people, not throw them to the wolves.” A pair of pink eyebrows frowned fit to get themselves unemployed.

“Erica-“

Mr Tracy held up a hand. “It’s okay, Alex.” He turned back to the outraged mass of holographic pink hair. “I’m glad to hear that we are on the same page, Ms Stoltz.”

She straightened a little more in her hologram. “Always, Mr Tracy. You can depend on us.”

“I know. Thank you, Erica.” Mr Tracy turned to look at Alex as if to ask something, but didn’t say anything, He turned back to Erica. “You take the time you need to heal. We will welcome you back when you are ready.”

She nodded before eyeing Alex again. “Sweet-pie, let him look after you. You say you’re okay, but I’ve seen less shades of red and white on a barber’s pole.”

“Erry-“

“He’s under our care, Erica. We’re keeping an eye on him.” Virgil’s arm tightened around him a little more.

“Good. We need him in one piece to finish the Siliwrap project. Now we have to dig most of it out from under the remains of the labs…” Her eyes widened, targeting Virgil. “You did tell him, didn’t you?”

“I know about the labs, Erry.” It hadn’t really sunk in. Thank goodness for automatic backups. Whoever had designed the Tracy Industries computer network deserved an award.

“Don’t you worry, Sweet-pie. Fred has recovery underway. At this rate we’ll have new labs before you make it back.” Her smile returned and targeted Virgil, obvious in the hint that Alex’s stay would be prolonged.

“That’s good to hear, Erica.” Virgil’s tone was polite and perhaps a little amused. “We will keep in touch. Get better soon. Tracy Island out.”

And she was gone

The room seemed suddenly so quiet in her absence. But then he realised that both Mr Tracy and John were no longer in the room either. Where did they go?

“She cares very much about you.”

Huh? “Erry? Yeah, she’s a bit of a lifesaver.”

“I can see that.” Virgil was smiling.

Alex found himself smiling too. But then…

“She said we were on the nets.”

Virgil’s smile disappeared. “Yeah, sorry about that.”

“About what?”

A sigh and Virgil pulled away a bit, reaching for a remote control. He fiddled for a moment and a scene flickered up where Erica had been moments before.

A holographic Virgil was walking across devastated ground, beelining for a holographic version of Alex, who hadn’t noticed his approach.

The expression on holographic Virgil’s face was pure shock.

Alex’s twin caught sight of him. The joy on his own face was a thing from fairytales or the latest romcom.

And then they were kissing.

Wow. Erica hadn’t been wrong. They hadn’t held back.

It was enough to get him hot under his collar.

Virgil was still holding his hand and squeezed gently.

“There are various versions online. This is one of the better ones. We’re working on curtailing its spread, but it has escaped containment. John’s on it, but for the moment, we’re trending.” There was apology in those dark eyes.

Alex turned back to the holoprojector where another version of ‘The Thunderbird Kiss’ began playing. Comments were scrolling past the image, along with the number of likes still climbing despite already being in the millions.

Oh, hell.

-o-o-o-

TBC?

[pastafossa]

Ok. TRT business and a question, cause I need feedback from readers at this point.

First: the final chapter of the Raven What If fic should be posted this week, I'm about done editing it. The bigger, much more important question: So I have a potential chapter for tomorrow. I've been worrying and fretting over posting it, not because I think it's bad, but because it's short by TRT standards, currently around 2k words, and it both frustrates me and makes me feel weirdly guilty at the thought of dropping what's so much less than my usual. I'm used to being able to write longer chapters, being able to squeeze everything I want into them, and I have a literal outline of this goddamn chapter that has this good stuff in it and I know what needs to be written. I can see it right there. The movie is playing in my head just fine. But the truth of it is, my writing is slow at the moment thanks to post-covid brain fog. I'm checking in with my doctor, I've started taking specific supplements (which I'm hoping to see results from in the next few weeks), I'm clawing my way back bit by bit, but I continue to write slowly, mostly because I either can't focus or I have to stop every few sentences to struggle with a word I can't remember. It's incredibly frustrating. The thing is though, at least I *am* writing, which gives me hope. But this is where you - the readers - come in. Because right now we have two possible paths for updates going forward for a bit. Option 1: Longer gaps between our usual chapters. If we go this road, it'll take longer but as I chip away, I'll eventually have the full planned chapter, which I'd post. This would be a chapter closer to what we've had most weeks for the past oh god like 2 years. At current speed I'd drop it in a few weeks, and then hopefully the next one would come a little faster, until eventually we're back to our usual. So basically, you'd get your big chunks when the updates do come, and the same natural endpoints and arcs as before. Drawback is obviously the time between updates, so you won't be fed as often (though I'd try to find things in my editing folder to clean up and drop, like the Raven fic).

Option 2: Shorter chapters but more regular updates. If we go this road, we'd be back to weekly updates of our adventures with Matt and Jane. There'd just be less than usual for a bit and then, hopefully as I improve, you'll see the word count begin to climb back up. So in this case, you'd be getting a weekly dose of TRT, the usual fluff and angst and action, but the catch is less overall to read (likely individual scenes rather than multiples), and potentially sudden endpoints/more cliffhangers as I 'end' at what was outlined as a scene change.

Which way I go will mostly depend on ya'll tbh. I think I can make either work, since I've managed to start writing a little again and I really, really am hoping the supplements help. But since this'll potentially alter the update schedule we've had for years, I wanted to see which you'd prefer.

So, Option One - longer gaps but long chapters - or Option Two - shorter chapters weekly. Which would you prefer?

[fexalted]

watching tos for the first time since like, roughly 2012/13-ish? i don't remember what year it was, or why i only got thru most of season 1 before stopping

it's been fun to refresh my swiss cheesed memory with this tho so here's a semi-liveblog of the first 10 eps that i watched over the past couple weeks

1x01 - the man trap

things i remembered beforehand:

salt monster

"plum" uwu

that gay little run and crawl jim does when he's taking cover (it fills me with such delight)

things i did not remember:

how many people died, good god man it's only the first episode

1x02 - charlie x

things i remembered:

jim's bright red exercise pants

that stupid fucking face charlie makes when he uses his powers

not liking this ep at all when i first watched it, possibly due to me being around the same age as charlie at the time

additional thoughts: i enjoyed it more this time and felt more sympathetic for charlie. poor kid needed some parents, and also, like, a hug

1x03 - where no man has gone before

things i remembered:

bones isn't in it :'( (bored) (sad) (missing my bestie)

"James R Kirk"

that post i saw on here recently about how their contacts were made of glass

the only thing i could think about while watching:

their contacts

were made

of GLASS

(yes i understand this was how contacts were made back then. still freaked out by the concept of people putting glass in their eyes on purpose)

1x04 - the naked time

things i remembered:

sweat disease

sulu fencing

oh kathleen

"ONE-MORE-TIME!!"

"love mankind"

spock breakdown (extremely uncomfortable to watch)

bones casually ripping jim's shirt sleeve to jab him in the arm (extremely hilarious every time i think about it)

did not remember:

anything about them almost crashing into a planet lol

jim's little monologue when he gets infected (lmao)

time warp???

additional thoughts: hey remember when they reused this plot in tng and tasha and data fucked (<- literally the only thing i can remember about it) ((edit from future fex: i rewatched that ep. it was wild. tos did it better tho))

1x05 - the enemy within

things i remembered:

unicorn dog :)

evil kirk and poor little meow meow kirk

"I'M CAPTAIN KIRK!!!"

things not remembered:

dog dies :(

evil kirk's killer eyeliner

additional thoughts: say what you will about shatner / his acting but this ep is Peak shatner performance and a lot of fun to watch. he put his whole pussy into it, as the kids say these days

1x06 - mudd's women

things remembered:

could not forget harry mudd if i tried

the women are color coded like the powerpuff girls lol

they're also like, on some kind of drug that keeps them looking young or something

cool costumes tho

i don't have much to say about this one lol, harry's a fun character but the rest of the ep wasn't super interesting to me. did finally learn how to pronounce "ophiuchus" tho so i'll thank it for that

1x07 - what are little girls made of

things remembered:

is this the penis rock episode (it is)

uhhh i think kirk gets put into some kind of spinny machine that makes androids (he does)

more cool costumes (debatable)

things i find funny:

the number of planets we've encountered so far that are populated by like. 2-4 people

the way ruk (the big guy) just picks up and throws kirk like he weighs nothing

so much buildup with kirk and the penis rock and he doesn't even get to hit ruk over the head with it smh

also not a funny moment but i liked the way kirk was able to get a message to spock thru the android kirk, v clever

wait i just realized bones wasn't in this ep either. deducting 1/4 of a star from my mental rating bc i missed him (but apparently not that much)

1x08 - miri

remembered:

planet of children (bc everyone else died of terminal puberty)

"no blah blah blah!"

bones tests his newly discovered, untested cure on himself, in true mad scientist fashion (also spones moment <3)

saw this ep on a "what's your fave 'bad' episode" poll here recently and i can't remember if i thought it was good or bad when i first watched it lol

forgot:

another earth?? there's just a second, identical earth floating around out there?? and (of course) they don't mention it at all for the rest of the episode

300 year old children

oh these kids are so much more annoying than i remembered, however i may just be biased bc i don't like kids shfkshfk

1x09 - dagger of the mind

remember:

absolutely nothing! oh boy!

thoughts:

wow this ep is fucked up!

okay actually i don't think i've seen this one at all before?

usually there'll be moments that jog my memory but the only thing even slightly familiar to me was kirk going "helen don't go!" while in the neutralizer chair, but i could've just seen a clip/gif of it before

i remember skipping episodes in season 1 (i was impatient and wanted to get to city on the edge of forever) but i thought i'd at least made it to halfway thru the season before skipping any

anyway did i mention this ep is fucked up? (star trek really does love to drop an absolutely haunting 50 minutes of television on you and then never address it again, i understand this now. roll credits!)

1x10 - the corbomite maneuver

remember:

uhh

there's a thing out there

it's in the way

preventing them from boldly going, even

looks like an old windows screensaver

i might've skipped this ep too now that i think about it

thoughts:

cute mckirk moment in sickbay :3

i love that this cube has its own theme music whenever its on screen

oh shit it's the sequel to cube: orb

jesus christ that's a big orb

man they really said "okay we've got 3 music tracks and we're gonna get our money's worth out of them"

i gotta say this ep slaps tbh—WAIT HE'S A BABY???

LITTLE BABY MAN

LMAOOOOO

honestly great episode tho i'll stand by that

[aforgottenballad]

2023 Yuhki Kamatani fans gift exchange

AKA "Oh God I forgot to promote this until 3 days before the fact so I'm moving the deadline back a few days !!!" If you are a fan of any of the following series...

Nabari no Ou

Our Dreams at Dusk/Shimanami Tasogare

Shounen Note: Boy Soprano

Hiraeth wa Tabiji no Hate/Hiraeth the End of the Journey

And you would like to create and receive a fanworks related gift related to any of these anime/manga, I humbly invite you to join our 4th annual gift exchange over on the Kamatani Discord Server [link]

Sign-ups now close December 8th! (11:59 CST)

More information/application under the cut:

What kind of gifts will be exchanged?

Fanworks only; This could include digital or traditional art, fanfiction, curated music playlists, AMV/MMVs, colored edits of manga pages, translating extra materials, or anything else you can think of that can be exchanged online! Bought gifts are difficult to organize with fans being from all over the world and I don't want to exclude anyone based on age or financial status.

Do I need to know all of the series the artist has done?

Nope! Pairings for the exchange will be set up so that everyone will be creating for series and characters they're familiar with, to the best of my ability. I will also avoid matching people to each other, hopefully everyone will be sending a gift to, and receiving a gift from, two different people.

What is the timeline?

Dec 10- Assignments given out, work on the gift can begin immediately Dec 30- Server reminder Jan 10- Check-in Jan 25- Final check, Beginning of posting period announcement and drop-out deadline Feb 10- Final deadline for gift posting

Are there any other rules/requirements?

Discord will be required for contact purposes and ease of exchange, minimum for gifts is just to make sure that it's clean and finished work, playlists must be reasonable length (at least 8 tracks). There is thus far no word minimum or limit for fic, but please do not wait until the last minute to rush something! There will be reminders and the opportunity to drop out and have somebody else create a gift for your partner if you find yourself unable to finish.

Application: [link]

Any other questions, I will answer in replies or through ask! Thank you and I hope you're able to join us :)

[btsgotjams27]

All Grown Up ~ JJK | Epilogue

✨ title: all grown up | series ✨ pairing: jungkook x f!reader | ✨ rating: R/18+ ~ minors dni ✨ genre/au: romance, fluff, angst, friends-to-lovers, humor, banter, smut, age gap, best friends little brother ✨ author’s notes: I won’t be updating this series on Tumblr. Please continue this series on AO3 or Wattpad. Links below. This fic is inspired by the k-drama, Something in the Rain. ✨ author’s notes 2: okay, so i do plan on editing the rest of this series! i just don’t know when it’ll be done. ✨ author's notes 3: omfg. i'm finally done editing this fic?? it's literally taken me a whole year bc i've been lazy/busy lmfao. welp, we're finally here! and there will be a small drabble and jin pov i'll be posting soon! ✨ can also read on AO3 or Wattpad

[ SERIES MASTERLIST ] prev | next ✨ drabble - netflix and...

✨ epilogue | wc: 1.2k ✨ warnings: illusions to sex, kissing

The day of Yuna and Namjoon’s wedding was pure chaos. A day before, you receive a call about all floral arrangements being delayed because of the hurricane. The truck carrying everything wouldn’t make it in time for the wedding, which meant you and the other bridesmaids were running around with your heads cut off trying to find flowers for the wedding.

“Bora, bring those flowers over to the king's table,” you gestured to the arrangement sitting by the gift table. At this point, you were lucky to get any flowers for the wedding. It didn’t matter if they were cohesive or not.

“The king's table?” Bora clenched her teeth, looking around to figure out what you were referring to.

“The table we’re all sitting at!” you yelled. God, did you have to do everything yourself?

“Oh--right. Got it .” Bora hurried off, not wanting to be scolded by you again.

You told yourself never to agree to be anyone else’s maid of honor. It was just too stressful. If you were to marry in the future, you noted it would just be an elopement.

Looking at your list, there were still a few things that needed to be checked before you could head off to hair and make-up. There were only a few more hours until the wedding started.

“Need any help?” Jungkook asked, sneaking in from behind, wrapping his arms around your waist.

You peered quickly at him before returning to your clipboard. “Yes, please. Here take these and bring them to table seven.”

“You got it, boss,” he said before giving a quick peck on your lips before doing as he was asked.

Your eyes widened, looking around to make sure no one was watching. “Kook! What if someone sees?!”

He smiled and ran off. Were you excited that you and Jungkook were finally together? Yes, but only a few people knew about your relationship. The next big thing was to tackle your mom, but you didn't even want to think about that right now. You’d deal with that later.

You heard your name, and quickly, you turned to see Yuna running to you.

“The flowers are set up on the tables as we speak, and your bouquet is here. I'll put it in your room, and then I'll return after getting ready.” Your eyes scanned the rest of your checklist, ensuring everything went smoothly.

“Thank you. You're a godsend. I don't know what I'd do without you,” Yuna said, pulling you in for a hug.

You straightened and wrapped your arm around hers. “Let's not find out...again,” you chuckled.

After the hectic morning, you were able to find some time to quiet down and get ready. You slip on the sage green velvety off-the-shoulder bridesmaid dress, the gold drop-down pearl earrings, and the strappy beige Jimmy Choos. You took one last look at yourself in the mirror before grabbing your bouquet filled with eucalyptus, peonies, and blush pink roses.

Stepping out of your door, you found Jungkook leaning against the wall, looking dapper in a three-piece navy suit and hair slicked back, showing off his defined and chiseled jawline. You could kiss that jawline all day if you could. He took one look at you, mouthed a 'wow,'and whistled.

You narrowed your eyes at your hunky man. “Shut up.”

He stepped closer to you and took your hand, spinning you around to get a better look. “Damn, you're sexy,” Jungkook groaned in delight.

“Shhh —”

“You should dress like this more often so I can take everything off.”

“KOOK!”

He laughed and grinned as he tried to bring you in for a kiss. You tried to push him away, but he held on tighter. “I'm not letting go until I get a kiss from you.”

“You're trying to get us caught.”

“Mmhm, I want everyone to know we're together.” He let out a soft giggle as you rolled your eyes.

“Fine. God, you're so bad.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Admit it. You like it.”

“Maybe a little.”

“Ouh, you're kinky.”

“Okay---I'm leaving.” You tried to pull away from him again, but he chuckled and rolled you right back into his arms as he gave you a back hug.

“I'm kidding. I love seeing you like this. Flustered, that is,” he smiled, pressing his lips to your right shoulder, making his way up to your neck, leaving subtle marks behind. You let out a slight whine as he continued.

“I'm going to have to cover up these marks if you keep going.”

“Mm…” He continued, not caring in the world if anyone walked by.

You weren't sure if he even heard you. “Koo…” you muttered softly. He pressed deeper into your skin, and your head began falling back into him. You quickly turned around to face him. “You have five minutes. FIVE!”

“I can do that.” He grinned as he opened the door to your room, letting you go in first.

You quickly straightened your dress and grabbed your shoes, scrambling to get yourself ready again. You ran to Yuna's dressing room and knocked lightly.

“Yuna..?” you muttered before opening the door, peering in to see her sitting in front of the vanity.

“Finally, where have you been?” she asked, putting on a diamond earring.

“Sorry I got held up,” you said, closing the door behind you.

Yuna laughed as she took a look at her best friend. “Uh huh--I can clearly see.” She was pointing to the nipple pasty stuck to the side of your dress.

“OH SHIT –” You quickly grabbed it and tucked it into place. Fucking Jungkook–you told him not to remove the pasty, but he wouldn’t listen. He just had to feel all of you.

“Spare me the details,” Yuna chuckled while matting down her hair.

You nervously chuckled and began walking over to her. She turned to the mirror, taking in one last look before it was time to go. “You look gorgeous. Namjoon is going to cry.”

“He's definitely going to cry.”

You leaned down to hug her from behind. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

The wedding was beautiful and everything you and Yuna had dreamed about when you were younger. After Yuna and Namjoon's first dance, the MC invited everyone else to join in. You sat there with twinkles in your eyes, watching your best friend so happy. Then you felt a tap on your shoulder. Jungkook stood there with his hand out.

“May I have this dance?”

You gazed at the doe-eyed young man, asking so sweetly. “What about my mom?” you asked, worried about what she would think.

“She'll just think we're being friendly,” Jungkook suggested with a sly smile and puppy dog eyes.

You bit your bottom lip, hesitating to take it. You weren’t just worried about your mother. A slew of people you knew would whisper and gossip about the two of you.

“Come on. I promise I'll behave.”

If there were no one around, you’d dance the night away. You loved the thought of being in his arms–kissing, giggling, touching…

“You better.”

“I don't know if you'll behave, though.”

You lightly hit him in the chest as you stood up. He led you to the dance floor and held you close with one hand on the small of your back, the two of you swaying to the song playing. His honey-brown eyes glistened from the night sky, his smile beaming from ear to ear, revealing the cutest dimple carved within his cheek.

“What..?”

“...I love you,” you softly said as you reached up and pressed your lips against his, forgetting where you were, forgetting all the complexities that came along with your relationship. Nothing else mattered at that moment—just you and him.

✨ previous ~ you deserve everything and more

✨ next ~ drabble - netflix and..

[kidflashimpulse]

It's me again from the overexcited ramble from earlier BUT I'M NOT DONE

Bart knowing about Gar before others feels so real because he's spent his childhood surrounded by people who felt like Gar does right now, and maybe Gar (not to mention Bart himself) felt like that in the future as well. I wonder how well Bart knew BB in his own time, if he ever really knew him at all, and if it has impact on their current friendship

Oh to see the effects of Bart's childhood on his behaviour in the present, you've sprinkled bits and pieces, and I'm taking it all in like a starving man

And the Thawne DNA confirmed!! GOD it was so good, the love he has for his mom and the despise he has for his grandfather (not Barry obviously) is perfection, I hope Thad got what he deserved when Bart got out

And FINALLY the recognition he deserves with his intelligence, like you said: he knows his stuff. So happy to finally read a fic which shows that Bart is GOOD at what he does, he built a time machine for heaven's sake!

BUT ALSO TYE WAS SUCH A LEGEND LMFAO I love the friendship (or more like feigned frenemyship?) he has with Bart, their dynamic in your fic is hilarious

Okay that was all, thank you for reading this rollercoaster

Your work is absolutely incredible and I can't wait to see where the story/stories are going from here

love the energy 😍 sdfghjkl

yeah i like to think that as soon as gar came back from Mars bart took one look at gar and was like damn he’s going to be going through it

i just imagine mental illness would be extremely prevalent in bart’s original era, i think it’s by-product of a post-apocalyptic society that makes too much sense. And with no system in place to treat it as normal, well bart must have seen some pretty intense stuff

honestly i really don’t know (or have an idea lol) of how well bart new gar in his TL, in my opinion he didn’t know him personally at all. I’m usually in the camp that most of the team had died in one way or another in bart’s time. The ones that i usually do think he knew or knew of “in person” some what at the very least are Barbara Gordon, Wally West (this is a maybe), Lian and maybe that’s about it. It varies with either more members or less, hoe stay i’m unsure, but these r the ones that i typically think of. With how coy bart was when he first came to the past and spoke to gar, honestly anything is possible though lol

i just usually don’t think that the original members were as involved i. his childhoos as some fics make them out to be, one of the biggest reason is because i think the ones who were alive, dispersed to different locations to take part in rebelling etc so it would make it hard for him to know many personally, he might have heard of and gotten details, but beside that it’s really up in the air. The only HC i sometimes think of /include is Barbara Gordon being the one to teach him how to read/write etc education stuff when he was really young and the tornado twins were still alive (so before he was 5), but other than that, idk

“Thawne DNA confirmed” sdfghjkl LOVE THIS, yeah u heard it here first folks, it’s confirmed 😁 jk lol yeah it makes me super happy to include it in AAIT i feel like it really fleshes out his backstory on time related things and i just love all things related to him and his mom and his thawne side, it’s just very satisfying to think about so being able to explore that and HCs in my fic, very fun. I have such a specific vision for Thads involvement in Barts and (ofc as a result) Melonis lives and there will be a little more on that in future chapters, so stay tuned 🤩

PREACH omg the only thing that’s left for us is to see the day his wiki page is updated on it !! capability and intelligence to me is such a key bart feature idk if this make any sense but it just is lol i’d update the wiki myself if i could try to understand the editing process i just don’t have the energy to go thru reading all the rules or figuring it out to do it rn

tye + bart friendship is everything to me i just feel like they’d be rlly entertaining together just so much potential lol

thank u so much for sharing ur thoughts and kind words with me i appreciate it so much <33 and again thank u for reading AAIT, i really appreciate it 🧡

[ggumiui]

Heeyyyyyyy gumi it’s me Magpie here to ask you some things because you’ve been good this year and Magpie Claus is gonna make u some art

I know for the various doodles and art I’ve been making so far I’ve basically winged it and just gone off the descriptions in the story, but I would like to make some ref sheets for some of the characters and I NEED KEY DETAILS AND STUFF so if you could be so kind to tell me some stuff you would like the characters to look like, like accessories and scar placement and maybe if the characters have pointed ears that kinda stuff

Magpie!! Oh my god! I wish I'd seen this sooner! Oooh! I have so much to say regarding their appearances. Although I'd definitely begin with, please still feel free to have creative freedom! I love seeing your art after posting chapters, whether the design is of your own or closer to mine, I absolutely adore it either way! So don't feel restricted by anything. You've definitely gotten it down to a T though haha When it comes to 'pointed ears, etc' there aren't actually any other sub-species/hybrids other than avians in this universe, as they are creations solely of the Watchers. Not to say people can't be born without little funky attributes such as those though! Grian and Pearl are twins here, so their appearances do resemble each others a lot. Such as the same hair colour, dirty blonde, and facial features. I am sorry to say that Grian unfortunately is not a glasses wearer in AMDB 😔 purely because of lore purposes and him being 'perfect' it wouldn't fit. I still love glasses Grian <33 Cuteguy right now simply dons a red hoodie and grey knee-length shorts. His 'void covering' is the consistency of a liquid and can change how much of his face is being covered. This will be spoken more on in future chapters! And I might have to come back to Cuteguy a little later as.. spoiler alert.. he will actually be getting a suit hahaha not stuck in those borrowed clothes forever. Oh no this is getting long... apologies 😭 Scar's clothes are pretty consistent, button up shirts (never fully buttoned) and whatever jeans work best lol. He's a simple artist. His hair is just a mess kinda.. lmao I've described it before to a friend as "He cuts his own hair, but he can't see the back so he just leaves it and hopes for the best." He's just left with a mullet that has a mind of its own. There's a very special detail about his accessories you'll find out in chapter 10 though 👀 EDIT: Oopsie.. coming back to make a little edit as I forgot to mention his scar placement!! He has a jagged one across his nose bridge, shorter on one side than the other. A large one down his jaw and extending to his throat a little. A cross, or in other words, the shape of an 'X' between his hair part on his forehead. Grian mentions this in ch6! And finally for visible ones, a large one resembling an explosion on his collarbone, back of neck and back. Across his body he has many overlaying each other as well. Some on his hands and espeically his palms/fingers. Basically you can give him as many or as less as you'd like hahaha Hawkeye, I didn't devle too much into his design! I wish I could explain more into him but that would be spoilers :( He has a lot coming for him. His main details are that he wears archer equipment: a quiver, chest guard, arm guard and glove! But his suit is pretty much just DDVAU inspired except no short-shorts since I'm going for less comedy aspect and more action style! Oh how I miss those short shorts lol The only key detail with Mumbo is his hair, it reaches about his collarbone. I call him the 'Hippie band guy' in my head because that's just how I picture him after the buttercups in S9 lmao If there's anything else you're curious about please ask away! And again, even with this info you are entirely able to just ignore it lol! I love seeing your art and even without the 'canon' designs I would love it just as much, if not more! Thank you so much <333 And some exciting news, I took an unannounced hiatus for personal reasons but I'm finally able to get back into the swing of things. In other words, you can expect Chapter 7 soon! Also working on Chapter 8 at the same time so I can begin a weekly schedule finally Thank you for your patience <3

[acaplaya-musings]

Voiceplay-adjacent Visuals: Jack's Lament

Can you feel me practically vibrating out of my skin???

On one hand, I'm a little sad because this is the last video I'll probably be making a post about for a while (though by the time you see this, Geoff might have uploaded a new video that I can actually talk about the visuals for (EDIT from future me: he did!), and if so, you'll be seeing a post for that one tomorrow), but on the other hand, this is my third (though in no particular order/ranking) favourite Geoff video on his channel so far, and I am so excited to finally be able to make a post for it!

Geoff's cover of Jack's Lament debuted on the 8th of October, 2023, though I didn't see it pop up in my YouTube recommended until the 29th (if you remember from my Hellfire post, I wasn't initially subscribed to Geoff or Voiceplay, and both channels somehow ended up dropping off my radar for a while. Jack's Lament was the first from either channel that I had seen in at least a year, and as soon as I saw that thumbnail, I knew it was going to be amazing, but oh my GOD it was even better (and with me stumbling upon Hellfire the very next day, well let's just say I was pulled even deeper down the Geoff/Voiceplay rabbithole than I had been the first time around 😅).

Anyway, I'm not sure if I'll hit image limit on this one, or how much actual commentary I may have, but regardless, let's freaking go!

One hell of an opening shot, not gonna lie. Geoff's very-skeletal-looking hands playing the piano (in a beautiful way, might I add), immediately sets a very spooky/eerie vibe!

And this is one hell of an establishing shot! I mean goddamn there is a lot to take in here! Though one thing I will point out (that I actually only just noticed myself ^^;) is the Haunted Mansion headstone on the left, memorialising Madame Leota!

(Also shoutout to Pattycake Production Studios where this was filmed!)

I of course have to give a MASSIVE shoutout and kudos to Rick Underwood for the makeup job in this one, like holy christ he really outdid himself here! (and I can't thank him enough)

Ngl, if I don't come up with any other ideas between now and October, then I kinda wanna dress as "Jack Skellington Geoff" (Geoff Caskellington? 🤔), makeup and all (or just attempt the face makeup at least)

And seriously take a look at his hands! If it weren't for the super-high-definition closeup of his hands on the piano at the start, you'd be forgiven for thinking those are just really well-fitting gloves, but nope! An amazing airbrush job from Mr Underwood!

Also, if you look at his neck and chest in both this image and the previous one, you'll notice that he's got airbrushing going on there too, highlighting (or more accurately, shading) his ribs and other bones!

Finally, on the subject of the body paint job, if you've been paying attention to some of my other Geoff posts (and some of my Voiceplay posts), you might notice what's missing...

No necklace, and no rings! Had to remove them for costume/makeup/character purposes, rip. Must have felt a bit weird without them, but all that paint must have felt weird too, so maybe the weird feelings cancelled each other out? 😅

(His acting in this is of course 10/10 👌)

This video is one that I do actually know involved Geoff deliberately colouring his hair to make it grey, and it still looks as lovely as ever!

(Also this picture is a better one to check out the airbrushed detailing on his chest! (if you're gonna leave a couple of shirt buttons undone and your chest exposed, might as well take advantage of it! 😁))

The "moon" in this video is apparently just some big spotlight with a moon cover on it or something? Apparently you can fairly easily find them online or something, and you can in fact see the pole it's attached to underneath in this image here, but you likely wouldn't notice the pole if you weren't looking for it, and the usage of the moon is 100% perfect! (I've seen/heard one or two people wishing the moon was yellow like in the movie, but eh, it probably wouldn't have fitted the overall colour scheme of the video as much)

I had to include the "jumpscare" of course I had to! 😁

Also I can't get any good screencaps of it, but the way Geoff shifts from sombre on "a longing that I've never known," to more theatric/dramatic on "I'm a master of fright, and a demon of light" is so good, and the acting/choreography is absolute chefs kiss

"Bonjour!"

(For those of you not familiar with the original, the line "and I'm know throughout England and France" is part of the original song, but the "bonjour!" bit is not 😆)

A Geoff head not connected to the body! It's happened again! 😂

Also it's cool the way Geoff is quickly jumping/flashing from one point to another, reminds me of his Headless Horseman video

"No animal, nor man, can SCREAM like I can!"

What can I say, it's a very cool effect! Really ups the "oomph" factor of the little belt moment!

Tiny pumpkins/jack-o-lanterns in his eyes!!

"But who here, would ever understand..."

(I'm not even at half the maximum image limit yet, so I'm 100% just throwing in an extra screencap (or two) just because 😁)

Geoff pats the side of his leg to call for Zero the ghost dog, just in in the scene in the movie! (Also shoutout to Kathy, who I believe helped with puppeteering for this bit?)

"...that the pumpkin king, with the skeleton grin,"

(Freaking obsessed with this video, I tell ya!)

"The fame and praise, come year after year, does nothing for these empty tears"

This is the last shot before we see the gramophone logo (a very gorgeous shot btw), but there's a little bit of a bonus bit for those who stick around for the Patron credits!!

It starts to snow! Like at the end of the movie! It's a sign of hope and good things to come! <3

The original song is good for the movie, sure, but Geoff's cover feels like it has so much more depth (in more ways than one!) and emotion! And his vocal range is ugh god absolutely stunning and mindblowing! I cannot get enough, can never get enough!

But anyway, I hope you've been enjoying my Voiceplay/Voiceplay-adjacent posts! If there are any videos I've skipped over that you actually would like me to make a post on, please let me know! (And don't worry, I am planning to do all the 2017-onwards Christmas videos for both channels eventually - maybe as a Christmas In July thing?) I'm typing this on the 22nd of February, and if Voiceplay uploads a video in March that I wanna make a post on (nope), well you reading this will have already seen that post, and if Geoff uploads something in March that I wanna talk about (he did), then you'll see that post tomorrow (you will!). But otherwise, thanks for reading!

[jennyandvastraflint]

20 Questions for Writers

Thank you @capybaraonabicycle for tagging me in this!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Hehe... 161. Well, it happens?

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

727,396 (holy shit when did THAT happen.)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Predominantly Doctor Who, especially the Paternoster Gang. 133 of my fics are about Doctor Who, and out of those, 85 are Paternoster Gang. (also technically one of my fics is tagged Torchwood, but it was a fic focusing on Victorian Torchwood and the Paternosters)

Other than that, we have:

Avatar: Legend of Korra (17)

Guild Wars 2 (Video Game) (12)

Star Trek: Voyager (7)

The Dragon Prince (Cartoon) (4)

The Owl House (Cartoon) (3)

The Worst Witch - All Media Types (3)

The Worst Witch (TV 2017) (3)

Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (2)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I will say, the top 2 were subjected to some bot spamming me (I had issues with like. a dozen spam comments on each of them as well), so I'm going to add seven in total here.

Pure (Amaya/Janai, The Dragon Prince): After the Judgement of Light, Amaya gets to stay in Janai's quarters. While there she thinks about the Judgement, and when Janai comes in, she can't resist a little flirting and teasing.

Support (Annika/Neha, The Dragon Prince): Annika is to be crowned in two weeks. Not feeling up to the challenges of becoming a queen (alone), she asks Neha for support.

Songs of Love and Death (Jenny Flint/Madame Vastra, The Paternoster Gang, Doctor Who): [...] Amidst the looming threat of their families for the both of them, a connection grows between [Jenny and Vastra], and they are tested by the very worst the world has to offer, causing them to lose each other for a time. As they find back to each other, they are both changed and have to battle old demons while trying to carve out a living for themselves together.

I feel your magic every time I'm with you (Hardbroom/Pentangle, The Worst Witch (2017)): After the love potion wears off, Hecate is shaken. She had to observe everything she had done under its control without being able to stop it. When she transfers to her room and breaks down, she doesn't expect Pippa being there.

Spider Lin (Lin Beifong/Kya II, Avatar: Legend of Korra): Lin patrolling the city at night, saving someone… A very specific someone… :D

Shirt (Or: Lilith coming out) (Eda Clawthorne & Lilith Clawthorne, The Owl House): Lilith asks Eda to sit down with her; she wants to tell her something she discovered about herself.

Face Paint (Amaya/Janai, The Dragon Prince): Janai wakes up to find Amaya already awake and eating the breakfast that was meant for her. Amaya notices Janai's face paint is smudged since she went to bed without taking it off. Janai goes to fix it.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Always! I love hearing thoughts of my readers and I love engaging with them because isn't that what fandom is about, community. If poked I will absolutely tell you all of my thoughts, and if you become friends with me you will receive snippets and sneak peeks of fics before I post them <3 I love you, readers! (shoutout to @capybaraonabicycle for always leaving me incredibly detailed comments, I am eating them for lunch every day <3)

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

This made me pause for a moment because I don't write many fics that STAY angsty, I mostly write happy endings despite the angst, but I think Until the dance ends would have to be my answer! It's a fic in which Vastra dances with Jenny, but it has a sad twist to it.

Runner-ups would probably be They say when your soul dies (oh god this fic is screaming for an edit actually) which is set during the final few minutes of The Ghost Writers audio, and The Girl of Silver which has a surprisingly sad ending I think? It's essentially about a young girl asking the Paternoster Gang to come save her.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I write a lot of fluff or hurt/comfort, and since you, dear tagger already know Butterfly Queen, I'll go with something you are not yet familiar with! (I have enough to choose from, soooo...)

I love the happy, soft ending to Like Leaves Falling especially after the initial angst in the fic...

Jenny lay back down, pulling the heavy blanket over her body. As Vastra left, Jenny whispered, “Thank you” after her. Vastra stopped, turned to her, and smiled. “Always, Jenny.”

I think you would also enjoy A Lonely Place which is a sort of fantasy AU for the Gang, and it has such a sweet ending, I was crying from joy at it while writing <3 It's especially something for you if you'd like a slightly longer fic that isn't just a OneShot of a few thousand words

Strax cleared his throat. "If…" He seemed all shy, all of a sudden. "If Vastra goes there tomorrow, then… maybe I could too? As… emotional support for Vastra, of course!" Jenny gave him a wide grin. "Sure, emotional support. But yeah, the more the merrier!" Slowly, Strax inched his chair closer until he sat to Vastra’s right. Then, very carefully, he placed his big arms around the two of them and lightly squeezed. Jenny and Vastra did the same. With a kiss to the top of Jenny’s head, Vastra murmured, "Sounds perfect."

yellowing like old photographs also has a really sweet and joyful ending (which I do not want to spoil via a snippet here, though!)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not as of yet, except for some Christian spam shit that was like "Omg that's disgusting you need jesus" on some of my non-archive locked fics,

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

No, not as of yet. I'm tempted to try it just for shits and giggles, but it doesn't do anything for me. I've written a few makeout scenes tho <3

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not really, I've only written one between the Victorian Torchwood sapphics who appeared for like five minutes in the show in S2, and the Paternoster Gang (because honestly? Why not).

Here it is: Meeting Torchwood (not on the best of terms).

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of...

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I've actually translated two of my works into German myself! Die Ritterin und die Drachin is a translation of The Knight and the Dragon, a Paternoster Gang fairytale AU (I originally wrote the German one for a course at uni, without naming names of course XD) The second one is a Thasmin fic with background Osgate called Das Licht hinter deinen Augen (or The light behind your eyes), set post-PotD and it has Yaz living together with Hologram!Thirteen who is made into a solidogram thanks to Osgood's help.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not that I can think of, but I'd love to! (So, if anyone is interested, hit me up!)

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Do I, really, have to say that hjdjgsjkfg It's OBVIOUSLY T*nrose :D /sarcasm.

No, it's Jenny/Vastra, of course. It's like my entire thing.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

In terms of WIPs and ideas I haven't published yet, too many to count, but from the published ones probably "Dear Kate" or: Osgood's Unsent Letters. It's essentially meant to be Osgood writing letters she'll never let anyone see addressed to Kate during the years she was gone from like 2017 to 2021...

16. What are your writing strengths?

I like to think dialogue and character voices, as well as introspection. Correct me if I'm misguided, but I'd consider my fics to be written very true to the characters' voices, capturing what makes them out while exploring aspects that canon often likes to leave unexplored (for instance, loneliness, trauma, loss, and what that does to a person). I'd also like to think I write quite fun and comedic scenes at times.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Definitely descriptions of surroundings, and I know I can get too carried away in introspection. While this (hopefully) doesn't hold true as much anymore, I struggled following a red thread throughout my work without getting side-tracked.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I think it's pretty cool, though if you don't speak the language you could consult someone who does to make sure it's correct. I used German dialogue in one of my fic chapters for a rather comedic scene where Vastra's translator stops working on a holiday!

“As I was saying, madame, these- Bausteine sind erst seit kurzem auf dem Markt. Sie sind aus Deutschland gekommen und haben auch hier schnell Beliebtheit gefunden. Wir verkaufen sie als Sets, die in vielen Kombinationen aufgebaut werden können,“ the shop keeper said, in a language neither of them understood. „Um,“ Vastra made, staring at the man. She staggered a step back. Jenny was by her side immediately and steadied her. “Hey, no need to be scared. Ev’rythin’s fine,” she whispered, not sure what was happening herself. “Oh! Madam, Ihr Kleid raucht,“ he stumbled, agitatedly pointing at Vastra’s dress. They both followed his pointing with their eyes to Vastra’s pocket. Clouds of smoke quelled out of it, and Vastra reached in to produce her smoking and spitting translator. “By the goddess,” she cursed under her breath. Jenny’s brain was churning. She had attempted to read some fairy tales without the translator in the library as Vastra had been using it. Clearing her throat, she stepped forth and pointed at the set to their right. “Wir… das haben?,” she stumbled over the syllables. Her pronunciation sounded nothing like the man’s German, and she cringed. “Äh, ja, gerne. Soll ich es einpacken?“ Before Jenny could continue her terrible German, a wheezing noise sounded in the distance. She hardly took a note of it at first until Vastra’s head perked up. The shop keeper sighed and repeated his question, “Soll ich- wrap it?” English. That Jenny understood.

(Songs of Love and Death: Chapter 94)

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Sailor Moon with Haruka/Michiru back when I was 13! Or well, it was the first I published for. I wrote for Professor Layton a few years before that, being obsessed with Descole and writing funky adventures XD

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Well, the Turn Loose the Mermaids series is definitely among them! It has Pirate!Jenny and Mermaid!Vastra falling in love and having a lovely crew <3

I love so many of my fics, but here's a few that I adore and that I think you'd love as well!

Unspoken words spoken

A whirring noise announces the arrival of a TARDIS, and out of it stumbles the Flux TARDIS team. The Paternoster Gang wasn't quite prepared for a visit, but welcome them even with initial misunderstanding between Dan and Strax. During an infestation brought about by a certain Time Lord, Jenny and Vastra each try and encourage the Doctor and Yaz to communicate with each other. In all the chaos, Dan happens to build an unlikely kind-of-friendship with a certain Sontaran, and confessions between the Doctor and Yaz are made, and words both left unspoken, are finally spoken.

Your beauty never ever scared me

In a forest stood a castle, hidden away from human eyes. When Jenny gets lost during a storm, a kind woman offers her refuge in the castle. What Jenny didn't know when she came there, all the inhabitants were cursed once, living with their curses as best as they can. Now Jenny must choose one person to take with her, one person whose curse she can lift. If she manages to make out whose curse was the first, all others will unravel. A Jenny/Vastra Fairytale AU

a kindest heart made me believe the world as i wish it to be

Late at night, Vastra offers to help Jenny get ready for bed by brushing and braiding her hair. Jenny accepts the offer.

Crimson

Bloodlust. Rage. Hurt. That was what Vastra felt when she heard a young woman weakly cry for help, when she rushed to round the corner, when she saw a human surrounded by men, all grinning wickedly and pressing a knife to the young human’s throat. Vastra kills to save Jenny on their first meeting.

This was loads of fun! I hope you (and any other Paternoster fan honestly) finds themselves some fic to read here!

I'm tagging @casualscribbler @jennyvastraflint @ellenripley08 @theglasscat @pookachuka @marvellouspinecone @heathtrash and quite frankly anyone else who would like to participate!!

[anticomedygarden]

some people say they will never believe another promise they hear in the dark

Cash just got off a sudden eight hour flight. He is soaked and tired. Somehow, that isn't his biggest problem, but Shaan may have some comfort to offer.

(or that night at Kensington from Cash's perspective)

also posted on ao3

-

title from billy joel's 'an innocent man'

all of the dialogue between the beginning and them actually entering the palace is taken from the book, and because it is killing me not to properly cite it:

McQuiston, Casey. Red, White & Royal Blue: Collector's Edition: A Novel. St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2022.

-

As soon as they pulled up to Kensington, Cash and Alex stepped out of the car into a downpour, and Shaan, the bastard, was the only person standing in the way of the warm, dry palace. He, of course, had an umbrella.

"Mr. Claremont-Diaz," he said. "What a treat."

Predictably, Alex didn't waste any time on formalities. "Move, Shaan."

"Ms. Bankston called ahead to warn me that you were on the way." Of course she did, Cash thought. Thank God. "As you might have guessed by the ease with which you were able to get through our gates. We thought it best to let you kick up a fuss somewhere more private."

"Move." Again, with the patience.

Shaan smiled, and Cash really thought he might throttle him. Maybe he should be the next one on the eight hour flight into the pouring rain. "You're aware it's quite late, and it's well within my power to have security remove you. No member of the royal family has invited you into the palace."

"Bullshit," Alex said through his teeth. "I need to see Henry."

Cash prepared to be arrested and vowed to never, ever tell Zahra exactly what Alex said tonight.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. The prince does not wish to be disturbed.

"Goddammit Henry!" Even better, Alex started yelling directly up to what was presumably Henry's bedroom window. {"Henry, you motherfucker!"

Cash finally decided it was time to step in, not that it would help. "Alex."

He was ignored. "Henry, you piece of shit, get your ass down here!"

"You are making a scene." Shaan said, not looking all that put out.

"Yeah?" Alex said, not quieting at all despite Cash's concerns. "How 'bout I just keep yelling and we see which of the papers show up first!"

Zahra was going to have a heart attack (if Cash didn't first).

Alex turned back to the window and started flailing his arms, too. "Henry! Your Royal fucking Highness!"

Shaan touched a finger to his earpiece. "Team Bravo, we've got a situa-"

Just then, Henry appeared in the doorway, not looking much better than Cash felt right then. "For Christ's sake, Alex, what are you doing?"

Alex stopped moving, stopped yelling, finally, his mouth still open.

He dropped his arms. "Tell him to let me in."

Henry sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's fine. He can come in."

"Thank you," he said, looking at Shaan just so he could have the last word, little shit. They all walked into the palace, Henry and Alex up a massive staircase and Cash following Shaan through the empty hallways, though the word empty was honestly generous. A better description might have been cavernous. At over 6 feet tall, Cash could stretch out both arms and not ever touch a wall, and, as a man who had personally experienced the opulence and greed of the American upper-class Republican party, he wondered why anyone would ever want that. He thought about Sir George Coppin and William III and Mary II and centuries of royals who had walked these walls and attempted to feel a lick of guilt about the mud and rainwater he was tracking through them. Oh, well.

After passing half a dozen nearly identical doors, Shaan finally led them into one that was, upon further inspection, a small kitchen. A marble top island sat in the center of the room surrounded by stools with a large black fridge, oven, sink, and counter to the right. Cash was a bit surprised by how modern it looked, though he wasn't sure exactly what he was expecting. A brick oven set over a fireplace, maybe? A giant portrait of King George III? Really, he didn't know.

"You can sit down, if you'd like," Shaan said, already taking a place at the kitchen island. Cash pulled out a stool and sat down heavily across from him.

"You think they're gonna work out whatever this is?" Cash asked, wincing when he heard a shout, probably from Alex. If anyone's lungs could transcend the distance from here to Henry's bedroom, it was Alex.

Across from him, Shaan sighed sadly, betraying more emotion in a single breath than Cash had ever seen from the man, and he began to wonder if the last ten minutes were simply for show. "It may not matter if they do."

It was, Cash knew, the truth, no matter how much he wished it weren't. "I've never seen him so happy," he noted.

He knew it was incredibly cliché, but it was the truth. The kid had always been excited, maybe a little too excited, actually, but since things with Henry had gotten...important, so to speak, he'd been happy. Really happy. Not that he wasn't before, exactly, but, honestly?...He really wasn't.

Before, happy wasn't something Alex always had time for. Now, somehow between the DNC, classes, fundraisers, and media appearances, Alex had started making time for happy, and that happy came in the form of Henry. Prince Henry of Wales.

Cash knew exactly what would happen if that suddenly went away. Alex would run himself right into the ground.

When Shaan turned his shadowed face to Cash, he knew the other man was thinking the same thing. "For Henry as well." He paused, a pained look crossing his face. "I am afraid that no matter the outcome of tonight, the fallout will be devastating."

Cash couldn't help but agree.

They lapsed into silence, at least until Alex's voice speared into the room. "-fucking love you, okay?"

Groaning, Cash said, "I'm so sorry."

Shaan waved him away. "Don't worry about it. No one else in the palace should be able to hear them." Something appeared to dawn on him. "Although, Philip and Martha are here, so we can't allow them to get too loud." At Cash's uneasy look, Shaan said, "They're staying on the other side of the palace. I wouldn't be too worried."

Cash nodded. "That's good."

A couple more minutes of tense silence later, Shaan said, "Would you like something to drink?"

"Coffee, if you have it." Shaan looked at him oddly. "If this turns ugly, I should probably be awake for it."

He didn't know what he was more worried about: the fight turning violent (unlikely), or Alex and Henry waking up Philip, and that encounter turning violent (much more likely).

Shaan nodded in understanding and turned the coffee maker on. "How do you take it?"

"Black."

For a while, the only noise was the sound of the coffee maker working, leaving Cash to wonder how the fuck he was gonna explain this all to Zahra. Maybe, if they didn't break up and Alex came out the other side relatively unscathed, Cash could make him explain it all with very little remorse. If they didn't, well...Zahra may not be the biggest problem.

To Cash's surprise, the next voice was unmistakably Henry's.

"I don't want it!" He couldn't imagine what that was about, and he really didn't want to know. There were more shouts, but Cash couldn't make them out.

"Didn't know he could get that loud," he said instead.

Shaan sighed again and set a mug down in front of him. "Alex seems to bring it out in him."

Cash snorted and took a sip of coffee, reveling in the bitter taste as he felt the warmth seep into his bones and wake him back up. "He brings it out in everybody."

There was a lull in the shouts, and Cash hoped they might be winding down, but of course Alex started up again.

Thankfully, they didn't last as long this time, tapering off into angry hisses, until there was a sudden thud noise.

Cash was already halfway to the door before he registered the other noises being made: a groan, some stumbling, and the vivid sound of bed springs.

Shawn stood then, obviously eager to not hear them anymore. "Let me show you where you'll be staying tonight."

Cash nodded. "That sounds great," he said, a bit too loud, for now there was the horrifying sound of quiet crying and far more vibrant moans.

Quickly, Shaan led him down even more identical hallways - he couldn't get out of this place if he tried - and eventually landed on a dark wooden door indistinguishable from the ones next to it. Blessedly, he couldn't hear the boys anymore.

"I'll come get you in the morning provided your charge doesn't decide to leave before then." Shaan's voice had gone flat again, but Cash thought he saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "If you need anything, you have my number."

"Thanks," Cash said, the for not telling anyone higher up about this, hanging between them.

Shaan's mouth quirked up in a half smile, and he turned to go. "Of course."

Watching Shaan disappear down the immense hallway, Cash sincerely hoped they could find a way out of this mess without complete devastation, but he knew it wasn't likely.

Maybe, though, they could at least make sure they got through it alive.

[dkniade]

Can I just say that I’m glad to see more fans of datsugoku here? LIKE ITS SO SO GOOD AND GOD SO TRAGICC THEY DESERVED BETTER!! Also also your analysis on Oktavia’s cover was FUCKING AMAZING HOLY HELLL/pos

(If anyone’s curious about the song mentioned here, note that the first link’s music video contains flashing lights and rapid motions, and the themes include violence and character death)

Thank you so much!! I really love Datsugoku’s MV for telling such a story in a mere 3 minutes and 47 seconds while combining music/lyrics/visuals together well. I remember how I used to really look up to sidu for her work on Datsugoku, particularly for its lighting and video editing haha. Over the years her artstyle has changed but Datsugoku is one of my favourite “phases” of her art style I’d say

(I think to this day if I’m trying to get someone into Neruke I’d just send them the MV haha)

But as a song it’s just really cool to listen to as well. The riff at the start, that guitar solo in the middle (I wrote a post about my interpretation of the solo’s narrative significance) IT’S SO GOOD. One of the best—or most memorable?—solos Neru has written I think. I like that you can get one interpretation based on the music/lyrics themselves, and another slightly different interpretation based on the MV (since what’s described in the lyrics don’t exactly match what’s happening on-screen even though they’re describing the same event.) This mismatch (?) in how the media forms are staggered (?) is so cool, like when the LYRICS say (using my translation)—

.

Slamming down on the rusted throttle

with all that I’ve got—

so hard that I’d break my bones—

Right now, let’s break through reality

.

—but the ANIMATION shows the moments before, where Kawasemi throws the knife to rip off Kuina’s blindfold, mouthes something in a cocky way, and runs away to start the chase…!

-

(Note that the next link here goes to a post which links to a video with flashing lights and rapid motions.)

AH speaking of a tragic ending that deserved better, back in 2021 I was able to participate in a Neruke 10th anniversary fan medley MV, and did the illustration for Datsugoku! The section chosen was of course the very guitar solo itself so I tried to depict a scene of freedom and happiness in the illustration. Whether the smiling and relaxed Kawasemi is alive in the illustration is up to interpretation, haha…

It’s to match lyrics like—(note that this section of the lyrics kiiind of alludes to metaphoric drugs, and again character death)—

.

“Increasing the altitude without a change in your expression, you laugh”

(“顔色変えず高度上げて君は笑う”)

.

and

.

“As the engine heats up, I don’t care about what’s happening to the plane’s body, so high I was in the blue heavens”

(“エンジンがヒートして　機体がどうしたって気にもしない程に　トリップしてしまう大空は偉大さ”)

.

UE UE UE KAWASEMI YOU BASTARD WITH NO SELF-PRESERVATION (affectionate). Looking at it again, as a loanword from English,トリップして (trip-shite) likely refers to tripping (on drugs)… as in he’s in such a state of ecstasy—in seventh heaven, if you will—it’s like he’s high. ….oh my god hence Oktavia’s line:

.

“Though the engine overheats, the plane begins to dive / I don’t care, it’s right in front of me / The Seventh Heaven finally on the bright side”

-

(Long ramble about Oktavia’s lyrics, Japanese lyrics, English translyrics, melody, and phonology here)

As for my initial reaction Oktavia’s encore cover, thank you!! As I’ve mentioned in the reaction/analysis post I really like how she writes lyrics. Rhythmically, I’ve realized that it’s not just about fitting the Japanese lyrics’ syllables to English words while retaining the meaning, it’s about sonority (relative loudness of a speech sound) and how the sonority of the English lyrics should sound with the melody—and as a poet and occasional (English cover) lyricist who tries to rhyme and keep the rhythm, THAT’S REALLY DIFFICULT. I think… a vocal melody written for a song in Japanese would probably take advantage of how Japanese is mostly consonant-vowel (e.g. Datsugoku can be split up to da-tsu-go-ku, but don’t quote my on the technicalities), but rewrite the lyrics to English without thinking of rhythm and suddenly it’s hard to sing lyrics when they’re all mushed together, be it because the sonority just don’t work, or that there are too many consonants…

For example, it’s easier to sing

.

あの頃僕ら夢を見ていたんだ

(Ano koro bokura yume o miteita nda)

.

than it is to sing, say,

.

“Back then the two of us would dream of better lives than this”

.

even though the syllable count matches (do you know how hard it was to intentionally write a line that’d mess with the syllabic stress in relation to the melody)

SO THAT’S WHY I LOVE OKTAVIA’S LYRIC

.

“Tell me you remember when we’d dream of another life.”

.

The way the consonants at the ends of the words follow the vowels at the beginning of the next word makes it flow SO WELL. It seems she writes the lyrics based more on the melody’s ups-and-downs itself instead of the Japanese syllables, if that makes sense?

Oktavia’s mentioned something similar about rhyming and syllables in Japanese vs English lyrics once

.

“it is interesting though that rhyming is so integral to english lyrics but like in other languages (japanese) that sort of culture doesn't exist

my theory is that it's because english has so many different pronunciations to learn rhymes are more appealing 'cause they're rarer? vs japanese where because of the syllable system you can write lyrics that rhyme MUCH easier so it's not as prioritized???? idk”

.

The syllable system in Japanese is different from English so maybe it sounds nice in English when a (relatively) complicated syllabic system suddenly has rhymes where it usually wouldn’t…?

Ahaha, anyway, thank you for the ask! I was able to ramble about Datsugoku’s lyrics and gain more insight on the song even after a year…

[plantwithoutplot]

YOU🫵

I JUST BINGED YOU FIC ABS KAKSKSKS ITS SO GOOD

I WANT TO TATTOO IT ON MY GEART AND LIKE BABY SABO AND HOS EMOTIONS AND ACES EMOTIONS AND LUGGY BEING HIS LIL CUTE SILLY SELF

IM TYPING THIS AT LIKE MIDNIGHT AFTER SPENDING AN HOUR OR TWO AND A LIL MISTY EYED AFTER BINGING YOUR FIC AND LIKE AKSKKSSK RELIEGH REALLY HAD IT CUT OUT FOR HIM

RIP the crews booze stash, its gonna be used up by their fav second in command

At least let the do tor have some too foe all thw stress they give him

ALSO HOW BUGGY AND SHANKS INTERACT WITH THE ASL BROTHERS 😭😭😭😭 THEY ARE BASICALLY SIBLIMGS ALREADY

I LOVE THEM ALL AND YOU HAVE GIVEN US A GIFT FROM THE HEVEA NS AND GOD IM EXCITED FOR WHENEVER YOU UPDAGE(No pressure and take all the time you need and you better be hydrating🫵🫵🫵)

You are a wonderful person and i am kissing your blessed hands for they have created my new favourite fic

(Also Ace biting Roger did make me burst out laughinb and my little sister came tk checm up kn me cause j was being super loud)

First of all:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH

༼;´༎ຶ ۝ ༎ຶ༽🩵🩵🩵🩵

THANK YOU SO SO SO SOOOOOOO MUCH FOR YOUR MESSAGE ANON, Y O U ARE THE BEST 🥹🩷

For real,,,, just reading it when I received it ― then when I was sad, and then rereading it today again because I finally had time to answer ― warmed my heart!! 🥹🥹🥹🫶🩷

Rayleigh's pretending to have a rough time but, let's be honest, he is this close 👌 to claiming those brothers as his kids. Even if the older two might steal his booze during parties―

And Crocus complains but got lots of blackmailing material thanks to them soooo.... 🤧✨

OH SWEETCHILD, IF YOU THINK THAT NOW THE CABIN BOYS ARE ALREADY BEHAVING LIKE THE ASL ARE THEIR NEW BROTHERS, YOU'VE GOT GOOD THINGS COMING FOR YOU IN FUTURE CHAPTERS 🤭🤭🤭

I'm still editing chapter 11 but I truly hope to be able to be done with it soon, before winter holidays at least 🤡

THANK YOU AGAIN ANON 🥺 I'm so so so so glad to see other people enjoying my little hyperfixation on the ASL brothers + Cabin Boys + Roger Pirates!!! 😭😭😭🙏

Messages and comments like yours are what encourages me to keep writing, to keep posting and sharing ideas too, evwn on days when I have the self-esteem/confidence of a salted slug on a snowed pavement 🫡🫡🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵

(and thank you for your patience, my answering time these days is slower than that of a Den Den Mushi 🐌💦)