#especially with a mom who is weird about food in her own ways and made me weird about food too

[wifegideonnav]

hi there’s actually only two rules when it comes to food:

if you’re hungry, eat

if you’re full, stop eating

and you don’t owe anyone an explanation for either case, ever.

if anyone, including your own head, ever made you feel like there were other rules, this post is me giving you permission to stop following them.

[the only exception i can think of is literal surgery. if a surgeon tells you not to eat for a day, fine. everyone else can fuck off]

[strawbeerossi]

You Think, Genius?

Pairing: Fem!Reader x Spencer Reid

Description: Being friends with Spencer Reid is an adventure within itself. Movie nights are no exception.

Content/Warnings: Friends type humor, tension, mention of food/food fight, best friends to lovers trope, heavy kissing, very sweet smut (wild because I hardly write that, I feel like lmao).

Word Count: 2.7k

Anon Request: spencer reid x sarcastic funny reader? not mean but like kinda like Chandler from friends humour? with earlish seasons reid (season 3/4)ish cute smut. ADDING TO THE SARCASTIC!READER SHE AND SPENCE HAVE A BESTFRIENDS TO LOVERS ARC 🫶🫶

Navigation || Criminal Minds Masterlist || Request

RIP Matthew Perry, thank you for playing the king of sarcasm and being my inspiration for this. 🩷

“Serial killers and childhood neglect have actually been linked together for years. Some of the most notorious serial killers were abused in some shape or fashion at home. Which makes sense whenever you take into account how easy it is to psychologically break a person and cause them to shut down, children being more receptive than most adults.” Spencer rambled on about some study he had been reading about.

Everyone was mostly tuned out besides you, your left hand holding the travel size cereal box up in clear view, your eyes wide. “That explains why I can’t stop eating this cereal! My mom made my life a living hell and now, all I think about is cereal. Oh god.” You said in a sarcastic tone, causing Derek to chuckle from his desk.

“She’s a cereal killer.” He joked while you both were giggling, making Spencer look between you and Derek, a confused expression on his face.

“She’s not a serial killer. I don’t think she’d be working here if she was one.”

The laughter continued on at your coworker’s obliviousness. “No, Spence,” JJ shook her head as she approached your chair, gently taking the little box before holding it up. “The joke is that she’s eating cereal. Cereal killer.” The blonde explained as you were turning back to Spencer.

“Oh, it’s no joke. I’ve got six bodies in my apartment right now. Just waiting to get home to do away with them.” You continued on, a little snort leaving your lips as you were getting your cereal back.

As you were pushing a handful in your mouth, you watched as Spencer looked at you with his head tilted to the side. “You haven’t killed anyone. I know that for a fact. You’re too nice.” He said while he was tapping his pen against his desk, JJ let out a huff and waved him off before she was walking away from your desk to get to her office.

“Isn’t there such a thing as killing people with kindness? That is my big move. I will be nice to them and boom,” You punched the palm of your hand to appear menacing. “I go in for the kill.”

Spencer was shaking his head with a soft giggle at the mere idea of it, your sarcasm slowly seeping through the cracks in an obvious way where he could see it.

“Right. How foolish of me to not understand it.” He joked softly while looking back down to the page he’d been doodling on. Your humor was new to Spencer, something he wasn’t really used to. You were a very sarcastic person, hardly ever having a conversation without injecting the encounter with your wit and sarcasm. He was still pretty clueless with it, however he felt he was getting better. Especially now that you had him saying his own sarcastic phrases at random times. It was weird for the rest of the team seeing the way you’d slowly brought Spencer out of that little bubble he was used to.

He was always the one who didn’t understand jokes or take sarcasm, appearing confused a good chunk of his career from the jokes and lighthearted banter. Being friends with you was a good way to learn how to understand though, which was why he was so lucky that you were his best friend.

“I was thinking of watching a movie. Do you wanna join me?” You asked, packing up your things as you looked over at Spencer as he raised an eyebrow.

“Tonight?” He asked, making you shake your head.

“No. Next week.” You answered with a deadpan expression while he crinkled his nose.

“You’re.. Being sarcastic..” He began while you rolled your eyes fondly with a smile.

“You think, genius? Come on, are you gonna come over or not?” You asked while putting your bag over your shoulder.

“I don’t see why not. Can we watch that new show that’s airing tonight?” He asked curiously, already following you out of the bullpen. He knew you’d give him a ride rather than sending him to go on the metro and meet you there later.

“Sure. I’ve been interested in it anyway. The new sci-fi one, right?” You asked as you made it to the parking garage with him as you were both in search of your car.

“Yes! It actually looks very interesting because from what I’ve read, they don’t make up their own rules as they go. They are using actual scientific data and evidence.” He gushed while you were clapping your hands together.

“Like learning in school! Oh how I loved school!” You were laughing as he had taken notice of the sarcasm and nudged your arm.

“Seriously. It’s going to be great! You may not think it now but you’ll enjoy it while learning about the real world when it comes to tech and space exploration.”

“We’ll have to see about that Dr. Reid.”

The ride back to your apartment was peaceful, the sounds of some radio station filling the quiet atmosphere of the car as you passed by numerous street signs. The comfortable silence was something you liked, never needing to strike up a conversation to enjoy Spencer’s company. Even if he was just reading while you were on your phone.

Back at your apartment, you’d just gotten the channel you needed pulled up, having about ten minutes until the show was supposed to air. Spencer made sure to tape it back at his own apartment, wanting to go back and watch alone to fully appreciate the show for more than its entertainment quality.

“Do you want me to run to the kitchen and get snacks?”

“You don’t have to run, Reid. You can walk.”

“Ha ha. So funny. Snacks or not?”

You were waving him off with a little laugh, offering a smile. “Yeah, yeah. Please go get some snacks. I think I have a big bag of that buttered popcorn you’re obsessed with.”

Spencer practically skipped to the kitchen upon hearing the news, retrieving one of your mixing bowls from one of your cupboards. After filling it up generously with the snack of choice, he was stopped by the fridge to grab two water bottles. With the two cold beverages under his arm, he was hurrying to the living room.

“I think we are all set.” He beamed with pride while placing the bowl on the table.

“Perfect. You’re right on time. It should start after these commercials.” You informed him while leaning forward to get a handful of popcorn from the bowl. While pushing a piece of popcorn into your mouth, you were only raising an eyebrow when you felt a pair of eyes on you. “What?” You asked, head turning to face Spencer as he quickly put his hands up in self defense.

“Nothing! I just wanted to see if it was good, that's all.”

“Right. I hate to tell you this, it tastes like buttered garbage. I don’t think you should subject yourself to eating it.” You joked, picking up a piece before flicking it in his direction, his eyes widening as he felt the snack hit his cheek.

“That could’ve taken out my eye!”

“Too bad it didn’t. We could get you an eyepatch.”

That was when Spencer took it a step further, getting a small handful of popcorn before throwing it in your direction. He was too busy laughing at your expression that mirrored his shock from earlier, pieces of popcorn in your hair and some on the couch.

“Is it a war that you want?”

“Me? You started it! Call it returned fire.”

That kickstarted a popcorn fight that didn’t seem to let up. Spencer was reaching into the now empty bowl before letting his eyes widen. He had no more ammo yet you had two handfuls. He was done for.

“You can apologize and we can end this.” You warned, your body now propped up on your knees as you had eventually turned to face him on the couch. “Just one ‘I’m sorry’ can end this bloodshed.”

“Never.”

“Suit yourself, Reid.” You were winding back one hand whenever Spencer was moving quickly to grip your wrist. There was some screaming, some laughing, and eventually you were being wrestled down onto the couch.

“Drop it!” Spencer laughed, both of your wrists being pinned down. “You do that and this will be all over.”

“No way.” You laughed, panting as you were being pinned down, some of Spencer’s long hair tickling the skin of your cheeks. You had both been in that position for a few more minutes before things calmed down, leaving you and the man above you to stare at one another and wait to reach a stalemate.

There was a growing tension, your faces only inches apart as he had you trapped between his body and the couch. Those beautiful eyes were looking down at you, almost as if Spencer was using the close proximity to take in every feature on your face. It was enough to make your face flush, cheeks hot from his gaze fixed on you and only you. The sound of the opening credits for the show you were supposed to be watching was playing in the background yet you could only look at each other.

There wasn’t a beat missed as he leaned down, lips against yours in a soft, yet cautious kiss. He felt like he had to play it safe, although the way you were feverishly returning the kiss told him all that he needed to know.

There was a fiery passion as your lips slotted together, almost as if they were made for one another. Your hands were moving to tangle in his hair, legs now wrapped around his waist as you both gave in to your urges that were always bubbling under the surface for however long you’d known the loveable genius.

It felt right, in a way. The way your were wrapped in one another’s embrace while having a moment of passion that you never expected to happen. However you had to admit, this was better than you ever thought.

Spencer was pulling out of the kiss, face flushed as he stared down at you with a shy smile. “It felt right. I’m sorry.” He whispered, only being pleased with the way you responded by pulling him down to connect your lips again, wanting to savor another moment as if he were going to disappear in thin air if you let him get too far.

The kiss had escalated soon enough, both of your clothes in a pile on the floor as you were tangled up on the couch, nothing but underwear separating you from each other. “Are you sure that you want this?” Spencer soon asked, his forehead against yours. Your friendship was always special to him, so naturally, he was worried about preserving those positive memories and the relationship as a whole.

“Definitely sure. I’ve thought about this for years.” For once, you were genuine. There was no hint of sarcasm dripping from your tone. That’s how he knew this was serious. “I’ve always loved you. I know you know that because I tell you all the time but it’s.. It's different than loving your best friend.”

Your confession had Spencer’s cheeks bright red, head nodding slowly to show he was paying attention. “Y-yeah. I love you more than a friend too.” He said slowly while he was bringing his hands down your hips, his fingertips tracing over your hot skin as he was hooking his fingers in the waistband of your panties.

Your hips lifted to assist him tugging your underwear down, your own cheeks hot from being exposed in one of your most intimate areas. It wasn’t like you hadn’t had sex before and you had confidence when you did but this seemed different.

“I need.. Hold on.” Spencer began while pushing himself up a bit, your watching with a raised eyebrow as you propped yourself up on your elbows. He went for his slacks, getting his wallet.

“Are you gonna pay me for this?”

“What?! No! I-I just..” He began, shuffling through the wallet before he was pulling a condom from one of the wallet folds.

“You have a condom? You were planning for this?”

“No! I have.. I asked Derek for one. Obviously not for tonight but I had to be prepared!” He said quickly while tossing his wallet on the table.

You didn’t tease him any farther, instead your eyes gazing over his body as he was shimmying out of his boxers while standing. Just kissing you had his cock semi-hard, his hand wrapping around his shaft to give a few pumps in order to complete the process although it wasn’t too hard with the anticipation of what was to come tonight.

After sliding on the contraception, he was heading over to get settled between your legs. His eyes were glancing over your glistening pussy, your arousal shining in the dim light of the living room. “Wow.” He whispered, hand moving between your thighs as his thumb pressed against your throbbing clit. The pressure alone was enough to make your mouth go slack.

“Fuck.” You breathed while feeling the pad of his thumb start to rub your clit, your arousal coating it with each swipe. He was taking his time with teasing you, at least.

When he was finished with massaging the bundle of nerves and he couldn’t hold back any more, he was grabbing his cock before lining his tip along with your entrance, thick tip breaching your slick cunt as he was slowly pushing into you when you were both ready enough.

There was a pleasurable burn as he was stretching out your inner walls, your hands tightly gripping onto his shoulders as you pulled his body down onto yours just to feel his skin against yours. It was oddly more intimate than you could’ve expected, even with him staying perfectly still with his cock nestled deep inside of you.

There was a soft gasp leaving your lips when he gave a slow thrust, just testing the waters for now as he didn’t wanna go too crazy before you were ready. He didn’t plan on going super hard anyway, that wasn’t who he was. “You alright?”

“Yeah. Yeah. Keep going.” You urged.

Once you proved comfortable enough due to your persistence, Spencer’s thrusts began to pick up a steady pace and rhythm. Your moans were enough encouragement for him to feel confident enough in the act, not shying away from you as much as anyone would’ve expected.

They rhythmic sound of his skin slapping against yours coupled with your gasps, shaky breaths and moans were filling the living room, the long forgotten show still filling the background noise. Spencer had since embraced you, one arm wrapped under your frame as the other kept himself pushed up over you. He just wanted to feel you close, to hold you as he made love to you.

It was beautiful to him, the way you were holding him and keeping him close in return. It was like you were the only people in the world, no responsibilities other than being close to one another. The warmth of your flushed skin against his was all he needed to be happy.

It was a dream, essentially. A dream so vibrant that Spencer didn’t want it to end, even if he knew that realistically he couldn’t be in a dreamland forever.

As he was torn from his thoughts at the feeling of your hands on his cheeks, he was offering you a smile as you were locking eyes with one another. “I love you.” He said softly, repeating what you’d both confessed earlier while leaning down to press his lips against yours.

It was after the fact whenever you were finally speaking again, body sitting up from the spot you were in on the couch as Spencer had retreated to the kitchen to dispose of the used condom. “Do you wanna come take a shower with me? No funny business.” You put your hands up in defense.

“No. It’s too personal for me to see you naked.” For the first time, Spencer was the one to be sarcastic with you, making you both burst into laughter.

“I’ve taught you well. Come on.”

[lowkeyrobin]

Platonic Phoebe and Trevor x Gary Grooberson’s teen kid reader and adjusting to being stepsiblings?

OH MY GOD YES BRO RJSKDMSNSN ; I did my best pls bare w this 💀💀💀

SPENGLER SIBLINGS ; stepsiblings

summary ; youre Gary's kid and you have to adjust with two new stepsiblings

warnings ; language

disclaimers ; your mom is nonexistent/Gary adopted you. it's not a topic brought up at all I don't think but you can choose, ik some people don't like kid of ___ reader or ____ sibling reader so beware lol, takes place between afterlife and frozen empire so no spoilers for anyone who hasn't watched gbfe yet, reader can drive/is around Trevor's age

word count ; 675

masterlist

it's so awkward at first

especially since you've never had siblings before so it's like they're teenage roommates

like okay your parents are dating or whatever but like, ew?

except you're living with them, not the other way around

both gary and callie are trying to urge you to interact but it's just not happening

you're not really a ghostbuster either, you aren't smart in the sciences and aren't into the whole ghost thing anyways

you're more into traditional ghosts anyways, not the ones that show up in broad daylight and need to be trapped by proton barriers

it's very rough at first

you connect with phoebe first, as a once in a blue moon experience happened, she wanted to act like a normal 14yo and go get ice cream

Callie couldn't take her because she was busy helping trevor with work stuff and told her to ask you

she was like 🤨 and like... "okay?-"

she asks and you look at her like 🤨😊

you guys go get ice cream and she tells you all about the shit you pass on the way there and back home

you surprisingly end up bonding over the struggle of talking to others like normal people and being well reserved with little to no friends

then comes the bonding over a certain book you both liked

the whole car ride home is oasis on the radio and chatter about this book, and going the longest possible way home because you didn't want this bonding moment to end

you sat in the car after phoebe got out, just sitting in silence

you were kind of in awe yet saddened the moment had ended because you were bonding so well

after that she clearly sees you in a new light and looks to you for your wisdom and clear view of the world when she's wrapped in her own madness and needs untangled

you were the trusting older sibling she needed since trevor never really understood the proper being there for your sister thing

they're proper siblings and whatnot but it's not like they go to each other if it's not to shit talk people

you're like their mediator and therapist sibling

getting through to trevor was much harder

you ended up finding him a job and he was like 🤨😒 when you showed him

"oh- uhm, sorry. I was just trying to be nice" and you quickly scramble away

he's just confused cause like ??? you never talked, he didn't even know how you knew he was looking for a job

he comes into your room a couple hours later like "Hey sorry I acted all weird, thanks"

and that's it

bonding with him is so hard, and Gary and Callie are like "okay go fucking do something"

you're all (spengler-groobersons + podcast bc phoebe needed a friend her age) out at an amusement park, and these mfs ditched yall at the carousel next to the bathrooms

and they weren't picking up their phones

you were basically forced to interact now, which was much less awkward in an amusement park

you guys ride some rides and get some food as you frequently call your parents

you finally find them, phew

but you two obviously made a little friendship and had fun together

took a little longer to get used to each other but you're fine now

awkward teenager shit yk?

in general, the three of you now are super close

trevor is your hype man when it comes to talking to people or doing something out of your comfort zone

phoebe is your hype man when you talk to her about maybe wanting to be a ghostbuster / study ghosts

you're the driver for the three of you, callie doesn't trust Trevor with driving, considering how he was driving the ecto1 when he first got it usable again, and obviously, phoebe can't drive

after a few years you're basically just like normal siblings

you three have a sibling group chat and it's 90% you sending memes, Trevor sending random tik tok links and phoebe begging you two to stop blowing up her phone

spenglerson siblings 🔛🔝

[samkerrworshipper]

sticker chart | kyra cooney cross & reader x arsenal women’s team

r and kyra r the pranksters of the team… but what happens when they take it too far and the arsenal parents seperate them as a result

no warnings just some fluff angst and chaotic bestfriend energy

“Kyra, Y/n, time out, right now.”

It was Steph’s burst of anger that had your eyes bursting open, both you and Kyra sharing an apprehensive glance. The both of you looked up from your current predicament, which was the drink bottle that you’d just emptied onto Alessia’s head. Her jaw was almost on the ground, and her body was shaking already from the cold water.

In a split second telepathic decision you and Kyra made the decision to bolt, sprinting away from the training ground and your teammates as fast as possible, the both of you cackling as you made it into the safety of the London Colney gym, running as fast as possible into the team room and the both of you searching for a hiding spot.

“In the cupboard.”

Kyra motioned towards the cupboard in the corner of the gym, the long rectangular cupboard being just large enough for the two of you, so you squeezed into it, just closing the door in time to hear a series of footsteps running towards the gym.

The both of you held your breath, holding in the laughs that were building up in the bottom of your stomach.

The two of you were trouble. Always setting up pranks and getting on the nerves on your senior babysitters. Majority of your pranks were centred around Vic and Alessia, the two of you taking advantage of the younger, innocent girls who were so easy to target. It got you in a lot of trouble, especially with Steph, Caitlin, Kim, Leah and Viv, who were stretched thin trying to stop whatever menacing plans that you and your best friend were plotting.

It was a pointless task, the two of you were unstoppable, and always finding yourselves in trouble. It had gotten to a point where you’d been separated indefinitely in training, and the two of you were on your last chance at Steph’s house, being told that the next time you shaved her dog in the middle of the night or woke her and her fiance up with screaming noises. The two of you for whatever reason just couldn’t stop, you were invincible in the world of pranks and it was completely destructive to the Arsenal community, no one was safe.

The both of you bit down on the insides of your cheeks as you heard the doors to the gym open, and a pitter patter of cleats tapping against the floor of the gym.

“The both of you have three seconds before all of your tv privileges and cheat days are taken away for the next month.”

You shook your head at Kyra, whos eyes bursted open at the mention of the removal of your cheat days, Kyra, for whatever reason, had been craving deep fried chicken and a icecream sundae. It was weird, and normally every Thursday you had a cheat day, so her craving could be relieved, but last Thursday the video review, for whatever reason, had gone over by two hours, so by the time it was over it was far past the time window of getting food, leaving a very grumpy and hangry Kyra who was desperate for the foodher body was craving.

Cheat days were her weakness, so you pulled her hand down before she had the opportunity to open the cupboard doors and reveal your hiding spot to Steph.

“1.”

Kyra’s body shook against your own, her bones jumping inside of her body in an attempt to try and leave the box that you’d inserted yourself.

“I swear to god if I get to three and neither of you are out here I’m calling mini and Sam.”

That was definitely another weakness for the two of you, the both of you slightly terrified of the idea of your seconds moms getting a call about your less than adequate behaviour.

“2.”

Steph’s voice loitered, she was leaving room for the two of you to come out.

You were stubborn, Kyra was not, you fought to keep her from fighting her way out of the cupboard, but it was a losing battle, that had the two of you tumbling out of the wooden box and leaving you completely vulnerable to Steph, who marched her way over to the two of you immediately.

“I’ve had enough of you two today, your going to go to the lockerooms, sit in your cubby for twenty five minutes and think about your fucking behaviour before you go and apologise to Vic and Less, am I clear?”

With Steph’s towering form above you, neither of you were in any position to refuse, so you just nodded like kicked puppies and picked yourselves up from the floor, dragging your feet towards the locker rooms, your bodies slowly moving like prisoners walking into a jail.

When you got to the locker rooms, the both of you walked over to your respective cubbies, sitting down and facing the wall.

It was a fairly common occurrence for you two, you spent probably eighty percent of all your time at London Colney besides training in your cubby, at least one training a fortnight saw you here, if not more. You didn’t really mind, it was worth it considering all the fun you and Kyra got up too.

Replacing Leah’s shampoo bottle with pink hair dye, stealing all of the girls clothes whilst they were in the showers, tying everybody's cleats together, mixing up all of the jerseys in the laundry room, replacing the water jugs with apple cider vinegar, replacing all the name tags on the secret santa gifts, taking Alessia’s beloved car for a joyride, showing up to training on moon boots and crutches, faking running away.

The list was endless, concerningly. It got you into trouble, for sure, but for you guys it was some light hearted fun, your way of keeping yourselves entertained in a foreign country that was still new to you.

You could hear Kyra thinking from the other side of the room, out of the two of you she was the more remorseful one, but she was also the plotter and cheekier one. You ran along with whatever she came up with, and your commitment to whatever plan she had was unmatched, once you decided you were doing something you committed.

“Kyra for fucks sakes stop the tapping.”

It was driving you insane, listening to Kyra’s fingers tapping against the wall of her cubby, one of her anxious habits.

“Time out is silent time, speak up again and I’ll start the timer over.”

You tried to block out Steph’s voice, but it hung over you like a big grey cloud, your brain silently drowning itself in your skull as you studied the uniform wall that was the inside of your cubby. It was exceptionally boring, and it didn’t seem to matter how many times the two of you found yourselves in this situation, it was still as boring as ever.

You listened out for people coming in and out of the locker rooms, the door swinging open and the sound of studs against concrete. You weren’t rewarded with the sound of voices or conversation, everyone who filtered in being silent. It was hard to monitor who was coming in and out with your vision completely compromised.

You sat as still as you could manage, not at all wanting to have to sit for any longer than what Steph had already ordered you.

You didn’t doubt that she would reset the timer if you did speak up again, Steph was a softie, but she never let up on a promise, especially when it came to taking care of you and Kyra, something that you knew she was getting sick of, the both of you toeing the line constantly.

It did get you thinking, sure a harmless prank was fun, Katie was the biggest supporter of your pranks, always egging the two of you on from the sidelines, and yet she never got in trouble for it, it was always you and Kyra, the troublesome duo that had been adopted by the Arsenal parents.

“Both of you, turn around.”

You took a deep breath, shuffling around on your ass and blinking to adjust to the bright lights that were a vast contrast to the darkness of the corner of your cubby.

You were rewarded with the sight of Steph, Caitlin, Viv, Kim and Leah all with their jaws set and looking at you with significant disapproval. Alessia and Vic were loitering at their own lockers, sitting in the seats in front of them their hands and heads pointing down towards their laps.

“We’re sorry?”

Steph’s frown only managed to deepen, it was clear that she was nothing short of furious.

“You’re sorry? The two of you have single handedly pulled a series of completely destructive pranks that have taken it too far. Do I need to bring up the chalk spray paint on Manu’s car? Or the midnight door knocking at Stina and Amanda’s house? We’ve all given you chances, all enabled you to have a little bit of fun, but you’ve pushed it way past the point of funny.”

Kyra just closed in on herself, you had a little bit more fight in you, a little bit more defiance.

“We didn’t even do anything that bad today.”

Steph’s eyebrows rose even more than you thought humanly possible.

“That’s a joke right?”

You bit your lip, tossing up the day's events in your mind.

“I mean I don’t understand why Vic is here to be honest, Lessi whatever but we didn’t do anything to Vic.”

Steph blinked at you, her jaw almost dropping to the floor.

“So throwing Vic’s shoes on the roof of the building was nothing?”

You snorted as you recalled Kyra and your happenings of the mornings, which had included tossing a pair of Vic’s shoes on the roof, not to say that you didn’t get them down when the time came around for her to need them.

“We gave them back?”

This time it wasn’t Steph who answered your question, Caitlin stood up from her seat Walking closer towards you.

“You should be fucking glad you did. Look, I understand, you guys are young and you like to have fun, but it constantly being at the expense of everyone else is getting annoying, and neither of you have made any motions to stop or even begin to think about how your fucking pranks affect everybody else, Steph is stressed out of her mind having to babysit the two of you twenty four seven, we all are.”

You could feel the conversation leading somewhere, Kyra’s puppy dog eyes were pleading with Caitlin but her tough guy act didn’t fade.

“I’m getting the feeling that this is leading to something and I just want to put it out there that I dibs anywhere but Chelsea if we have to move clubs.”

Caitlin just rolled her eyes at your attempt at humour, it was humour hidden behind genuine fear, because there was no way in fucking hell you were trading breezy arsenal for Sammy’s Chelsea, where you knew she would drill sergeant you and Kyra into being boring and non pranksters.

“You know what we all have every right to send you off to Sam, how do you think she’d react hearing about all the shit that the two have you have gotten up to?”

She’d probably go ballistic. She’d gotten a taste of you and Kyra’s trouble making at the women's world cup and had very quickly put a stop to it, nipping it in the bud before it got to your current spiral.

“But you aren’t?”

You noticed from the corner of your eye that Kyra was looking very stressed from her corner of the room.

“Ky, come here.”

You opened up your arms to your best friend, unbothered as to whether or not you were disrupting Caitlin’s spiel, you were just worried about your friend. She slid her way across the benches until she made it to your side, digging her head into your neck and shoulder.

“No, we’re not, but honestly I think you’d prefer to stay with Sam then what you’re going to be dealing with.”

You visibly cringed, there wasn’t a lot of things that were worse than being in Sam’s bad books. You let your eyes flash across to the other captains and women who were in the room, aware that they were probably a part of whatever plot Caitlin and Steph had formed. Your curiosity peaked as you squinted at Caitlin, your anxiety spiking a little bit.

“W-what do you mean?”

Kyra’s voice quivered from your neck, her soft puppy dog pout hopefully doing wonders to convince the older women to back out of whatever they had planned. It was her signature move, and you were fairly sure that Steph would see through it, but there was always a point in trying.

“You’re both moving out of Steph’s, it’s not fair to her anymore to be burdened with the both of you. So Kyra, your going to Leah and Lia, Y/n you are staying with Beth and Viv.”

Your jaw slackened, Kyra jerking up in your arms as soon as the words left her mouth.

“What? You can’t separate us, we’re like conjoined twins, we’ll like die if you separate us.”

Caitlin kept up her stern facade, leaving zero room for vulnerability.

“You should have thought about that before you chose to take it too far. We’ve given you plenty of chances and you blew every single one off. So until the two of you can learn how to cohabitate without causing serious danger to the people around you, you’ll be separated. Beth and Lia have already been over to Steph’s house and collected your things. You both have sticker charts, when the two of you can go a whole two months without any seriously debilitating pranks then we’ll look at potentially letting the two of you move back in together.”

Kyra’s eyes lit up at the mention of a sticker chart, you were focused on your dignity, so even if the idea of shiny gold stickers did appeal to you, you tried to fight it.

“A fucking sticker chart? We’re not fucking six year olds and last time I checked this is a free country, so who says that you guys can control who and where we live anyway?”

This time it was Kim who stood up, intimidating both you and Kyra slightly.

“You’re acting like bloody six year olds. Last time I checked neither of you own apartments, neither of you have earned that kind of responsibility. So you are going to suck it up, your going home with a trusted adult and if you even try to pull anymore of the shit you’ve been pulling for the last few months there will be calls to Sam and Minnie who I have no doubt will have a lot more to say. Am I clear?”

Kyra and you nodded deftly, the both of you taken aback by Kim’s sterness.

“Do we get gold star stickers?”

You rolled your eyes at Kyra’s question, her big doe eyes peaking out of your neck to look at Kim.

“You can have whatever fucking stickers you like, I doubt they’ll be any need for them any time soon considering just how much trouble seems to find the two of you.”

You and Kyra played the pitiful act as you were led away by your respective caregivers, faux tears falling down your faces as Leah and Viv practically dragged you in the direction of their cars.

As soon as the car doors closed though and the babysitters were focusing their energy on the roads though, the two of you were already texting, plotting your next move in retaliation to the banishment that had the two of you grounded to Viv and Leah’s homes.

———————————————————————

notes:

thinking of turning this into a series of kyra and t just being completely chaotic besties so lmk how we feel about that !

[perfctvelvet]

I love love loved thé Jenna ortega fic, could we get a p2 plzzzzzzzz?????

Endless Summer; Jenna/Reader

Summary: Jenna is back for the Summer, but this time Y/n changes her approach.

Content: 2nd POV. Infidelity, reader's softer/nicer side comes out, angst (with a happy-ending), kissing, fingering (reader receiving), teasing.

It's the hottest day of the year on record. People from the neighborhood were either laid out by the pool, baking in the sun, or inside under the blast of cold air. Summer was never your favorite season. Sure it's branded as the time of year when all the fun can be had but all it did was cause agitation and weird pressure to always be having fun.

The arguments in the family home were frequent during the summer time. Your parents argued as if you and brother were still little kids that they had to find a way to entertain. Usually the two of you would bond of your shared annoyance, but this year was different. Maybe one of your parents passed down the arguing gene because your brother was fighting with his girlfriend nearly everyday.

You were surprised that Jenna was still around. You were even more surprised that she would agree to spend the entire Summer with your family. It doesn't seem possible that that little situation you two had hasn't crossed her mind since. Surely she would expect it to be way too awkward to be around you, but she agreed to come anyway. Neither of you had really spoken to each other, and it's not because you still dislike her. How would anybody be able to talk to her when she was constantly fighting with your brother? Your parents...well at least they were married. Your brother and Jenna's relationship barely cracked the one year mark and they were bickering like an old married couple. Day in and day out someone in this house was furious and it made your head spin. You were always marked as the "moody" one who wasn't happy with any decision, but after this Summer, you deserve an apology!

"Well turns out we won't be going to the state fair because you father agreed to work a Saturday!"

"Okay, it's not a big deal, mom. Plus last time we went everyone got food poisoning from that hot dog stand. Remember?"

"Whatever...I'm going to the mall."

She stormed out with her purse thrown over her shoulder and a box of Marlboro Reds in the other. You don't know when she picked up the habit of smoking, but the grey hairs and extra lines in her face gave it away that she was stressed as hell. Both of the relationships you were surrounded by this Summer gave you zero hope and only affirmed your hook-ups-only behavior. Seeing everyone, especially your parents, crash and burn in these tightly wound relationships made you adverse to them. Maybe you could find someone to work it out with and leave harmoniously, but you aren't going to hold your breath for that moment.

Not even five minutes later after your mother's dramatic exit, your brother cam e bolting down the stairs, a complaint about Jenna on his lips. It was like the universe was giving you sign after sign.

"She can be such a bitch sometimes."

"Hey! Don't call her a bitch!"

"Oh so now you like Jenna?"

"It doesn't matter if I like her or not, don't call another woman a bitch in front of me!"

Sometimes you just wanted grab your brother by the ear and twist it in the same manner you would when you two were both ten years younger. Your parents had problems, albeit ones that could be solved with more communication, that were valid. Paying for a mortgage, other expenses, and your brother's college would cause anyone to crack. That was a lot of pressure for most people. They're getting older, crankier, and their patience has worn thin after raising two kids for more than two decades. You could see why they argued. Your brother and Jenna however were just kids. What would they even fight about? Where they're going to eat tonight? Who's party their attending? They seemed so young and naive compared to the real world problems owned by your parents'.

"She's always on my ass about something. I already have a mom, I don't need another one."

"Okay, well what are you doing wrong?"

"Why do you assume it's my fault?"

"I don't know Isaac, maybe it's because I know you? I've only been here for three weeks and so far I've watched you leave her here to go hang out with your high school friends. Don't you think she feels a little isolated?"

"She can come with me if she just asks."

"Who wants to hang out with Jake and Billy? Do they still make fart jokes and play with that whoopie cushion? They're grown ass men in a twelve-year-old's body, who wants to be around them?"

He sighs in frustration before rubbing his face in his hands. Your little brother needed to face the music; he's not built for a relationship. And you're not just saying that because you have your own thoughts about Jenna.

"Okay well...maybe I don't want to be tied down," he sounds so unsure of himself as he speaks. He looks around to make sure his girlfriend is nowhere in sight before continuing. "I just sort of miss my freedom. I really like Jenna and she's a great girl, but maybe I'm just not ready to commit."

"College boys are never ready to commit," you laugh.

You've seen your fair share of college relationships end because one party wants to continue on partying and that is usually the guy in the relationship. It was kind of sad seeing your little brother going through the same thing.

"If you don't want to be with her, you need to tell her. Don't keep her here all Summer just to dump her when you go back to campus."

"I didn't say I wanted to dump her!"

"Okay well you need to figure out what you're going to do, or else you're going to spend the Summer making each other miserable!"

You could tell Isaac wanted this conversation to end. You were broaching a truth that was too hard for him to face right now.

"Whatever...I'll be back in about two hours."

They say daughters are more like their mothers, and sons their fathers, but that couldn't be more untrue in this household. Your brother was avoidant just like your mother. And while you picked up on some of those traits too, you found that you weren't like either of your parents. Maybe in the past you were, but that changed the day you told them your date to homecoming your sophomore year was another girl.

Now your mother is racking up the credit card bill at the mall, your brother is probably heading to his weird friend's house, and your father is God knows where. That leaves you alone in the house with Jenna. You had a weird feeling in the pit of your stomach. Since that encounter with her you softened on Jenna. You were being a little bit of a bitch to her when she first came around and then you fucked her. You know you confused the shit out of her and that wasn't fair. You struggled to get the words 'I'm sorry' to come out of your mouth all of your life and it wasn't going to be easy now. But this was the first time you two were alone since that night. It's been months.

When you go upstairs to your brothers room you find that it's empty. You know she isn't downstairs, so they're is only one place she could be.

A week after that moment between you and Jenna, your mom found bikini bottoms in the jacuzzi. She called you to ask you about and you told her they were yours. They belonged to Jenna, but you didn't mind taking the blame. Surprisingly though she was didn't chew you out, but that resulted in her and you father moving it from the balcony to the backyard. It had been perfect on the balcony because it was so private, but now if you want to lounge in the hot tub you run the risk of one of the neighbors seeing you.

They replaced the jacuzzi with some lounge chairs thinking that their children wouldn't be enticed by some simple chairs. What they didn't understand that their balcony felt like an escape. It caught the breeze in the right way and faced away from the neighbors. It was relaxing and the perfect place to clear your head. And that's where you found Jenna.

She sat with her feet dangling over the concrete edge and she was holding onto the railing. You slid open the screen door and somehow she didn't hear it. You hated to disturb her, but you needed to talk to her.

"You know if you fall you can sue the shit out my parents. Maybe even pay off the rest of your college."

You try to lighten the mood but your joke falls flat when you see her face. She looks as if she's been crying with her eyes slightly puffy. Seconds later she turned away from you. You felt guilty despite not having done anything. You were on your best behavior, but you have this sinking feeling that you played some sort of role in everyone's agitation this Summer. So you join her as a way to keep her company.

"I heard everything."

"What do you mean?"

"I know Isaac wants to break up with me."

You heart drops at her confession. You didn't think about the possibility of her hearing the conversation you had with your brother. Now you feel awful.

"Jenna-"

"No, no, it's okay. At least you were defending me," she gives you a half-hearted smile. "I should've seen this coming though. He'd rather spend time with his boys than be with me no matter where we're at."

"Let me guess, he does this on campus too?"

Jenna nods her head in confirmation. You hate to bash your brother so you keep your mouth shut, but inside you're berating him for being so careless.

"Jenna, I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything. It's not your fault," she lets out a heavy sigh, one that makes your guilt feel deeper. "I called my parents, I'm going to be leaving next weekend. I'll break up with Isaac on Friday."

Everything about tonight has left you in a state of shock. The last thing you expected though was what just came out of her mouth. You felt remorseful that it had to get to this point, but largely you felt that way because you feel like your chance at a proper apology is now gone. To anyone else maybe it wouldn't matter since Jenna was going to be out of the picture anyway, but to you it did.

"Well if I can't be excuse my little brother's shitty behavior, then I can excuse mine. I wish I could change how things were between us last time."

"You mean you barely saying a word to me and then making me eat your pussy in a hot tub?"

You stared at her, mouth open in shock at how bold Jenna had become. She enjoyed seeing your reaction, finally feeling like she had the upperhand around you.

"I'm just messing with you," she continues. "I know I was probably annoying and coming off as a try-hard in the beginning. Now I just feel like there's not point anymore. I get a little sarcastic when I'm jaded."

"Well I would be a liar to say I'm not stunned by all of this, but in all honesty if you were like this from the beginning I've probably would've liked you instantly. I know that sounds shitty, but we're both making confessions today."

"Can I make another confession?"

"Go for it."

"I liked our night together. You were a little bit too mean for my liking, but I don't think I've felt the same amount of pleasure since."

You had called it the moment you two separated that night that Jenna wasn't use to sex like that. You smugly declared in your head that Jenna would be thinking about it over and over. Now that you've got confirmation about that after her telling you she's going to be leaving for good, you don't feel like taking victory laps. Instead you feel a little sad knowing this is going to be your last moment alone together. It was bittersweet.

"Well my confession about that night is that I thought about it my entire drive home. Knowing more about you know I guess I feel a little bit shitty about it and wish I could override it with another moment."

Jenna focused less on the confession of your internal feelings of shame and more on what was between the lines. You wanted another moment alone with her to do something similar but under a different circumstance. She was blinded by her own desire of needing someone to be there for her to stop herself from kissing you. Her night was suppose to end going to the beach tonight with Isaac to look at the stars, but instead it was going to end with her finding comfort in his sister.

Jenna's kiss was much more powerful than you expected. This side of her felt more true and honest than that happy-go-lucky girl she first met. You wish you'd seen right through that act and got through to her in a different way, even if she says she liked it. Her lips dance against yours in a bruising kiss. You feel her tongue poke at your lips and you let her in. You kiss her as if she was something more than just a hook-up because that's what she needs, and you need to feel better about yourself.

You feels her arms wrap around your neck when she fully turns her body to you. Her legs no longer dangle over the dangerous edge of the balcony. She presses her front into you and you hum in delight. She feels so warm and her lips taste so sweet, but it was a different flavor chapstick that she used this time. Everything about her seemed so different that you struggled to be in control. But, apart of you didn't care about who is or is not in control of the situation. You let things happen naturally, and it felt naturally to let Jenna guide you this time.

"I want you to take your shorts off," she says between kisses.

Each second passes and she seems more and more desperate for the affection. She was touched starved to say the least. You give her what she wants and slide off your lounge shorts without breaking her kiss. She presses into you once you're just in your panties and you yield. Your back meets the rug that replaced where the jacuzzi use to be. Her hand comes between your legs and she rubs your clit through your panties. You don't mean to break the kiss but you throw your head back and moan in delight.

"Fuck Jenna!"

She loved hearing your moans more this time because something about them sounded so different this time. She takes this moment to place her face in your neck and suck at your sensitive skin. She could feel you melting beneath her. You embraced every moment instead of shying away or trying to change anything. She keeps rubbing your clit just to feel your hips rise and legs shake. You can't keep yourself still because the pleasure is too good. A wet spot appears on your panties and you can feel just how sticky you are now. Your pussy was beginning for more attention instead of being touched behind a barrier of fabric. And Jenna could feel that.

Jenna slides her hands into your cotton panties and she moans feeling your slick against her hands. It makes her grow wetter in her own panties. She glides straight over your clit and her fingers slide into your pussy with ease. You let out a blissful sigh instead of a full blown moan. You love the feeling of her nimble fingers filling you up.

"You like that? You like that Y/n? You like me being on top and fucking you with my fingers?"

In that moment she wasn't your little brother's girlfriend, she was a girl who shared the same feelings as you. Fucking her in this capacity felt much more natural that you questioned whether she got with the right sibling.

You don't respond to her. You just close your eyes and let her fingers pump into you. She curls them inside of you and massages your sweet spot and you swear you're seeing stars. She pulls away from your neck to sit up and look down at you. She can see how hard your nipples are through your tank top and it makes her desire grow even more. She bends down again and catches the fabric between her teeth. Jenna exposes your tits and quickly takes your nipple into her mouth.

"Yea! Just like that! I really, really like that!"

You were desperate for release and Jenna loved that. It wasn't the control, but the fact that she was apart of something where both parties were excited for each other. So much with Isaac felt one-sided that it warped her perspective on what she wants. You weren't doing anything to her yet she felt like you were giving her so much.

"I want to make you cum," Jenna sounds just as desperate as you now. "I want you to cum for me, Y/n."

You nod your head fervently. It was like you were saying 'I'm sorry' over and over again and she was accepting the apology. She overwhelmed you with her fingers in your pussy, mouth on your tits, and now her thumb pressing against your clit. Your moans were turning into weak whimpers and you release all over her fingers. There was no room for embarrassment, just nothing but pure pleasure. Jenna, of all people, made you feel like you were in heaven. You wanted to show your gratitude for her, so instead of letting the post-orgasm lull hit you, you grabbed her face with both hands and crashed your lips against hers. It's been so long since you've kissed someone intensely or even felt like this. Everything feels so heightened that it makes sense you blurted out, "I want to eat your pussy," in between a heated kiss.

It was only fair that you ate her out, and you were more than happy to end up between her legs. She laid down where you once did and you pried her legs open. She wore a skirt and the smallest panties you've ever seen.

"Did you know this was going to happen?"

"It wasn't for you," she admits, "but I'm glad you're the only one who's ever seen me wear something like this."

The fabric was so thin that her pussy almost swallowed it. It left nothing to the imagination and it was interesting to see Jenna wear something like this. With cheap material like that, it was easy for you to rip it off of her body. She squeals in amusement and sits up so she can watch you take the first lick of her needy pussy. Instantly her taste floods your senses. You feel her hand intertwine with yours as you begin to move your tongue across every inch of her swollen pussy. You loved how she felt against your tongue and you cursed yourself for not doing this last time. You lick and suck at her, producing the lewdest sounds imaginable. You hope the sound doesn't care in the soft breeze, but you also don't give a fuck anymore. The only thing you could think about was Jenna. You rub the underside of her thigh with your other hand and keep her legs nice and spread for you. She can't pull her eyes away no matter how fast it makes her heart pump.

"Y-You're so good at this," she whines.

You had put your ego away to show that you were sincere, but it was like she was calling it to come out. Hearing her praise you only made you work her pussy some more. You wrap your mouth around her clit and suck on it. The attention makes her shake and grab onto the back of your head. She pushes your face into your pussy as if you would even dare to move away. You wanted to leave in this moment forever; the moment where you lick and suck her while she moans in pleasure for you. You hum against her wet pussy and that sends her overboard. You feel the flow of cum drench the lower half of your face and you don't pull away until you lick up every drop.

It was all the desire she still felt inside of her that made Jenna crash her lips against yours for one more sloppy kiss. Her cum mixes with both of your saliva in a lewd way. Jenna never gets this nasty during sex but she did not care just like you didn't.

The sun has completely dipped over the horizon before you two finally calm down. You lay with back flat against the rug, staring up at the sky while Jenna grabs the remnants of the panties you ripped off of her.

"I accept your apology, Y/n," she says as when she finally joins you, laying her body next to yours.

"Thank you."

It's the last thing you said to her with just the two of you alone. She didn't wait to Friday to break up with Isaac, in fact she did it the next day. Jenna took the dissolving her relationship easier than Isaac did. Your mother used it as an excuse to do something that wouldn't require everyone to join now that there was some awkwardness to that. She would take you and Jenna shopping to have "girl time" aka time where she could rant about your father and blow off some steam. It seemed weird that her now ex-boyfriend's mother was still being so kind to her even though she wasn't obligated to, but she embraced it. You and her didn't get to talk much over your mother's new stories of life, but that was okay. You don't think this is going to be the last time you see Jenna.

[angelbroad]

This Scarab Is Blue

Inspired by an age swap au by @runeiio , but with a colder Khaji-Da

Milagro waited outside the middle school, scrolling through her phone as she waited for her little brother to come out. She had finished school earlier, and mom had asked her to pick up Jaime since she would be working later than expected. The pop of her bubblegum was simultaneous with the ringing of the bell, and Milagro waited and looked at the horde of children leaving the doors to find her own. She finally spotted a poof of brown hair and a blue backpack, and making her way through the children horde, Milagro got a hold of Jaime.

"Ey, Jaime!"

"Hola Mili.", the boy greeted back.

The two were soon on the street, Milagro meeting Brenda and Paco along the way and catching a conversation. Milagro unconsciously toyed with her ring, itching for a flight. Her attention was turned to an empty plot by Paco.

"Didn't this place used to have a building?", he asked.

"Kord.", Brenda confirmed, "And now it's like nothing was ever there."

Milagro looked at the empty plot with a flat mouth. It had been just over a month when her and the other Lanterns had this serious of a mission. Guy was especially cautious about this one, as it involved one of the Corps' oldest enemies. The Reach. Somehow Kord had gotten their hands on an Infiltrator, and Jarvis Kord wished to replicate that technology. Thankfully, they had help from the Blue Beetle, who was sadly lost in the crossfire as well as the Infiltrator. Guy considered it a somewhat win. The scarab was out of sight, and hopefully it would stay inactive and out of mind as well.

The girl noticed that Jaime had gone inside the plot, because he was coming back from it by the time Milagro turned her attention back to him.

"You off exploring little man?", she asked as the group started walking again, Jaime skipping to catch up to the teens.

"H-Hey! Wait up! Yeah, I just went and looked a little bit."

"Bien.", Paco said, "Found anything good, little man?"

Jaime shrugged, "Maybe."

"Oh sweet. Show me when we get home.", Milagro said.

"Mmmm, what if I don't?", Jaime teased.

"Oh you will you little twerp.", Milagro answered with a smile, "'sides, if you don't show me I'll just take it from ya when you're asleep."

"Would you stop stealing my stuff??"

"Naaah."

The two seperated with Brenda and Paco a little further down, the duos going their seperate ways. Jaime and Milagro decided to wait until their parents got home to start eating lunch, Milagro already preparing the food and forgetting about Jaime's supposed discovery. She made it easier on herself by using the ring to multi-task. Yes, mom said no suits in the house, but she wasn't here right now.

"Milagro Reyes."

Ah fuck-

"Sorry mamá.", Milagro said as she made everything disappear and rubbed the back of her head in guilt.

Bianca shook her head with a sigh as Milagro helped her with the bags, "Mili, I just don't want another accident in the house. Do you remember that time when your energy construct made a cabinet fall down?"

"Lo sé, lo sé. Lo siento, mamá."

"Está bien cariño.", Bianca responded, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Just try and keep that in mind, m'kay?"

"Yes ma'am.", Milagro responded, also going to greet her dad.

During the meal, Milagro couldn't help but feel...wrong. Her ring was ringing in her head like crazy, like the alarms blaring at the red flags on your tinder date. The constant rubbing of her temple had her dad ask if she had a headache, which she declined despite herself. It was her turn to wash dishes today, so she had her back turned as Jaime was telling their parents about his day.

"-and I also found something weird in that Kord space."

"Kord space?"

"Where that building was."

"Jaime, hijo, I told you not to go there. It's under construction, it could be dangerous."

"I know, I'm sorry.", Jaime said, "But I'm not hurt."

"What did you find, Jaime?", Alberto asked.

"Oh, I have it in my bag. Let me go get it.", Jaime said before getting up and skipping off.

Bianca looked at Milagro, "What did he find, Mili?"

Milagro shrugged, "I dunno, he didn't tell me." Her back was still turned to the three as Jaime returned, emptying the bag on the table much to his mother's dismay.

"Huh. Now that's something new.", Alberto said.

Jaime nodded, "I picked it up with my backpack, cause I didn't know if it was cool to touch it."

Milagro raised an eyebrow as she looked out the window. What a weird comment to make.

"It looks...weird.", Bianca commented, seemingly picking it up to study the object herself, "A little dirty, but I think it's alright to hold."

The object was handed back to Jaime as Milagro turned around.

"What did you find any...way..."

The thing Jaime was holding. It was the Infiltrator. Its legs started moving, Jaime looking at it with innocent wonder.

"No no no! Jaime put that down!", Milagro moved, but was not fast enough as a shocked Jaime backed away as the scarab climbed up his arm, finding its way to his back where it dug its feet in, making the boy scream in pain.

Their parents were terrified, and Milagro started cursing to herself and then out loud as she transformed. She knelt down to hold Jaime before looking at her parents with a panicked expression.

"Call Gardner. Now!"

Alberto moved to get a phone as Bianca stood there with the most shocked expression Milagro had ever seen from her.

"Milagro. What is this??"

"It's an Infiltrator. It-"

Jaime begun to shake as something started to sprout from the scarab, encasing her brother in a black and blue armor as the scarab hid itself in an enlarged beetle on his back like a crude backpack. No no no no no-why?? Out of anyone on Earth, why Jaime?!

"S-Sis...? W-What-t's hap-ppening?"

"Shhh, shhh, it's okay hermano. W-We'll get it out it's just..."

Oh god, she couldn't even recognise her brother's face. Jaime jumped, looking around.

"H-Hello?"

"Jaime?"

"I heard a voice..."

The scarab...Milagro grabbed his arms and made him look at her, "Jaime. Whatever you do, don't listen to it, okay?"

Host: aquired

"H-Host?"

Hello, Jaime

"W-Why?"

"Because it's evil!", Milagro blurted out. Bianca looked like she was about to pass out.

"It went to the answering machine.", Alberto said as he entered the room.

Jaime noticed the backpack was opening up as Milagro turned her head away.

"Well fuck-"

"What are thrusters?", Jaime asked.

Milagro looked at him, "Who-?"

Suddenly, Jaime was flung through the roof, leaving a hole in the ceiling.

"...Oh no you don't.", Milagro said through gritted teeth as she followed the Infiltrator through the hole in the roof.

"W-Where are we going??", Jaime asked as he was practically dragged out of his own house.

Testing flight systems., the voice replied.

"I can see that!"

Don't worry, no harm will come to you

"I find that hard to believe-"

"Jaime!", Milagro called out as she was gaining on them. The Reach could take a lot of things, but her familia was off-limits!

Threat detected: Green Lantern

"N-No, that's just Mili."

A canon manifested on his right arm, his arm moved up by the scarab and towards Milagro.

"Mili! Look out!", Jaime warned, Milagro working to avoid the blasts coming her way and making a shield as she moved behind Jaime to grab him.

"Let him go you damn space bug!", she barked at the scarab. The mandables tried to poke her in the face and neck, but through quick thinking, Milagro made armor for those parts. But as she focused on holding her brother, she failed to pay attention to her surroundings, resulting in her back hitting a building and her grip loosening, which resulted in Jaime escaping. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." Where was Guy Gardner when you needed him??

The flight became more stable the further it went on.

"Why did you do that??"

Elaborate

"You tried to hurt my sister!"

All Green Lanterns are to be eliminated on sight

"Stop using those big words! And my sister is not a threat!"

She is now., it said, Now that you are of the Reach, you are an enemy of the Green Lantern Corps

"But...I'm not...", bad. Jaime wanted to say he was not bad. But the words wouldn't come out for some reason, even when they finally landed in a deserted area. Jaime held himself, shaking. "C-Can we go home...please?"

Negative. Green Lantern will know of our position

Jaime frowned, "For the last time, Mili is my sister! She'd never hurt me!"

Host puts too much trust in family unit

"Says you! Why should I trust you, huh? You took me from my house!"

Green Lanterns are dangerous. Retreat: best option

Jaime's face softened as he realised something, "Are you...scared of Lanterns?"

Nonsense., the voice sounded quite rushed to respond, further confirming Jaime's suspicions.

"You are.", he said, hands on his hips.

I am a warrior of the Reach. Fear is not within my programming

"Liar."

Host: testing patience

"Look, if you take me back home, I'll tell sis to not kick your butt. Okay?"

That didn't seem to convince the scarab, much to Jaime's frustration. He started to walk, the armor feeling weird on him.

"Guess I'll walk then."

It would take at least one Earth day to return 'home'. Insufficient strategy

"Well, if you won't fly me back, I'm walking there."

Meanwhile, Milagro was panicking, having called Gardner at least eleven times as she searched for the Infiltrator. She was sent to the answering machine every time, but on the twelfth time he finally picked up.

"Hey kid, what's the-"

"The Infiltrator has been activated!"

"The what??"

"The Reach Infiltrator! What the fuck were you doing that you couldn't pick up the phone???"

She could hear Guy cursing as he moved his phone away from him before he returned, "You know the host?"

"Yes. Do not lay a finger on him when you find him, or I'm kicking your ass all the way to Antarctica!"

"This is an Infiltrator! It's supposed to be-"

"The Infiltrator took my brother!", Milagro screamed at the phone, "If I see even a scratch on him when I find him and you were involved, you're fucking dead!!"

Guy gulped, eyes widening as he remembered the alarmingly young age of the boy. He should have expected the Reach to stoop this low.

"...You have my word.", he said, flying off to find Jaime Reyes.

[obxsummer]

Lifetime Without You // JJ Maybank

pairing: platonic!pogues x maybank!reader

summary: it's been nine years since you've set foot on the beaches of the obx. you're excited for this new chapter, but first, you have to tell your brother jj that you're back. needless to say, he's not happy.

request: Separated forcefully or for reasons you can't control, run into each other again years later on accident. With jjs sister? Maybe their mom took her when she left and they meet again?

warnings: angst, violence, mentions of abuse, death/cancer

navigation 

--

The warm sun on your skin did more to calm your nerves than you expected. For the first time in nine years, you were back in the place you called home. OBX looked the same for the most part -- only a few differences and missing stores you could tell from the first glance. Figure Eight had definitely expanded and that you weren’t surprised about in the slightest. 

It was bittersweet to be back here. The change had been rough and you never thought you’d step foot back here this fast, but life did throw you a curveball every now and then. Part of you didn’t expect to even see JJ here, having no idea if he even still would be here. You just knew you couldn’t stay in California any longer. 

Nine years ago, when your mom finally reached her breaking point with your dad, she didn’t hesitate to grab you and leave behind the life you were living. You just remembered being nine years old, watching your brother get left behind in a way that hurt your heart so bad you cried for a week straight every day. Your mom tried to convince you that he would be fine, that the house would get better without the two of you there but you couldn’t fully believe her. 

Years went past, you grew up and went to high school out in a small town in California. Your life in Outer Banks almost didn’t exist. You’d pushed away so much of the bad, that it was weird to think about what you had here. That is until your mom had been diagnosed with cancer when you turned fourteen. You had just hit the point of being able to reach out to JJ yourself, holding on to the bit of hope that maybe you could get him out of there. Your mom needed you though, and you couldn’t bail on her. So you stayed through it all and held her hand goodbye when it came to it. Grieving was hard, and you still didn’t think you’d seen the end of it in the past six months since her passing.

Your mom did everything she could to support you, collecting up a good amount of savings in the hopes you would go to college. You had work of your own, doing enough to help where you could. She had lucked out on a wealthy boyfriend-turned-fiancé leaving behind his earnings to her. Like you said before, curveballs. 

You had a good foundation beneath you, but you couldn’t stay here with the memories she had left. Packing and choosing a condo in Outer Banks probably wasn’t on the list of wishes she had for you, but you had to go home. You had to see what you left behind before moving on. 

Unpacking took a little motivation but you had most items shipped to avoid dealing with renting a moving truck. It would take a while to get everything exactly how you liked it but you just really wanted to get as settled in as possible so you could cruise the island for a bit. It felt weird to be back here, especially when all you could think about is how everything was when you left so many years ago.

The drive to the grocery store felt weird, especially when you realized you’d never driven these roads by yourself. You’d always had your mom in the car when you were younger, rarely ever your dad but still. Hopes were high that you could get in and out of the grocery without seeing anyone who would possibly recognize you.

Your wish was almost granted as you piled food into your cart with no end goal in mind on what to really get. The cashier greeted you kindly and made your checkout process smooth and before you knew it, you were loading everything into the trunk of your car.

���Y/N? Y/N Maybank, is that you?” You bit your lip at the voice and turned around to meet the gaze of none other than Rafe Cameron staring you down. Growing up, Rafe had been a pain in your ass but your dad always reassured you that guys were mean when they liked a girl. You, however, refused to put up with that outdated bullshit and gave the Cameron boy a piece of your mind before you left. 

“Rafe, hi.” You offered him a tightknit smile as you shoved your last bag into the car. Out of everyone you could’ve run into, he wasn’t the worst one. You just hoped he didn’t make a scene out of it.

The blond boy had definitely grown up and was surrounded by two other people. You recognized one as Topper and the other you were unfamiliar with. Rafe blinked at the sight of you. “Wow, um. How-How are you? I haven’t seen you in-”

“Nine years?” You answered for him with a small laugh. “Yeah. It’s been a while but evidently, I can’t get away from here for too long.”

Rafe nodded. “Damn. Well, we’re having a party tonight at my place if you want to come. Catch up with everyone. It’s probably nothing like those West Coast parties you’re used to but hey, nothing beats an OBX showdown.”

You considered it for a moment, not sure if that was truly how you wanted to spend one of your first nights back but offered him a shrug. “Sure, I’ll think about it. Nice to see you guys!”

After putting your cart away, you climbed behind the wheel of the new Jeep that had once belonged to your mom. Letting out a deep sigh, your forehead pressed against the palms of your hands.

You really hoped Rafe didn’t see JJ before you did.

--

Unpacking the groceries was easy and soon enough, you had a semi-stable home surrounding you for the time being. There were still a few knickknack things that needed organized but those could wait until a different day. 

If you were being honest, you were nervous about this so-called ‘party’ you’d been invited to. On the bright side, it gave you a chance to unwind and act your age for once. Taking care of your mom had been hard and you’d been forced to grow up a lot sooner than you would’ve liked. On the other hand, you could risk fucking up whatever relationship was left with JJ if he didn’t want to see you. 

Deciding just to go for it, you forced yourself to get ready. You debated for a while before settling that a pair of jeans and a tank top would be suitable enough. You quickly fixed your hair and makeup before starting the small walk to where you knew the Cameron house was.

The music was already cranking when you arrived at the end of the driveway. Taking a deep breath, you walked the remaining distance to the backyard where it seemed all the people were crowding. Your eyes landed on the various coolers lining the side of the house. You grabbed a drink for yourself before wandering into the mass of people. Rafe was right, parties in Cali were usually a lot bigger, but for the most part, this was normal to you.

“There you are! I’ve been looking for you,” Rafe’s voice was suddenly behind you, breaking your train of thought. “Listen, your Pogue brother’s over there somewhere but-”

“JJ’s here?” You cut him off with wide eyes. Suddenly, you were too sober to see your brother for the first time in almost a decade.

Rafe laughed at the concern on your face, “Yeah, yeah. But hey, listen, I got some friends I want you to meet first, okay?”

You nodded, letting him pull you along throughout the party. You’d reconnected with Topper and met their friend Kelce who you had seen in the parking lot earlier. Rafe swore the OBX had only gotten better since you’d left, but looking at the white powdery substance on the table in front of you and the glazed look in his eyes, you were starting to doubt him.

Excusing yourself to find another drink, you shuffled your way through the crowd that had definitely grown since you first arrived. You reached in to grab another drink when someone bumped into you.

“Shit, sorry, I didn’t even-”

Your head snapped up at the familiar voice. “John B?”

The boy in front of you was definitely not a kid anymore. You gaped at his newfound height as he towered you by a good few inches. The bandana around his neck was new, same with his fluffy, curly hair that used to be short. He’d definitely filled out his form as he grew, making you wonder what your brother looked like.

“Holy shit. Y/N?” John B’s face was the definition of surprise as he stared back at you. As you all had grown up, you’d found each other on social media but nothing looked the same as standing in front of each other years later. 

“Hi!” Your smile was infectious as you wrapped him in a tight hug. You were thankful to see a familiar face amongst the strangers you’d been surrounded by.

John B pulled back a moment later. “Does JJ know you’re here?”

You didn’t have a chance to answer before yelling interrupted from across the yard. You shared a glance with John B before the two of you took off running. You never forgot the trouble your brother would get himself into as a kid. Part of you hoped he would grow out of it as he got older, but you also had no idea what he dealt with after you left.

Following John B around everyone, your eyes caught sight of a group arguing. Rafe was somehow at the forefront and shoved someone’s chest before punches started getting thrown. John B must’ve seen something you didn’t and rushed towards the altercation without a second thought.

Hovering on the outside of the crowd, you watched as John B managed to grab someone from the fight and practically push them out of the way before Rafe let out a loud laugh. To your shock, he turned to find you in the crowd and pointed your way. “See Y/N! This is all you have to look forward to with your brother! Starting fights he can’t finish and always running his damn mouth.”

Your heart was pounding in your chest as you moved forward when Rafe took a jump again at the person in front of him. Pushing people aside, you managed to get in between the two before they started fighting. You shoved Rafe’s chest aggressively to get him out of the way so you could actually figure out what the hell was going on. Turning around, your gaze landed on the specific person you’d been looking for, yet the same person you’d been trying to avoid the whole night. 

JJ stared back at you, his lip cut and face swelling by the second, but it was still him. It was still the boy you left all those years ago with tears in your eyes as your mom dragged you out to the car. You couldn’t gauge his reaction very well, couldn’t tell if he was pissed you were in front of him or if he was glad to see you.

You tuned out Rafe’s taunting behind you, suddenly well aware of how many people were watching your small family reunion. You snapped out of it when JJ took off out of the mini-circle that had formed.

“JJ!” You followed quickly behind him but he didn’t slow his pace and continued to run away from whatever had just happened. You stopped short, knowing damn well you couldn’t keep up with him and clearly, he didn’t want to see you.

John B was close behind you. “Y/N, hey.” You turned around to see the group that had followed him. Pope and Kie had grown so much, the sight of them almost overwhelming as you took in the people who you’d once been so close to. 

“Oh, my God!” Kie practically burst into excitement and lunged forward to hug you tightly. You let out a relieved sigh, glad that someone was happy to see you. 

Pope hugged you next, height towering over you the same way John B’s did. You didn’t even know where to start with them, let alone what you were going to say to JJ when you had a chance to talk to him.

“When did you get back?” Pope asked when he stepped back. The four of you moved further away from the party, all fun moods killed by JJ storming off. 

“Yesterday,” You said as you followed them along the path to the beach. “I didn’t tell anyone. Didn’t know if it was a good idea. And now, I’m realizing it wasn’t.”

“JJ will get over it. He probably just needs some space.” Kiara gave a dismissive wave before turning to you with expecting eyes. “I, however, need to know where you’re staying.”

You shrugged. “We can go there if you want. It’s just up here.” The three of them followed along and made mindless conversation, asking you about your drive and your time in California. You managed to dodge all conversation relating to your mom, promising you’d explain everything after you talked to JJ. He deserved to hear it first, especially after you bombarded him at the party. 

Walking into your new place, you watched the trio explore with wide eyes. Kie clearly had her share of this life, John B and Pope not so much. You were more than grateful for what you had at your hands, but you’d been through hell to get here. 

You spent the remainder of the night catching up with the three Pogues who reassured you that JJ wanted space. You definitely hadn’t expected the pain they had been through; Kie’s Kook year, Big John going missing, the constant harassment from Rafe and other Kooks. 

Once the early hours of the morning hit, you offered for them to stay but they agreed on heading back to the Chateau in hopes that JJ would be there and they could try to talk to him some. After giving each of them a hug, you locked your door and made your way to your bed in hopes that you could get some sleep and hopefully, get everything back on track with JJ in the morning.

--

Part of you wished you would’ve just chased JJ down last night so you didn’t have to deal with the situation in front of you. You weren’t 100% sure why you’d bother to come here, but after not seeing JJ this morning and Kiara saying he left them sometime early, you weren’t sure where else to look. The deck wood creaked under your feet before you pulled the screen door open and emersed yourself in the life your father and brother had been living since you left. 

Your dad’s beaten truck was in the driveway alongside a dirt bike that you figured was JJ’s. The mess of discarded alcohol, leftover drugs on the table, and various old prescription bottles lingered on the once spotless outdoor patio set that your mom had bought. Your heart hurt as you realized how worn your childhood home was.

You crouched down to grab one of the orange containers to read the label. The medicine wasn’t familiar to you, but the lack of your dad’s name on it told you everything you needed to know. This is exactly what you wished never happened when your mom said she was leaving. You loved her dearly, but leaving JJ here was something you’d never forgive her for. 

Suddenly, the front door slammed open as someone made their way out on the porch. You jerked up in surprise only to come face to face with the man that you called a father. He looked horrible, much worse than when you packed up and left. You could only guess his life went downhill from there and he never bothered to try and be anything better.

“Can I help you with something since you already invited yourself in?”

You had to admit, you weren’t surprised that he didn’t recognize you, but part of you had hoped he would. You liked to think you looked like your mom in some ways - ways that he would happily remember.  “Hi, Dad.”

The name seemed to freeze him in his spot as he stared at you. You didn’t know what to expect. He could easily kick you off his property without a second thought. After a moment of processing, he broke into a laugh. “Well, I’ll be damned. Come give your old man a hug, Y/N.”

You stood there semi-awkwardly as he pulled you into a tight embrace. You could practically smell the alcohol dripping off him and his ratty t-shirt.

“I never thought your mom would let you back here,” Luke laughed and stepped back to make himself comfortable on the couch, popping a beer in the process. “How is she by the way?”

“Is JJ here?” You ignored his question and tried to get to the whole point of why you came here. 

The scoff that came out of his mouth had you glaring without a second thought. “He’s in his room, pouting like a bitch!” He made sure to annunciate the last word loud enough that JJ could definitely hear him walls away. “Feel free.” 

Accepting his dismissive wave as enough of an invitation, you pulled open the door and made your way into the disaster of a house. Shattered picture frames lined the floor, misplaced clothes strewn next to them. You didn’t dare look at the kitchen for fear of what might be growing in it from the lack of upkeep you’d seen so far. 

Your feet guided you toward the door that had always led to your brother’s room. You convinced yourself that talking everything out would help, but now that you were standing here, it all seemed much harder.

“What?” JJ’s voice was full of pure annoyance once you knocked. You waited a moment before opening it to reveal his room just as you had remembered it. Granted, the posters had changed over the years, but it was still the same to you. 

“Hi,” Was all you could muster up to say once you made eye contact with him. 

He moved quickly to yank you into his room and shut the door behind you. “Are you crazy? Why the hell would you come here?”

You shrugged in defense. “I-I didn’t know where else to find you. Kiara said you weren’t with them and-”

“Kie?” He repeated the girl’s name as he glared at you. “You saw my friends?”

“Yes, JJ! When you stormed off last night and left-”

“Why the hell are you here?!”

The question was asked with such veracity you were stunned into silence. You gaped at him, shocked that he was being so hostile to you after all these years. It wasn’t like you had a choice in leaving with your mom. 

“JJ, I just want to talk.” Tears threatened to spill from your eyes as you let out a breath. “I have so much to tell you, a-and I haven’t seen you in so long. I know things are different but…”

JJ was silent for a moment as he stared at you. There were so many emotions in his mind, so many things he wanted to say to you, but he couldn’t help the feeling of agony that was deep in his chest. For so long, he’d envied you. He was full of rage, pain, and anger that you got to leave the Outer Banks for life with your mom. It hurt more than he ever let on, more than he ever told the Pogues. 

“Please get out.”

The request made your heart sink as you looked back at him, tears on your cheeks now. “JJ, please.” You refused to believe after everything, the one person you were holding out for wanted nothing to do with you.

He shook his head. “Not here, not now. Not with him listening.” His voice quieted as he nudged his hand toward the general direction of where your father was sitting. “I’ll find you later and we can talk, okay?”

You brushed the tears from your cheeks and nodded. It wasn’t worth arguing over why he didn’t just come with you at that moment. Turning on your heel, you walked from his room before stopping short to face him again. 

“JJ.” He looked up at you in confusion. “For what it’s worth, I’m really sorry.”

--

You didn’t hear anything for hours, opting to finish unpacking the rest of your belongings in hopes that it would take your mind off everything. Your dad had characteristically passed out by the time you’d left the house earlier that day. You had no interest in patching a relationship with him, especially based on what you’d seen. 

You had just finished ordering some pizza for dinner, too exhausted to try and attempt to cook something, when the doorbell rang. You knew damn well your food wasn’t here that quickly.

JJ stood on the other side of it, looking positively exhausted. You stepped aside wordlessly to let him in, figuring he got your address from one of his friends on his way since you didn’t tell him. He was quiet as he observed the main floor of your new home, taking in the cleanliness and organization.

“I have pizza coming… do you-do you want some water or something to drink?” 

His expression didn’t shift as he nodded to your question. You wondered if this was the new JJ - the quiet, reserved individual in your living room right now. You were inclined to doubt it, especially with the way Kiara, John B, and Pope had been talking last night.

“Is Mom dead?"

The question sucked all the air from your lungs, your new glassware threatening to slip from your fingers as it filled with water. You hesitated for a moment before turning to face him. 

JJ was already looking at you, your reaction telling him everything as he nodded slightly. “I knew you wouldn’t come back here by yourself if she was still in California.”

“I came back because I wanted to start a new chapter here, hopefully with you,” You admitted as you handed the glass of water to him. “We owe ourselves that much, JJ. To start fresh without the pain of our parents and childhood lingering on us.”

Your brother was quiet as he swirled the water around, his mind still on the question he had asked. “Were you with her when it happened?”

“For every second,” You whispered as tears burned your eyes as you recounted the endless nights and painful days. “I wanted to tell you but she said it wasn’t right to drop it on you.”

JJ nodded solemnly, for once not fighting on a decision that was made on his behalf. It didn’t hurt any less, though; grieving the loss of someone you loved deeply yet barely knew. The two of you had grown up so different in the recent half of your lives.

“Does Dad still…” You didn’t have the guts to finish the question, hoping your question would be declined.

Your heart shattered when JJ nodded. “Got worse once you guys left, the drinking and… everything else.” He took a deep breath. “I usually stay at John B’s. Rarely go back unless I absolutely have to.”

“You can stay here. With me.” You weren’t really asking, but rather speaking it into existence. You refused to let your brother wonder where he belonged in the OBX any longer. Even if he hated you, having him in a safe environment would make you feel endlessly better.

The doorbell ringing interrupted whatever JJ was going to say if he was going to say anything. You moved to the front door to pay the delivery person and collect your food, thanking them graciously before placing it on the granite countertops. You grabbed two freshly cleaned plates, handing one to JJ before selecting your choice of pizza and appetizer. JJ grabbed his own before following you to the couch to sit.

“She was diagnosed with leukemia six years ago. Her fiancé, Michael had passed away two years prior. Richest man I’ve ever met, the best man I have ever met,” You let out a small laugh at the memory. “He was great. You would’ve loved him. They loved each other. Anyway, treatment was going well and suddenly it stopped working. Everything got worse, really fast. I was balancing school, a job, and being there for her, until one day… it all just stopped and she was gone. I graduated by myself, packed everything up, sold her house, and moved here.

“She loved you, more than you probably know. We talked about you all the time. I tried so hard to convince her to come back, to send you a plane ticket to get you out to Cali with us. I think she was scared of facing a situation she partially created, you know? Begged her to at least let me fly out. That was instantly shot down. But, the world works in weird ways and here we are.”

JJ watched you carefully, munching on his pizza as he did. He never noticed how exhausted you looked - like the weight of the world had been on your shoulders for years. It probably had been, he said to himself.

“I know me coming back is probably a storm in your usual forecast,” You continued, “I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t know how. So I figured just randomly showing up would give me an idea. Guess not.” You finished up your slice of pizza and set the empty plate on the ottoman. 

“I’m sorry for being so shitty,” JJ blurted. He wasn’t sure what else to say. 

You shook your head at him. “It’s okay, promise. I don’t blame you. I was extremely overwhelming.” 

The two of you sat in a comforting quiet for a few moments as JJ finished up his food. He couldn’t lie, this was the best thing that had happened to him in a long time. Sure, he loved the Pogues and they’d always be his number one, but to have you back was a game-changer. It shifted everything he’d known since you had been taken to California all those years ago.

“If the offer to stay here is still on the table, I’d really like to take it.”

Maybe things were looking up for both of you after all.

--

navigation 

[crypticmillipede]

actually should i just drop a completely unprompted long take on The Sun and The Star?? nobody asked for this but my audience is 1, and it is me. behold, my list:

Things I Liked:

Nico book!! yeah Nico book, book for Nico!!

Seriously though, this was such an awesome book for queer representation. Nico was such an icon for queer kids like me growing up, at a time when it wasn’t very common to see gay people in media, and he had a happy ending! it’s really cool that he has his own book, and kids today will have this.

Nico and Will were compelling characters, they were well-written and play off each other nicely!

They gave Nico PTSD, which I thought actually made a lot of sense and seemed realistic for his situation. I mean, the guy’s been through a lot.

nostalgia. plain and simple. i am simply biased to like this book bc it is Percy Jackson-related.

Things I Disliked:

i was super surprised that Nico was relatively cool with Will coming to Tartarus with him, especially given the prophecy? i thought Will would have to sneak down there! felt strange that Nico would be pretty chill with his boyfriend coming to Literal Hell with him, especially since it’s a major source of his PTSD.

Will didn’t bring a weapon?? Nico was like “eh whatever” when it came to packing food? it’s TARTARUS ! be so much more serious i am begginggg you.

I wish they’d done more with his PTSD? i mean, he had the dreams, but it turns out those were sent by Nyx, so what really was the extent of his ptsd? Especially going back to tartarus, it might’ve been more meaningful for him to shut down or freeze up in an important moment, or exhibit more symptoms throughout the book

GOD parts of it were cringe. “cocoa puffs”?? be so fr. ik theyre teens, and teens are ABSOLUTELY cringe, but this didn’t feel like teen cringe, it felt more like “older people trying to write teen lingo” cringe

going to Percy’s mom’s house felt super shoe-horned in. i can maybee understand wanting to iris-message Percy and Annabeth, but the whole “we don’t know his schedule thing” was a pretty thinly-veiled excuse

the reveal that Nico was playing Mythomagic in the 40s???? ?? this was such a small detail but it really got to me. no WAY have the “greek pokémon cards” been around 80 YEARS. broke my immersion lol

They didn’t have to drink from the Phlegethon once? What happened to the acid air! i know they were eating a lot of ambrosia, but if that was healing them, it’d be nice if the book explicitly mentioned it. and like, they slept there overnight, and not one mention of their throats hurting bc of the,, poison air? i mean this was a majorrr mechanic of percy and annabeth’s time there! they mentioned it like once or twice i think, but that was about it.

also, in the tartarus flashback, Nico didn’t know what the Phlegethon was! yk, one of only 5 rivers that flows through the Underworld?? the one that’s essential to its ecosystem bc it ensures the tortured stay alive?? as someone who’s very familiar with the underworld, there’s no way he wouldn’t know what it was- if Annabeth would recognize it, he would too!

In general, the descriptions of Tartarus were toned way down from Percy and Annabeth’s experience. i reread HoH in preparation for when this book came out, and you can really tell the difference.

I think at one point in HoH, the true nature of Tartarus was revealed to Percy, and he said something like, “this must’ve been how Nico experienced Tartarus the whole time” and that always stuck with me. turns out, not really? and the book made up new mechanics about the “true nature” being revealed the longer you stayed there, which wasn’t really a thing in HoH

Nyx was a weird villain. why would a protogenos care about some random demigod “coming to the dark side”?? demigods are like ants to her. and Nico is like, a well-established hero, who’s consistently characterized as someone who is very good, and looks out for the forgotten. he’s been through some things, but his “goodness” has never reallyyy been in question (except for like, a tinyyy bit of the 4th pjo book, but still, not really)

What was the purpose of Nyx sending Nico those nightmares, when Bob was already the set trap? even Nico mentioned it was redundant, but then the authors never elaborated on it

Nico’s demons were a cool reveal, but I don’t see how they fulfilled the prophecy at all. are they really of equal value to a Titan? and Nico’s emotions are still inside him, they’re just also manifested on the outside too now. Plus, the cacodemons came with him, so he didn’t even leave them behind?? When I originally heard the prophecy, I thought maybe Bob’s essence would split from Iapetus, and they’d leave the evil titan behind while escaping with Bob. Honestly, i still think that makes more sense than what actually happened.

Wasn’t Bianca reincarnated?? how were they able to have that conversation?? ig it could be written off as “hades’ magic or whatever” but it felt like a MAJOR oversight

WHERE was Hazel??? that made no sense. she was such a big part of Nico’s life in HoO, i don’t know if they mentioned it even once?? Why in the world would Nico call Piper at the end? ik it made sense thematically, since Piper is also queer, but it felt so shallow and surface level. like “ooh let’s have the two gay characters talk”. in reality Nico and Piper never talked in HoO, it really doesn’t make sense for them to talk now, as the final part of the book? where is his sister?? it honestly would’ve been nice to see her reaction to his queerness as well, since she’s from another century. it could’ve been a cool little “being from a different time is not an excuse for homophobia, look hazel’s an ally” thing! idk lol i just wanted to see her again

THEY DIDN’T RESCUE DAMASEN :-( made a whole nother post about this one.

Things Other People Disliked That I Thought Were Fine, Actually:

people said Nico was OOC, but i thought he was pretty in line with the Nico of ToA. A year or so has passed since the Nico of HoO, and this is the first time he’s been in a really good place. He’s allowed to act happy!

some people reallyyy hated Will in this book, but i thought he was alright. he was a flawed character, but it’s good when characters have flaws! plus he was like half-awake and drained for most of the book, obv he’s not gonna be on his best behavior!

i saw people saying the book was too sappy, but i think it was alright! was it sappy? yeahhh. but like, it was a book explicitly for queer representation, go big or go home right? i’m glad kids today have this!

i saw a lot of people arguing that the book was cringe, in CONTRAST to the previous percy jackson books. and yea, it was cringe sometimes. but this is a well-established precedent within the percy jackson series !!! i hatee to say this but. be so genuine and fr with me rn. are you gonna tell me “seaweed brain” “wise girl” isn’t,,, cringe? the quips have ALWAYS been “erm, it’s right behind me, isn’t it?”-style. i knowww it’s hard to hear but the only difference is that we’re older now and can recognize it.

people were arguing that Tartarus was Percy and Annabeth’s thing, and that sending Nico down there with Will was infringing on that. but i reallyy disagree. Nico was the FIRST person down there, and he did it alone! if Tartarus was anyone’s “thing”, it’d be Nico’s. and besides, if you’re gonna make a Nico and Will-centric book, what better way then to send them through the gauntlet of Tartarus, symbolically saying that their journey was just as valid as Percy and Annabeth’s?

Anyways, there’s my extremely long take on TSaTS. I know it seems like i had a lot of negative things to say about it, but i actually really liked the book overall. Did it have questionable writing choices and weird moments of characterization? yeah a little bit. but i still enjoyed it so much! Absolutely feel free to disagree with me, i’m actually really curious to see what other people thought of the book!!

[claypigeonpottery]

Heyyyyy~ I'm just... So in love with all the work you do, they're all so precious and beautiful I'm in tears. Thank you so for what you do, can't wait to buy something you made soon :D

If it's okei, can you please tell the story of how you got into this and how did you progress from being babie artist to now growing artist and how long you've been doing this for? What's your top 3 fav works you've done? Did you eat good food today, if not please dooo. Thenks

thank you! that's very sweet x3 I'm excited to get more stuff fired and up on Etsy, hopefully before the end of June

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choose three favourites of my work? oh, that is a difficult question.

one thing I really didn't like about my art when I was younger was that it was all very static. it was people sitting or standing, it was still life paintings. one of the things I'm really proud of in my work now is the sense of capturing a moment instead of someone posing, and/or giving a sense of movement

these two are just the opposite of static and I love them for that

and then there's this mug. the design is great, the details are great and I had so much fun carving it. it was honestly just delightful and I wish I'd kept it. I don't say that very often.

all sold

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I'm putting the rest of this under a cut because I'm going to ramble

I started drawing because I was making silly comics about me and my friends in grade school and through high school (I assigned them all fursonas because I was a really cool 15 year old lol)

I got a little more serious about art in high school, but I never thought it'd be something I'd make money at.

when I was... in my early twenties? maybe 19 still? ah, memory issues, I went through a nine month art program, the 'Urban Canvas' project run by SCYAP (saskatoon community youth arts programming). the program is meant to support young artists, especially those with mental health or addiction issues. and it meant I got paid to draw and paint and create weird shit for 40 hours a week, for nine months. and then some (seven? eight?) years later I got to go through the program again which... honestly I'm so grateful I got to do that. (and SCYAP still supports me, they give me a table at their craft show every year and helped me with my first solo gallery show)

these are some of the pieces I made during my time at SCYAP:

and two very rare pictures of me, posing with two of my master studies. the left from when I was 20ish, and the right when I was... 27ish? (man I'm still proud of that Gentileschi copy)

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it was after SCYAP when I started thinking that I could actually make money as an artist. so I painted more than a dozen murals, drew a 20-some page full colour comic, painted pet portraits, and sold my own paintings. commissions were more reliable than selling my own work for a long time lol

as for how I got into pottery, my mental health uh... haha. it took a nosedive about six years ago and during some of the worst of it, I was severely agoraphobic. my mom, who has always supported my art, offered to take me to pottery classes with her, in an attempt to get me leaving the house at least once a week. it did help (along with a lot of other things) and once I started exploring the surface decoration side of pottery, things really clicked for me

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tangent: one of the things that really drove me to progress as an artist was having something driving my work. whether it was preparing for a gallery show or making a bunch of holiday cards or making piles of fan art because I was obsessed. every time I made something, anything, I improved. so when I had a goal that made me create more, I improved faster.

my unsolicited advice: make that weird fan art. it's good for your art. (I was really into tf2 lol)

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I've tried tons of different mediums and I think it was a great way to help my style evolve.

when you're making art with a new medium, it might take awhile before you're making your own personal work. I, at least, find that I usually have to do some studies of other peoples' art and just try some basic creations before I do anything more personal. but once I'm ready to do MY stuff, I have a new repertoire to pull from. I wouldn't be the potter I am if I didn't have the experiences I got from other mediums

like acrylics (I did a lot of self portraits >.>)

paper flower making

watercolour

collage

cake decorating

(also oil paints, pastels, 3D wire art, crochet, linocut, stone carving, sewing, set painting and quilting. also my spouse and I like to make crafts together, like cutting-construction-paper, gluing-pompoms-and-googly-eyes crafts, because it's just fun to make stuff together)

I'm sure pottery isn't the last medium I'm gonna try. I'll probably get obsessed with carving tiny wooden figurines or making wax sculptures at some point. who knows!

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and now I'm in my mid-thirties, making art pretty much every day. I've been doing this since I was a teenager, so almost twenty years now.

I never imagined I'd be satisfied with my own art, that I could look at most of my pieces and not see how I could have done it better, but hey, here I am.

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wow that was rambly. the ADHD really comes out when I'm writing lol. and I did eat real food today! before having some freezies

thanks so much for your ask, hopefully I satisfied your curiosity

[yoonyia]

😨 ok this is your open invite to talk about val!!

MY QUEEN

THE FORGOTTEN MIDDLE CHILD

how dare you all disrespect her majesty like this

you all should repent for your wrong doings

it pisses me off that a lot of people forget about val

and critique Val for never getting a life and following the tails of her brothers

but like do you not get the point of her character

she is the human representation of altruism and living for other people

like the reason her life revolves around other people is because that's who she is

she bends to no other will but her own

she not submitting herself to live someone else's life its a personal choice and her virtue to do so

THIS IS NOT HEADCANONS BY THE WAY IT IS LITTERALLY THE CANON AND I WANT PEOPLE TO SHUT THE FUCK UP AND STOP CALLING VAL A BADDLY WRITTEN CHARACTER

IM SORRY IF ITS PLAYING INTO A TROUPE OF WOMEN WHOS LIVES REVOLVE AROUND MEN BUT SHE HERSELF IS COMPLETELY INDEPENDANT AND LIVES BY HER OWN NEEDS AND WANTS, HER OWN NEEDS AND WANTS HAPPENS TO BE OTHER PEOPLE BUT SHES SACREFICING NOTHING

SHES ACTUALLY FORCING OTHERS INTO BEING BETTER PEOPLE EVEN THO THEY PERSONALLY HATE IT

I NEED YOU ALL TO UNDERSTAND

anyways enough about that

Val is a weeb

she had posters of anime characters when she was on earth

she would sneak in manga spoilers into demonsthes, especially if it was a manga peter was also reading

unlike Peter she hates k pop and ender sings it to her to piss her off

Val is like a sassy aunt towards ender and ender treats her like an older sibling that keeps barging into the room

very sibling dynamic with both her siblings, she dosent care about the fact they're world dominating leaders she sees them being idiots and calls them idiots and loves them dearly (ofcourse she loves ender a lot more as altruism dosent always comes with equality)

she gives people haircuts

she's super tall but enders taller (this does mean Peter is shortest of all the siblings and I find that fact hilarious)

she's really bad at cooking and made sure that if she ever got a husband he would do most of the cooking and cleaning

she values equal participation in projects but is more then ready to take on a leadership role

she's very flexible and unlike her brothers she is great at socializing

she reads constantly, ofcourse a lot of manga but also books in other languages that she manually translates using a dictionary

she really likes learning of different cultures and telling random facts about the world to others (and by others I mean ender, she talks to him a lot and vice versa)

she's emotionally intelligent but she dosent have the patience to say the things she knows is the right thing to say so she just ends up screaming the truth and letting it marinate as everyone around her is in tears asking her "I know what you're saying is correct but please stop screaming"

not ender tho, he just sits and listens and then agrees to it or add at it even if Val is getting real aggressive about it, he's calm and Val is impressed at his calmness

it's really hard to say stuff about Val without mentioned other people because her life so tightly revolved around helping them

I hope yall know that this isn't an inherently bad thing

she's atheist, and she's the only one in her family who is truely atheist. she personally dosent understand the concept of religion and thinks it's a bit silly

espicially when she gets to lustainia

she is a wine aunt but not a wine mom

she and her husband are both jokesters

Val is very funny

Val is like the comedian Taylor Tomlinson

she dosent like her mom always being a cheerleader but she herself is also quite the optimist

she's says things like "the world's gonna end tomorrow" and cheers everyone up

she hates corn, she will spit every kernel out one by one if the food has corn in it

this includes popcorn

never take her to the movies

she also has a really weird schedule

wakes up at 11am, does some stretches, goes eat lunch, does work, talk to ender for 3 hours, reads, exercises, eats dinner at around 2am, socializes with others till 5 then goes to bed at 6am

time zones fear her

she likes the cold, she loves snow

she likes having a fan on whenever she sleeps

her favorite food is pho (so is enders)

she wears the same thing every single day and she genuinely wears the same clothes as steve jobs

if you ever see me draw Val in anything other then a black turtleneck and jeans and I don't call it out that ain't me that's a skinwalker and I want you to kill it

her and her husband's relationship is actually really sweet

they compliment eachother like how you need salt in baking

also she just in general also brings out the best in people

she's just real nice if you ignore her impatience and lack of understanding

she dosent have a lot of empathy but she knows what will help you

she is warm and soft and comforting if you sit with her long enough to get used to the cold temperature of the room she's in

she's a born teacher, great at figuring out what her students need

she's also vegan, and forced ender to go vegan too

or it was the reverse

I cant make up my mind

this one's long cause I really like Val and I don't ever get enough Val content

if I were to rank my love for the wiggin siblings it would go ender most Val second peter last (like their parents actually JDKDKD) AND IM SO SORRY PETER FANS I JUST LOVE MY SARCASTIC PROFESSORS THAT ARE COMEDIC

also yes I belive that both Val and ender are both comedic and funny

I refuse to believe that ender is constantly depressed and is :| all the time

both of these kids are doing the Anya face half the time or laughing at a joke no one gets

Val tries to influence ender a lot and get him out of his low self esteem and self hatred

I mean she influences him a lot but sadly never got to fixing that issue

anyways yea that's my Val for yall

give more respect to this women she built her life in a way were she would be the happiest

GOD FORBID SOMEONE WANTS TO BE HAPPY AND HEALTHY IN THIS UNIVERSE

[winterfireice]

I'm pretty happy with how this came out hope you enjoy this Sophiana fic with some angst

Tag List: @amandayetagain @the-one-and-only-aroace @synonymroll648 @frizzle-mcshizzle This is me realizing that I know the list is longer but I need to actually write down who to tag

full fic below here

I can’t sleep. It's not uncommon, most of the time half of my night is spent staring at my ceiling or listening to the wind flow through my curtains. Tonight I’m not at home though, Keefe had an idea for a night off at one of his father’s extra houses. Turns out that sleeping in one of your best friend's awful parent's house is not a better place resting place than my comfortable bed in my safe and comforting home. 

Keefe’s idea wasn't the worst he’s ever had and the day was actually pretty fun. Almost the entire group was able to take the day off with minimal arguments from the council and our parents. Dex was even able to find a game of Monopoly with some of his mom’s human stuff that had most of its pieces. It was missing about seven houses but Biana was able to find some jewelry of hers to stand in. My friends also took a lot less time learning the rules of the game than I thought they would need and only Keefe had stolen money from the bank after Fitz was declared our banker.

But after our very long game had finished and we were full of baked goods and elvish drinks almost everyone had fallen asleep in their makeshift beds curled around fluffy pillows and near suffocating because of the absurd amount of blankets. 

The group had decided against splitting up into different rooms and had just created nests on the floor in the living room. 

I am currently trying to figure out how a room can lack so much personality but still be so comfortable. Even after living in the lost cities for multiple years, I am still so surprised and confused by how well-made everything is, the beds feel like a cloud and the food is so flavorful that it made me sick when I first moved here. 

But even with the cloud-like comforters and pillows I still can’t fall asleep. I could blame it on Keefe’s snoring, which he insists he doesn't do, or the tree branch that keeps banging against the side of the house in the wind. But in reality, I knew that I probably was not going to get any sleep. I don’t most nights but after about an hour I usually give up and get up to do either school work or black swan work, sometimes even nobility work if I’m bored enough. 

Tonight though I’m sandwiched between Biana and Dex and know that if I move I will wake them up. Some of my friends may have an easier time falling asleep than me but after all the near-death experiences they have all become pretty light sleepers and I don’t want to mess up any possible sleep schedules they have. 

I'm also not super sure I want to sleep right now because I know that if I do manage to fall asleep my mind is just going to be filled with nightmares. Sometimes I’m able to go the whole night without the dreams but it's rare and never when I’m in a new place or surrounded by half of my loved ones. 

I know that if I fall asleep my mind is just going to be filled with images of my friends dying in different awful ways while I have to stand there watching. I don’t know about most people but that does not sound like a fun way to spend a night to me, especially since I’ve done just that before, both in my dreams and in reality.

While I’m thinking about this I feel one of the blankets slide off me as Biana rolls over to her side. I take this opening to slowly stand up and wander through the darkness in the direction of the kitchen trying to be careful not to knock into anything. I’m almost all the way there without any accidents but I hit into the side of a table and knock off some weird glass bowl. Luckily it doesn't shatter or make too much noise as it falls onto a rug. 

In the kitchen, I realize that I don’t have any plans for what to do here. I could get a snack but when all of us first got here we realized the fridge hadn't been stocked with any food other than an elvish version of protein bars and loose greens. Keefe and Fitz had brought some snacks with them but we either ate them or had eaten so much they made us sick. 

One of the only things on the kitchen table is a bunch of gummies that taste disgusting that Keefe tried (and succeeded) to trick us with. 

“Hey, you ok?” Biana sleepy asks from behind me,

“Oh my go-!” I shriek, “Where did you come from,” 

“Um, the living room. Isn't that where you came from too? I feel the need to repeat my earlier question, are you ok?”

“Yeah, you just scared me. Sorry did I wake you up?” I ask, trying to steady my breathing,

“Kind of but it's ok I’m a pretty light sleeper, plus I’m pretty sure I could hear Keefe snoring even while I was asleep,” She laughs a little while adjusting her pajama shirt so it’s more centered and not falling off her shoulder, which is something I definitely didn't notice and wasn't focusing on in my sleep deprived state. 

“I’ve told him like ten times to go see Elwin about that but he refuses to admit it,” 

“You have got to be kidding me, all it takes is like one elixir every couple of weeks for the problem to go away,” 

“Oh wow, in the hu- forbidden cities there's this machine thing that you wear when you sleep, I don't know too much about how it works but my mom used to have one, back when I lived there,” 

“That sounds terrifying, sometimes I’m surprised by how different the elves and humans treat medical stuff. We have it pretty lucky here that most stuff can be solved with an elixir or lotion,” Biana says the last part while rubbing her arms and I notice a few of her scars peaking through the neckline of her shirt. 

Ever since Vesperna attacked her she has done an amazing job of acting like it doesn't matter or that she’s fine but as someone who also constantly pretends that nothing is wrong I can see the pressure she puts on herself to be okay. 

“Can I ask you a question?” She asks, coming closer and sitting down at the kitchen island in front of me,

“Wasn't that one?” I joke, earning a glare from Biana, “But of course, what do you want to know?” 

“Do you ever miss the forbidden cities? I know that you love it here but does it ever feel weird knowing so much about a world no one else does?” 

“Yeah, I guess. To be honest I try not to think about it that much, if it doesn't have to do with the Neverseen or Amy, it hurts less to try to push it to the back of my mind,” I don’t tell people that usually since it makes me sound awful and makes me feel horrible but something about the only light in the room being from the moon and the only sounds are our voices makes it easier to talk about deeper things.

“Can I ask you one? A question I mean,” I ask after some silence, 

“Always, and by the way I get it, well I don’t because I’m not you but I understand the pushing everything away thing and it makes sense,” Something about tonight is making me notice just how often Biana fiddles with her hands,

“Do you ever wish you never joined the Black Swan?” 

“I have told you almost a thousand times that you are not responsible for my decisions,” she states annoyed,

“I know, that's not what I mean. It’s just that being involved in all of this,” I wave my hands around my body as I say this as if the room is responsible for our trauma, “has hurt us so much.  I know we have been able to help so many people too and I wouldn't change it now but sometimes I think about how our lives would be different if the Black Swan weren't a part of it,” 

“Well for one if the Black Swan wasn't a part of my life I would have never met you,” Biana whispers, “And that would really suck, especially since you probably wouldn't exist,” 

“I guess I don't usually think about it that way, I try to avoid thinking about how I came into existence and what animals were a part of the process,” I laugh while Biana chuckles with her eyes closed. The two of us don’t mention the fact that Mr. Forkle used inspiration from horses to create me.

“Ok, I don’t bring it up a lot because I know it creeps you out that Alicorns were a part of the research that created you but I find it hilarious. Back when I was a really small kid I would go over to the Heks’ place on the weekends and look at all the unicorns with Stina, it was without a doubt my favorite part of the week,” she says as she gets up and checks the fridge for something to eat, “Wow this is disappointing, I expected better snacks in Keefe’s house,” 

“You are not the only one, I was looking for food before you came in here,”

“And you didn't warn me? I feel betrayed Sophie,” she turns away from the fridge and jumps up onto the island so her feet are swinging back and forth, her face is turned to me in deep thought, 

“This seems like the night for a game,” She declares,

“Oh, really? What game?” I ask, jumping up beside her,

“A new one, we take turns asking each other questions, and if we don't answer we have to take a bite of something in this kitchen,” 

“Isn't that just a conversation with an unappetizing meal?” I respond, “What makes it a game?” 

“Uhh, it's almost two a.m.? We’re in the dark? Oo maybe that could be the game’s name? Questions in the Dark,” Biana whispers the last part and brings her hands up to her face, wiggling her fingers as if she is telling a scary campfire story,

“Ok,” I laugh for some strange reason, “I’m in, You should go first I don’t have any good ideas yet?”

“Deal. Why are you awake at two a.m. and don’t tell me you just woke up, I’ve known you for years I know when you aren't sleeping,” She rapidly fires out her words, almost like she is worried I’m about to interrupt her,

“I’m starting to feel like you had a motive when you created this game,” I say after a moment. Any other day I would probably avoid the topic and distract her or lie, pretend that I was simply having a bad night, and move on, but the way she’s looking at me like she just wants to know what’s happening inside of my head at this very moment makes me start talking,

“I can’t sleep when I’m not home, I can hardly sleep when I am in my own bed and I don’t even know if I tried to fall asleep tonight because I know if I do then I’ll just have nightmares the whole night,” the words tumble out of me, “I know we all make jokes about my awful sleep schedule but is it just me? Am I the only one who’s scared to fall asleep? I,” 

Biana pulls her legs up to the table so she can be fully facing me and slides closer to me so that her knees are bumping against one of my legs and she doesn't have to twist her neck to look at me, “I want to have some magic response to fix everything for you but I don’t think those words exist, I can tell you that I haven't had a dream since Vesperna attacked me. At least not one that I can remember, my nightmares always happen while I’m awake,” Biana tells me, her eyes never leaving mine,

I feel tears well up in my eyes and try to look away but I feel her soft hands against my cheek not forcing it to stay in place but an invitation to keep looking at her and her eyes that seem to be searching for an answer to all of our problems.

“I get flashbacks all the time and can hardly look at a mirror without having a panic attack and hearing that awful woman’s voice. When I go to sleep it's the only time my brain is silent,” she adds, the warmth of her hand still lingering against my skin.

I don’t know what is happening at the moment other than her words and her hands, if I try to think about the meaning behind either of them my head starts to swim and this floating feeling turns to sinking. 

“I hate that you have to go through that,” I say, my eyes never leaving hers “It’s not fair you don’t get to be able to be awake without everything wearing down on your shoulders,” 

“It’s not fair you don’t get to sleep,” 

“I guess a lot about our lives isn't fair,” I whisper, 

“You’re definitely right about that,” She responds in the same hushed tone,

“This feels pretty fair though,” I tell her as I bring my arm up to hers, briefly brushing over it,

“Again I agree with you,” Biana says, her eyes lower for a moment before tracking back up my face to my eyes, I feel myself leaning in and Biana’s other hand reaching up to the other side of my face, wrapping around my hair,

“Hmm, why are you guys up?” Keefe groans from the doorway, still wiping the sleep out of his eyes and leaning against the doorframe for support.

In this moment I am both so annoyed that Keefe interrupted whatever was about to happen and so happy that Keefe takes forever to wake up fully. Biana’s hands drop down to her sides as she slides onto the floor,

“We got hungry,” She says in a tone that asks why else we would be in the kitchen,

“Oh, I don't think I put anything in here it’s still all in the living room,” with that Keefe turns back around and goes back into the living room, probably to go continue snoring, “You guys coming?” 

“Yeah we're right behind you,” Biana says, I slip off the island and she takes my hand in hers as we walk back into the living room.

She holds my hand the rest of the night and while I don’t sleep well, I sleep a lot better than I thought I would.

[mello-t-befan]

The video accompanying this project (turn the subtitles ON ^^)

For the first of my new Redesign series, I'll be working on a series that I wouldn't have thought I'd deal with but which kinda provoked me with its season 7. The face of French animation in the 2000s, of pseudo-girl power facade and weird fetishism : “Totally Spies!”

If I could rewrite the story, I'd give an actual age difference to the girls. I know it's more convenient for the series that they'd be in the same class, but I'm partly basing their characterization on their presumed maturity. So it's simpler with a one year gap between the three of them.

I'd also take a "Kim Possible"-like approach, with heroines who are freelance vigilantes in the open and whom individuals can contact to save the situation. Jerry would act as their manager, filters requests and ensures that the missions do not interfere too much with their studies.

Name : Samantha "Sam" Simpson

Age : 16

Occupation(s) : high school student, freelance heroine

Role(s) : team leader, gadgets manager

Skill(s) : chemistry, engineering, hacking, researching, planning, melee combat (specialty taekwon do)

Likes : building gadgets, E-K0 (her mini-drone assistant/baby), proof-read plans, reading, making lists, spicy food

Hates : being interrupted, contingencies, abusive clients, boredom, sport classes, not understanding something

If I could rewrite the character, Sam would be both the team's leader/mom and Q. She's the one who "tinkers" all the iconic gadgets in the series. And she is very proud of her babies, especially her mini-drone assistant, EK-0. She nonetheless remains experienced in combat and manages to defend herself well. My version of Sam would have trouble understanding emotions (both her own and others) but always has the best intentions.

Name : Clover Ewing

Age : 15

Occupation(s) : high school student, freelance heroine

Role(s) : responsible for disguises, countergeiting

Skill(s) : costume-making, documents forging, counterfeit analysis, 1st aid, hand-to-hand combat (specialty ju-jitsu)

Likes : sewing, pop music, love stories, bragging, helping others find their style, Asian cuisine

Hates : her work being destroyed, poorly-made forgeries, abusive clients, meat, Mandy, people messing with her hair

Even if I remind you that being interested in fashion is not a fault, it's not enough to give personality to a character. So even though my Clover carefully follows her favorite designers' latest collections, she'd prefers to feel comfortable and tends to dress in a slightly original way. She's the costume designer for their high school drama club, the disguises for their missions, and the expert in document forgery. It was also she who developed their spy outfits with Sam's technological contribution. To finish on her personality, I want to make my Clover less "unbearable princess". I know it can be a character's strength to be so imperfect, but in the episodes themselves, it's just annoying. My Clover likes to help others feel good about themselves and sometimes that means to change some parts of their wardrobe.

Name : Alexandra "Alex Vasquez

Age : 14

Occupation(s) : high school student, freelance heroine

Role(s) : combat expert, muscles

Skill(s) : flexibility, strenght, animal biology, 1st aid, hand-to-hand combat (specialty free fight)

Likes : animals, sweets, stuffed animals, sports, cartoons, biology, Asian cuisine

Hates : animals abuseres, being babied, history classes, abusive clients, bullies, broccoli

If I could rewrite the character, Alex would be the actual baby of the bunch (even though she doesn't like being babied). She would be a real powerhouse who participates in almost every high school sport. But also the 2nd best in biology after Sam because she wants to become a veterinarian - or a keeper in a zoo, she doesn't know yet. On missions, she is the most athletic of the trio and the one who knows best how to survive in the wilderness. She also serves as a model for Clover and a test subject for some of Sam's gadgets. But more than anything, it's her good humor which manages to make the trio a united group which cand overcome any criminal.

[crabknight]

OC lore?

Yeah ok, I have 3 ocs that I have drawn that are missing names, there's a lot more ocs missing names in my noggin but they can wait until I draw them.

The first is my demon slayer oc (They/them) (16)

They grew up by the sea where they lived with their dad. Their mom died when they were young and they never got to know her. They spent a lot time helping their dad with getting food, either by fishing or by gathering stuff from the forest, but whenever they had free time they would spend it playing at the beach and looking at the crabs.

Then one day when their dad went out to fish, he didn't return. And they waited for days for their dad to return, but he never did. Then after a whole week had passed, their fathers corpse washed up on the beach, but it was unrecognisable, it had mauled and mutilated beyond compare. They didn't know what could have caused this, but they knew it couldn't have been anything natural, they wanted to run, too get away from whatever killed their dad, but they could do nothing more than sit with their fathers corpse in their hands and cry.

When the sun rose the day after, they were already on their way. They traveled far, with no real destination in mind. On a day where they were especially low on food they passed out and an old lady took them in. The old lady listened to their story and then told them about the demons and the demon slayers, apparently the old lady used to be a demon slayer herself. They were trained by the old lady to become a demon slayer, as they realised that it could have been a demon that killed their father. They passed the demon slayer initiation and officially became a demon slayer. However they didn't feel completely comfortable with the breathing style they had been taught, so they began to create their own breathing style based on the thing they loved so much, crabs, they were creating crustacean breathing.

The next two ocs are from a universe I made, so I'll give a bit of lore on that first.

The main magic thing in this universe is that people can conjure weapons out of elemental energy, the different elements are based on what kingdom/slash region they are from. The story mainly takes place in the sun/light kingdom, which is somewhat based on Japan. This kingdom is currently at war with the lighting kingdom, which is germany inspired. That should be it for the important things I think.

Moving on to the first oc of this universe (he/him) (12 at the start, 27 currently)

He grew up in a small sun kingdom village where he lived a pretty quiet life with his mom. His dad had died when he was young, but not young enough to not remember him and he and his mom often visited his grave. His mom had been teaching him swordsmanship in their free time, but he thought it was weird that when he conjured his sword it came out as lightning when his mothers was made of light, but his mother told him ot not worry about it.

Then one day, he woke up to the screams of the other villagers, and his mother told him to hide and he hid in their garden, but trying to see what was happening. A tall woman wearing a golden helmet was asking the villagers and killing them when they wouldn't give her an answer, but he couldn't quite make out what the question was. Then his mother went out of their house, light blade already conjured. The woman walked over to his mother and now she was close enough to where he could she was saying. "I will only ask you this once, where are you hiding the lightning kingdom spy, the king demands answers" His mother didn't asnwer, she just ran at the woman with her sword raised high. The woman only sighed and stabbed his mother.

He was filled with emotions and screamed out for his mother, but she didn't answer. He jumped out of the garden and conjured his sword, the womans attention immediatly swithed to the young boy and his lightning sword, she asked him who his parents were, but, like his mother, he didn't asnwer and sliced out towards the woman, but with a quick motion she sliced off his left arm and told him, "go boy, flee, run for your life and I won't chase you, but if you stay I will not hesitate to kill you"

Filled with fear, he ran, his legs moved before he could think, and he just kept running. When he eventually stopped running he could not see his village anymore. For years he just wandered, wanting nothing more than to kill the woman who killed his mother, then one day he stumbled across a cabin in the woods where an old man lived. The old man looked at him for a while and then challanged him to a duel. The old man won in seconds, and told him that he would teach him, only if he woould swear and promise that he wouldn't use his skills for revenge, but for the good of others and the good of himself.

For years he trained under the tutelage of the old man, and after the old man had taught him all he could he sent him on away on a journey to find himself and become stronger.

Last oc for now (She/her) (54 currently)

She grew up as an orphan, and was taken in by the king to live as a servant. When she then came of age she joined the light kingdom army as an archer and ascended through the ranks until she became the equivalent of a general. She had a daughter and promised herself to give her daughter the life she could never have herself making sure she was cared for in every way by hired servants and such. But she was never home herself and was always fulfilling her army duties.

At some point she comes into conflict with mc and she ends up being defeated and killed. As she lies dying she reflects on her life and realises how she wasn't there for her daugther and passes on thinking of herself as a faliure of a mother.

That's about all I have for these three, feel free ask about them if anybody wants to do that :)

[darksolace18]

Loving Nature

Nature/WindGod! Park Jimin x reader

Warning : Slight lonely aspect.

Masterlist

--------------------------------------------------

People found me odd.

Not in the "weird-emo-nerd" way, no.

It's just that when people got to know my little quirk, yeah it pretty much caused weird glances to be passed around.

My mom especially, was extremely concerned about my well being. Living alone sure made her feel a tad bit nervous for me.

But, I explained her the reason why I did so, which resulted her in laughing at me and continue to stuff my face with my all time favourite home cooked food.

What can I say? Saying that the nature looks after me can make people shoot pitying glances of how "lonely" I had gotten to depend on something so abstract or disgusted glares about how I had finally lost my mind.

So I preferred to keep this small little secret with me, away from the prying eyes of my colleagues.

Thankfully, working as a writer and an editor at the local newspaper publishing company surely made earning easy. Most of the time I could work from home, and who doesn't like to work in the comforts of their own house with the cool breeze?

Living in the outskirts of the city, surrounded by lush greenery had turned the air much more cool and pleasant compared to the dusty and polluted city air.

My allergies would always spike up whenever I had to visit the city. So from a young age, my parents and I had been living in this house.

Now that they deemed me fit enough to live by myself, they left this house for me to settle into and went to live in the city, spending their rest of the years travelling and utterly in love.

I would often visit them and they would keep on insisting that they send me cooked meals because apparently, I turned thinner and thinner with every visit. Which was absolutely not the case.

And as a answer, I would always say that it would be easier for the wind to just sweep me off of my feet then and carry me away to a beautiful forest like in fairytales.

But...doesn't it feels too much of a coincidence when the wind picks up a little whenever you feel down...or random playful gusts of wind would just invade your house when you would feel happy or sad?

Exactly.

I started noticing these odd circumstances and honestly, I thought i was being delusional. But when, one day a very pretty looking leaf from the forest near just floated into my house and right infront of my keyboard when i was stressing on my deadline, yeah that did it.

I was not afraid. Why would I be? The nature was kind to me.

I would often find small tree sappling right outside my windows and birds flying through and sitting on my shoulder, chirping away merrily.

The gnawing feeling of loneliness, that would often disturb me at the start of my solo journey in life, just washed away.

Often, days would go by with me talking to absolutely no one. It has once resulted in my voice turning hoarse.

But now, I have a companion. I have nature.

Everyday I would go up to the terrace that my parents set up so beautifully for me, sit on the hammock with a warm drink and chatter along about my day, accompanied by smooth and soft music.

Getting replied by soft yet concentrated forces of wind as it whispered incoherently, but still in a calming manner.

Nature seemed to communicate through wind.

Hence, i always kept my windows open and hair down. Even at night.

During Summers, the wind would always blow a slight but cooler temperature to dry my sweaty skin inside my bedroom as I slept, decreasing my electric bills a whole lot.

But winters were a bit tough. So I resorted in wearing extra layers and blankets during those times.

Thankfully there would be no snow floating into my room through the window, so I didn't have to clean it up much.

But, even though I was happy, still work was often stressful.

And during those times, I wish for someone to talk to who would actually reply to me in words.

It was one of those glum days today. Work sucked the blood out of my body, leaving me extremely tired yet stressed.

I did not have the energy to even prepare a drink. I just wanted to sit down.

I lazily walked up to my terrace, dragging my feet. This time, I didn't sit on the hammock. Instead chose to sit near the edge right infront of the view of the forest.

My knees were pulled close to my body, arms wrapped around them.

The view was fantastic.

It was a full moon night, the moonlight illuminated my terrace greatly in silver light along with the far off rustling forest, making it look like a soft carpet of velvet.

The breeze started to blow softly and steadily, makinga small yet melancholic smile carve into my face.

"Are you real?" I ask out. The breeze stops.

"Are you real? Am I delusional? Tell me this whole time this wasn't a figment if my imagination" My voice was extremely low, I don't even know that if the wind heard it.

The breeze still did not blow.

"I guess......I really am delusional as people deem me to be" I speak out, voice small yet stiff.

I sniff and stand up, staring right at the moon.

Before turning away.

"Don't go" a voice so soft, so low that it might have just been missed by me.

The wind seemed to blow again, as the whispered carried itself again.

I gasped, it couldn't be, it just couldn't be

"Come back to me, please" The same voice, but this time clearer.

I was afraid to turn around, to break whatever delusional imagination I had came up with.

A smeel of fresh earth and water invaded my nostrils. Th wind carrying the scent softly weaved through my hair, it felt natural, familiar.

"please, turn around" the voice yet again pleads, but this time, I do turn around.

Standing infront of me in silvery white robes which glowed softly, was a person. His soft smile and crescent eyes felt oh so beautiful.

It felt like a forbidden spell was pulling me in.

My eyes raked across its body, even though it shouldn't.

His body was covered in dark spots in some places, making me frown.

"Do you still think of yourself as delusional now?" The voice spoke up.

".....who are you" I couldn't help but ask.

He just smiled and took a step closer to me. He gently put his parlam forward as yet another small gust of dusty wind collected itself on his palm, twisting and turning like a tornado.

"I'm the one whom you have spoken to for so long, and wished for to reply" he says

Tears were starting to accumulate in my eyes. I couldn't hold it in. It was hard.

He smiled and softly held my face, even his touch felt light as wind, and gently wiped my tears away and brought me into a hug.

"You will not believe for how long I wanted to talk to, to reply to you with words. Please don't cry, talk to me. I'll answer you". He says, crawling my sniffling self.

"why....why me. Why not anyone else?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"The winds chose you, my moon. The world has polluted me, made thesoil, the wind, the atmosphere toxic. Most of the civilisation doesn't pay attention to nature, only a handful of youth to preserve it. But even then, you stood out. You always talked to plant, and talked out loud as if the wind listened. And the wind did. The wind liked listening to you, I loved listening to you. Now, you can forever talk to me." He says and I could absolitely feel him smile making me smile.

"okay....what should I call you then?" I ask, pulling myself away from his hold tolook at his beautiful eyes.

"You can call me by my human name, moon. It is Jimin, Park Jimin"

[lilleputtu]

Get to know you- Sims Style

@pudding-parade tagged me in this, lets goooo!

Answers below the cut!

What’s your favorite Sims death? Sims 2 ... honestly not sure. Maybe Cowplant? Sims 2 cowplants are the superior cowplants.

For Sims 3 it's definitely the jellybean bush from Supernatural. I love the ghost colour, its silly, it reflects how i feel about jelly beans 10/10 no notes.

Sims 4 i wanna say Spellcaster Overload? Splosions!

Alpha CC or Maxis Match?

Maxis adjacent cartoony is generally what i gravitate towards, though especially for Edona's Glade, I'll just grab whatever I like.

Do you cheat your sims weight? Kinda? Sometimes? Usually when it changes in a way I don't think it should, which is mostly in sims 4. Sims 4 metabolism is whack and i really don't think it should be like that.

Do you move objects? yes. yes of course. thats how game do.

Favorite Mod? I am bad at picking favourites, especially since it totally depends on what i want to be doing and such. And then of course there is the mods that make the games playable, like NRaas and stuff. I do love things that add more craftables and foods and such for all the games, so that's like, a whole category?

First Expansion/Game Pack/Stuff Pack? For sims 1 it was Superstar, Sims 2 the first one I owned was Free Time, Sims 3 I got World Adventures asap and with Sims 4 I grabbed Get To Work first.

Do you pronounce live mode like aLIVE or LIVing? aLIVE. it's like a livestream or a tv show. it's live!

Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? I don't really have a fave for sims 2 rn, because my fave (Cattie Peach) is born in game. Though I do love her made in CAS mom Elena.

For sims 3 it's gotta be Varuna, really proud of how she turned out.

And for Sims 4, I guess I am the most attached to Jewel? Her or one of my TTRPG characters i made to have a way of visualising how i think they should look.

Have you made a simself? Nope! I think I tried once, but i can't get it right and I really don't see the point for me.

Which is your favorite EA hair color? Sims 2 I mod the EA hair colours away, so does not apply. I like the soft blonde in Sims 3, and i love both the blue and green in Sims 4!

Favorite EA hair? Again, don't use em in Sims 2. I do like that one Island Paradise Waterfall Braid for Sims 3, and plenty of others, but that one i actually remember. For Sims 4, there is so many of them, I have lost track. There is plenty I like! Maybe the twin braids from Snowy Escape?

Favorite life stage? Really vibin with the teens in Edona's Glade right now. But that's because of the characters, not because of the lifestage I think. Generally there is the most to do with YA/A sims in all the games, so really, it's not that they are my fave, it's just that there is the most content to play with.

Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? Gameplay all the way baybeeeee

Are you a CC creator? Kinda? I've got a few mods I've shared, and i used to do a lot of recolours for sims 4. Like I don't consider myself one, but I have indeed created CC before.

Do you have any Simblr friends or a Sim Squad? Not really? Like I have people on here I like and interact with, but its not like... a friend group? I am very bad at reaching out to people, it's the anxiety about being annoying, so I mostly stick to myself.

Do you have any sims merch? Nope!

Do you have a YouTube for sims? I have a youtube, where I did a Sims 4 BaCC back in like 2016. I've unlisted those videos, but left the playlist up. But I am currently posting my Twitch VODs there. So it's not for sims, but there is some sims there.

How has your “Sims style” changed throughout your years of playing? Well the biggest change is I went fantasy medieval for sims 2. That and i've moved a little away from basic EAxis style sims? Also compared to my childhood there is more storylines and drama. And more longlasting saves.

Who’s your favorite CC creator? I don't have a favourite CC creator. Picking favourite people is weird so I refuse to.

How long have you had Simblr? This blog has been around since May 2013, and I think i started posting sims things on it within that year, so if you go by a definition of "A Simblr is a blog with sims things on it" then for over 10 years. I personally don't consider this a simblr. it's my personal tumblr, and it has a lot of sims stuff on it because thats what i feel like posting, ya know?

How do you edit your pictures? Generally I just slap some brightness and a lil bit of saturation over it and call it a day. Sometimes I don't do anything.

What expansion/ gamepack is your favorite?

For the sims 2, Open For Business is just... so good. So essential to how I play these days with Edona's Glade. Free Time also though. So those two in combination.

For Sims 3, I love World Adventures. I just love the tomb puzzles.

Sims 4 I am honestly not sure. Like a lot of them I am like "yes, i use this, it's alright", there isn't really a stand out one for me. I do quite enjoy the Milestones from Growing Together, and i think they did a pretty decent job with the supernatural focused gamepacks, but none of them are like "YES, THIS ONE". Might just be because sims 4 and how i want to play dont quite get along.

I am gonna tag... @clouseplayssims , @bastardtrait, @cas-sims , if yall want to that is of course!

[starlight-time-machine]

Week in Review

03/10/2024 – 03/16/2024

Sunday

Week 5 of missing Cipher Academy.

Monday

I was pretty excited for today’s episode of Game Changer, because the Sam Says episodes are usually some of the best and I love Lou, Jacob, and Vic…but unfortunately this one fell short of my expectations. The general vibe felt like they pushed slightly too far into the psychological torture range, and the players didn’t really put up a good fight so it was just beat down after beat down, coupled with really hard prompts that cost them tens of points at a time. And what was the purpose of the swear jar if those points didn’t end up going to anyone…just another kind of mean thing to tack onto their other commands… The episode ending with everyone losing a bunch of points and Jacob only winning by chance feels like such a far cry from the mind-boggling triumph that Ally ended the last Sam Says episode on. I don’t know, I think this game might be getting a little stale, and unless they can get players who can match Sam beat for beat, future episodes are just going to keep raising the stakes and making the players miserable, and I don’t really want to watch that.

Manga Monday time…Girl Meets Rock is fun. I genuinely forgot that Tamaki existed, but she works well as a stand-in. My points about the other possible guitar members still stand, though. Also fun to see Rin continuing her weird girl era.

Undead Unluck is great, it’s so gratifying to get these lore drops every chapter. And Top getting his super bombastic literally around the world finishing move is fantastic, and a great cap on this arc.

RuriDragon is okay…someone did a Twitter thread praising its translation, so now I overanalyze the dialogue whenever I read it…and it actually kind of annoys me. The writing strikes me as trying a little too hard to be young and modern, but the translator doesn’t actually know what young people talk like. The mom’s dialogue felt the most egregious to me – I get that she’s supposed to be like a millennial mom, but the way they wrote her dialogue feels so unnatural and stilted…it got to the point where it was actively hampering my enjoyment. But I don’t want to come across like a bad faith “all localization bad” Twitter guy…and I often have this same complaint with the dialogue of adult fiction novels, so it might just be me who’s the fringe weirdo who doesn’t know what normal people sound like. It was cute seeing Ruri and her mom hang out, though, I feel like we don’t get a lot of strong mother daughter relationships in anime or manga. But if I’m being honest…I do want the story to get some sort of direction soon…otherwise I think I might drop it.

I can’t believe they did the “only one bed” trope in Dandadan. I like the frog design sense of this world… Momo and Zuma are a cute duo, and the last scene was super sweet, but I couldn’t bring myself to enjoy it because not only are Momo and Otarun obviously endgame, it’s kind of tiring that all three conventionally attractive guys in this friend group are interested in Momo (I mean the mecha otaku guy is also interested, but it’s played off as a joke because of course it is)… I can accept it with Jiji because the “childhood friend with whom you have a different sort of bond” thing was an interesting dynamic, especially as Jiji and Otarun became friends in their own right, but this is getting a little ridiculous… I need the non-Momo and non-Otarun members of this group to start being interested in each other!!! Give me some unexpected ship fodder!!! It’s ripe for fun teen drama, why are we concentrating all the guys on Momo and half the girls on Otarun when, by default, a bunch of those affections are going to end in failure?? Ugh.

Magilumiere whatever. Shigemoto and Sakura bonding was cute, but the rest of the chapter was just typical basic manga comedy stuff. Oh no this anime girl made some shockingly bad food, who could’ve guessed…

Chainsaw Man okay…I’ve been trying to ignore it, because being a mangaka is such a hazardous career and we’ve lost so many big names in recent years…but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the more detailed art style of Part 1. Finer linework aside, even the panel layouts of Part 1 felt more memorable and unique…it’s just a bit of a shame. I guess I just wish the whole industry was better, but there’d have to be so many changes for that to happen.

I can’t tell if I’m just having an off day where I find everything annoying, or if everything being slightly disappointing is making me have a bad day…agh.

Okay, at least the Undead Unluck episode was pretty good. The constant stops for attack name title cards were a little annoying for the fight’s momentum, but I get that they’re just trying to emulate the pop that those titles have in the manga. I appreciated some of the artsy direction, like Juiz shoving Remember in Victor’s head or the Andy/Fuuko kiss at the end…that panel was what got me to read the manga in the first place, so I have a soft spot for it. It’s also fun that this episode released around when the new manga chapter did, as we have these parallel discussions about soul and what they mean in the context of this world’s rules…it’s impressive that Tozuka really had things planned out to this extent.

Rewatched Succession season 3 episode 3 because I wanted to feel something (and watch something good to make up for the rest of today). This episode holds a special place in my heart for being the one where, when I watched it for the first time, I finally “got” the show. I had enjoyed season 1 and 2 a decent amount, but I kept waiting for bigger and more dramatic moments typical to a corporate drama, only to feel let down by the bathos and subtlety that Succession often likes to employ. But this episode was the one where everything finally clicked for me, and I understood the themes and tone that the show was trying to convey. The shifts of power between Kendall and Shiv are so subtle but gratifying to watch play out as this conflict intersects between the corporate and the personal and the familial – the Rape Me scene and the long Kendall walk down the hallway are both already all-timers, but the FBI raid at the end and Kendall watching it with the most ambiguous expression on his face is really just the cherry on top. As always, everything in Succession is firing on all cylinders at all times, but it’s done so masterfully that you don’t even notice it unless you’re actively thinking about it. It’s such a feast.

Tuesday

Against my better judgement, I’m watching Evilive, another Korean drama. I haven’t had good luck with K-dramas in the past (I’ve only watched two but they both pissed me off), and I’m sure this one is also rife with over the top ridiculous drama that’ll annoy me (oh boy this guy’s the EVILEST GUY and he’s gonna drag this other guy into his OHOHO EVIL SCHEMES for the ULTIMATE EVIL), but…goddammit the gifs of the big evil guy interacting with the older glasses guy were so intensely yaoiful that I had to see what this was about… They may not actually be gay, but I can enjoy the tension nonetheless.

So far it’s been okay. There were some eye-rolly moments, but I also enjoyed some of the more artful direction and shot composition.

Wednesday

Started watching Nisemonogatari because I needed something to pair with my dinner and it’s pretty fun so far. As ever, Monogatari’s set design feels so surreal but familiar, like they’re trying to capture the feeling of a location rather than its actual architecture. I think it’s fair to say that that’s my favourite part of the show so far. I only got through two episodes, and they’re a bit slow in terms of story, but I’m looking forward to learning more about Araragi’s little sisters.

Thursday

粉蒸肉 and DunMesh make a great pair, especially when today’s episode was as fantastic as I was hoping it’d be. It had an equal dose of everything – kinetic action, comedic moments, genuinely harrowing stakes, and a great hook for the ending. It was a given that the group’s well laid plans last episode would immediately go awry, but seeing each member of the group improvise and contribute their skills to the eventual victory is incredibly satisfying (as Laios says, they couldn’t have done it without everyone being there. Shoutout to Chilchuck for the knife throw that made me yell out loud when I read it for the first time). But Laios sacrificing his leg to get the kill is the highlight of the fight, and it really demonstrated his determination and love for Falin. I also love how they had to systematically cut through the dragon’s organs before finally finding Falin’s bones – DunMesh’s down to earth approach to the cycle of life and death and consumption makes their task feel all the more insurmountable and real. I really can’t wait to see this arc conclude next episode. (Also Marcille’s magic runes had sound effects that reminded me of Cardcaptor Sakura, and I liked that.)

Friday

I’m happy to see that Undead Unluck is continuing its strong episode streak, especially when Anno Un is one of my favourite characters and his backstory is so uniquely painful and heartwrenching…his family just being him and his mom drives the tragedy home even more when he seemingly disappears… But Anno finding meaning in his art is so important to me personally, and I feel like Tozuka really poured his heart out through this character. The other highlight of the episode was BUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!! BABY GIRL AGOO BNUUY!!!!!!!!!!! SHE’S SOOOOOOOOO CUTE AND BABY AHHHHHHHHH She’s reading manga!!!! NOOO SHE’S GETTING SLAPPING AND TOSSED AROUND AND HER LITTLE “WEH” AND THE WAY SHE’S SO SQUISHY AND ROUND AHHHHHHHHHH This was such a good episode. AND THE PREVIEW WITHOUT ANY NARRATION WAS SO CHILLING AND THEMATICALLY APPROPRIATE BECAUSE NOW ANNO DOESN’T KNOW WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Also wow Sean really got sliced in half huh. RIP, you’ll do better next time.

Saturday

Went outside for once, so there’s nothing for today.