#hard to organise and stand up to it with that few so people care more about keeping a low profile so they don’t get bothered

[zone-seven]

Thinking about zones culture...

(Before I get into this, please keep in mind that I see the DD universe as like 75 years removed from the literal apocalypse, so things like communication, transportation, and infrastructure are very different from our modern world, or even the real world 1950s. Add that to extreme poverty, and you get zone dwellers living 'only' 200km apart who don't necessarily know that much about each other first hand.)

Really there is no singular "zones culture". Well, there is in a sense — in the interplay between the collective cultures of the California Desert — but that's nobody's real culture. It's just the natural result of cultures colliding.

This half-real "Zones" culture is little things — like everybody knowing a little bit of English, but not because they speak it for real, just because it's the lingua franca between communities, and between the desert and Battery City. It's using the same ingredients in very different cuisines because those are what's available in this time and climate. It's dressing pretty differently but following similar principles, since everyone lives with the same relentless sun, dust, and drought. It's broad things that came about due to proximity or convenience, not necessarily out of a sense of community.

But then there are smaller, much real-er cultures — local ones, lone ones, town-by-town ones. It does tend to cluster in regions, and there is lots of crossover of course, but each settlement, whether 100 people or 10,000 people, has it's own norms and customs. There's a lot of dead space out there; neutral towns vary wildly in their languages, religions, beliefs, and values... and smart folks will know at least a bit about their immediate neighbours! It's hard not to, to be honest. Life in the desert of California (and maintaining sovereignty from Battery City) requires a decent bit of cooperation and willingness to form alliances.

Some of the biggest towns in the Zones — the few approaching that 10,000 citizens mark — have quite the influence on the settlements around them. The biggest of them even exert influence on the entirety of the Zones, being big enough to support things like newspapers and far-reaching radio stations. Even then, though, people really do value tradition and custom; they've fought tooth and nail to keep it, as did their parents, grandparents, and so on. The city is already after their culture. They're not friendly to people trying to change their ways.

Killjoy culture is a little different.

Killjoy culture, as I'm defining it in my canon, is primarily the culture of ex-citizens of Battery City. Of course, it is also describing a political movement, and these escapees are not totally isolated in their politics, so it also includes some people who were born in the desert. There are plenty of reasons why desert-borns dislike the city, though few take it so far as to join up with killjoys. Similarly, some immigrants from the city have no interest in the political fight and instead do their best to assimilate into (usually) one of the larger towns. Mainly, however, I think about Killjoy culture as being heavily influenced by Battery City, especially in ways that feel very 'un-city' and free to people who once lived there, but feel restrictive and extremely 'city' to anyone desert-born. It's sort of separate from the cultures of desert towns as a whole, because they do not interact nearly as much or on as good terms. Neutrals don't have the sort of wariness with each other as they do with 'joys.

So, I think killjoy culture is sort of false in the same way that "zones culture" is false. It exists, but it's built first and foremost around something other than its people. Well, that combined with whatever scraps of Old World (pre apocalypse) culture their family in the city managed to keep. Very “killjoy” to have one-of-a-kind cobbled together cultures like that.

Killjoys do have a sense of community, though neutrals often miss this because killjoy community looks different than theirs. Killjoys are often rather nomadic, and they're always scattered. A lot of their culture is in media, and in folklore, and in the few events that are important enough for mass gatherings. Different than typical zones folklore, which often follows certain themes — killjoy folklore is heavily influenced by lobby culture, including a lot of droid religion.

But folklore is another topic…

[maikissed]

always have always will

part 3 to post euro Jude Bellingham story I'm back with itttt eat up warning: yeah, there's smut

If you had to choose a word to define the change that made it’s way into your life, you’d call it all-consuming. You started to get to know some different, deep buried parts of yourself that you had never reached, absolutely rebuilding the well organised pattern you had been working hard for. Safe order and strict strategy kept numbing you for years and you did not even realise that it created an armoured blockage to keep away feelings you considered dangerous. People, you considered good and gentle but not suited for your desires. You could not settle for anything else, while your heart called for something it picked out so long ago. You’ve kept your love quiet and obedient, hidden, despite the fact it was eating at your soul. All this time it was here, for you to reach for, and it made you laugh and shake your head whenever you thought about it. Humans can be stubborn and silly.

You were about to see him, first time in two months, and you wanted to say you were nervous about it, yet it was not the truth. Your gaze focused on your leg, jumping in a quick rhythm, your fingers gracefully intertwined on your thighs. The weather was agonizingly hot, your body was hot, the AC blast set on the highest intensity in the cab did not help with your state at all. Furiously you grabbed the edges of the shirt you were wearing on your thin top, tearing it off your sweaty skin. The driver gave you a concerned look in the back mirror and you huffed under your breath realising you were indisputably excited to see the man that could not leave you at peace for even a moment. Your thoughts occupied by the ghost of him, your nights filled with wildest fantasies of him, tormenting to the point you had to actually do something about it. You missed him crazy.

“Hace mucho calor, no?” you joked nervously, trying to not look mad in this man’s presence.

But why did you care, to be honest?

He simply nodded and took a minute before he took his eyes away from you, looking back on the road. You realised your cleavage was quite unveiled after you stripped in the back of his car. The top low and tight on your chest. You scoffed under your breath.

You took just one step further after leaving your luggage near the main doors and you stopped in your tracks when Jude’s silhouette appeared from around the corner. A playful grin appearing on your lips as he noticed you, surprised expression painting itself on his pretty face. He did not smile back yet.

“You were supposed to come tomorrow” no reproach in his voice, just simple curiosity and a tad of teasing.

“I might have get the dates wrong” you swung on your feet, your hands connected low behind your back.

The anticipation.

“Liar” he scoffed, the glow in his eyes gave way for dark greediness.

Maybe you did lie with aim to surprise him.

“Hi” your voice sweet when you batted your eyelashes at him.

You were standing there, pathetically enamoured with him to the point of shameless flirt that flowed from your voice, your gaze and chest pressed up, your hands still behind your back innocently.

“Hi” he murmured and next everything happened quickly.

You started to run to him, reaching him first after he took a few steps your way, your hands wrapping around his neck as you jumped up into his arms. His hands gripping your thighs to keep you close and steady. No more words were needed now when you kissed, your movements rushed, excited, the press of your bodies and the touch of your lips filled with hunger and longing. He was merciless and you were trying to keep up with him. Placing you on the large table he leaned back to take a moment to look at you and you giggled when his hands reached under your skirt unexpectedly. A gentle smirk appearing on his lips at the sound.

“Up” he commanded and you hummed in amusement, mocking him in that manner.

“Eager much?” you joked as he hurriedly dragged your panties down your legs.

“I missed you” his eyes innocent, sparkly and sweet when he voiced it out.

But there was no innocence in the way he yanked the trousers belt to slide it off the loops fast and firmly. His gaze on you all the time but your own eyes travelled lower to watch these ministrations. The anticipation unbearable now. The sound of the zipper opening and you shivered thinking if you were prepared for him. No foreplay, no gentleness, just raw want and ache.

Stepping in between your legs he brought his face close to yours, not kissing you, just lingering there as he positioned himself. His breath fanning your skin, you did nothing yet, just let him adjust you on the edge of the table. It stung a little when he entered you and you groaned.

“Did you miss me?” he breathed against the skin of your cheek, pulling out and pressing back in, slow but thoroughly.

“Yes, oh God” you moaned surprised by the intensity of this experience.

You’ve never felt the high hit you so fast. Just a few pushes of his hips and you already felt like you might snap in a second. All-consuming. Your breathing uneven, your hands holding him close desperately, your lips searched for his. Sloppy as you both moaned into each other’s mouths. The big, heavy table screeching on the tiles when he sped up, you started to feel dizzy. Letting go of his arms you slowly laid down on your back, a scream leaving your lips when he gripped your hips, adding more force to his next thrust. Your heart beating so ruthlessly, you feared it might jump out of your chest. Somehow, you felt like you stopped breathing for a moment, a weak close-mouthed whimper, that turned out was yours, reached your ears.

“Do you want me to stop, love?” he asked but still kept fucking you with relentless pace.

“N-no” you whined “Harder” a whisper.

“Fuck” his voice shaky and his next push was almost painful for you.

But your body accepted it with pleasure as the first strong pull flexed your lower muscles. An overpowering wave bursting inside of you, hotness spreading up inside your veins, reaching your temples and ears. The next wave as powerful as the first. And another and then another, you cried as it seemed to not end just yet. One more and you surely were going to pass out. It became quiet out of the blue, your eyes closed, ringing in your ears. He picked you up by his arm wrapped around your torso and you sighed when your upper body slung onto him.

“Are you alright?” breathless question, his voice soft.

“Mhm” you hummed lazily.

“Are you hungry?”

“No, just tired”

He graced you with the sweetest smile helping you get down from the table. You weren’t the proudest of yourself when as soon as your feet reached the floor, you faltered on your week legs. He caught you in time, a short huff leaving his mouth.

“Careful”

“Uhuh, you have to carry me around now” your tiny joke brought a wide smile on his lips and he bent lower to pick you up.

You were absolutely excited about visiting Madrid, you adored Spanish sun, architecture and people. But the first two days you both spent enjoying each other’s company, since you had too little time for it unfortunately. The decision has been made, approved by both of you. This new relationship was very young still and you could not keep your hands to yourself most of the time. You were insanely besotted with each other, spending all mornings in bed, taking hour long showers, him close to you for the whole day. To be precise, you lived off of sex for two days straight. And the sex was wondrous. In the morning it was blissful when you were still rather drowsy, your body light and so delicate, responsive to the gentlest touches. Buried in the thin sheets, slow and lazy, wet, passionate kisses, soft gasps and murmurs into each other’s mouths and the eye-contact driving you mad, his dark eyes full of adoration. He loved the eye-contact, always craving your attention, and you were falling apart as soon as he stared into your eyes. It was the most powerful feeling. There were moments when you tried to shun from his intense, loving stare and it always amused him, delicate smile playing on his lips.

“Are you being shy on me, love?” his lips moving against yours gently, his voice deep.

You smiled, your eyes still stubbornly closed.

“No” you breathed.

“Then look at me” gently but demandingly.

And for course the moment you opened your heavy lids to grant him what he asked for, the next snap of his hips was quicker and more precise, pushing into you with force, making you feel so full. A breathless mewl escaping your lips, a low moan of his followed. But you kept his gaze.

“Good girl” and you were a mess.

You spent the next evening with his friends, a simple dinner on a massive, roof terrace, with cocktails and music. The atmosphere felt like true vacation on a Greek island, under warming sunset, beautiful horizon painting beneath it. You were nervous at first but after some time you relaxed, mixing both English and Spanish in the conversations. Jude’s friends had a little laugh at him, pointing that you were much better in speaking Spanish that him. He acted a bit offended at first but then added that you were much better than him in many things. Socializing with all these people turned out well, it was easier than you expected. It wasn’t exactly the fact that you struggled to make new acquaintances, you just felt some kind of pressure to make a good impression. Wanted to be seen as fitted for him. As the night went by you’ve noticed Jude watching you most of the time. His gaze did not slip your attention, as you parted for some time. Whenever you looked his was he was already looking back at you. His face bright, eyes focused but peaceful, you smiled at him and he smiled back with his honest, boyish smile you adored so much your whole life. You were standing few meters away from him, the eye-contact present still, your smile turning wider because at first it appeared quite funny to you. Like he was trying to say something or point something out and you couldn’t figure out what. He blinked and gulped, you noticed the bob of his throat. His eyes never wandering lower, down your body, as he did earlier, just gazing straight at your face. You blinked remembering you’ve noticed him look at you this way before, couple of times during your whole friendship. But it always seemed like you’ve caught him on it, his head turning the other way nervously as you looked back. This time he kept his gaze on you, confident and sure. You’re his.

He was very calm as he followed you into the house later that night. You were yapping, of course you were, you granted yourself with a few delicious strawberry margarita drinks and you felt overjoyed. The fact that you have to part in few days forgotten for now. He was silently listening to your talking and observing you.

“What?” you giggled standing in the middle of the living room, your face flushed, you were a little breathless.

He came up to you, a smirk on his face but his eyes still calm, not mischievous. His finger rising up to hold up your chin, your deep, shiny pupils gazing at him.

“I want to marry you” he muttered and you bit your lip, a wide smile trying to break through.

Yes! Of course! Yes, please! – a loud scream inside your head.

“I can’t marry you now, Jude” you commented seeing that your answer did not affect him.

“Why not?” he asked with a frown, the ghost of a smile still there.

“Because all of this is still fresh!” you punctuated, always reasonable.

“We know each other since diapers” he sneered, more seriousness in his voice.

And he was right, of course. But at the back of your head there was still a minuscule bundle of fear, almost creating pain as it kept pressing on your skull, that if you take a one wrong step, everything might crumble and the heartbreak following would be too great for you to live with.

You huffed wondering if he was joking, or maybe testing you?

“Yes, but…” you tried but he interrupted you.

“I can go and get a ring first thing in the morning”

You laughed.

“You’re not being serious. And you don’t even know my size”

“Oh, I do know” he licked his lips, his brows up as he smiled at you again.

You stood there, flabbergasted, eyeing him cautiously.

“How the hell do you know? I don’t even wear rings” your voice funnily judgmental.

“It’s a secret”

He embraced you but you placed your hands on his chest to watch his expressions.

“Liar” you stated, your gaze hard and daring.

He put more force into his hold and pressed you closer to him, kissing you on the lips before you could jest more with him. He pulled back, a nonchalant smirk on his lips.

“Marry me” he whispered before kissing you again.

“No” you fought, your lips desperately pressed close to spite him.

“Yes, marry me”

You started to wriggle against him but there was no way you could escape his strong grasp.

“No” you laughed breathlessly, your body pressed against his hard chest.

Somehow it felt the way your little disputes used to feel when you were younger. It brought back the best of memories. Despite the fact that the subject felt rather serious for the age you were in, but when considered it seemed not so complicated and consequential at all. Felt right.

Most likely annoyed with your resistance he bent down very low and picked you up swiftly, you screamed as your head flung low upside down on his back, your hips on his arm, legs in the air.

“That’s unfair!” you squeaked as he started to walk in the direction of the stairs “Put me down” you pressed the heels of your palms on his spine.

“You’re being difficult, have to be handled” he muttered, keeping you in place with his strong hold.

“You can’t settle everything by force!” you brawled and the last scream escaped your chest as you landed abruptly on the bed in his room.

Swiftly he rested above you, his eyes huge and shiny.

“I love you” he breathed “Always have, always will. Marry me”

Your lungs empty, your heart full, limbs tingling, skin warmed, mind quiet. You blinked at his strong confession. No query in his eyes, no doubt. The truth has been there for the longest time. On the both sides.

You started to laugh softly, but not in mockery, not in rejection. The laugh voicing out the obviousness, the joy and pride of the place you’ve finally managed to reach. 21 years later and you were free.

“Of course I’ll marry you, you lunatic” you joked with a full smile “I love you so much” and this last sentence close to bring you to tears.

“You’re so strange” he chuckled before kissing you deeply and passionately.

Many more I love you’s was brought by the rest of your night.

[lavenderchqn]

Congrats on 300 followers!! Your works are so lovely, and theyre so fun to read!! 💕

For the library expansion special event, i'd love for a hurt/comfort written fic with tighnari that involves the reader being injured? Like, reader survives but barely, and then nari is so worried taking care of them 🥹

(I have no idea if I did the request right but regardless, congratulations on the milestone again!! And thank you for your hard work 🩷 drink lots of water and take care of yourself!!)

"BELLIS PERENNIS"

synopsis — An accident happens while you're preparing Gandharva Ville for Sabzeruz Festivals' celebrations, luckily Tighnari is there to nurture you back to health... pairings — tighnari x gn!reader warnings — hurt/comfort; mentions of an injury (nothing graphic stated); notes — tysm for this request as well as the kind words! tighnari is a very special boi, so I'm absolutely delighted to be writing for him~ I've actually had something of this caliber in mind for text/written scenarios so I'm delighted for your request. Please also make sure to be taking good care of yourself, anon 🫶

As soon as the calendars mark the start of October, the people of Sumeru begin preparations for their cherished tradition: the Sabzeruz Festival, a celebration honouring their beloved archon. Sumeru’s City streets and squares are adorned with vibrant decorations, fragrant flowers and colourful lanterns light up the bustling markets. Music can be heard everywhere as musicians practice for the grand performance on the day of the archon’s birthday. 

And you? You’re in charge of dressing up Gandharva Ville instead of Tighnari, as he’s on the committee related to the Parade. Thanks to your position as his partner, all forest rangers are eager to help whatever vision you wish to bring to life. To them, it’s somewhat refreshing to be under the guidance of someone else other than their resident Valuka Shauna. 

Currently, your beloved partner is out assisting with yet another brilliant idea of the equally brilliant Madame Faruzan and Kaveh. With no commissions relating to Sumeru’s ecosystem to be done by your friends, the time to decorate the tiny city comes. In all fairness, you all want to get done with it as soon as possible — flora-related issues can pop up out of nowhere… and you promised Tighnari not to over-extort your body.

With the help of Collei, who is surprisingly joining you in the decorating process, you split the tasks among the rangers, assigning each of them to different areas of the village: some will gather additional flowers, others will craft garlands, and a few will set up the lanterns. In your mind, you can envision the vibrant flora adorning the trees and houses, illuminating the Ville like a shimmering and colourful garden. 

At first, everything goes smoothly, allowing you and the younger girl to assist each group in completing the tasks. The garland-making process is by far the most time-consuming, requiring much precision and some “aesthetic” knowledge. The longer it goes, the more and more people join in creating said wreaths, taking over for people tired and with hurt friends. 

As time goes on and on, it gets relatively close to the time Tighnari is supposed to return from Port Ormos. By this point, you’re hanging up the flowery decorations on the trees, balancing on a ladder. Unlike the early morning, people now scatter chaotically. Everyone is hurrying up to finish their part, wanting Tighnari to witness Gandharva Ville in its most beautiful state. With everyone being everything but organised, concentrating on getting the job done is less than easy. Now you have to put up with people knocking into you on accident, messing up your balance.

Just as you’re about to secure another garland, a murmur spreads through the crowd. The word is that Tighnari has been sighted approaching the Ville. This news sends a ripple of excitement — and panic — through everyone. Collei, standing nearby, shoots you a wide-eyed glance before you break into a grin. 

“Alright, everyone!” You call out, clapping your hands to draw people’s attention. “Let’s finish strong so Tighnari can see the full splendour of our hard work!” 

In the rush that follows, people are hurrying to put the finishing touches on the decorations. Rangers are darting back and forth, carrying last-minute additions and adjusting already hung to ensure everything looks flawless. You return your focus to your task, carefully tying the last garland to a branch, breathing steadily to keep your balance despite the chaotic movement below. 

But as you’re about to tie off the final knot, someone below bumps into the ladder, sending it into a wobble. It sways beneath you, throwing you off balance. Your hand instinctively reaches out to grab something, anything, to steady yourself, but there’s nothing within reach. Your heart is pounding as you brace for a fall, feeling the world tilt as the ladder tips further. 

As there’s nothing to catch you… you have an unfortunate meeting with the ground. You can feel something breaking, as you’re knocked out. Darkness envelops you, swallowing the sounds of bustling rangers who now gather around you worried. Slowly, consciousness returns in fragments — voices now hushed, a gentle touch, and a dull, throbbing ache pulsing through your body. 

Blinking your eyes open, you’re greeted by the leafy canopy roof, blurring and swimming in your vision. It takes a moment to orient yourself and take a deep breath, only to feel a sharp, burning pain in your chest.

“Hey, hey, don’t move too much,” A familiar voice says gently. You look up and see Tighnari’s concerned face hovering above you, his brows knit in worry.

“Nari…” You manage to murmur, wincing as his fingers graze your shirt. You can notice a stash of makeshift bandages on a stool nearby. Collei is nowhere to be found, leaving you as the only two in your partner’s abode. 

“You took quite the fall,” Tighnari says softly, his voice both reassuring yet stern. “We’re still waiting for a doctor from Bimarstan to arrive and asses your situation further. We’re quite lucky nobody else was injured. What I cannot explain, however, is why you were climbing ladders without anybody spotting you.” He tries to keep his tone light not to worry you, but it’s easy to tell he’s genuinely concerned. 

You open your mouth to explain, but all that comes out is a cough and you try to grab your chest in pain. Your partner is right in front of you, catching your hands — worried that your fall might’ve resulted in some injury there. 

“Having trouble breathing?” He asks, crouching with your hands still in his. As soon as you reply with a slight nod, his expression changes to a one of worry. Perhaps the situation is worse than he initially predicted. 

“Master! The doctor is here, can we come in?” Collei’s voice echoes, gathering the attention of you both. Gosh, you hope the young girl doesn’t blame herself for your injury. You don’t even want to think about potentially adding more stuff onto her plate of worries. 

“Oh,” Tighnari leaves you be for a second, opening the door to the hut. “But of course. [Y/N] is also awake now.” 

With a quick nod, the doctor enters carefully not wanting to startle you. He can overhear the whispers of your issues with breathing. Regardless of what happened, a thorough examination is in order. According to the words of the young forest ranger, your fall was quite brutal. 

“Mr. Tighnari,” The doctor calls out to your partner as he steps outside. “I’ve concluded my check-up.” 

Tighnari’s ears perk up, focused as he nods for the doctor to continue. He’s trying his best to keep his composure, but you can see the worry in his expression as he waits to hear about the findings. 

The doctor’s done is steady and professional as he speaks. “Your partner has a broken rib. That can explain the chest pain and difficulty breathing. Fortunately, your partner hasn’t fallen all that bad, otherwise rather than a patient… you would’ve had a dead body on your hands.” Despite uttering such words, his posture is unnerved. 

That cannot be said about Tighnari. His eyes are wide with shock, as he tries to comprehend if the doctor is trying to make a joke. Nobody, not even Cyno, would been so brave as to joke about a person dying — his soulmate dying, most specifically. 

“It will take careful attention and time for the rib to heal properly. I’ve wrapped their chest to provide some support, but they’ll need to avoid any strain for the next few weeks.” He pauses, giving Tighnari a meaningful look. “They should take some time off work, heaven knows what you rangers do to patrol Avidya Forest.” 

Tighnari releases a quiet sigh of relief, nodding as he absorbs the information, deciding to omit the thought of your death from his mind. “Thank you, doctor.” He says, voice steady but softened by gratitude. “I’ll make sure they rest and follow your instructions.” 

The doctor gives a small, reassuring nod before leaving. Collei, however, hovers nearby, visibly anxious. Tighnari, picking up on her distress, gestures for her to come closer.

“Collei, it’s alright,” He says gently, giving her a comforting smile. “They’ll be fine, they just need time to recover. Don’t worry — it was an accident, nobody is at fault here.” 

Her shoulders relax slightly, though she still looks at you apologetically. “[Y/N], I… I’m so sorry. I should’ve kept a better eye,” She says, her voice shaky. 

Despite the dull ache in your chest, you manage a small, reassuring smile. “Don’t blame yourself. I’m,” You pause to take a breath. “I’m not upset… and neither should you.” 

“Oh, um— o-okay…” 

Tighnari places a hand on her shoulder, giving her a supportive squeeze. “You’ve done everything you could. I’m very proud of you for taking charge. Now that everything is in order, you can rest as well. We’ve all put in a lot of effort, you know.” 

With a hesitant nod, Collei finally allows herself to relax. She murmurs a quick farewell and leaves, casting one last concerned glance your way. 

Once you’re alone, Tighnari sits beside you, his expression soft as he takes your hand. “You had me worried,” He admits quietly, brushing a thumb over your knuckles. “You’re not getting out of my sight for a while, I guess?” 

You cannot help but chuckle, which immediately turns into a wince as pain flares up in your chest. Tighnari’s grip tightens ever so slightly, brows furrowed in concern. 

“See?” He says. “This is why you’re under strict bedrest. No adventures until you’re fully healed AND approved by the doctor.” 

You sigh in response, resigned but comforted by his soulmate. “Fine, fine. I guess I have to behave now.” You reply, meeting his gaze with a hint of a smile. 

No more than three weeks pass by as you realise being bedridden is quite boring. Sure Collei, Tighnari and even Cyno are here to keep you company while you get better, yet you're still aching to go out to witness the Sabzeruz Festival in person. You’re quite certain that at this point, every place of Sumeru is decorated to the nines and yet you’re stuck in your silly little bed. 

“Drink slowly,” Tighnari says as he settles a glass of water on your nightstand. Over the past few weeks, your partner has truly evolved into his final form — a mother hen. Ever since the first day of your recovery, he has been granting your every wish. Fluffing over pillows? He’s done it. Feeding you? Complied with an eye roll. And yet, there was one thing he wouldn’t allow you to do… Leaving the hut. It has been so long since you’ve been outside, you were unsure if you knew how to walk still. 

“Oh, thank you,” You pick up the glass and slowly bring it up to your mouth.“You shouldn’t have.” You say, taking a sip. 

Tighnari’s watchful eye doesn’t leave you for a second, ensuring you’re drinking slowly enough not to cause yourself any harm. “Oh please, darling,” He rolls his eyes, scoffing at your preposterous comment. “It’s my pleasure to help out my soulmate in their time of need.” 

“I know, I know…” You sigh, taking a look outside. 

The garlands are still hanging in the branches, adoring Gandharva Ville’s trees with beautiful shades of pink and blue. Oh, how you long to witness this beauty in person, rather than from the confines of your bed. No matter how much you tried to hide said desire from Tighnari, there was simply no use. The male knew of every single one of your thoughts, whether you liked it or not. 

“You know,” Tighnari sits next to the bed, resting his head on his hand. “Maybe we could take a walk today? I think it would do you good.” 

Your eyes light up at his words, though you quickly try to compose yourself, not wanting to appear too eager. After all, Tighnari’s been strictly enforcing your rest, and far too much excitement might have him second-guess the idea. “A walk?” You ask, trying to sound calm but failing as a hint of hope slips into your voice. 

He chuckles, eyes warm as he observes your expression. “Yes, a short walk,” Tighnari emphasises, “Only around the village, and only if you promise to let me know if anything feels off. We don’t want you taking any more tumbles.” 

You nod, lifting your pinky finger. “I’ll take it easy.” 

With his support, you ease out of bed, feeling the cool, earthy air of Gandharva Ville wash over you. The decorations are even more enchanting up close, just as they were on the day you put them up. Villagers and forest rangers greet the two of you as you pass by, each offering a smile and words of encouragement — relieved to see you up and about. 

Tighnari keeps a steady pace beside you, his arm linked with yours as he leads you through the village. He looks at you every so often, making sure you’re okay. He cannot risk you any other injury so quickly, otherwise the doctor’s cruel joke might come to fruition. 

For all this time, he had been keeping up a front of being worried… in moderate amounts. On the insides, for the past few weeks, Tighnari had been a nervous wreck. Juggling preparations for the festival while taking care of you was no easy feat. And yet, seeing you up and moving at least fills him with a deep, quiet relief.

“Are you okay there?” He asks softly. There’s a tenderness in his eyes, one that shows how much he’s missed seeing you this lively.

“Better than okay,” You reply with a smile, though you do your best not to overdo it, worried about the ache in your chest. “Everything looks so beautiful. It’s like… exactly how I’d imagined it.”

Tighnari chuckles. “Good to know the work has upheld the planner’s expectations.” He sighs a little. “Though I’d much rather have you safe and sound than climbing ladders. Please… leave the high work to someone else next time, you hear me?” 

“Okay, okay—“ You nod, feeling gratitude mixed with guilt. “I never meant to make you worry.” 

“I know. There was just…” His expression grows serious. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt as helpless as when I saw you there on the ground…” 

The admission hangs in the air, as does the silence that comes soon after. Stopping for a second, you reach out to Tighnari, to wrap yourself around him in a gentle hug. “You took amazing care of me… I couldn’t have asked for more.” 

He nuzzles his head with yours, not wanting to put any pressure on your body, grounding himself in said reassurance. “Well,” He says, his voice lingering. “You’re gonna have to let me fuss a little longer. I’ll watch you like a hawk until that rib is fully healed.” 

“As if you weren’t doing so already…” 

date of posting — november 4th 2024

[orcasoul]

Joel Miller Headcanons:

Joel When You Defend Him

Warnings: Swearing, violence, fluff.

Joel is always ready to protect those he loves so i thought it about high time he had someone look out for him.

Word Count: 1,694

Joel didn't want to be here tonight but he did it for you. He'd do anything for you, even put up with the exuberant crowd deafening his good ear. On a normal night at the Tipsy Bison, he'd be quietly nursing a glass of whiskey, relaxing in the company of two of the very few people he loves the most; you and Tommy. But tonight isn't a normal night.

A surprise birthday party had been organised on the quiet for one of Jackson's most senior patrol men. Joel knew you'd been itching to go as you hadn't stopped talking about it for the past week, even offering to help with the decorations. Usually he would pass on large gatherings like this, preferring not to draw too much attention and stares from some judgmental arseholes, who'd decided that his relationship with you was inappropriate. A dirty old man taking advantage of a younger woman.

In truth you look far younger than your actual age of 38. Most people assumed you were in your mid to late twenties when you'd arrived in Jackson with Joel and Ellie. After a little while, most people had become more accepting of his relationship with you, especially once it became obvious what you both mean to each other. But there's always a few bad apples in the bunch, who love nothing more than to gossip and judge.

If Joel was being honest with himself, he couldn't give a shit about people's opinions of him. He's not here to impress anyone, and if someone doesn't like him, he won't lose any sleep over it. However, he will not stand for anyone bad mouthing you. He'd be more than happy to rip the tongues out of anyone who dared to disrespect you, and Ellie for that matter. But at the same time, he wouldn't want to cause a scene when you're all trying to assimilate into a community with rules and standards reminiscent of a society long passed.

That's why he'd usually distance himself from most social gatherings, that, and to protect you from any unnecessary tattle. But after you'd all but begged him to come, insisting that you don't care what people might think, how proud you are to be able to call him yours and how much you want to live a normal life with him, including experiencing everything that normal couples do, how could he refuse you? Especially when you use your greatest weapon against him; your big doe eyes! Damn it, you knew just how to break him down.

So that's how he ended up here tonight, much to the astonishment of Tommy and Maria. And Joel had to admit it was worth it, just to see you enjoy yourself. He could bask in your infectious small all night long, his chest filling with warmth and pride at how easily most people have taken to you in your short time here. A group of women your age had pulled you into conversation and as a result you'd spent part of the night bouncing back and forth between them and the table where Joel, Tommy and Maria sat.

But you were never gone too long, seemingly unable to keep yourself away from Joel. That was just the pull you two had on each other, both the moths to each other's flames. Joel had noticed some glares and sneers from a few women at a nearby table, (women who'd tried gaining his favour in the past, and didn't handle the rejection well) while you obliviously snuggled under his arm, planting a chaste kiss on his cheek. But as long as you didn't notice and they kept to themselves, he'd let it go.

"Be right back, handsome," you cooed into Joel's ear before making your way to the group you'd been getting to know. Joel got up a few moments later to get another round in. The music from the jukebox close to the bar and the lively chatter of drunken patrons made it hard, but not impossible for Joel to hear his name being mentioned. Glancing over his shoulder he could see it was the three women who'd been watching him earlier. He turned his good ear to their conversation.

"I can't believe he shamelessly flaunts their... 'relationship'...," a dark haired woman spat the last word out as if it had the worst taste imaginable, "like it's no big deal." "You'd think they'd have the decency to keep their affection behind closed doors," another woman, a redhead scoffed. Joel gripped the edges of the bar, his knuckles turning white. These sour hags were getting dangerously close to crossing a line by referring to you as well. Joel could feel his his anger building, a fragile thread about to snap.

"Let's face it, creeps like him always go for the younger girls because nothing droops yet," a blond woman snarked, which garnered a giggle from the others, "She's probably some dumb, naive airhead with daddy issues. He probably controls her every move, and being a doormat, she probably likes it. I can't even imagine what they'd even talk about. He should try a real woman." The women laugh conspiratorially.

Joel has heard enough. He turns to the table, eyes blazing and fists clenched so tightly he can hear the crack of his knuckles. But before he can take even one step towards them, his brows raise in surprise. Blondie let's out a high pitched shriek as your hand buries itself in her hair, pulling her head back to look directly up at you, her two friends watching in horror.

"Let's get one thing straight...," you seethed, menacingly into Blondie's fear filled eyes, "Our relationship and what we talk about is none of your fucking business. I'm sick of bitter bitches like you...' you fix her friends with an icy stare, "judging us and painting Joel as some kind of pervert. You sheltered pussys have no idea what we went through to get here, and the last thing Joel needs or deserves is hate. He defends this settlement and this is how your repay him?! You three don't deserve to breathe the same air as him!"

Joel is frozen to the spot, mouth agape. A meteorite couldn't move him right now. He hasn't seen you this angry since you'd learned what the Fireflies had planned to do with Ellie, that same murderous look darkening your eyes, now reignited for him. No one has ever defended him with such ferocity before. He's not sure if he's even worth such love and devotion. A strange new feeling washes over him like a warm blanket, and he likes it.

He knows how much you love him, never doubted it for a second, and now watching you defend his honour, looking ready to kill this bitch for him, leaves him in awe of you. For the first time in... god knows how long, Joel feels important, significant. He never realised he could mean that much to someone. God, he loves you! He would burn the world to ashes for you, just like you would for him. A gratifying smirk dances across his face as he takes in, not just the shocked faces of the trio, but also the stunned expressions of those within the vicinity.

Clearly, everyone here had underestimated you, but they won't after tonight. His feisty, fearless, loyal girl! Joel is bursting with pride at your resolve and tenacity. Blondie begs for release while grabbing your fist full of hair. "Please, I'm sorry! You're ripping my hair out!" You tug back further, tightening your grip even more, just to make it clear who has the upper hand here. Lowering your head beside hers, you growl, "Let this be a warning to all of you; if you breathe one more bad word about him, hair loss will be the fucking least of your worries!"

And with that you yank out a clump of hair, just for good measure, as you finally release your hold, causing Blondie to yelp in pain. You purposefully walk over to Joel, softness shining behind your eyes again and gently lace your fingers with his. "Come on, let's get out of here, honey" you whisper tenderly, a juxtaposition to the fury lacing your words only moments ago. Still reeling from your impressive and, quite frankly, arousing display, Joel follows you outside, wordlessly, but not before throwing a glance over his shoulder to see Maria with her jaw on the floor and Tommy trying and failing to suppress an amused grin.

Once outside, Joel stops as you turn to face him. "I'm so sorry Joel. You didn't deserve that," you say shaking your head and looking to the ground. "What are you apologising for?" Joel asked, incredulously. "This wasn't your fault." "It is...," you insist, vehemently, "I made you come tonight. I know you stay home a lot cause of what people say about you and it was wrong of me to force you to-"

"Darling..." Joel tilts your chin up until your eyes meet his, "I couldn't care less what they say about me. It's you I was worried about. I only stayed away to protect you, but I was wrong to do that. Fuck them! I was about to fill their worthless mouths for them, but you beat me to it...," Joel slaps his hands to your arse, pulling you flush to his body, drawing a delighted gasp from you as he presses his growing erection into your belly, "and it was the hottest fucking thing, seeing you stand up for me like that."

Joel watches as you bite your lower lip, knowing exactly how this night is going to end. "Hmm...," you sigh, seductively, hands slowly travelling the broad muscles of his chest. "liked that did you?" Your tongue flicks out, barely brushing his plush lips. "What do you think!" Joel growled lowly, pressing his length against you even harder. "Then take me home and show me just how much you liked it." Joel chuckled darkly as he bent down and threw you over his shoulder, power walking to your shared home. Tonight, you are in for a treat!

[filmbyjy]

COLLIE DUTY

SYNOPSIS > being the new CEO to the ‘Sim Corp’ was hard and stressful. jake didn’t have much time to spend with layla and so he decides to get a dogsitter, you. though, you were originally already his secretary. how will dog sitting bring you two closer?

THIRTY-SIX – intimate yet seductive smell

you had entered the building, exaggerating your walk a little to make your curves stand out more. multiple men that worked in the office stared at you, their jaws dropping instantly.

just as you arrived at the office floor you worked at, someone grabs your waist. you knew exactly who it was. that cologne. that intimate yet seductive smell.

“Mr.Sim.”

“yes?”

“what are you doing.”

“there were a bunch of people who were staring at you-”

“I know but you aren’t my boyfriend so why should you care?” you had fired back. jake sighs.

“I know. I know I messed up, I shouldn’t be acting this way. Acting like some possessive guy when I already hurt you a bunch of times.”

“that’s great that you realise that. now, if you could excuse me sir. I have some work to do, being your secretary doesn’t mean I can just slack off. I still have a bunch of paperwork to attend to.” you say before pushing jake’s hand that was still around your waist.

your heels clacking as you had walked over to your desk. jay decides to walk over.

“ah, it’s nice to see jake all fired up in the morning. want coffee?”

“tea would be great.” you told jay.

“alright, I’ll come back in a bit.” he winks at you before leaving to the pantry area.

jake wanted to say something to you but he just decides to look down in shame and walk over to his office. a few hours flew by, everyone went to have lunch. just as you stood up ready to visit the staff cafeteria in the building, a familiar pair of arm wraps around waist.

“I miss you.” was all he says. his voice sounding fragile and almost broken. you could tell he was holding back some tears but you knew you had to stand your ground and make jake suffer a little (or possibly more).

you pushed his hand away and untangled yourself from him. “I’m sorry, sir. I have to leave, I am quite famished so whatever business you have can delayed after lunch. besides, this is still personal business so after work would work better.”

the flash of hurt on jake’s face didn’t go unnoticed. however, he understood why you were acting this way.

“sorry.” jake mutters in a defeated and sad tone. just like a puppy sulking.

and this went on for the whole week, even another 3 weeks later. jake would try to talk to you but you would reject his apologies and any form of him wanting to talk to you. you could tell he was cracking. it was starting to affect his work too. which was not good. he wasn’t listening much to the meetings that the fashion department had organised and he would leave in the middle of it. it caused some of the employees to think their work wasn’t good and had to be improved on.

in reality, jake was just distracted. his feelings were all over the place. he just simply didn't know how to act. this was the first time he really had to do something or else he'd lose the girl he really likes. sure, audrey was his first love and he lost her but he couldn't really fight his dad's orders so he had to stay in Seoul or else, this whole thing wouldn't even happen in the first place.

and since jake has now stood up to his dad, he finally has the freedom to do what he once would've done for audrey. to fight for his love for you instead. however, how was he going to do so when he had zero clue on what to do other than let you give him the silent treatment. jake knew it was easy to just use the money he had worked on but spending heaps of money for you was not a way to truly show his feelings to you.

"still nothing?" sunghoon says as he practically manspreads on the couch in the lounge area. ningning kicks his knees, the male could only wince at the pain.

"sit properly you fuck." ningning barks.

"why are you even here?" sunghoon bites back.

"(name) is my best friend, why are you here?"

"for moral support and my friend is an idiot."

"well-"

"you two should get a room and go fuck." jungwon rolls his eyes.

"oh? new ship? ningning noona and sunghoon hyung. ninghoon. sungning." ni-ki adds. sunghoon throws the pillow and it hits ni-ki right on his face.

"where is jay?" sunghoon says after he does a small celebration for successfully hitting ni-ki right in the face with the pillow.

"probably making out with some employee-"

jay walks in with jake. he had pinched the boy's poor ears while walking in. jake could only accept in and walk in the room in defeat.

"brought this fucker here. now, speak. tell the others, specifically (name) what you wanted to say."

jake looks around the room. he could tell the tension was definitely a little tense. heeseung and hyunjin had cracked their knuckles in case. felix, san and hongjoong were ready to hold them back but they were also watching jake warily. one wrong move and he would be beaten up like a tenderized beef.

"umm." jake starts off. his eyes met with yours. then he did something he could only think of. he got on his knees. everyone was in shock even you.

"(name), i-i know this isn't exactly how our relationship or umm whole umm."

"spit it out." sunghoon says. jake sends sunghoon a small glare.

"ever since the start. meeting you when you crashed into me and spilt coffee on me and then seeing you during the interview. working with you for 4-5 years. i was harsh to you during those early days, hell even year. i am just a grumpy, young CEO who doesn't know how to control his emotions. I never knew how to control myself. I just shut myself out and block any form of feelings when it comes to working with girls.”

“but then…those feelings I never knew I had for you started blooming quickly and I was terrified. I wanted to stop myself, what if…I would get hurt again like how I did with Audrey. I didn’t want to go through it again. But then Layla…she loved you instantly, it warmed my heart. she accepted you when she’s never easily warmed up to people. I knew there was something.”

jake steps forward and carefully reaches out to cup one of your cheeks, his hands were shaking. “so, (name). I know I’m not the best guy. I hurt you twice by pushing you away and being a jerk. no words can ever express how sorry I am.”

when you don’t say a single word, jake was about get down on his knees, you gasp and held his hand.

“wait, don’t get on your knees. please.”

“but I did so much bad-”

“I forgive you.” you finally say.

dead silence.

“WHERE IS THE GIRLBOSS MOMENT??” Sunghoon yells.

you would’ve answered but with jake’s lips against yours, you couldn’t. the way his hands gently held onto your waist. it causes goosebumps against your skin, it felt good. really good.

“woah woah.” heeseung pulls jake away from you. it almost look like he was holding a kitten by the nape of its neck. “this is supposed to go on for more episodes, why cave in easily.”

“because they’re stupidly in love and I hate it here.” hyunjin says.

“they’re made for each other, how cute.” sunghoon sarcastically says.

heeseung drops jake’s collar and sighs. “you better not hurt my best friend again or I will plot a manhunt on you. it will involve the FBI and other authorities.”

jake nods quickly. clearly, judging by heeseung’s tone. he was not joking around so jake didn’t want to mess with him.

“so…is this finally end of war?” sunoo asks.

both you and jake looked at each other and then back at the others before nodding.

“YAY!! WAR IS OVER!! I can finally go back to working normally around you two.” ni-ki jumps.

“what do you mean?” you asked as your head titled.

“have you never noticed? 4 years working with you guys and you’ve never noticed the sexual tension?” ni-ki says.

“uh…”

“damn, you two are fucking oblivious as fuck.”

just as you opened your mouth, you felt jake’s hand (that was on your waist) squeeze your sides. it shuts you up real quick. you turned to meet his gaze and you swore, someone or something was under that gaze cause jake was definitely not there.

“they’re eye fucking each other in front of us.” hyunjin yells as that was the last thing you heard before you were completely focused on the man right beside you.

no thoughts…just sim jaeyun, your boss

and now…your boyfriend.

-

MASTERLIST | PREVIOUS | NEXT

a/n: ewww it’s disgusting how long I took to write this💀 my brain went holiday mode guys🤚🏻 so sorry, but I’m back more than ever and I am scheduling more chapters. who knows, I might have them queued🤫🤫

taglist[closed]: @svarcq @wooonkies @ajayke-reads @peachysunooooo @xiaoderrrr @viagumi @lunakua @bubblytaetae @aureliaxuuu @nikiluvr16 @sngvhs @watermelon-sugars-things @bldelaine @enhaz1 @yeoungie @heart4hees @mimimovv @enczen @enhastolemyheart @woon2u @kyanmeai @4townn @skzenhalove @s00buwu @ce1ight @markleepooh @sparklingsjy @rizzshimura @bluxjun @beomgyusonlywife @jyndre @blamemef0rit @fanfangying1304 @kwiwin @heart4hees @luxurystark-jackson @yunjardi @ioszzn @mrowwww @bluriki @25dejulho @neoculturewhat @wtfhyuck @dianzed @143lele @ajybeo @teddywonss @nyfwyeonjun @alwayswook @shinrjj @manooffline @heavenhannie @bmnyy17 @jayujus

(bolded can’t be tagged)

[oldmannapping]

HC Batfam sexualities. NSFW.

Note: I’m aging everyone up for this. Damian’s 17. Not gonna put a label on a 9 year old.

Bruce: Considers himself straight.

Considers any non-straight feelings or experiences he’s ever had as “interesting” and adds them to his personal file on himself.

Ardent believer in the Kinsey scale as a literal measurement tool and takes the test every 18 months to monitor any sexuality fluctuations so they aren’t an unknown variable that might impact his Batmanning.

Dick: Apologetically straight.

Aware of his huge LGBTQIA+ following as Nightwing (and to a lesser extent, as socialite Dick Grayson). Passionate supporter of LGBT+ rights and vocal patron of many charities and organisations.

Experimented thoroughly during his teen years and regrets some unfortunate paparazzi pictures taken during that time, as he worries that he was inadvertently queer-baiting with his public persona.

Loves love, loves to see it, accepts everyone. Oldest-child guilt for not being queer because he doesn’t want to disappoint anyone.

Told Bruce to stop making them all do the Kinsey scale because it’s creepy and invasive.

Jason: Doesn’t think about it.

Is pretty sure he’s straight, but has definitely had at least mild crushes on a few male figures in his life and in the media over the years. Has jerked off thinking about guys but never analysed it.

Sex isn’t his priority but he meets his needs when he has to, same as eating and sleeping.

Feels anger more than lust. Sees people as threats or targets more than sexual beings. Gets in his own head about the injustices of the world and doesn’t realise he has an unrelated boner.

Duke: Identifies as straight.

Has dated a trans girl, would be open to dating non-binary people, considers himself straight because he’s not into labels and considers trans women real women with no asterisks.

Romantic to his own detriment. Can come on too hard and fall too easily.

Can’t jerk off to someone he has a crush on in real life because he thinks it’s creepy.

Tim: Memorised every single sexuality definition and read seven books before settling on bisexual.

Thinks the Kinsey scale is outdated and irrelevant. Drafting a 350-question sexuality spectrum test for Bruce to use instead. Will recommend its implementation twice a year.

Forgets to think about sex until something minor triggers it and then he can’t focus on anything else. Obsessive.

Overthinks sexual encounters and is highly likely to read - and take the advice of - Cosmo sex tips. Bernard got him listening to Savage Love which was much more helpful for their relationship.

Steph: Has privately identified as queer for years but never bothered coming out.

Had some revelatory experiences with other women. Generally prefers men but her best orgasm was with a woman.

Owns an impressive and practical range of vibrators. Always packs one in her go-bag for missions, next to mace and her spare lockpick.

Is deeply glad she never slept with Tim because she thinks he’d overthink it and it would have been awkward, and made their friendship weird.

Damian: Thinks of himself as “currently straight”.

Likes to stand out for his skills and superior bloodline, not for his position outside mainstream social norms.

Doesn’t care about fitting in but doesn’t want to announce his sexuality in a crass way like Drake.

Is giving himself until he’s 21 to discover if he’s not straight. Refuses to engage with Dick or Bruce on “birds and the bees” talks. Put a sword through his tablet when Bruce sent him the Kinsey scale when he turned 16.

Cass: Lesbiconic. Steph coined the term and Cass loves it.

Lesbian. Never questioned it. It never mattered because her body was a weapon, not designed for pleasure.

Has three vibrators, two from Steph and one from Harper, that she hasn’t used yet but has inspected thoroughly.

Not interested in dating but will hook up with people so discretely that you won’t even realise she’s left the room.

Efficient at sex. Learning to not be overwhelmed by body language cues. Meditation is helping.

Alfred: Goes buck wild on cruises twice a year. Usually tells Bruce he’s visiting family in England.

Has seduced many married women away from their husbands, and charmed the husbands into shaking his hand afterwards.

Too powerful.

The world is lucky he prefers to remain in the shadows.

Considers labels a curious thing. Has primarily slept with women but would do what he had to for the mission.

Thinks Bruce and his Kinsey scale are adorably naive.

[slutforavatar]

“Your killin me”

Pairing: Lo’ak x Na’vi!Reader

Word count: 2.6k

Reader and Lo’ak are aged up to 18

warnings:fluff, swearing, mentions of death, arguing, lo’ak being an idiot in love, making out !!

Me and lo’ak, Lo’ak and I. We have been inseparable since birth, everything I know it came from lo’ak his ways have rubbed off on me. My mother and father had passed a few years back when I was 13, they were at war with the sky people and they never came back, it broke me they were my only blood family i had left but then the Sully family were so kind to take me in and care for me. “Y/n!” I turn to see Lo’ak flying down back from war on his Ikran “Lo’ak!” i shout as I run over to his Ikran “what took you so long” I look up at him as he climbs off his Ikran slowly, I cock an eyebrow wondering why he was moving so slow “the passage was blocked so we had to take another, longer way” I walk close to his body and examine “your injured” I look at his back “you think i didnt know” he laughs slightly, I run my fingers over the small cut on his back softly so I dont hurt him “we need to get you bandged up” I look around his back and arms to look for anymore injuries and to his luck there wasnt any other “I’m fine y/n its just a scratch” I examine the cut once again “its not just a scratch, its pretty deep we need someone to stitch it up” i sigh “no im fine” he slightly hits me with his tail in the stomach, I swat his tail away then I press my hand around the cut, I press slightly hard around it. He turns to face me and hisses at me “you skxwang whyd you do that” his nose scrunch up as he looks at me “see I told you its bad come on” I grab his hand and I pull him towards the healers “no I dont want them to do it” I turn to face him, I look up at his face and I notice a small scratch across his right cheek “who do you want to fix you up then huh?” I run my thumb across his hand that i’m still holding tight “i want you to do it please” He looks at me with pleading eyes, how could i say no? “fine” I drag him towards the healers station “lay on your stomach please” he does what I say without a fight and I’m surprised. I gather all the stuff I need then I sit beside him, I cross my legs then I start organising everything I need for the small yet deep cut on his back. “Lo’ak this is gonna hurt a bit okay” I look over at him but hes facing towards the door not looking at me “I’ll be fine, im strong” he says proudly and I chuckle “oh shut it you skxwang” I try covering my smile but I was unsuccessful “im not even looking at you and I can tell your smiling” he laughs “shut up and let me patch you up” I roll my eyes.

“You ready?” he nods his head as I look down at his back, I put the first stitch in and his body jolts “im sorry” i use my free hand to soothingly rub his lower back. Another stitch “fuck” he whispers and i sigh, I hate seeing him in pain, i hate saying goodbye before he goes off to war not knowing if i’ll ever see him again, my worst nightmare is him leaving for war but then never returning, my body shudders. Lo’ak is my everything I’d break if i lost him. “Are we almost

finished?” I hear the tremble in his voice and a frown forms on my face “two more lo” I finish stitching him up “you alright?” I rub his lower back hoping it’ll make him feel a little better “yes thankyou” he mumbles, ‘pull yourself away y/n before you get hurt, before he gets hurt’. I pull my hand away then I quickly stand up, he sits up slowly then he looks up at me confused “where are you going?” his big green eyes stare into my soul “promised i’d help tuk with something” I lied but he seemed convinced so I quickly walked off.

The past 2 weeks had be hard, I hadnt watched him fly off for war the past two times, I need to put some distances between us so if hes gone it wont hurt as bad but its hard to do that when you live with him. “Y/n come swim with us in the lake” I look at Lo’ak then Neteyam, tuk, spider then Kiri.“I dont feel the best so I’m just gonna stay here” Kiri gives me a weird look as if she can read through me “you sure?” I turn to look at the human boy “yeah im sure” I ignore lo’aks stare “fine” Lo’ak says plainly then he turns away “come on then guys” Then they’re off.

Neteyams POV

“bro whats up with y/n, what’d you do to her” I walk over to him as Kiri and spider straggle behind talking about whatever “I haven’t done anything” he shrugs as he looks at his feet “well she wont just ignore you for weeks if you havent done anything, just apologise for whatever it was” I pat his back softly the tuk grips on my hand and pulls it “how far until were there” she groans “not far tuk” I reassure her, shes so impatient “I havent done anything so Im not saying sorry” he shrugs “your too stubborn” I roll my eyes

Y/ns POV

I miss his warm hands on mine, Lo’ak and I had a very touchy friendship, we always had to be touching one an another either holding hands, my hand on his arm or his hand on my lower back. I think we both just liked that it reassured us that we were still here, alive and not a victim to the sky people. But thats why i have to distance myself so it wont hurt so badly, I wont break if hes gone, as much as it hurts now to be away from him is just me saving myself from pain sooner or later.

Week 3 of barely talking to Lo’ak and its driving me crazy, I miss him so badly. We exchange glances at home and we say a ‘goodnight’ everynight thats really all. I cant even tell if he cares were not talking anymore he barely shows he cares.

As I’m closing my eyes I hear someones steps shuffling towards me, I slowly open my eyes and to my surprise Lo’ak is standing over me “y/n we need to talk get up” he says with a stern voice, I look around at everyone sleeping and I sigh because i know this’ll turn into an argument and I dont want to wake anyone “come on” I stand up and I head towards the forest.

We’ve been walking for about 5 minutes and no one has said a word, I look around at the glowing plants and I smile “y/n” my smile drops and I turn to face the youngest Sully boy “yes?” my gaze is everywhere but his eyes “whats going on with us” his words come out with a harsh tone “nothing were fine” i lie, nothings fine I miss him so badly but I’m scared, he scoffs “were fine” he mimicks me “yes were fine” I confirm as I look at the trees behind him “you cant even look at me y/n” he scoffs, i open my mouth to say something but no words come out, he steps closer to me and I suck in a breath as our chests are almost touching, this is the closest we’ve been in 3 weeks, I feel the heat radiating off him and my knees buckle. My eyes widen as I feel a strong hand on my jaw forcing me to look at him. The war has changed him, made him colder. “Look at me y/n.” he says blankly, my eyes shift to his face “what have I done?” his gaze makes me feel tiny, my eyes roam around his face taking in the features of his face oh how I miss running my hands across his cheeks. “You haven’t done anything, were fine” I try to give him the most convincing look “then why have you been fucking ignoring me for 3 weeks” his voice sounds desperate for answers “I havent, we’ve both been busy” I lie once again and he scoffs “busy? busy doing what” he moves his hand away from my face “ive been busy helping around the villiage and you’ve been busy with the war, not to mention you’ve also started thinking about finding a mate” my words shrink his eyes widen “finding a mate?” I look away embarrassed. “Is that why you're not talking to me? You think I've found a mate?” he looks down at me then shakes his head “no i dont” I walk away from him “no” he says plainly and shakes his head,I stopped confused “what?” I look at him “you’ve found a mate haven’t you” his voice trembles, I look up at him “lo’ak your so stupid” I laugh and he looks at me confused “I haven’t got a mate and i'm not ignoring you so please just lets end this conversation here” I start walking off into the forest, I need to be alone. “Y/n stop walking away from me it's not fair” he whines quietly and I turn to face him “Lo’ak I’m not ignoring you but I think it's best if we give each other space” I run my hands over my face “you cant do that y/n” he shouts as he walks over to me “I can and I just did” I walk faster, im an idiot for doing this “you have no fucking reason to do this y/n” he sounds so desperate for answers and I hate myself for this, im hurting him. I don't say anything and I walk faster hoping he doesnt catch up “its killing me y/n” I stop at his words but i dont face him “you're killin me” I can tell in the way he's speaking hes crying, I hug my body as I let hot tears roll down my face your ruining this all y/n. “some friendships dont last forever lo’ak” he winces “were not just friends y/n you know that” he waves his arms in the air “im sorry lo’ak i really am” he scoffs “no your not” he shakes his head “fuck you y/n” he wipes the tears off his cheeks then walks back towards home.

“y/n come on breakfast is ready” tuk jumps around me “i wanna be alone tuk please” i pull my blanket over my head as I close my eyes “whyy everyones already up” she tries to pull the blanket off me “tuk please” I sigh she then gives up then walks out to the family.

Kiri had come to see me a few times during the day to check on me because I still haven't moved “come on y/n you gotta eat please” she tries to convince me to get up and eat “m’not hungry” i mumble, she rubs her hand across my hip “whatever is going on between you and lo’ak need to figure it out its killing you both” my ears twitch at her last few words “what do you mean killing us both he doesnt care” i sigh “he hasn’t spoken to anyone all day and he just took off on his Ikran” she replies softly and my eyes widen “see y/n hes not even talking or annoying dad, somethings definitely wrong” i close my eyes “theres no point in talking to him im sure he hates me now” she scoffs “lo’ak sully hating you?, never that boy loves you” she laughs “eh” i shrug “just go talk go him okay?” she smiles “maybe” i whisper then I close my eyes.

It's been 3 days since I ended mine and Lo’aks friendship and I still have barely gotten out of bed, let alone spoke to lo’ak.

“Lo’ak” I walk up to him just as he’s climbing on his Ikran “y/n” he doesn’t even bother looking at me ouch “your right its not fair that I just broke our friendship off with no explanation” he still doesnt turn around to face me “i know im right now tell me what was the reason for you to break my heart like that” he sighs, i drop my gaze to the ground “its stupid” i shake my head “tell me” he demands, I take a deep breathe in and i contemplating if im really going to tell him fuck it “I wanted to distance myself from you because i was so scared that you were gonna leave for war then not return, i wanted to make sure i’d distance myself from you so it wouldnt hurt as bad” i swallow the lump in my throat holding back the tears, he turns to face me “that is so stupid” he moves towards me “i know but after losing my parents i dont think i could handle losing you, if would break me lo” I sniffle as a few tears drop down my face “if you were so scared of losing me you shouldve told me not possibly ruining what we have” he shakes his head “i know i know and I’m so sorry lo’ak i just freaked out i guess” he sighs then wraps his strong arms around my waist then pulls me into his chest, i wrap my arms around his neck and i rest my head on his chest “please dont leave me lo’ak your my everything” i feel his heart beat speed up against my cheek “trust me y/n i dont plan on leaving you anytime soon” i smile softly as push myself closer to his body “i see you y/n” my eyes shoot open as he says those words “what?” i look up at him and i search his face for any signs of this being a joke “you heard me y/n” i smile widely “i see you too my lo’ak” he smiles widely at my words “are you serious?” i smile back at him and i nod my head softly, he places his hands on the back of my thighs then picks me up “i have been waiting for you to say those words since we were 13 years old” i laugh “i knew you were obsessed with me this whole time” he rolls his eyes then crashes his lips onto mine, my eyes flutter shut then i let our lips mould together. My heart feels like its beating to the point its gonna burst out, im surprised he cant feel it against his chest “ive been waiting for this for so many years” he mumbles against my lips “you should've made a move years ago then” i mumble. I slide my tongue across his bottom lip, he opens his mouth slightly and I slip my tongue into his mouth ‘mmm’ he moans into my mouth sending vibrations through my whole body “you guys made up? and made out?” I quickly pull away and my head snaps towards Kiri, Neteyam, tuk and spider “yeah we did” i smirk as I look at Lo’ak “finally” tuk rolls her eyes “now y/n will actually get out of bed to play with me” she jumps up and down “oh shush tuk” i giggle

I dont really like this one but i had to post smt!

i think im getting writers block 😭

[timeagainreviews]

Mining Gold

In his 2012 stand-up special “New In Town,” John Mulaney quipped that he “always thought quicksand was going to be a much bigger problem than it turned out to be.” This sentiment seems to have rung true with people online. Quicksand was such a big deal in media in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Who could forget Westley jumping headlong into quicksand to save Buttercup in “The Princess Bride?” Remember the first time you saved Mario from sinking deep into golden sands? Yet in real life, very little quicksand. While I am sure there are parts of the world that grapple with quicksand, it’s more of a trope than anything. Trapping our heroes allows storytellers to show who these characters are under pressure. While Doctor Who has its share of great escapes, it’s also prone to using capture to pad time. But isn’t that a cynical view? Can’t trapping our heroes also give the narrative a moment to breathe?

Quicksand is the perfect type of trap because it’s a ticking clock that must be treated with attention and care. Characters must slow down and assess their situation. It’s odd then that Doctor Who has never used quicksand in the show proper. But it’s just a placeholder. You could throw someone into the Timelash. The Fourth Doctor had to shoot a rope while standing over a pit of horda. Or again with the Fourth Doctor when he stepped on a landmine. But that last one is different, isn’t it? The horda and Timelash are as real as the Swamp of Sandness and the Bog of Eternal Stench. But landmines are very real. And in some parts of the world, a horrific day-to-day reality.

Returning after a seven-year absence, Steven Moffat brings the Doctor back into the minefield with “Boom.” But unlike Doctor Who’s last episode named after an explosive onomatopoeia, “Kerblam!”, this episode aims to chastise capitalism’s role in atrocity, not give it a free pass. Also making a comeback are a few Moffat staples- Villengard, the Anglican Marines, and stupid children. Each does their part to build a narrative mirroring the current political climate. But have any of Moffat’s less celebrated qualities returned along with him? Will he fall into his own trappings as a writer? Is this trope just padding out time? Or can a bottle episode become an instant classic?

Coming off the heels of last week’s manic “The Devil’s Chord,” the show was due a bit of a breather. While I’m all for bombast it’s nice to know this thing has an off switch. I already saw someone on Instagram who disagrees wholeheartedly. In their words “Boom? More like BORING,” so I imagine this one won’t be popular among dullards and the chronically contrarian crowd. But as an old, I appreciated the slower pacing and the emphasis on emotion. If you need a constant source of laser swords and loud noises, allow me to quote the Third Doctor- “Don't worry, Brigadier. People will be shooting at you soon.” Luckily, Billy No-Mates and his five Instagram followers appear to be in the minority. Most everyone I’ve talked to absolutely loved this episode.

The one issue I’ve seen fans bring up that holds any kind of water has been the conversation around faith. The inclusion of the Anglican Marines introduces a religious angle that some have criticised as preachy and offensive. In the past Moffat has used the Anglicans to various ends. Spanning across two centuries, the Anglicans we’ve met so far have come in numerous forms. Sometimes they’re allies of the Doctor, and at other times, they’re a fanatic organisation hellbent on stopping the Doctor at every turn. This time, however, the Doctor and they cross paths presumably by happenstance. (More on why I say presumably later.) This group of Marines are already in a deep conflict with an elusive enemy, which they appear to be losing. Despite these losses, they keep their faith. But it’s hard to keep faith when your enemy is as invisible as your god.

The two soldiers we’re introduced to are Carson and John Francis Vater. Not as in they’re married like the Fat One and the Thin One couple from “A Good Man Goes To War,” but rather that Carson only gets the one name. As names go, John Francis Vater is akin to purple hair in an anime- total protagonist vibes. Vater even has a daughter named Splice living back on base. He has a cute “save the cat,” moment when he tells Splice to brush her manky teeth. Which is why when he dies, it feels like there’s still more to his story. Unfortunately for Carson, he exists to illustrate the way the Villengard smartmines on Kastarion 3 operate. As it turns out, it’s pretty quick, rather violent, and kind of pretty. Even more unfortunately for Vader, he is now essentially lost as Carson was acting as his eyes due to temporary blindness.

It’s never really explained why the Doctor and Ruby are parked on the planet. Presumably, it’s the Doctor doing his usual “land wherever and explore,” approach. But it’s the death of Vater that draws the Doctor and Ruby into the action. After lifting the veil from his injured eyes, Vater’s injury draws the attention of a Villengard Automated Ambulance Unit with the video face of Susan Twist. Having assessed that Vater’s recovery time would be too big of a drain on resources the ambulance terminates him. The Doctor comes running at the sound of Vater’s scream but finds nothing but an empty crater and a smartmine under his right foot. It’s the inclusion of Susan Twist here that makes me wonder if this isn’t part of some greater plan. Pretty obvious, really. Also, didn’t a big portion of Moffat’s last episode also take place in a crater?

The Doctor’s voice carries out along the horizon with a mournful rendition of “The Skye Boat Song.” It tells of the journey Bonnie Prince Charles took from Benbecula to Skye after his defeat at the Battle of Culloden, thus spelling the end for the Jacobites. This worked for me on several fronts. As a fan of the Second Doctor, I admired the nod to his past. I also enjoyed the reference to Ncuti Gatwa’s Scottish identity. The forlorn quality of his singing reminded me of the Master playing the Skye Boat Song in “The Power of the Doctor,” which was one of the better parts of that story. I was also grateful that they didn’t undercut the tension with a pop song, or something truly cringe, like quoting from Harry Potter.

The Doctor is singing to calm himself and hopefully delay the bomb until he can come up with a new plan. But it’s this singing that draws Ruby to his location. Together the two of them must move their bodies in sync to a rhythm so the Doctor can rest his leg. In yet another contrast to “The Devil’s Chord,” music is being used in an entirely different manner. But this time, the Doctor’s dance partner, Ruby Sunday, is less complimentary and more complicated. The Doctor faces death all the time, but seeing Ruby put in harm’s way raises the Doctor’s blood pressure. The adrenaline becomes harder to control. And his bio-signs become easier for the smartmine to detect. Because of this, the Doctor’s emotions are raw and prickly, another stark contrast from last week. He chastises Ruby for not doing as he tells her, but she ignores him because she’s got her own ideas about what she is and isn’t allowed to do. I was getting shades of Amy Pond from Ruby in this one, and considering the author, that makes sense.

If you’ve ever heard me say that I wanted the chance for Jodie Whittaker to get mean, or show anger, this is precisely the kind of depiction of the Doctor I meant. In many ways, Ncuti is the same brand of golden retriever adorable as Whittaker, only here they’ve allowed him to show that he’s capable of a depth of emotion. The Doctor has an authoritarian streak that he hides well, but in times of stress, the walls begin to fall away and you see the complicated Time Lord underneath the fish fingers and custard, the floppy hair, and the eccentric fit. This is exactly the kind of episode I wanted to see Ncuti get to do. I’ve seen him deal with heavy subjects in “Sex Education,” I’m glad they didn’t just hire him because he’s hot and dripping charisma. He’s also incredibly capable of going into dark places.

While looking for a rock to help the Doctor balance his dangling left leg, Ruby happens upon the “smelted,” remains of Vater. The Ambulance sort of formed and condensed Vater’s body into a tube shape topped with a nameplate and a hologram projector containing an AI facsimile of Vater’s consciousness. And I’ll say it because everyone’s waiting for me to say it- it’s an actual fleshlight. There, I said the thing. Are you happy? Is this what you wanted from me? Are you not entertained? I’d like to pretend I was so wrapped up in the episode that I didn’t think it, but I absolutely did. It’s VOR all over again. I got over it pretty fast.

That’s the way good Doctor Who goes, really. The little hang-ups are more like snags when you’re moving along. It’s easier to look past the nitpicks and grievances when there’s so much more at play. When Doctor Who is bad, all it has are its nitpicks and grievances and that’s a real sadness when that happens because we’re no longer watching Doctor Who, we’re watching the background go by. We’re admiring the wallpaper because just because the writers phoned it in, doesn’t mean the set designers did. But this is Doctor Who firing on all cylinders.

We are however getting into the realm of one of my nitpicks about this episode and that’s Splice. Because she lost her mother, her dad, Vater, has special permission to let her live on base. The issue I have is that I wasn’t joking earlier when I said she’s stupid. I don’t say this to badmouth the little girl playing her, as she was good. I also don’t mean to denigrate the script. What I don’t understand is why is she so old? That may seem like a weird question because kids come in all sorts of ages, but this one is little kids stupid. I found it hard to believe that a girl of her age would confuse a hologram for her father. I get that she might be fooled by the voice and I can even believe that she would be foolish enough to wander into a battlefield to find him, but I’ve never once seen my dad looking like a translucent blue hologram. This is why I say she’s too old. An older kid would have figured it out. They should have either changed her dialogue or cast someone younger. Otherwise, she’s a perfectly fine character.

Splice’s emotional reaction draws the attention of another Anglican Marine named Mundy Flynn. Immediately my Whovian brain was doing backflips at the sudden appearance of Varada Sethu. For those of you not in the know, Sethu is planned to be a companion in season 2 next year. Seeing her this early was very exciting. Was this an Oswin Oswald scenario or a Martha’s cousin dying at Canary Warf scenario? Did they enjoy working with Varada so much that they created a character for her in the next season or is this some wibbly wobbly sort of thing? Well, as it turns out, it’s a wibbly wobbly thing. I didn’t learn this from the show, however. I learned it from Doctor Who’s social media. And honestly, I really wish they’d have just left us to wonder on this one. Would it have killed them to leave an air of mystery around her character? There’s still a bit of mystery, but I feel like they’re holding people’s hands a bit too much. I guess they’re afraid people’s imaginations will run too wild and we’ll set ourselves up for disappointment. They know who their audience is. But still, I like the not knowing part. I like the speculation.

Mundy sees the Doctor holding the remains of Vater and commands him to drop them. But if the Doctor drops the remains, he risks setting off the mine. But even worse, if the mine goes off, it will turn him into the explosion. The Doctor refers to himself as a ”complex spacetime event,” indicating that if he were to explode, it could take out half of the planet. But Mundy isn’t convinced and tries to shoot the Doctor’s arm to make him drop the tube. Sensing combat, the Ambulance bots start looking for the injured to either heal or put out of their misery. Releasing her mistake, Mundy commands Ruby to shoot her in the arm in order to draw the ambulance away from the Doctor, but in her hesitation, Ruby is mistaken for an enemy and shot by Mundy’s comrade Canto who arrives late on the scene.

While we’re on the subject of Ruby, I wanted to point out that I found it a bit odd that Kastarion 3 was her first experience on an alien planet. Sure this is only her fourth adventure onscreen, but we were told in The Devil’s Chord that six months had passed. Granted, Rose Tyler spent an entire season having earthbound adventures with the Ninth Doctor, so there’s an explanation. I have to tip my hat to their attention to detail here as not even the Doctor Who Magazine comics have taken her off-world. I guess “Space Babies,” kind of counts. Just something I felt worth mentioning.

Not only has Ruby now died, but the Doctor learns that even if he does dupe the smartmine into thinking he’s not a living person, it will eventually detonate by default. The only way to stop this is now outside of the Doctor’s control, sort of. He must convince Mundy to surrender. Since the mine belongs to the Anglican Marines, only their surrender will disarm the device. Otherwise- boom. The Doctor explains to Mundy that the war they’re fighting is with themselves. The Villengard algorithm has been tricking the Marines into attacking themselves to keep them buying their product. It’s a war being waged against nothing all in the pursuit of profit.

Mundy asks the Doctor for proof which is where the Doctor’s stance on faith comes into play. But I feel like the actual conversation the Doctor is having in that moment is that faith is both a good and a bad thing. It’s not that he’s saying it’s bad for someone to have faith in God, but that it’s bad to let faith do your thinking for you. Splice has faith in her daddy. The Doctor and Ruby have faith in one another. Faith can strengthen us as people. But when it’s used to justify not considering deeper truths, it’s a hindrance. I feel like this is very in line with things we’ve heard the Fourth and Tenth Doctor’s say about religion in the past. I will admit though, I am an atheist, so I can’t speak from the perspective of a person with faith.

When Mundy tries to send evidence back to command, it’s intercepted by the algorithm and overruled. The machine has taken over and the smirking face of Susan Twist shows no signs of compassion leaking through. But with the Doctor connected to the machine and his hand connected to the remains of Vater, he’s able to send Vater into the algorithm. As Vater battles the ghost in the machine, I was reminded of “The Doctor’s Wife,” when the TARDIS re-enters her body and destroys House from the inside. In fact, lots of this episode reminded me of previous Doctor Who. The short war fought on the basis of a lie reminded me of “The Doctor’s Daughter.” The message about unchecked capitalism reminded me of “Oxygen.”  And of course there’s the mine calling back to Tom Baker in “Genesis of the Daleks.” Lots of what Ncuti was doing this week reminded me of Tom Baker and I mean that as the utmost compliment. He was doing stellar work here.

This episode had me grinning from ear to ear for the entirety of its runtime. But it wasn’t until after that I realised what it was that had me so happy. Sure, the episode was good, but I realised that it was the first time in the last 5 or 6 years that I had enjoyed a new Doctor Who episode without a giant asterisk hanging overhead. I cried tears of joy during “The Woman Who Fell to Earth,” but that was excitement for Jodie. My opinion of the episode itself was quite low. I enjoyed “The Witchfinders,” (also how cool was that reference to it in this episode?) and I enjoyed “It Takes You Away,” but I loved “Boom.” Without any hesitation, I absolutely loved it.

While the RTD2 era has been a marked improvement, I have had a few reservations. Mostly that it has so far felt like they’ve been trying way too hard. Trying too hard to have fun. Trying too hard to be funny. Trying too hard to be action-packed. I hope that the people in charge have seen the fan reaction to Boom for what it is. You don’t need massive budgets. You can do smaller stories with simple sets. The fans will respond well when you nail the tone and writing. Even Ncuti Gatwa said that while he was confused the entire time shotting the episode, it ended up being his favourite of the season. This felt like the most Doctor Who episode of Doctor Who that I’ve watched since Moffat left, and I’m including the new Davies stuff in there. This is what I meant when I said I wish Davies would chill the fuck out. Stop trying so hard.

Where this falls short for me is it highlights how insular the show has been since it returned. Eight episodes, six by the same writer, one by a former showrunner, and the remaining one is shared by two new authors. Why? I’ll be honest, Davies has never been my favourite Doctor Who writer. He’s a strong producer who writes people well. But when it comes to his episodes, other than “Midnight,” he’s never written one I would call a favourite. This is just a personal preference. When they announced his return, I was more excited for a return to competence than a return to classic writing. We could use new blood in the writer’s room. Even Chris Chibnall could see that, and he did hire some pretty good talent. My two favourite episodes from his era are written by people new to the show. More of that, please.

In truth, bringing Moffat back was a good choice. Unlike Davies, Moffat has written some of my favourite Doctor Who. And as with most anyone who has written the shear volume of Doctor Who as he has, he’s also written some of my least favourite Doctor Who. It’s bound to happen at that level of output. He’s not a writer without problems. His writing of female characters leaves something to be desired. But Moffat writing under a different showrunner, with an editor? Total Chad material. Some of the best. If they kept bringing him back like this every year or so, I would absolutely love it. Especially because it would continue to leave room for new talent.

With Vater in the machine, the ambulance revives Ruby. Sadly, Mundy’s love, Canto, dies just as he proclaims his love for her. This part was a bit shallow in that it was barely set up and felt like loss for the sake of loss. As Jean Cocteau once said “Emotion resulting from a work of art is only of value when it is not obtained by sentimental blackmail.” So it’s a bit difficult to feel sorry for Mundy here, but it’s not completely void of an emotional core. It’s nice that Splice has a new caretaker in Mundy, and that’s as happy an ending as we need. What’s more important is the emotional depths we’ve experienced with the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby. This was the moment when they were solidified for me as characters. I needed this episode. Not so much to show me that the Ncuti and Millie could do it, I knew they could. But rather to show me that the show could still do it. That RTD was still up to the task of delivering us something more than progressive happy fun. We’re not beyond the realm of complexity. And with that, I can relax a little. What else ya got, Davies?

[marvelwhore2023]

BLACK WIDOW SERIES AU

Natasha Romanoff x GN Reader

Summary - natasha is the ceo of a designer fashion brand Black Widow , you are her Creative Director and apparently the bane of her existence. She bullies you on the daily and makes you slowly loathe her to the point you break and have a full blown argument with her in her office

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

Natasha sat in her thoughts all morning, debating wether to just walk down the hall to your office . She would be lying if she said she didn't feel some relief from confessing her feelings last night, but she also knows her behaviour wasn't the best course of action and she was prepared to apologise everyday until you forgave her but she couldn't move from her chair so instead she called for Maria .

"do you need something ?" Maria questioned, entering the office "yes will you drop this down to y/n's office for me please she needs to sign off on a few things" Maria knew Natasha didn't just want you to sign a few things ..she could've just made Maria email you "sureeee but I don't think she's in yet" Natasha checked the clock and it was ten past when you would normally arrive "but she is usually early ?" It wasn't so much a question more of a worry to which Maria just shrugged and left the office .

You were late..in fact you didn't bother showing up today . You asked Wanda to collect a few bits from your desk that evening and drop them over to your place .

"Hey , thanks for grabbing these for me , I appreciate it" you thanked as soon as you opened the door to the shorter brunette "you know I don't mind doing it , how are you ?" She asked, giving you her best sympathetic smile she usually gives you when she knows you are having a hard time.

"Ah, I'm fine , I just couldn't face the office today," you replied , plopping down onto your couch and waiting for Wanda to join, which she did. "You mean her ?" you nodded "she came by your office you know" Wanda commented "to scold me for how I spoke to her I'm sure" you scoffed "actually no" Wanda interrupted "she came when I was gathering your things and asked where you were and if you were sick"

Natasha suddenly being nice to you was a shock for sure, but you had a feeling it was only so she could keep you on as creative director for the show seems as you practically organised it all yourself

"what did you say" Wanda smirked "I told her you were taking a well deserved day off and left her standing at your office door like a lost puppy" Wanda was proud when she told you what she said to your boss and you laughed along with her "ill probably get fired but I don't care" Wanda shrugged , you shook your head and replied "no she won't fire you , she can't afford to lose her best receptionist slash model" you teased "it was ONE cover shoot y/n let it go !" You laughed when Wanda dramatically slapped your arm "hey I'm just saying your a sight for sore eyes we could use your bone structure on the cover more" Wanda did her signature dramatic bow and giggled "right well I better go , Vis will be waiting for me" you nodded and showed your friend to the door .

The next morning, you knew you would have to go to work because you had a shoot with one of the models , Yelena ... who just so happened to be Natashas, much nicer sister .

Walking down the corridor you passed Natashas office , you locked eyes for a second before looking away and ignoring her stare , when you entered the room you use for shoots Yelena was in the chair getting her hair and make up done "heyyy" Yelena greeted with a smile "my favorite little Russian,  how are you" You smiled and replied "good , ready for this shoot im looking forward to it"

Halfway through the shoot , Natasha showed up . You groaned internally and just tried to ignore her presence until she was standing right beside you "are you going to try ignore me for forever ? we work together that's not exactly possible y/n" she whisper spoke so not to interrupt the people working "yes actually that's the plan" you replied shortly , Natasha sighed heavily "Look I know I deserve the cold shoulder but there's still a level of professionalism I'd like to maintain so it's not exactly peachy when staff see the way you behave towards me" you scoffed and shook your head

Unbelievable

"maybe you should have thought about that before you behaved like a child" you snapped and moved away from her , otherwise your sure you would've punched her in her pretty face

Yelena watched your encounter with her sister carefully and when you approached her while she was changing into the next outfit she questioned you "she's trying her best to apologise you know" you sighed but didn't reply . You hated the fact people in work knew and even talked about your very clear tension with Natasha "I know she is a bitch trust me , I'm her sister I can say that but she isn't great with emotion , our family wasn't exactly all loving"

"you turned out alright" you shot back teasingly and yelena chuckled "yeah well I didn't work for our step father for ten years so I wasn't molded into a cold heartless-sister! I was just telling y/n here that I'm going to be joining you at the show at the end of the month" your not exactly sure Natasha believed yelena wasn't talking about her but she didn't question it "yes , I left the guest list on her desk but she didn't show up to work yesterday " you rolled your eyes "I read it this morning" Yelena looked between the two of you and could feel the tension burning and not the hot kind. 

Over the next two weeks Natasha tried her best to be kind and understanding of your snappy and cold demeanour towards her but you couldn't care less for her new personality change , you despised her and even more so now that she was trying to be nice .

"this is great team thank you and you can all go home early this evening and enjoy your weekends" Natasha said at the end of the meeting , people were happily chatting while leaving the room where as you just went straight back to your office .

You lifted your head when you noticed someone out of the corner of your eye standing at your office door "hey , coffee" Maria said holding up the to go cup and placing it on your desk "thanks Maria" she nodded "don't thank me , Natasha got it for you" You stopped mid sip "like she physically went to an actual coffee shop and bought me a coffee " you asked surprised and Maria nodded "she did ..she also went out of her way to ask the barista your usual" you knew what Maria was trying to do and you weren't falling for it "are you trying to soften the blow as her friend or mine" Maria shrugged "how about both? , ill see you later heading off for the night" you said goodbye to Maria and began packing up yourself to go home , you refused to do anymore late nights for the sake of Natasha doing less work.

On your way out you could hear Natasha on the phone , you would be lying if you said you didn't stand and listen in for a couple of seconds .

"I understand your a shareholder but this is my company , I'm not letting you come in and change things just because you threw a little money at it Dreykov ! No ! NO, I'm doing things my way, and if you don't like that, then pull out. I refuse to be controlled by you any longer !" You quickly left before she noticed you were standing there listening .

Dreykov ..that must be her stepfather .

*time skip two weeks*

Spain was the option Natasha chose for the show and you can't say your complaining . Although it was a winter collection, you were enjoying the sun on your face as you walked from the car to your hotel .

You , Wanda , Maria and Natasha were staying in the hotel closest to the venue and of course it was one of the more expensive ones ...billed to the company .

Natasha had you orgainse a make up and hair team for you all but you passed on that group activity , you didn't want to spend anymore time with that woman than you had to so you just got ready in your hotel room .

Once you were finished and ready you went to check on the progress of the women , entering the room the sting of hairspray hit your eyes and you could smell several different types of perfume and products floating around the room .

"are you all nearly finished , we have an hour until we have to be at the venue" you asked , walking around to face the three women "woah y/n you look so good!!" Wanda fangirled , spinning you around to get a good look , you decided to go all out as much as you hate dressing fancy you loved this black tailored suit Tony made and it went perfect with your blonde hair .

"yeah y/n you look smoking , don't they Nat" Maria added , elbowing Natasha who was blushing a little too much for her liking while she tried to focus on her phone "yeah , y-you look lovely y/n" Nat stuttered. You cleared your throat awkwardly and changed the subject "Hurry up or ill leave without you all" you warned .

Walking through the floods of paparazzi and into the venue you could see a sea full of famous faces , you greeted some you were familiar with and organised for the waiters to begin bringing out beverages and such to the guests .

"it seems a bit weird to have a winter collection presented in one of the hottest countries" you heard from someone behind you and you couldn't help but scoff in agreement you just hoped it didn't put too much of a downer on the show .

As the show began you were back stage making sure eveything ran smoothly , Tony had the models dressed and lined up ready to begin the walk . The music started and the first set of models were sent out . Eveything running as smooth as pie until ...

"what the hell is dreykov doing here!?" Natasha whisper shouted at Maria who just shrugged confused "I have no idea!" Natasha looked around with a panicked expression as Dreykov found his way backstage , Natasha hot on his tail .

"Ah , look at all these beautiful models , hello sexy girl" Dreykov spoke , his Russian accent flowing freely from his mouth "excuse me , this area is restricted" you spoke , standing infront of him so he couldn't come any further as models were changing clothes freely backstage "relax your pretty little head , I'm an investor" he replied , trying to cop a look at a half dressed model

"Dreykov!" Natasha snapped , finally making her way backstage."You are not supposed to be here" Dreykov waved his hand infront of Natashas face in an attempt to shut her up "no I've had enough , security! Remove this man now" you demanded "get your hands off of me!" He shouted causing heads to turn , you shushed him , getting into his face "Dreykov is it ? so your going to get the fuck out of my event and if you don't leave I'm going to have you dragged out of here by the stitches of your very expensive suit , got it ?"

Dreykov was about to protest until he spotted the two very muscular security guards behind you and the crowd of all his peers behind the curtain who would just love a scandal to converse about , he nodded and held his hands up in surrender , taking his pose with him "make sure they leave the building" you told the security who followed the older man .

Natasha hadn't got the courage to confront Dreykov and watching you do it made her heart beat ten times faster "thank you" she whispered and you gave her a small nod of acknowledgement before turning your attention back to the models .

Three hours later the show was coming to an end and the only thing left was for Natasha to give her usual end of show speech and thank the many faces she invited , the music was lowered and Natasha took the stage , after an audience of applause she spoke

"Thank you all for coming , I hope to see some of your names on our books this coming winter" she teased making the crowd laugh "I won't hold you all long I just want to thank everyone involved , the designers , our beautiful models and most importantly" she paused and caught your eyes , you couldn't read her expression but she cleared her throat and smiled softly then continued

"Most importantly I want to thank my creative director , Y/N Y/L/N . They have done a better job at basically running the brand than I ever could have , their determination and creativity surprises me everyday and without them none of this would have been possible so please , a round of applause for Y/N and their hard work" Natasha herself began to clap for you , you blushed from all the attention on you but plucked up enough courage to give a little bow and wave to the crowd .

Once you got back to the hotel with the four women you decided a drink at the bar was more than deserved but when you seen your red headed boss sitting there alone you hesitated for a second .

fuck it

You approached and sat on a seat one away from her and ordered your drink , she looked up from her phone to acknowledge you "hi" you thanked the bartender for your drink "hi" you replied , sipping your drink .

"I'm sorry if my speech made you uncomfortable but it was the truth ..all of it" Natasha confessed

You couldn't help the awkward feeling in the pit of your stomach , Natasha was getting good at confessing her thoughts and feelings and to be honest it didn't so much upset you anymore than it did confuse you

"No i-it , it was a nice speech" you stuttered , you turned to her "but why" you questioned , secretly dying to know why she's suddenly changed overnight and it can't just be because of her so called crush on you .

"I'm sure Yelena has told you about our step father - well he - I let him control my life for a long time and it wasn't until you called me out on my shit that I realised I had turned into the person he wanted and that is not the person I want to be anymore"

you nodded , showing Natasha you were listening . you wanted to tell her that it's too late for apologises and she's a grown ass adult but you knew better and if you were honest you were sick of being petty towards her, you still didn't like her but being hateful isn't who you are .

"I just really want you to know how sorry I am and I understand if you want to leave , I will give you whatever recommendations you need and i-" you interrupted Natasha before she could finish "I'm not leaving , I love my job at this company . Yes my boss is an ass ..was an ass" Nat chuckled a little "but if I was going to leave because of your behaviour I would've left a long time ago" you assured "plus I think you would all fall apart without me" you joked to break the ice "that is very true" Natasha laughed "can we at least be civil?" She practically beg .

"we can be civil if you can work as a team player" she smiled at you fondly "I can do that" you clicked glasses and continued to drink your drink , sitting next to each other in a sort of comfortable silence .

Taglist - @marvelogic @marvelwomen-simp

[fallout-fucker]

Hancock Headcanons (Including Goodneighbour Headcanons) Part One

Surprisingly a really good cook/baker. Will make 5 Star quality full-course meals when high as fuck. Or at least, as good as you can get in the Wasteland if you don't think mutated Brahmin tastes too different from cow. Man's is making steaks.

He also mass bakes when very stressed. There's been times Fahrenheit has walked into the office and seen the kitchenette, the coffee table, any and all of the free surfaces, really, full of trays of baked goodies. Cupcakes, cookies, brownies, special brownies, you name it. When this happens, Daisy has to organise a massive order to traders to make up for all the ingredients he buys. He always gives her extra caps for the inconvenience of Goodneighbour having less eggs and flour, etc, for sale than usual. He makes sure to never take all the stock, though, food's hard enough to come by, especially produce. His town needs it more than he and his baking sessions do.

He always gives away the goods when he's finally calmed down and the stress has eased.

He takes care in making sure the normal goodies are separate from the 'more fun' ones.

The normal goods go to the townsfolk and drifters. He goes to the kids first, though. If it's during the colder months, he'll also take the time to make hot chocolates or warm milk (Depending on what's available) for them.

Actually does his job as the fucking Mayor.

Makes sure the kids have all got blankets, coats, hats, scalves, gloves, socks and shoes, and beds somewhere warm.

He regularly checks this. Has a little checklist for all the items kiddies need. He isn't letting any kids die in his streets. As far as he's concerned, those are his kids. He knows Goodneighbour isn't exactly the most PG place, but the majority of children in Goodneighbour (Like most people in Goodneighbour) don't have parents or anybody.

He'll leave a few trays on the bar of The Third Rail for pickings. Lowkey likes to decorate it with cake stands and stuff. Makes him feel weirdly calm. He gets to just take his time with it. It's a breather from the rest of his 'Mayoral Duties'.

If he's feeling generous, he'll give away the fun goodies too to anyone that wants 'em (Within reason). But Chems and produce can be pricey so he'll sometimes give those to Daisy to sell so he's not wasting a good amount of his personal stash, especially if he made a lot of goods.

He considered giving them to Charlie at first because The Third Rail is nothing if not the place for a great time, but many people who wander into Goodneighbour are vulnerable. From experience (Both personal and second-hand), Hancock knows alcohol + easily accessible edibles/hard chems + vulnerable and desperate doesn't equal anything good. So, he decided against it.

He refuses to give them to AJ because the guy is sketchy, and he's heard about the whole 'Chems For Kids' thing. Hancock's been working discreetly on solving that issue. If he wasn't keen on drunk adults having access to edibles, you can believe he'd have a real problem with anyone tryna sneak it to kids, let alone that kinda dirty money making its way back to him, and that's if AJ didn't sneak some into his own pockets. Which he likely would.

So, that brought him to Daisy. Besides, it also makes up for the ingredients and he lets her pocket a good percentage of the profit as chems isn't usually her deal.

Once more, actually does his job as the fucking Mayor.

Like with the children, he makes sure drifters and such also have warm clothes for the Winter.

Also ensures everyone has clothes suited for Summer heat, too.

Essentially, twice a year (Autumn and Spring) he'll go around Goodneighbour with a survey to see who needs what, at least a few weeks in advance of when the seasonal weather for Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer usually rolls in. Then, he organises a mass order to all of the trading caravans for suitable clothes, shoes, etc. Then he'll organise a day with timeslots and stuff where groups of people can go up to his office and get what they need.

Imagine a watchman at the entrance of the Statehouse, with a name list and time slots, and a queue outside of the door. In Hancock's office, it's full of cardboard boxes and tables. Him, Far, Daisy, and a few watchmen all giving out the items and checking them off.

Hancock has plans and blueprints to expand Goodneighbour so some of the apartment buildings just outside of the walls can be included in the town. Has a few trading deals on hold and watchmen guards he could use as contractors in mind for the job of converting the Pre-War buildings into livable homes when he is able to.

Unfortunately, with the Warehouse rats and Supermutants settling down just outside the gates, he had to postpone the plans to focus on other issues. All his contractors had to stay as Neighbourhood Watch guards and security just in case the mutants attack. The mutants are on his to-do list, but first is the Warehouse job and making sure people can stay warm in the attic instead of the homes he was hoping to have done before Autumn and Winter.

He predicted temporarily losing more workers in the Winter due to sickness, but didn't necessarily expect some to be rats, unfortunately. So, his options are limited when Sole meets him. Hence sending a stranger to Pickman Gallery and other things.

It's also why he doesn't mind traveling with Sole. Until Spring, his hands are mostly tied when it comes to progress.

Staying in town when he knows he can't do all of the things he needs to makes him antsy. He doesn't like sitting around and doing nothing when he knows his people are relying on him, so it helps to get away from it for a while.

[moriartyluver]

FALSE LOVERS CHAPTER XXV

"ALRIGHT, SEEMS THAT'S ALL." (Name) whispered once they had finished examining the final crime scene "It's more than likely this wasn't the work of a singular individual, don't you agree?"

William nodded "Perhaps the motive was less primitive cruelty and depravity, but instead intended to stir up a commotion  amongst the civilians of Whitechapel and the Yard" 

"So what you're saying is," Josephine said "They didn't really care who they killed as long as it made people angry? Like us but stupider and more cruel." 

(Name) sighed, adjusting her dress as she stood up "That's certainly one way to put it. But the main difference between our two organisations is that we kill to protect the vulnerable, whereas they kill the vulnerable for their own selfish motives." She said, leading them out of the alleyway "Come along now, we must collect Louis and Fred's police report."

As they were leaving, they entered a street full of brothels and bars, an area where most of these crimes took place. Surprisingly, all three of them had fit in splendidly and their cover had yet to be blown, perhaps almost too well. 

Dressing like a courtesan was certainly clever, but not smart.

"Oi!" (Name) felt a hand grab at her bare shoulder, all of a sudden. She turned around curiously, knowing that this was neither of her companions who were a few feet behind due to her habit of walking much too quickly, even in ridiculous shoes. 

She faced a man, who looked somewhat well dressed despite the stench of alcohol and vulgar nature. Clearly he was a nobleman. "May I help you?"

"Oh yes you may" He chuckled, although it wasn't the pleasant kind of chuckle "How much for an hour?"

"I beg your pardon?" (Name) blinked before realising what he had meant

William, noticing the change in her demeanour, rushed over to his wife. Before he could help her be rid of the man, (name) had suddenly kicked him into a wall. Hard. 

With a groan and a stream of curses, the strange man had slouched against the brick wall, holding his head in a hand as the wall behind him crumbled slightly. 

"I think you wouldn't need as much as an hour, a minute or two would have done." (Name) glared, putting her leg back to the ground.

He attempted to stand back up again, but remained crouched as (Name) lifted her fist, as if threatening to punch him. The commotion had attracted the attention of a few constables in the area, and a whistle was heard along with a few footsteps, approaching the dead end of an alleyway where (Name), the injured nobleman and a surprised William and Josephine stood. 

The blond seemed to be the only one with any sense, though, and took (Name)'s hand in his own, rushing off with Josephine following behind so they wouldn't be caught.

"I could have dealt with him for you," He said as they fled the scene "In a much more discreet way, might I add."

"You say that, but I doubt it would be very discreet at all. And besides, I didn't wish to kill him, only to teach him a lesson." (Name) replied with a skeptical gaze. She could feel the back of her neck warming up, a strange feeling she had felt ever since the other night. Frankly, she couldn't bare to be alone in the same room as him. It was much too awkward. "I can do without your help, William." 

"Well, I suppose you're right, but in future-"

(Name) cut him off "I know, I know. You needn't tell me again." Yet she couldn't help the feeling of her lips turning upwards in a smile at the mere thought of being cared for.

The group had eventually met up after splitting up in some old and abandoned building, along with Louis and Fred who had returned from Scotland Yard with their police reports. 

"Will.." Jack said, holding up a cluster of papers "Am I correct in assuming that you already have an idea as to who this fake 'Jack the Ripper' is and what his goal is..?"

"Yes.." William confirmed "Though it is not  'He' but  'They'. These serial killings were planned and conducted by multiple individuals."

There was a moment of silence. Apart from (Name), and Josephine who had already been told of this theory, none of the others had expected such a thing. They had been operating under the premise that this was the work of a singular killer, but now, it had made sense.

"So we're dealing with a bunch of killers then.." Moran finally spoke, breaking the silence. "Nobody would have thought of that, would they? You must have found something that led you to this conclusion, right William?"

"Indeed." The blond said as he began his explanation "To understand this, you must first ask the question: 'Why did Jack the Ripper feel the need to send the newspaper a letter, announcing his crimes?'. The answer is simple. 'Jack' wished to create a sensation surrounding his name and use it to agitate the public. The goal, as (Name) had pointed out to me, was to spread the news of their crimes, and at the same time, spread fear among the public. The fact that the culprits are using our old instructor's war-time moniker for themselves is merely a coincidence...They only needed a name that is fearsome and simple, any would have done the trick."

Jack nodded in understanding "I see...so they came up with the name by coincidence, and not because they hold a grudge against me.."

"Precisely." (Name) chimed in. "The removal of the victims' internal organs, as well as leaving their bodies to be found in populated area and sending a letter to the newspaper are proofs that the culprits wanted attention. The killings of the courtesans are merely a means to an end, although it is extremely despicable. Now, we must ask ourselves: 'What would murdering and violating a couple of courtesans accomplish?', 'Why did he send the letters?' and 'Why must this Jack The Ripper feel the need to spread fear across, not only Whitechapel, but the entirety of London?'" 

"Once their objective has come to light, so will the stage and the play that they have set up here in Whitechapel." William continued.

"Stage and play..?" Moran repeated "Here I thought we were the only ones in this theatre business..."

A quiet voice spoke up from behind him "These murderers are unlike us. They aren't above murdering innocents to get what they want. Lives are lost when the powerful prey on the powerless. We must put a stop to this"  

William smiled sinisterly "I agree, Fred. Though we may use the same method, they are different from us. They don't have the aspiration of true patriots."

"You say the culprits have a specific objective for their murders, but what could it possibly be?"  Bond asked "You don't think..."

"Yes, it it." (Name) said, sifting through papers "The truth is incredibly apparent. Their goal is to put Whitechapel in a deteriorating state and create a battle between the Whitechapel Militia and Scotland Yard, and thus a proletarian revolution from within the British Empire. From what the witnesses have stated, the suspects for who had killed the first and second courtesan victims had very differing features, yet they carried out the murders in a very similar fashion with almost identical methods, so it is only logical to conclude that they belong to the same criminal organisation."

(Name) had suspected such an outcome since she had seen the scene between the vigilantes and the constables earlier in the mission, but now they were solidified by a combination of the police reports, the witness interviews and the inspection of the crime scene. It had all been clearly orchestrated, possibly beyond just a mere group. Perhaps they had a leader of some sort, much like how they had William.

"Indeed..." Louis muttered "When you think of it that way, it's quite difficult to imagine any individual to plan and execute all of this by themselves.."

"I see," Jack hummed, leaning against the wall "So it is the work of extremists, then...extraordinary reasoning as always."

"As it was with the 'Bloody Monday' incident in Trafalgar Square last year, it is safe to assume there is a force behind these revolutionaries...only this time, they have created the idea of a devil called 'Jack The Ripper'"  William spoke amongst the silence, the only sound other than his voice being the creaking of the wooden door against the wind. "..a façade to undermine the authority of the police, to inspire the people to take up arms to defend themselves...and finally, to raise a militia strong enough to cause an armed uprising , and use that fact to blackmail the English government..!"

There was a moment of silence, his speech being effective. 

"So having a militia roaming around Whitechapel is a convenience for these string pullers...I saw the militia carrying weapons, so we can assume they've already successfully raised their army.." Moran said, leaning against the door "Which means the next part is.." 

"An uprising by the militia." (Name) stated "The culprits will use the inevitable conflict between the militia and the police as a card to blackmail the English government. We must act before that can happen." 

The colonel groaned "Talk about a pain in the ass." He said, clenching his teeth "I'd hope he was just one guy so I could shoot him and be done with it, but we have to fight all these other Jacks and we're gonna need a really wide net to catch all these bastards." 

"Then to summarise, what we must do.." James spoke " (1) intervene before this Jack strikes again (2) prevent an all out battle between the police and militia and (3) deal with the culprits." He turned to the others "But how do we complete all 3 objectives at the same time?" 

"Rest assured, I already have a plan," Williams gentle voice explained "Opposing forces unite when a common enemy is on stage." 

A scream echoed through the dark night. The militia and police all froze amidst the conflict, turning to a building's rooftop to see a dark figure stood, holding a limp female body. 

"Ghahahahaha!" Jack, disguised as the killed cackled whilst he held Josephine in his arms, cows blood drenching her dress.

"Is that..?" 

"Still haven't an idea who I am?!" Jack yelled down to the crowd "Then why don't I give you a hint?!" 

"W-what..?"

Before anyone could say another thing, The Ripper took out a knife, lifting it before plunging it into Josephine's chest, piercing a blood bag and spraying the cow's blood everywhere, a scream coming as reaction. 

"Recognise me now?!"  He laughed, dumping Josephine's body aside in preparation to run away. "I am he whose name is terror enough to still a baby crying...The one and only Jack The Ripper!" 

A hand reached over to pull a curtain over a window, a gentle woosh sound echoing through the silent room. He peaked out, checking for any unexpected  guests. 

"Hey." A comrade called out to him. 

He slid the curtain over the window again "Right.." He turned to the round table, several men sat around it, the only light being a single candle in the middle. "That is everyone.." he confirmed before the meeting commenced "Our plans are ruined because of that guy!" 

"We expected copycats showing up, but.." Another spoke "But someone running around like that..And he came just as the militia and the police were about to clash. All because of one man, so bothersome.."

"The next murder was supposed to be tomorrow...but now we have to take care of this situation and come up with a new plan." One man said. 

"We should move quickly and make people believe the copycat to be fake!" A bearded man suggested "If we do it during this chase or after he's caught,  it should be effective. Let's go with that." 

"It is decided..!" The first man exclaimed "As soon as we get our hands on the next prostitute we will prepare to kill her. Are there any objections?-"

Crack 

The mens' eyes traveled to a knife, stuck in the middle of the wooden table. Not an ordinary kitchen knife, though. It was much more of a weapon. Upon further inspection, you could see it was a dagger. 

"Blow out the candles!" One whispered, followed by a blow of air, reducing the room to darkness. 

"What the -?" 

The group of men turned to face the shadows approaching from the darkness, gentle footsteps eliciting a few creaks as they moved. They could make out three figures, two men, one woman. 

"Hell..is empty," William said, scarlet eyes reflecting the moonlight. "And all the devils are here." 

"Who are you?!" One man exclaimed "Show yourselves!" He demanded, watching as the faces of these shadows grew clearer 

"My name is William James Moriarty," William stated as he stood beside (name) and Louis. "People also call me 'The Lord Of Crime' if that rings a bell." 

Another gasped "The Lord of Crime?!" 

"I am here to punish you," he continued, a sinister smile on his face "for the crimes of Jack the Ripper...or rather for the serial killings of prostitutes." 

"He knows everything!" 

"Calm down," a man with a moustache said, hands clasped together. He turned to William "If you are indeed the Lord of Crime, you must be misunderstanding something." 

(Name) raised a brow, pulling her hood off. 'Of course,' she reminded herself, 'The perception of William as 'The Lord of Crime' is that he simply wishes to wreak havoc wherever he may be..that Lord of Crime is much different to my own, so they'd believe he would encourage the murders of anyone, especially the 'worthless' prostitutes.' 

"There is no reason for us to fight, so please put down your weapons." He continued "Whether true or false we have heard a lot about your brilliant schemes..the goal of which seems to be the same as ours."

'Bingo.'  

"Revolution! Isn't that so?!" The man with the moustache stood up dramatically "by cleaning up just two lowlives who were a burden to society, we managed to spread chaos across the country!! Without taking out any government official...by sacrificing only some lowly prostitutes, we almost managed to strike them a heavy blow!!" 

"Lowly prostitutes?" (Name) finally spoke, gritting her teeth, only to be ignored. She stepped forward, anger almost getting the best of her. 

"If we were to team up, we'd be unstoppable! We could do anything! What do you think?!" He asked 

William placed a hand on (Name)'s shoulder reassuringly "So what you're saying is..that for the sake of revolution, you are justified in sacrificing the lives of the weakest amongst us?" 

"That's right! The strong praying on the weak is the fundamental law of the world...the survival of the fittest!" 

"Ha.."  (Name) turned, looking over her shoulder to see Louis smiling, taking out a knife and pointing it towards him. "I'm glad to hear you say that..that would mean you have no problem with someone stronger than you taking your lives, wouldn't it?" 

"T-That bastard!" One exclaimed, clenching his fist. 

Another stood up in angry, steam practically coming out of his ears "You're gettin' too cocky kid!" 

"There's nothing left to be discussed," their leader, the man with dark hair, spoke, standing up as the other members slowly took out their weapons. "since you won't go along with our plans you leave us with little choice...Kill them!!"

As they all prepared to attack, William couldn't help but smile, eyeing his wife and his brother before speaking "Nine of them..enough for all of us, right?" 

"Indeed William," Louis smirked 

(Name) narrowed her eyes "Lets kill them all." 

A crack sound echoed through the room, coming from the wooden table. "Dream on you bitch!" One man, wearing a scruffy hat over his dirty blond hair, charged towards (name) with the knife he had taken out from the table. 

In a blink of the eye, she had leapt so that she was now behind him, stabbing her other dagger into his back and taking his weapon. 

"Thanks for giving that back, really ever so kind of you." she smirked as she kicked his body away. This first attack acted as a catalyst to the other conspiracists who had all erupted into shouts and screams, attacking the brothers as well as (name) herself. 

Within minutes, over half of these 'Jack The Rippers' were lying dead the floor, or dying if not dead already, thanks to William, (Name) and Louis.

"They're too strong! They'll kill us all!" One of the survivors signalled to his accomplices. They all rushed towards the door, attempting to make an escape. 

One turned around to the others, confused as he asked "Where are you go-" 

He was cut off by Louis impaling him using Williams sword. The man gasped, and gasps turned to gags as he collapsed onto the ground, breath quickening in his dying moments. 

"None will escape." Louis spat coldly. 

"Ugh.." he groaned "Why does this happen to me for..just killing a bunch of useless prostitutes..."

Whilst (name) shot a glare of disgust towards the breathing corpse, she could hear the footsteps speeding up from outside the room, approaching the exit. She looked towards William who returned the expression, as if telling her telepathically that he had this covered, a reassuring glint in his scarlet eyes. 

He took back his sword from Louis, sliding it back in its case as he looked down at the remaining dying body, blood from his lungs leaving his lips as he attempted to breathe painfully. 

"Ha!" He laughed, almost manically. "HAHAHA!! Tough luck you bastard! Now there's no way you'll get us all!!" 

He continued, not noticing the victorious smirk making its way onto William's pretty face. "As long as some of them keep living, we'll continue to use the weak..for the sake of the revolution..! No matter how many prostitutes are sacrificed, you can't stop us! We..will..win..!" 

"Heh.." The professor couldn't help but chuckle softly as he spoke between coughs and splutters. "We had a lot of time while waiting for you to gather..enough to make something like this." He gestured towards a pile of gunpowder by the door, connected to a string which went further down the halls, past the door, and eventually connecting to explosives by the exit. 

William lit a match, holding it delicately between his fingers. "Which do you think is faster?" He asked, an almost mocking tone to his voice, dropping the lit match gracefully "This fuse, or your friends?"

With that, the small string had begun to catch fire, quickly spreading through the halls, eventually leading to an explosion at the docks outside, killing the men before they had a chance to escape. 

"The explosion caught the men who escaped, along with any evidence of their involvement in this incident," Louis spoke, putting his glasses back on. 

(Name) kicked another body, turning it to lie on its stomach "Are we seriously going to just leave these bastards here? What's the point..? don't tell me.." 

"The police will be on their way after that explosion." William said, putting his hood up to shield his face. "And once they find this, they'll end up calling Holmes for sure." 

"Of course that's why you chose this method," (name) sighed, wiping a bloodied sword on her skirt "Holmes will know what truly happened here and you wish to see how he reacts, correct?" 

The blond smiled, taking (Name)'s good and pulling it over her head gently as her face flushed due to the proximity "as usual, my dear." 

"So knowing his passion for revealing the truth," Louis, who was stood away from the couple, rather awkwardly too, said. "Then he's given two choices either to reveal an inconvenient truth, or stick with a convenient lie.." 

"Indeed," William smiled to his brother as they left. 

As they exited through an alternative door, a gust of wind passed by, blowing William's hood off, revealing his melancholic expression.  

(Name) instantly noticed, quickly pulling his hood back over his head harshly as she frowned, scolding him. "Do you wish for everyone in London to know you are the Lord of crime?" She whispered 

Her husband smiled, adjusting the hood so it didn't cover his eyes "My apologies, dearest." 

Unbeknownst to them, someone had already seen, and very soon William would be revealed to be the Lord of crime to much more than just London. 

'Mr Holmes, you chose wisely,' William thought to himself after reading a newspaper article about the Jack The Ripper Incident with (name) sipping tea at his side. 'In this case, the higher ups will want to capture someone as Jack The Ripper. They want the militia to disarm after all...therefore their next move should be..' 

"-W..WILLIAM!!" Moran burst through the door "What the hell is happening!?" 

"What's the matter?" William called out calmly 

(Name) narrowed her eyes at the colonel "you look like you've just seen a ghost." 

"What's the matter?!" Moran mimicked "Look at the old man!" He exclaimed 

"What are you getting flustered about, Moran?" A mature voice spoke, smugness evident in his tone 

William stood up, greeting Instructor Jack as he entered the room "Your attire is flawless, as expected." 

"But of course," Jack smiled "This is my real job after all." 

Albert soon followed after, chuckling at Moran's expression  "I wanted it to be a surprise for you. Instructor Jack will serve as our butler from now on." 

"What?" The colonel grit his teeth. 

"We have been trying to steal him away from the Rockwells for sometime now," Albert smiled, almost taking pleasure in his misfortune. 

Josephine and Louis entered the room "Thankfully the workload won't be left upon us alone now, considering a certain Colonel never does his chores."  The brunette chimed in. 

"Albert you bastard!!" Sebastian yelled "We don't need any help!!" 

"Of course we do," Albert reasoned. "Because of our many secrets, we can't hire any maids apart from Josephine here to handle the work for us, and she is still but a child." He turned to the two at the door. "Now you two will have more time to help with our plans." 

"Yes, I am very grateful for this opportunity, Albert." Louis smiled as Josephine nodded in agreement. 

"Now you can relax while we're at the London manor." Fred said 

"Yes, it really helps," Josephine smiled 

Jack chuckled "Then I will have to work extra hard! I have to make up for the slack some other servants here after all.." he said, referring to Moran who looked so mad he was about to burst. 

"What's the matter colonel? Is something wrong?" Albert teased 

"Just when I thought I had found a quiet place to relax.." he whispered, then pointed to Jack accusingly "The old man joined after me, so technically I outrank him, right?!" 

"Haha you think so?" Jack scoffed 

"That sounds like you're embracing the class system, Colonel," (name) pointed out, joining in on the teasing. 

"No I'm not!!" He whined like a child "Go back to the rockwells already, old man!!"

"So will you take care of the manor then, Moran?" 

"Uhm...that's a bit.." 

"Come on Moran, just give up.." 

A/N: lol I’m back bitches. Ik I keep saying this but college really doesn’t give me time to do shit anymore 😞 Uhh I’ve been working on the little chapter where Liam and fl basically see each other for the last time just for funseesy, lemme know if u guys want some sneak peaks of that. I’m also going to try to get a valentines special out by well.. valentines I hope but I have literally no clue on what I should do for the plot so I am begging for someone to send me some ideas because I’m stupid as hell. Okay bye 😍😍

[lutiaslayton]

Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva

ＰＡＲＴ　０９

〚ＦＩＲＳＴ〛〚ＰＲＥＶ〛〚ＮＥＸＴ〛

Disclaimer: This is a fan-translation for the Japan-exclusive novellisation of the movie Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva. The original novel was written by Aya Matsui under the supervision of Akihiro Hino, and belongs to Level-5.

This translation only aims to be a pleasant read for non-Japanese fans, nothing more: I made a few deliberate changes while translating in order to get the writing style closer to what is usually found in English fanfictions, as the Japanese storytelling can sometimes be different than what we are used to.

＊ Puzzle n°002

Contrary to the first puzzle, the remaining contestants did not immediately leave. They stood still, sometimes glancing at each other, as if probing each other’s movements.

“The largest crown…”

This mutter had come from a girl whose golden hair was tied up with a ribbon. She looked to be around the age of a high schooler. Aside from me, I was certain that she had to be the youngest among the participants.

“It appears that the organiser of this game likes to gather people around in the same place…” an old captain mused to himself. I remembered seeing him on the deck earlier.

The gorgeous lady who had also been on the deck took over the conversation.

“The ship is decorated with quite a few crowns here and there… It will be difficult to compare all their sizes within the time limit.”

“Then this means that the crowns on display are…”

“…all decoys to mislead us?”

Just a few instants before, we had heard once again the screams of the other contestants. A heavy atmosphere seemed to flow among those who remained in the hall, as everyone wanted to hear a little bit of the others’ opinions…

Was it a sense of solidarity? Or perhaps, on the contrary, they were probing each other in an attempt to assess their ulterior motives… It was probably the latter.

After all, only one person could win and gain eternal life.

“Professor, can you solve the puzzle this time?”

Janice was also anxious.

Alright, I would figure it out this time, and I would let her win the game.

“Well…” The professor was about to answer her question, but I decided to interrupt him.

“Professor, I’ll take care of this one!”

Both Janice and him looked a little surprised at my enthusiasm.

“Luke…?”

She remembered my name! That alone made me a little happier.

“It’s all right, Janice! After all, I’m the professor’s ‘apprentice number one’!”

I proudly flashed my pointing finger in the air as hard as I could. When she saw this, she started giggling… That too made me happy. I did not mind looking like a clown if it could make her smile.

“You have a very reliable apprentice,” she told the professor with an amused tone.

Alright, I could not afford to fail this puzzle. I immediately opened my notebook and drew a picture of a crown.

“The biggest crown…” I mumbled while thinking. “A crown… crown…”

The voice telling the puzzle came back to my mind.

Ladies and gentlemen, are you enjoying your ride on the Crown Petone?

“That’s it!” I had just been struck with a flash of inspiration. “We are now on the Crown Petone!”

“Well done, boy!”

Those words from the man with the hat and beard took me by surprise. I was so focused on solving the puzzle that I had completely forgotten about the many people that were standing around me.

The man in the hat made a short run for the door.

“If I remember correctly, the entrance to this theatre had a sign in the shape of a large crown, with the words ‘Crown Petone’ written on it!”

“Oh yes, it was a fairly large crown!”

“That’s it! It has to be!”

Everyone in the hall rushed to the exit.

They had all listened to my reasoning. With this, I would let Janice win! I was so proud of myself.

“Professor, we should go too!”

The professor was smiling. “Indeed we should, Luke.”

The three of us were the last ones to leave the theatre.

But as we walked down the corridor, I became more and more worried… The people who had left for the entrance were nowhere to be seen.

Janice would also turn her head and look behind us in search for other people, so she surely felt the same.

“Have they all made it to the entrance already?”

The professor did not answer.

Janice informed in a reserved whisper: “But… isn’t the entrance the other way around?”

What!?

“Professor, we must have taken a wrong turn! We have to go back!”

But as usual, he remained perfectly calm.

“This way is fine, Luke.”

“But…”

“The sign on the entrance is also a red herring.”

I widened my eyes in confusion, mouth agape.

“The ship was decorated with crowns all over, making everyone believe that they were decoys, and inciting them to go to the entrance,” he explained. “But… This is not the right answer either.”

“What do you mean?”

“Only one person can gain eternal life. These puzzles should not be too easy, otherwise everybody would be able to get them right…”

The professor continued to unravel his reasoning matter-of-factly.

“…And here is the clever part: after solving the first puzzle correctly, we had all been gathered in one room. So naturally, when the second puzzle had a similar wording as the first, we would tend to assume that the next puzzle would follow the same pattern.”

“Professor, I’m getting a bit confused now…”

“It’s alright. You will see soon…”

Suddenly, the professor stopped. We were just in front of a door that led to the deck. He opened the door and encouraged me to come out first.

As I walked out, I saw a row of suspended lifeboats. Several people were cooperating, trying to lower them into the sea.

There were the old captain, the girl who had blonde hair tied up in a ribbon, the gorgeous woman and the muscular man who looked like an athlete, that we had seen earlier… Then there was an explorer-looking man with a big backpack…

The lifeboat that the explorer was trying to lower suddenly lost its balance significantly.

“Whoops, be careful there. May I…?”

The old captain went to his rescue and took the reins, showing him how to handle the rope.

“Huh, you’re doing it so easily.” The explorer man was gazing in admiration.

“I’m the captain of a trading ship, I have devoted my entire life to this. The name is O’Donnell,” the old man said while quickly tilting his hat. “But, we should hurry and keep the chat for later.”

I looked around, seeing other people having similar interactions. What on Earth were they all up to? My mind was completely at a loss.

Janice went past me and approached a lifeboat too.

“Mr Whistler,” she called out.

“Janice,” he responded in a breath.

It was only upon hearing their voices that I realised… Mr Whistler and a little blonde girl were there too.

The little girl’s straight hair, parted down the middle, looked just like Melina’s photo from the brochure. Maybe this was the girl from the letter who had claimed that… she had eternal life?

When she saw the professor approaching, she fidgeted and quickly hid behind Mr Whistler’s back. Before the professor could say anything, Mr Whistler introduced her:

“This is my adopted daughter, Melina.”

The professor remained silent, staring at the girl. So she was named Melina too…

From behind us, a voice rang out with disdain.

“Tsh. So you solved the puzzle too, after all.” It was the man in the hat.

“Indeed.”

The professor smiled at him. Even when addressing disrespectful people, he was never going to be rude. After all, of course, that’s what a gentleman should do.

Still, what was that man talking about? I thought he was the one who had praised me earlier for solving it!

“Ugh. Great, even more competitors.”

That was the man who seemed to be an athlete. He also sounded extremely annoyed.

Everything made even less sense than before. Everyone else obviously knew what was going on, and I seemed to be the only one left in the dark…

I couldn’t help but tell the man in the hat what I thought. “But— You were the one who said earlier that the sign at the entrance was the right answer!”

“Tss. I want eternal life, boy, so I tricked those idiots. And I had to act quickly too, before you’d start spouting even more hints…”

“Spouting hints…?”

I really was completely clueless. I had no idea what was going on anymore.

　⇚　　　　　　　⇛

[zodiactalks]

These are the Zodiac Signs you can ALWAYS RELY on

The “independent” talk is pushed quite often in modern times, making people think they should always keep to themselves and make sure they solve their issues themselves as to not bother others or seem weak.

Well, these Zodiac signs think that’s quite a wrong way of looking at things, and I tend to agree. Whether you need an empathetic ear or someone to help you move your stuff out of your ex’s apartment, these signs will always have your back. Some of them do it because they care about you, some of them do it because they just can’t say no to people.

Either way, we’re glad they do, because life can get pretty hard at times and the best chance we’ve got to go through whatever it’s throwing at us is relying on our clique. Are you one of the signs that people can always call when they need help? Or are you one of the happy friends of one of them? Kudos are in order, either way. #1. Leo

Starting out strong, with the leader of the pack. Leos tend to get a bad rep for being controlling, narcissistic and sometimes, downright crazy.

They love being the centre of attention and they will never miss a chance to talk anyone’s ear off about their beliefs and accomplishments. Some do have the sauce to back these claims off, some don’t. But that’s not what we’re talking about today.

The most important aspect of a Leo is their pack, and they will be loyal to their friends and family, unmistakenly, for the entirety of their lives. They will never miss a chance to stand by you, even if you’re deadly mistaken, and they will often fight to preserve your image and happiness.

And their love for their pack extends beyond the audience, as making friends with a Leo will soon make you feel like you can take over the world with their help alone. So if you don’t have a Leo friend, you should get one. And if you’re a Leo, keep doing what you’re doing.

#2. Taurus

We all know, a Taurus is always the mom friend of the group. Beyond their ability to make you think like everything you want to do is a bad idea and convince you to just stay inside and watch Netflix, instead, a Taurus always has your best interests in mind.

They do enjoy the finer things in life, and there’s nothing quite as un-fine as not helping your friends when they need you.

This is why a Taurus will go above and beyond, using all of their resources to help you, even when those resources are only their boundless patience and ice cream stock.

And their famous stubbornness actually comes in handy sometimes - have you ever seen a tiny Taurus try to move furniture around your apartment although they can barely lift a broom off the ground? It’s a sight to be seen.

#3. Capricorn

Just the women. Capricorn men are a breed we will not be discussing today. But their female counterparts bring not only an Earth sign’s classic stubbornness and resilience but also the organisational skills to actually make a difference.

Capricorns might seem a cold bunch, but that’s their defence mechanism, acting as a barrier between them and people they don’t consider being on their level. And there’s going to be quite a few of those.

On the other hand, when a Capricorn finds their crowd, you will be pressed to find anyone that is more loyal and dependable. They’ll love spending time with you and always try to get you up on your feet, even if that sometimes can prove a little bit annoying.

Helping you achieve your potential is the thing they enjoy most, and they’ll do whatever it takes to get there, even if sometimes, you’d much rather have them leave you alone for a hot minute.

#4. Cancer

At the bottom of this list, we have yet another sign that will do anything for their friends. Cancers are a social sign, which makes them feel their best when everyone in their friend group is having a good time.

Moreover, they are very quick to self-sacrifice, which makes them the perfect friend to have in case of emergency. And probably not the best friend to have if you’re always in some sort of emergency.

Cancer will much rather come to help their friends than have their meal, and they will always go out of their way to make the best of any bad situation.

Whether you need help babysitting, running errands, or just need someone to spend time with you when you feel a bit overwhelmed, Cancer will always be a stellar option.

[haveyouseenthisskeleton]

It's skeleton's birthday! Does his brother organise a little party for him or something more intimist?

Undertale Sans - Sans wants all of Papyrus' birthday to be extra special because his little brother had to renounce to them for a long time as they were both homeless in their young years. It's usually around this time he magically becomes more active, picks more jobs, so he can have enough money to buy what he wants for his brother. This year, Papyrus got suspicious because that started a few months ahead instead of a few weeks, and he even got worried a bit his brother would have a burn out for him. But, well, all of this is kinda forgot the day Papyrus comes home and there's all his friends home, and a brand new motocycle for his brother. Here you go. After that, Sans does nothing but naps for two weeks lol.

Undertale Papyrus - It's just him, Grillby and Toriel for Sans' birthday. These are the only three people he really cares about and he doesn't need much. Papyrus bought him some space books and a new jacket, that's more than enough to make Sans really happy. Sans doesn't need much, just knowing people cares and his family. And Toriel's pie. He even cried a bit after Toriel said she's glad he's her best friend, that caught him offguard.

Underswap Sans - It's just him and his little brother. Parties make Honey anxious, even with people he knows. He just doesn't like to be the centre of attention (except when he's pranking people). The boys have a nice cringe movies nights where they laugh a lot, and then Blue offers him the super collector box of one of his favorite anime that's not even out yet. After that Blue can talk and all, it's over, Honey abandons him to bingewatch the whole thing in his room lol.

Underswap Papyrus - Since Blue's birthday is during his vacation, Honey decided to pay a trip to some faraway sunny country. The two of them are coming of course, but with quite different plans in mind. While Blue is testing all the sports activities the huge beach has to offer, Honey is just lazing in the sun and doing relaxing things. That's a nice birthday though, they both had fun and Honey put extra effort to bake the cake all by himself for his brother!

Underfell Sans - So, that's months Edge is almost begging him to take a new cat home. Red picks him up after work, but instead of going home, they're going to the shelter. Edge gasped so hard when he understood where they were, it was priceless. They choose a new kitty sister for Doomfanger and then, in the car, Edge suddenly hugs his brother two seconds before standing up straight and acts like nothing ever happened.

Underfell Papyrus - When Red wakes up, there's a big motocycle in front of his room. His brother is nowhere to be seen though. Edge is never there when Red wants to thank him, he still thinks it's weak. Oh well, that's why they have a phone. He sent a text to his brother, then he runs outside with his new baby to try it, as excited as a six years old kid.

Horrortale Sans - That's months Willow has back problems because his bed is too small, so it's quite the surprise when he comes home after a grocery store and finds a whole new bed in his room, a lot bigger and with options to help him sits or stands up when he needs to. Oak is acting really smug, like the thing just appeared out of nowhere, but it doesn't fool Willow who crushes him in a hug.

Horrortale Papyrus - They stopped celebrating their birthday Underground, so it's quite the surprise when Oak finds a huge gift on the table, his first birthday after they reached the surface. It's nothing too fancy, just a huge cake and some new clothes, but that's enough to makes him tear up a little. He never thought he would have a gift ever again just a few months ago, and here they are. He shares (a piece of) the cake with Willow and eats the whole rest of it because it's his, purring so loud the walls are trembling.

Swapfell Sans - Nox never does pranks, except once a year, for his little brother's birthday. Rus knows it. He is very suspicious and walks on eggs around the house, searching what his brother did. But when he sees the huge breakfast on the table? He forgets everything, so hungry. That's his doomfall. All things that looks like foor are not food. The only food are the plates, the bowls, the trays, the glasses... Rus is having a mental breakdown. But as he thought it was other, he threw himself in the couch and realise the pillows are cakes too. And the TV remote. And the... TV???? Rus' day is full of random cakes hiding in the objects he's using the most everyday. HOW. Nox is very proud of himself when he comes home, finding him curled up on the floor, questionning his entire existence.

Swapfell Papyrus - Rus wanted to pay him a new suit, but uh... Rus doesn't have the fashion sense his brother has. When Rus shows him his new bright pink zebra costum, Nox is speechless. Rus is very excited, thinking he aimed right. But man, Nox is wondering how the hell he is going to burn this thing without hurting his brother's feelings. He takes on himself when Rus insists he tries it and wears it. Before meeting Alphys and Undyne downstairs, who were waiting for him to start the party. There is a long silence, then Alphys bursts out laughing on the floor. Nox is entirely purple and tries to act as calm and natural as possible. Rus is confused. He loves the suit???

Fellswap Gold Sans - He takes his brother to Disneyland. He doesn't say anything before they're at the entrance of the park. Coffee's jaw falls on the ground and before he can say a word, his brother is gone, leaving him behind with his superpass to go meet his favorite heroes. Wine spends three hours searching for him, terrified something happened to him. He finds him in deep conversation with Groot, stars in the eyes. Well that happened.

Fellswap Gold Papyrus - Coffee paints something for him. It's really nice. Wine loves it, as usual, and puts it in his room with all the others his brother did other the ages. Wine keeps everything his brother paints to him. These are nice memories. He is so happy. Coffee is very proud of himself too. Also, he tried to bake a cake and Wine pretends there's no eggshells in it to not hurt his feelings. But oh boy this is bad.

[mariacallous]

An obtuse government refuses to discuss pay as 100,000 nurses strike on Thursday in 53 English NHS organisations. That’s despite an offer from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) to lower its opening bid. Ambulance drivers follow next week, the most severe threat of all the strikes, as this struggling service already fails to reach people experiencing heart attacks and strokes.

Labour’s shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, tells me an elderly close relative who just fell and broke a hip and shoulder was told to wait eight hours for an ambulance: it may be hard to separate the effects of the strikes from the “normal” austerity-stricken NHS. At a follow-up hospital visit recently after removal of a cancerous kidney, Streeting couldn’t get his test results: he blamed not the “lovely” staff who “really care”, but the plight of the NHS.

From now on, expect all such events to be blamed on strikes, rather than the “decade of neglect” outlined in Monday’s devastating King’s Fund report into NHS dilapidations caused by years of underfunding. Before any strikes begin, the Guardian set a baseline with yesterday’s frontline report on 33 hours in the NHS, graphically depicting exhausted staff struggling with too many severely ill people and too few beds, nurses and doctors. Everyone in the NHS I speak to echoes the certainty of Alastair McLellan, the editor of the Health Service Journal, that “people have died needlessly due to the state of the NHS”, but expect front pages about the first named case the Tory press can blame on the strikes. One human case is worth a welter of statistics.

NHS England headquarters is braced – it is well-used to rightwing onslaughts about the very concept of the NHS, with Telegraph columnists claiming “Patients are getting nothing for extra NHS spending” or “Our feckless NHS is squandering Rishi Sunak’s tax raid”. NHS leaders are trapped, unable to set fair pay for their staff, caught between a won’t-pay government intent on political “victory” and attacks from rightwingers using this crisis to proclaim the death of the NHS idea. More nurses have quit this year than ever before, says the RCN, not just over-50s retiring early but alarming numbers leaving after four or five years, exhausted by over-work, under-staffing and pay they can’t live on. “Victory” against the strikers would be pyrrhic, as more would walk away.

In every interview ministers hide behind the sanctity of the “independent” pay review bodies, claiming they set public pay. They don’t and nor are they “independent”. The government decides on pay, using PRBs as camouflage. The 60 or so members of these eight bodies covering public sectors are picked by ministers, as is their Office of Manpower Economics secretariat. I tried to speak to some members – no luck. Only two of those 60 people come from the employees’ side, says the TUC: one from the army, with no affiliated union. (The Tory press protests at the armed forces standing in for some public staff paid more than them. That’s because, banned from striking, they get short-changed by government; a recent report says Met police, likewise banned, are increasingly forced to use food banks).

These opaque PRBs are nothing like the Low Pay Commission that sets the minimum wage, whose membership is shared between academics, employers and unions: the TUC says it works well. PRBs have two main criteria to consider, both bogus. What are the current financial circumstances, and what may be needed to recruit, retain and motivate staff? But they are given a fixed spending envelope, with a set pay rise baked in. Any extra pay comes out of the departmental budget, causing cuts.

This year, for some health service workers including nurses, the NHS pay review body did recommend a pay rise of 1% more than the 2% budgeted, with no other room for manoeuvre, apart from dividing a set sum between staff of different grades. It has no leeway to consider what the state could afford, if it chose. Plainly recruiting and retaining was conveniently ignored; the NHS has never needed to motivate staff more, with an accelerating 133,000 vacancies in England and 8% fewer people applying to nursing courses. Why have there been no public resignations from those rubber-stamping inadequate pay?

Labour’s welcome policy is for fair pay agreements across every sector, public and private, with a tripartite set-up like the Low Pay Commission. That ends the PRB sham.

Expect more of this pretence as the health secretary, Steve Barclay, preposterously tells BBC Breakfast: “We do have an independent pay review body and it’s important both sides respect that independent body.” But only the government can negotiate. Streeting calls the RCN’s readiness to halt strikes immediately for pay talks an “offer the government can’t refuse”, but Barclay wrongfoots himself with what the RCN calls the government’s “belligerence”. Nor, as the Institute for Fiscal Studies confirms, does public pay – far behind private pay, let alone top pay – cause a “wage-price spiral”. The government did intervene to stop rail employers settling at 10%, so let interviewers take no more pay humbug from ministers.

There are two big truths about the NHS. This is its worst ever crisis, says everyone inside it that I talk to. NHS England will privately point to the obvious reason why, with Covid not the biggest cause: beds have been cut, running hot at a dangerous 95% occupancy; in 2019, the OECD average was 76%. Look, they say, at pre-Covid years 2010-19 to see the UK spending 18% less per head than the EU’s 14 richest nations, 21% less than France, 39% less than Germany. That’s a gigantic shortfall year after year, as baby boomers age fast, pressing on the NHS.

But here’s the other big NHS truth. I have just finished breast cancer treatment that was kind and efficient and I am not alone in my appreciation: last year saw the highest level yet, almost nine out 10 cancer patients pleased with their treatment, as cancer survival rates keep rising.

For all that is going badly, a million people a day have appointments at GP practices in England, 40% on the same day, 70% face to face. But the IFS reports this week that post-Covid there are 5% fewer available beds for non-Covid patients and more beds blocked for lack of social care. The government ignores the one quick fix for the NHS: good funding and decent pay for social care.

NHS England is firing up its Help Us to Help You campaign, urging people to come forward with cancer symptoms, not to leave it too late, not to be deterred by fear that the NHS is overwhelmed. Out there it’s a political battleground and inside staff are often ground down, yet still surveys show most people most of the time encounter good treatment. Amid outrage at this government’s 12-year neglect, the NHS remains in need of stout defence against its perennial enemies.

[serenabam]

I was a Taylor's concert in Hamburg N2 and I still can't believe it really happened!!

What an experience!! Better than I hoped it would be!! Aaahh bliss!!!

Having read and seen about other fans "post concert depression" and considering what an absolute catastrophe my life has been the last couple of years, I really took care to prepare myself mentally for this. All that time and energy was well spend - I feel wonderful and I only have good memories!! (I write this because this could have been a big issue for me if I hadn't worked hard on myself the last year while I had the ticket.)

This was my first time going to a concert (non classical music) I attended alone. I had travelled alone before but that's also more than a decade in the past now. After all the bad things I had to overcome, this feels like a huge win for me. All of it was a challenge and an uphill battle, but I made it possible! I'm so proud of myself not just selling my ticket. Yay for me!! And as an extra, I finally got to see Taylor live!!

The travelling was a challenge in itself thanks to the Deutsche Bahn. I was supposed to travel for three and a half hours from my home town to Hamburg .... ja, that time was almost doubled on the way to Hamburg and double plus extra time on the way home. This here is the negative of the trip.

When I arrived in Hamburg, I just dashed to my hotel, got ready - glittered up!! And off I was to the Volksparkstadion. Since I'm from the Niederrhein and from a Karnevalshochburg I am used to walk through a normal town totally dolled up, silly things in my face, so I don't even know if anyone blinked an eye about me running around with all that pink glitter on my face - I aimed for the lover album cover look - and all the sparkly stones I glued all over me.

The organisation at the stadium was supposed to be terrible. Maybe due to my almost late arrival (danke Deutsche Bahn) - when I reached the ticket scan Paramore started playing! uff - however I didn't really experience any queuing. Only thing that was stressful was getting to my seat. I found block 11C. I was in row 12, but I somehow managed to get into the block from the wrong direction and I had to get through the row for a too long time. Sorry to those affected! ... Block 11C is huge!

And at my seat - the view! Paramore already playing!! A dream come true. I've been a fan of theirs for soooo long, what an absolute treat seeing them live! When they finished I basically ran to the merch stand - I got the blue crew neck in L. Now at home, I wish I had taken the XL, but seems that cannot be remedied now. (Unless the blue crew neck somehow lands in the European online store. I will not try my luck with vinted, with my luck I'll loose my crew neck and get nothing in return.) It sits well, it's just not as roomy, oh well. Normally I'm an XXL or XL if large. This L fitting me like a normal sweater is pretty wild to me.

While I climb back up the Stadion-Block, the first song starts playing. What was it - Latto? Not sure now. I sped up and made it to my seat. As soon as I parked my ass, from the right Taylor's cleaning cart was pushed behind the stage. The whole stadium just lost it!! I knew "we" the audience knew Taylor uses that thing but it was hilarious. Everything happened super quick now. Gaga's "applause" started playing and we all just shouted out in excitement. People started running to their seats, people singing along to Gaga. Then the countdown started and Dusty starts singing ... the crowd including me became soooo loud, it was unreal. It was really happening. Over a year waiting for this concert and then it just starts right in front of you.

Taylor coming up in the elevator, crawling a few metres ahead onto the next elevator, while she is covered basically with a pride flag... then the reveal - the birth of Venus and Taylor was wearing the orange lover body suit with the pink boots. I was in love!!

All this I couldn't tell you by talking right now because this here - Taylor singing Miss Americana - is the start of me singing along so loud, that my voice is gone. It's saturday and it's getting better, my concert was on wednesday haha ... voice is coming back though, monday back at work, everything will be fine.

The next set was fearless and Taylor was wearing the new fearless tiger dress ... aaaaahh I get emotional. Back when I heard fearless (when it first came out) I became a fan of hers. Fearless the song has been with me all these years ... it's one of my special songs. And yes, I cried when I got to see and hear Taylor play it live. Thank you Taylor!!

The show went by like a breeze. I barely noticed the three hours. By the end when Taylor finished Karma and introduced band and dancers, I was spend but so deeply happy!! The TTPD - I do hope it somehow gets added to the concert film please? It was stunning. Down Bad with the UFO. The DRAMA! Although Taylor really seemed to be "over" So High School. I bet that song will get cut.

There were a few things I noticed that keep my brain busy now. Taylor seemed a little tense at times? Maybe the rain show the night before was a little heavy on her body? I don't know, but she clearly gave her best. When we reached Champagne Problems, by the end of the song, she seemed really not that into it. We were screaming like crazy! When she took her ear pieces out, we went absolutely feral!!! Never have I heard a crowd scream this loud, it was insane!!

I hate doing this and actually as part of me preparing myself for the concert experience, I made myself aware not to compare my personal experience with videos from other fans ... but clearly the night before, Taylor had a better time. Maybe because it was a rain show and she was more relaxed ... like her hair! It didn't have to be straight wink wink.

Another thing I noticed ... the song Illicit Affairs ... that song is about us and Taylor, isn't it? Sure all of Taylor's songs are multi-leveled. But oh boy! When she started singing the bridge, the backdrop losing the colours and Taylor pointing at us the audience ... with great passion!

Maybe I should write more about how I interpret her songs, maybe I will. I've been thinking about what it means to be a fan, that connection, what it is, what it isn't. And Taylor's performance of Illicit Affairs really hit me hard.

"And you wanna scream Don′t call me "kid" Don't call me "baby" Look at this godforsaken mess that you made me You showed me colors You know I can′t see with anyone else

Don't call me "kid" Don′t call me "baby" Look at this idiotic fool that you made me You taught me a secret language I can't speak with anyone else

And you know damn well For you I would ruin myself A million little times"

Pointing at us, the audience "don't call me kid" ... yeah, that song is about Taylor and us too. Sure it is on the surface a clever song about a couple having an affair. But this song is also about Taylor and her relationship with fame and the fans.

We have a secret language. We the general audience and Taylor. We the somewhat hardcore Swifties (you know, the ones, where we love her but don't actually stalk her!) and Taylor. We the Gaylors/Kaylors and Taylor. That fame Taylor is seeking, is driving her to a life in secret. Not the front door, but parking lots and side ways.

"There are five holes in that fence" ... we all here are clowns and idiots. No, it's bEckY.

Taylor having illicit affairs with the lovers the world knows. Taylor having illicit affairs with the lovers few know about. Taylor having illicit affairs with the general audience. Taylor having illicit affairs with the Gaylors ... if you, dear reader of this here, think Taylor is a heterosexual woman, would you think less of her, if and when she turns out to be queer? I'm queer myself so from my experience I think I know the answer. I also could be wrong about "reading" Taylor as a queer woman, no wait, I know I'm not wrong about this.

While this made me think, what broke me emotionally were the surprise songs.

Taylor in a blue dress (your body is blue) really brought the emotions on the night of Folkmore's fourth birthday.

On guitar The Last Great American Dynasty! I was soooo happy, one of my favourites and I had made peace with the fact that Taylor had cut it from the set aaaah! She mashed it up with Run!!! Oh god how I love Run! And what a clever mash-up. Might be my perspective again "Darling let's run" ... it's Taylor's relationship with someone and with fame again. All the public eyes on Rebecca and then Run! Darling, let's run!

The piano mash-up broke me. I was a crying mess. Nothing New. That song has a special meaning to me ... I'm so grateful that I got to hear it live.

""She looks like she's been through it"

Lord, what will become of me Once I've lost my novelty?"

And Taylor mashed this up with DEAR READER!!!

Dear reader, will you still want me when I'm nothing new?

Obviously my answer is yes, but oh my god, I feel this so much!! What an emotional gut punch .......

I loved this concert so much. I treasure the memories and I will keep them in my heart.

Taylor, you will never see this, but I love you, thank you so much!!

Thank you for giving me this experience, thank you for the memories. Thank you for giving me the motivation to make the impossible possible in my current situation. I grew in ways during the last year that I didn't think were possible, because my life was so bleek.

That drive and energy already helped me in other areas of my life. (I first accidently typed "other eras of my life" and that is a wonderful joke only I will ever understand.)

Going forward I want to remember this. Keep wearing the pink tour shirt ... Like Taylor I'm a sucker for numbers. The concert was number 121 on 24.7.24. The shop order for my shirt had a number like this too ... it's a little freaky joy I keep thinking about. I will keep wearing the blue crew neck too, I will put that Eras Tour Hamburg poster up.

I will hold on to those memories, they will hold onto me.

Stranger in the dark, if you read all this - thank you! I wish you an experience like the one I had and I hope you have a wonderful day. <3