#i for sure want to have several side stories going on that i can expand in separate fics

[crosscheckings]

the passenger - screening and q&a with carter smith | horrorigins fest 9/28/24

so there was a screening of the passenger at horrorigins fest in tucson, az over this weekend that had a theater screening of the passenger and then a live q&a with carter smith afterward!

there were some really good questions and there's some video on horrorigins instagram (here and here, they haven't posted a full but i know there were several people recording and the festival is ongoing through today so they may post full video later) but some highlights:

he reiterated a lot of things that he's said in interviews about the script (so i won't go into detail about that)

he talked about his background at FIT and how benson's wardrobe was extremely intentionally chosen, and that the costume designer wanted to kill him bc the exact shade of his cardigan took three times to dye to get it right, it's also acrylic and very itchy (he has one too lmao)

he said that he gave johnny and kyle freedom to improvise on the script as much as they needed/wanted but that for the most part they stuck to it

burgers burgers burgers was a convenience store that they cleaned out and the stuffed animal place was in an actual empty mall that was "abandoned" (he mentioned there were like 7 empty malls they could have used, this one was completely empty so they didn't have to shut it down but idk if it was abandoned in the traditional sense)

he talked about the close ups and how much he loved kyle and johnny's faces and how he could shoot the whole thing in close up

the script was originally called "Randolph Bradley" which he did like but marketing didn't think would grab people and he also likes The Passenger for the movie they ended up making

i wish they had given the audience members mics when they asked their questions bc i'm watching the recording back to make sure i don't misquote something so i can't really hear some of the questions :( they also didn't upload the whole thing as of yet so the rest of this isn't verbatim but:

he agrees that at its core its a love story! when i asked my question i said "i wanted to touch on the love story comment from earlier" (bc someone else briefly mentioned it before asking a diff question) and he was like "i ALSO want to talk about the love story more!!" and was very excited that i brought up that "there's obviously a queer undertone to the film" and he just talked about what he saw in the script and how that came about, again said that jack stanley was like there's no romance but carter was like ummm anyway

he said that "this was the best thing to happen to either of them" (randy and benson) and agreed with someone who had described them as two sides of the same coin

he said that blumhouse also wanted them to lean into the weird romance aspect of it (or were okay with it), kyle was incredibly down to lean into the weird romance and was like "can we make it MORE gay"

afterward the fest went to a bar and mostly everyone went! so we actually got to hang out with carter just me and my friend and we talked a little bit more about the film and just other movies that he's enjoyed, we talked about his weekly newsletter, just random stuff like that. some highlights of that:

he said that kyle was all in on the queer undertone and was like can i touch johnny MORE

he said that there is a scene where benson touches randy again in a way that is similar in vibe to the scene in the mall parking lot where he touches his neck/wipes his tears but that they ended up cutting it because he (Carter) felt like it would undermine the emotional impact of that particular touch! he didn't expand on what the touch was or where exactly it went (he said it was after the teacher but didn't specify if it was after shepherd or mrs beard but i imagine he meant shepherd)

carter said that he would absolutely do a full up and down queer movie with kyle (if it was ever the right fit rather than writing a role for that reason)

it was really great and so interesting to hear his thoughts on the film and on filmmaking as a whole! he is really friendly and super nice and really knowledgeable. he had so much good stuff to say about the industry and he couldn't get enough of praising johnny and kyle both for their performances (rightly so) and what a good time he had making the movie.

bonus:

carter was kind enough to sign my poster (which he reposted the picture of on instagram). (i go into more detail about this event and stuff here) he also gleefully took photos of the saint randy and saint benson candles i made (because i am insane) and said he was going to send them to johnny and kyle because they would love them. kyle also reposted the picture of me and my friend the festival posted of us with the candles so now i am just dryheaving in my room. <3

anyway! support your local film festivals!! without horrorigns this wouldn't have been possible so support local and indie filmmakers and local and independent film festivals! <33

[quirkwizard]

Other than the ones we already know, what products do you think other pro heroes endorse?

I'm not certain how you want me to tackle this, whether it's listing out what heroes may endorse in their line of work or cover specific products for each hero, so I did a bit of both.

So if we're talking in general, I'm sure that there are any number of generic products that heroes would have a brand deal with. Action figures, lunch boxes, children's soap. What I'm saying is that if you've seen a Marvel character on it in the past ten years, chances are that All Might had his own version of it in this setting. For more personal products, there could be any number of options. They could have specific toys, like a gun and target set for Snipe or a set of concrete-like building blocks or grey goo for Cementoss. I'm sure that products would be clamoring to have heroes endorse products related to their power, like Fat Gum having his own line of instant-ready meals or Enji getting associated with a bunch of grills. Some of them may even be intentional, such as Aizawa getting his face slapped on a box of eye drops because of how often he uses them.

Then there are products that the user has a more personal touch in. Fashion is the first to come to mind. This could be something the hero was involved with, such as Best Jeanist having his own clothing brand of his designs, or inspired by them, such as Hawks having a deal with some fashion brand to make versions of his jacket and glasses. There could be any number of businesses that heroes have built up and attached their names to, such as Thirteen having a spaced-themed play zone for kids to have safe fun in or Mount Lady owning a saloon where she promotes her various beauty products. Speaking of businesses, there are going to be restaurants about heroes. I guarantee that even the non-food-related heroes have some restaurants or brand deals with them, something I have talked about at length before with several heroes.

Then there is the more personal side of things, where the hero had an even bigger hand in them. We know that heroes can have documentaries made about them or run radio shows, so it'd be neat to see that expanded on. Something like Ms. Joke running her own late-night show where she messes with various heroes or works out specials done by Miruko that likely kill anyone who tries to do it. The arts could also be covered by them, such as Present Mic having an entire album that he sang and produced or Ryukyu making and selling off personal pieces of art she made for charity. And surely people who had as storied lives as heroes would have book deals about them, such as a book by Gang Orca talking about his struggles with his appearance throughout his life or Sir Nighteye writing a biography about All Might's history.

[heart-of-ep]

• Elvis in Hawaii - March 1977 •

I feel inclined to share some fun tidbits and photos of Elvis from his last vacation to Hawaii in 1977 cause he's an absolute baby in these pictures, and I just want to squish him. 🥺❤️

Elvis lounging on the beach, March 4th, 1977 in Honolulu, HI with his fiancé Ginger Alden.

After finishing up his recent tour on February 21st, Elvis would plan a two week vacation to Hawaii for himself and Ginger, which would very quickly expand to include a group of 30 people and amount to a cost of $100,000. They would fly out from Memphis to Honolulu, HI, on the evening of March 3rd.

Alongside Ginger, her sisters Rosemary and Terry would also join the trip. As for Elvis' friends and family, Larry Geller, Dr Nick, Joe Esposito, Shirley Dieu, Billy and Jo Smith, and several others would be among the large group who accompanied him to Hawaii. They would spend the first couple of days at the Hilton Rainbow Tower (now the Hilton Hawaiian Village) before moving to a beach house on the east side of the island in Kailua while the rest stayed at the hotel.

Despite his physical health not being the greatest at this point in time, everyone agreed that Elvis seemed relaxed for the majority of the trip and Larry Geller in particular hoped that Elvis would be able to take full advantage of the new surroundings and take the opportunity to get outdoors, exercise and eat better.

"Health and nurturing are everywhere. The air is clean and aromatic, and the Hawaiian fragrance of pineapples and tropical flowers in the atmosphere has already enveloped all of us. It's so seductive."

If I Can Dream: Elvis' Own Story (by Larry Geller)

While this vacation was a much needed break for Elvis and his friends and family, it was also his first real vacation with his now fiancé Ginger Alden, whom he had proposed to about a month before on January 26th, 1977. He spent much of the trip either lounging with Ginger and her sisters, or he would stay in at their beach house relaxing and reading books during his downtime.

On one occasion at the beach with Ginger and the others in their group, she would have to cut off the sleeves to Elvis' jumpsuit as he was getting overheated in the sun and hadn't packed any short sleeve tops.

"Before long, the rest of the group arrived at the house and Elvis decided he wanted to go to the beach. It was so warm out, we found some scissors and cut off the long sleeves to the jacket of his jogging suit."

Elvis and Ginger (by Ginger Alden)

Both Ginger and Larry noted how Elvis refused to change into shorts or remove his shirt, even when he was on the beach. Ginger suspected it was because of the marks on his back that the rhinestones from his jumpsuit would leave, leaving him a bit self consious, but neither of them were entirely sure the exact reason.

The "customized" jumpsuit that Ginger helped alter for Elvis while on the beach in Kailua.

Throughout her book, Ginger recounts the good times she had with Elvis during this trip and noted how special it was to her. Not only was it a dream vacation for her, but it was also a chance for Elvis to get some much needed rest.

She recalls several instances of Elvis having fun and goofing off with her and her sisters, most of which seemed to be with Rosemary, who shared his similar sense of humor. They would cut up, making jokes about rats and cheese, and Rosemary even challenged him to show off his karate skills, which Elvis did expertly. Ginger would also convince Elvis to play ping-pong with her despite finding the whole game rather silly.

One of my favorite stories from her book is the one that explains this infamous photo of Elvis. For the longest time, I had no idea who he was laying on top of, but Ginger explains:

"Suddenly, I noticed Elvis cut his eyes over at her. Rosemary looked back at him, smiled, then turned her attention elsewhere.

A big grin spread across his face as he continued to watch her. Shortly, he stood up and, as he walked past her, he suddenly turned and pounced. Rosemary fell backward with Elvis on top of her.

Someone snapped a picture of their spontaneous tussle while we all laughed. Then Elvis stood up and helped Rosemary to her feet."

Elvis and Ginger (by Ginger Alden)

I think this story shows just how much of a big kid Elvis is at heart and how he enjoyed just goofing off and playing around with his friends. Something that Ginger found as one of his most endearing qualities.

While the trip was overall a great experience, it did have its ups and downs. Elvis and Ginger would have a pretty heated argument after his temper flared, and though they would talk through it, Ginger was becoming more apparent of his sudden mood swings and was becoming increasingly concerned with his use of sleeping pills.

The trip would come to an end on March 13th after Elvis had gotten sand in his eye while messing around outside, and Dr Nick advised that they return home to Memphis to recooperate as he feared that Elvis may have scratched his cornea.

This would be Elvis' final vacation, and while no one really felt that any significant change had been made toward improving his overall health and outlook, it was definitely a much needed break for him and a good change of scenery before he would return home for yet another tour that would kick off in Phoneix, AZ on March 23rd, 1977.

•

I love looking at photos from this trip cause Elvis really does seem relaxed and at peace. Hawaii was one of his favorite places to go, and I think this vacation was a much needed break for him. Of course, it didn't last very long and almost as soon as he returned, he was back to touring despite his very obviously declining health.

A vacation couldn't save him in the end, but I think it at least gave him a good distraction from his daily struggles at the time. ❤️

Here's some more photos that I really love! ⚡️

(Small disclaimer: Online, the photos of him in the blue jumpsuit and terry cloth hat are dated as March 4th, 1977 but after reading both Ginger and Larry's recounting of the vacation, I believe this was actually on March 7th as these photos were taken in Kailua once they moved into a private beach house. According to Ginger, when they were staying at Hilton Rainbow Tower, Elvis didn't go down to the beach as he wouldn't have much privacy from fans. This is speculation, however, so I'll keep the date as March 4th, 1977 as I can't be 100% sure.)

[gold-pavilion]

If Till and Hyuna died, how DO we go from Wiege to a happy ending?

A Happy End(s) ALNST theory post!

Just as Wiege met us with some potentially very unsatisfying deaths, it brought us two HUGE story elements in the teasers and video itself: cloning (VERY emphasized) and glimpses at AUs.

I'll regard those two first, then talk about the current phase of the story and finally how the new elements might tie in to the next part. BUT BEAR IN MIND THIS IS ONLY IN THE CASE that Till and Hyuna are indeed dead. And also, that it's just a theory that's been bouncing in my head.

Firstly: while we did get allusions to artificiality around Luka before, it was in the teaser phase for Wiege that we got the straight-up confirmation about cloning being involved. (Of course, if more is said about this and how it works "clones" may stop being the more adequate word, but for now it's what I'll be calling them.)

There was material of him and his clones in the MV as well, several shots actually. That + posting about it separately makes it feel to me like it was important for us to know.

For this part of the story, knowledge of this element was intentionally given and highlighted.

Secondly: Wiege is the first instance so far where AUs appear within the series itself. We were shown both HS AU and Actor AU (which COULD be one modified "modern world, normal life" AU anyway).

I'm not sure if there's a second purpose to this, I've got theories below, but at the very least, these glances are meant to evoke that "they did enjoy some happiness, they could've lived happily if their world wasn't like it is" feeling.

Now, about the current state of the story and where it left off:

I don't think anyone's wrong to feel that Till's death is kinda strange (as it left plenty of his inner journey unfinished, just as he was opening his eyes to things, specially about Ivan) and that Hyuna's was too sudden (from mismanaged rebel fire, no less!).

However, it might be because the story can AFFORD to be "careless" with such deaths.

Because at the same time, we're being told "cloning does exist in this world, remember?" as well as "think about other lives (AUs)".

I mean, look at the order of things at the end of Wiege:

We have THREE main characters who died VERY recently (Till and Hyuna, but also Ivan given the weirdly short time spanned between CURE and Blink Gone),

the protagonist who's next step is to rage against the system,

and the character who brought the cloning element to the story.

To expand on that: Mizi always being at the forefront of official content, being the first focus character (who also opened the story with her monologue on human history and the loss of her love), the one with the from-the-stage-to-rebellion line and the most change / development makes her the story-driving force of ALNST. In other words, Mizi is the slowly-delivered protagonist.

I think that much has been kinda visible for a while. And now, the spotlight is on her all the more.

She will doubtlessly want to do SOMETHING, after all this unfair death.

Hyuna's goodbye speech was aimed to inspire Luka to live on, embrace his humanity and "live with love", wishing for him the same medicine that Hyuna's life outside gave her.

It ought to make him switch out of his compliant, segyein-inclined ways to side with humankind; whether he does so genuinely or just for Hyuna is the same.

So we have Mizi, the protag who NEEDS to do something now. And Luka, the guy who MIGHT WANT to do something now... who just happens to know about the segyein's cloning methods. You see where I'm going?

It's pretty out-there! and doubtlessly kinda nutty!!

But to lay it down explicitly, here's my two Happy End theories:

Theory 1: willingly or not, Luka helps Mizi revive or restore the others in a way that involves the cloning tech he knows.

Till, Hyuna and Ivan's bodies are all at hand.

I thought it was really odd for CURE and Blink Gone to have such little time between them, but seeing now that this fact makes Ivan's death almost as recent, I have my suspicions about it being intentional. His body may be reachable. (I swear to god, if this revival theory turns true and they DON'T include Ivan I'll never recover.)

As for Sua, who died longer ago, I do believe she can also be brought back, just with more difficulty (tbh, fitting for Mizi's first loss to be the last recovery). But since this belief hinges on patreon paid content, I won't disclose it here. Moots n friends with patreon access can ask!

(There's also one patreon post that I have as support for this overall theory that's also paid content and won't be disclosed publicly, but again, go ahead and ask if interested and I'll provide both, so long as you prove you ARE supporting Vivinos' patreon. I don't distribute what I'm not allowed to distribute.)

But that's the first theory. Everyone is recovered, they fight back and live on.

Theory 2: just a vague idea. Instead of a revival route for the characters, the story might take a route that relies more on the AUs they showed us, which is why I said I'm unsure of their purpose.

Maybe it's a route where they DO stay frustratingly dead in the main story but we shift our focus to the AUs? Or a terrible ending is reached in the main story, but it turns out to have been Actor AU all along? I don't lean towards this a lot, but hey, it's another possibility.

(And of course, Theory 3: somehow Till and/or Hyuna survive, the segyein don't really have a good read on people's vitals so they were marked as dead when they're not, and the 4 tough it out the long way lmao.)

As things are now, I think the most about revivals. Cloning and bending life-death have been hinted for so long.

I would make sense both for Luka and Mizi's development to act towards that (Luka switching sides as well as touching upon his individuality trauma, Mizi becoming a bigger and more active force in the rebellion to fulfill her protagonist role against the system that subjected her to all this horror and loss), as well as making the happy ending Vivimeng talked about fully possible.

Let me know what you think!

Again, this is only a theory. But if you've read all of it, thank you!

[literary-illuminati]

2025 Book Review #7 – Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer

One of my goals for 2025 is to expand my cultural and literary horizons somewhat. Which means reading more proper high literature and classics on the one hand, and getting over my distaste and giving some genre romance and YA an honest try on the other. This was checking 1/2 boxes for the latter – it showed up on a bunch of recommendation lists I’ve absentmindedly scrolled through here and there as (to paraphrase) YA for people who hate YA, which seemed promising. Having read it, I absolutely see what they meant, and if I read this when I was young enough to be part of the demographic I would have absolutely adored it. But the marks of the genre are very obvious on it, and having given it a try the appeal of reading this stuff as an adult is still a bit beyond me.

The book stars Nita, a 17-year-old girl with a somewhat unusual upbringing – her mother pulled her out of school to be her on hand vivisectionist, dissecting and preparing the body parts of all the supernatural creatures she hunts for transport and sale. She��s quite good at it, too – and despite being supernatural herself, happy with the work and resigned to the lifestyle. At least until her mother brings back a living boy her own age of a rare species to cut apart and bleed over time for maximum profit. Having a crisis of conscience, she helps him escape before returning to face her mother’s wrath alone.

A few days later, she wakes up in a glass cage on the other side of the country, an exotic new specimen for butchery and sale at the largest market in supernatural bodies on the continent. Along with a fellow prisoner and through an unlikely alliance with the pain-eating guard and torturer there to keep them in line, she spends more or less the entire rest of the book trying to escape Death Market before she’s cut apart and sold for literal consumption.

One of the more striking things about reading the book for me was honestly just how little actually happens in it. Not that it dragged, necessarily, but you could (I think) fairly easily condense this into a novella without having to actually cut any major plot points or characterization beats. You can count the number of actual characters on one hand, and there are even fewer actually meaningful locations. It’s all just very decompressed, with what felt like the better part of it’s ~350 pages dedicated to Nita’s internal ruminations and musings, and to her evolving opinion of Kovit (the pain-eating torturer with a soul, and the book’s male lead).

Nita and Kovit together get the overwhelming majority of the effort the book spends on characterization. Which is often delivered rather bluntly in what’s basically exposition delivered directly to the audience, but for all that they’re both at fairly compelling characters. They’re both endearingly fucked up, at least – especially in the way that both are very aware that something is wrong with them, but have incredibly skewed ideas of just how much or to what degree it is. Blessedly, the story is not a romance, though there’s plenty of subtext there if you want to go looking (and I’m sure it’s build on in however many sequels there are).

I can’t exactly hold the book’s prose against it – I more or less new what I was getting into here, after all – but I was still really struck by how direct and simple it is. The closest thing to actual YA I’d otherwise read recently was the Scholomance books, and by comparison they were elevated and downright poetic. It made for easy reading, though it was an effort not to start skimming at points. Which wasn’t at all helped by all the cases where it was very, very clear that this book set entirely in Latin America with a heroine who has lived there for several years was written by an American for a presumed audience of other Americans. Of impressionable young teens, specifically – the places where Nita’s internal monologue or basically anyone’s speech was hijacked for a paragraph or two to delivery education and edifying information about Peruvian history or cuisine or whatever were very, very obvious. Never exactly offensive – and incidentally teaching this sort of thing is in fact exactly one of the social goods books for children should achieve – but my god was it blunt.

Despite that, the book is also quite gleefully gory and amoral. In a very ‘edgy teenager’ way but, of course, that’s exactly who this is written for. I actually really liked that Nita never even really pretended to be any sort of good person (thinks of herself as far worse of a person than she actually is, even), and the narrative never really argues with her about that – similarly to a forced romance, I went in expecting a forced affirming redemptive arc and was pleasantly surprised by its lack. The reveal with Fabrico during the finale was also quite pleasantly nasty.

Kovit is interesting because the book very clearly frames and positions him as not as bad as Nita originally thinks he is, tormented and anguished and abused, dedicated to holding on to what shreds of his soul as he can, impossibly cute and absolutely desperate for any scraps of trust or affection, and so on – he’s basically designed in a lab to have fanfic written about him. But the story never quite forgets that he is, to anyone he doesn’t have a directly personal connection to, still absolutely a predator and a monster. He has all his lines in the sand he keeps to religiously, but he also did very much horribly torture a terrified dolphin-girl – and being allowed to do so was a treat from his employer. Which is roughly the arc that Nita spends the book going on, really – learning that acting on abstract principles or ‘wanting to be a good person’ is dangerous idiocy, that all that matters is whether the monsters your work with can be trusted by you. It’s a fun corruption arc.

Overall, I absolutely do see why people would like this book – and again, if I had gotten my hands on it in ninth grade, I would have devoured it in a single sitting. As an adult – look, I can see how the plot and themes could be made into something I adore. But the things that make it YA do in fact basically kill any enthusiasm I have for the sequel. But hey, I’ve tried a new thing.

[sparklecarehospital-archive]

I know you’re not working on any askblog things but will the sparklecare askblog ever return?

i've thought about this a lot, semi-recently. sorry for long post, i had a lot to say

see, the issue with asksparklecare is the fact it's supposed to "go along with canon events" and a lot of the time, the arcs will just abruptly end or change with no real connection between them. haunted was sort of my first attempt at putting a "story" on there, then again with the kissmas comic from 2021.

when i started cometcare for example, i wanted to take the generic "ask blog" format and turn it into a coherent, cohesive connecting story that just had interactive elements to make it engaging with readers as opposed to just making people ask the characters questions aimlessly. the main ask blog never really had that entirely, it was just sort of the classic 2010s-style ask blog, this is apparent in basically every arc on there.

it's stumped me quite a bit because now that i have this very different style of ask blog storytelling, the original ask blog feels weird to go back to and i don't feel the same passion or connection with it that i once did. it's a little bit frustrating. i tried to do an arc about the side patients but as you guys saw, i never even did it because i felt so out of touch with that old format of ask blog posts and i couldn't bring myself to work on it at all.

cometcare and darkermatters both have Stories to them, and each arc has a plot that is moved on by readers- even if i already have it written out, there are little things people can influence through the asks and it's a good way for introducing new characters or expanding on characters who we've already met. several times cometcare will return to specific characters to relay information or new details or exposition or something that their initial introduction didn't have.

it's a much more fun process for me to write actual stories in my AU blogs, instead of just....making the characters talk. and another thing- going alongside the main comic has problems, because sometimes there's information i can only reveal in the comic itself, and it's hard to keep up with it in general.

i enjoyed doing the kissmas comic because i got to do a "story" even if it wasn't interactive. i had fun repeating the concept on cometcare last december with help of the crew.

i'm sort of at a loss of what to do with the main ask blog at this point. as much as i miss doing stuff like that for main comic, i just don't find it FUN to do it that way anymore, i've become too attached to the storytelling aspects of my other ask blogs and it just doesn't feel the same exciting experience of watching people react to events and such.

if anyone has suggestions about what i should do with the main ask blog to solve this problem i'm open to hearing them, it would be nice to have some ideas because i'm really not sure what i want to do with it.

there was a time i had the idea of doing a backstory ask blog as an alternate main canon interactive story that followed similar mechanics as cometcare and darkermatters, but idk if everyone would be interested in that. that would probably be a separate thing if i ever did it.

thoughts, opinions, suggestions and ideas are all welcome in the replies or my inbox, i would love to have your guys' input since im making content you all would be engaging with after all

[astronomical-light]

tagged by @bropunzeling for a fun little writing meme, so i will absolutely do that instead of actually writing <3

What's one story you've written, you're the most proud of?

recency bias is so real, because i think every time i write something new, every time i write something successfully when i thought i couldn't, it pushes me to keep trying bigger and better things. i'm proud of hold it against me because i wanted to write something fun and tropey that harkened back to the heyday of actor rpf on livejournal, so i did. i wrote 50k about it! and i had a blast! i'm proud that even though only two whole people who followed me cared about it when i started, i still wrote it. it will never get the numbers of some of my other work, but the past year or so i've really tried to free myself from the prison of "success" and just write whatever the hell i want, and it has been glorious. success is bringing your silly idea to fruition. success is having a conversation with even just one person who understands your vision. success is just fucking finishing something, lmao. i'm proud of everything i finish for different reasons.

when i finish stalag fic, i'm going to be proud of committing to a vibe and writing something really intense and atmospheric like nothing else i've ever written before. when i finish va fic in approximately a YEAR, i'm going to be really fucking proud of it, too, because the scope of it is probably the most intimidating thing i've ever undertaken. i am still not thinking about how long it is going to be! that's none of my business right now!

What's one story you wished you had expanded on, or spent more time writing?

in some ways i never would have finished the tools to rebuild were it not for the deadline of the big bang, and i was really in the fucking weeds with it, but i do wonder how it would have turned out if i had more time. on the flip side, it's a tight 20k that got a lot of great comments on the pacing despite knowing that if i wrote it now it would probably be twice as long, so there is something to be said with working under pressure and being efficient with the story that you want to tell. i am, at the end of the day, still incredibly proud of it and it's one of my fics that has resonated the most with people, and that's all i can ask for, really.

What's your favorite trope of all time?

YEARNING. REPRESSION. having so many feelings you don't know what you're supposed to do with them!!! i am always a sucker for things like Getting Back Together; i love when things are messy, i love breaking up and making up, or finding your way back to the one that got away, because it's all about the weight of history, about how you can never escape That One Person because they're lodged into your dna even if it takes you twenty years to figure it out. not soulmates except fuck you it kind of is, but because we made it that way, because the universe didn't gift wrap us for each other but we still made ourselves into this. is it any wonder the old man yaoi with the demonstrated implicit trust and emotional intimacy despite their blatant commitment issues have rotted my brain so severely

If you could be the main character in one of your stories, what one would it be?

so my initial answer was a vehement absolutely none of them, but i guess i could be george in yarn au. i could own a whimsical little yarn store without you putting a gun to my head about it, probably.

Do you think you'll ever stop writing for the fandom you're currently most active in?

i mean i didn't expect to be writing generation kill fanned fiction in the year of our lord 2025 yet here i am haha. so while i'm sure everything will continue ebb and flow as they always do, the things that take root in your brain never truly leave you. when inspiration strikes, it strikes.

You've been given a book deal. What story are you publishing from your collection?

same response as @bropunzeling that, imo, if you can file the serial numbers off of a story and publish it without some heavy fucking editing, there are problems afoot. the reason i love fic is to play with the characters that already exist, and that means that if i take those characters out of it, the story shouldn't be able to cohere because it would be a totally different story with totally different people. if you put a different person in that situation, you have a whole new situation on your hands. even in an AU, i think you should stand on the shoulders of canon. i want to be able to recognize the characters, not write something where you can just copy and paste a name and everything still make perfect sense, you know?

that was actually one of the hardest parts of dakar au, because who the FUCK is simon riley divorced of all of his trauma from canon? how can i give him a believable amount of trauma in the setting i put him in that would get him even 10% of the amount of fucked up he is? how can i still keep him recognizable when you strip away almost everything that makes him him? it was a really fun process, and asking those questions is the whole point, to me. that's what it's all about, baby!

Top writing tip for others?

stop worrying about everyone else and just write it, man. if you want it to exist, be the one to make it happen. the people who fuck with it will find it and no one else matters. there is really no better feeling in this world than creating a connection with someone who really gets your niche little passion project. that's where real friendship is made, and that's what matters when it comes to fandom.

tagging @alethialia @kritischetheologie @elementalmoments if you wanna play :)

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I've been dreaming of the Deep Sea Tactician.

The Sea Witch has to be as shrewd as he is kind, collecting all manner of wealth.

All the treasures in the world, his--but what is truly invaluable to him is...

How does a moment last forever? How can a story never die?

"Please sign right here on the dotted line.”

Azul taps on the line in question and offers the client his pen. It's a marvel, gifted to him by his stepfather upon graduation. The pen is carved of bone and made to resemble a fish's insides, the nib flaring out into ribs and then ending in a skeletal tail.

The writing implement is claimed.

He watches with eager eyes as the client scrawls on the golden parchment. The signature flows as smoothly as the ink writing it, and as easily as the conversation exchanged with the signer.

One leg of the letter K drags out, underlining the entirety of his first name.

Kalim Al-Asim.

"There you go!" he declares, sliding the contract and the pen back to Azul.

“Thank you very much!" he gushes, snatching up the paper like an octopus might ensnare its target--it is worth its weight in gold, and more. "It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Kalim-san.” “My people will be in contact with your people.”

"Looking forward to it." Kalim reclines in his cushy armchair--one of many that decorate Azul's office. "It's crazy how things work out, huh? I didn't think this is how we'd reunite all these years later."

"Fufufu, it must be fate. I'm honored that you would come and seek me out like this."

Azul rolls up the contract and ties it with a string. It will soon be filed away with the others in an ever-expanding vault.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that the heir to the Asim trading company would approach me for a franchising opportunity."

"Everyone wants a piece of the hottest new restaurant chain. You see Mostro Lounges everywhere now. Having locations in the Scalding Sands can offer tourists a little bit of home away from home if they want the option of something familiar."

"Of course, I completely understand," Azul drawls. "On our end, we will do our utmost to craft unique menu items which will showcase the best of what your home country has to offer. It's sure to be a success!"

Calm, he may display outwardly--but inside, Azul is cheering, fist pumping, and bouncing off the walls with glee. Securing this deal is massive for him, for his business.

"We should celebrate," Kalim suggests, gesturing for his attendant. He wears many bejeweled rings which sparkle with the flicker of his fingers. "A drink? I can call for a bottle of the finest wine."

Azul holds up both hands. "Oh no, I couldn't possibly. I'm afraid I have a lunch engagement right after this. I wouldn't want to ruin my appetite."

His client laughs from his belly, deep and resonant. "I won't keep you any longer then. You have my contact information if you need to discuss the project."

Kalim rises, and at once, his attendant is magically at his side, helping him into his coat.

Azul waits several minutes after they've filed out to enter the code into his safe and deposit the agreement safely inside. The vault door swings shut with a heavy CLANG--and upon its shiny metallic face, he glimpses himself. He's grinning like a cat that has gotten the cream.

His digital watch blinks on, buzzing slightly. Right on cue, his alarm is going off.

Lunch.

Azul heads for the door, tidying himself up on the way. Adjusting the brim of his hat, the lapels of his suit. He mustn't be embarrassed, mustn't be teased.

He opens the door and--

POP, POP, POP!!

Confetti rains down, catching in his headwear and the jacket that hangs off of his shoulders. His assailants wear the same sharp-toothed smiles and mischievous glint to their eyes.

"Jade, Floyd. You two never cease to surprise, do you?" Azul sighs, brushing off the confetti and letting it flutter to the ground. "I thought the plan was to meet at the restaurant, not at my office."

"That was the original intent, yes."

"We changed our minds and came to see you instead, since it's such a big day!" Floyd elbows him. "Finally cinched that big deal with Sea Otter-chan, eh? Now you can make truckloads more money!"

"It's not about the money," Azul corrects him. "The money is nice, yes--but it's the new connections which will prove to be a long-term benefit.

"A clause in the contract stipulates access to the highest quality ingredients procured by the Asims. If all goes well, I can make other requests! Fine china, lavish furniture, a working relationship with Kalim-san, a hefty name with which to brag to other potential clients...!"

The world, his oyster.

The idea makes his smirk grow into a smile.

"Fufufu, things are looking up for the Mostro Lounge's empire! Then even more dough will roll in, far more than the upfront costs of the initial investment!!"

"Aaaah, Jade. Looks like he's lost it again."

"You're right, Floyd. I can practically see the thaumark signs in his eyes," Jade chuckles. "It's good to see that you haven't changed in all these years, Azul. You're still every bit as amusing as you were back then."

"Hmph!" He folds his arms. "What did you expect, that I'd collapse into a wobbling mess without you two at my beck and call? I'll have you know that I'm perfectly competent and capable of running a business without you."

The twins share a skeptical look with one another.

"That's his way of saying he misses having us around. He wants to hang out with us sooo bad."

"It most certainly is. He misses our companionship so much that he personally reached out to invite us to a meal to reconnect."

"And brag about his accomplishments."

"Yes, that as well."

"I-I did NOT!!"

"Tsk, tsk, Azul. You should be more honest with yourself," Jade tuts. "All this success, and you're still unable to afford an ounce of humility? I'm appalled."

"That's rich, coming from you," Azul shoots back. "I could have lunch with any number of wealthy and powerful clientele, but I've chosen to have it with you two! Is that alone not enough humility for you?!"

"Awww, so you did miss us!"

Azul's cheeks color. "I-I never said that!"

So much for not being embarrassed, not being teased. Some way or another, he always falls prey to the Leech brothers' antics.

"He's still being shy, Jade."

"He is, Floyd."

"Know what? This calls for a group hug. I bet that'll help him open up to us."

"You're absolutely right. A group hug will fix this matter in a matter of moments."

"Excuse me?! I-I do not consent to this in any way whatsoever! We must be on our way, our reservation will not hold forev..."

GLOMP!

Azul is embraced from both sides, Jade and Floyd's arms wrapping around him and squeezing him tight. He gasps for air, wriggling between them.

"... Fine, you win," Azul groans, melting into the hug. He tells himself that he has simply given up, not that he enjoys the closeness, the intimacy of friendship. "Are you satisfied?"

"Very~" Jade and Floyd chorus.

"If that's the case, then we'd better get going. That reservation really will expire if we overshoot the 15-minute grace period." Azul pauses, then frowns. "I certainly hope you weren't thinking of walking all the way to the restaurant clinging to me like this. I have a public image to maintain."

Neither brother budges.

"... Jade? Floyd? You did hear me just now, didn't you?"

"Hm, did you hear that, Floyd? It sounded like a mosquito buzzing in my ear."

"I didn't hear anything at all, Jade. Maybe it was just the wind!"

"You two...!!"

Their bickering floats down the hallway and meets a pair of pointed ears.

Ah, squabbling—the true sign of a happy reunion. The listener grins.

“Many blessings upon you, Ashengrotto and company.”

[bonefall]

maybe with the ending.. make it be like the link between Breezepelt's leaving to join Kin and his POV in AVOS? of course from Nightcloud's perspective but

like. she would be injured and recovering away from the clan. but they would be unaware that she is alive and like in canon assume she died and hold her a vigil. Breezepelt, who is already at low point, taking it very badly - yes he was pushing her away bc he was hurt and angry and started taking it out on her, but.. it's still his mom. his Mi. and she is dead? or is this stupid clan just going to believe this to make it easier? are they really giving up on looking for her, or her body??

i can see Nightcloud being the one of very few, if not THE Only one, things that kept Breezepelt in WindClan at this point. and without her, what's the point? it's not like anyone else likes him. the link is gone and they buried it in a bodyless vigil. so it's what pushes him to actuall take the step and leave.

not sure how well it would align with the timeline and events. and how soon Darktail was assembling cats from other clans like Breeze. but i think it would be interesting and heartbreaking if at the end of her SE, Nightcloud just arrived back to WindClan and asks where Breezepelt is and someone tells her.. he either was missing since this morning or just left the clan earlier the same day. like, just have them miss each other by a hair.

I'm thinking that the second-to-last chapter is her with Pickle, having a bit of a sabbatical to unpack everything that happens through the story. Mostly because I want to throw her into some kind of pretty garden as a nice setting for this lmaoo

A LOT of BB stuff is being added to Nightcloud's Pannage that wasn't in the main series; Hillrunner's abuse, her mentor Addersong, several expanded little background characters now complete with their own side conflicts. I think what I can bind all these things with is Nightcloud considering what a Clan means.

Because of her new reputation, I'm noticing I'm writing scenes where she's intentionally doing and saying things to try and sway them. While also grappling with her resentment towards them, and things she can't change.

There's a bit of a melancholy air so far, so I'm starting to feel like the best ending is just having a bit of space to herself to think. Ultimately, she decides that it's more than Breezepelt or Crowfeather that binds her to WindClan. It's the life and connections she COULD have.

WindClan cats are also quite religious next to other Clans, so I really do mean "sabbatical." I'm going to have Addersong die of old age shortly after they reconnect, so she's in Pickle's Garden talking to her new friend, choosing cats she's lost to pray to as patron spirits to give her the traits she feels she needs, and just recovering both physically from injury and spiritually from turmoil.

So all that to say; it works well that by the time she gets back, Breezepelt has joined The Kin. He was one of the first to join when he started calling for members anyway, so having Night be gone for about two or three weeks sounds appropriate.

[g4rchomp]

alright I finished Ancillary Sword so time for a post-reading thoughts breakdown (spoilers + another really long post)

I loved the book, I had a lot of fun reading it and I would recommend it for people who loved Ancillary Justice.

It was more lighthearted than Justice, and although it is a direct sequel, it felt more like an exploration of daily life in the universe the book is set in than the continuation of an epic space-opera. I loved learning more about the characters we already know about and new characters that were introduced (I'm adding Tisarwat to my collection of best friends). The worldbuilding was great and I'm personally a big fan of reading about tea sets every two pages.

From personal revenge to.... reform?

Overall, I felt that all the pieces were there but maybe weren't as connected or as developed as I wish they would have. For example, I like Breq's switch from seeking personal revenge to seeking justice at a larger scale. That being said, this shift didn't feel satisfactory for me, I felt like what that shift means to her and why/how it happened wasn't expanded upon enough. She ends up solving most problems she encounters and embodying a kind of "just" posture that ultimately feels... very Radchaai and not exactly like Breq.

I thought Sirix' conversation with Breq towards the end was very interesting but frustrating because everything Sirix states is true: Breq comes from nowhere and thinks she can fix colonialism through personal solutions, thus overlooking the structural and historical aspect of colonialism. Characters tell her several time but she ends up saying "I know all that, I'm just doing what I can to make things better" which, although well-meaning, is not what we know is needed to work towards liberation. And who else in this universe is working towards that sort of things? Reformist Anaander Mianaai. Despite Breq's claims that she doesn't belong to any side, the whole book felt very aligned with Mianaai's goals: reform without liberation.

This book's vilains Hetnys and Raughd are painted as bad persons who abuse their powers, rather than questioning how power is distributed in the first place. The undergarden ends up with clean water and accessible doors but their access to power and self-determination hasn't improved. Breq ends up hiring Sirix's sister rather than working towards a way to keep the family together. She still uses regular Radchaai justice pathways to distribute her own justice, thus making her journey towards social justice a bit lackluster to me.

I don't want to say this isn't addressed at all within the book, it is. Breq knows her efforts aren't enough and several characters note her hypocrisy. Ultimately, I don't think the author does enough with all this, I think it could have been weaved in more thoroughly. I think tying her desire for justice to her deep desire to please Basnaaid could have been a way to do this. We do see some of that but not nearly enough in my opinion.

Is Dilque alive??? can Station say something???

Another thing that is bugging me: when Dilque gets shot, station says "no, Dilque is still in her room" and Breq replies "well go make sure of that" but I don't believe we've had any answers to that. Is she still alive??? if so why would no one notice??? or is it just because she didn't have trackers on??? what's going on??? Why would station say that and then say nothing? maybe this will get brought back in the third entry. or maybe I just missed something lol

Tisarwat my good friend Tisarwat

I loved Tisarwat's story arc and I think the end of the book was perfect for her. crying in Breq's arms because she lost what she had access too for a brief, reminding Breq of all the young officiers crying to her when she was a ship herself. that's good stuff. especially right after the Atagaris tells her she will never understand what it's like to even think about losing your captain as a ship. I love a good ironic, heartbreaking moment. Those chapters were really good and I loved the parallels between Breq and Tisarwat missing the sensory input from that division of the self and Seivarden's short moment of (in)volontarily(?) missing kef when she's stressed out. the story is at its strongest when it's character driven and I wish we had more moments like these in the book to really drive home what matters to the characters we follow.

Seivarden needs some enrichment

I cheered every time Seivarden did anything. She technically did a lot of things: she went back to being a lieutenant, took many important decisions, had a decisive role in several key situations... But to me she shined the most in ordinary situations: in her bath thinking about Breq... sharing intimacy with Ekalu... indirectly confessing some sort of feeling to Breq.... she was very introspective and it was incredibly endearing. I wish she had more interactions with Breq though, they are great thinking partners for one another and I missed their connection.

Alsoooo I think Breq doesn't realize how much she owes Seivarden and how much she likes her. She's so focused on Awn she doesn't realize how devastated she would be to lose Seivarden. she does scold Seivarden when she takes risks towards the end of the book to save her life but I don't think it reflects the bond they have. Throughout the books, we notice Breq realizes how important things/people were to her once she loses them. She reacts to loss more than anything else and this is partly why she always acts after the fact, after the annexion, after Dilque gets shot, after the bomb in the bath. She doesn't plan ahead, she doesn't look forward. I think Seivarden is really important to her, but she just hasn't noticed that yet about herself and about them.

As a conclusion...

I loved Ancillary Sword and look forward to reading Ancillary Mercy. The politics of the book left were a little bit lackluster for me, and some lose ends could have been wrapped up a little bit better. however, the worldbuilding and characters were captivating and I liked the change of pace and scenario.

[midnight-in-town]

Never thought I’d see the day cooking would be used as a power up for exorcism and to further character development :D

Can I also say it’s just so sweet that Osceola’s knowledge (who’s been a strong but secondary character until fairly recently, i love him and his design so much tho) resonates with Rin on such a personal level? 

After all, cooking is the one thing Shiro thought hard about and decided that Rin would study at home with him...

because Rin needed an efficient way to learn how to control his strength. 

Now we reached a point in the story when Rin admits to “having defeated his demon side” and controlling his flame, talking to Yukio about his doubts, and Sensei parallels it in the same chapter with...

...Rin actively learning about the field of talismanic cooking.

Also, I love how, little by little, Sensei highlights how Rin’s objectives have changed throughout the story, because of what he learnt about himself and about the dual world (made of Assiah and Gehenna) that they live in. In shonen series, the hero(es) often have one or several immovable goal(s) to achieve but Rin’s have steadily evolved. He initially wanted to kick Satan’s butt for Shiro’s death, but now...

...he realizes there’s just too much he doesn’t understand to be sure of what he can actually do. 

EDIT: To elaborate, this was foreshadowed way back, during the Kyoto arc, that without understanding of both sides Rin would never become a bridge between Assiah and Gehenna...

...and once more in the Aomori arc...

...but it’s good that he started mentioning these doubts to people around him.

After all, in that alternate future that Mephy saw, Rin became the “demon king”, leader of the demon army, meaning that Rin’s hesitation is worth expanding on, or he’ll choose one side and fight against the other before long and I don’t think this is the answer Kato-sensei is going for. Yukio (with whom he discussed in this chapter) has just always been on the more careful side of things (also he’s like 16 years old) compared to, say, Shura...

...who understands that Rin’s situation has no precedent and that, at some point, Rin has to follow his instinct (still vouching that he’ll have to travel to Gehenna to gain more understanding of the situation but hey, I could be wrong). 

Additionally, Rin also once said, early in the story, that he wanted to become Paladin, because that’s the title Shiro held before dying (and maybe also out of animosity towards Arthur), but reading this chapter, I found myself relieved thinking that Rin’s true calling might finally be upon us. :)) To say nothing of the fact that Paladins are previous Section 13′s Baal clones who are chained to the Order, I think the Paladin title (a very specific position at the top of the Order’s hierarchy) would suit Yukio or Bon more than Rin. 

Great chapter!! :D

[fineanddandy]

Taken (Eleven)

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Relationship: soft!dark!Bucky Barnes x black!reader

Warnings: graphic language, smut, unprotected sex, oral (fem receiving), talks about feelings, these nerds fighting, 18+

A/N: Bucky meeting the moms?! Yeah why not…had to throw in another curve ball on that ass lol idk why I love writing this series so much but I doooo! The only story I’ve been wanting to work on.

Bucky peacefully slept through the night snuggled up under her jaw, holding her hand, dreaming about her smile and her laugh. So much better than what he was envisioning before. It was early for her, but she had a lot on her mind. She listened to his soothing breathing as she lied there, enjoying his crushing weight at her side. She still felt bad for making him feel like she’d leave him, so she decided to let him sleep in. Figured he needed the rest after having such an awful dream. Maybe she should tell him everything today after a good breakfast and a little more sex to put him even more at peace before she emotionally dumped all over him. Her poor lil big bad. Seeing Bucky that upset, that afraid, really put some things into perspective for her. His feelings, hers, their future. Their future…so wild to even consider. If there was no going back to her old life, back to him, then what else is there. She never really thought about it before. So caught up in what was and ditching that phase of her life, she really didn’t realize where she was headed until a couple days ago. End game: Bucky Barnes. Because let’s be real, she didn’t want to be with anyone else, and if it wasn’t for him, she’d probably still be in her mess of a marriage. So…what else is there? Nothing…just her cute ass big bad wolf and those piercing grey eyes full of love and admiration. No man’s ever looked at her the way he does. She’ll never shake the image from her memory…really shook her to her core.

Could she spend the rest of her life with Bucky? That was one of the many questions she focused on in the midst of her mental chaos. That was never her intention when they met, or decided to hatch this sexually charged situationship. But since then, she’s clearly fallen for him, just been in denial about it all. Her feelings potentially lagged compared to Bucky’s but they were there. Boy were they there…even louder than before though. And it was kinda freaking her out, how immense those feelings were. Pages filled with all the incessant noise. She loves Bucky but she’s afraid of being hurt again. She can let her ex husband and her ex best friend be together. She can trust Bucky even if she didn’t know much about him or his business. Seemed like forever she spiraled out, scribbling every single thought that crossed her mind just to get it out. She hated to leave Bucky alone at night but that was the best time for her to rage. She was dealing with shit she had never dealt with before. The hurt of being betrayed by her first loves, but then finding new life in someone she hardly knew. She didn’t know what to do with all the madness brewing around in her heart.

Just before she gets out of bed, she leans down to kiss the top of Bucky’s head then slithers out of his desperate grasp. He’ll be fine without her for a bit, sure he’ll be up shortly. Brushing an affectionate down his scruffy jawline, she grins down at how sweet he looks. Hair all askew and in his handsome face. His toned back expanding with each soft breath. Her heart skipped several beats, which caused her to huff a big sigh.

“Fuckin cute ass…”

Was she in love? Or…falling in love? With Bucky? Sure felt like it…she was familiar with all the butterflies and the swooning and the incessant thoughts of him and only him. Remember when she felt like that with her husband. And then what happened. She pulls on her oversized hoodie as she steps out into the hall, flipping her braids out and over her shoulder. She can’t be in love with Bucky it’s too soon. At least that’s what her guilty consciousness was telling her. Some days, it felt like she just left her husband, while most days, it felt like she and Bucky had been together for years. It was weird…and she couldn’t decipher what was wrong or right anymore. It should be ok for her to fall for Bucky; her marriage was long over before she went with him but for some reason, she felt a small sense of guilt. What the fuck was that about? It had been driving her completely mad the last few days.

“Morning Chef. Do you think you could make your French Toast that Bucky loves?”

And she’ll have a super green omelette, just cuz it sounds so good to her. Bucky’s in house chef nods with a satisfied grin, pulling out the proper bowls and ingredients for their breakfast. The smile that’ll slither across Bucky’s face when he sits the plate down in front of him. She’d love to keep him in high spirits. He deserves it after all.

“Looks like someone’s back to their normal self…”

Enter Bucky’s right hand coming in for the day, newspaper and coffee in tow. He curiously swivels his head around for his boss, a little surprised not to see him up and dressed, grumbling and pacing around the room.

“Getting there,” she sighs, pouring coffee into her favorite mug. Definitely feeling better this morning than she has the past few days.

He’s still curious about Bucky, and that the house is so calm this morning. It’s nice compared to what it’s been. “Have you two talked?”

She shrugs her shoulders with a small nod, pouring milk into her dark roast. “A little…I’ve been pretty out of it huh…”

He nods in agreement. “Had Bucky more paranoid than usual…but you sure you’re ok? Need me to handle something for you?”

She turns to face him, takes a drink from her cup. “Nah…I’m good boo, sorry. But thanks though. I plan on talking to Bucky.”

“Good…he’ll really appreciate that.” He smiles as he walks off to his office. He’ll wait for Bucky there.

As the chef cooks, she quietly sits with her coffee, thoughtlessly scrolling through her phone just so she can have a break. She’s overworked herself mentally so not thinking really appeals to her. Lazily tapping at a game, she sips and hums to herself, enjoying all the smells floating from the stove. At this moment, she had no worries, just a bit of peace…up until her phone vibrated with a text notification from her mom.

Morning baby. Thinking about you. Are you free to talk?

Ugh, damn. She hasn’t spoken to her mom in a few days so this text was expected. She doesn’t really have time to entertain her mom right now though; the day was all about reassuring Bucky that she wants him, that she wants to be here after her blunder. Staring at her text, she debates if she should reply, afraid that it’ll send an invitation to be stuck on the phone for hours. Eh…she’ll text her back later. After she takes care of Bucky. Who’s up and coming from their bedroom in his lush robe, pulling his hair back into a ponytail. Holding her mug with two hands, she beholds him coming down the stairs with a happy grin, shoving his hands in his pockets. They stare each other down as he enters the room, beelining for her so he can get his morning kiss. She looks so cozy and cute there, hiding her infatuated smirk behind the rim of her cup. Bucky wished he had his phone to take a picture.

“Why weren’t you in bed when I woke up?” He asks as he sweeps up her pretty face in his hands, kissing her coffee strained lips.

“Had to make sure you’re having your favorite breakfast this morning…” she mutters through her puckered lips, stealing another kiss off him.

Bucky wrinkles his nose. “My favorite? The occasion?”

She sits down her mug to wrap her arms around his neck. “Just wanna make you happy baby…”

He hums a grin. “You make me plenty happy angel, swear.”

Hearing that made her feel bad all over again. Remembering how upset he was after that dream. She should be doing more to keep him happy. “I’m sorry Bucky.”

Resting his lips along to hers, he whispers, “ssshhh angel…no need to apologize…”

Her head sorrowfully shakes. “I don’t ever want to scare you like that…or make you feel that insecure again. So…I wanna tell you everything.”

Bucky slightly pulls away. “Today?”

“Well yeah…maybe after breakfast or something…?” She shrugs.

“Sure baby. If that’s what you want…” He sweeps his thumb over her lips, gazing sweetly down at her.

She nods and grins, stretching up on her toes to be closer to him. “Think it’s time.”

But it’s time to eat, after a few more intimate kisses in each other’s arms. Once the plates are set, the chef’s dismissed, leaving them to enjoy each other’s company. There goes that grin she was waiting for. Bucky quickly pulls her chair out, then his, sitting just as he swipes up her mug. She rolls her eyes at him stealing a few sips with a flirty wink, stealing it back with a shake of her head.

“Get your own, moocher.”

He just gleefully chuckles to himself, digging into his food. Bucky’s in heaven, so blissfully happy. Food’s good, she’s good and so damn cute; he heaves a smitten sigh, glancing over at her eating with a happy smirk on her face as well, reading something on phone. Her feet crossed and resting on his sturdy thigh. As he chews, he watches her beautifully exist in her own world, and it makes his heart swell so big. How did he get so damn lucky, he’ll never comprehend it. Bucky rests his giant hand on her knee, catching her attention. She looks over at him, and instead of hitting him with a snarky ‘what’, a big wide smile expands over her face. His hand excitingly brushes up and down her thigh as he pushes his plate to the side, resting his elbow down on the edge of the table.

“Can I have some?”

Bucky’s hand travels up the hem of her shorts. She sits her fork down on her plate, sits back in her chair with a cocked eyebrow.

“Of?”

Licking some sticky syrup off his bottom lip, his cool eyes seductively scan up and down her front. “Your coffee.”

She snorts a chuckle with a shake of her head, grabbing her mug and sliding it across the table to him. “Help yourself.” She motions over to it.

Rising up out of his seat, he glances over at it then shakes his head, grabbing her ankles and lifting them off his lap. “Not that coffee…”

“You’re so corny.” She snorts again, playfully cutting her eyes at him.

Bucky falls to his knees and crawls around the table, pawing up her shins and knees with a crooked smirk. He turns her chair to face him by its legs, and she welcomes him in by pulling her legs open.

“You know you’re the best part of waking up…” he mumbles into her hot crotch, burying his nose and mouth into her scent. His nibbles and licks at her folds through the cotton of her shorts, causing her hips to jerk and flinch in the seat.

“Oh my God Buck,” she halfway moans/laughs cuz all his teasing tickles a little, folding her legs at the knees to open herself wider. “Shutup.”

Sinfully humming into her pussy, he pulls her shorts to the side to greet her tingling lips good morning with a tiny peck. “Yes ma’am,” he sweetly whispers licking circles around her clit, “Like to enjoy my coffee in peace anyway.”

She exasperates a shaky breathless giggle, drawing her hand into a frustrated fist. “So I should be quiet then?”

“Please.” Bucky strokes a gentle fingertip between her glistening folds, playing in her wetness with a lighthearted laugh. “And thank you.”

Her clipped breaths heighten the more he sucks at her swollen bud, dragging his pointer finger in and out her palpitating hole. “Yes—yessir!” She gasps in a hush, slapping her flat hand down beside her plate.

“So delicious and warm,” he licks his puffy lips, inserting his tongue over his penetrating finger, “just the right amount of cream.”

She chokes on her withheld whimpers and moans, wiggling her toes in the air. She’s doing her best to keep it down but she so desperately wants to scream out his name he’s eating her out so fuckin good. Tickling at her spot with the very tip of his finger, he sucks her essence down his open throat. So good on his tongue his dick’s painfully stiff, leaky tip rubbing against his fuzzy robe. So needy for her and in need of a little relief, he grinds into its softness and he groans inside her. God he needs to be deep in her guts. She clamps her hand down over her mouth, squealing a high pitched whimper, shaking uncontrollably. Bucky hungrily smacks between her thighs, her wetness and saliva oozes down onto the seat.

“God baby…you’re such a mess.” Standing to his feet he wipes his chin clean and pulls his robe open, revealing his nude tatted up body, dick way at attention. “Up on the table baby. Need to be inside you right fuckin now.”

Gasping for air, she scrambles up out the chair, dropping her shorts to her ankles. Immediately Bucky pounces her, mauling her neck with his swollen lips. Pussy’s so wet he eases right on in, reaching his special spot in her lower abdomen. They cry out in unison, in each other’s awed faces, desperately holding on to one another as he goes in.

“Awww yeah,” they erotically groan out together, then chuckle, falling into each other’s mouths for a needy kiss. Her hands scale his muscular back. Bucky fists her ass cheek. The table scoots across the floor. Their heated moans fill the house. So much for being quiet. Their sex noises so loud they don’t even hear her phone vibrating with a call.

“Fuck me…” she gulps, locking her arm around his shoulders, “fuck me like love me.”

“Oh I am baby, trust…” Bucky chuffs as he kisses up behind her ear, trying to hold back from busting yet. Her lit screen distracts him for a second, squinting at it as he nibbles on her earlobe. Her screen goes dark, the call ends, but then lights up and vibrates again, another call coming through.

“Tell me daddy. Tell me you love me.”

A tug of his hair brings him back to focus on business, burying his face in her neck. Out of sight, out of mind. “I love you angel. You know I do.” But now it’s all he can hear, the vibrations against the table, no matter how loud she got.

“Who the fuck is blowin you up?” Bucky grunts, glancing over at her phone again. She already knows who it is as she pants and moans, blindly reaching for it. “Mom” is blurry across the screen.

“Ugh…my mom…” she gripes, carelessly dropping the device down on the table with a loud thud.

Bucky’s stroke slows down substantially. “Your mom?!” He frowns, gradually pulling out of her fluttering hole but she grips his hip.

“What, don’t stop Bucky.”

He tears her hand away, lifting a sharp brow as he continues to pull out. It hurt him to cut their moment short but it’s weird that she’s choosing to ignore her mom. He goes for her phone, tempted to answer it himself. Instead, he hands it out for her to take.

“Answer the phone.”

She repels from them both. “What? No?”

Bucky hovers his thumb over the green phone icon. “Answer the phone or I will.”

“Oh my god…” she urgently snatches it away because he will. Rolling her eyes she sits on the edge of the table and gets herself together with a couple calm big breaths. Clearing her throat, she chimes, “Hello?”

Her voice’s pleasant, sweet. “Hey baby…you busy?” She must be in a good mood but what shitty timing.

She nervously chuckles to herself, turning away from Bucky’s intense stare. “Uh a little bit. What’s up mom.”

“I miss you! Let’s go have lunch!”

Oh my god she can’t be serious. “Uh…?” Today of all days? She can feel him berating her with his eyes, trying to hone in on what her mom’s saying through the phone.

“What’s wrong?” She can tell her mom’s pouting over there and it makes her feel bad. “Don’t you want to have lunch with your mother?”

“Mom, of course, it’s just…”

Bucky whispers, “what? What is it?” as she waves him away, trying to come up with a quick excuse but she’s too distracted.

“Um…I’m actually over at a…friend’s…”

Bucky reels back at the word, at her hesitation. The fuck? A friend?

Her mom’s just as baffled. “A friend? What friend?”

But she could have sworn she’s mentioned him before. Her playing stupid’s making her look quite awful in front of her boyfriend. “Mom—,”

Bucky’s frown hardens, upset that he has to softly but firmly ask, “does your mom not know about me?” She’s sure her mom heard that.

“Ssshhh shutup Bucky.” She tries to fuss quietly but her mom’s listening way too damn hard.

“Bucky? Who’s that?”

She growls behind her clenched teeth, “oh my god mom I told you about him…”

“Did you?” He grumbles down at her and she puts her flat hand up in his face.

“Are you sure?” Her mom asks right behind him, truly confused.

How the fuck did she end up here?!

“Mom…can I call you right back?” She nervously asks meeting Bucky’s death stare over her shoulder. Dealing with him first would probably be a good idea.

“Nah…don’t hang up…” He’d love to see how much deeper she can bury herself.

Looks like her mom has interrupted something. “Sure…”

Oh she’s fucked herself. And without even trying. Her mom would unintentionally do her like this, especially when she knows she’s mentioned Bucky a few times to her. Because how could she not she’s with him every fuckin day. So, some…truths…may have been omitted here and there but her mom’s definitely aware of a man in her life. She just likes to play dumb. She carefully sits her phone down beside her, weary of what to say to diffuse Bucky. That gorgeous smile of his long gone. Fuming.

“Have you really not told your mom about me?!”

She tuts with a wave of her hand, “of course I have. In…ways…”

Bucky didn’t like the sound of that. “In what ways…”

Now she’s got to be honest with him, and he’s not going to like what she’s about to say. Anxiously clearing her throat, she scratches the back of her head and confesses, “she knows I’m talking to someone…”

“Talking?! Just talking?!” Bucky shouts, going from slightly offended to highly offended in .5 seconds. If she could shove her foot in her mouth…

“Bucky I just left my husband.” She shyly mumbles, ashamed that she didn’t keep it real with her mom. It’s all she can come up with. He can’t believe this.

“Months ago!”

She didn’t even get the chance to think about calling her mom back before the phone’s ringing again, an old picture of them gracing the screen. She let it ring, cowering under Bucky’s harsh glare. Was she in trouble.

“Weak excuse baby love…” He disapproves with a shake of his hair.

She frustratingly wrings her long braids. “Ugh I know but—but this shit is complicated!”

Bzzzt, bzzzzt…the phone vibrates between them going back and forth mostly naked.

“It’s only as complicated as you make it…”

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“She knows he cheated on you, right?”

“Well…yeah…”

“And knows that you’re now with someone who cherishes you, right?”

She winces with a soft hiss and Bucky widens his eyes out of anger. He’s definitely not going to want to hear this.

“…she knows I’m dating.”

Dating?! As if she’s seeing more men other than him?! Oh the audacity!

“Wow.” Bucky’s wildly offended, slowly folding his arms over his expanding chest. What the hell. “So where does she think you live?”

Shit… “Ummm…” She definitely lied about that too.

Bucky’s so mad he could toss one of the table chairs across the room. Has she been lying to her mom about him?! How fucked up is that?! Her mom’s calling again, insistent on seeing her daughter today no matter what she’s doing. Even if it’s damn near fighting about lying to her mom about her serious boyfriend.

“Well?” He nods at her cell, bucking his irritated eyebrows. “Answer.”

She glances back at it with a nervous smile. “…do I have to?” Bucky sets his brows and his glare, flexing his massive biceps as he tightens his hold. “Okay, okay, fuck…” Side eyeing up at him, she sighs, then clears her throat, before she answers, “ma’am?”

“Little girl. Stop playin with me.” Her mom snaps through the phone. “12:30 at the cafe, and bring this friend you’re with so early in the damn morning. Tuh.”

Before she could even fix her mouth to say “yes ma’am,” her mom hung up in her face. And Bucky tuts a satisfied smirk, raising his chin with a hum.

“Good. I’d love to meet your mom.”

She groans with a roll of her eyes, loathing the idea of them meeting but hell, maybe they should? Shit, maybe it’s time her mom did meet her potential forever? Gah why did that make her so insanely anxious. And Bucky could see that anxiety in her stiff fingers pressed into her forehead. She was about to freak out and he didn’t think it was necessary. It’s just lunch with her mom; what’s the worst that could happen? Bucky’s a charmer, a delight. Her mom’s going to love him.

“Serious?” Slapping her hands down on the table she looks up at him like really?

“As a heart attack.” Bucky takes her by the knees and pushes them up, opening her up for him. Now that her mom’s out the way, he’s got to take care of this foolishness. “Time she met her son-in-law.”

She snorts, rolls her eyes at him calling himself son-in-law. “Oh my god Bucky—”

He pushes her back down onto table, shutting her up just as he claws her thighs. Bucky really can’t believe she’s been hiding him. “Are you denying me angel?”

She squints up at him, restlessly squirming a bit, a little worried. “What? Bucky no way.”

“Trying to hide me? Hide the fact that you’re with a bad boy?” She yips as he jerks her closer to his swelling dick, keeping a painful hold of her hips.

“N-no baby…c’mon…”

She yips out again from Bucky popping her one good time on the ass, slightly jumping in pain. Her heart beats wildly in her throat, walls convulsing just as fast. Oh shit…her breath catches loudly as Bucky uses just an ounce of his strength to squeeze his hands up her curves, leaning up her trembling body with a small snarl.

“Then why are you lying? Huh? Ashamed of me?”

Just as she takes a breath to answer, it’s stolen by Bucky spearing his hard dick back inside her. She grabs ahold of his wrist with a sharp gasp, snapping her spine off the cool table.

“God Bucky no!”

He rolls his hips slowly but powerfully, slamming his dick so deep all she can do is whine. Over and over, again and again. Nails digging into his hot flesh. She knows she’s in trouble but damn…

“Still a little play thing to you?” Bucky wraps his thick fingers around her strained throat, choking her a little more with each mighty thrust. “Don’t take me seriously when I say I love you? Huh angel? Just a fuckin game to you? Just playing house?”

That’s not what she’s trying to do, and he didn’t even give her a second to explain herself before he turned. His eyes dark with a dangerous mix of anger and lust Bucky broods over her, proving who the fuck he is to her. That nothing about their relationship was to play with.

“Oh god baby…” she chokes, tears brimming over her lashes.

“You know you love me, wanna spend the rest of your life with me…” A hard shudder ripples down his boulderous back, his eyes briefly roll back and he pants, “what do you need, hm? A ring? Need me down on my knees professing my love to you?” He smiles down at her catching a stunned breath, her walls grip his pulsating dick. “How about I do it in front of your mom at lunch today, huh? Would you like that?”

“Shut the fuck up!” She passionately moans out, about to lose her shit. “Fuck!”

How are they both thinking about the M word? He can’t be serious. His mighty thrusts say otherwise, fluidly pumping her orgasm on out in less than ten minutes. She punches the table out of frustration. No way he thinks she’s ready to get married after everything she just went through. No way. She can’t fathom the idea herself. But Bucky talks a good game, has an immaculate stroke game, so she was slippin…

“Goddammit Bucky,” she meekly cries, busting at the seams with a soft gasp, her cum trickling down his veiny skin. Bucky hums a dark chuckle, teasing her fluttering folds with a fragile touch. God he loved to watch her lose herself, get a glimpse of that silly satisfied smirk. Hearing her moan and whimper as she convulses always makes him cum just as hard. Bucky could shout her name and fuck his hot load back into her for the rest of his days.

“Hmmm interesting…” He muses as he sloppily licks her sweetness off his fingers, coyly staring down at her still trembling. “Did the thought of proposing make you cum?” Bucky slaps the shit out of her ass as he falls out of her, pulling on his messy dick with a crooked smile.

She smacks her lips with a scoff, trying to peel her weak body off the sticky wood. “Like I just said…shut the fuck up Bucky.”

Now tasting his other hand covered with their combined stickiness, he helps her off the kitchen table covered with their fluids. It’s not the first time, and won’t be the last. As they get dressed, she side eyes his mischievous smile, silently praying he’s not getting any bright ideas in that big ass head of his.

“It’s okay baby if the thought of us getting married turns you on.” He continues to tease, playing back how her body reacted just a minute ago.

Twisting her braids up into a bun, she huffs, annoyed, “you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.” Because he doesn’t…kinda, not really…

Bucky snatches her up by the elbow and yanks her into his rock hard body. Getting all serious suddenly. Wrapping his arms around the small of her back, he tips his scruffy chin down and pouts. “Angel…for real, why haven’t you told your mom about me?”

She grimaces. “Ugh I have Bucky. Just…not…every little detail…” She knows it doesn’t look or sound good but she does have her reasons. Good to her, bad to him—whatever—she wasn’t ready to dish with her mom about their relationship. She was going to tell her all about Bucky…in time.

“But why…”

She drops her gaze, bites her bottom lip. “Doesn’t this all seem like…too much too soon?”

Not to Bucky, hell no. He wrinkles his brow. “To who? Your mom?”

She solemnly shakes her head and drops her chin. “To me.”

He brushes his hand down the side of her face, and draws her sights back into his. Really? That’s her concern? He never would have guessed. “What’s wrong, hm? Is this what you’ve been dealing with? What you wanna talk about?”

She nods in his hand. “Part of it, yeah. But we gotta go meet my mom.” She groans and whines into his palm, loathing the rest of the day. It was supposed to be just the two of them making up and being gross. Now it’s going to be interrupted by her mom all up in their business, asking too many damn questions. And knowing Bucky, he’ll be candidly answering them all just to win her over. He seems like the type. Her mom will absolutely love him.

“Don’t stress baby love. It’ll only be for a couple of hours.” Bucky kisses her forehead and hugs her neck, rocking her from side to side. “Besides, I’m a little excited to meet her. Bet you look just like her.”

She huffs a laugh to herself, snuggling into his clammy skin. Wait until he sees for himself. And excited? He’s so extra. Why would he be excited to meet her? All her mom’s gonna do is pry, try to figure him out, and she won’t like what she discovers if she digs too deep. But she’ll like Bucky because he talks a good talk, and is super nice on the eyes. So he may come out on top after all. Why worry? Them meeting could go better than she imagined.

Resting her chin on his chest, she bats her lashes up at that handsome mug, holding on to his massive biceps. “I’m sure she’ll like you.”

[chasedeys]

HELLO I AM HERE TO ASK ABOUT TREYMARR!!

Tell me your thoughts about their first pro bowl together back in Jan 23. It was right after they lost the AFC championship that year and everyone was so sad because we were a play away from making it back to the super bowl :( but it was the first pro bowl both of them attended (i think at least in trey's case) and it was in vegas and i'm sure they were both looking to forget and have a good time 😏 (please tell me more of your thoughts on the chain picture!! if i recall correctly trey did post it first, and then ja'marr reposted it in his story!)

TREYMARR!!!!! so so passionate about treymarr aughggghghuh thank you carmen for asking 🫶🫶

so you're saying their first pro bowl they attended together literally being each of their firsts ok. and it was after losing the afc championship therefore not making the super bowl. ok. so they were probably shaking off residual grief from losing but finding joy in being there together. ok. ok.

i want to expand on what i think of their dynamics first!!

i think it's primarily trey courting the absolute ever living shit out of ja’marr who is. unknowing of all this. and also terribly easily flustered by literally any thing trey does.

note that trey is soooo very sweet, mindful of boundaries, but also just the absolute ass. incapable of not teasing ja’marr. thinks ja’marr is cute as hell when he's all flushed and fired up and indignant and cursing at trey for messing with him. a bit of kindergarten pigtail pulling but of the emotionally mature variety if you will.

trey making ja’marr feel like a stupid kid with a crush again 😔 never been pursued like this (not that he knows he's actually being pursued) so he's just floundering around trying to figure out how the hell to handle all of trey hendrickson up in his space. the trey hendrickson who he's watched slip past tackles to bring down qbs with an ease that makes his mouth go dry btw. while trey is just constantly enamored by ja’marr's insane talent and also sheer inability to be chill about anything (cuteee as hell) therefore an easy target for him to needle on. which he does so with joy. just the idea of each of them sitting on the sidelines taking turns watching the other in the best possible seats and just going damn. nice.

and basically it's just trey being pushy and overly-familiar not in a way that's annoying or self entitled but more so in a way that’s like genuinely adoring ja’marr to bits that ja’marr just gets incredibly flustered instead of annoyed beyond belief?? both fucked from the get go basically.

okay so i looked up the first pro bowl pics to see if there's a pic of them side by side or even the uno chain and there isn't. whyyy do bengals never up their entire photos to their website. BUT ->

there are several pics of trey flexing OBNOXIOUSLY (so so attractively sorry i am really honestly just so predictable) and i have no idea how the pro bowl works if ja’marr and the rest of the non competing players watch others games or if they do their own games simultaneously (but that's stef behind trey no?) but if ja'marr were watching though!!

imagine trey flexing his shit and all the other players helpfully point out where ja’marr is so he can call on him and do the most jock boyfriend shit ever (point and flex and idk say this is for u babe lmao nah its probably just jeering on ja'marr to do as good as him or something incredibly annoying guaranteed to make ja’marr laugh and fume) while ja’marr surrounded by the rest of the receivers tries not to trip over thin air out of embarrassment and just the slightest bit really its nothing at all attraction. for trey fucking hendrickson. (known chronic DE-flirter-at-the-shittiest-times joe burrow felt the disturbance in the force and is crying laughing at him from wherever he was during that pro bowl day.)

ja’marr getting flustereddddd as hell and turning around to angrily unlock his phone and furiously text tb and tee how fucking annoying trey was being 😭😭 (tee and tb who were watching!!! with tee getting to be the prettiest wag getting thrown ja'marr's td ball!! did they go on for drinks after all together and they teased ja'marr over everything ehehehe)

just trey carrying his shit (technically during the 2nd one together no idea of the 1st but im assuming he did lmao) and flirting relentlessly and tucking ja’marr to his side oh my goodness…..oh my goodness y'all……..this is an actual pic that exists……….did trey drag ja'marr to his side first (overly familiar! but not annoying about it!!) and ja'marr automatically slung an arm around his waist and they just stayed that way wrapped around each other talking about whatever the fuck in the back of the afc huddle ouguhuhughugh what is the matter with them. or did ja'marr attach himself to trey first to try to get one up on him but got into a 'bit off more than he can chew' situation because trey instantly cradled him right back and won't let got for shit so now they're just stuck there unwilling to let go of each other first and growing more comfortable until they forgot what they were doing in the first place. crazy.

also sooo hilarious to think of everyone else squinting at these two (trey putting on ja’marrs CHAIN 😭) and coming to the stupid realization of ohhh they’re fucking! good for them!! good for them!!! stef nodding as ja’marr hands his shit to trey to carry like ‘that’s some good shit. get yourself a man who treats you like a princess the way you deserve.’ (sorry for the stray on stef like. he'd be the nearest one in the vicinity who would Get It you know like. back then 😭)

and i've mentioned in the tags of your compilation post about the uno chain!! howwww did he end up with it!!! was it like. him asking for it all of the sudden (???? why would he do that) and ja'marr was instantly flustered (i keep saying this sorry but) like why would you ask for that and took it off to give it to him on autopilot and trey instantly put it on and took a pic with it jesus okay. crazy if ja'marr took the pic for him or!! or ja'marr immediately ran away from sheer embarrassment to bother the rest of the players (who were all kind of incredibly doting on him as far as i saw lmao literal belle of the balllll) and trey was just completely and utterly pleased at wearing the chain (look!! at his face!!!! in the pic!!!! and the way he held it up and all grahhh adorable he's like incredibly handsome to me guys i can't help it) and trey asked their photographer to take a pic of him so proudly and tagged ja'marr and he REPOSTED it 💔💔 love that shit to bits

OR there's also another possibility that ja'marr asked for him to hold on to it for whatever reason (his turn playing and he couldn't wear the chain? idk) and he was all sure no problem id love to hold things for you and hold your hands and open doors for you and take care of you etc etc god get you a husband like trey hendrickson. big and bold and 100% willing to get bossed around. which ja'marr loves to do lol.

also the 2024 mic'ed up is so crazy to me bc you can clearly see trey's kindergarter playground ass flirting 😭 ripping away ja'marr's gloves mid talk with stef why the fuck is he always taking ja'marr's shit 😭 and ja'marr didn't do shit about it!!! he just went on talking to stef!!!! and the way the sour skittles thing got captured on camera and ja'marr was all 'he was trying to bully me. appreciate you guys having my back.' whatttt in the world was that. you two are not real people.

ja’marr said him and trey are always talking (casual and trash talks ofc) 🥰 probable exaggeration of course this is ja’marr getting cornered in an interview talking about a thing (his friendship with trey) unexpectedly so his mouth probably ran faster than his brain processed shit as he usually does but! totally believe they do talk and 80% of the time its pure unfiltered teasing from trey while ja’marr either fights back in the most zero effort possible way or ja’marr tries taking his own turn teasing trey only to fall short because treys all ‘🥰 hehe’ and that leads to ja’marr back to the baseline of flustered as all hell. (this is all sooo very self indulgent but! i love this deeply)

i have no idea if they were close because of the pro bowl or got close since before they went to it together. such a lovely thing to think of though of them getting closer because they're bengals rep 2 years in a row and the entire thing drove them closer <3 pro bowl couple <33

left is the closest one to a pic of them together for the 2023 pro bowl but there are pics of them on the 2024 pro bowl!!

there's so much more cute pics of ja'marr catching balls like a ballerina and trey flexing like nobodys business and there's justin and ja'marr and stef taking a pic of the afc receivers and so many more grahh adorable. the 2024 one also has sooo many good pics of ja'marr smiling so prettily and yapping at literally every player on that field. a pic of him and cj that i will always hold dear for the exact reason any of you are thinking lol.

also I'm too lazy to link it but if you look up the 2024 pro bowl mic'ed up moment you can see these two interacting with jessie bates iii and it's the cutest shitttt everrrrr. jessie couldn't stop ja'marr from making a tuddy and ja'marr was all 'i knew you were going to do that' bratty ass little brother that he is and then they were in a huddle together for some reason and trey was all 'all these years and he still couldn't stop you' or something like that and jessie said he was going to tackle ja'marr's ass after this and ja'marr was all 'that's crazy jess!' it was sooo cute to me 😭 this doesn't make as much sense to read wow but if any of you haven't seen it it's definitely worth a watch!!

[lilolilyr]

For "Being Known" (Helena writer, Myka actress): 2 and 3, 6 and/or 7 (whichever you like better, or both), and 9!

Ah, thank you! My longest Bering and Wells fic to date :D

Moodboard & header for the fic, and Here's the ask meme

2. How did you come up with the idea?

It was part of a gift exchange, and my giftee had asked for a pop culture AU, with some fusion prompts for fandoms I didn't know very well - so instead of trying to find out enough about eg Buffy the Vampire Slayer to write a fic in that world, I asked whether a celebrity AU would work, and here we are!

3. Did the idea change at all by the time the fic was complete?

I expanded my initial idea a lot - adding Steve, Leena, Artie, Caturanga, Jane and Amanda, I'm pretty sure initially it was just supposed to be HG and Myka with side characters Claudia and Pete. I don't remember exactly what the plan was and what came later, apart from having the idea of Helena's conflict about wanting to remain anonymous while being passionate about something that could bring her a lot of fame early on...I'll have to see whether I still have my initial draft somewhere and I can add it at the end of the post, I tend to write in messages on telegram and copy paste them to an ao3 draft or word doc once I start editing, so the messages should still be the original first draft.

I think I was unsure whether or not I should add an AU-ified Christina related backstory and work that into part of the reason for Helena's reluctance over fame, I had several ideas about her own childhood, her knowing a child something happened to, or actually writing Christina into her backstory... I went back and forth between Christina being a child star and Helena herself being one, I think in the end I just made Helena one because it worked better for the story though I would have liked to have more Christina backstory, but oh well, kill your darlings.

6. How did you decide what tense and POV(s)to use? / 7. How did you decide what character(s) would narrate the fic?

Honestly, I rarely decide that kind of thing consciously - I guess if you want to write something commercially there are lots of things to consider, but I write for fun and I'll write wherever my ideas bring me. Sometimes I'll notice a scene works better from a different POV and I change it, but usually it just happens one way and then it's fine to leave it as is

In this case I think I immediately knew it would mainly be Helena's POV because it's really her story I wanted to tell.

9. Did you get stuck at any point? How did you get past that?

Claudia! Hah, I mean I didn't get stuck on her, but that I used her to get past difficult scenes, giving Helena a much needed push! Especially near the end, when it comes to Helena accepting the possibility of a relationship between her and Myka.

Thank you so much for the ask! This was fun to talk about :)

.

This is my draft for the fic, the way it was written (in a messenger chat with just myself in it, as I start most fics) in one go, before making any edits at all!

You'll notice a lot of 'xx' markers - because there aren't really any words with that, it's easy to search a text for that later on, so whenever I know I still need to fix something - add a sentence, translate a word, edit bullet points into paragraph, add entire scenes - I write XX to mark it for later.

wip bering and wells author actress AU for anandabrat

Working title The Perfect Warrior

HG (former child actor turned?) writer under pseudonym hiding from fame (bc burned out from kid fame?), slowly getting back into acting, does improv for fun

Myka either star there to help 'learning' amateur actors for xxkomparsen? Or she's a newcomer and HG is back on film?

Claudia's HG's friend, Pete Myka's

ohhh what about Helena's book being verfilmt & Myka main role, HG making sure she won't be overwhelmed..

xxx

xxflashback seven months prior

"H.G., I'm coming in!"

Helena covers her head with a pillow when she hears Claudia Donovan's shouting from the backyard before a well-aimed kick against the old garden door has it fling open.

"Breaking and entering, really?" Helena's muffled voice lets Claudia know where she is. "I would have thought that petty crime is belowxx you."

"Come oooon," Claudia pulls the pillow from her face and Helena is left squinting at the sudden light. "We're going out! A friend of mine has a gallery opening, and there's bound to be a crowd of interesting people there!"

"I can't," Helena grouches. "I have to write, I still haven't finished either of those silly sequels my agents want me to work on."

"Riiight," Claudia nods, juggling the pillow between her hands. "Because that's what you were doing right now. Writing."

"Oh, cut the sarcasm." Helena growls. She is in a bad enough mood without Claudia butting in and making it worse.

"Alright then." Instead of backing down, Claudia throws the pillow onto the bed and, hands on her hips, stares Helena down. "I'll speak xxklartext. You're wasting away here, H.G.! You hate the books you're supposed to write, you refuse to write anything else either, you haven't seen any of our friends in months and now you're getting your groceries delivered so you don't even have to leave the house? That's the final straw!"

"Who snitched on me," Helena xx Leena?sbcanonordontmention

"It'll be good for you," Claudia insists. "You can dazzle everyone with your Wikipedia brain, and maybe you'll meet a xxverleger who wants to publish one of your weirder novellas. Come on, get up. get up, if not for yourself then do it for me because there's no way I'll go schmooze with the rich and famous all on my own!"

"I still cannot believe you managed to talk me into this," Helena sighs, looking at the xx and bustle around her.

"I'm up, I'm up," Helena sighs and avoidsxxausweichen Claudia's attempt to pull her from the bed by sitting up. "Alright, what exactly is this opening we're going to?"

...

Laughing, herxxfriend Claudia bumps their elbows together. "You better believe it, there's no getting out of it now! And this will be good for you! xx I'm happy for you, H.G., this is a dream come true!" She twirls around without missing a step, taking it all in.

"The fact that it makes you xxgoodposition takes no part in it, I'm sure." Helena deflects. She doesn't want to admit that Claudia is right and she is thrilled to have her characters coming to life for the big screen - nor does she want it known that, despite all the negotiations and concessions on side of the production studio, she is still afraid that she won't recognise the world she created once the movie is done. Will they do justice to the worlds of trees and cogwheels, to the unseeing creator and the warrior with the unruly hair? Will they listen to Helena when she has suggestions, will the stick to the details from the book, will it even be possible to transfer it to the new medium?

This and more goes through Helena's mind as she lets Claudia drag her along over the big parking lot and storage area, past trucks with equipment and the xxvans for cast and crew towards the xxhall.

first time sees Myka - the perfect xxcharactername warrior.

xx looks after her xx her hair xx in the wind, a sharp edge to her big brown eyes that negates anything childish about their shape, xx stepping out of the camper

xx C hey, we're not here to flirt! Can't believe I need to say that to you, you're like, the least likely person xx xx pretty girl

xx not what - I mean yes beautiful, but not what that wasabout -

xx oh /beauuutiful

xx shut up Donovan

xx later sees Myka in makeup all *sideeye* what did you do to my xxcharactername

argument - need makeup! Looks silly on camera without, different than irl!

HG: well if so, just makeup that makes it look decent with the lights and closeups, NOT that kind of obvious eye makeup, and who had the idea that a warrior in a cyberpunk dystopia would need a bold red lip? Or shaved pits?

xx Myka uncomfortable, thinks she has done something wrong, especially when sent back out in the middle of the scene, doesn't notice the argument

co-star Pete tries to comfort her

xxMyka thinks maybe this was bad idea, should quit

xx HG will Not lose my warrior!

(xx Myka in trouble

xx HG kann wen zusammenscheißen, makes sure Myka's fine)

xx from then on Helena trying to keep an eye on Myka, asks how she's dealing with the pressure, what her plans are for if she'll be famous after this project, whether she has a good agent to protect her interests, etc... (eg where u live? city apartment...

H:security? M:none?? H:myself, nature away from most people M: wish could affort...)

Myka: know you're just doing this because you think I'm a good fit for the character and you don't want it to be ruined by me quitting, but I still really appreciate

HG: what?? No, am doing this - well, would for everyone! Know how it is, when I was a kid... nevermind. But, care about you too

Myka finds out why HG is so wary about fame

go to premiere together - "don't have to hold a speech, don't even have to tell anyone who you are, but at least go as my date?"

As usual, I had a first scene instantly in my head, then started thinking quicker than I could write and had to note down bullet points so I wouldn't forget anything xD

Again, thanks for the ask :)

[synergysilhouette]

Disney hot takes (Part 10)

Well, I made 10 of these. Probably means I should stop. At least for a while. Make sure to check out the other hot takes! Here's part 9.

Disney's next 2D film should take influence from Alphonse Muca or Pre-Raphaelite art--Personal bias. I ADORED the AM-influenced art style in "Enchanted," but if Disney wanted to avoid comparisons (since Walt Disney Animation didn't provide the animation for the film), I'd also love to see them take influence from Pre-Raphaelite art, which I just find gorgeous.

2. We should get another Disney musical around siblings--"Frozen" is the poster child for this since it was the first Disney musical to highlight the bond between siblings as the focal point rather than it just being a side thing. Even in "Encanto," the protagonist's sisters have their own issues, with one conflict being resolved almost immediately after two of them have their second conversation in the film. Even in "Moana 2," the protagonist's sister added nothing that the parents didn't already supply, and felt more like a marketing move than a creative one. Having another musical where family ties, specifically sibling ties, are the main focus would be great, especially if it's between brothers since male leads are underrepresented in Disney musicals.

3. More protagonists with magic powers--"Encanto" trolled me when it came out, since I've been thinking about this for YEARS. I enjoy fantasy stories where the main character has magical powers, not just the villain or supporting character. And I'm talking about explicitly-stated powers, not something up for debate or scrutiny like Mirabel MAYBE having powers at the end of her film.

4. We need more dance scenes during musical numbers--While I love when characters can just go about their day and sing like they're talking, I do find it surprising that there aren't more situations where they dance. I feel like "We Don't Talk About Bruno" is a notable example with Pepa/Felix and Isabel/Mirabel. I wish we had more musical scenes with dancing.

5. Soundtracks instead of musicals--I know Disney probably isn't gonna spend more money where they don't have to, but I do kinda wish they put more stock in soundtracks. By this, I mean that for any film that isn't going to be a musical, they hire singers and writers to make a soundtrack to play during the film. You know how non-musical Disney films have an end credits song/a song that plays during a specific scene and it's the only song in the film? I'd like for them to expand on that. They could take influence from superhero films as an example, as several have had accompanying soundtracks/albums inspired by the movie.

6. Disney animation should make a villain origin story--NOT an established villain from canon, but an original villain story, taking notes from their controversial live-action reimaginings. I'm working on an idea like this for part 3 of my Resurgence Era idea, but I think it'd be really fun to see Disney make an anithero animated film with the same mindset of "misunderstood protagonist." I think the payoff would be better here versus a live-action version that reconstructs an iconic character.

7. "Mufasa" had better music than "The Lion King"--Look, be mad at me all you want, but I've made it very clear that I was never crazy about TLK. To be fair, I'm not crazy about "Mufasa" for the same reason, but I did enjoy it's music a lot more. That said, I get why people say that the music suffered despite LMM's talents due to him confirming that he didn't get involved with the project until AFTER the script was written (songwriters can explain more about why this is a bad thing for musicals) that the music suffered despite his talents.

8. Part of me wants a sung-through musical--If you're not certain what that is, that means there's very little dialogue in the film, favoring for characters to sing through it. With the right team (and a good amount of time to make it right, because it can get VERY boring if done wrong, and you'd probably have 2 or 3 times the usual amount of songs in a Disney film), it could be amazing.

9. Disney should've kept "Sinbad"--Perhaps it's my bias against Dreamwork's version (SO much missed potential), but I definitely think Disney's take on the story could've been great, especially since it was conceived by the same team from "Aladdin." Sadly, this would mean no Eris.

`10. Disney's next big film should be in Brazil--This may be an odd one, but seeing how their fanbase is big enough for them to have a convention there for the first time ever, I think it'd do a lot to make a Brazilian-inspired film, especially if it's a musical.

[sakebytheriver]

Hello! So I’ve recently read you’re fic The Afair on Ao3 and I haven’t put it down in about two weeks. It is so amazing so first I just want to tell how much I love it like it’s so well it’s written and I adore the flow of the story. Now I can only imagine the hard work that went into a such a lengthy fic that manages to hold whoever’s reading it utterly captive the way it did me (I read it all in one go starting at 8pm and continuing until like 7am I have no regrets!) so I just want to be like WOWOWOW!

Secondly I was wondering if you’d ever consider expanding this au because it is such a masterpiece (I totally understand if you feel like for you that au is done where it is I’ll be low-key devastated but I get it) but if you were to I’d love love love to see a post getting together/outed by the media Trevor being around Hetty’s family (maybe even her judgemental extended family 🤷‍♀️) now I can only imagine their reactions to Trevor’s face like when they were feeling out/failing to comfort Hetty it was so hilarious then to see the confrontation afterwards I can’t-

Also side note I’d just want to take a moment to express my utter adoration for the masterpieces you’ve created that are Hetty’s children especially the girls beca as much as I love Thomas (and I really do) Margot and Angela are just so entertaining I want more of just them winding their mother up!

And thirdly I was just curious if you have any other Trevor x Hetty fics in the work? If so could we get a cheeky spoiler :)

Because I truly love and aline with your take on their relationship -that like they are the ultimate friends with benefits situation who live to antagonise each other- because same although I respect those who like them romantic there’s just something so special to me abt their toxic older woman younger man dynamic that we’re just not seeing on screen at all nearly enough

((But yeah this is just one big gushy ask basically begging you to write more H$- Oopsies no shame you’re amazing!))

Oh my gosh, it's taken me so long to get the energy to respond to all of my fic comments and I'm like cheesing so hard everytime I read them over ToT

First of all I'm so glad you like the fic so much you came over to my tumblr to write me a giant ask, I love getting such big and in depth comments on my stuff, especially this fic, it's def the one I'm most proud of, the fact that you sat down to read the whole thing in one go is also like O.O as I was writing this fic I was giving updates about the length and people in my life were telling me I should just write an actual novel considering this fic ended up being like 275 pages long ToT, of course if I was to adapt this fic into an actual novel the amount of worldbuilding and extra information I would have to add to make sure it could stand on it's own would bring the page count up to at least like 500 ToT I'm just glad my writing style worked the way I wanted it to, my main medium is screenwriting so when I write fics and prose I try to write it in a way that leans more towards creating a visual in your mind the way a movie presents a visual to your eye lol

As for expanding the AU I ultimately really don't want to nor do I have any plans to do so, if I wrote anything else it would be Sas and Margot meeting and falling for each other in an instant to the disappointment of Hetty and Trevor who now have to go on some awkward double dates lol

The ending of the Hmoney part is truly the piece I'm the most proud of and any addition to it would ultimately undercut the way I wrote it, to be honest that dialogue had been floating around in my head for a lot longer than the existence of this fic, it wasn't even connected to Hmoney or this fic for a very long time, it was several months of me repeating that dialogue over and over again as I went to the bathroom or took a shower hoping to connect it to a screenplay or some kind of short film I could write instead before it became connected to this fic and the other dialogue I had written into a notes app page for a modern Hmoney AU I hadn't fully solidified into this fic months before sitting down to actually write it all out and I was definitely not expecting it to be as long as it ended up being, but that seems to be my style for these two lol

I'm just ultimately not really interested in the whole "after" part of "Happily Ever After" I like the way it ended and I'm really proud of it, if someone else in the fandom wants to take a crack at expanding the AU and writing their own version of the after effects I'm not opposed and I'm not gonna stop them, a part of me wanted to make like fake twitter screencaps of people reacting after the video gets released or of the fallout from the Molly reveal, but I ultimately didn't have that much inspiration for it, if people are so inclined to expand things or add their own two cents to the AU I'm definitely on board for that, you're just probably not gonna be seeing any new content for this AU from me, sorry ToT

I'm so glad people liked the kids tho, I'm always worried about introducing OC's and the reception they'll receive, Margot was definitely my baby while writing this and if you guys didn't like her I would have cried ToT I also loved writing Angela and her utterly obvious eldest daughter syndrome lol I feel like even though I'm an only child I really nailed that eldest daughter, middle child, youngest boy dynamic between the three of them lol

I have some long form chapter fics that I mainly only have dialogue trees written for right now, I just haven't had the urge and inspiration to sit down and write recently, I have like 5 fics for a different ship that have been sitting half finished in my drafts folder as the fandom dies out and falls into obscurity while I wonder if I'll be able to publish these fics before the tag is fully abandoned ToT I don't really have anything ready for a sneak preview, but I do have other Hmoney fics written out on my Ao3 page currently, like I am definitely very proud of my most recent Hmoney fic, And I Will Fuck You Like Nothing Matters it's very graphic in it's descriptions tho so please heed the content warnings ToT

And I could not agree more, I love the toxicity and the older woman/younger man dynamic is like my biggest guilty pleasure, I am a milf chaser 100% lol never had daddy issues, but my mommy issues are on full blast in every Hmoney fic I write truly ToT plus I am such a sucker for good banter and the show doesn't particularly deliver enough of that for me which is how I ended up writing so many fics about them where they just go back and forth with banter and barbs ToT the show is like a PG-13 rating at best and for me I want the two of them to be more like Ava and Deborah from HBO Hacks, like that push and pull and that toxic dynamic of people who are so similar but different only in age and experience like hng ToT

((and I definitely want to write more Hmoney lol the writing bugs have just not been able to find their way into my fingers lately ToT but one day they'll get there again lol))

Ultimately this is a longwinded way to say thank you so much for your comment and your support and your gushing, it's def a lovely boost to my ego lol *^.^*