#i have an exam in the am whoops

[pinetreespants]

i think so too Leshy...

[nova-stardragon]

Currently bribing myself to finish studying for my test tomorrow with the promise of being able to write more fanfiction.

I have a quarter of my notecard space being filled and am a little over halfway through the content that will be on the exam, so I'm feeling pretty good (I started studying today like 45 minutes ago lmao)

[brights-place]

My Inner demons X Chaotic S/O

A/N: To that one chic or guy or person! who requested these two dating a chaotic person I love you I jsut accidentally deleted your request! so here I am! 11:57pm tired af after an exam and writing Headcannons WHOOP WHOOP!

Pairings: Pierce X Reader, Rhys X Reader

Warnings: Swearing, Arson, You being chaotic!

Pierce

- Silent but deadly

- describes pierce very well

- but the fact that THE general pierce is dating an chaotic person it makes people question everything

- your relationship is black cat and orange cat! The sun and Moon, The sunshine and Sunshine Protector…

- he sometimes has to put you up in air jail.

- he feels like he's babysitting instead of being a boyfriend. - Pierce provides a calming soothing presence to your craziness. - You two may have separate opinions and be stubborn about it - He's an gentle Giant who cuddles you in secret but finds it hard to do that when your on the ROOF! - Like he stares at you with complete and utter confusion as the others either laugh or Rhys is telling Pierce to get you down from the roof since He's your partner - Air jail is a MUST! lifts you up and deadpans at how you flail in his muscular arms and he had scolded you for climbing the roof - He cups your face and checks if you have any scratches and bruises sighing in relief as he stares at you and pats your head - Pierce literally has to chase you around when - Pierce is the person who gets the least angry out of everybody from what Noi has said and also said the Pierce was the most gentle out of battle... - which you could agree on but dealing with you is an battle for him - Pierce is very tall so sometimes he will pick you up and put you on top of the shelf like how he deals with you in air jail - He is territorial since all daemos are over things they care about since he cares about you he makes sure to put you behind him whenever he feels threatened - if your an daemos like him he would know that it’s normal for ‘Rogue’ daemos to be wild and feral but you were... You were even more feral then rogue daemos

- Even if your an lower class he would cherish you and keep you away from all the problems with whatever crisis goes on well the best he could do - In dameos he is general pierce he has killed thousands but fucking hell you could appear in training and he would glance towards you nodding slightly - After he finishes and would walk over to you and bends down to you to pat your head but instead as you bite his hand to show your affection whihc he deadpans at and sighs before making you let go and kiss his cheek as other knights stare shocked at the scary general on battle having an partner - He generally does not outwardly express his feelings and only speaks when he needs to but with you he doesn't show expression in public but in private he can - I mean it's known he is an gentle giant off the battle field but its surprising to see it

- He freaked out quietly when he saw you about to go tackle an knight who took the last bit of your favorite food

- he had to grab you and pull you back and put you in air jail as you go feral in his arms as he walks off with you as Noi admires Pierce with Rhys and Leif staring in absolutely confusion - He has this sense when knowing your gonna do something idiotic he already had one when some of the others had joined but when he started dating you it had spiked up. - When you run down the hallway cackling with one of noi's daggers laughing like an maniac shouting 'Stab! Stab!’ like nifty from hazbin hotel. - Pierce knows when to sticks out his arm and make you stop midway from going to attack the flying bird as you stare at him with your eyes before clinging to him - Pierce is an quick learner like Rhys well not as good as Rhys but he can understand or even learn things faster than the other Daemos. - when he had to leave for his mission with Prince Asch to get more magic due to the magic crisis in daemos he just stared at you - Pierce stood in front of you as you stare up at him with your slitted pupils as he looks to the group and back to you before you hugged him tightly as he hugged you back as you placed an quick kiss on his lips as he returned it and patted your head before leaving

- To be honest many moons have passed and you still missed pierce but knew it was important for him to do this Mission

- When he returned later on after ‘years’ we know that one day in earth is like one week in daemos so when you saw him you couldn’t be happier you ran to him and hugged him before clinging to his back giggling happily

- Though he stared at you with an soft smile which was rare but you noticed that he sighed and hugged you before you too left to his room - You held onto him and peppered his face with kisses as he sighed in relaxation as you told him you missed him as he spoke "yes"

- Pierce had told you about his adventures and about his Idol socky the sock puppet and how he was and I quote 'I kin socky the sock puppet' you didn't understand those strange words so you stared at him - You smiled listening to his stories not causing chaos just missing your partner and glad his muscular arms around him

Rhys

- He needs an BREAK GIVE THIS MAN AN BREAK!!!

- Due to my Headcannons of them having an heightened sense of smell this dude will KNOW when you light something on fire, plan on doing any pranks or if he smells something toxic

- He’s like the mother of the group and since he has to keep the group under control having you around is calming but you are so chaotic it also adds him pressure.

- You know that meme where there’s one person holding leashes of one gremlin imagine that but with Rhys and the other daemos men.

- he loves you dearly and freaks out when you do something dumb

- he mainly tried to get you away from Lief since you two like to be chaotic dumbasses

- If your an human and he fell in love with you he would try to convince Asch not to use you as an source of life to fix the problem in daemos.

- which he succeeds in surprisingly.

- When needed to calm you down from doing something dumb he would try to soothe you which kind of works but when he looks away to go back to his studies your out of the room and climbing the pillars of their Magical home like place inside Ava’s walls.

- He likes to study and relax most of the time but when you come barging in out of nowhere and sit down in his little laboratory and study he knows that your gonna do something dumb.

- Though when he is stressed he likes to see your face out of nowhere

- He has a spray bottle and then spray it at you when you do something dumb

- Ava gave it to him as an gift.

- he mostly uses it on Asch but when your being EVEN MORE CHAOTIC he uses it

- he finds it funny when your face scrunches up and you hiss at him.

- He likes to teach you about daemos if your an human but he would try avoid talking about the so called ‘monster’ problem in daemos

- your chaotic energy mixed with his Is like the sun and moon relationship.

- An Snowy Owl and Orange Cat relationship technically

- though he hates when your being chaotic sometimes he likes to watch you pull some pranks on Asch secretly he laughs abit

- You know when you have to be serious so when you see him close to breaking down just relax him with some hugs and pepper his face with kisses

- He needs distractions most of the time due to being so hard working and you just being there to distract him is enough.

- if your an fellow daemos he would know that it’s normal for ‘Rogue’ daemos to be wild

- Even if your an lower class he would cherish you and keep you away from all the Drama with whatever crisis goes on.

- Lady Grandma is very fond of you and laughs whenever you do something dumb she says that you and Rhys made the perfect couple due to opposites attract.

- Though it is know daemos are territorial Rhys is especially territorial when it comes to you

- He would literally make sure that nothing and nobody knows about him dating you or the fact that someone even TRIES to touch you the only one who does know his relationship with an ‘Lower class’ daemos is Asch

- Asch May seem like he hates you but he enjoys watching you prank rahl for him.

- That’s how Rhys was shocked to see you and Asch laughing together

- He freaked out when he saw you about to poke an beast that was sleeping.

- he had to grab you and yell at you in an hushed tone while dragging you away.

- Him dating you It’s obvious he’s gonna be scolding you for being an chaotic dummy

- again if your an fellow daemos when he had to leave for his mission with Prince Asch to get more magic due to the magic crisis in daemos he told you and told you not to cause too much trouble.

- He has this sixth sense when knowing your gonna do something idiotic he already had one when Lief joined but when he started dating you it SPIKED

- To be honest many moons have passed and you still missed him

- When he returned later on after ‘years’ we know that one day in earth is like one week in daemos so when you saw him you couldn’t be happier

- Though the look in his eyes…

- you couldn’t help but frown.

- you didn’t cause chaos like always but you soothed him by just standing beside him and hugging him.

- you may be his chaotic lover but he wouldn’t trade you for the world you bring him peace and calm him down when needed too whenever your not being an chaotic dipshit.

- Rhys would hold onto you and relax in your arms, and oh how he missed you

reblogs + comments are appreciated ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

©brights-place 2023 — do not repost on another platform, copy, translate or edit my works! if you fit my DNI list please don't interact!

[starkidmunson]

glitter & crimson

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9

If Steve behaves during workouts over the next few days, he can’t be blamed. He’s trying to prove to his coaches and the team’s medical staff that he’s not rushing a return to the ice, but that he’s ready to lace up and get back out there. He bargains his way out of the full plastic face protection mask, opting for a full cage instead. By Sunday, he’s participating in the last full team practice before they pack up to leave Chicago, keeping up with his teammates despite how much he felt he’d been struggling just days earlier.

“You holding up?” Max asks, loudly, as he skates past where a few of the team doctors are sitting, observing and chatting.

“I’m fine,” He answers, and takes a shot, scoring past their goalie who had belly-flopped in the opposite direction of the puck. 

A few of his teammates ‘whoop’, while the goalie slams his stick against the ice, shoving a glove off his hand to flip Steve off, before getting back to work. 

Steve just snorts and skates back toward Max, holding his arms out. “Would you like to do a formal exam? I promise I’m good. I feel good.” He swears, winking at the redhead, scrunching up the side of his face still recovering, immediately wincing. She rolls her eyes and he laughs softly at himself. “Okay, that didn’t feel good, but that’s just because I’m dumb.”

“Not dumb!” She chastises, pointing at him, and the look on her face tells him he’s about to get a scheduled lecture from the entire Party about how he talks about himself again, so he opts to skate away instead, avoiding digging a hole for himself he can’t get out of.

It’s suspiciously quiet and seemingly empty at the apartment that afternoon until Steve ultimately finds Robin lying across his bed. His clothes are scattered everywhere around her. She shoots him a sheepish smile when he drops his bag beside her and raises an eyebrow.

“I was hoping to figure out a few outfits for you to take and look hot for your date with Eddie, but then I realized I have no idea how to dress you to impress a man.” She says, flopping back into the pillows.

Steve snorts and rolls his eyes. “I don’t think that was supposed to be an insult, but, ya know…” He trails off and laughs as Robin tosses a pillow in his direction.

“You know what I mean!”

“I do,” Steve laughs, catching the pillow and sitting beside Robin, picking at the seam of the pillowcase. “If it’s any consolation, I also have no idea how to dress me to impress guys. But I also don’t think impressing Eddie is going to have anything to do with what I wear. At least I hope it won’t.”

Robin makes a gagging noise, but it’s around a little smile, and Steve rolls his eyes before laying beside her, shoving a few tops out of his way. She waits until he’s not looking at her to speak again, both of them looking at the ceiling over his bed. “I just really want this to work for you. You deserve to be happy.” 

“I am happy, Robbie. I promise.” Steve’s softer, and for the first time in a long time, he thinks he honestly means it. Robin turns her head to look at him for a second before she wiggles closer to him and rests her head against his shoulder.

“You’re going to have to actually ask him out on a date, though, you know.” She says after a few beats, which makes him laugh.

“Not if he beats me to it,” He teases, pressing a little kiss to Robin’s temple. “But yeah, I know. I think I’m getting there.”

They lay like that for a few more minutes before Robin eventually shoves herself away from him, demanding he shower before they cuddle anymore. When Steve reenters his bedroom after a hot shower, he finds Robin has paired several tops to pants and folded them together, giving him options for outfits.

“I am humanly capable of dressing myself. I’ve been doing it for nearly 30 years now, you know.” He teases, and she rolls her eyes as he towel dries his hair. He drops the towel into his hamper and tips his head, makes an impressed face. “I wouldn’t have thought to put those pants with that top though, and I think it might just work.” He adds, lifting one of the pairings Robin has come up with and setting it into his travel bag. Robin grins and holds a finger up for him to wait, dashes out of the room, and returns a few moments later with a gray cardigan. “One step too far.” He teases, taking it from her hands and eyeing it skeptically.

“Just trust me on this? You look cuddly when you’re cozy.” She insists, so he sighs and packs it away despite his reservations.

Robin haphazardly throws a few pair of underwear, three tops and a single pair of jeans into a backpack and declares she’s ready to make the trip. 

It’s an early call at the airport on Monday, and Steve’s mostly still asleep as Robin slips into the window seat, pulling him along with her. He uses her shoulder, in combination with a neck pillow, as a headrest to sleep the flight away and he wakes up to his ears popping on the dissent, feeling a little more rested.

The players travel from the airport to check in at the hotel, then a few make their way to do tourist-y things around the city. Steve and Robin tag along, but end up breaking off from the group a few bars in along Broadway. They settle themselves into a corner and share a fishbowl sized concoction, and Steve texts Eddie to let him know they’ve arrived safe and sound and have already hit the town.

Eddie responds to the photo of Steve and Robin sipping from straws in the same bowl with a selfie Gareth took. Eddie’s in the background, using what looks to Steve like an oversized inhaler. He’s up in an instant, making his way around the woman performing on the small stage and outside onto the street where it’s not as noisy so he can call Eddie.

“That was fast,” Eddie teases, and he sounds fine, which confuses Steve further.

“Are you okay? What’s with the inhaler?” He asks, and Eddie’s quiet for a beat.

“Oh, no, Stevie, that’s not a… it’s a nebulizer. I was laying down vocal tracks earlier and it helps keep me from losing my voice.” He explains, then quickly follows up. “Oh my god, did you call because you were worried? That’s so… god, you’re adorable, you know that?”

Steve feels himself blush, and is grateful that they’re on a voice call and not a FaceTime, because Eddie would only tease him more if he could see the shade of red he’s sure his face is. “Shut up, I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“You’re so fucking sweet, Stevie.” Eddie’s voice is like butter, his charm on maximum, and Steve bites at his lip as he listens. “How long are you in town after the game?”

“Back to Chicago on Thursday for two days, then we hit a road stretch for most of next week.” Steve answers, and Eddie hums. “What’s that for?” Steve asks, genuinely curious.

“Means I’m trying to figure out if I want to hit the road, or wait until you’re back in Chicago for more than two days to make the next trip to see you.” 

Steve takes a deep breath at that, smiles, and lets out a huff of air that sounds like a light laugh. “I’m going to go back into the bar and finish this fishbowl, then we’re going back to the hotel to swim and sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow, after the game, okay?”

“I thought you didn’t drink before games?” Eddie asks, and Steve tries not to melt at the details the other remembers.

“I’m not taking the ice tomorrow, and I… usually just have a cut-off time. When we first met, I was worried I would say something stupid if I started drinking and end up scaring you off.” It’s more honest than he intends to be, more information than he means to share, but he doesn’t regret telling Eddie, and he isn’t embarrassed.

“I think we both know it takes more than that to scare me off, sweetheart.”

Steve’s pretty sure he stops breathing at the term of endearment and he can’t tell if Eddie is freaking out or proud of himself, because he doesn’t say anything for a moment before he gives a quick goodbye and hangs up, leaving Steve standing on Broadway, looking up at the “Tootsies Orchid Lounge” sign, trying to keep himself from spiraling.

Some time must pass, then, before Robin comes out to check on him, gently lays a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. “Dude, you okay?”

“He, uh. He called me sweetheart.” 

“Good grief,” Robin mumbles, resting her head on Steve’s shoulder. “I thought he broke up with you or something.”

“Kinda hard to break up with someone you aren’t dating, Robbie.” Steve shakes his head in an effort to pull himself together.

“Whatever you say,” she tugs his arm, then, leading him back into the bar where they finish their drink and head back to the hotel. 

~~~

Open mouth, insert foot. The Eddie Special. The one thing becoming a constant during his conversations with Steve.

“What did you call him?” Jeff asks around a smile after Eddie hangs up the phone, grabs the nearest throw pillow, and shoves his face into it.

“I’m pretty sure he said sweetheart.” Gareth provides in the least helpful moment he’s ever been to Eddie, confirming he had, indeed, used a fucking pet name while speaking with Steve.

“How did he take that?” Jeff is softer, no longer following the initial taunting route he seemed to be heading down, likely sensing Eddie’s unraveling.

“I don’t know, I think I blacked out.” He speaks into the pillow, muffled, before he drops it into his lap and stares blankly at the wall.

“Well, me and Jeff’ll be there tomorrow. We can try to prevent any catastrophes within our capabilities?” Gareth smacks Jeff’s leg, who nods in agreement, and Eddie sighs and throws himself back into the studio sofa.

The next day, they get to Bridgestone Arena early enough to grab snacks and not run into too many people who recognize them before filling into their suite. Eddie settles into his seat, comfortable with the temperature now that he knows how to dress for a game. 

The teams eventually make their way to the ice, and Eddie zeroes in on Steve until he skates into the Blackhawk’s box after the anthem.

This time around, Eddie manages to follow a good deal of what’s happening. He’s learned a lot about the game since his first attendance, and he finds it easier to track the puck now than it had seemed previously. He watches as the Preds make an early goal, how the Blackhawks are quick to respond by securing their own point. Watches as a play goes sideways, and a Blackhawk player ends up flipping over another player, then lays on the ice in just the right position to know something is wrong, that he’s hurt.

Play doesn’t stop for long, and when things pick back up, Steve takes the ice. Eddie snaps his fingers between Jeff and Gareth once before he’s on his feet, cheering. The boys join him, and soon, most of the Arena is giving Steve a standing ovation. Steve, though, is facing the direction of Eddie’s suite and gives a little salute before dropping into position, ready for the puck to hit the ice. 

~~~

When the backup forward goes down, Steve springs to his feet from inside the visitors box. An attempt at goal had drawn everyone near the Blackhawk’s net. A Predator had dove for the puck, and things went south fast. Watching from the sidelines was like watching in slow motion, as the med staff checked in on everyone involved and eventually carted the forward off the ice to be evaluated.

Behind him, the coaches evaluate their options as Steve checks his laces and lifts his helmet before tapping the coach's arm.

“I got this,” he promises, settling the helmet over his head and securing the cage over his face. With just a moment of hesitation, the coaches agree and Steve skates to center ice.

He bends down, waiting for the Predator’s forward to join him in their wait for the ref with the puck, but cheers erupt from one end of the arena and slowly, the noise wraps around the room. 

Steve straightens to look around, taking in who exactly was cheering. Fans in both Blackhawks gear and Predators are standing together, cheering and clapping. He glances around, confused before he notices a few of the players on both sides of the ice are also clapping toward him. That’s when it clicks, that all the noise is for him. 

He turns to where the cheering originated, zeroes in on the curly hair over a jersey with his number on the sleeves and he can’t help but grin. Steve gives a little gesture in Eddie’s direction, before skating back to the center ice with the Predator’s forward.

“Welcome back, Harrington.” The other forward says, just as the ref drops the puck and the game picked back up.

~~~

The Blackhawks don’t win the game, but it feels like the cement is drying around the memory in his mind as he showers after the game. He’d played well, even scored a goal, but the Predators manage to get a buzzer-beater in at the last minute after tying things up near the end of the third. But the cheering when he stepped back out onto the ice was an experience he’d never forget.

Eddie texts Steve the address to a brewery in East Nashville, and that’s where he and Robin head as everyone else makes their way into the city. 

Upon arrival, Robin b-lines across the parking lot for the door, but Steve spots a thin trail of smoke that catches his attention. He follows it, smiles when it turns out to be exactly who he expected. Eddie’s propped up against the side of the building, foot resting flat as his back against the wall behind him, smoking a cigarette.

“Kinda figured I’d find you at the end of the smoke trail.” Steve teased softly, catching Eddie’s attention. 

“Looks like I’ve been caught, then,” Eddie laughs, and takes a long, final drag from the cigarette before putting it out into the ash urn. He blows the smoke away from Steve, and keeps a smile on his face. “Wanna grab a drink? I had the guys order appetizers, but we can get real food, too, if you want?”

“I actually….” Steve hesitates, and Eddie raises his eyebrows. Steve considers dropping it, just agreeing to go inside and eat and have a good time with everyone. But then Eddie’s face softens into a little smile and Steve’s chest warms. “Fuck it. Do you want to grab dinner tomorrow? Just the two of us?”

Eddie visibly blue screens. There’s no emotion on his face as he watches Steve before him for a moment, then breaks out into a grin. “You asking me on a date, Harrington?”

“I am.” Steve nods, grins back at Eddie, watches as he twists a curl around his finger and pulls it in front of his face, twisting his body so his arm is propped against the wall, facing Steve head on.

“I think I would like that, yeah.” Eddie agrees. Steve smiles, feels like something has lifted between the two of them, and holds his hand out. Eddie tangles their fingers together and lets Steve pull him into the brewery.

Robin seems suspicious as they enter, but drops her interest as they sit at the end of the table across from one another, sipping on beers and munching on nachos and mozzarella sticks, chatting about the game and the new music the band is recording. 

And if Steve manages to keep his composure when Eddie hooks an ankle around his own under the table, it’s because he’s an adult and not a high schooler tripping over his own feet to impress the guy across from him, and totally not because he knows the entire rest of the table would have a field day if he got flustered by the littlest touch.

[insanityclause]

It is one hell of a moment. Delivering what I think (in gym terms) is known as a low lunge, with one straight leg, one knee millimetres from the ground, and the other at 90 degrees, Hiddleston unbuttons the top two fastenings of his formal dress shirt.

Cries go out from the audience. He then gracefully stands up, with his back to the audience. We cannot see but he is unbuttoning his shirt. Then, he turns to fully face the auditorium. I probably should say that he is speaking blank verse throughout.

The shirt is fully open, revealing a sculpted stomach and torso one only thought existed in Mr Universe competitions, or on Action Man dolls. Cue general hysteria from over 2,100 people on all four tiers, including boxes, of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

What did you say? Take my shirt off?

Welcome to Much Ado About Nothing, the Millennial version.

It is such fun! That’s the first thing. One walks into the beautiful gilded auditorium to encounter grooving ushers dancing around waving signs saying “Turn Your Phones Off”, in time to Nineties pop anthems.

Outside, huge posters have Tom Hiddleston’s name above that of Shakespeare. But of course. Thanks to his recurring role as Marvel’s naughty trickster Loki, Hiddleston is a fully fledged Hollywood star. Yes, I know he cut his teeth at RADA and played Coriolanus at the National Theatre. But THIS IS LOKI. Transported in some miraculous way to Benedick, in Much Ado About Nothing and what’s more, taking his shirt off eight times a week in central London.

The rest of the cast are no mean assemblage; his sparring partner Beatrice is played by another Marvel personality, Hayley Atwell. Stage stalwarts such as Forbes Masson, a pitch perfect Leonato, Gerald Kyd and the wonderful Tim Steed all ensure this is a company show, sort of. That is if you discount the viewpoint of the entire audience, which is at Drury Lane for one reason and one reason only. LOKI.

I include myself in this. My youngest son, now 20, and I are serious Marvel fans. We’ve seen ‘em all, usually on the first weekend possible. Iron Man (various versions), Thor (ditto), Ant Man, etc. We’ve cried at Avengers Infinity War, cheered at Stan Lee’s cameos, bigged up Spiderman. We’ve watched the TV spinoffs. We always stay for the minute after the credits roll (where the next Marvel film is promoted, usually with some huge personage playing a baddie such as Samuel L Jackson, or Robert Redford). We have even kept going to the films when they went off the boil.

Naturally, we were going to see Hiddleston in Shakespeare. Naturally, Lucien had no idea what Much Ado About Nothing was. If a young person hasn’t done a ‘Spear for an exam, they don’t know it.

Just think of this poster, I usefully told him on the way to the theatre. See below.

On arrival at the theatre, I knew we were in the grip of a ‘moment’. “It’s a great show!” said the lady checking our tickets. “It’s had great reviews.” Ah, Madam, that is where you are wrong. It hasn’t had any reviews, in the formal sense. It hasn’t had a press night. It doesn’t need one.

Unlike Jamie Lloyd’s previous “Shakespeare-at-Drury-Lane-with-a-Hollywood-name”, namely The Tempest with Sigourney Weaver as Prospero, this show has confidence. It has buoyancy. It has HUGE hit written all over it, with or without the reviews.

And lo, the curtain rises. Zero set. Loads of cherry blossom everywhere. Will there be applause when Hiddleston arrives? Are you completely bonkers? The whole audience goes insane. I am probably the oldest person in the house, and that is the point. I have honestly never seen a younger, more diverse, more focused crowd at a Shakespeare production in the West End. And possibly a more excited one. They are here to have a good time. We are all here to have a good time. Every time Hiddleston opens his mouth, cheers. Every time he winks at the audience, whoops. Every time he points at an excited person in the stalls, said person faints.

Lloyd understands his audience. There are disco bangers (Groovers in the House is one) throughout this show. Every time, the whole cast start dancing, rather brilliantly. Hiddleston, throwing shapes! Who knew? There is even a moment of pure meta-theatricals where lifesize, cardboard cutouts of Atwell and Hiddleston’s Marvel characters are used as props. An actual image of Loki, in a Shakespeare play. The actress playing Hero, holding the cutout, points to his groin. The audience cheers wildly. It’s a cutout, everyone!

Characters in the play who do not really push forward the action, such as the unfunny Dogberry, have simply been excised by Lloyd. Interestingly, there is a whole section in the programme devoted towards clowning, in particular about the Elizabethan actor who played Dogberry in the original production, which makes me think this was perhaps a last minute decision. It’s a good one, however. The play spins along with no longeurs. We are in the hands of professionals.

Two observations; as the cast took its bow, and invited the whole audience to join in with disco moves, which it did without a second’s hesitation, my son said to me “That was great! It was so easy to understand!”

Secondly, as we left the theatre there was a queue of monumental proportions snaking around outside the building. This was the queue for the Stage Door.

I have been looking (again) at Culture Is Bad For You, by Brook, O’Brien and Taylor. This book crunches a lot of data to analyse who is going to British culture and why it is so unequal, both in terms of employees and in terms of audiences.

One of the main points it raises is that cultural consumption in the UK is a minority event. That there is “a disconnection between cultural production, cultural consumption and whole swathes of the population.”

The Jamie Lloyd project at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane does not knock this idea down, but disregards it. The production is an outlier. It is a triumphant, and reasonably (but not wildly) expensive, delivery of ‘high’ art via popular culture to an audience who don’t normally feel included in the art world. Yes, we are lucky to have a player as Hiddleston, who can do both popular and rarified (while taking his shirt off), but it is a simple formula which producers across the theatre landscape, particularly ones which use public money, ought to take note of.

What a night!

[babybearnation]

Lawhanx reader uni au headcanons please bear <3

i love this ask, thank you so much aha - once again, please remember that i am british and went to uni in britain and therefore my uni experience will be most decidedly british

liam lawson x gn!reader x jack doohan (university au)

cw: suggestive

liam is a music major and jack is a sports science major

the three of you met during fresher's week and became fast friends

however, the three of you soon find yourselves falling for each other

neither of you act on it, too afraid of the ways it may ruin your friendship and connection with each other

it all comes to head on a drunken night, however

you'd gone out with some of your other friends and drunkenly sent a message to your group chat with liam & jack, confessing that you loved them both and wanted nothing more than to date them both

liam and jack weren't sure how to respond and just said that they hoped you were having fun before switching to private dms

jack and liam shared their feelings for each other as well as you but decided not to start dating until they'd spoken to you the following morning

you're not expecting them to show up at your door the following morning and you welcome them in, accepting the bottle of water they give you before asking why they look so serious

they ask if you remember last night and watch as the memories literally come flooding back

you bury your face in your hands in embarrassment before saying that you're sorry

liam kisses you before you can say anything else and jack replaces him not long after

that's the start of your relationship together, but how does it go once you're together?

liam calls you guys his muses because you inspire so much of the work he does for his music classes and he always gets the best grades when he submits stuff that was inspired by you two

jack uses you guys as living test subjects when doing his sports science stuff especially when studying anatomy or kinesiology - he very much loves to study that last one with you and liam, if you catch my drift 🤭

you can use them for inspiration or testing for your degree as well because they deem it only fair

you three are the WORST flatmates ever because, no matter who's room you're in, you're gonna annoy somebody with how loud you are during sex

dates in the campus refectory are common place - the three of you usually end up sat around a table together, talking or studying and drinking expensive drinks from the cafe

the three of you take turns to pay for ingredients and then the three of you cook dinner together to ensure that everyone eats at least one meal a day that isn't cheap ramen

exam season is always hectic and its not uncommon for one of you to end up being comforted by the other two

any fails are soothed with alcohol and cuddles and any wins are celebrating with alcohol and sex so... lots of alcoholic copings lol

if you're in any clubs, you best bet that jack and liam will make sure their schedules are clear so they can show up to your events and support you

and you always do the same for them, making sure that you show up and support them because they do the same for you

graduation is a whole big event for you three - the other two will whistle and whoop and holler so loudly as the third person crosses the stage that it would be so embarrassing if you hadn't all agreed to it before hand

© all rights to babybearnation 2025.

[www-findringo-com]

From Afar

Yuno Grinberryall x Fem!reader

I'm unsure if i should have a specific banner for my series or my stories in general or if i should change it each time, tell me what you think!

cw - unchecked

Plot: Y/N Hanabi is a commoner who has always hated her fireworks magic even though the townsfolk have always praised her. As she grew up, a woman in her life changed her view completely, making her appreciate and slowly understand her "silly" magic.

Even if she started using her magic more, she had no interest in joining the magic knights, and yet during the elves' reincarnation, she helped save the people of the Clover Kingdom. This resulted in the Sorcery King noticing her and convincing her to join the knights, which, after many rejections, she. In the end. Took on the request and participated in the entrance exam a year after getting her grimoire. Once she joined the Blue Rose Knights, something or more like someone was going to completely change ,what once was, her daily routine.

Previous

Ever since I got my grimoire, it's almost as if life at the hostel got busier. I wouldn't exactly be mad about it because it means we're getting more and more clients, but it also means I have to use my magic all the time! But on the bright side, Serene always visited us and helped out a lot. She was the self-proclaimed Paladin of Justice for us commoners. Soon, she became known in my town, and people always asked me when she was going to be back. What a pain... But deep inside, it made me happy to know people liked my friend

"Y/N, darling, could you please go serve out the dishes?" My mom shouted from across the hall. It did sound like a question but if I even dared to refuse I would have been in trouble. I ran to the kitchen since the guest had been waiting for about twenty minutes. As soon as I opened the kitchen door a nervy comment hit my face: "Look who finally decided to stop sitting on their ass and help out!" My cousin spoke. He was the most annoying guy in the whole universe. And, if we weren't family, I would have already beat him up.

"Yeah yeah I'm here. Now give me those dishes before the guests get mad" I commented back and he gave me a snarky smile before handing me about four plates to bring out.

That afternoon I was sweeping the lobby when a shadow towered over my figure. Right after some water was splashed on the floor I had been cleaning for the past hour. "Whoops~" I turned around to be met by a woman, dressed in noble clothes and with the wrinkliest face I had ever seen. On her ugly wrinkly face sat a smirk as she fake apologized for 'accidentally', spilling her water magic on the floor. I was about to lash out on her due to my terrible customer service. But I was soon stopped by an angry voice at the entrance. "Excuse me, Miss. But who do you think you are?" We both turned around stunned, and I was met by none other than Serene. Paladin of justice for us commoners, I guess. The breath of the noble lady hitched, and she fought back: "And who might you be? Let me guess, a lowly peasant. '' She chuckled and looked at Serene funny. "And what if I am? What does that mean to you? That you're a high-level person but lowly scum in the eyes of righteousness? In a world where you can be better than most and be seen as a beautiful person, you chose to be part of the mass and just follow like a wet dog the orders of someone else? People like you are bland, stale, and boring. You're the reason why this kingdom is fucked up" The lady was left shook and speechless. After a bit she grunted and stormed off, letting Serene a clear path to me.

"How's it going, Y/N? D'ya miss me?" She chuckled and extended her arms as if she expected a hug. I laughed lightly and hugged her : "I really really missed you!" We talked for a bit before my father came up to me. "Oh, Y/N, didn't know you had friends coming over!" He greeted Serene. She shook his hand. They chatted for a few minutes but then he spoke to me: "Y/N why don't you go hang out with your friend for a while? we're not having any rushes right now, so feel free to go!" I thanked him before putting away my uniform and quickly reaching Serene. She put out her hand and as soon as I held it, she ran out the door and we started running through town! "Serene slow down. I'm gonna fall!" I shouted at her, to which she just laughed and brought me closer to her.

"Jump," She whispered to me, and I did. Immediately under us formed a sort of cotton cloud, which she used to make us move even faster. "Where are we going?" I asked as the wind hit my face, making me blink. "To the capital silly." She spoke softly as we flew up into the air, and I took in the look of a huge fortified city with a castle slightly taller than the rest of the city. I was in awe at the sight. It wasn't as picturesque as the one from the grimoire acceptance ceremony, but it was still beautiful. I could tell it was a very busy and packed city, even people in brooms were flying to it! Once we landed, I noticed that the city was even more packed and busy than I expected. People were coming from all over, well, mostly kids our age. Serene brought me to a food stand, and she had me try a fried salamander on a stick. The salamander was crunchy and oddly sweet, and then she made me try roaster purple viper, and it was very dry and stale. I hated it!

After an hour or more of going around, I stopped when a huge tree towered over an arena at the center of the city. Serene took a step back before emitting a shocked sound and putting her hand over her mouth. "Oops- I almost forgot why we're here." And at that point, I looked at her in confusion. Once again, she took my arm, and before running, she whispered and winked to me. "Don't worry, you just gotta be quiet," She ordered as she put a finger over her mouth. Right after we started running and she brought me to an entrance at the back of the arena I noticed a few minutes ago. We walked in, and inside were all the kids our age I had seen a few hours prior. "Serene, what is this?" I questioned her as i followed her steps through the round corridor. "This is the Magic Knights entrance exam!" I let out a confused sound before starting to get nervous. "Can we actually be here? Isn't it supposed to be closed off to the public? What if someone catches us? What if not just someone but a Magic Knight Captain?" I was sweating, not because it was July, but because I was scared. Serene was very Nonchalant about it, as if sneaking to the exam was normal to her. "Oh, don't worry, it's going to be fine!" She stopped and brought her arms on top of the stone fencing, which ensured people from not falling off, and on one hand, she rested her chin. Without thinking, I got right next to her and started watching the exam, and then a light clicked in my head. "Serene, look!" I pointed upwards since they were flying around on brooms. "That's the four leaf guy we met at the acceptance ceremony." She faced towards where i was pointing and chuckled. "Didn't know people could be so good at flying on their first time! He must be a very irritating prick. " I giggled with her. Even though of the annoying personality he showed at the ceremony, i just couldn't help but find something about him... Cool? As if he was acting cool just for me to look at him... Oh god what the fuck that is very desperate of me. Wow.

Serene and I kept chatting and having fun when, how I predicted, someone caught us. "Excuse me." We both worriedly turned around to face the stern and serious voice, only to be met by a golden mask with pom poms at the back. On further inspection, the guy was wearing a cape, and on it was the Golden Dawn's logo. For context the Golden Dawn is like the strongest Magic Knight company in the whole kingdom, being composed mostly of high-level nobles with lots of mana and an extremely overpowered captain. Wait a second... THAT WAS THE CAPTAIN WILLIAM VANGEANCE! I could feel my face go pale, and my legs shivered at the thought of being scolded and insulted by a high-lever knight... Before I could try to explain myself, the captain spoke.

"Your Gracefulness Princess Temima, What are you doing here?”

Huh... Princess... What?

Wait, why is he looking deep in Serene's eyes?

…

IS SERENE A PRINCESS???

I stood there shaking when Serene spoke up. "Who the hell is this Princess Temima cause I have never heard a name so stupid. Are you pranking us, you... Masked buffoon? Either way, now if you don't keep bothering us, my friend and I will go away. Please and thank you." She spoke sternly, almost pissed at him. Then she took my hand and we ran out of there as soon as possible. Once we were out, we were out of breath, and before I could ask anything to Serene, she spoke. "I think It's time I bring you home." Oh yeah, she was mad. I think that Captain really irked something in her. Without objection, I let her bring me home, and ever since then, I didn't see her again.

Timeskip few months

That evening, I was grocery shopping with my mom. Lately, I have been a little more upset than usual, so my family tried to get me out as much as possible. "Y/N dear, could you please go pick these things?" She handed me a small piece of paper, and I went on my merry way. Shopping was boring, I saw these people almost every day, and I did the same things every week. I just couldn't take it anymore. My life had become boring, plain, and stale like a piece of dry bread. I was mad at Serene for not showing up again. Not only that, but the fact she disappeared after someone high-ranked called her princess, which made her even more suspicious. If she really was a princess, why would she need to hide it? She's so lucky to be blessed with nobility and so cool to be royal yet help out commoners and peasants. Also, didn't that Vangeance guy call her Temima? Yet I've always known her as Serene, and I was supposedly her best friend! Ugh, she's so weird and difficult. It took me some time to finish getting the groceries before trying to find my mom. It was getting dark and kind of cold when suddenly the whole market heard something break and people screaming. I started coughing, and when I turned around, there was smoke coming from around the corner. The fire started spreading, and people started running. That's when I noticed that they weren't running away from the fire yet from something... Who could be attacking a common town? Without a second thought, I brought out my grimoire. "Firework Magic: Crossettes of Purity!"

I shouted, and from my hands, I shot 2 fireworks which ended in a cross, hence the name crossette, and the two fireworks collided and landed on whatever was attacking us, leaving it stunned. I then shot fire under my feet to launch me near the spot of the stunned foe. Once I landed, and the smoke went away, I was met with the disgusting and maggot filled rotting body of my old neighbor, an ex magic knight. Before I could do anything, the guy got back up again, and as I took in the look of the decaying corpse, something behind peaked my attention. I moved my eyes slightly only to be met by an army of un-dead people and lots of fire around us.

"What. The. Fuck. Is. Going. On!”

And this was the second chapter!!! Sadly, I didn't have much inspiration for this, and maybe even for the next pair of chapters, they might be very, very boring, so please be patient with me! I tried to prep some angst between MC and Serene. i wonder if it'll be good! Let me know what you think and leave suggestions or even writing requests if you enjoy my style! see you next week with the next From Afar chapter!!!

-Ringo

[writeforfandoms]

Warrior Song 2

Find series masterlist

We are officially into Infinite! Although I play pretty fast and loose with the timeline, because this is my sandbox and I said so. So there.

Eventual John/Master Chief x f!reader

Warnings: Mild violence, allusions to torture (from the game), medical terms and exams, swearing, Emotions. 

Word count: 2.5k

You didn’t see him for a couple weeks after that. But more survivors trickled into camp, and you heard stories as they all passed through your medical area. 

The Master Chief was, apparently, waging a one-man war against Escharum. And from what you’d heard, he was doing pretty damn well. 

Which meant more survivors, more people coming in, more resources needed. You did the best you could. You had things prepped, kept supplies stored up like you were about to hibernate. 

But the last thing you expected was for Chief to haul in a man and deposit him on the table, ignoring the man’s protests. 

You took one look and moved. “Carter! I need bandages and aloe gel in here!” you yelled back into the hallway, even as you grabbed one of the prepared pain relief teas. “Drink this,” you told the man on the table, voice much gentler. “I know it doesn’t taste good, but it will help.” 

“What is it?” He looked at the tea with ill-concealed suspicion.

“Tea, it’ll help with the pain. And with hydration.” You smiled, even as you examined what you could see of his skin. “It’s a win-win like that.”

He looked at something behind you (you guessed the Chief) before he took a drink. And grimaced. “You weren’t kidding,” he grumbled.

“I know,” you murmured sympathetically. “I’m sorry. If I had sugar, I’d throw some in there.” You waited until he’d taken another drink to motion to his clothes. “I need to check you over. Do you need help getting out of these?” 

Which was when you were interrupted. Beck strode into the room, two more marines with him, with Carter scurrying in after them and giving you an apologetic look. 

“Chief! It’s good to see you again!” Beck smiled. “What’s the situation?” 

“Sir.” Chief glanced at his buddy? Partner? Whatever, and then looked at Beck. “Mission objective has been completed.” 

“Escharum?” Beck’s eyes went wide.

“Deceased,” Chief confirmed. 

A whoop went up from one of the marines, and you hit your limit. Stomping over to the group of them, you narrowed your eyes. 

“Get out,” you said firmly.

Beck’s eyebrows both shot up. “I beg your pardon?”

“You are in my medical unit, while I am attempting to examine a patient. Get out. Have your meeting somewhere else.” You narrowed your eyes further at Beck, outright glaring at him. You’d shout him down too if you had to.

“Miss–”

“Exactly. Miss. Not one of your underlings. You made me head of medical here, so as head of medical, get the hell out of my space.” 

Chief was the first to move, dipping his head to you in a respectful nod before he walked outside. Beck shot you a look, undoubtedly annoyed at you, but followed. Carter, the wimp, had left you the supplies and scampered. 

Huffing, you turned back to the man on the table, who was gaping at you. A little. 

“Did you just yell at your CO?” he asked, awed.

“Not my CO,” you replied cheerfully, picking up the bandages and aloe to bring over to the table. “I’m a civilian contractor, regardless of the fact that we’re currently stuck on an alien ring-world thing. Besides, he needs me and we both know it.” 

“You’re a brave woman.” He hissed as he eased his vest off, and you hurried to help. 

“Not really. Just very, very tired.” You smiled at him. “What’s your name?”

“Fernando Esparza.”

You gave him your name in turn, easing his shirt off and setting it off to the side. “Well, looks like you got lucky,” you murmured, leaning in closer to examine him. “I don’t actually see any burns, which is good. I’m sure it feels pretty bad, but apart from stressed muscles, there’s very little actual damage.”

“Doesn’t feel like it,” he admitted, grimacing when you gently prodded at his belly to make sure there was no internal bleeding. 

“I know. I’m going to have you drink more tea, that’ll help. Sleep will help too.” You frowned at some bruising but ultimately decided it was fine and continued on. “I’d like you to stay for a few days and rest.”

“Here?” He looked around almost nervously.

“Doesn’t have to be right here,” you murmured, hiding a grin. “I know there are open beds, although you’re also welcome to bunk down here. I’ve got another exam room I can use.” You hesitated, searching his face. A little gaunt, a little haunted. Tired. Still pinched with pain. “I promise you will be okay, but you need rest and a few good meals. Nobody here will bother you about it. And if someone does, I’ll shout them down for you.”

That got him to chuckle, even as his gaze darted nervously to the door again. “Even if it’s the Chief?”

“I’ve shouted him down before,” you agreed with an easy grin. “I’ll do it again if it needs to be done.”

“Maybe we should just let you yell at the Banished,” he mused, lips twitching under his beard. “They’d probably pack up in shame and go home.”

You laughed, shaking your head. “Well, I’m sure I could whip up a sufficiently disappointed rant for them,” you agreed, stepping back to give Fernando space to hop down off the table. “Take the tea with you. Drink the whole thing. Get a hot meal, use the bathing facilities. Get a full night’s sleep tonight.”

“Yes ma’am,” he agreed with a smile, picking up the tea.

“And one more thing.” You smiled a little. “Would you like a hug?”

His expression crumpled, just a little, and he stepped into your space without prompting. You hugged him, holding steady until his breathing evened out and he pulled back. He already looked steadier, though moisture still gathered in his eyes. “Thank you.”

“Any time.” You helped him back into his clothes. “I’m here any time. For whatever you need. Especially shouting people down.”

He barked out a laugh and nodded. “Got it.” And then he was gone, leaving you in the exam room by yourself again. 

You slumped into your chair, briefly covering your face with one hand. This whole situation was so… everything was so… Your heart hurt for him. That was all. This was okay. He would be okay, and things would continue.

A few deep breaths let you relax enough to look up. You still had work to do, after all. 

You cleaned the room yourself, using the tasks to settle yourself again. This was fine. Everything would be fine. 

You chose to be optimistic that Fernando didn’t come find you again. Presumably that meant no one had given him problems about staying for a couple days. 

If you found out otherwise, you’d be having words with people.

You waited until the following morning to search them out. As it turned out, it wasn’t hard. All you had to do was head for the Pelican and you found the two sitting inside. 

“Good morning,” you greeted, holding up two carefully balanced containers of coffee. “Care for a little pick-me-up?”

“Is that coffee?” Fernando was on his feet in a moment, and you were pleased to see him moving easier already. The look he gave you over his coffee was near-worshipful. 

“We’re not totally without the little things,” you agreed with a smile, holding out the free coffee to Chief. He took it slowly, nodding once to you. “I still want you to take it easy today, Fernando.”

He nodded, still clutching his coffee close. “Doctor’s orders?”

“If they need to be,” you agreed easily. “I was hoping that you’d be sensible, being a fellow civilian and all.”

He quirked a grin. “I think we can take one more day,” he agreed, glancing at Chief, as if he expected resistance.

Before Chief could protest, though, you nodded. “Good! I have some things I need to do, and Lieutenant Beck wanted to speak to you sometime today, Chief.” You nodded to the two men and backed off the Pelican. 

You did, as a matter of fact, have things to do. You and the techs were going out to gather more plants for your work, and then you’d probably spend the next couple days processing them all. 

But when it was time to go, you were surprised to find Chief with two marines waiting for you. Your eyebrows shot up at the sight. 

“What’s this?” you asked lightly, walking slowly over to the Warthogs. 

Chief just shrugged, a slight movement of his armor. “Lieutenant asked me to go along.”

You doubted that was all there was to it. There were undoubtedly more important things he could be doing. Then again, maybe not while Fernando was recovering.

So you shelved your doubt and nodded once, getting into a Warthog. Your two techs got in the other one… away from the Chief, you noticed. Wimps. But affection suffused the word, even in the privacy of your own mind. Carter and Lindsay were the closest thing you had to family here, now. So you couldn’t be too mad at them.

The trip was longer than normal, since you’d already used up everything closer to base. But all was quiet, and you hopped out once the marines parked. 

You didn’t even go a step before the Chief was in front of you, looming effortlessly over you. You halted, looking up into the visor in silent question. 

“Do not wander,” he said, quiet but stern. 

“Understood.” Safety concern, then. You could live with that. Motioning to your techs, you three fanned out, each with an escort. Chief was with you, alert but not overbearing. 

Honestly, you had a good haul. Lots of good plants here. You even found wild garlic, something that nearly made you shout with joy. But you only gave yourself a fist pump before you were gathering as much as you could. 

At least until you heard the shout of your name.

You and Chief both snapped that direction, and you grabbed your basket and ran. Chief kept pace with you easily, apparently refusing to go ahead and potentially leave you in danger. 

Lindsay was standing next to the marine guarding her, frowning thunderously. “He ate a mushroom,” she told you without preamble. “Didn’t see what kind it was, though.”

You swore, softly but extensively. “Show me where you found it,” you demanded of the marine, who was going from looking bemused to very rapidly startled, approaching scared. 

“But I’ve eaten mushrooms before,” the marine said, eyes darting between you, Lindsay, and the Chief. 

“Not an unidentified one,” you grumbled. “Do you have any idea how many varieties of mushroom are poisonous?” 

That got him nearly tripping over his feet to show you where he’d found the mushroom, and you spent several minutes trying to find more. When you did, you frowned. 

“I don’t have any idea if this is a safe variety or not,” you mumbled. Fishing around in your pockets for an extra glove, you very carefully picked one and folded it inside the glove, so it couldn’t touch anything else. 

“Am I gonna die?” The marine sounded scared now. Finally.

“No idea,” you answered honestly, heaving yourself back to your feet with a grimace as your knees popped. “I’ll do my best to make sure you don’t. Who knows, you might just have hallucinations for a while.” 

He did not look reassured. Good. 

“We should get back so I can get him under observation,” you said to Lindsay and the Chief. “Lindsay, you mind getting Carter and his escort?” 

Lindsay nodded and darted off, and you grabbed her basket along with your own. 

Despite your annoyance, you kept a close eye on the marine. So far, he was showing no adverse effects, but you still made him sit in the passenger seat of the nearer Warthog. You climbed into the back yourself so you could keep an eye on him.

Chief ended up in the driver’s seat after the other three got loaded onto the other vehicle. 

The drive back was silent apart from a couple shouted check ins at the soldier. But he held on, so that was good enough for now. 

Carter scooped up the baskets from you and Lindsay dragged the marine into an exam room, leaving you floundering with nothing immediate to do. You huffed. 

And then looked at the very likely reason that they ran.

Chief stood tall and quiet, doing a visual sweep of camp. 

“Well,” you sighed, “might as well check in on Fernando, since my techs got uppity.” 

He dipped his head to look at you, and you could have sworn he was amused, though you had almost no information to support that. Then he nodded once, falling into step with you. 

It wasn’t a long walk to the Pelican, where Fernando was sitting on the floor tinkering with something. 

“Feeling better, I hope?” 

He looked up and nodded. “Yes. The tea helps.”

“Even though it’s gross.” You nodded, amused. “Any lingering aches? Areas of concern?” 

“Just my sanity,” he joked lightly. 

“Is that all?” you joked right back, grinning. “You’re in good company, then.” 

He looked a little startled, and you unceremoniously plopped onto the floor with him. 

“I get it,” you told him, leaning back on your hands. “None of this is exactly what we signed up for, hm? There’s nothing to be ashamed of if you’re having a hard time.” Your smile went a little crooked. “Actually, a good cry can be quite therapeutic, it releases hormones to help dispel stress, among other things.” 

“Seriously?” is what he settled on saying after a few visible moments of debate.

“Absolutely. Trust me, I’m a medic.” 

He chuckled then, his shoulders slumping. But still no signs of pain. That was good. 

“How’d you end up here?” he asked finally, going back to tinkering with whatever was in front of him. 

You shrugged. “My lifeboat landed safely,” you said slowly. “There was just a small group of us for a bit, until short range comms came back online. Figured staying here was safer than trying to find one of the other bases.” You shrugged, casual as anything. “Besides, there are plenty of people here for me to shout at.”

Fernando grinned. “Your newest hobby?” He guessed playfully.

“Something like that.” You smiled in return. “And this is where I can help the most.” 

He nodded slowly, glancing at the Chief. “I understand.” 

You thought about asking… for about a second. Then you shrugged the impulse off. “Have you eaten?” 

The almost-guilty look on his face was answer enough, and you huffed a soft laugh, even as you shoved yourself back to your feet. 

“Come on, let’s go. I’ll walk you to the mess, I should get something too.” You held out a hand to help Fernando up. And then you looked at Chief, debating. 

“I’ll bring something back for him,” Fernando said, hovering closer to your side than he needed to. Touch starved, maybe? Or just company starved. 

“Alright.” You agreed easily enough, nodding once and making your way back into the base proper. You could take a food break, make sure these two got some food, and then get back to work. No problem.

[tinystarbites]

little update :)

hey everyone! How are you all doing? Did you have a nice weekend?:)

I bring sad news, I'm kind of behind uni work currently and thus am sadly not able to post anything this weekend 😭😭😭 I have an exam and midterm essay coming up at the end of October, so I'll probably be focused on that... *cries*

I will ofc try and finish writing my first request (yayy!!) and also maybe start on accidents pt. III (whoops) but it might take a bit longer, so please don't despair too much 😔

also, uhm, thanks for 600 followers? like what??? kinda surreal when I look at that number 😳😳 but THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH love you all 🩷🩷🩷 I am planning on doing a small writer's evening to celebrate, where you guys will be able to send me prompt starters and I'll write some drabbles, but probably only once I got through my exam <333

feel free to slide into my dms with whatever, I'd love to hear about all your lives a bit more to get to know you a bit better or just to chat!!<33

have a nice week :))

tiny 🩷

[fillingthescrapbook]

Let's Talk About: Fantasy High Junior Year and the Dawn of Justice

I think this is the most I've been excited for a Fantasy High Junior Year episode. It didn't hit me right away after last week's episode, but the days leading up to this episode was--

Let's just say this: I've been getting a lot of heat-induced migraines, I've had to do a bunch of care-giving stuff at home, and I haven't had any time to do anything for myself--but I carved out enough time for this episode. (I also prayed a lot that the episode length would be less than three hours. Thanks, Cassandra!)

This episode had everything. And I really loved that the cast picked up on the Battle of the Brands vibes that the art team brought to the Last Standard set. But before we get to that, I want to say:

Brennan is really leaning into Jace Stardiamond's sketchiness. And while sometimes a spade is a spade, and we've had our hackles up around him since sophomore year… I still feel like there's more to this plot development.

I am very interested in knowing why Kipperlily has anger management issues. And why is Kipperlily mad at Riz? I understand why she's angry at Kristen now--but what has Riz done (or not done) in Freshman year to make him the subject of a previously-unknown character’s wrath?

I'm also finding it really interesting that Brennan is making it seem that Bucky is inclined to convert to Cassandra.

Zac making Gorgug quit the Owlbears feels right. Murph deciding that Riz would step up to replace his half-barbarian friend on the team is a flash of genius.

And then we get to the reason why the Photosynthe-Kids have to take the Last Standard Exam: Bobby Fucking Dawn fails Kristen even with her A+ grade! By reversing a decision the previous teacher made! I am livid at this man.

I don't have actual words for the Last Standard Exam though. It's not done yet. Next week's episode can still turn the tide against the Bad Kids. But holy cow--I was just cheering and whooping as they fought through their first wave of monsters while acing two out of the twelve questions.

Two out of twelve TIMED questions.

The stress. I feel like I'm back in school.

And I can't wait to see how the next episode plays out.

Before I go though, just a couple of bits:

"The helicopter's landing."

"Will you let me straddle you?"

[deusvervewrites]

luminary: How does Izuku do in the sports festival

Um. Whoops.

After careful consideration of the abilities of the students in 1-A and 1-B, the canonical entrance exam, and the hypothetical abilities of the Aldera Squad following Midoriya's advice, I believe that Uraraka, Mineta, and Tsuburaba would not have made the cutoff into the Hero Course.

In 1-A, I am replacing them with the girl who can control water and the girl who can control wind, under the assumption that with training they'd be on par with basic waterbending and airbending. In 1-B I have replaced him with the girl who can turn into fire, under the assumption that she can turn part or all of herself into fire and not just her hands.

That leaves five of them in Gen-Ed where I am certain they would befriend Uraraka. This AU wouldn't go full Gen Ed Sweep but Midoriya would be interested in helping out his friends who didn't quite make it, and that now includes Uraraka.

With that established, I can now discuss the actual event.

Midoriya is simply too fast for an Obstacle Race to matter. That entire event has to be changed. Hmm... what about a version of King of the Hill where players have to stay within a specific, shrinking area? That would handle the mass elimination event while still challenging someone as fast as Midoriya. Additionally, this event would work out great for four of the five Aldera Squad kids that are in Gen Ed (smoke boy, hair girl, rock boy, stronk boy).

Cavalry Battle teams would be different. Todoroki's team would probably be the same, but Midoriya would stick with his friends. There's enough that Uraraka would probably be on a different team, and Midoriya would be a horse to exploit his speed. Let's pair him with the Wind Girl; that'll be a busted combo. add Smoke Boy as another horse and the Hair Girl as the rider they're incredibly fast, flying team, that'll be nigh-impossible to catch.

Uraraka can use a similar strategy by pairing up with the fire girl, Grab their telekinetic friend as the rider and can take headbands at a distance. Assuming that someone from this friend group won first in the previous event, they would point Hatsume towards this team, since Midoriya's strategy has no room for her.

That gives us enough room for one more team. With Fire Girl in 1-B, there's less chance of them following Monoma's plan and honestly those teams were so suboptimal anyway.

Alas, of the three remaining Aldera Kids I find to be noteworthy, two have Quirks that are redundant with the established cast (that being the guy who can buff himself up and the guy who can cover himself in rocks), so I might send them to a different Hero School entirely for peace of mind. That leaves only the Water Girl unassigned

Regardless, the final team is probably still Bakugou's.

Lemme quickly randomize a tournament bracket

Tournament Preliminaries:

The Tournament Round gets things off to an interesting start. Bakugou faces Hair Girl, and assuming she can produce more hair as a restraint like similar anime characters, it'd be a close fight, but Bakugou's Quirk counters her decently well.

Second round is Midoriya against Fire Girl, who happens to be one of the few people who can counter him by simply being fire. Though I feel Midoriya would likely win because of his analytical mind.

Yaoyorozu faces off against Todoroki next and wins, but only thanks to her training against Fire Girl and Water Girl with Midoriya--and Todoroki dropped his guard after the big ice attack.

Hatsume forfeits after her presentation, so Sero moves on

Smoke Boy beats Kaminari when Kaminari TKOs himself.

Iida beats Telekinesis Girl.

Wind Girl beats Kirishima--he's too straightforward to counter her effectively at this point.

Ashido vs Uraraka would be much closer if Ashido knew what Uraraka could do. Yeet.

Tournament Quarterfinals:

Midoriya beats Bakugou; Bakugou puts up a good fight because he knows Midoriya, but, well, Light Powers.

Yaoyorozu beats Sero.

Smoke Boy is hard to hit, but he's still working on his offense while Iida has more training in that department, so Iida wins.

Wind Girl is a hard counter to Uraraka. At least they're friends

Tournament Semifinals:

Yaoyorozu can't beat Midoriya (she takes too long to think at this point) but her clever use of a mirror at the start nearly clinches the match for her.

Iida is used to running into the wind, but Wind Girl can fly, so... sorry Iida.

Finals:

Midoriya vs Wind Girl. Midoriya should win this one pretty handily, but her flying makes it tricky for him.

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: Odd Squad UK -- "Odd Way 'Round" Episode Followup, Part 2

Halfway in. Will Orli get to the Test Center on time? Find out below the break!

Really, let's be honest...they're gonna have to fight her with villain powers. If you think about it, going basic like faking roadwork and flipping signs is really flawed.

...Huh. This would explain why we could hear Olive and Otto conversing in "Robert Plant" beyond just "one-sided phone call stupid."

Guys! Guys, don't worry...in case you thought Ozzie was missi- nah, I can't say that with a straight face.

But also, why does dude look like he's conversing with the Terrible Three right now?

"Stay calm."

"I am calm!"

Sweet summer child you have 3 minutes until end of episode and we haven't even hit the final act. I'd start panicking if I were you.

Like now. I would start panicking now. Maybe getting into a fighting stance. Something.

This would be a cool shot...if this were a show that had physical violence.

But it doesn't, so this isn't, and this will amount to nothing.

With her tongue out in a blep, Seren pulls out a gadget and says:

"wepon."

And then the world explodes.

Ohhhhh iss' th' donut which will bind her eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-

Witness the most stupid Chekhov's Gun of the entire franchise.

Take a few cues from magical girl shows, then you can hit me up.

AND IT KNOCKS THEM DOWN LIKE BOWLING PINS I'M WHEEZING????????????????????????

Oh this was a stupid fight, but this...this was hilarious.

This, however, is just stupid and not hilarious. This would probably work if Orli were a little child. Orli is not, however, a little child.

Nor is she stupid enough to forget her own fucking name.

Point deducted from Niki.

But of course. We're halfway through the season. Wouldn't be right if she somehow got sent back to Niagara Falls after failing. Since, y'know...she's one of the protagonists.

*long sigh*

The stupid thing about this all is that they never explain what the Test Center is for. It's all entirely arbitrary. They fucking took "it's all in the journey, not the destination" literally and that is a federal sin.

takes an exam that is so easy one of the questions is about your own name

is tired right after when the journey wasn't even that long and her fight against the villains was lackluster

Mm. Thass' m' girl. And we stay Serencore.

Doctors Fear This One Simple Trick for Causing Back Pain.

(That aside, I actually thought she was going to fall asleep standing up. Instead she somehow made it to the swivel chair. Takes some strength for a girl who takes two naps a day.)

"Or I'm sure they can send it to you."

I mean...yeah. She's got a precinct. Dead-ass bet that Test Center doesn't do addresses. There's a post box nearby. Fire away.

And your credits for this episode. Turns out I, uh...I got both the villains' names wrong. Whoops. But hey, we got a name for the test administrator, which is nice.

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

Overall, definitely one of the better episodes of the season. Doesn't surpass other episodes with the same math lesson, and we could have gotten a lot more lore about the Test Center instead of using "all in the journey and not the destination" logic, but outside of that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Niki did good with this one, and bless her.

Oh yeah, and the gangster bit was fucking fantastic. That's the shit I come here for and that's the shit I stay here for. Shit that makes PBS S&P go "huh? oh...uh...okay, sure" and lets it slide. That's (part of) what makes Odd Squad beautiful.

Anyway...next up will be "Strictly Odd Dancing", a musical episode that should hopefully -- and I am begging on my knees, hopefully -- bring us some good songs. Wow me please.

Seren out!

[compo67]

Slowly, but Surely (Don't Call Me Shirley)

Hello, hello.

i am slowly, but surely, recharging my creative batteries. There's less pressure now, but with good things happening. A detailed account of what's been happening. All below the cut. TLDR at the end.

Let's start with the good.

I went to the Big Gay Market in Madison, WI for the weekend. It was marvelous. There were people of all kinds of genders, an affirming and friendly environment, and so many creatives. I felt like I was in community and it's been a long time since I've felt that way. I was sad when it ended. But I bought the most beautiful wreath to hang in my room. I'll snap a picture of it when I can.

I studied the entire month of June, whenever I had a spare moment and for dedicated study sessions.

I made a total of 300 flashcards, wrote 40 pages in my notebook, used 2 test prep books, 3 learning system books, a 100 page summary of competencies, and 2 apps. I answered 2800 practice questions on those apps. I practiced and practiced until I reached at least an 80% in each competency.

And what happened?

I PASSED.

I kicked that exam in the ass! When I saw "passed" on the screen, I nearly whooped in the testing center. I cried in my car as I relayed the news to my mom, who is also an HR professional. I could not believe it. I still can't. Cal Owens, SHRM-CP. It feels SO GOOD to have letters after my name.

I'm also still on that high of completing my HR Management certificate with "high honors" and then earning my SHRM certification right after it.

Then, at the end of May, right before my birthday, I sent in an application to the Arboretum nearby. They were looking for an HR Coordinator. And they weren't requiring at least 3 years experience or a BS in HR. After the radio silence for a month and a half, I gave up on them getting back to me. I sent a follow-up email, as instructed by my mentor, and still no reply. I figured I was set aside and I moved on to apply for more jobs.

Lo and behold, the Arb emailed last week and offered me a phone interview! I spoke with their Talent Acquisition specialist way past the 30 minute time slot, which I took as a good sign. Next step was to have a virtual meeting.

But guess what? They invited me for an in-person meeting instead! My interview was at 9 AM CST yesterday. it was LOVELY. i genuinely enjoyed speaking to the Sr HR Manager. We chatted for almost 90 minutes. It went by so fast. I felt like I had answers to all her questions, however, I wonder if I was direct and clear enough? I haven't interviewed since 2021, and before that since 2016. So I know I'm rusty, I hope my enthusiasm for the role got noticed.

I should know by early next week if they will move me to the third and final round--meeting the VP of HR. The Coordinator will be responsible for managing the VP of HR's schedule in Google. I just learned how to do scheduling in Outlook, I'm sure I can do it in Google.

Anyway! I can see myself working there. The pay meets the market for that kind of job around here, and the benefits are exceptional. And the view from the admin building? Beautiful. There's just a small lane to walk through from the parking lot to the building. I felt like I was in Jane Austen novel. *Dreamy sigh.*

Fingers crossed.

Okay, so let's get the not-so-good stuff over with.

Caregiving for my father continues to be a challenge. I am the only one of his 3 kids he 100% trusts and is close to. I don't get a lot of support from my sisters because A) he prefers me to handle things and B) they don't offer. I always have to ask, and even then, most of the time I end up doing the thing anyway. Sigh.

I tried a bunch of adaptive equipment things for my dad in June. I bought him an electric tea kettle that sits in a cradle and tips over to pour so you don't have to lift it. Well, it works okay for that, but he can't see how much he's filled the kettle. So that went back. I found a pen that "talks" to you. That's been a game changer. You get special labels with bumps on them, tap the pen to the label, and you can record a sound clip! so i attached them to every medication he has in the house. he's been using the pen! Now I just need to convince him to use his white cane.

Watching my dad go through losing his vision has been very difficult. He's a completely different man than the one I knew just 5 years ago. Little by little, things are changing and that change can get overwhelming. I did manage to find him a peer to peer phone program for folks with low vision. He gets a call every month to chat with a lady name Yvies from New Jersey and just talk about what it's like being low vision. I am so grateful to her. The organization will be creating a caregiver support group in the fall and I am on the waitlist.

So, yes. I've gotten overwhelmed at some points, impatient at others, but I show up. In the future, I want to know, that without a doubt, I was there for my father. I just need to figure out how to balance this and find ways to get help.

I continue to miss Henry and my grandma.

Sometime between this past Saturday and Sunday, I fell ill. Like, nauseated, dizzy, lightheaded. [Content Warning: The GI System Going Whack] Then Sunday, I could not retain food or water. I held out for Monday and Tuesday to see if I got better with a little imodium and zofran. Wednesday morning at 7:30 AM, I called my doctor and she said, "Get thee to the ER."

So, I went. My mother was with me. In miracles of all miracles, I only had to wait an hour to be seen in the ER. I was there from 8 AM to 12:30 PM and in that period of time, I got an ultrasound, labs, an IV with a bag of saline, pain meds, and reassurance that my gallbladder and liver were doing fine. And no one misgendered me. It was a good ER trip.

The ER doctor and my PCP have no idea what knocked me out for 5 days. Could have been a virus. Could have been a side effect of mounjaro. It'll be a mystery for the ages, I suppose...

Of course, it took a huge toll on my body. Today was the first day I felt almost normal again. No bloating, no cramping, no burping, and no intense pain in my abdomen. Yay! I am supposed to be eating "light," but dammit, I deserved pasta tonight and I'm not going to regret it!

I also, in my journey through illness, reached the Medicare donut hole. I have to spend $8,000 before my advantage plan will start paying for my meds again. I have to pay 25% of the cost of all drugs. Thank goodness I was able to get on a patient assistance program for my antidepressant, because I could not afford it otherwise. I've moved all my meds, except two, to be generics. I am always trying to cut the cost down as much as I can, whether it's through GoodRx, OptumRx, or Costco. I spend most of my SSDI money on healthcare, medication, and treatments. If we had free universal healthcare, I would have been able to save up all this money, dagnabit.

The difficult things have been... well... difficult. But they are outnumbered by the good things, which makes me smile.

I am excited to be excited about working again. I am doing my best to visualize myself in that role, going into *my* office and sitting at *my* desk. I see myself growing in that department and becoming a specialist in all things HR. This is what I did as I interviewed for the 24/7 Helpline and I got that job. I saw myself getting on a train to Chicago every day until they'd let me go remote. I saw myself as a city queer again. I felt the train to the city already underneath me. I get that feeling with this role. I feel like, if I get it, I will have a Mary Tyler Moore moment.

She's gonna make it after all!

Thank you, if you've red this far. Thank you if you send good vibes for this Arb job. Thank you for just being here. Hell, thank you for being you.

One of my uncles will be visiting us from Chile in early August. I am eager for him to arrive and spend time with us. I know my mom could really use his support and sense of humor right now.

So I will be driving them (and my father, if I can convince him to join us) all around Chicago and the burbs. I hope to gather some TCV ideas from the places we will go. It's exciting to think about.

I really want to take a small trip to Cedarburg, WI. Spend a night there in a bnb, and take in all the shops and restaurants. But my car's oil needs to be changed and my brakes too, so I will have to hold off on traveling for a while.

I would like to get back to work because it's work, but I would also like to get back to contributing to my 401k, saving, paying off my medical debt and car, traveling, and actually affording medication without (too much) sacrifice. Medicare, I was told, would be cheaper than private insurance. Well, I couldn't afford a supplement, so I got stuck with an Advantage Plan. And it's not all that bad (I've met my out of pocket max), but man, do they make it hard to succeed in the system and this is a system primarily designed for seniors??? Sigh.

Anyway!

There you have it. A detailed account of things that I have been up to or coping with or working on since mid-May.

Hockey is gone. Thank goodness the Oilers didn't win the cup. Pavs retired. Wedgie was traded. Delly was traded. Faksa and Tanev were traded. We kept Dutchy, but that was about it. With a burning passion of a thousand suns, I hate Dumba and DeSmith. They will never be my Stars.

Okay. So. Where does this leave me now?

Well, I am slowly getting back "into" my work as an author. I'm hoping I can read a book or two in the next two weeks. I am inspired by the creativity of others and now that I've passed my exam, I have more free time to read and plot things out in my head.

It also helps to you know... not be extremely dehydrated.

Holy smokes, it's late. And this is long.

TLDR: Lots of caregiving, looking for jobs, studying, and recharging has happened in my break from writing. I am focused on securing a job at the Arboretum. I passed my SHRM-CP exam. I had an ER visit this week, but feel much better now.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for taking the care to read this. I appreciate y'all and the safe space y'all have made for me. I'm so glad I get to lean on this cozy, peaceful corner of fandom.

One last time--thank you.

Let's chat more.

-Cal

[waffliesinyoface]

anyways i just read all of naruto in like a week so i am now qualified to have The Most Correct Opinions.

Land of Waves arc is unironically the best one

its also the ONLY standard mission in the entire manga?? literally, at no point does anyone interact with a client after tazuna, its all in response to orochimaru/akatsuki. Naruto your resume is ridiculous. The reason Kakashi is 6th Hokage is not because Naruto wasn't strong enough, but because he needed to learn what the actual job of being a ninja entails. Yes you are very strong but you do need to have a basic grasp of paperwork systems.

Its kind of weird that, out of all the akatsuki, kisame is the one who hangs around the longest. Most of the others show up, do their bit, and then are immediately killed. Kisame is introduced first and dies last.

i've already mentioned this in another post but the Cycle of Hatred thing does not work. It worked as a motivation for Pein, but like. The reason the villages kept declaring war on each other wasn't for revenge, it was because their economic system was inherently tied to being the one with the strongest military and also they were paranoid that if someone else got too strong they would be invaded first.

Related: they should've had warring clans exposition and details about the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd wars BEFORE Pein showed up. If there were more details about wars in the past presented in a tragic-but-still-overall-necessary light, then Pein showing up and going "you miserable bastards trample over everyone weaker than you and deserve to be punished or it." It would have had more weight. Literally you could've slotted this during Naruto's initial training with Jiraiya as a follow-up to Hiruzen's "The chuunin exams are a replacement for war" speech.

Sakura why the fuck didnt you marry Ino

Kishimoto did Sakura so dirty at every turn. Literally every time she gets screentime she goes "THIS TIME... I WILL BE THE ONE WHO PROTECTS YOU...!" and has a cool moment, and then gets immediately overshadowed.

Literally at one point she's like "in the chuunin exams i was so weak... i hid behind you guys at every turn" and i felt like I was going insane because both during wave and the chuunin exams she has moments where she's like "yeah i dont have any special powers but i DO have a knife and you're going through me FIRST, fucker" which is honestly way cooler to me than like 90% of all the jutsu bullshit. Literally she stands in between a berserk gaara and a crippled sasuke armed with nothing but a kunai and pure fucking grit.

its very funny to me that the first time naruto ever does a nature transformation its rasenshuriken. Kakashi woke up in a cold sweat one day and realized he forgot to do the most basic teaching about chakra theory when they were genin. Whoops.

Im sorry but i legitimately do not care about the sage OR his sons OR the reincarnation twist. Its not interesting to me and I WILL be ignoring it. I'm all for the sage being reminded of his kids or the idea of history being cyclical, but explicitly going "no youre a reincarnation, this was Fated" is dumb and kishimoto SHOULD feel bad.

Edo Tensei arc is unironically very funny to me. Kabuto is having a mid-life crisis and has turned into a snake about it, and has decided to raise a bunch of dead badasses for. reasons. honestly i am not sure how his goals required obito or the akatsuki??

Anyways he raises a bunch of badasses and WHOOPS theyre all comedians. Deidara and Sasori are bickering, Itachi is being even more of an unhinged control freak than normal, the Mizukage is curbstomping everyone while berating them for not hitting the weakpoints he's explicitly telling them about, Tobirama is annoyed at everyone but mostly himself for actually coming up with this jutsu, and madara puts his entire plan on hold for a minute because he sensed his ex boyfriend and got incredibly horny.

Orochimaru gets brought back to life and promptly goes "actually i take back my plans about konoha, watching sasuke is INFINITELY more entertaining. Also I'm going to help out against the akatsuki because Kabuto's snake fursona is a tacky knockoff of me and I'm disowning him for being lame." I also liked him being chummy with Tsunade, that was very cute. I kind of wish Jiraiya HAD gotten edo tensei'd so that all three sannin could have been reunited on the same side? It would have been cute??

I feel strongly that Sakura and Karin deserve to go to some hot springs together and mutually complain to each other about being unfortunately attracted to the most misogynistic man on the planet after kishimoto himself. Orochimaru and Ino can tag along because they LOVE gossip and complaining.

Gai being the only person on the planet strong enough to beat the crap out of Madara is great, actually. Yes you can block all ninjutsu and genjutsu, but can you block his fists? No.

The "special chakra" produced in uchiha brains is actually entirely unrelated to the sharingan. It mostly just causes brain damage. This is why Madara, Obito, and Sasuke are all Like That.

Obito's heel face turn and the ensuing team up with Kakashi is, against all odds, actually good. I am willing to overlook Obito temporarily coming back from the dead through sheer willpower both because its cool and because we've already established chakra is bullshit and ghosts exist.

Obito your plans are dumb, your motivation is stupid, your critical thinking skills are nonexistent, and your coping mechanisms are insane. Somehow I still like you, despite this??

Does anybody at all like kaguya. Anybody.

Everything about the epilogue annoys me. Mirai and Sarada can stay, everything else I am actively choosing to ignore.

Frankly I'm confused and appalled that kishimoto wrote sasuke and naruto like that, and then put them in heterosexual marriages with other people.

[msookyspooky]

Hi spooky! It’s me aura,god..has it been like,what? Some years? Okay maybe like 1 or a half,but damn..I am writing to you after so long,don’t even know if you remember me,but if you don’t,that’s okay,hi! I am aura,I have been a fan of yours for so long,you inspired me to write my own book ‘Legacies’ it has now like..almost 50k,and it is about Sidney’s kid,my oc,Tatum Prescott! I added some seasons my own after the scream 6 was released.

And since then I have evolved as a writer and as a person so..much! I remember ranting out to you whenever I had a prompt in my mind or stressing about exams or stuff,well remember those ‘board’ exam system I had told you about? Those really important ones? Well I scored a whooping 95 percent or a 4.0 gpa.

And I just wanna tell you how much thankful I am to you,you are few of the constant things I have left in my life as I am going to graduate school in a year or two,I am scared,considering how competitive every damn thing is in my country,but something tells me I’ll make it. And I just wanted to say,thank you so much,you mean a lot to me,since the time I first met you and now,I have taken in? Or what’s the word? Um,taken in my culture,my stuf,,and also loving foreign stuff,so yeah,thanks!

PS:- the new updates on the books are SICK,love all the tension! And again I had my reread of ALL the chapters,and it makes me feel like y/n and I evolved together? IDK

WOW. Aura of course I remember you!! ♡♡♡ I'd ask how you've been but I seem not to need to because a 4.0? That is absolutely incredible and amazing andbyou should be so incredibly proud. I remember your inbox messages to me and I remember one specifically about September of 2022 and I had a lot going on in my life both good and bad but I remember the trees changing and being in a new place and scrolling tumblr in the car with my mother driving and seeing one of ur messages! I wish I could go back in time and show you this but maybe all that worry and cramming is what got you here today? Either way I'm proud of you and for you.

And 50k of your own!? That's so great! If you wanna drop a link I'd be happy to check it out when I get time and in the meantime I'm sure more would love to read it especially since I think we all collectively wanted more of Sidney's kids instead of what we got for Scream 5 and 6.

Thank you bc you encouraged me to write. All your reviews and inbox messages just spurred me on and I'm really glad to have met you and I'm so glad you sent me this. It made my evening 🖤🖤🖤

[runecel]

Dear @jigen-papa

I Runecel/Celerine/ @lossinicognito (I know save the applause, I have 3 identities and a secret 4th if I should ever reveal that one haha!) am your giftee for the @dcmk-exchange ! Now I know what you are thinking.

Apologies for my random disappearance, I wasn’t sure how to reply to you in rythmatic format but I genuinely adored how you played along and I loved your poem it was so good!?

ALSO WHERE THE FUDGE IS MA BOI HEIJI!?!?

And to that I say!

This was supposed to originally be a multi chapter fic however! I didn't want to go beyond the deadline and may never know when the second chapter is completed so I at least wanted to make something for you before I go into the deep end haha.

Here is the ao3 version of the fanfic: https://archive.org/works/5321279

And I hope ya have an amazing day now without further a due!

Sonoko’s Confrontation With Love

The first time a conversation about phones and Shinichi was brought up resulting in the incarceration of one idiotic teenage detective occurred on a bright, and sunny day of which Sonoko was internally screaming in her thoughts. To say that Shinichi’s umpteeth attempt to disappear in the night like a tuxedo mask would ever be what caused Sonoko’s life to become so stressful would be the understatement of the century. That incident was the cherry on top of an amazing ice cream at best and a footnote on the most awful (but irresistible) trial exam book at worst, no. What made Sonoko’s life so stressful, in her opinion, would just be Shinichi’s entire existence.

"Sonoko, stop being so dramatic,” is probably what her best friend would say. Well, Ran, the most beautiful being to ever god damn exist on this planet. Have you ever stopped to consider that this is KUDO SHINICHI THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT?

“I know you don’t mean it.” Yes, Ran, she 100% means it, and it’s going to stay that way if Ran doesn’t shut up about the next murder case Shinichi finds himself in because the last murder case already was in Tropical Land and he solved it within an hour.

“It was 3 hours, Sonoko.” 3 HOUR HER BUT! At the end of the day, she knows he can finish quicker because THIS IS KUDO SHINICHI THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT!

Hhe could easily solve that case if he wanted to, and he has a very amazing reason to do so as well! What gives him the right to leave such a beautiful lady like Ran towards her lonesomeness anyway? Anyone with eyes could snatch that beautiful angel away, taking her to high-budget cinema movie date and make out under the moonlight as Ran talks about how she successfully whooped another person in the ass. Heck, Sonoko could easily do it as well if she wanted two!

"Sonoko.” She bets it would be Sxhinichi’s as well! Imagine him coming back; ah, he would probably do one of those overly basic apologies that you would see in those romantic comedies that’s supposed to make the situation lighten up.

What will lighten up is his vision when Sonoko decided to beat the ever-loving daylight out of him.

“Sonoko” Then again, it’s much better if Ran was the one to do it with Sonoko at her side, punch him right in the gut as they both stare down at Shinichi’s rotting body before leaving him there.

Ran would hold her hand as they both could only gaze at the horizon, unsure of what their new-found freedom would hold but smiling, knowing it would be better.

“Sonoko!”

‘Rotten husband he is’ Sonoko thinks towards herself as she places herself amongst a poorly cushioned couch, he does nothing but torment the two. He would have been dead if Ran hadn’t want to marry him, and oh god; she’d probably go easy on him and then say something amongst the lines of.

‘Just don’t do it again,’ she would say to that bastard . It was probably best if Sonoko was the one to beat him up, teach him a lesson.

“Sonoko!” The imagining of Ran’s voice, an angelic choir with a acidic tinge reminiscent of those badass scenes in movies where the hot main character is holding a cool sword of which Sonoko would swoon for their rescue.

Yeah no Ran’s doing the beating. How could Sonoko not allow it with a voice like that? Heck, her presence is so strong that Sonoko might as well look like a fool by responding to her when she’s not even here.

“Yes Ran-chan?~” Sonoko's cheekish response becomes further more evident as she manoeuvres herself to be able to see behind her in expectation to see no one to respond to her.

“Don’t Ran-chan me!” Only to see the angel herself placing her hands on her hips with eyes ablaze as if she just witnessed a war crime. Sonoko would gladly be the one under that gaze under certain circumstances but sadly, today wasn’t one of them.

“I told you we shouldn’t have come, you were just recovering from illness!” Ran harshly protested leaning towards Sonoko's forehead to determine her current temperature.

Foreheads touching, Sonoko couldn’t help but stare with awe at the concerned look she was given by Ran whose deep lilac eyes could only stare at her with worry. Placing her hand amongst Ran’s silken hair, she give her head a few pets before flinging herself back onto the couch

“I’m fine Ran!” Sonoko exclaimed, dragging Ran down with her as Ran is placed by her side, head nestling on her shoulder in an attempt to look at something of which barely interests Sonoko.

It was probably the diary of which Sonoko was writing in with her internal Shinichi rants and her growing progress of becoming not sick.It was true that Sonoko was recovering but that doesn’t mean that Sonoko was unable to not stay at her house to fully recover. Wait, she's not at her house. . where is she?

Reclining alongside the couch she quickly paces herself up once more to scan the area of which with dread, she realised was not her room nor her couch. The wooden bench is decorated strongly amongst the grovery of nature surrounding her as she finds herself amidst a small crowd of people bustling around what seems to be a mall.

Shops were aligned quaintly organised as a staircase can be spotted signalling the entrance towards the cinema. Remembering the diary note she had entered, she quickly backtracked her memories towards her previous conversation with Ran about changing towards a different movie due to the movie (of which Sonoko had desperately wanted to watch) sharing too many themes with her disappeared beloved.

“So that’s why I was thinking about your husband,” Sonoko's dull groan filled the air, having finished her daily imaginary rant about Shinichi as she looked once more towards the movie selection on her pamphlet.

They had recently decided to go on a movie date due to the brat’s group of friends wanting to watch that new Kamen Yaiba they kept yapping about. Whilst the kids themselves tend to be left alone without surveillance, the group’s recent expedition resulted in a hostage situation and well. . .

A concerned parent will do what a concern does, resulting in the wife of Shinichi taking charge and declaring that she will be the one to take care of the kids in the meantime.

“Not my husband,” Ran countered, having now taken the pamphlet completely away from Sonoko to point at one of the movies that caught her interest.

“Stupid husband, I don’t feel like watching that one” Sonoko grumbled as she kicked her feet amongst the concrete floor before continuing her thought process.

It honestly would make sense why Sonoko had thought she was in the confinement of her luxurious room. Normally those imaginary rants are within the compounds of her room, feels safer there where she can ignore those thoughts of someone reading her thoughts and betraying Shinichi’s status amongst the media. She might hate the man but that doesn’t mean she wants to ruin his damned life, he already does enough of that.

‘How about this one? ' Sonoko pointed, notioning towards another romance movie of which she also wanted to watch but would have preferred to watch it at home.

“Is it possible if we pick something else?” Ran commented, eyeing on the watch on her wrist with great interest of which intrigued the confused Sonoko. “Preferably something under 2 hours”

‘Why’s that?” Sonoko queried, placing her slender arm amongst Ran’s broad shoulders in an attempt to see if there was anything else the queen herself couldn’t see.

“The movie is too long and if I don’t make it on time I won’t be able to strangle the person you just wanted to kill” Ran pointed, booping the shocked Sonoko on the nose as the confused female can only reboot.

“I said that out loud?”

“You don’t say stuff out loud?”

“RAN!” Sonoko puffed out, dragging out one of Ran’s hands as she quickly met Sonoko's forehead resulting in the two girls' foreheads to once more be touching.

“Just teasing,” Like the sun on a summer’s day, there was something truly intoxicating about Ran’s mischievous grin, the way just like her voice it is unexpected of when she will attack and thus Sonoko had a tendency to forget how cheeky Ran could be.

It would be like standing outside for too long, only to find out how immensely damaged you got from the sun resulting in the person going to the hospital and now they have skin cancer. . . ok that was a bit much.

Sonoko noted as she finally noticed the way Ran’s finger slowly pointed towards one of the movie suggestions.

To say Sonoko was unimpressed would be the opposite of an overstatement.

It was a movie adaption of both of her childhood’s friends' favourite tv series with both the mystery to appeal towards Shinichi and poetry to charm Ran. Sonoko could only nod along with disappointment, the poetry was nice but the audience wouldn’t hold a candle to the romance movie Sonoko had suggested. Goodbye potential love interests and hot men she could have sawn through watching the movie.

Hello nightmares of Shinichi staring like the shinigami himself, forcing Sonoko to listen more about his obsession with Sherlock. Don’t get Sonoko wrong, she two has raved towards Shinichi about her favourite obsessions (specifically romance) but to get that compared to a crime scene from one of his favourite books was not always a pleasant experience.

“Why can’t you just message him? I’m sure he can bother to read messages” Sonoko argued, sliding among a line of people waiting to buy a movie ticket.

“Well Sonoko, let me just grab my phone” Ran proclaimed, mimicking the movement of grabbing a phone out of her pocketed dress to only appear empty handed. “If memory serves me correctly I had lost my phone at an aquarium of which I told you about”

“You did?” Was now the best time for Sonoko’s memories to flunk on her now? Sonoko had specifically asked if she could be the one to gift her a phone with Ran responding it was Shinichi’s punishment. Like he’ll find a good phone for her.

“Also. . .” Ran stops in the middle of her explanation, face dreary in what Sonoko could only assume was another excuse for Shinichi making a dumb move.

“Also?”

“He hasn’t been calling me through his phone number” Ran ushered out, hands fiddling with her skirt as she silently looks down before continuing “ I don’t think he can even use it”

To say Sonoko didn’t know this information was a shock, she did and totally didn’t assume that Shinichi was blocking her for the 100th time whilst not recognising the fact she was the one to block him first resulting in an apology for her end.

“I’m sorry what?” Sonoko stuttered, thoughts completely emptied from this revelation of which she responded by turning towards Ran amidst the line of people that really wanted to watch a movie.

“It’s because of the-”

“Case! Case! I know, it’s always about cases with that man,” Sonoko angrily expressed, when was it not about a case in Shinichi’s eyes?

The cashier could only stare at them in complete tiredness when Sonoko had boldly asked two tickets before dragging Ran by the arm to a seated area inside the other side of the cinema lobby.

The cinema lobby itself luckily had a restaurant section for people like Sonoko and Ran to earth and wait for the perfect opportunity to head inside the cinema viewing when the timing is right. The movie wouldn’t start in a couple of minutes which gives more time for Sonoko to converse with Ran about the idiot at hand.

“One day he’s going to get himself into trouble and I’m not even sure if we can be there to help” silence can only be pursued as Sonoko couldn’t help but bite her tongue on what she just suggested.

“I had a dream about him” Ran stuttered out, barely containing her stress for those who know her as her quivering hands imply.

“Oh honey,” Sonoko expressed in sympathy like she had done so every time similar moments were to occur like today.

The truth was he had, very much so. Sonoko would have nightmares and at some point she questions whether those stories were fake or real due to how much trouble that murder magnet finds himself in. It was so simple when they were younger, when Shinichi wasn’t purely trusted by the police and thus wasn’t sent out on cases.

It would be a couple of minutes until the ad roll comes into play.

“Don’t worry about it Ran! He’ll be fine!” Sonoko assured, placing her hand towards Ran’s quivering one in reassurance.

“Are we even sure? He can’t even use his phone!”

“He probably lost it!”

“He doesn’t normally take cases this long Sono-” Ran cuts herself off in a mid-stutter as though she was contemplating on the next words she was about to say. - “He’s our age, why is he taking cases like this?”

“Because we befriended a murder magnet,” Sonoko sighed having one more relayed what she had always said towards the downturned Ran in need.

How can’t he see how amazing she is, truely. The girl’s stressing out about him and where is he? Probably nowhere for all they could know. He could really use someone to tell him- wait a minute.

“When’s the phone call?” Sonoko queried, body stiffened in anticipation upon what Ran could say in desperate hope.

“8:15pm” A whisper of a response from Ran was all Sonoko needed, eyes concentrated on the motivation. Sonoko could only speak from what she could gather from her chest.

It might not have been the best of speeches, but Sonoko could not just stand there as she watches her best friend shrivel up like this as if some random boy isn’t ruining her life..

Honestly it might have been the best speech Sonoko has performed since her poetry recital.

“We are going to watch that movie!”

“Sonoko-” A finger placed amongst her lips was all Ran needed before Sonoko could continue her amazing speech.

“-Hush darling, I’m speaking.” Sonoko notions towards the trouble Ran as her breathing slowly shortens enough for Sonoko to continue talking

“We are going to have fun,” Sonoko declares, standing proudly as her first part of her speech was completed. Poking at her best friend as she continues along. “WE are going to receive a call by that murder magnet at 8:15pm of which you will hear my yells of torment on how he could leave such a beautiful maid alone”

“Sonoko!-”

“- of which I will declare my love to you and we shall get married at sunset!” Sonoko finished with a flick of her wrist to allow Ran to softly rest on the palm of her hands.

“I’m not that beautiful,” Ran splutters, giving Sonoko an annoyed grin as though Ran has insulted her first hand.

Someone please remind Sonoko to reprimand Shinichi for not calling Ran cute, cause clearly Sonoko’s displays of admiration are not getting through Ran’s thick skull but then again. Neither did their upper classmate’s recreation of Shinichi’s speech give any hints so what does Ran know about density?

“No complaints from you, have you seen how the brat looks at you?” No seriously has Ran ever seen how the brat looked at Ran?

“He’s just a kid Sonoko!” Ran counters, somewhat disgruntled by the suggestion but from the tone of her relaxed voice to how rested she appears. Sonoko could honestly just take it as a win.

“Yeah, if you say a teenager possessing a brat is a brat then maybe I will believe you.” His mind could be much older at times, Sonoko noted, reminiscing the times of which one could see Conan at his most vulnerable.

Heck it was just recently when Sonoko noticed the way Conan looked at Ran when the two groups departed that afternoon. The face of sulken defeat as he quickly covers it in hopes of something good happening in the future. Sonoko should know, she bears that face on a daily basis.

“Sonoko!” The choir of laughter erupts from the pair as if a damn finally crashing amongst its weight.

Ran’s laugh was special, Ran herself was special and whilst Sonoko’s appearance is weak and someone who is unable to protect her. Sonoko does know one thing.

“Now what are we going to do Ran-chan?” Sonoko

“Have fun?”

“Have fun!” Sonoko confirmed, squishing the cheeks much to Ran’s dismay as she drags the poor girl into the cinema booth.

At the end of the day, Sonoko was there for support whether it be enabling or wingman in dating. Just like the day of which the first met underneath the sakura blossoms Sonoko associates with Ran, Sonoko will be there for Ran no matter what.

The movie was. . . fine. Deductions were never her interest and flowery poetry that was not about romance was definitely something that did not intrigued Sonoko. If given the opportunity to stay at home or to be at the cinema to waste money on a boring movie then Sonoko would pick the former.

But it was for Ran, Sonoko reminded herself, resting upon the chair as she reclined herself upon Ran’s shoulder. A faint cherry blossom smell could be noticed by Sonoko, a reminder of Ran’s as Sonoko slowly feels the sleep of her eyes settle more.

The movie was halfway over when she had noticed a small child enter the cinema booth unnoticed by most watching including Ran, too focused on the movie to bother noticing people entering and leaving. The child, reminiscent of another child Sonoko knew, quickly looked both ways before pocketing the glasses of which he was not using.

The child places himself on the chair with the dignity of someone about to die as Sonoko notices the pure paranoia emanating from the child as he once more scans the area of which no danger was present. Had Sonoko been awake a bit more she would have recognised the child whom she kept in prolonged contact with someone not of the brat but a childhood friend.

Their eyes glanced at each other but Sonoko was too tired to stay awake, too tired to notice when she had left the cinema or the conversation of which she held with Shinichi via phone, Sonoko’s phone no less. Not noticing the promises or unhinged way of how he talked but what she did notice however. Was the faint echo of her voice being heard when she goes outside of the cinema to notice the same brat with a bowtie clutched onto his hands speaking in the same manner of which Shinichi was speaking.

Sonoko knows her feelings, she knows how to see others such as the brat’s despair written across his face similar to that of a certain detective keeping face or a martial champion trying to focus on others before herself. She knows Shinichi’s feelings, the man of which Ran was talking to shared the same love of which Sonoko shared towards Ran, one day they will talk alone about these feelings but today was not today

Leaving the area and resting with Ran amongst their bed was comfortable as finally, sleep finally takes over Sonoko.