#i have been listening to the op the entire day help

[starscreamsleftarm]

We need to talk about Orion Pax’s fat birthing hips in tfone. I bet D-16 was giving him that D in secret because it’s just so damn big and then it only got bigger when he got the matrix of leadership!

Megatron was definitely hate fucking him on the battlefield when everyone is looking, he can’t help it😔

Ooh and I bet you Orion loved it!

Orion waddling around with those fat birthing hips like it’s nobody’s business should be a crime!

D-16 isn’t really listening to what he says, man he doesn’t even care, all he wants is to shove his fat spike into his valve and make him a carrier, maybe they’ll even hive them time off to take care of their young.

Orion can only gasp into his hand as D rocks hard into him, slowly thrusting more roughly and faster, mixing their transfluid like cream. Poor Orion’s nods have never been massaged like this before and it doesn’t help that D’s fat spike just somehow keeps getting bigger!

Orion can’t help but squirt on his best friend, why should he not? He feels so good and full.

D is grabbing his hips, thrusting up into him as he practically shoves the head of his fat spike into Orion’s womb!

Orion snaps out of his overstimulated state and immediately begs his best friend not to overload in him. D is rocking his hips with a glare because how can he pull out now when he’s already there?!

His tip is leaking so much it might as well be an overload and Orion is begging and squirming for D to pull out, he feels so good full and doesn’t want to carry yet! D only pulls out because he heard one of the guards coming, just great now he’ll need to jack off in a room later to finish himself😒

Of course when they ho on that whole trip and everything changes, neither was happy, especially Megatron.

And when they do meet again, they’re fighting and hurting and while Optimus Prime is sad and whiny about fighting his best friend, meanwhile Megatron is trying so hard not to shoot a load into his panel because Optimus’s whiny and even fatter birthing hips have been swaying the entire time!, ‘stupid Prime knows that I’m getting hard and is doing it on purpose!’

Then one day Megatron just has enough and shoves him down mid battle, Prime is on his hands and knees, ready to kick Megatron in the stomach but instead his memory back up kicks in and his panel pops open.

Megatron with the biggest smirk you’ll ever see, shoves into his valve like it was any other Thursday and starts thrusting into him like a wild mech in heat! Everyone has either stopped to watch or is looking away in shame.

Ohhh but it only makes it better because it wasn’t only Megatron’s frame that grew bigger and Optimus can feel that! Megatron’s spike is right in his womb, he hasn’t even pushed in all the way! It feels so good, too good to notice the stares and the gasps. He’s whining for Megatron to pull out but he just keeps thrusting, massaging all his neglected nods.

Megatron is gasping out that he’s won! Declaring that they’re precious Prime doesn’t stand a chance against him!

Optimus is overstimulated and pumped to the brim with transfluid by the time Megatron is done.

Poor OP is so full and thinks it’s finally finished when Meg just holds him up and open for everyone to see and thrusts back into him, rubbing his belly and kissing his neck while massaging his hips because Meg has been waiting for the day he would finally full him up.

Who knows, the war stops entirely because OP ended up pregnant and now has to take care of him!

Maybe OP is asking Megatron to put in another one😏

[dizzybizz]

yotsuba pose!!!

[primus-why]

I Feel TFOne Could've Handled This Better...

Hot take but I feel like folks have been really generous with the take that OP was unable to find ~the perfect words~ in the heat of the moment (and thus should be given some grace) when he told D to stand down and "not be like Sentinel"... namely cuz I don't feel that the narrative supports this?

Like-- after all is said and done, OP doesn't reflect on that part of their split. He doesn't have a moment where he seeks validation or voices his regrets over the choice of his words, it's actually cut-and-dry. The narrative (as it stands) supports that OP saw D-16 acting up, so he called him out and stood on business, down to the last scenes where he's basically like "yeah it's a shame but y'all knew I had to do it to 'em."

It didn't have to be much! I'm not saying to absolve Megs, just show OP looking at things from a different perspective/contemplating a bit on that tough choice and the morality of the moment. Some examples of what I wish we had:

B-127 straight up blurting the obvious by later chatting with Orion like, "Wait so you told your best friend that he was acting just as bad as the guy who enslaved us for our entire lives and was torturing him like an hour ago? Oof. Seems kinda harsh." Then have some of OP's regret show on his face.

OP asking Elita-1 after Megs is banished if he did the right thing. Have Elita back his choice up, saying, "You should have seen what he did after you were... gone. It was terrifying. I know it was tough, but you made the right call." OP is grateful for the support, but a conflicted look still flashes across his face before he steels himself to look out towards the horizon... and the future.

Have OP walk past other mechs/former miners who didn't go with the High Guard saying stuff like, "Wish I could've given Sentinel a piece of my mind!" "Yeah, but I'm glad he's gone for good." "Ugh I miss everything." "Oh, it was crazy! Megatron picked him up and then he rrrrriiipped-- oops, hey there, Mr. Optimus... Prime... sir?" And have OP wave hello, looking a bit sick when they leave.

Post-credits scene with Starscream going on and on, asking Megs when they'll be back to teach the upstart Prime a lesson. Megs grabs his face to shut him up. "Patience, Starscream. The Prime thinks I'm no better than Sentinel... but I'll show him. He wants Iacon? He can have it. In the meantime we'll take the rest of the planet! Then I'll come back, crush Prime under my heel, and we'll take Iacon too. Sentinel's reign will barely be a footnote, because I'm about to become Optimus Prime's worst nightmare." The vocal performance would really need to sell this-- like picture Megs saying something like that from a place of anger and hurt, not so much a place of genuine evil or malice.

Basically instead of Orion's assertion being backed up as black and white/good vs bad, I wish we had some different opinions/reactions from the characters sprinkled in there. Like you can't tell me out of allllll the miners who weren't strong enough/willing to go with the High Guard and ended up sticking around that NONE of them were like "eyyo honestly?? Kiiiiinda glad Sentinel is dead. Wish I could have helped, tbh." like come onnnnn...

And you can't even argue that he's not an active threat-- I don't think everyone would see things that way! It's not just about the threat he physically has, but the threat he represents and is very likely to act upon if given the opportunity! He has a proven track record of not only being sneaky and conniving, but also capable of dealing some serious damage/killing people bigger and stronger than him, plus he has the backing of the Quints. All he'd need to do is wriggle his way out of jail and run off to his sponsors, then he'd probably be back to hurt more people! (If the Quints didn't just kill him out of incompetence lmao). There's a lot of "ifs" here, but I think it's a valid argument that not everyone would agree on what is the right or wrong way to handle Sentinel once he was down long enough to, like, do something about him.

I feel the situation needed a bit of nuance. In some way I wish they had kicked the can and had D and Orion bicker while Sentinel escaped, then have D get frustrated enough by the loss of Sentinel to point fingers (and his fusion canon) at Orion, who then falls and becomes OP. (Megs could still show some of thar emotion/remorse right after he does it too.) Not only would this open the door for a sequel, but tbh the Quint might have just killed Sentinel anyways and sought to deal with the miners uprising themselves lol. (Maybe that could have been an after credits scenes too instead of the B-127 bit??)

Would love to see a moment in a sequel where they have a calmer moment after arguing for a bit. Have OP mention how Megs was out of line, that it hurt and even scared him to see him act that way, and Megs can quietly point out "you said I was as bad as Sentinel... is that really how you see me? After everything we went through?"

Then OP can fumble the bag again lmao like "D, I... I'm sorry, that didn't come out right... but you still took things way too far..."

"Why am I not surprised-- your opinion is what matters the most! Maybe that's why you became a Prime, since you're so good at acting like the world revolves around you--!"

*gets interrupted by someone else before another yelling match ensues*

[the-scarlet-witch-22]

The Lark Ascending: Chapter Four (Agatha Harkness x Reader)

Summary: The working relationship between a conductor and their soloist was supposed to be seamless. But what happens when you're dealing with the notoriously fickle (and your ex to boot) Agatha Harkness?

Word Count: 4.7k

A/N: Hello! Here's chapter four of my conductor!Agatha sequel. Updates unfortunately depend on my schedule, but I always try to write when I can :) I've updated my tag list for Lark, so if you'd like to be added feel free to let me know! This is my favorite chapter yet, and I've linked the main piece I listened to while writing, Rachmaninov's 14 Romances: Op. 34: No 14 (Vocalise) . As always I hope you enjoy and feel free to let me know your thoughts!

Tag List: @fanficreadinglistandarchieve @chiar4anna @marisacoulterswife @getlostsquidward @rigglemethat @aquvr1us @dazzlinghahn

Previous Chapter

The relationship between a conductor and a soloist was special, as you had learned throughout your various performances. There was a certain level of trust that was required on the soloist’s end; to have no doubt that the conductor would follow their lead and guide the rest of the ensemble along with them. 

The conductor needed to hold the same belief, only that the soloist was confident enough in their music to make it through the selected concerto without faltering. One missed entrance or unsteady tempo change could send the entire orchestra falling off the cliff with them.

It was a push and pull dynamic, with the temperament of the conductor and potential ego of the soloist threatening to throw everything off balance. You had never experienced any issues with past conductors you had worked with, but none of them were Agatha.

You had scarcely seen the conductor since your intimate conversation at the gala the week prior. While her words of encouragement had been giving you the boost of confidence you had been lacking, it was hard to focus on any of that when your brain had been so fixated on what happened right after. Or rather, what would have happened if you hadn’t been interrupted. 

It didn’t help that you failed to catch Agatha alone in the days after. She was usually with Tony going over (rejecting) his new marketing ideas, or being trailed by a frazzled looking Scott frantically writing down whatever instructions Agatha would bark at him from over her shoulder. 

The more you thought about it, you really didn’t understand how that particular arrangement was working out.

You had been trying to work up the nerve to approach Agatha all week, which was why you decided to come in earlier than was needed. There wasn’t a rehearsal you needed to attend and no meetings until the afternoon, so you were hoping to catch the conductor when she came in.

It was strange, feeling this conflicted. To not really know where you stood with her after all this time. You believed her when she said you were friends, and maybe that was all you were supposed to be. 

You didn’t want to linger on why that thought made you as upset as it did.

However, it appeared luck was on your side this morning, as Agatha was rounding a corner, engrossed in reading something on her phone. Her dark brown hair fell over her shoulders, and your eyes focused on her white dress shirt that was tucked into her purple dress slacks. You couldn’t help but notice her bare skin, as she had left a few of the buttons undone. 

She noticed you after a moment, and her face lit up.

“What are you doing here?” Agatha asked curiously, pocketing her phone and removing her glasses. “I don’t have you scheduled for rehearsal until Friday.”

“I know,” you said suddenly, craning your neck to look over at her. “I was hoping we could talk about the other night.”

“Hm?” Agatha responded as she glanced at you, rolling up the sleeves of her shirt. “Whatever do you mean?”

You averted your gaze at the sight of her toned arms and her lithe fingers securing the sleeves stayed in place. If Agatha noticed the faint blush on her cheeks she didn’t comment on it.

Clearing your throat, you gave her a pointed look. “After the gala?”

The conductor had a blank expression on her face, before she nodded. “Oh, you mean my assistant? It’s so hard to find good help nowadays.”

“No, I don’t mean Scott,” you dismissed her, frowning as you tried to get her attention. “Agatha, come on, are we really not going to talk about what almost happened?”

Agatha feigned innocence, giving your arm a quick gentle squeeze . “You’ve been under so much stress these past few weeks, dear. Consider it all forgotten.”

“What?”

As the conductor went to open her mouth, she shook her head. “If you’ll excuse me, I have an assistant to reprimand.”

Whipping your head around, you found Scott struggling to carry three huge cardboard boxes down the hallway. 

“Lang! I know I asked to have those delivered to my hotel. What are they doing here?” Agatha seethed as she stormed off.

As Scott started to explain, he dropped one of the boxes in the process and you watched as it comically fell to the ground. Agatha pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, not assisting him in picking it up, merely instructing him to take them one by one to her office. 

“Believe me, none of us get it either,” Monica said as she came to stand next to you, observing Scott and Agatha. 

“How long has Scott been working for her?” You asked, as you couldn’t help but wonder if he had just started.

Agatha wasn’t known for her patience, or for giving second chances. The multiple assistants she had apparently fired before you, and dozens of interns after, serving as proof to the high standards she tended to live by. 

“I think he’s been her assistant for over a year now,” Monica explained, looking puzzled as Scott tried pushing all three boxes stacked up on top of each other. “It’s funny, it’s the longest she’s kept someone around since…”

It took you a moment to realize she trailed off, and you forced yourself to look away as Agatha told Scott to stop, insisting that she would take care of it herself.

“Since what?” You prompted, and Monica uncomfortably looked to the ground.

“Well, since you,” Monica said, keeping her voice low enough so none of the other musicians could hear her. 

“I’m sure that’s not true. She had to have kept someone around for a while, right?” You asked, thinking back on if your former stand partner ever mentioned any of your replacements, until you came short. 

Out of all the things you and Monica would discuss whenever you both had time to catch up you realized she never once brought up Agatha.

Monica grimaced, shooting another quick glance in Agatha’s direction as she was shooing Scott away from trying to help her. “Not really, no. It was pretty bad after you left.”

“Bad how?” 

Monica sighed, and it seemed like to you she was torn between telling you or not. She tugged on your arm, leading you away from the concert hall to a deserted corner.

“None of us thought anything of it at first. You know how she can be,” Monica said quietly, and you nodded because you did know how difficult Agatha could be to work with. “A few people thought she was trying to annoy Hayward by firing them so quickly, but then he was arrested.”

“Yeah, you could have mentioned that before,” you said, remembering Agatha dropping that bomb on you last week.

Monica shifted then, an uneasy expression on her face. 

“What?” You questioned, not liking the way she was looking at you.

“Nothing,” Monica insisted, but she refused to meet your eyes. “Hayward was gone, and she seemed to get along better with the new guy, but she was still going through a new assistant every few weeks.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad,” you commented, but Monica looked at you then and shook her head. “So what changed?”

“No one knows,” Monica admitted. “She hired Scott on and it’s been that way for around a year, maybe a little longer. To be fair she’s been gone a lot of the time, but still.”

Right, you thought to yourself, Agatha had been traveling a lot. Not that you knew where she was going.

Unfortunately that was the moment the conductor in question came traipsing back around the corner, more agitated than before, and you could just barely hear her telling Scott to go feed Scratchy after rehearsal. 

“Orchestra,” Agatha called out, roughly running her fingers through her hair as she strolled past you. “As much as I’d love to sit around a campfire with all of you and join hands as we go around sharing stories on our past traumas and various metaphorical battle scars, I believe it would benefit all of us to be on stage for rehearsal, yes?”

“I’ll see you later,” Monica said reassuringly, before taking off in the same direction as the rest of the orchestra. 

Later that afternoon, you were getting ready to go home for the day. You had a rather productive meeting with Pepper over any changes you wanted for promotional materials going into opening night.

Unfortunately, you spent most of the time stewing over Agatha’s typical elusiveness. You were used to it by now, but you couldn’t help but feel frustrated over her hot and cold behavior. It was just how she was with everyone, and if Agatha hated anything it was being inconsistent.

As you prepared to leave, you noticed someone entering the building. It was a woman you had never seen before.

She was beautiful, you noted, and wore an expensive looking pale pink pantsuit. Holding a matching clutch in her hand, she took off her designer sunglasses and she appeared to be lost. When she noticed you, her face lit up, heels click-clacking on the floor as she walked over to you. 

“Excuse me,” the woman said, lowering her clutch to her side as she looked at you. “Do you know where Tony Stark’s office is?”

“Oh, yeah it’s right down that hallway. First door on your left,” you answered, pointing in the correct direction. 

“Thank you,” the woman replied politely, sticking out her hand to shake yours. “I’m Jennifer Kale, but I’m sure you’ve heard of me.”

The name sounded relatively familiar, but you failed to place how you knew of her. Giving her an apologetic smile, you shook your head.

Jennifer raised her eyebrows, surprise coloring her features. “Well, I’m the founder of Kale Kare. We focus on providing musicians with holistic health and wellness.”

Kale Kare…you had heard of that once or twice, but you still couldn’t remember how. Maybe a social media ad?

“Oh cool,” you said sincerely, blushing slightly at the small smile Jennifer gave you in return. “I’m-”

“I already know who you are,” Jennifer said, and laughed at the dumbfounded look on your face. “I mean, how could I not? Half the city is plastered with posters of your face.”

Oh right, the LA Symphony promotional posters, you had actually passed a few on your way into rehearsal earlier.

“I keep forgetting about those,” you quietly admitted, and Jennifer laughed again.

“Besides, even if I hadn’t seen those, you certainly look like her type,” Jennifer added conversationally, and you froze.

“I’m sorry?”

“Agatha is a lot of things, but she’s always been predictable,” Jennifer sighed, looking you up and down. “You’re not the first soloist she’s been with.”

Letting out a nervous chuckle, you looked down at the ground. “I’m not with Agatha. You must have confused me with someone else.”

“Oh?” Jennifer asked, tilting her head to the side as she regarded you. “Are you not the assistant she was sleeping with back in New York? The one who left for Vienna?”

Oh.

“That’s not…” you trailed off, wondering if maybe you somehow hit your head earlier and were actually dreaming this entire interaction from a concussed state. “That’s not how I’d describe it.”

“I must have it wrong then,” Jennifer shrugged, but gave you a look that suggested she didn’t believe you. “That’s just what I had heard.”

“Heard from who?” You hesitantly questioned, as you had been under the impression you and Agatha had been rather discreet during the time you spent together.

“You know how musicians are, always gossiping,” Jennifer offered, giving you a wink. “But I guess they were mistaken.” 

There had been a few instances in which you had wondered if you and Agatha weren’t as careful as you once thought. But, replaying the conversation you just shared with Monica, you wondered if there was truth to what Jennifer was suggesting. Both that you were less discrete than you thought, and more troubling- that Agatha actually cared when you left. 

No, that can’t be it. You were sure Agatha’s attitude after you left didn’t have anything to do with you, she didn’t strike you as the type to pine. 

If only you had been as lucky in that department.

“Yeah, they must have been,” you insisted, trying to shove those thoughts to the back of your mind.

Maybe you should talk to Monica later, get some peace of mind.

“I thought I smelled the faint stench of desperation and fraud,” Agatha’s voice cut through the awkward silence that had filled the hallway, and you jumped at the sound. 

The conductor approached you and Jennifer, hands in her purple dress slacks as she sauntered over, a hesitant Scott closely following her. “What pray tell have we lowly peasants done to deserve such a pleasant surprise, Jen?”

“I’d say it’s nice to see you again Agatha, but lying is more your specialty than mine,” Jennifer greeted the conductor, a smile tugging on her lips. “I’ve heard you’ve been keeping busy.”

Agatha sniffed, tossing her bag at Scott, nearly taking him down to the ground. “No more than usual. What are you doing here?”

“I’m expanding my business to the LA Symphony,” Jennifer announced, her eyes locked on Agatha’s. “I have a meeting with Tony to go over our upcoming partnership.”

“Oh good, another potential lawsuit to add to your ever growing collection,” Agatha quipped, raising her left hand as her index finger tapped against her cheek, a contemplative expression on her face. “By the way, how are your legal woes faring?”

It was then you remembered how you knew of Kale Kare…Agatha. The conductor had once briefly ranted about the company and its founder, Jennifer. It was unsurprising that Agatha wasn’t sold on the holistic remedies that the company swore by, but you never asked what had happened between the two of them that made the conductor as sour as she appeared to be.

“Funny, Agatha, but almost all of those were thrown out by the judge,” Jennifer fired back, and you wondered what ‘almost all of those’ meant. “Besides, based on what I’ve been told, you could actually benefit from some of our treatments.”

Agatha pursed her lips, the frown lines on her forehead becoming more prominent as she arched an eyebrow. “I highly doubt that, I’d be surprised if any of that goop you sell is actually organic.” Turning to Scott, she tossed her keys at him, shaking her head as he fumbled attempting to catch them. “Lang, why don’t you make yourself useful and go lock up my office.”

Scott looked thankful to be excused from the conversation, as he scurried away. You had to admit, you were slightly jealous he was able to leave, as you were currently stuck between Agatha and Jennifer.

“Well Stephen certainly seems to think differently,” Jennifer continued, taking a step closer to the conductor, folding her arms across her chest.

“Of course he’s one of your clients. That man has been living in LA for far too long,” Agatha deadpanned, shooting Jennifer a nasty glare. 

“Typical Agatha, hiding behind some biting insults,” Jennifer observed, giving you a quick once over. “Besides, there’s no need to be so humble. I’m sure your…soloist was flattered by it.”

“Flattered by what?” You questioned, looking back and forth between the conductor and Jennifer, confusion growing.

“You didn’t tell her, did you?” Jennifer guessed, poorly attempting to stifle a laugh whilst Agatha balled her hands into fists at her side. “It’s nice to see you haven’t changed, Agatha.”

“Didn’t tell me what?” You asked, focusing on Agatha who shrugged in response.

“That’s my cue,” Jennifer said, brushing her hand against your arm as she started to walk away. “It was nice to meet you, good luck with your concerts.”

“Thanks,” you mumbled, waiting until the woman was out of earshot before narrowing your eyes at Agatha. “Agatha, what was she talking about?”

“Ignore her, all of those wellness treatments and supplements have made her more delusional than normal,” Agatha insisted, wrapping an arm around your shoulder to turn you around in the opposite direction.

Your breath hitched at the physical contact, but attempted to remain your composure. “I thought we were done with the games. What aren’t you telling me?”

Agatha froze for a moment, eyes shifting around before refocusing, not removing her arm from where it was wrapped around your shoulders. “It’s nothing to worry about, dear. Jen just enjoys getting under my skin.”

Only, the more you thought about it the more you realized you didn’t believe her. There were far too many inconsistencies in the conductor’s stories, but what you were failing to grasp was why she wasn’t just telling you the truth. 

What she was doing in LA. What happened to Stephen, because that particular question had more bad possibilities than good. Where she had been traveling to so secretly for the past year. 

Why she refused to talk about your almost kiss.

Shaking her arm off, you shook your head. “No. This isn’t like before, Agatha. I’m not just some assistant you can boss around and belittle.”

“I don’t think I ever belittled you,” Agatha lightly corrected you, and you let out a deep sigh. 

“That’s not the point.”

“Oh? Is there a point to this little temper tantrum?” Agatha questioned as she crossed her arms across her chest. “I was worried you were breaking barriers and rising above the diva allegations most soloists succumb to. It’s nice to see that isn’t the case.”

“That’s really nice,” you said sarcastically, attempting to keep your temper in check. “What did Jennifer mean when she brought up Stephen?”

There was a flash of displeasure on the conductor’s face before she masked it. 

Giving you a sly grin, she winked. “Are you interrogating me, dear? Should we take this somewhere more private?”

“Stop it,” you said dismissively, growing more irritated with every word she spoke. “Why can’t you just give me a straight answer.” 

“Well I think we both know the answer to that,” Agatha teased, leaning in closer until her breath was warm against your face. “But if you need a reminder, I’d be more than happy to provide one.”

“Stop it,” you repeated, patience wearing thin. 

Agatha always enjoyed having the upper hand, and as easy as it felt to slip back into a role you were once very comfortable with, things had changed. You changed. Deciding to switch up your line of questioning, you thought back to what Monica had just shared with you.

“Why did you go through so many assistants after I left?”

Agatha noticeably tensed at that, her eyebrows furrowing and she took a step back, putting her hands in her pockets. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re referring to.”

“Of course you don’t,” you said, letting out a bitter laugh as Agatha’s expression hardened. 

“Whatever it is you’re implying, I suggest you stop. Maybe spend more time focusing on your upcoming performance,” Agatha suggested, lips curling upwards to form a smirk. “After all, we wouldn’t want a repeat of last week’s…incident, would we?”

The memory of your anxiety attack and conversation that had followed with Agatha came rushing back to you. You bowed your head, feeling your cheeks warm at the humiliating reminder. 

“I should have known better,” you mumbled, each second you chose to stay in this conversation proving to be a mistake. “I thought maybe you missed me, but you aren’t capable of feeling that way towards anyone, are you?”

Agatha’s eyes flashed menacingly, and she recoiled as if you struck her. Turning on her heel she stormed off without another word, leaving you alone once again.

The regret hit as soon as she was out of sight, you knew you shouldn’t have said that to her. But then again, maybe if she was more forthcoming and honest with you, then you wouldn’t have snapped. 

Agatha had a special talent to make you lose your mind, in more ways than one. She was unlike anyone you had ever met, and as many positives as that held there was the occasional reminder of her darker side. 

You sometimes questioned if any of her feelings for you back then were real, or if she just got off on the power trip. 

It was hard, being this torn, and as much as you still cared for her you were starting to get the feeling that it wasn’t reciprocated. At least, not in the way you wanted it to be. You didn’t just want to go back to how things were before. You weren’t just an assistant anymore, you had made a name for yourself.

It was foolish to think you’d ever be as well-known or talented as Agatha, but you liked to believe that you were on a more equal footing this time around.

But it appeared Agatha didn’t feel the same way.

As you finally left for the day, one of the interns came running up with a bag addressed to you. Apparently Jennifer Kale had left some of her products for you to try, along with a note suggesting the two of you talk about a possible PR partnership for the brand.

You spent the rest of your afternoon and evening the way you typically did when you needed to unwind and not spend too much time practicing. Setting your violin in the sitting room, you spent a few hours curled up on the couch reading a book. You would periodically check your phone, some part of you secretly waiting for a text or message from Agatha, but there was nothing.

It did cross your mind that maybe you should apologize, but knew it was moot. You both needed time to cool off.

Deciding to look at the products Jennifer gifted you, it wasn’t a surprise that everything looked and smelled nice enough. Her company certainly seemed to spend enough time with the presentation, as the bottles were all beautiful and almost looked like potion vials. You decided to try out one of the face masks, and you briefly read a few of the ingredients. 

A small voice did question how 100% natural it was, but it smelled nice and it was free so you weren’t going to complain.

You were so wrapped up in applying the face mask you barely heard your doorbell ring. It took you a moment to register the noise, and you checked the time on your phone to reveal it was half past ten. You weren’t expecting company, so you ignored it, spreading the mask evenly over your face. 

The buzzing of your phone caused you to pause, rinsing your hands in the sink before grabbing the device to reveal you had a new text message.

Agatha: Knock knock

After your last conversation with the conductor she was the last person you wanted to see right now, but if there was one thing Agatha was, it was persistent. The doorbell rang again and you huffed, she really had some nerve. 

Storming out of the bathroom, you whipped the front door open, revealing Agatha with her finger pressed against the doorbell. The conductor’s dark brown hair was pulled back with a hair tie, loose strands flying everywhere. You did a double take at her casual attire, the baggy black sweatpants and tight fitting t-shirt that read ‘What’s The Difference Between A Conductor And God? God Doesn’t Think He’s A Conductor’. 

“Took you long enough,” Agatha mused, nose scrunching in disgust when she saw what you had on your face. “Didn’t realize you were interested in having hives break out across your face.”

“What do you want, Agatha?” You questioned, ignoring her jab.

The conductor paused, appearing to realize how irritated you were. Her bright blue eyes were locked on your own, and she took a small step forward, placing her hands against yours. “Can I come in?”

“You’re joking,” you retorted, the earlier argument still ringing in your ears. “You have to be joking. No, you cannot come in. Goodnight, Agatha.”

As you went to slam the door in her face, she stuck her foot in, blocking it. She gave you a rare pleading glance. “Please?”

You could count on one hand the number of times she had ever said that word to you, or to anyone for that matter. Feeling your annoyance fade slightly, you relented. Moving to the side to allow her to come in, trying to restrain the shiver of feeling her body brush against yours. 

“What are you doing here?” You asked again, folding your arms across your chest after you shut the door, locking it.

The conductor was looking at you with an unreadable expression, as her tongue slowly licked her lips. Your eyes were fixated on the gesture, unable to look away until you finally cleared your throat, forcing yourself to look at her with a newfound sense of confidence.

“If you don’t have anything to say I think you should be going,” you asserted, something that surprised both you and the conductor as she raised her eyebrows. 

“You’re wrong,” the conductor said, so quietly you could barely hear her.

“What?” 

“You’re wrong,” Agatha repeated, louder this time.

“If you came here to insult me, you can leave,” you stated, going to open the door.

It was hard to say how it happened, really. Agatha was a lot faster than she looked, and she had your back pressed against the wall, hands pinned at your sides before you could blink. She towered over you, chest heaving as you felt her breath hot against your neck. 

“Agatha…” 

“I’ve never met anyone as stubborn as you,” Agatha breathed out, releasing one hand to gently cup your chin, forcing you to look up at her. “Do you have any idea how infuriating you are?”

You blinked, feeling your head spin as you wondered if this was really happening. Agatha had made countless appearances in your dreams over the years, each feeling more real than the last. It felt like she was haunting you, a cruel shadow you could never escape from. 

But this was real, you noted as you breathed in the subtle but rich scent of her floral shampoo. After all this time, she was really here.

“Agatha,” you whispered again, heart pounding against your chest as blood rushed in your ears. 

The conductor released your other hand, raising her own to tangle in your hair as she pulled you impossibly closer to her, lips ghosting over your own. 

Before you could form a coherent thought, Agatha finally did the one thing you had been yearning for since you left her all those years ago, closing the distance as she smashed her lips against yours. 

All of the times you had reminisced on this, the random bodies you had used as replacements over the years, nothing could ever come close to the real thing. The very real feeling of Agatha’s mouth moving fervently against your own, as she hungrily drank from you like a woman dying of thirst. Her tongue darted out, seeking entrance to your mouth and you could only let out a small whimper as she deepened the kiss.

Agatha let out a muffled groan at that, growing more desperate in her attempts to unravel you, which is why you let out a disappointed whine as she broke away, fingers still woven in your hair.

Panting, the conductor closed her eyes, trying to catch her breath, and you were thankful she had you pressed against the wall because you doubt you’d be able to stand on your own. When she reopened them, her pupils were fully blown out. Her hand caressed your cheek, and you leaned into the tender gesture. 

“I missed you,” Agatha murmured, and she was holding you so delicately, like she was afraid you would break if she pushed too far. 

“I missed you too,” you echoed, feeling tears begin to swell in your eyes.

You thought getting your big break as a soloist would fix the giant hole leaving Agatha had created. But despite all you had accomplished, it still felt like something was missing. You had tried everything, but it wasn’t until this very moment, feeling Agatha’s body flush against your own, with her bright blue eyes searing into your soul, did you come to the startling revelation of what you had been missing. 

Agatha. 

It was always Agatha.

[benjineedssleep]

stardew valley* headcanons because i'm sick and the brainrot is real <3

i'm trying to get into the fandom but i'm scared so please interact >_< ...also if these have been said before i'M SORRY--

*mostly ass trio with some adjacent stuff because i love them sm =(((

ass trio like to collect old tech and physical media. abby collects old games and consoles, sam collects cds/vinyl, sebastian collects cds and movies (mostly vhs but he'll also fw dvds).

we all know sebastian's a ginger but how about abby cutting and dyeing his hair every month??? *melts*

speaking of dyeing hair, sam has darker hair like his mom but she helps him bleach and tone it. he started doing it to look more like his dad but it kinda just stuck.

jodi always wanted a daughter and for a while resented having two sons. though, the older she gets (and the more the learns about sam specifically) the less she silently resents them. she just asks sam if he wants to do certain things with her (like go get mani-pedis at the beginning of summer) and sam is always like 'FUCK YEAH' (minus the fuck, jodi hates cursing) because he loves his mom, loves self care, and isn't ashamed of either of those things.

sebastian is also a mama's boy. a really big mama's boy. he tells robin anything and everything and she's usually the first person he goes to, abby being the second.

abby/seb wlw/mlm solidarity. i don't make the rules. they are also bonded like cats and should not be separated. live laugh love platonic intimacy and soulmates. i'm talking abby playing with seb's hair, forehead kisses, dancing with each other just cause, etc. etc. <3

sam is so very midwest/5th wave emo coded. not explicitly those genres but i'm definitely talking american football, origami angel, sunny day real estate, etc. he's also into some dad rock because of kent. listening to mid-late 90s/2000s bands while in the car with his dad is a very fond memory of his.

sebastian my artist king!!! he's a bit of a perfectionist but he's really good and sometimes abby and sam ask him why he chose to pursue coding instead. he says it's because he doesn't wanna lose a fun hobby/form of self expression (and he's so real for that).

sebastian is entirely content with sitting in silence with people. he actually prefers it. come sit on his couch while he codes for hours on end and remind him to eat and drink and he'll love you forever. and if he's not coding, watch a movie or play a game that doesn't require insane co-op skills. anything that doesn't require him to talk too much or he'll probably end up spilling his guts by accident. will it make sense? no. but if he finds the words to describe how he's feeling, he's gonna say them.

on that note, sebastian is very bad at hiding his emotions and equally as bad at handling them. he's also the kind of guy that would let you come over just to rant, hand you some tissues if you cry, but wouldn't have much input.

sam, on the other hand, is very good at hiding his emotions and bottles things up for other people's sake. this comes from having to fill the role of his dad while he was away at war and step up as that father figure for vincent. he's very good at supporting you if you're upset but will probably fumble trying to find the proper words.

abby is like the middle ground, everything depending on the situation. though, she tends to be a bit hot headed; passive aggressive. if someone hurt you, she's already up wrapping her hands so she doesn't break them punching someone in the face.

speaking of abby being ready to throw hands, that girl is built, okay? she goes in the mines and swings that sword often enough to have some jacked ass arms and shoulders. she still likes being a pretty girl tho, don't get it twisted. she's just a jacked pretty girl >:3

abby and sam definitely bond quicker than sam and sebastian. they have a lot more things in common on the surface. their music tastes overlap a bit more, they're both the kind to cut up their clothes imperfectly for the vibes, and are equally as wild/bubbly.

abby!!! likes!!! to!!! rollerblade!!! inlines!!!! specifically!!! her and sam stay busting their ass in the town square.

sam's got a sleeper build for real. he's generally a bigger guy, in terms of height and such, but you wouldn't know he's got strength unless you saw him do something. working out is another thing he did casually to be like his dad but also, vincent was very needy when he was a toddler and he still likes to be carried around if jodi'll let sam do it.

jodi is a very soft, "hidden" supporter. she's the kind of mom that would have a pride pin/ribbon on her bag year round and randomly buy sam new music/skating equipment despite complaining about the noise/injuries.

robin is a very loud, "in your face" supporter. she also doesn't sugar coat a damn thing despite trying to look at things in a more optimistic light. she can and will embarrass you in front of your friends.

caroline is a reluctant, "if you must" supporter. she hates most of what abby chooses to do and takes a long time to warm up, but eventually comes around. it's usually the result of jodi and robin explaining to her that things are never that serious (like abby dyeing her hair and cutting her clothes up). sometimes she just needs to be reminded she too was young once.

vincent loves swearing and torments both jodi and penny with all the new ways he tries to curse without actually saying "bad words". see: "what the chicken butt!!!" (he definitely doesn't get it, but he tries to pretend he does.)

robin panic cooks/bakes at any inconvenience or event. you're hurt? sick? it's your birthday? you got a promotion? she's in the kitchen at the crack of dawn tearing the place apart to make something perfect. did i also mention she's a mess and will try to multitask, failing miserably? (there have been multiple times she's done the same step of a recipe twice because she forgot and it almost always ends up leading to massive batches of food she has to give away.)

okay i think that's enough... i can go on for literally ever y'all. i have so much brain rot. lmk if you want more cause i've got a whole 87k word fic to pull from (and also a bunch of other shit that floats around in my brain...)

p.s. i haven't posted the fic anywhere and don't plan on doing so until it's done. but i can share screenies... perhaps... hmnfjfjhgj

[cozage]

Hi! :)feel free to decline this if it’s not up your ally or you don’t really have anything else to say about it but, I was very interested when you mentioned law having anxiety about if the amber lead disease would be passed down to his kid, so I was wondering if you’d be willing to write a little offshoot of that (hcs/short fic/whatever format you want) about law and his partner trying to ease each other’s anxieties about it and just how he’d handle it in the long term plus maybe if it wasn’t able to be told if they had it or not before it was born seeing Law finally get to see the kid and his reaction him it having/not having it (it’s up to you what kind of route you’d want to take with that) but anyways it’s just a suggestion because I was really interested once you brought the idea up of how Law would handle something he’s probably tried to block out of his mind since he was young

The post that anon is talking about for reference

Guess what Anon? This is literally the best ask I’ve ever gotten because I think about it ALL the time and all the possible outcomes of that one little thing and I will literally never shut up about it. So here’s some fun* ideas on how I think Law would respond to bringing a child into the world. 

*these are not fun they're so angsty it's not even funny

Transmission

Characters: female reader x Law

Word Count: 1k

CW: talk of abortion, talk about loss of pregnancy, talk of fatal diseases, lots of pregnancy angst, (happy ending though if that makes up for it!)

He runs a scan and finds out he has a lot to worry about. You can see the panic on his face and you know your fear was not misplaced. You’re pregnant.

His shoulders suddenly feel so heavy. Like a weight he is forced to carry, no matter how many times he tries to cast it aside. 

He doesn’t tell you about the burden. Not yet. You all talk through your options together, and you consider them heavily. You weigh the pros and cons of each option for days, but he doesn’t ever try to sway you one way or another. 

In fact, he becomes very distant. He locks himself away in the study, turning through a new book everyday. You can enter his study whenever you wish, but he barely acknowledges your entrance.

One day you’re talking about it with him, trying to decide what to do. It had only been about a week and a half since you found out, and Law’s cold shoulder has impacted you a bit. “What do you want to do?” you ask him.

He doesn’t respond. His nose is buried in a book, and you realize he hasn’t been listening the entire time. You suddenly burst into tears, upset with him and his coldness to you recently. “Just get it out,” you cry, punching at your stomach with your fists. “Get it out of me so we can get back to normal again.”

He looks up, surprised by your sudden outburst. “Hey, Y/N-ya! Stop! You’re going to hurt yourself!” He jumps up and grabs your wrists to keep you from harming yourself further. 

“I’m tired of being alone!” you cry out, tears streaming down your face. “You can’t even look at me anymore! I just want things to be normal again.”

He’s staring at you, unsure of what to do or how to respond. He guides you over to a chair, still holding your wrists, and sits you down in it. He sits across from you. “I need to tell you a story,” he whispers, and he has your full attention.

He tells you the story of Flevance, and of the Amber Lead Disease he inherited. How his entire city disappeared in a matter of years. How there was no cure. How he was the only survivor.

You had known a piece of that story. Law had told you about Corazon and that he had helped secure the Op-Op fruit for Law to find a cure for his disease. But you hadn’t known the rest of the tragedy. 

“I’m scared,” he admits, his voice quivering. “Amber Lead Disease is passed down from generation to generation, and shortens the lifespan each time it’s passed on. My sister got sick when she was six. I was supposed to die before I was fourteen.”

“But you got better. You’re okay now,” you reassured him. But you could feel the panic growing inside of you now too. Of course he didn’t want to talk about a child with this kind of trauma weighing on his mind.

“It doesn’t mean that the symptoms are gone. Each generation, the life expectancies go down at least ten years. What if…” he hesitates, and you can feel his grip around your wrists tighten as he squeezes his eyes shut. “What if our child dies before it’s even born?”

You can feel his pain and his sorrow emitting from him. You lean forward and wrap him in a hug, holding him tight. You can hear him choke back a sob, and you allow yourself to cry too. Both of you just hold each other, letting all of your fear and anger and sorrow wash away with your tears. 

Both of you start to calm down after a very long cry. “I want to keep it,” you say finally. “I want to try.”

You feel Law nod, and his body relaxes just a minuscule amount. At least he won’t be alone this time. At least he’s cured it before. 

During the pregnancy, he’s more stressed than you. It’s a weird relationship having Law as both your boyfriend and your doctor, and sometimes you have to remind him which hat he’s wearing. 

He’s always giving you vitamin supplements in the morning and making sure your diet is perfectly balanced. Sometimes you go to eat something and he starts with “as a pregnant woman, you shouldn’t-” but a quick glare will usually quiet him down.

You have checkups and he runs scans on your body at least once a week. There are nights he can’t sleep, his mind riddled with what if’s, and he has to do a quick scan just to make sure you and baby are still okay. He breathes a sigh of relief each time your scan comes back clean, but he doesn’t let himself get too comfortable. 

Both of you have your days. Some days you’re over the moon, others you feel like your lives are ending. It’s a hard middle to find. Both of you typically stick to the extremes and manage to mellow each other out while also validating each other's fears.  

He cries when he finds out it’s a girl. 

He cries even harder when you offer up a name. Cora.

His devil fruit ability makes the childbirth thing insanely easy. The “pain of childbirth” was a foreign concept to you for the most part. 

He counts Cora’s fingers and toes, and then counts them again. 10 fingers, 10 toes. She’s perfect. Just looking at her, Law already knows he would die for her. 

He wraps his sweet baby girl up in a blanket and passes her off to you. He brushes your hair and kisses your face while you hold her. He’s resisting the urge to run every scan he can think of. You were adamant that the three of you needed a few minutes together as a family before he went full doctor on you both. 

Finally you hand Cora off to him. “Go ahead, I know it’s driving you crazy.” He scans her, and finds her completely healthy. No Amber Lead Disease, no sickness, not even a slightly abnormal temperature. Law holds Cora close to his heart and he weeps. For his family, for himself, and for the new generation that’s finally free.

[kobold-that-bites-people]

dunno if this will get to anyone that it's relevant to, but as a transfem that's had bottom surgery (a rather standard penile inversion vaginoplasty) and is mostly recovered at this point, i'd like to give a few notes on my experience. hopefully it reaches some people who are considering and would be helped by such anecdotes. anyway, in no particular order,

it's major surgery. recovery is gonna suck about the same as other major surgeries. that said, a lot of the discomfort is frontloaded. in my case, i experienced about 2/3 of the pain i could attribute to recovery over the last six months, in the first week. the sheer drop in pain once the catheter came out alone was night and day. the first week was miserable though, you *need* someone, ideally multiple someones, who can look after you through that stage. (if you are in the green lands of not america, or just are well funded, many hospitals will look after you for the first week or so, but as a broke american i was only in hospital for about a day and a half. maybe two days, memory is a little fuzzy from the opiates (which i stopped almost as soon as i got out of the hospital, the brain fog from opiates is real)

it's been said other places, but it is really likely you will experience a lot of emotions during recovery. this can take a lot of forms, but in my case i had to grapple with a lot of "doubts" about if it was even what i wanted, if it was worth it to me, if it even looked natural enough, and so on. part of that is just that it's a major change in your body image, so doubts are normal and expected. part of it is that after major physical trauma like surgery, your body will amplify a lot of emotions intensely. try not to listen to the dysphoria talking when things still need to heal. the difference between a week from the surgery and a couple months later is *massive*.

this might be obvious to a lot of people, but for people like me that have only ever been even slightly intimate with partners that have cocks, pussies come in a *lot* of shapes. the very limited range depicted in a lot of common art and porn and games and so on, is simply not a representative sample of all the shapes that a pussy can be. despite my anxieties over my own, every person that has seen it so far has either had explicit compliments, or at least backhanded ones about how "normal" it looks.

despite how cautious doctors will be about promising function, it is entirely possible you'll have every function you might expect from a natal vagina. i get a not insignificant amount of self lubrication, can feel everything better than i dared hope for, and despite having to completely relearn what motions work for it i can reliably reach orgasms just as well as i could pre-op. that said, i don't self lubricate quite as much as *some* cis women manage. it's usually enough for fingering myself, but if i wanted to use a toy, or be penetrated by a partner, it simply isn't reasonable to go without generous lube. mostly because while i have some self-lubrication, it isn't exactly produced *quickly*, and friction can quickly dry it up, especially outside my entrance.

dilation can be many things, but it's usually mostly just tedious. it hurt *some* at the start, but once the swelling went down it generally only hurt as i went up a size. nowadays i only feel a miniscule amount of pain with the stretch as i work my largest dilator in, and that fades within about 30 seconds. the better you are at getting it done reliably, the less it will hurt. missing a session, especially earlier in recovery, will be *felt* the next time you dilate.

if you are open about your having had bottom surgery, or end up hospitalized from complications thereof, (as i did, i'll spare the medical details) there are a lot of people that will try to justify wanting to see, for motives that i'll leave as an exercise to the reader to deduce. such people will include doctors, nurses, and plenty of people with more spurious motives. i've had more people barge in on me while i was dilating within the last months since i had bottom surgery, than ever barged in on me while i was masturbating in the earlier 26 years of my life. *please* be aware that part of being perceived as "more a woman" is that you will likely experience more such attentions, in the various forms that takes. sometimes positive it is true, but usually not.

[chaysreality222]

⋆˚ 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

𝐑𝓔𝓨𝓐'𝓢 𝟒 𝐃𝓐𝓨 𝐑𝓔𝓟𝓡𝓞𝓖𝓡𝓐𝓜𝓜𝓘𝓝𝓖 ! <3

hey shifters! it's c! i'm going through a blog identity crisis rn. but that's besides the point, we are here to talk about my experience as i completed reya's 4 day reprogramming! i started this process June 10, 2024 and ended it on June 13, 2024.

𝜗𝜚 𝐃𝓐𝓨 1 𝓞𝐅 𝐑𝓔𝓟𝓡𝓞𝓖𝓡𝓐𝓜𝓜𝓘𝓝𝓖 𝜗𝜚

the first day is dedicated to creating a list of your beliefs and non-beliefs that could be created in a physical journal, on a piece of paper, your notes app, etc. after that, you'll re-read it over and over throughout the day to really etch it into your brain. this way you'll be doing robotic affirmations to help manifest your beliefs! in which those beliefs include you believing in shifting and that you have the ability to shift.

ex. i wrote "i believe in reality shifting" in my beliefs area because i believe in that. as for non beliefs, i wrote "i don't believe in the tooth fairy" because i don't believe in that.

i wrote mine in my notion app! i read it multiple times and especially throughout the entire day. as i was reading my beliefs and non-beliefs, i can already notice that my mindset was changing! it gave me confidence in my beliefs about shifting so much that it wasn't even a second thought anymore. it just started to feel natural. i'd like to add that as i did my robotic affirmations, i played white noise and trickling water in the background on youtube (like they do in subliminals) which really seemed to help out.

ALSO, it's okay to not be re-reading every second or minute of the day. you still have a life you need to live and you have to take care of yourself as well. learn to balance it! remember, shifting is already apart of your daily routine. there's no external or internal pressure to have to do it because you're already used to doing it!

𝜗𝜚 𝐃𝓐𝓨 2 𝓞𝐅 𝐑𝓔𝓟𝓡𝓞𝓖𝓡𝓐𝓜𝓜𝓘𝓝𝓖 𝜗𝜚

the second day is dedicated to going throughout the day and doing things that motivate you to shift! meditate, listen to subliminals, etc! have a sense of gratitude and excitement about shifting to your desired reality and affirm yourself that you've shifted.

before i get into what i did for the second day, i had a dream about shifting and almost had shifted from the dream! i noticed i was lucid and began to say, "i have shifted, i have shifted, i have shifted". i started to feel different like i was being pulled out of the dream like i was waking up (i became very aware of my subconscious and it was like a tunnel opened up in back of me and i was about to be pulled through) and there was flashing lights! but the people in my dream heard me and grabbed onto me. (like wth, why did they have to be my ops). but, i did say it in front of them smh... anywayy since i was busy throughout the day, i turned the things i did into scenarios that could happen in my dr. going shopping turned into -> "this would be me and pansy shopping at the clothing stores in diagon alley in my hogwarts dr". drawing in my room turned into -> "this is what i'd be doing in my waiting room dr". you guys get the idea! i read my beliefs and non-beliefs a few times throughout the day. i constantly affirmed myself that i have shifted and that i shifted to my waiting room June 13, 2024! i made sure to mark the day i was going to shift like Reya had said, and kept affirming that. then, i ended off with a guided meditation from alunir before i had went to bed!

disclaimer: Reya had made sure to say this in her video, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SHIFT WHILE THESE DAYS OF REPROGRAMMING!! These days are meant to reprogram your brain for shifting :) You will shift on the fourth day of the process!

"c, didn't you just tell us about the attempt to shift through your dream?" yes, i did 😭 but it's like i forgot about that fact because i had been dreaming. i did not have any intentions to shift before i had went to bed but once i became lucid, i jumped at the chance and took it fr. didn't work because of the ops, but the effort was there! </3

𝜗𝜚 𝐃𝓐𝓨 3 𝓞𝐅 𝐑𝓔𝓟𝓡𝓞𝓖𝓡𝓐𝓜𝓜𝓘𝓝𝓖 𝜗𝜚

the third day is dedicated to feeding your beliefs! read and watch about other people's shifting storytime's about their desired realities throughout the day.

i listened to kristeau's shifting stories on her youtube channel as i did things throughout the day, watched tiktoks from my fave creators, and read some dr story times on here as well! to add to that, i read my beliefs and non-beliefs throughout the day with subliminals playing in the background or music that reminds me of my waiting room dr. then, i also vaunted and acted like i was already in my desired reality. "this is what i'd be doing in my waiting room rn", "i'm so excited that i shifted to my waiting room on June 13, 2024", "i had such a good time in my waiting room doing (x,y,z)".

𝜗𝜚 𝐃𝓐𝓨 4 𝓞𝐅 𝐑𝓔𝓟𝓡𝓞𝓖𝓡𝓐𝓜𝓜𝓘𝓝𝓖 𝜗𝜚

the fourth day is dedicated to doing all the things you previously did into one day and shifting! read your beliefs and non-beliefs, go through out the day and do things that motivate you to shift, feed your beliefs, and finally shift.

my shift attempt pt. 5 to my waiting room dr - June 13, 2024 At first, I read my beliefs and non beliefs with a subliminal and fell asleep doing that. Then I woke up and I told myself to lock in. I put on a void state guided meditation w/ deep hypnosis by alunir. Let me tell you guys right now, that deep hypnosis is no joke. My sister was talking to her friends through voice messages here and there and had the tv playing but on low volume- All my surroundings drowned out and I was focused on her voice. Every time she snapped, tingles went through my body and I followed the meditation without a second thought. I had made it to the void state but I was drifting in and out of it. I think my headphones were too loud honestly, so it made alunir’s voice loud to where it would pull me back out of the void state. I began to fall asleep a bit but then, I saw marko (someone from one of my other drs). I kept seeing glimpses of imagery from that other dr and I was like looking for them to try and help me shift? idk why i thought that would work. Then, I ended up falling back asleep (rip). I woke up once again and told myself to lock in, so I put on a meditation by Reya. I was trying to get back into the void state but it wasn’t working. Ended up falling asleep not too long after.

𝐑𝓔𝐒𝓤𝐋𝓣𝐒 <3

i didn't successfully shift to my waiting room desired reality YET, but i've learned a lot from this experience and my mindset was definitely reprogrammed!

i learned that i was more focused on getting to the void state than actually shifting to my waiting room dr. Reya's words, "the void state isn't really something to shift from. it's something to pass through or to pass by from. you don't need the void state to shift! think of it like a pit stop and you're gonna go through it or whatever, and you're going to shift". i also learned that if i'm low on energy and extremely exhausted, i should just sleep that night and shift the next night! i was putting so much pressure on myself to shift that i didn't care what state my body was in. which is what i won't do in my future process!

i no longer find myself second guessing about shifting or having those intrusive thoughts against shifting being real. i also find that i'm more confident and positive about my shifting ability! which is why i'm proud of myself about this shifting attempt and have the push to only continue my journey. if anyone has any insight or tips to help me, pls leave them in the comments.

xoxo, c!

[rascal-xo]

TF141 when they smoke weed with the reader for the first time >:)

i just love the idea of these big ass military guys acting like stupid fairies, munching on whatever they see and listening to some rock anthems ykyk. Even better if the reader smokes more than the other and has to show some of them how to use a bong or something 😭

If you see this and write it I will be your slave for the rest of your life🛐🛐🛐

No pressure YOU DONT HAVE TO WRITE THIS HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY/NIGHT MWAAAA

When They Smoke Weed For The First Time | 141 x Reader |

Summary: The 141 boys get well acquainted with some mary jane

Warnings: Drug use (Weed), Language, pure comedic chaos (mostly)

Tags: @glitteryeggalmondherring @fiveshelmet @madamemelancholysstuff @myguiltypleasures21 @pukbadger @boniscute

A/N: I had so much fun writing this!! ty for the request :)) All the gifs I used were from the gif maker app and did not have the OP listed for anyone wondering 😭

————————————————————————————

You step into the base, sweat dripping down your forehead after an intense workout session. The familiar scent of camouflage and gunpowder fills the air, mingling with the faint aroma of something else entirely.

As you make your way through the corridors, you notice Soap and Gaz gathered near the kitchen island. Curiosity wins, you approach cautiously, only to find Soap himself standing there, holding a small poorly decorated box with your name in big bold letters.

You almost laugh out loud seeing Johnny’s confused face.

You step closer, trying to suppress the grin threatening to spread across your face. Soap's brows furrow as he examines the box in his hands, turning it this way and that, as if expecting some hidden treasure to appear.

Gaz looks up from his cup of coffee, his eyes widening as he spots you. "You smoke?!" he says, pointing at the box with a mix of amusement and disbelief.

You let out a chuckle, unable to contain yourself any longer. "Looks like you met Mary Jane." you say, feigning seriousness.

They both stare at you with eyebrows raised, not expecting you of all people to have a stash of weed on base. “Oh what the hell, wanna try?”

———————————————————————————

🍃Soap 🍃

- Coughs uncontrollably after his first inhale, much to you and the rest of the teams amusement. You pass him a glass of water, trying to hide your laughter as he gulps it down, desperately trying to regain his composure.

- Soap's appetite goes into overdrive, and I mean like he raids the kitchen like a man possessed. He devours snacks with an intensity you all have only seen from him on the battlefield, munching on everything from chips to cookies, all while you all watch in both terror and amusement.

- In a surprising turn of events, Bro will become incredibly philosophical, sharing deep and profound insights about life, the universe, and what disney princess he thinks is Ghost’s favorite.

- Will try to steal Ghost’s balaclava and then proceed to get smacked down WWE style

🍃Gaz 🍃

- Don’t let him out of your sights or he will start to wonder around base high off his rocker.

- You definitely have to show him how to properly inhale or he’ll somehow end up getting himself hurt.

- His normally stoic demeanor slowly starts to slip away, and he becomes increasingly giggly and carefree.

- Will stare at his hands in disbelief of his own existence

- “Woah mate…” As he stares at a pile of sticks on the ground

- Gaz's giggles become contagious, and soon all of you are laughing along with him, finding yourselves caught up in his infectious joy. Even the most Ghost can't help but crack a smile at his antics under his mask.

- You bring up the suggestion of using a bong and he almost passed out. Like fully the color drains from this poor man’s face.

- Soaps high ass is 1st and only one lined up to hit a bong. He’s a munch and gaz makes fun of him for it 💀

🍃Price🍃

- Price is an avid smoker. There probably hasn’t been a time you’ve seen him off duty where he doesn’t have a Cigar hanging out of his mouth.

- In all honesty he probably isn’t all too affected by the weed. At most it’s a little buzz

- Might make himself seem like it’s his first time smoking pot but has definitely done it before with Laswell on the lowkey

- Soap and Gaz will look at him in shock as to how he’s handling the effects so well so he’ll promptly let out a forced cough to make them feel better about their struggles 💀

- Will attempt to disguise his high if he does begin to feel the blunt doing it’s job correctly.

- Bro has academic RIZZ and trust he will be telling you about the history of weed.

- If be decides to completely let loose this man is 100% singing every word to an 80’s rock song and is forcing you to do karaoke with him.

🍃Ghost🍃

- Is not affected by the weed at all. At least not visibly…

- On the inside tho? Bro’s emotional hard drive is going HAYWIRE

- If he trusts you enough he has his mask rolled up with a blunt in his hand.

- If it’s just the two of you he’ll begin talking about random things, just rambling on and on. But if he’s around everyone else he’ll just stare ahead and let the buzz stay contained inside

- Will stare down at the ground, digging his heels into the dirt under his boots with tears threatening his eyes.

- Even he’s shocked how his emotions have a mind of their own once he starts smoking weed.

- I imagine him to get a sad/somber type of high :( bbg has been through it 😭

A/N: AHH I HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND TY FOR THE REQUEST!! 🩷🩷 My requests are still open btw :))

[glamour-quartz]

Sex Not Violence [ch 1]

[Buggy x Reader]

Summary: You are a valued member of Buggy's crew, but your mind isn't entirely there all the time. Buggy decides to help the best way he knows how!

Warnings: Nothing really for this chapter

A/N: I haven't written in a long while and this is my first Buggy fic. I am also a new OP fan, I have only seen the live action and read less than 20 manga chapters, so also please keep that in mind if this is terribly OOC for Buggy. No use of y/n, gender-neutral reader.

Word Count: 1.2k

Your chest heaves as you try to catch your breath, standing in the center ring with arms outstretched for your adoring audience. A few moments pass as you soak up the forced cheers and applause and you close your eyes, imagining for just a moment what it would be like if they had come to see the circus of their own accord. And why hadn’t they? Captain Buggy, generous as he is, had given the townsfolk ample time to come to their senses.

In the end, though, it was the same as every other small town you visited. You and your fellow freaks set up the tents, practice heavily, ready yourselves for your fans… only to be met with empty seats. Day in, day out, empty fucking seats until Captain Buggy gives the order to gather the crowd. A slight twinge in your cheek knocks you out of your thoughts and you take one final bow before exiting the stage.

The Captain is waiting for you at the entrance to the green room, arms crossed over his chest, lips drawn into a frown behind the red painted smile. Your heart nearly leaps in fear as you think back over your performance, running through the steps of the routine. Sure you had deviated a bit, but hadn’t it gone perfectly ? You smile at him and find that your fear dissipates quickly.

“Captain, sir!” Your voice is light as you come to a stop before him.

“Your set ran longer than it should have,” he growls, barely audible as the crowd behind you erupts in forced cheer. Cabaji has taken the stage.

Your eye twitches and your thoughts begin to wander, but the sudden feeling of a hand closing around your neck knocks you back into the present. Buggy’s rage is clear on his face.

“When I am speaking to you, I expect you to pay attention .” His voice is calm and demanding.

“S-sorry, sir.” 

“Why did your set run long?”

“I- I had an idea I wanted to test, that’s all.”

“Oh, an idea to test? That’s all?” The giggle that escapes him is nothing short of unhinged and the hand —disembodied, you manage to notice— tightens at the sides of your throat. “Who gave you permission?”

“I didn’t th-”

“Who!?”

“... No one, sir.”

“Oh, so you just took it upon yourself? Thought you might steal the spotlight?”

“No, I-”

“SHUT UP!”

You bite down on your lip and swallow what you had been about to say. 

Buggy watches you carefully and allows a full ten seconds to pass in agonizing silence, before his mouth splits into a grin.

“Good, you can still listen to orders. We do not make decisions on our own, do we?” He waits for your nod and loosens his grip ever-so-slightly. “We do not try to steal the spotlight, do we?” He waits again, loosens his grip a bit more. “We ask permission , isn’t that right?” At your final nod, his hand releases you and reattaches to his arm.

You dare not move. You had wanted to impress him and you had failed. Fuck . You knew the rules as good as anyone else on the crew, why hadn’t you followed them? Stupid, stupid, stupid . It’s almost a surprise when you feel the sting of tears at the corner of your eye. You manage to hold it together, though, long enough to notice that Buggy is still standing in front of you, staring. Waiting for something?

His voice is much softer when he speaks again, so soft that you can’t quite make out what he says over the background noise. The crowd behind you suddenly seems to be making quite a rhythmic fuss. Are you hearing the ocean waves, right now? Oh no , that is your heart pounding so hard you’d swear everyone within a mile could hear it. Buggy’s hand, you realize, is cupping your cheek and his face is much closer to yours than it had been a moment ago.

You are used to his angry outbursts, his violence, the rage that never quite seems to go away. You can handle it all, because you handle your own demons —you like to think so, anyway— but this? What in the ever-loving shit is happening right now?

“- eautiful, in the end.”

A shiver runs up your spine as you come to focus, his breath hot on your ear. While you lost yourself to your thoughts, he continued to close the distance between you. And he is now, for lack of a better word, embracing you. One gloved hand is still on your cheek, thumb rubbing out a soft circle. The other hand is planted quite firmly on the small of your back, pulling you closer.

Fear is clearly the only emotion that fits this situation. This is an entirely new level of rage and you are absolutely about to be murdered. You are going to cease to exist, because you had the audacity to add some flourishes to your performance. And yet, fear does not rear its ugly head. Nor does anger, or that sadness that had started to seep into your heart.

“Are you listening to me?”

You force yourself back into focus once more and nod.

“Good,” he smiles, and it almost seems genuine. The hand at your back pulls away and his posture straightens. “I expect you won’t be late.”

You nod again, dumbly. His departure is swift and your brain reels. What have you agreed to? You furrow your brows and continue into the green room, to sit at the vanity. This happens, sometimes. You get stuck inside your head and completely blank on the outside world. Most of the time you are able to recall enough bits and pieces to understand what you missed, though, so you aren’t entirely worried.

You raise your eyes to the mirror and notice, immediately, a smudge of red grease paint at the corner of your mouth. Red is not in your color palette and you frown, lean forward to scrutinize your reflection. Your painted decorations are crisp, clean, and —perhaps most importantly— blue and yellow. 

Your fingers dance over the red smudge and you focus . You know the memory is there. It literally just happened. You take a deep breath and close your eyes as it floods in.

“I did like it.” He places a hand on your cheek and he’s smiling. His features are… soft. Almost caring. He’s stepping closer. His painted lips are pressing to the corner of your mouth, so brief that it could be an accident. He’s moving in, pulling you against him so he can whisper in your ear. “You were beautiful, in the end.” The hand at your back squeezes and you think if he pulls on you any harder, you might just melt into him entirely. “I wouldn’t mind a private show. Tonight. Are you listening to me?”

You nod blankly, answering the memory as it dissipates. Oh. The Captain just wants to see you in his quarters. For a private show. That’s it. Nothing at all.. to be.. worried… about. The butterflies in your stomach come to frantic life and you feel as though they might just carry you away.

[bronx-bomber87]

Happy Saturday lovely Fandom. Zero Chenford in this one but it is very good ep overall regardless. They’ve got good separate moments. Still a good ep for them as characters. This will probably be way way shorter than usual ha. We haven’t had this small of content since the Fed eps in S4 which were meh af ha Let us get started.

5x15 The Con

We start out with Lucy and Aaron doing some leg work for Angela's OP on Elijah. This entire ep centers around it and everyone's part in it. I do love how Aaron fits in with both Lucy and Tim. Fun to see them work this OP together to take down Elijah. Lucy moving like a skilled bad ass planting the bug on his car. Aaron being the decoy pretending to be a clueless bystander. I adore her ‘Tell your dog I said Hi’ Feels like a Melissa shirt and I love that. I recall her wearing it in 4x03 as well. Always enjoy seeing pieces of Melissa appear on the show. Anyways fun to see her being a BAMF in the field. They work well together.

19 minutes into an episode to see my boy isn’t acceptable LOL Mmm but what a shot it is though my god. Metro Tim in his tight shirt, can see his badge near his hip, and his gun also hanging out on display. Mmm yummy. That duty belt is doing thing to me clearly haha *ahem* Back to the SL though... They’ve captured Elijah’s top lieutenants. Trying to give the illusion Abril has captured them. Trying to get Elijah to spook for their OP tonight.

I do love the crossed arms. One of my favs Tim positions. Those sexy biceps will be the death of me. But then so will this entire ensemble of his. Then we get a nice shot of him staring into interrogation as Garza leaves. ‘Metro Police’ Stretched deliciously across his back. Man is fine af. Oozes sex just standing there.

Aaron and Lucy are still following Elijah around. Listening into his phone calls. Seeing if their spooking is working. It would appear that it is. He is in a panic since his Lieutenants have been snatched and now his lawyer. It is fun to watch Lucy in her element in the field. Her and Aaron make a solid pairing to watch. We needed this since her and Tim can’t always be together on job now for most part.

Elijah calls for Angela. Earlier in the cold open she offered him a deal. To help him take out Abril’s heavy hitters in exchange for her family’s safety. He scoffed at her offer and passed. Now he’s in a panic and wants the deal. Angela telling Elijah her hitters are at a house in North Hollywood. That he can take them out tonight. It’s a smart trap to set for him and he’s taking the bait.

Celina is involved in this OP as well. Nice to see all hands on deck for this. She is being used as decoy for Elijah’s guys to see. Make them look like they’re distracted and weak before they move in. Mmmm love Tim leaning against that door frame. Sexy beast of a man. Just waiting with his team to spring into action. I love watching Tim in the field. See how his mind works. Always have because he's just so damn good at what he does. Watching him in full tactical gear doing same thing? *fans self* I'll take Metro Tim in the field all damn day.

I also love watching Lucy in field as well. They’re both in their element in this OP. It’s really fun to watch them do what they do best. They're both so good at their jobs and this episode is a good reflection of that. I'm just so proud watching Lucy in these scenes with Aaron. Getting to see Lucy command her portion of the OP. Directing Aaron on what to do. Making calls for them on the fly like above. I know Tim would be so very impressed just watching her handle herself like this. I know I am.

The tension leading up to Elijah getting up to the house is immense. They can’t arrest him unless he is physically on the premises. Not only that but has break into the house with their illegals firearms. If they do anything before then it won't stick. It'll look like more retaliation from Angela and nothing more. Tim and his team waiting inside for him to enter guns at the ready. Yum.

Lucy and Aaron coming in as backup. They’re entering the perimeter when Aaron kicks a bottle…loudly ….It ruins the entire OP. Elijah bails on the attack. They head back to their cars. They spent the entire day setting this up and it's ruined in an instant because Aaron wasn't looking where he was going. Oof.

The angry glare Lucy gives Aaron. Phew Lord. Man if looks could kill.... This is my favorite part of the episode. She learned that disapproving glare from her man. Aaron is feeling the weight of it as he follows her. Deflated and knowing he is the one who blew this OP. It's a rough night to be Aaron.

Also i’m just continuously proud of the bad ass Lucy's become. Running her own side of this OP like a boss. Aaron following her without question. It’s why he’s feeling crushed she is disappointed in him. That look said more than she could ever yell at him in this moment. LOVING her hair in a pony tail for this OP too BTW. Fantastic.

That’s all she wrote for this one. Zero content but still good field moments. Watching them both in their element always fun to watch IMO.

No side notes since this was basically all non Chenford ha

Thank you thank you to all who like, comment and reblog these reviews. Insane we're barreling towards the end of this season. You all have made this so much fun. I shall see you in 5x16 :)

[revserrayyu]

2.6 Penacony thoughts [part 1]

**Spoiler warning** for everything up until the end of Boothill’s first encounter with Robin. Might reference things that happen later since I already finished the mission at this point, so be wary if you haven’t yet. Lots of random ramblings from me as usual with new stories, especially with all the silly stuff that happened.

Going back to school never really thrilled me back in the day, so learning that we’re all attending Paperfold University for this update was kinda meh to me. All the crazy trailers and the fact that we’re taking a trip back to Penacony did pique my curiosity enough thanks to our previous adventure inside the land of dreams though. I did enjoy how interested Dan Heng was about attending and when his voice actors would seem genuinely excited one moment then revert back to his usual calm, collected self the next in an attempt to hide his enthusiasm. It’s okay to show emotions, sir!

I’ll admit that I believed that Pom-Pom was actually joining us for the briefest moment until I remembered that Boothill used our conductor as his fake name last time upon checking in.

I don’t even know too much about DnD but at least I spotted this reference to it, yeah?

The treasure chest was quite the convincing substitution, fooling me and even Numby who was alerted to it, so props to our new ninja friend I guess.. who joined us in the dream pool not even five seconds later.

Damn them for bringing this stupidly catchy song into the game because it has been sneaking into my mind so often these past couple days!

I will say that hearing the Trailblazer’s sing the song did make the experience much better and I would definitely listen to it more if it means they allow the Trailblazer to speak more like they have been in story missions recently.

Our true first meeting with Rappa and girl really had a whole anime OP of an introduction.

First off, beautiful cutscene will all the colors and neon. Secondly, I did actually question why they listed her name as “???” here and started wondering if Rappa really was her name or not and.. yeah, this makes sense later.

We’re literally so darn stupid and silly and I love it. Poor March cringed so bad she didn’t even want us as a friend anymore. Incredibly rude since my text message has your little face decorated next to it, ma’am!

The Dreampeak calls return and I wasn’t expecting to hear one about Boothill and him dreaming about his family, aww! But wow.. y’all really did call your kid ‘Boothill’ huh? Tell me why.

Our sus teacher makes his grand entrance and now I’m continuing to doubt everyone’s real names at this point.

Dan Heng please, you’re allowed to have fun! You can admit you do things solely for your own enjoyment!

Aeons.. they make him look so sketchy and untrustworthy with that smile and I’m so fine with it. Thankfully he didn’t turn out completely evil, but I accept his villain vibes regardless.

His knowledge freaked me out a little bit at first because why would he know all this?? Has he been watching playthroughs of the entire game? Or has he done his research about the Astral Express? Of course it makes sense now as we later find out he’s a Memokeeper and memories are pretty much their area of expertise.

I didn’t even bother to change my result on which academy I would personally attend, but I’m glad it turned out this way as it allowed the Express trio to all go somewhere different.

Pffftt.. looking through screenshots and this makes me realize how tall this man truly is, like I think Feixiao is reasonably tall by in game women standards, so to see Reca way past her ears is quite something. I dunno, maybe I don’t pay attention to character heights all that much, but his surprised me anyways.

Now I know whomever this chili-dipping person is couldn’t have been Jiaoqiu since it’s well known he attended the Ranzhi School on the Yaoqing and I’m like 99% sure our healer never stepped foot in Penacony before, but I couldn’t help but think this is something he would’ve done too if given the chance..

And I’m certainly not crazy to think so as he’s briefly mentioned in one of the options we’re given! Yay.. I miss our hot pot king. But wow, March being strong enough to pin us down? I’m rather impressed and wish to see fanart of this chaos.

I enjoy Boothill so much whenever he appears in the story that it’s a shame that I probably won’t ever pull for him since I’m not too big on his combat.

That way that I didn’t even think twice about him suddenly saying bananas outta nowhere because of how his swears are (unwillingly) censored all the time anyway is hilarious. It seemed normal and I figured he was being caught up with all the banana chatter this patch has, but nope.. something is clearly wrong here.

It’s been quite a while since we first arrived in Penacony because I seriously forgot Robin is capable of doing this rainbow harmony thing too. It also slipped my mind that she and Boothill have indeed met before inside that one dream way back in 2.2. I don’t remember them interacting all that much then so the scenes they shared this patch were a treat.

Thank you Robin for healing him so he can swear normally.. or at least to his usual censored way of swearing. It’s silly but I love hearing them. His voice actors must have fun tossing around such words so often.

Well aren’t you just the definition of a precious angel. This patch really started making me feel some regret about not pulling for her.. but next time, for sure.

Speak your truth girlie! Also I dunno if it’s true since I don’t play Genshin, but I saw people saying that this npc sounded a lot like Navia, and if so, then that’s adorable to have Brenna (who also voices Yunli) and Andrew (Boothill va) share a scene together since they’re married. Whoever this npc really is though, they had a nice singing voice.

For some reason my mind thought of the bullet wound on her neck and how she wouldn’t want to be near any fight that Boothill may start, but I doubt that was the intention behind this line since I know Robin was worried about how easily she would stand out because of her reputation. Still, I think it’s pretty brave of her to hang around someone who prides themselves on their sharpshooter skills, though I’m positive Boothill would never let a stray bullet hit anyone aside from its intended target.

Yeah girl, no need to act so formal around our cowboy! Y’all worked together before so I can bet we’re past the level of acquaintances now. Be friendly! I’m not only wishing this because their dynamic intrigues me very much, but also because I just wanna hear her go full country accent and say “partner.”

Not gonna lie but just the thought of seeing these two interact more further along in the story keep my spirits up significantly and oh boy, I wasn’t disappointed.

I’ll end it here for now. The rest will take up two more posts if I can manage to fit everything.

[booksteaandtoomuchtv]

Galaxy Con 2023: Colin O'Donoghue

My experience at Galaxy Con 2023 in Raleigh, which will be entirely Colin O'Donoghue-focused since meeting him was the only reason I dragged my entire family to Raleigh for the hottest and most humid weekend of our year.

We arrived at Colin's booth at 10 on Saturday and secured the second position in his autograph line. Someone asked the Galaxy Con volunteer when Colin would arrive, but she hadn't met him or talked to him yet. She just noted that his photo ops were scheduled for 12:15 and some of the talent did not arrive until their photo op time. A few of us got nervous about which queue we should remain in as time ticked by ever so slowly.

I got to chat with some lovely Colin fans and their spouses while my kiddos grew tired of waiting. After about an hour and fifteen minutes, the kiddos had it and were taken to a children's museum with their cousins by my spouse. As his luck would have it, that is when Colin arrived. Around 11:25, Colin's agent arrives at the booth and sets up the booth with Hook photos (like the one below) and discusses the flow with the Galaxy Con Volunteer. At this point, Colin's queue is three or four rows deep in front of the booth, wraps around the corner, snakes around to a larger aisle and seems to be rivalling the "headliners" that Galaxy Con heavily advertised.

Colin arrives, following quickly behind his agent and weaving through the crowd. He looks a bit overwhelmed and fairly exhausted. When he approaches there is a mix of awe and cheers and clapping, but as he settles and everyone realises that he is there, a louder cheer follows. It makes him bush. It endears him to you even further.

As he settles in, still absorbing his queue and saying apologies directed to no one in particular because he had a late flight, he looks to the Galaxy Con volunteer that will be working with him and flashes a brilliant smile, greets her warmly, and introduces himself to her. She jokes that everyone is jealous of her and has been trying to trade her jobs.

His face is complete and honest confusion when he asks her why. And, she has the fun task of explaining to Colin that he is Colin. His face turns a deeper red as he settles into his chair to start his long day of signing autographs and making memories for each person he speaks to that day.

Colin clearly takes that part of the con very seriously. He gives every fan his full attention, listening intently, graciously accepting gifts, greeting them and chatting with them so that each person is allowed their moment with him. Again, you cannot help but find yourself more endeared with him as you watch him consciously make an effort to make every single encounter special.

When I handed him the picture my daughter drew of him as Hook last year to sign, he listened so kindly to the whole story. When I was finished, he asked if he could draw her a hook when he signed. It struck me as such an incredibly sweet question. (Of course, I said "Absolutely. You can do whatever you want! She'll LOVE it.") Then, I got a selfie with him...well, after my shaking hands remembered how to operate the camera on my phone.

Photo Ops

The photo ops were incredibly quick. You got just a few seconds with him as they hurried everyone along. In that time, the time to walk up to him, look at the camera and smile, he still put forth the effort to greet and thank everyone as they passed through. It was just lovely to see the extraordinary amount of effort Colin put in to make every moment that you get with him meaningful. It is so striking against the backdrop of a convention that was clearly focused on getting as many people through as possible to capitalise on profits.

Colin Panel and Q&A

Colin's panel fills up quickly. Six minutes before the panel is slated to begin, the room is standing room only. With the SAG strike ongoing, the rules are set forth that we cannot discuss that thing he was in with the thing on his hand but we can discuss stage productions and animated series he has been in.

When Colin walks out to the stage, he is very clearly shocked at how full the room is for his panel.

The moderator starts the conversation with pretty standard questions and some general background - when did you get into acting, etc. We learn that Colin has over thirty guitars, one owned by Ringo, and an amp that Rory Gallagher (his hero, btw) used while he toured. He also dismissed the title of "musician" that the moderator used a few times, saying he was no longer a musician. When asked what his perfect day would be, he gave the answer spending time with his kids since his career means that there are periods that he goes without seeing them for a while. And while the answer is undoubtedly sweet, it also broke my heart for him.

Then, they opened the floor for questions so long as you avoided BTS questions about that thing he did with the thing on his hand. There were times that he danced around exact shows or roles and he was genuinely terrified of saying something that would get him in trouble. The moderator was very, very good at guiding him or the questions to protect him from misstepping.

Over the course of the panel, Colin may have revealed that he enjoys cooking. He stated that one of his favourite holiday traditions is cooking the Christmas Dinner (there is turkey, Brussel sprouts, Christmas pudding, amongst other things) and he likes to add a bit of prosciutto and thyme to his pineapple pizza. He has tried jellyfish- "It was weird." And, he likes pistachio and real vanilla ice cream. He must have been starving at this point (his panel was over lunch), because they gave him a blue sour candy and a green sour treat for answering that he'd be Batman if he were a superhero from comic books and the Joker if he were a supervillain and he clearly disliked the candy and still ate the second one just moments later. He didn't like it any better.

He was interesting enough to hold a two-year-old and a four-year-old captive for the entire duration of his panel. They loved seeing "Captain Hook with a Hand" in person and Caden said "Caden Hello" to him almost audibly when I made it to the microphone to ask my question. The little smile that Colin gave my kiddos when they reached the mic was the sweetest and most wonderful thing.

Quick replay:

He likes sour and salty things, crisps are one of his favourite foods.

Yes, he would support his kids if they wanted to go into the film industry. He would want to ensure they really wanted to do it though.

He is always touched to know his work has touched people or gotten them through difficult times. He loves that the show with the thing has brought people together and created a community for so many of them.

He is afraid of absolutely nothing. No fears. Except for panels, which he thinks is obvious by what he said during the panel.

He would be a black labrador x retriever cross. His character from that one thing with the leather thing would have a black labrador cross. If he had a pet mythical creature it would be Cyberus, the three-headed dog, the Hell hound. All three of the heads would be black labrador cross and it would be extremely friendly.

His mum gave him the best life advice that he has ever had. You should put 100% into everything that you do and you should always be kind.

He would be Douxie out of all his characters since Douxie has magic. "Who doesn't want to be a wizard?"

He likes to read everything, especially a good mystery like Stephen King. His favourite fantasy novel is Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

Star Wars is his favourite film.

As a child, his favourite show was the original Ghostbuster cartoons (he had all the action figures) and Duck Tales (his kids love the reboot).

He hates the beard. But, he does have a new role and he is working on something new.

He does like to do prep work. On the one that he only had three days to prepare, he'd read the book. So, that helped him prepare. He doesn't have to prepare too much for accents because he loves accents and talks to himself in different accents all the time. (And, he did as a kid.) He thinks American comes to him easily because he consumed so much American television while growing up. He was particularly proud that a couple from Oklahoma told him his accent in the thing he only had three days to prepare for was a good Oklahoma accent.

He trusts writers have written the best ending for the shows they are writing. (This was specifically about the Tales of Arcadia series, but he answered generally and specifically.) He said it was valid to disagree with the ending or to dislike because everyone thinks things should end a certain way and that is as valid as the actual ending. He thinks that endings are particularly difficult because people don't actually like when things end.

He isn't a prankster but his friend out there in the world, Josh Dallas, is a prankster. He had a fart machine in a fictional forest that he would set off at opportune times.

NO! (playfully), he is not friends with anyone from that one thing he did. He did see Gen and Josh when he was in LA in January and keeps in close touch with Sean.

He supports Manchester United.

His scent as a candle would be pina colada.

He got to use his Irish accent in Luck and he did heighten it a bit, really leaning into it where he could. In the animation booth, you have to almost overact and overdo it so they can animate it well.

His favourite city that he has worked in/travelled to is Vancouver. It is too far away from his home, but it is where his kids were born and he loved his time there. It felt like home, but his family and real home were too far away.

He got accepted into university for special effects and such. He'd probably have ended up doing that if he wasn't acting.

And, when I asked what song he would play he was to have theme music that played in his life every time he entered a room...he told us about the time he would play INXS' "Need You Tonight" and strut out and do a very fun hip wiggle that is more effective with the leather and eyeliner. (But, he sampled it for us and it was still effective. :) )

I will treasure these memories and this experience. Thanks to all the hard work Colin put into this weekend and to his willingness to spend a weekend being entirely too hot and sweaty with us in Raleigh.

[acourtofladydeath]

"All Things End"

Presenting my updated fic with an immersive reading experience!

This fic holds a special piece of my soul, and I wrote it as a keyboard smash direct to post through a river of tears. I've reread it many times, but decided to step back and really revisit it.

With much help from @chunkypossum and @pippsmcgee this piece has been properly edited, updated, and even rewritten in spots. Much alcohol was consumed and many tears were shed in this process by all parties. I cannot thank them enough for their understanding of past tense, emotional stamina to relive this over and over, and never ending support as I obsessively messaged them with song ideas and editing updates. @pippsmcgee deserves incredibly special thanks for her editing services, which are, to quote her, "drunk enough to be clinical, but not so drunk I can't do subject verb agreement."

For the immersive component, I've created two playlists to go along with this fic. The "'All Things End Direct' Accompaniment" playlist has been formulated and tested to be listened to as you read the fic, with each song matching a specific scene or emotion you will encounter. The timing of the playlist should work out so that you only have to finish listening to the end of a song before proceeding to the next chapter. The first and last song are posted in the pre notes of each chapter in AO3.

The "'All Things End' Extended Playlist" includes all of the songs in the previous playlist as well as additional songs that did not match the timing of the read, but do match the emotions. This playlist is continually updated as I come across new songs that deserve a place here.

My wish is that this fic touches you, my readers, as much as it has touched me to write and curate the playlists. There is beauty and love to be found everywhere, even in death. Thank you for interacting and I sincerely hope you enjoy.

Please hydrate and get tissues before you start.

Below the cut you can find a full break down of each song per chapter, including explanations and authors notes.

Chapter 1: Inside Fading Out

"All Things End" by Hozier, the first four songs are all meant to be iterations of the emotions Azriel experiences as he learns and processes his mate's diagnosis and prognosis.

"Breathe (2AM)" by Anna Nalick

"Amen" by Amber Run

"The Call" by Regina Spektor

"Light" by Sleeping At Last, this song represents Azriel's will power to stand by his mate and take care of him no matter what.

"I'm Not Gonna Miss You" by Glenn Campbell, written during his own battle with Alzheimer's and meant to parallel Eris's own. On the extended playlist, you can find the song "Tell You About Her" by Ryan Nealon, which he wrote about his grandma and her struggle with dementia.

"Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane, meant to accompany Azriel and Eris together in his last days, and represent how they still find each other.

"I Will Follow You into the Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie, to indicate the love these two have for each other, even in the darkness of disease and death.

Chapter 2: Broken Pieces

"Come Sweet Death" by Johann Sebastian Back, performed by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra

"Adagio for Strings, Op. 11" by Samuel Barber, performed by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic

"Ghost" by Micky, the song that started this entire playlist and represents Azriel's emotions after losing his mate.

"Saturn" by Sleeping At Last and Tim Fain. This song inspired Linna's eulogy to Eris

Chapter 3: What Remains

"Hurts Like Hell" by Tommee Profitt and Lauren Strahm, performed by Fleurie and Tommee Profitt, this song reflects on Azriel's state of mind after his mate's funeral. This song was also one of the initial inspirations for this chapter. The second song that influenced this chapter "As The World Caves in by Matt Maltese covered by Sarah Cothran can be found on the extended playlist.

"Impassioned Lament" by Andrew Achilles DiMestico. The story of Patroclus and Achilles heavily inspired me while writing this fic and this song represents Azriel's flight to the Night Court. I wrote the entire fic to my Patroclus X Achilles playlist, also available on spotify.

"Breathe Me" by Sia, represents Azriel asking his Night Court family for help.

"Homeward Bound" sung by Peter Hollens, meant to reflect on Azriel realizing his home is in Autumn and leaving the Night Court for the last time.

"To Build A Home" by J. Swinscoe, Patrick Watson, & Phil France and performed by Patrick Watson, & The Cinematic Orchestra. This song is meant to reflect on Azriel and Eris's relationship with the tree and with each other. It accompanies Azriel's last day and him stepping through the veil with Eris.

Chapter 4: Outside Looking In

"Life and Death" by Michael Giacchino, performed by Michael Giacchino, The Hollywood Studio Symphony, and Tim Simonec. This is the death theme that plays in the show "Lost" and reflects on the pain of the moment.

"Brother" by Kodaline. Instead of sharing the meaning of this song, I'm going to share a line that carved out a bat boy sized piece of my soul.

Oh, brother, we go deeper than the ink beneath the skin of our tattoos. Though we don't share the same blood you're my brother and I love you, that's the truth.

"On the Nature of Daylight" by Max Richter, performed by Chris Worsey, John Metcalfe, Louisa Fuller, Max Richter, Natalia Bonner, & Philip Sheppard. A bittersweet song that reflects on love and loss.

"Think Of Me Once In A While, Take Care" by Take Care

"Into the West" performed by Peter Hollens. This is meant to be the song that Azriel sings from the symphonia during the funeral, and a song he would sing to Linna when she had nightmares. Other songs on the symphonia can be found in the extended playlist: "Edge of Night" performed by Peter Hollens, "Lullaby" by Sleeping At Last, and “Dear Theodosia” from the Hamilton soundtrack written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and performed by Leslie Odom Jr and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

"Unforgettable" by Nat King Cole. This song represents the underlying theme of the fic. That even deep within his disease Eris still remembered his mate. The song was intended to tell the story of how love can surpass everything, even death, just as it does in this fic.

If you've made it this far down, thank you so much for taking the time to join me on this journey. It's truly been a labor of love and I'm so excited to finally be sharing it with you all.

[lostfirefly]

You’ve Got the Same Dream as Me (Ch.10, the final)

Hello, kiddos! The idea for this fanfic came to me from a dream. Тhe main characters were T. Cruise & H.Cavill (don't ask me why), but with a light hand they have been replaced. The main action of the dream took place somewhere in the sands. Аlthough this fanfic will feature Sir Crocodile and Buggy, the action shifts to the desert. No marines, ships etc. The devil fruit's abilities are preserved. Catch the Mummy and Indiana Jones vibes :) Different titles and names from the original source material will be used to emphasise the general OP's vibe.

Since English is not my native language, errors may occur. As always, feel free to share your thoughts :) 

And thank you to my dear @yujo-nishimura and @laurasoretta for believing in me :)

Description: Catherine, a librarian who is searching for the trail of her sister who went missing on an expedition. Notes in books and diaries lead her to Cairo. There she finds a retailer from an artifact shop who, in exchange for selling her a map and equipment, insists that Catherine take her along. They get into a little (or maybe a big) adventure.. 

Warnings: Mythical creatures are mentioned in the text. Half of ch. 10 is completely from my dream. We're coming to the final. Catherine is smart (but I love smart girls). Riddles :) Fight scene. Adventures and fun are still here (I hope). Dumbest events ever. Romantic movie vibes. Buggy x OC, Sir Crocodile x OC.

Welcome to the big final! Thank you for your likes, comments and love! It was fun to create this story. Maybe not everything turned out the way I wanted but I'm happy I decided to write it.

Words: 5100

Light. Camera. Action :)

Totally reccommend to listen to Real Slow Motion - Imminence before the last chapter. I've beem listetning to that track for the last days for inspiration.

The title is taken from «You've Got the Same Dream as Me» (Sonya Belousova & Giona Ostinelli) (One Piece, Netflix)

Taglist: @gingernut1314

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• Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

The beam of light spread across the entire wall. At some point the wall began to dissolve like a mirage in the desert and the road appeared. 

"I guess this is your Grand Line," Catherine said with a smile. "Maybe that's what was meant by the phrase 'believe your eyes'." There's the sun up ahead. So are we going? I don't know about you, but I'm confused by the word 'death' in the riddle. What if we don't make it out in time and stay here forever?"

“I guess, you’re right,” Buggy said almost silently.

They quickly gathered their belongings and crossed the passageway.

"Well, the third leg hasn't grown, that's good. If we don't get attacked by Horus's minions now, I think we're winners," Catherine laughed nervously. "Give me the map and compass!"

She spread everything out on the sand, lay on the ground with her belly and began to stare at the compass glass.  The green beam pointed clearly to the right. 

"Look, the map is completing the path!" exclaimed Jules. 

"Buggy, you promised to take me to the party. Well then, this has to be the biggest and the funniest party ever. We're in the Sabaody Desert!" 

Everyone looked first at Catherine, then at the coordinates in the diaries.

"So what I was looking at at the bar wasn't a joke or just numbers?" asked Buggy in surprise.

"Nope, those are the very real coordinates!!! We made it! See that beam pointing that way?" Catherine stood closer to him and held the compass up to his eyes. 

"Cathie-pie, I'd take off my captain's hat if I had one. But I have to admit, we wouldn't have gotten this far without you!" He looked at her and smiled broadly.

"Quit with your cute dialogues. Have you forgotten why we're here?" asked Crocodile irritably.  "Just because I helped you doesn't mean we're friends. I think you're misunderstanding a bit. I want the gold." He ran his hook along Catherine's neck.

"Hey, I told you already. Get your hands off her. And the hook, too," Buggy hissed through gritted teeth.

"I got it, I got it. You want the gold. It's over there." She pointed in the direction with her hand. "Judging by the map, we need to go around the wall we're at now and go up a bit. And, if Alabasta's book is to be believed, somewhere in there is the entrance to the cave with your treasure." 

Crocodile lowered his hook. Catherine took a couple steps toward Buggy. "If there's anything in that cave, you owe me the most delicious ice cream in all of Egypt, got it?". He nodded and put a hand on her back. 

They walked along a sandy cliff which was called Enies Lobby according to the book, periodically taking shelter from the sun in the shade. 

“Besides ice cream, you owe me a whole cake. I wish there was an island like this. A Whole Cake island. Wouldn't that be cool?” Catherine asked, panting from the heat. “God, it’s too hot. I’m gonna die here.”

"I won't let you die, my pie. Listen. Can I ask? How'd you get into all this Egyptian stuff? Sister? Longtime love? Or following in your parents' footsteps?" Buggy looked at her with a corner of his eye. 

"What? Oh, no. My mother worked in a bakery and my father was a journalist for a small newspaper. You know, one of those ones that travels out to cover unimportant events. But they made sure my sister and I had a normal life and an education. She went to engineering school, then fell in love with a pilot. As you can see, breaking up with him brought her and me here. As for me.. I went to the ancient literature faculty and found nothing better than being a librarian. But I'm happy with my life. At least I was. What about you? Who are your parents?"

"I don't really remember them, to be honest. Me and.. a former friend of mine.. were raised by another man. But that man died a long time ago, so-- "

"Oh, I'm sorry about the question then. I didn’t want.. you know.. So.. How did Buggy the Genius Jester end up in Cairo? Rika said you had your own circus or something."

"I just wanted to make a change in my life and decided that Egypt was the best place. And I'll be sure to take you to the circus the next time you come here to look for your sister after she breaks up with another guy again,” he cleaned his throat,  “Listen.. Do y–..” 

"Сathie, my sister!" Jules put her arm around Catherine's shoulder. "Promise me, when we get home, you and I will definitely go to the nearest bar and celebrate our returning."

"Get where? Home? Oh, yeah... We'll definitely go and celebrate something. All right, folks, I think we're here.  You see, the map doesn't show anything further”. Catherine tried pointing the compass in different directions. 

They were standing by a large sandy cliff, the top of which overhung the abyss. There were statues made of sand on the walls. 

Crocodile turned to Catherine, "Well, where to now?"

"Wait, let me see the diary and the book. So... So... There's a drawing of an octagon in here. I'm willing to bet my life that this is the key to your treasure. We just need to find where it fits." She approached the statues. 

"You realize that he won't let you or your sister out of here alive once he has a way to the treasure," Laura's quiet voice came from behind Catherine's back. 

"Why are you suddenly concerned about my life? You're the one who dragged me here in the first place."

"I don't know if this is going to sound dumb, but you're kind of a normal person. But I didn't willingly give you the tickets either. Everyone has their reasons for doing the wrong thing, right? Unfortunately, I have one. Anyway.. Sorry. I didn’t want to."

“What?” Catherine turned around, but Laura was already gone. She looked at the wall again, “One more riddle.. People! One more riddle!”

Everyone's father is the sun,

The main way will tell you his son.

Try to go through danger road,

It will lead you to the gold. 

��And?” Rika asked. “Honestly, sometimes I think you're just stalling.”

“Everyone's father is the sun… The god Ra was considered the supreme ruler of the world and the father of all pharaohs. We need to find his symbol or pattern. He is usually depicted with the head of a bird.” 

"They all have heads like that around here!", Jules said indignantly.

"No, there should be a sun above his head.”. 

"There's a similar one to what you described," Buggy beckoned Catherine with his hand. She squatted down next to him.

She whispered, "Listen, Laura came up to me out of the blue. And..."

“News? Updates?” Crocodile hissed and approached them. He placed the hook around Catherine's neck.

"That's the way it is, the beehive. The riddle says the son of the sun will show us the way. And I don't know what the difficulty of the road it says here is, but you know, the Egyptians liked to scare for nothing."

“The son of the sun? What's the point of these words?” Crocodile groaned. 

Catherine walked in circles and tapped her temples with her fingers. “The son of the sun.. The son of the sun.. It's Horus!” 

“What?” Jules squealed.

“Horus. He’s the son of Ra! We need to find his drawing!” Catherine snapped her fingers. 

"And what does this god of Horus of yours look like?" asked Rika

"He has a Falcon's Head... Look for the falcon head."

"Then there he is. On the next wall," Jules pointed her finger at the drawing.

 “Yes! Yes! That's him! That’s Horus! See, his beak is pointing toward the cave passage. Wait! There are lines here. See, it's also repeated in the diary and the book. Which means that Alabasta got to this place. “Where the moon meets the sun”. What does that mean?” Catherine sat down on the sand and rested her hands on her knees.

"Have you noticed that all the riddles are mostly about the sun and light? Could that mean something?" Laura asked, sitting down on the sand. 

"I have a hunch it has to do with the god Ra. He's the sun god and was considered the most important in Egyptian mythology," Catherine rolled over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling of the aisle. 

"And what are those drawings on the ceiling?" Jules pointed her fingers to the obscure side of the lines. 

"Looks like an eye of some sort," Buggy muttered. 

"An eye... An eye. Exactly!" Catherine suddenly jumped up and ran forward.

"Cath?!" Jules shouted in the direction Catherine had run off in.

"This way!!!" came from somewhere in the depths. 

Without wasting a second everyone ran in the direction the voice came from.

"I told you not to do that!" Buggy walked over to Catherine, leaned over and stared intently into her eyes.

"I... well... just..." she mumbled uncertainly. She looked up at the ceiling and pointed to more drawings with her hand. "See? Barely visible lines that look like stars or eyes. They lead somewhere forward. The main way will tell you his son. As I said Horus was the son of Ra. The left eye of Horus symbolizes the Moon and the right eye symbolizes the Sun. Guess where they meet?" 

"Where the treasure lies?" Crocodile and Rika asked in unison. 

“Probably.. According to the book, there's a narrow road ahead, right along this sand wall. Listen, the beehive, can you turn into... well... I don't know... a sand bridge so we can all cross over?"

"You know, when we're done, the first thing I'll do is cut off your long tongue, and then I'll cut off your pretty little sister's tongue too if I have to," Crocodile hissed and ran his hook across Jules' throat. 

"Alright, alright! Please don't touch her!" Catherine's face changed. "She hasn't done anything to you..."

Crocodile turned around and walked forward, pushing Rika up behind him. Catherine glanced at her. Rika laughed evilly and hugged Crocodile. For the first time in a week, Catherine felt uncomfortable.

"Are you okay?" asked Buggy, when Jules came over.

"No, Buggy, I'm not okay. We're out in the middle of nowhere, looking for some treasure for you and that freak. My sister and I will probably get killed either way. And you-- You'll be chopped up into some kind of salad like Cole Slaw, but you won't care because you'll put yourself back together again. And I'll die here. Hey, I’m warning you when I’ll turn into a mummy, I'll come for you. Do you understand?" 

“At least you'll be a cute mummy.."

“Why do you always have to mock me?” She rolled her eyes.

"Come on! Let's find a gold piece for me after all.” he smiled.

They reached a narrow sandy road that ran above the abyss. With each step, the path crumbled a little at a time, making their feet slip. While Crocodile clung to the wall with his hook, the others used small axes. Catherine kept whispering to herself, "I'm not going to die in the fucking cave," and occasionally glanced around to see if Jules was still there. They reached another cave with a huge hole in the rock. The bright sun illuminated the whole space.

Catherine looked up at the ceiling. "See. The lines have converged. And see the large pattern of the eye. It's not just an eye. It's a Wadjet. The Eye of Horus. It symbolizes fire and light and protects everything and everyone. And also known as “All seeing eye". And he's not looking sideways, he's looking down. Who's got the map?” 

Rika handed Catherine the map. She took out the compass and held it up to her eyes. "I don't understand a thing. It's like the green beam is going round and round. We couldn't have got the road wrong. Jules, hold the book, please. Buggy, you hold the diary." 

Catherine began to compare notes. "We're definitely in the right place, but I don't understand. It says there should be some kind of ring or lever. But where is it?"

Rika came up behind her and looked at the compass as well. "You're standing on it."

"What?" 

"You're standing on the lever, move aside!", she pushed Catherine out of her seat.  

“Hey. You could be more gentle.”

They all began to run their hands over the sand, trying to clear the surface. Under the thick layer of sand, a large circular stone ring with an octagon in the center appeared. 

"The octagon!" whispered Catherine.

"Holy mother!" echoed Buggy.

"So it's all true?" said Rika faintly.

"Have we found the treasure?" asked Crocodile.

"Not yet... Crocodile, Buggy, you need to try and pull this thing off. It's obviously got to go up. Again, according to the records...," Catherine flipped through the pages of the book and ran her fingers over the drawings.

Crocodile and Buggy walked around the ring for a long time, then made several unsuccessful attempts to pick it up. 

"Are you sure it goes up this way and not the other way round?" Buggy asked panting.

"Alabasta clearly spells the word 'rise.'" Catherine continued to run her fingers over the lines. 

"I may sound silly now, but have you tried putting that octagon you were talking about on top of the drawing?" came Laura's voice from the corner. Everyone turned around to look at her. Catherine shrugged her shoulders. 

Rika picked up the octagon and put it on the drawing. The five of them stood near the circular stone and drilled it with their eyes. Suddenly there was a creaking sound and the stone slowly began to rise.

"Pinch me somebody!" Catherine whispered softly. "It's like a real adventure movie, isn't it?" 

The stone rose all the way up and stopped, making a heavy sound. They stepped forward to get a closer look at it. 

Catherine gently ran her hand over the surface. "Look. Ankh is painted here too. And more than one. And the eye of the god Ra."

"And what does that mean?" Crocodile asked with a tone like he was already losing patience.

"Well how would I know, I'd have to look at the records."

"I'll give you five minutes," Crocodile slowly approached Jules.

"Okay, okay. Why is it all here?

The last border will fall,

When you shed a few tears on the wall.

If you’re not who is pure of mind,

Then the cave will leave you behind.”  

“I’m losing my patience!” Crocodile hissed.

“Honey, relax, we are so close to the treasure!” Rika suddenly hugged him. “Let that bitch do her work”.

“"We need water! Does anyone have water?" Catherine suddenly ran toward the rock. "See this ankh. This symbol is also considered the key of life. What do we have the key to life? Water! Also in Egyptian mythology, it is believed that all living things were created from the tears of Ra. Life is water. We need to pour water on this stone!"

"I have some," Jules walked over to the stone and poured some water on it. 

A noise was heard in the rock wall. They all walked toward it. 

"There's an octagon symbol here too. I suggest you try to take that key and put it here," Catherine pointed at the rock.

Buggy detached his hand, took the key and handed it to Catherine.

"Give it to me!", yelled Crocodile, abruptly snatching up the octagon. and placing it in a pattern in the wall. 

“One more riddle. Come on! Egyptians, are you guys serious?" Catherine grabbed her head.

“I have no time for this shit and for your riddles! Open the fucking door!” Crocodile yelled pulled out a gun and pointed it at the back of Catherine's head. 

"Yeah! I don't know how to open it just like that. I didn't put up those fucking ancient Egyptian locks. And you pointing that thing at me isn't going to make it go any faster!"

"Listen, clown, your girl is starting to bore me. Maybe I should shoot her in the head?" 

"What?" Buggy interjected, scanning the cave space with his eyes. "Oh, what do I care about her? I'm here for the same thing you are."

Catherine turned in his direction and looked at him with round eyes.

"Don't look at me like that, Cathie-pie, I told you from the beginning I only wanted gold!" 

Rika laughed loudly. "Oh, wow. I guess they lived happily ever after isn't part of the Egyptian myths. Open the fucking door!" She took Jules by the neck and pushed her toward Catherine. "Give her a hand or something!" 

"Yeah, sis. You sure know how to pick your boyfriends," Jules whispered. "I knew he'd trade you for the gold the first chance he got."

She hissed through gritted teeth. "He's not my boyfriend. He's a fucking clown! Listen...

To the east you look around, 

You'll see the sandy ground, 

Be aware it could be a trick,

You should push a small goldbrick.."

“And? There's a small goldbrick next to the key!” Crocodile pointed at the wall. 

“The translation is wrong.” Catherine whispered, checking the diary and the book. “No-no-no-no-no-no! What is the fuck?” 

“What's wrong?” Rika and Crocodile asked in unison. 

“The map's changing!” Catherine shook the map in her hands. 

“How is it changing?” Buggy asked with surprise in his voice.

“Are you fucking kidding with me?” Crocodile put the gun harder against Catherine's temple. 

“What the fuck?! Look! There was a passageway here, now it's gone, and there's a river instead of a road.” Catherine pointed at the map. “I guess someone doesn't want us to go that way.”

“We'll just stick to the plan. You're the smart one. Find me a way.” Buggy suddenly approached Catherine and looked intently into her eyes.

“I hate you. How cou..”. She didin't finish the phrase because he put his finger to her lips.

“I told you. I’m looking for this treasure and some chicken-brained girl and her sister aren't going to stop me.” He kept his eyes on her. 

“I have no time for your bullshit!” Crocodile growled and and started lowering the trigger guard.

Suddenly there was the sound of a gunshot. 

“Honey…” Rika's voice came through.

Catherine and Jules turned their heads and saw that there was blood dripping from Rika's side. She started to fall to the sand. Laura was holding a gun. 

"I told you he wouldn't let you go. Sorry, red-haired girl, I just picked the wrong side once. I played you for time. Run."

"You cunt!" Crocodile walked sharply toward Laura and impaled her with the hook. “I knew you couldn't be trusted.” 

Jules and Catherine's eyes darted around. "What the hell?"

He threw Laura's body to the ground, walked over to Rika. 

"I'm okay," she wheezed, "Luckily that girl missed. I told you a long time ago she was probably messing around with the clown. Where is he, by the way?" 

"Where's your boyfriend?" Crocodile ran up to Catherine, grabbed her by the neck.

"He's not my boyfriend! I have no idea where he is. Twisted off with his tail between his legs." 

“I don't have time for this shit!” Crocodile went back to the wall and pressed the brick with all his might. “Read the fucking diary!”

“I can bet my life that you won’t find your gold without the fucking map! By the way. Hello. The map has changed!” Catherine shouted. 

“Alright. I gave you a choice.” He stabbed Jules in the leg with the hook. 

“Catherine, run!” Jules whispered. 

Catherine hesitated for a few seconds and ran toward the hole in the rock. 

"Well no, come here, you bitch!" Rika, slightly wobbly, darted after her. 

The mountain starts to shake. 

Rika grabbed Catherine’s legs and pulled her to the ground.

"Get off of me!" She tried to fight Rika off. 

"Well no, you trashy bitch. I'm going to finish you myself and then your little sister." Rika pulled Catherine towards her by her legs and the belt of her pants. Catherine noticed the hatchet Rika had dangling from her belt. She tried to reach for it several times, but Rika fought back. On her next attempt Catherine managed to pull the hatchet out of Rika's pants.

"Try chop-chop ability, bitch!" She swung to hit Rika's arm with the axe, but missed. "Damn, I thought this was going to be cool like in the movies!" 

She saw Crocodile trying to open the door, holding Jules up with his foot. The sand began to slump over them. Catherine tried to get up, but Rika grabbed her and pulled Catherine to her. 

A chunk of the floor failed beneath them.

"No!" Crocodile shouted furiously. "My gold!!" 

"Crocodile!!!" Rika shouted with all her might. She and Catherine were hanging from a small handrail that was bending more and more under their weight. The floor was collapsing downward more and more.

"Rika!!!" he turned around in the sand, picked her up and lifted her up.

"Well, of course!" Catherine muttered.

"Have a nice stay. You'll look pretty good among the mummies!". Rika laughed. Crocodile picked her up and they rushed toward the hole in the rock. 

"Juules! Fuck!" Catherine yelled with all her might. The torrent of falling sand was starting to make her hands slip. She looked down. "Jesus, that's a long way to fall!". 

She felt a hand on her brisket. "Jule-e-es!"

"I've got you, sister!" she clutched the syially bleeding wound with one hand, the other trying to hold on to Catherine. "Damn it, promise me you'll go on a diet when we get it back!"  

The floor was crumbling more and more. Suddenly someone pulled Jules back out by the scruff of her necks into the air, tossing her closer to the hole. 

“Fuck! Jules!!”

She tried to pull herself up, but it didn't work. At the same second, she felt hands on her arms.

"Jul... Buggy? You're back?"

"Of course I'm back, Cathie-pie. It's not like I went anywhere."

"I thought you said you only cared about your gold," she muttered as he pulled her out.

"I winked at you!"

"No, you didn't! You told the dumbest lines ever!!"

"Why on earth would I not wink at you and then save you? You were probably so blinded by my beauty that you didn't notice." He pulled her to him for a split second.

"You're unbelievable," she rolled her eyes. 

"We'll discuss all this later. We need to get out of here, because anytime this whole cave is going to go to hell. We need to run as fast as we can forward and jump as fast as possible”

“Ok, Run. Definitely run... What? How do we jump? Where do we jump?

“Cathie-pie, down, it's our only chance to survive.”

“Great, our only chance is to fly into the abyss? Jules! Please! Buggy, take her, please! You know, you can save her using your chop-chop thing. I’ll jump. I promise.” 

“But..”

“We have no time. I’ll be fine!” 

He quisckly run up to Jules. “Well, hello, Catherine’s sister. Let’s fly a little”.  Buggy grabbed her in his arms and they rushed toward the crevice in the rock. 

Catherine just for a second saw him split apart, but then a great wave of sand caused by the collapsing cave obscured visibility.

"Oh, Catherine, amazing. Your second dumbest idea ever! Clear your mind and run. Clear your mind and run!"

The mountain is already falling apart and throwing some pieces up.

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Catherine woke up lying on the ground. She looked around quickly. Neither the cave nor the rock was gone. 

"Jules!!!" she shouted, wiping her eyes from the sand. 

"I'm here, I'm alive!" Catherine saw Jules lying on her back waving at her. "That Crocodile hurt me of course, but I'll live. God, I hope we're not lying on top of him somewhere right now."

"You're such a fool!" Catherine crawled up to her on all fours and hugged her tightly. "Where's Buggy?" 

"I don't know, he left me here, then he rushed in your direction. But then the rock collapsed and I never saw him again."

"Buggy?" they shouted together.

"I'm here!" his voice came from somewhere in the distance. Catherine squinted and saw him walking in their direction, picking himself up piece by piece.

"Thank goodness! You're alive!" She ran to him, stumbling in the sand and hugged him tightly around the neck.

"Oh, my cotton candy, you're going to suffocate me! You alright? Jules, what about you?"

“What? Yes.. I’m fine. By the way, we haven't really been introduced,” she said with a nervous laugh.

“Hah! You’re funny! Buggy the Clown.” he said and made a gesture. 

“No-no, Jules. He's not just a clown. He's “The One and the Only” Buggy the Clown.” Catherine laughed and pressed her forehead to his. 

"Hm.. So... What about the treasure? Lost forever? Along with the book and the compass?” Jules pointed to what was left of the cave.

“I guess..” Catherine replied and pressed her head to Buggy’s chest.

“Oh my God! I just realized what happened... We fell from there... He did it... I'm here... Oh... my goodness holy!" Jules said in a thin voice and started to pass out.

"Juuuuuules?!" 

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Ladies and gentelmen, welcome to Cairo Internatioanl Airport.

"Well, girls. Thank you for your time. It was really fun."

"Thank you, Buggy… but fun? No! Oh, my god, I cannot wait to get home and take a hot bath," Jules said with a sigh. "Nono, I’m definitely done with this shit. This Isn't for me. I'm gonna go home and ask Ethan out. I'll stay home and let him run around the world and solve impossible missions" 

"Sounds like a good plan," Buggy said with a smile. "Cathie, my cotton candy, are you coming? Don't you want to say goodbye to me?"

Buggy glanced at Catherine.

"What? Yeah. Sure. I’m coming," Catherine stood next to the trunk of the car and discreetly wiped away her tears.

Ladies and gentlemen, the flight from Cairo to Loguetown will depart in a half hour. All passengers are invited to board.

"Well…," Buggy said with a slight tremble in his voice and came closer to her, "This information is probably for you."

"I guess.. Yeah," Catherine hugged Buggy around his waist tightly, buried her temple in his chest and closed her eyes as hard as she could. "Thank you… For everything... These days were really fun." 

Buggy chuckled, hugged her,  pulled her closer and started stroking his hand down her back. 

"Catherine, sister. Come on! Hurry up, I don't want to be late," Jules shouted as she stood at the airport door. 

"Fuck… I’m coming!!!" Catherine shouted in annoyance towards Jules. She buried her forehead in Buggy's shoulder, keeping her eyes closed. "Sorry. It didn't work out with those treasures. But I hope, one day you find what you are looking for."

Ladies and gentlemen, the flight from Cairo to Loguetown will depart in 15 minutes. Аll passengers are invited to board.

"Shit, I really have to go now," Catherine hugged him even tightly, rested the top of her head under his chin, her eyes were still closed and she felt the tears begin to treacherously come. "Goodbye, my silly clown."

She grabbed her bag and walked quickly to her sister. 

"Goodbye, my red-haired pie," Buggy whispered softly. 

Boarding completed. 

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The epilogue.

—-3 months later —-

"Are you ready?" he asked her standing next to a car.

"S-sorry, I‘m late again, aren't I?" She popped out of the house to him wearing one sneaker, the other she held in her hand.

"Kind of.. Yeah, but I've gotten used to it in the last three months."

"Ass.. So… our sails are set?" She closed the door, sat down on the steps and began to put on her second sneaker.

"I don't know about the sails, but the tires are definitely ready," he kicked an inflated wheel with his boot. 

"You're my best! Well.. according to the map I was able to get..," she said, approaching him.

"You mean “you were able to steal." he put his hand on her back and kissed her temple.

"Shut up! I had a good teacher!" She put the map on the bonnet and ran her finger over it. "So... we're gonna have to go this way."

"God!" He started laughing.

"What?"

"What have I done in my life to deserve you?" He turned her towards him and looked intently into her eyes. 

"Well, first you pissed me off, and then you saved my life. Plus, you promised me a private jet home, which I didn't get. So I had to stay here to punish you." she said, wrapping her arms around his neck, standing on tiptoe and kissing him on his big red nose and lips. "I love you, my Buggy Bear."

"I love you too, my cotton candy," he replied quietly and kissed her forehead. "But I still think the nickname you gave me is terrible."

"Just deal with it, you have no choice now," she lightly hit him on the nose with her index finger and ran her hand through his loose blue hair. "All in all, we have at least 5-6 days on the road. But, according to the map, we should come across small towns where we can spend our nights and replenish our supplies. And by the way, just for your information, you owe me a romantic dinner. Well, because of you.. we didn't get to finish the one you set up for me a couple days ago," her face turned red. 

“My fault, admit it,” he said against her lips, then took her hand and kissed her wrist. 

"I hate you," she gently pushed him away. “So-o-o… we can go on a new adventure!” She took a couple of steps back and began a little joyful dance. "Wait! Does this treasure have a name? Just so it's not like last time..."

"I've heard people call it the One Piece."

[empty-dream]

I wanna talk about the MV of Frieren 2nd OP song Haru (which surprisingly doesn't mean Spring (春) but Sunny (晴る)) Almost missing out this MV because it's not done with original Frieren AMV just like the first OP. But someone recommended to watch it anyway and I did. And DAMN IT'S SAD. AND HEAVY.

The story itself is pretty straightforward and easy to understand once you finish the entire MV. The fun part comes from the Youtube comments. There are several interesting insights about the MV, the song itself, and the relationship with Frieren series. After digging and crosschecking here and there plus some thinking, few points I'd like to bring up are:

Relation to Sousou no Frieren

This. Enough said.

On more detailed note, 晴れる (Hareru) means to clear up, to stop raining, to be sunny. Himmel in German means heaven. So it's basically turning into "clear heaven/sky"

You know Himmel's presence was so big and brought hope wherever he and his party was. Even in the Demon King era, his heroism and kindness brought light the people's life. Even now, long after he's gone, Frieren keeps meeting people who are directly or indirectly impacted by his actions, even for the smallest things like helping around the village. It was enough to cheer everyone he comes across.

I was thinking of how Serie and Frieren could end up so different despite being the same race as elves with unprecedented talent for magic and similar rather cold distant personality. Perhaps I'll talk in another post about it but for me, I feel like one of the biggest differences is that Frieren got to meet Himmel. Long after Flamme died, Serie is basically still alone at the top despite having more disciples, while Frieren meets Himmel and through him meet the others and then she walks the same path as them. Even after the two people she ever cares about die, Frieren's sky becomes clear as she learns about her own feelings and what should really be treasured in human limited time versus her own limitless one. Or at least that's how I interpret the anime.

The song itself

The lyrics often mention of how beyond the rain pouring down from the clouds, the sky up above is sunny. Beyond pain, there is peace. It's fitting the whole "clear (up the) sky" theme.

I've listened to a few Yorushika's songs before Haru, and while their songs are kinda hit and miss for my taste, I enjoy Haru a lot. And I didn't know that wordplay is Yorushika's specialty. After looking at some of their songs, I found out they like switching kanji of the titles so that the titles hold double meanings.

And honestly, whenever I picture "spring", I always pair it with "clear sky." Even though rains do fall in spring too, I always go with sunny. This whole kanji switch is genius, ngl.

Once I knew that one of the member, n-buna, is a Vocaloid composer, I was like "Huh. No wonder." Sometimes wildest profound lines do come out from Vocaloid songs.

The MV in general

The MV itself is straightfoward. The father is unaware he's dead. The son has been alone all these times. But still, the wish to live in a world of sunny days free of war and loss just like back in the day goes on.

An interesting top comment theorizes the wall here resembles the Western Wall in Jerusalem, while the tree with flowers shown in the last seconds looks like the olive tree. Olive tree means peace and reconciliation. The metaphor "offer an olive branch" means "wanting to end the quarrel and disagreement." Olive branch is present in the emblem of Israel while olive tree is considered as a national symbol for Palestinians. As of this writing I haven't found any official confirmation for those theories. But either way, this is clearly about living in war state-something that is unfortunately ever-present in the world.

I personally think that the release timing, the choice of story and certain elements in it like the wall, the plant and the sea, all make the MV extremely relevant to the genocide and occupation of Gaza now, whether it's actually intentional or not.

The director of the MV, Kohta Morie, tweeted something along the line of 'I present this work to those who did not have the chance to be "sunny."' Incredibly sad, when you think about it.