#i think its funny how full circle we've come

[randomwords247]

Something so funny to me about growing up watching Martyn Inthelittlewood, from his Christmas ADVENTure series's to his skyward sword play through, up until he got into Fortnite and seemed to leave Minecraft behind, around which point a lot of other YouTubers also quit and my WATCHING of Minecraft slowed down a LOT

Only to get into new fandoms as mcyt revived, including hermitcraft and, ohhey the life series! With - MARTYN INTHELITTLEWOOD???

It's so wild and really funny to me. He is back and playing murder games with hermits and others. He made a big chunk of my childhood and he's back to snipe my adulthood too and honestly I am here for it

[carcarrot]

reflecting on when i first got into sparks and my initial reactions were awooga (russ) and i need to study them like bugs (russ and ron)

[bloodgulchblog]

Have you seen that YouTube video where some guy reads every Halo novel back to back and then reviews them? If so what did you think

The Brian David Gilbert one? Oh yeah, all my friends showed me it when it came out. (It was honestly kind of cute seeing how many people thought of me immediately.)

Rewatching it to refresh myself because it's been a couple years and a full-novel reread for me since the last time...

High fiving BDG because the Master Chief parts of The Flood were definitely the most boring parts.

He didn't have anything to say about First Strike which I think is a shame because I think it's better than The Fall of Reach and actually has A Theme I Find Interesting.

Rightful recognition of Contact Harvest as pretty damn good.

Rightful recognition of the Forerunner Trilogy as dense oldschool-style SF with deep worldbuilding. (Also the San'Shyuum thing.)

I disagree with him about, and have significant problems with, Kilo Five. He is correct that Kilo Five actually delves into some of the dark places in Halo in a way it really needed, and I would even say that its writing is extremely engaging by Halo novel standards. However, while he does notice the obvious parallels between what ONI is doing post-war and the kind of shit the CIA has pulled again and again irl, I think he misses some of the subtext I see where it feels like it justifies some shit a liiiiittle too much if you know the author's irl politics re: the military. He also doesn't seem to notice the character assassinations (particularly of Catherine Halsey) that I and a lot of other fans see/object to in those books. I kind of gaze into the middle distance with a haunted expression at the suggestion that these are the ones to read if you don't touch any of the others just because they are, ironically, so heavy-handed and feel like they treat certain kinds of evil as inevitable in a way that actually feels way worse to me than the excuse plot offered by the earlier/lighter Halo novels. (But idk, that's me? Nobody is committing a crime if they disagree with my frenzied insane person red string diagrams about Kilo Five.)

I'd swap Pariah for Dirt in the Evolutions anthology if it were me, but I think these are solid standouts.

Broken Circle is neat but really nonessential he's not wrong.

A one-sentence review of New Blood is probably not enough space to get into how fucked up the Spartan-IV program is, but yeah. New Blood is fun if you don't find Buck's first person narration annoying. (It comes and goes for me in that one.)

BDG you're an absolute sweetheart, I think Hunters in the Dark is kind of goofy in a way I cannot in good conscience ignore if I'm gonna review it. But it really really is so much fun and I love that one a lot anyway. The "it's like Halo 3... 2" observation is solid.

High fiving him again because I also found Last Light disappointing. And it is also a me problem.

Fractures!

Hell yeah these are all good pulls from Fractures, I would say Shadow of Intent is the pick of the litter in that anthology for me. Interesting that as a Kilo Five enjoyer he didn't single out Rossbach's World, which is the last we've heard about Osman and Black Box. (Also, that one is good.) I think Oasis is worth an honorable mention because I'm an Envoy stan, and the Forerunner stories are interesting but I wouldn't go for them if you don't already have a healthy interest in the trilogy.

This tangent is so fucking funny now that we know more things:

Oh BDG, oh buddy, it's really not for the people like you and me huh. (Disclaimer: I have no idea if BDG likes the Halo tv show or not and I have no desire to dig up evidence about it.)

Also, while you're here, this is the bloodgulchblog origin story:

Smoke and Shadow is fun so it's a little sad that when he ends that sentence with "whatever," I can't actually say he's wrong to. (Sorry Rion your part of the lore just.... hasn't... touched anything that touches anything else anymore.)

ENVOY IS GOOD AND EVERYONE SHOULD CARE ABOUT IT okay okay I'm cool I'm normal, anyway. Envoy is the Halo novel that restored my faith in reading Halo novels and reminded me that authors can care and know how to do nuanced, interesting themes in this space. It's great. Everyone in this book has war refugee trauma (except the Spartans which have Spartan trauma) and that's incredible to me. Please care about Envoy if you have spare room in your heart for Halo side characters.

I am cheered to see someone indifferent to the Veta Lopis stories, but I still feel petty for feeling it.

I don't have a lot to say about Legacy of Onyx here but it's always so fun seeing someone else suffer and care.

Bad Blood, the Blood is Bad now is a fun joke but lol yeah. It does have this very vital moment where Chief and Arbiter talk, though. For the first and only time in years.

PROPS FOR NOTICING THE YA NOVELS they're actually pretty nice.

"The Master Chief is the protagonist and boy does he shoot some people" is most of how I feel about Silent Storm and Oblivion too, I know they have their fans but Troy Denning's Chief books don't do much for me personally.

Renegades hadn't had its followup Point of Light yet but yeah, Spark stuff is interesting.

I had to remember that oh yeah, there are multiple books now that didn't exist when this was made. I wonder if he read them?

OKAY I THINK THAT'S ALL I HAD TO SAY as always if y'all want specific book opinions, I might have a tag for them. Or just yell in my ask box, I'm sure I can scrounge up some thoughts.

[tubbytarchia]

You don't have to publish this ask but I just need to vent to someone who might understand, cause like, I'm over here like "I don't like fh or scott sorry, I promise though I won't talk about it or maintag just letting you know so you don't waste time since I know there's overlap between us, also I have a lot of interesting ideas about them still but I won't talk or write about them because I know that would make some of you upset and more than anything else I want everyone here to have a fun time and ship and let ship <3" and these unproblematic only fh fans will turn around and be like "oh so you're homophobic? You're the most annoying person on the planet? You're just trying to start a ship war? You're the problem with fandom" like BITCH?! Never met people so determined to make their actually quite comparatively good and healthy fandom toxic

This is where it stops being funny and actually genuinely really upsets me, is that very few people dare to talk about "toxic" Flower Husbands, let alone maintag it (and they should be able to! Because it's not fucking hate? Its valid discussion and expression of opinion that doesn't attack anyone). A few people have been more vocal about it recently and I've seen more people besides you come forth NOW, because you didn't want to upset anyone or get shittalked etc in the past for holding a different opinion to the overwhelming majority. I know people who've joked "am I just insane? Am I just stupid for seeing something here that everybody else is vehemently against?". There's evidently people who have just shut up because otherwise they'll get burned at stake, or they stay in their own little circles

And then a few too many FH posts that dare even imply any negative qualities about FH from a character standpoint get a little bit seen, and suddenly FH tag is full of 10 people defending their ship's honor because how dare you!! The way these people are so fucking volatile about fuck-all upsets me so much. Like, haha, we've been proven right I guess! You DO get burned at stake. These people probably aren't even bothering to read any such FH interpretations if they even SEE any, and don't just see 5 other posts claiming "oh my god can people just shut up about toxic FH and write characters breaking up for NORMAL reasons" (genuinely baffling concern that I've seen like at least 3 times btw??) that just leads them to believe that this is a wide-spread "problem" that needs neutralizing? They take even the thought of such posts as personal attacks that prohibit them from shipping FH for some reason? Like dude I fucking dig FH? Just for not always the same reasons as the majority but I guess I've sinned and shouldn't be allowed to speak lol. And these people don't HAVE to read interpretations they don't like, goddamn, look past?? Block if it hurts you that much?? As you said, the Tumblr traffic fandom is largely really kind and healthy so I can't fathom where the hell these guys come from. And then they proclaim the people who have largely shut up or kept to themselves "the problem", and that's the exact response that has been feared lmao

sorry. Long answer but fuck. I'm so sorry anon. The Flower Husbands scene is truly miserable if you dare think of them as anything other than cuddly and cute and teasing at most. Your interpretation is invalid because. ? homophobia I guess lmao

[system-of-a-feather]

Honestly, its kinda funny/interesting cause my fiance has finally kind of come to terms that the C-PTSD bus he was hit with in the beginning of 2023 is genuinely crippling enough that he really can't work without it being a huge mental health concern / crisis and that such a limit is really an unfortunately common situation for people with C-PTSD. And honestly? I'm really kind of glad and happy he got there.

Cause my job lets us get by month to month, and with the massive savings nest I've set up due to having C-PTSD in college, we are breaking even most months and even if we don't, we have a comfy net to give us a LONG buffer time before we genuinely have to start worrying. So more than anything, I'm glad he's identifying his limits and starting to work with himself within it after really beating himself up over it for almost a year

And I think that's one of the largest blessing about being a Zen Buddhist is that I am honestly, genuinely, and authentically okay living at a low budget break-even life and not really chasing for any real extravagant savings or anything cause I'm honestly genuinely just happy existing with and around people and things I like.

A younger me would be extremely stressed by not seeing money growing, but I really really genuinely do not care as long as we are making ends meet.

And more than anything, he's started to get back to his loving and caring self rather than the hypervigilant, fixated on self hate stuck point he's been in that has been weighing a lot more than anything else on me as 1) I'm stable enough now that I don't NEED him to be my rock, but for the past like 6 years, he was the mentally stable one that would help ME relax and its been a while since I had notable emotional support from him and 2) I'm just really not the person to go to for empathetic support; advice yes, direction yes, but empathy and sympathy are really taxing for me to try and even when I do, I tend to still miss what is needed

That's all a bit of a ramble but like

It reminded me of when we first started dating, cause back then, one of the first things I let him know about our future together is that I didn't care if he wanted to work or not - and if he wanted to not work and just be a stay at home, I would be MORE than fine with that and he absolutely did not have to work if he didn't want to.

And that stemmed from a lot of things, but largely the way I was raised made money and survival support one of the only love languages I was familiar with paired with the fact that we didn't really see - at least on a subconscious level at the time - that we had much of anything to offer anyone other than our ability to provide and survive. And so when we started dating, we offered the one thing we were better than most people at, which was being "successful" in life. If we were mentally unstable toxic, unloving, assholes - at the VERY least on a practical sense we could be a smart partner.

And over the years of therapy, we really heavily moved away from that sort of mind set and retracted a lot of those offers not on the principle of "we don't want to offer it" but on the principle that it should not be the go to standard and expectation because we don't want our existsence and value as a partner being defined as an exchange of us providing to earn affection.

And while that was never mentioned, it's come around again - a good reason, a genuine reason, and situation that calls for it, and I am once again offering and letting him know that he does not have to work until he is ready and patched himself up some because I can provide enough for us to get by

And rather than it being the premise of our relationship where being a provider is an expectation, its acknowledged as a sign of patience, care, and affection; what it is supposed to be.

It's honestly really kind of a nice full circle and its really nice to see how far we've come with this because I know, just a year or two ago - just any time before we really clicked hard on being Zen Buddhist and Functional Multiplicity, and we would 1) be extremely stressed over money and / or having Major Symptoms and 2) we would not be able to provide our fiance the authentic comfort and support that stems from being authentically okay with the situation because we genuinely are not stressed by this

Like unironically, I'm really just happy he's figuring out a way to get back to himself and engaging again. I know more than most how bad rushing trauma recovery and addressing triggers and getting Back Into Life can be. I'd far rather give him a few months, hell even a year off of working to give him the time and space he needs to let his brain realize he is not in danger living outside of his parent's house than to spend the next 10 years watching him try to force himself to "get over it"

It's hard to learn that the world is safe when you throw yourself into a tank of starved sharks. It's not intuitive, but I'm really glad and proud to see him doing trauma recovery the ACTUALLY efficient and correct way - which is ironically not trying to do it efficiently.

But he's recently realized - what with it being around my birthday and him just getting into a better place - that more than anything, the thing that makes him feel better about himself and his dog shit self esteem is helping us out and making us happy / feel special because it really is the one UNDENIABLE thing he is better than everyone at and that he is undeniably talented at ESPECIALLY since we really really really are not an easy person to navigate with crippling autism and DID.

I dunno, I'm just honestly really glad to see him start to make peace with his condition and work within it cause its a huge step towards recovery. I'm also just really also happy that this situation has really made me realize that I've really largely cut myself out of a lot of the capitalist materialistic hell concept of happiness.

Maybe I'm just being Riku and finding silverlinings in shitty situations, but honestly - I think I kind of might even like this situation. It definitely isn't the long term ideal, but in the short run, I think its a really peaceful place to be in.

[alexipyro]

this is no shade to anyone involved but i think its funny that we've come full circle back to how back in the day you would have to request people to make asks rebloggable by posting a screenshot of the ask and your response. except now we're just screenshotting peoples posts when we decide we're reblogging something regardless of what they want

[stevebabey]

omg!! yes,,, mcu spidey days. kind of dark time for me in the marvel fandom LOL

so funny that we’ve come full circle! both of those URLS ring a bell so I’m sure we’ve been mutuals a lot longer than i had realized!! i had started a sideblog for ST this summer so I thought that was why my main followed you. but it’s so much sweeter to know that you’ve been around longer. (i can’t even process i’ve been on here that long but alas)

i’m so glad i reached out! especially since you had vaguely remembered me from many sunsets ago. it’s sweet when i still have old mutuals to interact with on here !!!

2017 was a good year for me hehehe <3 full circle moment yes!! don't think bout how many years its been since then just look in me eyes 👁️👁️ and think bout how swag it is that we've ended up still following each other this whole time

[jameui]

MOVIE DATE

PAIRING: Hwang Hyunjin x Manager!M!Reader

GENRE: Angst, Fluff

WARNING: Hyunjin being a jerk

SUMMARY: You boyfriend, Hyunjin took you out on a date to watch your favorite movie.

You sighed in exhaustion and as if the world was trying to test you, a fast running bicycle came your way causing you to jump to the side, so fast that you forgot about the takeouts you had in your hands and at a blink of an eye the neatly boxed items fell to the ground, all the food now spilled on the floor with your eyes widening in fear. "Shit!" You yelled out and tried to get back to the restaurant again, but as soon as you got there the line was already long and it'd take you ages to get to the counter to order, again.

You were at your way to your work with your phone squeezed in between your shoulder and ear as you talked to your co-manager on the other line who seemed agitated for your tardiness, while you tried to balance the foods you were made to order. "Yes, sir. I'll make sure that won't happen again." You told the male before the call was cut short when he decided to hang up all of a sudden.

Looking around, you saw a chinese restaurant that had the smallest line, so you went there and bought the food there, even though the orders of the group was not exactly what they wanted for you to buy. You just couldn't go back empty handed.

After a few minutes of walking, you finally arrived at the venue of the fansign event and got there just in time before Stray Kids were called to the stage for their activity to be done, but the moment you got there you saw that the people present were already eating their food away. They noticed your presence entering the room whilst their head turned to look at you. "I... Good morning, everyone." You greeted them. 'Guess their manager got their food delivered.'

You didn't get a reply, except from the group who was more than happy to see that you had food on your hands. "Hyung! Thank God. I was starving." The group's youngest, Jeongin said as he helped you put the foods down on the table. "You're seriously a life saver."

You smiled at him giving him a muttered thanks that earned you a smile from Jeongin. Honestly speaking, Jeongin was the second best person you ever liked in the group, the first being Lee Felix since he was the only person to ever approach you on your first day since he was able to see how much you were so nervous. Felix was also one of the members who taught you korean, the other being Bang Chan. You had always knew the group back then, and now and you were damn thankful that you got the opportunity to be in their circle.

Knowing how young you were to be working for them, they treated you nicely, not because they needed to, rather cause it was in their nature to be caring. Well, at least except one person. You were the closest to Felix who treated you like his personal manager and a friend as well, going out on friendly dates with you to the park, dog cafés, just anywhere Felix would find interesting to visit.

Who's the person that seemed irritated whenever you were around you ask? Why, the one and only visual king, Hwang Hyunjin. He doesn't actually treat you bad, but the way his eyes would always turn dark or displeased when you show up in his line of sight made you feel so small and felt totally unwelcomed. That was then, apparently, since today the male looked a little too quiet and didn't even bother to look at you. Believe me or not that's actually the kindest thing he's done to you.

You would try to go to him to try and talk to him, worried by his silence. You just furrowed your brows and sighed completely aware that no matter how much you try to talk to him he won't even dare to acknowledge you being there for him.

"M/n, are you just gonna stand there? Come and eat." Chan told you, but you just politely declined his offer with the shake of your head before telling him that you had just taken your breakfast and that you were full, more and you feel like your stomach's gonna burst. "Hm, suit yourself, but I'll be leaving mine untouched, so you can eat it when you get hungry, yeah?"

"You're so kind, Chan." You gave him a smile that got Chan smiling also showing his deep dimples that you could just dive in it anytime soon.

"Hey, hey, hey! We've known each other the longest. Why do I still have to call you 'hyung' and M/n doesn't?" Jisung, one of the group's rapper, pouted with folded arms as Chan chuckled before ruffling the kid's hair that Jisung angrily shook off.

"Well, since he's not that spoiled, unlike you." Chan answered Jisung who gasped dramatically. "And he also gained my permission, so—"

"Whenever or not he's around, is he the only person that ever comes into your mind?" That all too familiar voice spoke out, all your heads turning towards the person. He scoffed and stood up with a smirk on his face, probably in disbelief that the whole group was talking to you and always thought about you. "I mean, come on. There's gotta be something else to talk about other than this... person." You felt his eyes look at you while your eyes stared at him with rising anger. "There's sports, other artists, songs, music, so many and you chose to pick him as the topic of your talk."

"Hyunjin, that is very disrespectful." Chan gritted out, but Hyunjin knew better than to listen or to even stop.

"I'm really not, hyung." Hyunjin's smirk grew wider eyeing you with a suspicious look on his eyes. An idea popped in his head as he opened his mouth to talk. "But, if you want to, I could show you how disrespectful I can get." Without any warning, he took the take-out container and bottled drink in his hand and gave you no second to react as he poured all of its contents onto your head with a loud gasp coming out of you. "There. I'll call it a masterpiece even."

"Hwang Hyunjin!" Bang Chan's voice boomed through the whole room a still smirking Hyunjin turning around to face the older male who was fuming with anger. "You—"

"Chan!" You called out to him before things got a little out of hand. For pete's sake their going to just fight because Hyunjin had made a mess of you? You were not even worth the fight. "No. I'm fine. I can just quickly change, that's all. I'll be right back and I better get no reports about you two fighting." You told the two, Chan rolling his eyes.

You got out of the room and ran as fast as you can to the nearest restroom, cleaning yourself as soon as you arrived. Times like this you would immediately bawl your eyes out, but with the constant behavior that Hyunjin showed to you, you grew used to it. Heck, you even sometimes feel that the other boys only act like they liked you being there and when you weren't, they'd stab you behind your back. "Goodness, why won't this get off."

"Need help?" A raspy voice came from the entrance of the restroom, turning your head around to see Felix leaning himself on the door frame with his arms crossed, then untangled them to let his hands rest inside his pockets and stepped inside as you smiled at him. "Do you need more tissue?"

You shook your head at him, your attention back on your stained favorite shirt wiping them clean with the tissues the place's restroom owned. "Nah, there's plenty here. Besides, I'm all dried up now." You said and showed yourself to him, Felix knitting his brows in worry.

He seeped air through his teeth and cocked his head to the side, unsure if you should be wearing that now dirty shirt when you'd be with them during the activity the whole time. "I don't think you should be wearing that."

"Why? It's my favorite sweater." You chuckled half-heartedly.

"Yeah, I know, M/n, but it's dirty. Plus, I think it gets pretty uncomfortable seeing that stain on your shirt and it gets sticky. Yeugh." Felix pretended to barf which got you laughing softly. Felix, though not trying to be funny, whatever he does it always seemed so funny to you.

"Fine, fine. I'll go change, the problem though is that I didn't bring an extra shirt with me today." You told Felix scratching your nape.

"Really? Well, I guess we have to borrow from one of the group's." Felix suggested, but your eyes grew sizes bigger upon hearing that and waved your hands.

"No way, Felix! I have already done enough damage, I can't afford to borrow a shirt from one of the members, or to you even." You told him, but it all fell on deaf ears as Felix refused to listen. "I'm just trouble, Felix. You don't have to worry about me."

Felix hummed with two fingers pinching his chin gently. "Yeah, I don't think so." He took your wrist and started to drag you back to the dressing room. "Come on, I know there's someone willing to let you borrow a shirt." You just sighed, knowing that Felix won't even dare to change his mind when he had already set them on something.

Alas, as you two got there, none of the members even had a spare shirt to let you borrow. They were very willing and even tried to look around if there was anything, but to no avail. Although, there was one last person you didn't ask. "Hyunjin. You were the cause of this mess, you let him borrow your shirt." Felix sternly told the older male who pilled his brows together.

"What?! No way! Are you telling me I'd offer to do something for that guy? No!" Hyunjin retorted making Felix growl.

Felix was so ready to throw punches at the male who didn't seem to be bothered by the situation, but you just put a hand on Felix's shoulder and assured him. "That's alright, Felix. My sweater was thick enough to not get my undershirt wet. Although, I'm grateful for your effort." You smiled at him and sighed.

Just in time, you heard a call from one of your co-manager that the group was already being requested to be at the stage right now. You gave them an encouraging smile as they all did the same. "Alright boys. It's time to go out there and meet millions of your fans."

The group all shouted, excluding Hyunjin, hurray and hurried out to get on stage, you following behind after you were able to discard your sweater, leaving you only on your black t-shirt. You shivered at the cold now that you were left with a thin clothing that wasn't appropriate for the type of weather you were having and not mention that the place was fully air-conditioned.

Your shaking was not too evident, but one of the members, Seungmin, was able to notice it. Feeling pity he made his way to Hyunjin and tried to convince him. "Jinnie, M/n's cold. Please lend him your jacket, at least. He'll get sick if he continues to get exposed to the cold."

"Better for him."

"Hyunjin, please... Besides, you're already wearing thick layers of clothes why not let M/n borrow." Seungmin reasoned out and solemnly knitted his brows to persuade the male, Hyunjin rolling his eyes at his bestfriend and huffed before taking his jacket off of him and handed it over to Seungmin who silently squeaked. "Thanks, Hyunjin." Hyunjin brushed it off with a 'whatever', the younger of the two jogging his way towards you and gave you the jacket he got from Hyunjin. "I noticed your shivering, so I want you to take this jacket and no, you can't say you can't accept it."

You nodded your head at him and took the jacket from his hands. "Thank you, Seungmin."

"My pleasure." He smiled at you with those puppy dog like smile. He skipped back to reunite with his group while you put on the jacket that Seungmin offered you. You were still in thought though how Seungmin was able to convince Hyunjin to let you borrow his jacket. You knew Hyunjin owned the jacket since he wouldn't let them go since the moment you arrived.

You noticed how the jacket was too big for you, since the sleeves of the piece of clothing only let your fingers peek out through the holes while the flaps reached further down your hips, but it totally felt cozy and smelled like... Hyunjin. How do you explain it? You don't even know where to begin. It was him. The reason why you wanted to work with Stray Kids. You didn't want to look like you were some type of stalker, but all you ever wanted was to befriend Hyunjin.

The befriending process didn't go the way you actually thought it would go. Everytime his eyes met yours or you heard his voice you'd get all flustered and so nervous that your tongue always gets tied, the words you want to tell him gets trapped inside your mouth. It all started to be just an admiration towards the slightly older male until your determination to become his friend gradually became an unknown feeling towards Hyunjin, until realizing later that you actually liked the group's rapper, despite all his bad treatment towards you.

Back to reality, you hugged yourself and took in the wonderful scent the artist gave off until one of your co-worker nudged you. "Hey, stop sniffing the clothes. You totally look like a sasaeng."

"W-what? I wasn't sniffing anything." You denied it earning an eye roll. Later, you heard the whole place bursted into shouts of joy and excitement as Stray Kids made their appearance on the stage greeting all their fans inside and outside of the place. They all took their turns taking the mic to express their happiness and gratefulness to their ocean of fans that filled up the whole place.

Soon, the group was seated at a long rectangular table that was a perfect fit letting all the members seat on their respective seats. There were chairs as well settled in front of the table with each settled across a specific member.

You were appointed to keep guard and stand behind Hyunjin, in any case of fans throwing shade at him or any forms of harm or hate towards the member who had just been caught up in a supposed bullying rumor.

The line started to form as people who were present inside the place took their turns to talk to each member and get a sign from them. So far, you could only wonder how paranoid the company was to keep you on guard of Hyunjin when all these people here are Stays and they wouldn't do such thing to throw hate to any members in the group. Right?

The line was still too long to be gone in just minutes making you sigh, hearing your tummy rumble hoping that no one heard that. You now finally regret not eating that noodles that Chan offered you, the hunger finally hitting your system as your tummy continued to grumble. You pursed your lips and forced your eyes closed while you brought your head down in embarrassment. 'Fuck... why now?'

After a short while, the line was starting to get shorter and shorter, you thanking the heavens for the fast passing by of the time. But, the moment you least expected to happen happened. You felt a harsh tap on your legs and another and another after it finally took your attention, getting a little shocked that the action was done by the person who hated you the worst. "Take it before I change my mind." He told you. You complied and bowed at him politely as he tuts his tongue. "Who would even think of going to work on an empty stomach?"

'You... poured it on me?' You thought then shrugging it off before you looked at the treat offered to you by Hyunjin. You wondered what type of bread it was and hesitated, although Hyunjin's back was facing you he was able to sense your hard time on trying to eat what he gave you.

"It's not poisoned, M/n." He whispered as he signed the album that had his photo on it, then looking up at the fan who would like to talk to him.

Their talk wasn't audible to you, but you opened the packaging of the nicely wrapped pastry and bit on it with your body facing the wall so your back was turned against the people to cover yourself while you ate. One of your co-manager did notice your unwanted behavior and stomped his way to you and took the baked good from your hands and threw it to the ground to step on it and crush it good. "What do you think you're doing, L/n?! You're being inappropriate right now." He gritted out to you with a small voice almost like a whisper so no one else would hear you two. You bowed your head subtly before a hand was placed right below your chin as you looked up at him confused. "Spit." He ordered, referring to the food you were chewing.

You nod your head and spit out the food that was in your mouth into his hand while he picked up the wasted food and left, then threw it all at a trash can. "Fuck." You sighed as you held your chest and slowly turned around to face the non-existent line, the group now interacting with their fans.

Just looking at them now, you were able to remember when you were the one who was there seated at the chairs shouting out the name of the person you would call as your bias, which is no other than Kim Seungmin. At least, when you still didn't take the job to be one of the group's manager. Usually, it would only take one manager to manage the group, but why did this group require another one? You questioned yourself. It was all unexplained to you, but all you gotta do was to just be glad that you get to be friends with the people you see as your role models.

"Hyunjin-ah! When did you start trading jackets with your manager?" The question came out as a shout that got everyone laughing, including the group. You were only able to chuckle knowing that it was Seungmin who convinced Hyunjin to let you borrow his jacket.

Hyunjin didn't get to answer the question, when another fan spoke from the crowd that got every fans' attention. "Are rumors true that you don't treat Manager L/n well?"

Chan furrowed his brows and picked up his microphone. "Where did you get this story?" He chuckled trying to make it sound that it wasn't true and just pure bluff. Chan looked at Hyunjin with the face that told Hyunjin that he should start treating you well if he didn't want the netizens to know about his treatment towards you. "Anyways, it's seriously not true."

-----------

A few minutes later and the event was finally finished and the group was bidding their goodbyes to their fans as they started to walk backstage. You waited for them at their waiting room with a handful of bottled waters for the boys to pick up once they get inside. The door soon opened revealing the group with a tense atmosphere following them that got you so confused. "Hey—"

"Hyunjin. If word gets out about your mistreatment to M/n, that would be a serious damage to our image and to M/n as well, 'cause he's obviously in pain because of you!" Chan yelled at the trouble causing male who only rolled his eyes paying no heed to his warning.

"Atleast, I never went too far as to really hurt him physically." Hyunjin deadpanned Chan growling at his response. Your eyes flickered to Hyunjin, then to Chan not knowing what to do in this situation.

"You are seriously being a jerk right now, Hyunjin." Chan fumed in anger while Hyunjin just continued to act deaf and played on his phone. Chan, giving up, sighed and plopped down on his seat. "Ayayay."

They took turns in getting your glances as you thought of a way to calm the atmosphere. You had already been their manager for a over a year now and this was the only time that Hyunjin ever spoke up to Chan and, to top it off, with sass and without the slightest feeling of being bothered. That was the moment you felt like you had enough. You've had enough with all these things. You were tired of yourself to even think that Hyunjin would finally soften up to you and be his friend. You were wrong to even apply for this kind of job. The group wouldn't be fighting if it hadn't been for you appearing in their lives all so suddenly. "Guys... let him do as he pleases. I'll be the one to take of whatever the netizens hear."

Chan raised his eyes up at you with furrowed brows. "What do you plan on doing? Whatever it is don't do it."

You smiled and nodded. "I won't, Chan." You held up the bottles in your hands and turned on a toothy smile. "Water? Anyone?" They all sighed in relief and got their turns in picking their own bottled water, the last one not being picked up by Hyunjin, so you decided to give it to him. You brought the cold drink to his face making him flinch as he looked up at you. "Thank you for the bread, by the way." You told him and giggled. "I've already packed your jacket in your bag." You informed him and patted his back.

The once crazily terrifying atmosphere now turned into a more comfortable one, the one you always would want to see. You didn't know what got you the courage to speak or blurt out whatever you had in your mind, but you looked at Hyunjin and said: "Hyunjin, can I talk to you privately?" Thankfully, their loud voices was able to distract themselves from hearing your request to Hyunjin who sighed and nodded his head. He stood up from his seat and started to move outside of the room. You followed behind closely, feeling intimidated by the month older's tall figure. "Hyunjin..."

"Cut to the chase, M/n. I don't have much time." He told you as you nod your head in understanding and fiddled with your fingers.

"I know, you'd probably like hearing this, but could I have the permission to quit as your group's manager?" You asked him, his forehead creasing that made him pull his brows together. "I was able to notice what the group had become the moment I became your manager—"

"And do you think quitting would change it?" Hyunjin asked you with a raised brow. "If anything, it'd probably—no, it would break their hearts to know that you quitted. If you do so, you're not only quitting as a manager, but as their friend as well."

"And you're able to say that after you purposely tried to have me fired or suspended from work by offering me that bread?" You sarcastically answered, Hyunjin clearing his throat.

"Well... that wasn't my intention. I didn't even know it'd get you fired." Hyunjin replied making you chuckle.

"Yeah..." You replied with a sad smile. "But, I don't wanna be the reason why you and Chan would always fight. Stray Kids is Stray Kids because they're fun and loving, caring. And I don't want to change that by being around the group." Hyunjin never replied anymore and you sighed. "I'm heading back now." You said and as you started to walk back inside, Hyunjin spoke.

"I wish you never entered our life, at all, M/n." He told you that got your heart broken into pieces. Sure, you admitted that he never liked you even just a bit, but him saying it so bluntly to you, it's like he does really mean it and could only care less. You were about to speak when Hyunjin beat you to it. "If so, I wouldn't be able to garner these undeniable feelings I have for you."

You froze. Were you hearing right? You just cleaned your ears this morning, well you do it everyday. Is your ear trying to play with you? "W-what?"

"DAMN! WHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT?!" You gasped with your mouth full of popcorn, your boyfriend, Hyunjin seated beside you at the movie theater. He smiled at you admiring how cute you looked with your shocked expression that was being illuminated by the big screen. "Jinnie! Look, they're gonna kiss! AH!!" As the two actors in the movie was about to kiss, one of the movie's cast bursted out of the door cutting the kiss and earned a few 'oh's and 'I hate you, Chan's. "Chan is such a cock blocker."

"Watch your mouth, babe." Hyunjin told you making you pout.

"It's true, though!" You retorted and Hyunjin could only laugh at your cuteness and honest opinions.

[nikikyuuun]

Hi hi~! Remember me~? I've returned with Nazuna, Hinata and Yuta brainrot again and so I'll request for those three again if you don't mind. I'm a huge sucker for secret admirers and love letters so can I request a s/o who's their friend (that has a crush on them) that sent the boys received a letter every day (separate please). How would they react~? Would they want to try to figure out who sent these? Extra points if the s/o helps any one of them out figure out who the person is XDDDDD

hello again!! idm at all~ it's always nice having more 2wink and ra*bits content floating around here!! this is such a cute prompt... i love the idea of friends to lovers and Also secret admirers so my brain was. Very Full! i hope you enjoy! ♡

❧ hinata, yuta, and nazuna with a secret admirer

content warnings: none

❧ the first time hinata sees a cute little heart-sealed envelope on his classroom desk, you're one of the very first people he tells about it. there's an almost incredulous look in his eyes as he pulls it out of his uniform blazer in the hallway, and with the way he's whispering "who do you possibly think it could be?!" you'd think it was a bigger deal than, well, a love letter.

❧ he's a bit like an excited puppy about it! he gets all eager and excited whenever he sees a new one on his desk, and you're always the first one he reads them with—oh, hey, my secret admirer said they thought i did great in our live the other day! hinata tries piecing things together with you based on little hints in the letters, but mostly ends up going around in circles... his secret admirer is much more secretive than he was expecting!

❧ he probably maybe definitely makes it a mission of sorts to find out who it is—as cool and mysterious he thinks it is, there's also a part of him that really wants to know! he'll try asking around, or keeping watch on his desk, or volunteering to help teachers distribute test results to compare people's handwriting... it's cute how hard he tries, but it's almost funny seeing all his efforts when his little admirer is the one he eats lunch with every day...

❧ he might slink over to you a little dejected, but he's not one to give up—and hinata makes sure to tell you as much! he thinks he had a lead, too... isn't it such a delightful coincidence that the stationary used for each of his little love letters is your favourite colour?

❧ yuta takes a little moment to gape at the letter sitting on his desk. he flips it over once, twice, makes sure that the name written on the back is actually his—then reads it. and then he just about has a heart attack. he's rapid-firing words when he tells you about it later, and when you ask him to slow down and explain, the only words you seem to catch are love letter!

❧ he may be an idol, which comes with its own mountain of fanmail and love letters in itself, but somehow these seem different than those. maybe it's the fact that they're on his school desk and not just forwarded to him from cospro higher-ups? either way, he always perks up a little when he sees a new one sitting there. yuta keeps them all in a little drawer in his room—he likes to read them after long days, and they cheer him right up!

❧ he's not as insistent on finding out who his secret admirer is, though the thought of thanking them would be nice! yuta does try to piece things together on his own, though—and if you agree to help he greatly appreciates it! he likes to lay out all the letters on a table in front of you both as you point out little details in handwriting, or wording, or in the way they sign off each letter. yuta seems so hyperfocused that he doesn't seem to notice how you shift awkwardly when he turns to you and says, "oh, hey, that sounds like something we've talked about before!"

❧ there are some things about this whole situation that are hard to ignore, though—from the way the handwriting on the letters seems so familiar to the way their wording almost matches your way of speaking... yuta can't help the flutter in his chest at that; maybe, if he ever gets the courage, he could thank his secret admirer not just for their letters, but for their company as well.

❧ nazuna will admit he finds it more odd than anything else—a letter just shoved under the foot of his dorm room door? maybe it's one of leo's compositions again, or something for one of natsume's spells? ah, no, it has his name written on the back, and it's got a little heart sticker seal... oh, it's a love letter?

❧ it takes a little while for it to sink in for him, honestly, but once it does and he's read the note top to bottom, front to back, nazuna's quick to fold it up neatly, shove it in a drawer, and tell you about it: you know, something kinda weird happened right after practice earlier... he knows he's not some lovesick highschooler—it's about a year too late for that!—but the thought of it still makes him smile, somehow. it's naturally a bit flustering, but nazuna's quite flattered that someone's thoughtful enough to do something like that for him, even if they're rather shy about it. seeing a new letter under the foot of his door—or very kindly left on his bed by one of his roommates—has honestly become one of the highlights of his day!

❧ while he won't go to quite the same lengths as hinata in trying to figure out his secret admirer's identity, nazuna can't help but be curious about who it is. he tries asking you about it to no avail, and instead tries switching around his schedule to possibly catch them in the act! but lo and behold, every time he stops by his dorm a few minutes early there's always a new letter shoved under the door, and the sound of footsteps running down the hall—but much too far to say where they've went.

❧ even then, nazuna's got some red yarn and a cork board—are you in? there's something about the little doodles on the back of the envelopes that seem familiar, but he can't quite put his finger on it... he thinks he remembers seeing them drawn in the margins of his old notebooks, but by who? nazuna's not quite the best at reading people, he thinks—but he's absolutely positive that he'll get it in no time with you!

[olderthannetfic]

men from the age of time till 2021: only cishet men can write. sometimes cisgay men get a pass, but let's not think about that. bipoc cishet men might not get a pass at all.

men in 2022: can cishet men EVEN write?

we have come a long way...

(jokes aside, I feel like this is one of those moments that truly makes you think. it's hard to feel like you fit in when everyone around you is somehow different from you, when you don't get one or more examples who can guide you on how to be yourself and to create the art you wanna create without having to change a big part of yourself.

it's just hilarious when this comes from cishet men. not because they don't deserve to also have good examples to help them, but because damn. “they have all the fucking examples they want!” is, i think, the first thought most of us queer & femme people have in front of a question like that.

like, how do you think we worked our way up here? we just worked 1000 times as hard to get 1/1000 of the recognition that many cishet men get without hardships. it's kinda funny to me that we've now come full circle, but then again – i think my first reaction had a bit of resentment in it. because damn. even now, fanfic is still considered Just Girly Things, an inferior art that will never be on par with The True Art of Writing. and even in fanfiction, it's so common to see the more typical queer & femme style of fanfic getting insulted, while the dudebro type of fanfic – like, Pokémon adventures fics – rarely if ever get the same heat.

but really, i wonder if anon isn't putting too much thought into the people around him instead of putting more attention into his own writing. read more fanfic that you find incredibile. take notes from said fics, break them apart and note down what worked and why it worked. give yourself a chance to be queer and femme. what IF those fics work exactly because of the experiences and the sensibilities of the people who wrote them? what makes queer readings and interpretations work so well in fanfic, in this fanfic, in this fandom? try to understand how those other writers think and what moves them to create the art that you so enjoy, because that's often what makes great writing great: the mental process that shapes its core.

hope if works out for you!)

--

[purble-turble]

1 1. Baby Red Boy is back! And he immediately left to burn down the town. I'm very happy that you updated the story, thank you. How is everyone going to do damage control? DBK seems clueless, I imagine in the past he just let red boy tire himself out by destroying everything in his way. The equivalent of kicking your kid outside to play unsupervised for hours.

Yes, more Red Boy!! I really wanted to do some more of the Red Boy story, it had been way too long and it left on kind of a cliffhanger of sorts.. Of COURSE Red Boy is going to burn down the town tho haha! He got distracted by nap time and play time for a bit there, since he is just a lil kid, but it was always going to go bad having a little monster like him on the loose. It's definitely not a good idea to fight him, in the start of the comic he did have MK on the ropes, and even Monkey King wasn't able to beat him without the help of Guanyin, so that's not something that they're going to try again. I won't spoil exactly what happens, but I do plan for other characters to show up, though I won't say which ones yet... although I WILL say I'm not going to include Guanyin in the comic at all. Not really interested in including them since they're an actual Buddhist figure and it'd be kinda weird having them in my silly comic about legos :U

As for having a Bitty MK and Red Boy interact, I think that's super cute! I don't have any current plans to draw or write something like that, but I really love the idea of the two of them having adventures and just being adorable together. And yeah no worries about it being shippy, they're babies after all, so they'd just get up to silly, cute shipping stuff. Honestly, it should go without saying that that's the case. In fact, they probably only know about romance by stuff they see from their parents anyway... haha them trying to be in a relationship by mimicking their parents is actually kind of a funny idea that could end up so so terribly. Bitty MK tries to do something nice for his "husband" Red Boy by just copying what he sees his Dadsy do for his other dad Tang, so he, like, makes him noodles or some other food or something. Obviously it's bad because he's not allowed to use the oven, so his noodles are just raw dough. And Red Boy's idea of doing something nice comes from how his own parents court each other, so he uh, goes to burn down a village in MK's name I guess..? And we've come full circle. I guess Red Boy's story always ends up in lots of fire no matter what lol

Anyway, thank you for asking after me too. I'm doing pretty good, things have just been slow because the two fingers I need most for drawing have been having skin issues, something that I am prone to, sadly. It's been going away, though certainly taking its time doing so. But I spent the time in between writing out the script for the next several parts of the Macaque Meets Red Son comic, so I'm excited to work on those too! Maybe I'll do one or two more Red Boys and then work more earnestly on that comic. The story is going to be very fun to share, I just put in a lot of action sequences which are hard to draw because I hate my future self haha! That's ok though, because the show has so much reference I can use that it won't be as hard.

Thanks for this ask, it was very nice to receive :D

[calumxkisses]

Yellow | c.h.

pairing: calum hood x reader

genre: fluff

warnings: none

summary: prince!calum au - you're his yellow and he's yours.

a/n: hi! 'm not really good with au imagines but i hope you'll like it. let me know what you think of this imagine. love you!

this imagine its inspired by the song: yellow

✰ ✰ ✰

“Yellow.” A sudden voice makes you jump. You close the book you’re reading as you place a hand on your chest, feeling your heart beating quickly.

The library is huge, the storm lights barely illuminate the room, making it almost impossible to find your way around and read without the help of candles. The smell of old books is strong, there is a lot of dust on the shelves and feeling small near these high shelves make the perfect atmosphere to be able to take refuge from the outside world, from a world made of rules and confined to the land surrounding the property. Your little refuge, however, is interrupted by the presence of this man and you turn around quickly, trying to hide the smile that forms on your face at the sight of the stranger.

Despite the size of the room, the prince appears to be in full control of everything around him. He is standing in front of the door, several meters separate your figure from his, yet you can see the smile he gives you, his hands hidden behind his back and the fine lines near his eyes that underline his amused expression.

“What?” You ask before placing your hand in front of your mouth and widening your eyes. In your mind, a vivid image of your mother scolds you for your language and reminds you that you are no longer a child and that you must be careful when addressing a prince or any other high-ranking social figure.

“I'm sorry for talking to you like that, sir. I'm afraid I don't understand what your 'yellow' refers to.”

Prince Calum laughs briefly before slowly approaching you.

"We've known each other since we were children, we don't need certain formalities."

“My mother says-” you try to justify yourself, but he cuts you off right away.

“Nobody’s here.” He whispers before standing in front of you, keeping some distance to avoid misunderstanding in case someone enters. If it were up to him, there would be no such distance between you, but rules are rules and he would never want to compromise your image.

You look around to make sure no one is spying on you and, sure you are alone with him, you relax your shoulders and jaw, releasing the sigh you were holding back.

“So, yellow?” You ask, smiling, placing the book on the table to your left while you look at the boy, waiting for an answer.

His curly hair is carefully pulled back and the dark circles under his eyes lead you to imagine him sitting at his desk, with a lighted candle next to him and his gaze on the window in front of him, instead of the pages he is holding with his hand, pages he should study in order to become the man his father wants him to be, but that he will never be.

“It was a difficult choice, I will not lie to you. There are so many colors that remind me of you, the red of the dress you wore at your first dance when you entered society, the purple of the vase you broke when you discovered that you have been promised in marriage to an old man or the blue of water of the stream next to the tree where we always go to sit under it. And there are a thousand other colors that I associate to you.”

You smile proudly to hear that he paid attention to every detail and remember how as a child he couldn't even memorize the poems the teachers taught him and the thousand fights you had when you tried in vain to help him learn each verse.

“When I think of you, however, I think back to when you collected Ranunculus repens and put them in your hair, to embellish your hair and feel like the princesses who came to visit us. You always did it and you always took a few more so, when it rained and we couldn't go out, you had your little escort and you could wear them even inside these walls. You always have and if I'm not wrong-”

Calum slowly reaches out his arm towards you, his hand brushes your neck causing you to shiver all over your body, before moving a strand of hair and grabbing something from behind your ear.

“You still wear them.” He whispers, bringing his hand in front of your eyes and showing the small yellow flower you were wearing until a few seconds before.

“They still make me feel like a princess from one of those fairy worlds I read books about.” You whisper, you look down as a sense of shame takes hold in your body. Your heart seems to feel pain as you think back to how you still feel as a child, how you still dream of those fairy tales you hoped you could live one day.

“You're a princess with or without those flowers on, you know it too, you just hope that others see you as you do, too special for a life you don't want to be part of.” He says bringing his fingers under your chin and lifting your face up. His gaze no longer conveys joy and his tone is harsh, an angry expression has taken place on his face.

“Calum..” You try to stop him from speaking that truth you don't want to hear, but his words have broken through your heart and the pain you seemed to feel, now you are definitely feeling. You take a step back, trying to get away from a situation you can't escape from.

“You don't have to do it, you don't have to stay and spend the rest of your life between false smiles and sleepless nights. Your sister will be queen and my father thinks I'm a failure since I was born. Let's run away, me and you. My cottage already has everything we need and I'm sure they will never come looking for us. We will live that fairy tale we imagined for us and we will have the life we ​​always wanted.”

His hand grabs yours and his gaze is on you. You know he's not lying, he told you the love he feels towards you in the dungeons of this same castle and you haven't thought twice before confessing your love to him.

But this castle, these people, is all you have always known.

It’s a world that doesn't belong to you but you can't just leave. There are rules, responsibilities, tasks that you cannot escape.

“It's not that easy, Calum.”

“No, it's not, it's not easy and it won't be. We'll probably end up arguing and you'll regret running away with me. But then you'll think back to all these tight corsets you had to wear, all the formalities you had to comply with and the man you would hold if you have stayed and you will understand that country life is so much better than a life spent in sadness and that that terrible man who made you cry actually loves you madly and just wants what he knows it’s better for you.”

He also grabs the other hand and continues.

“And if you really want to go back, I will be ready to be looked at with scandal by everyone and to take you back to the castle, to face your father and see you held by arms that are not mine.”

You know that it will be hard, but you have never wanted to be a queen. It’s a big responsibility for a girl that just wants to live a fairy tale, that wants to be free in her own terms. You never wanted a kingdom, you never wanted to be property of some old man and certainly you never wanted to spend your existence submitted to someone else’s orders.

You just wanted to be happy, to live your life to the fullest, to love a man who respected you, your dreams, your independence and your passion for flowers and books.

And maybe house cleaning, mud and small rooms will never be like having silk sheets, breakfast prepared by someone else and the floor always clean, but they certainly convey a sense of greater happiness and a life spent in misery and in sadness it’s the dream of those who do not want to fight for what they dream of and are satisfied with mediocrity.

And you don't deserve mediocrity and the guy in front of you knows it well, he sees it in the way you feel uncomfortable during the dances, when your father talks to you about matters you can never take care of because you’re a woman and in the look that you give to your mother when she talks about her marriage, that is only political and not based on love.

You turn to your right, a huge gold mirror near the window reflects the library, the place where you grew up and where you have taken refuge millions of times. You look in the mirror, the diamond earrings reflect the gray of the sky and are too heavy for your ears. Your dress is gorgeous, hand-sewn by the best tailors, yet you don't feel as beautiful as when you wear old, unfashionable clothes and run free for the castle hills, without the fear of getting dirty or ruining expensive dresses.

Your eyes, pupils who love to look at the horizon, are sad, aware that by staying they will not be able to see any wonder. You touch your face, slowly run your hands over your cheeks, over your lips and run your finger over the bridge of your nose, remembering when you were just a little girl and were treated like a normal girl, a girl that loved when her father played with her and touched her nose while making funny noises with his mouth.

Then you look outside. The sky is full of dark clouds, the rain falls incessantly and a few lightning illuminate the afternoon sky. You look at that garden you have walked a thousand times, at all the flowers you have collected and at all the plants you have destroyed while playing with Calum.

You close your eyes thinking about all the places you haven't visited, all the trees you haven't leaned on to read and all the rivers you haven't seen flowing. There is a world out there, you think, that has yet to be discovered. And who are you, if not a woman ready for life's adventures?

“You didn't ask me.” You whisper.

“What?” Calum asks, confused.

“You didn't ask me which color reminds me of you.” You repeat as you slowly turn around to look at him.

A huge smile forms on his face.

“What color do you think when you think of me?”

“When I was ten, one night, I decided to explore the dungeons alone. I wanted to prove to myself that I was able to do anything. I almost made it, I almost managed to face the monster we thought lived in the cells, but then it was all too dark and I ended up going back to my room crying.” You slowly approach him.

“The next night, you showed up in my room with a jar full of fireflies, you gave it to me and whispered "You can do it." I ended up walking through the dungeons with this jar in my hand, you were a few meters behind me to make sure nothing happened to me, but I always knew you were there, even if you tried to hide.”

“I was able to face one of my biggest fears that night. Whatever other problem happened, you were always ready to help me if I needed it, you always supported me, with advice or simply by being close to me, a few steps back to let me free. You were essential in making me grow, while remaining away. Like the stars, who guide the sailors from the sky, they let the sailors do what they believe is right, but they are there to help and guide them if they need it.”

You bring your lips to his ear and whisper: “At midnight, in our place. Don't be late and take the blue carriage, it makes less noise on the street.” You turn around and walk to your room to pack a small bag with all the essentials.

“Wait, you didn't answer my question!” He says turning towards the direction you went.

“You are my yellow, Calum.” You say, you are far away but you know he’s smiling and you smile too.

[loudestcloud]

After a long brake from this saga, it returns for her birthday! However, I should start this by saying the obvious fact that I don't like they way Nami and women in general are drawn, I really wish the mangaka had a middle ground between the 'If I sneeze I'll snap in half sexy girls' and the 'i will crush you in my fat rolls ugly girls' types but here we are and this is what we've got. As a result, most of my connects would usual be how I wish she her skirts would be longer n such but I'm not gonna do that because I don't want it to get in the way of the actual content in the post. Let's go: NAMI!!

'First appearance': it's not the first at all, idk what to call it tho, it's her 3rd. it's just the one in We are so technically counts. It's probably the nostalgia, but I love this look. I can't place why but I'm not even mad at the weird stripe lengths design, it's just cute to me. The sleeves are short but long enough to hide her tattoo and I adore her skirt too like the dark orange parts remind me of blood oranges!

Baratie, Loguetown, Little Garden, first Arabasta outfit, (& Long Ring Long Land) Post-Arabasta & Post-Enies Lobby: This was probably a common or local brand for her cos she's rocking that skirt in all different colors 👌 Also, I just wanna start by saying, all her t shirts actually go past her hips? So her skirts would actually be longer than they look cos she's actually draw quite strange when in tops. Anyway, shes starting off strong with this nice pink top n I like the nice shade with the white. Then, a dark blue for the first and only time ever for Nami to pick out. I personally think lighter colors are nicer for her tho. Bringing us to this BEAUTIFUL baseball jersey with purple sleves, get it bitch oml! 😘 I don't think that skirt matches very well but it's still cute. Then, she tries stripes and I think it works out well and I think the 3/4 length look is good for her too so that one is nice. The diamond pattern tank top is actually one of my favourite Pre-Skip looks just because it's so well matched with the skirt. You can't see in the picture but the dot inside the circle is the same yellow as her top so it's just very well done, definitely an actual set. And the lace? Amazing. I hate the feel of lace myself but it looks amazing.

Baratie, Drum Island, Post-Arabasta, Long Ring Long Land Whisky Peak, Post-War, Punk Hazard: Now, I don't actually have much to say about these, I just think they are worth mentioning.i like Nami in shirts with text, I always spend way too long trying to read em lol. Anyway, I like the Drum Island shirt & Punk Hazard shorts because ✨ stripes ✨

Water 7 & Enies Lobby: Nami's first dress! And also a new skirt! I like this frilly style more, I wish it stayed around tbh but oh well. Water 7 gives us the iconic blue shirt & tie with matching shoes and it's a blessing really. Then, Enies Lobby gave us the strange Denim outfit that Paulie hated with all his mind 🤣 At the time,I thought it was a cool outfit. It's not bad, the too looks a bit armour so it's go that going for it and that jacket slaps in my opinion. I like long sleeves on cropped jackets.

Thriller Bark: Pink! When I saw the first outfit, I thought something super bad was going to happen because it looked fancy and that anime for 'time to die'. Lucky for her, nothing happened at all apart for her just looking really grown up. I like her hair too, super cute. In the next fit, it's a total flip, quite punk. Her belt is a nice contrast from her skirt and I LOVE her top! Her party outfit looks like an itchy lace and the straps, while I live frills, look very irritating. It looks cute but I could never wear it myself. Lastly for this set is one of my all time favourites for Nami because she gets to wear a necklace! It's very small and hard to see but I think it's amazingly cute. This combination of her hair being down again, a nice pokadot shirt, full length jeans and a big smile from making a friend makes it all the best.

Sabaody Archipelago & Levely: As with the 3rd outfit set, I just think these are neat. She's rockin' a different necklace, shorts and a 90s style flower top then in Levely she's chillin' in a simple puff sleeve shirt with hearts a cross the chest. Simple looks, very effective

Fish-Man Island, Punk Hazard & Dressrosa: Fish-man island comin' in hot with the iconic Timeskip look and belt! This, I much prefer the Crimin bra because it's simple plus her hair is up really cutesy. Also it's funny cos that would have been expensive for she didn't steal all the outfits she did. Looks wise, Punk Hazard is my favourite but I really dislike that it doesn't cover the bottom of her boobs and its not really supportive. I think it's my favourite because it reminds me of Frankys vibes. Dressrosa's is also really cute but once again looks like the frills would tickle a bit. Also I like her shorts.

Zou: A DRESS! not only that but it's Purple, a color she's not worn before more than as sleeves years back. It's an interesting dress style, very lacy and would brake easy but it's VERY nice to look at. Her next looks bring back the ruffley frills and basic shirts. The half button shirt has her 2nd number on it and the colour matches her skirt! I like the purple coming back in her next skirt but what I like way more is her last Zou look. It's a nice halter neck with black lace trim then to make it better, her skirt is a wonderful shade of red that has an adjustable rope belt with little gold buttons on! I just- 🥰

Whole Cake Island & Wano: everyone's lord and fashion savour, WHOLE CAKE!!! I mean look at how cute she is in that first one! That fairytale aesthetic really owns my ass at this point! Then it's a total shift with that more mature sexy style red turtleneck dress no sleeves? The side by side vibes are 😘👌 love em! Plus, this arc gave us more purple AND 2 box neckline dresses which I think with Nami they really work. The forts Wano ouyfit is only here cos blue really works for her. It look okay but I don't think they are as nice as most people do. Idk what it is about it, I think it's just too square. The 2nd is nicer to my eyes, idk

And lastly, I just wanted to Shout out the First eps and the Dead End Adventure outfit cos it looks like Vector from Despicable me:

This post was made listening to 'One Piece vibes' by Kato & rewatching One Piece

Sanji

Luffy

Zoro

[caranfindel]

Recap/review 14.04: “Mint Condition “

THEN: Michael's gone. Supposedly. Dean feels bad. Ghosts are a thing. Salt circles. Monster Kaia's magic spear.

NOW: A comic book/collectibles store. The camera pans over a variety of figurines and memorabilia, including a poster for the movie Hell Hazers, which you may remember from Hollywood Babylon, (thank you, Continuity Fairy!) and briefly pauses on a poster for the movie All Saints' Day before showing a television. Someone's watching Shocker TV, showing scary movies "24 hours a day, all week long." We see clips from Route 666 and that movie they were filming in Hollywood Babylon, whose name escapes me, as well as from a movie we will eventually find out is All Saint's Day. Cut to a guy unpacking a box of collectibles under the watchful eye of a long-haired freak right out of All Saints' Day. I keep waiting for this guy to realize he's being watched, but I am the one who eventually comes to a realization - that's not a guy, it's a statue.

The guy unpacks a box and literally drops it in shock. Because it's haunted, right? No, it's just a Thundercats collectible figure Panthro, in its original box. (No one in my house knows anything about Thundercats, but I assume this is a real character.) He stuffs the box in a backpack, and then his phone rings. The incoming call is a video call, which is weird, because people this age don't even call each other, let alone via video, but it makes for better television, so we'll let it go.

The caller is a girl named Sam, who is apparently his boss. She immediately starts berating the guy for his bad customer service, which resulted in a negative Yelp review. He promises to do better and confirms that she's coming over for game night. Stewart picks up his bag and a set of keys on a Batman keyring and locks up the store, under the watchful eye of the creepy statue.

(Boy, this is a lot of recap before we even get to the title card...)

We see Stewart at his house, arguing with a pizza delivery place. Panthro is sitting on a table and he turns and looks at him. It's surprisingly well done, BTW. Stewart turns to see Panthro on the floor, gets closer, watches Panthro swing his mace, and then screams.

Title card!

Bunker. Dean's lying on his bed, eating pizza and watching Hatchet Man: All Saints' Day, which is a gloriously cheesy salute to the 80s. Well, I'm glad he finally got a TV in his room, but does this mean the Fortress of Deanitude is no more? Is it full of refugee hunters now? Aw, that's sad.

{Sidebar: I wonder if this movie is called All Saints' Day because they knew the episode would be shown on All Saints' Day, and were being meta/clever? Or is it just supposed to be a riff on the Halloween franchise?}

Sam comes in and asks what he's doing, and when Dean looks up, he's shocked to see the Beard of Despair is gone. "Why are you so surprised?" Sam says. "Obviously, judging from my glorious scruff, it's been a few days since I shaved. Have you really not seen me in a day or two?" (No, he doesn't really say that.) But Dean says "it's so smooth; it's like a dolphin's belly." And it's not. It's really not. And as much as I love the scruff - which is quite a bit - I'd also like to see Sam's pretty face smooth as a dolphin's belly sometime. Just sayin'.

Sam (still) wonders if Dean's okay, since he hasn't really come out of his room in a week, which I guess explains how he missed the Big Shave. Dean expositions that Cas is "showing Jack the ropes," because if Jack wants to learn how to be a hunter, there's no better teacher than Cas, right? Absolutely no one. And with Monster!Kaia and Michael "in the wind," and his home full of strangers, Dean apparently figures he's got nothing better to do than hole up in his room watching Hatchet Man movies. (Is Hatchet Man the franchise, and All Saints' Day just one of the titles? I'm having trouble getting a grip on this.)

He knows Sam doesn't get it, because Sam doesn't even like scary movies. "Our life is a scary movie," Sam points out. And speaking of which, he's found a case. He shows Dean a YouTube video of a bloodied Stewart describing his Panthro attack, and I wish I could take credit for this catch, but I saw it on Tumblr... look at the left side of the screen. The "Recommended for You" videos are about zombies, a conspiracy theory, and how to clean your sink, which are all very interesting, but look at the "Up Next" video.

IT'S A FUNNY CAT VIDEO. HAS SAM BEEN WATCHING FUNNY CAT VIDEOS?

Oh, Sammy knows just what he's doing, and I love him for it. He's all, we don't have to take this case involving KILLER THUNDERCAT TOYS if you're not interested, but he's got Dean exactly where he wants him.

His smug little face at the end of this scene gives me life.

Guys, I was so ready for this. A MotW, and Sam giving Dean a hunt he knows he'll enjoy just to help him kick his Michael blues... This is the show I'm here for!

The guys show up at the comic book store dressed like absolute dorks, in short-sleeved shirts and ties. Sam has a pocket protector. I don't know why. But it's single-layer Winchesters and I'm gonna embrace it. Looks like this episode is happening on Halloween and not on All Saints' Day, because they're accosted by costumed children outside the store. Dean comments that Sam still isn't a fan of Halloween (which we've known ever since the pilot; thanks again to the Continuity Fairy). Sam confirms.

Apparently this red mask is a character Jensen voiced in an animation? And of course Jared was in House of Wax. Pretty deep meta here, Show.

BossLady!Sam is there, wearing a red plaid shirt, and Dean comments that she's like Sam's twin. "I don't know what you're talking about," Sam says, as he and BossLady!Sam tuck their hair behind their ears in sync, and I die.

That’s me, in a puddle on the floor.

“Soft, delicate features," Dean points out. "Luxurious hair. She's like your Wonder Twin." All of this is true, Dean, and good on you for noticing that your brother has soft, delicate features and luxurious hair. Sam notices a guy stocking the shelves - black All Saints' Day t-shirt, shortish spiky hair, lollipop just like the one Dean snagged at the door - and says "if that's me, then that's you over there."

Dean's distracted (and delighted) by the Hatchet Man statue, giving him the name David Yaeger. {Sidebar: did you know the word jager means hunter in German?} His doppelganger encourages him to push a button that plays his catch phrases from the movie, including "we all do bad things sometimes." Which is, like Dean's motto. Dean's joy is infectious and adorable.

BossLady!Sam finishes her business with the police and asks what she can do to help the guys, offering "Funko Pops, Magic cards," and given the number of Supernatural Funko Pops decorating my office, I'm pleased with that shout-out. Sam asks about Stewart as Dean asks about vintage Hot Wheels, and Dean, I am very sad to inform you that Hot Wheels apparently never made a 1967 Chevy Impala.

The guys introduce themselves as Ian Gillan and Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple, The Husband points out) from Campbell and Sons Insurance (hee!), wanting to speak to Stewart. Presumably not about Hot Wheels, unless he got run over by one. They'd gone to his place, but his roommate said he moved out. Or got kicked out. BossLady!Sam explains that Stewart is an "acquired taste" who makes a lot of online enemies, and he can be found at his mom's house.

I still don't understand why the guys are dressed like nerds. Is it a Halloween costume? Because we've seen them as insurance agents before, and they were wearing regular suits.

Mom's house. Mom puts a couple of mugs on the table - one is a superhero (Flash, maybe?) and one is decorated with cats - and announces that Stewie will be up in just a minute. Dean reaches for the superhero mug, even though it was placed in front of Sam, but the joke's on you, Dean, because we now know Sam likes cats! But more importantly, Dean has added a pair of black Clark Kent eyeglasses to his getup. WHY? I mean, it's hilarious, but WHY?

I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON HERE.

We hear Stewart pitching a fit in the basement. He stomps upstairs and sees the Winchesters, and I know the guy in the store was supposed to be Dean's avatar, but this guy is wearing a RED SHIRT WITH A SQUIRREL ON IT. COME ON .

Truly a Red Shirt of Bad Decisions.

We learn that Sam is aware of Fortnight, and Dean notices the smell of burning sage. Stewart explains that he dated a goth chick who told him it would bring good luck, but he broke up before they could "merl." Dean's as confused as I am about "merl," but Sam explains it's MIRL - Meet In Real Life. Dean asks how he knows what that means, and Sam very quickly changes the subject. And this opens up all sorts of interesting possibilities, doesn't it, regarding Sam's online activities and his knowledge of MIRLing, and that would certainly be an entertaining rabbit hole to go down, and I hope some of y'all indulge in that, fic-wise or meta-wise or whatever. I look forward to reading it.

Anyway. Sam asks about the Panthro attack, and Stewart jumps in to say he made it up. When Dean presses, he gets mad and kicks them out of the house and then we cut to an exterior shot and WHAT THE FUCK? NOW DEAN HAS A TACKY CHECKERED BLAZER? It's like he's slowly turning into Matt Foley from SNL. At some point in this episode he's got to say something about living in a van down by the river.

Dean refers to Stewart as "Big Bang," which reminds me that I meant to ask, when we first learned his name, if he was a shout-out to Stewart the comic book store owner on Big Bang Theory. {Sidebar: Would this be a reciprocal shout-out, since that show has a character named Kripke? Is there a connection I don't know about?} Given Stewart's Wiccan girlfriend, they think the toy might have been under a spell, and they decide to check the house for hex bags later. Although I don't know how she would have left any in the house, since they never MIRLed.

Later. The guys are sitting in the car, still outside Stewart's house, when a little lumberjack and vampire walk by. Look, it’s Dean and Benny!

Sam’s instructing someone to use lamb's blood and "stay safe," because he's still Chief, Dean, whether you like it or not. Dean asks "seriously, what is your deal with Halloween," and "don't give me that 'every day is Halloween for us' crap." It's kind of odd that he doesn't already know. I mean, we already know. His life is Halloween. And his mother died two days after Halloween. {Sidebar: Is it just headcanon, fueled by fanfic, that John got blind stupid drunk every year around the anniversary of Mary's death? Or is that canon?} The conversation is interrupted when Stewart's mom leaves the house, and the guys have to duck - toward each other - to avoid being seen. It's ridiculous and hilarious and I love it.

Dean could have just taken off the Clark Kent glasses.

Sam suspects Stewart changed his story because he's being brutally mocked online. And he won't say the word bitch. Is this something we can't do now that we're airing at an earlier hour, Show? Then Stewart comes out of the house, bloody and screaming for help. Dean goes inside, gun drawn, and follows a trail of blood to Stewart's man cave (um, boy cave?). As he gazes at a Texas Chainsaw Massacre poster, he hears a chain saw, which hurtles into the room and barely misses his pretty head.

Hospital. Stewart's mom, still in costume, sits at his side and thanks the guys for saving his life. She wants to go home and get his favorite pillow, but they convince her to stay. "Everything's fine," Dean tells her. "Everything is not fine," he says to Sam, as they leave the room. He says he swept the room for hex bags and found nothing, but the EMF went crazy. So it's a ghost. Hey, guys, you should have watched the "Then." We already knew that. Dean is going to stay at the hospital and keep Mom from going back to the house, while Sam asks around to see if anybody "got dead lately."

At the house, Sam finds the light switch in the Den of Stewartitude doesn't work, even though a lamp and computer monitors are turned on in the room. He laughs at himself for being startled by the Panthro toy and says "nice, Sam, smooth," and for some reason this just almost makes my heart burst open. The toy isn't putting off EMF now, which he finds odd. Then he looks at one of the monitors and sees a group photo of Stewart, LadyBoss!Sam, Dean's doppelganger, and an older man.

Back at the hospital, Dean's doppelganger is standing outside Stewart's darkened room. He is wearing an army green canvas jacket and has acquired some scruff of his own and he's just such a precious little mini Dean; I can't stand it. He asks what Dean's doing there, and Dean says he's just keeping an eye on Stewart. "He must have awesome insurance," Doppelganger says. Which is very funny, and also very Dean, because he says "awesome" so much. I love it.

Dirk explains that Stewart is a jerk, but he's his best friend, and he's there when Dirk needs him. They eat pizza and watch movies and who else does that, my friends? You know who. Then the guys bond over their love of scary movies, and it looks like the franchise is actually called All Saints' Day. I'm sure you were really dying to know. Stewart comments that no hospital would ever be that empty, and Dean says he's been to a lot of hospitals at night, and "trust me, it gets pretty empty," and at first that's just heartbreaking because I figure he was at these hospitals because John or Sam were injured. But maybe he's just thinking about hunts in hospitals. (Again, I need to differentiate fic-fueled headcanon from actual canon.) And then Dean says he likes to watch movies "where I know the bad guy's gonna lose" and yep, my heart is definitely broken.

Sam shows up at the store and asks BossLady!Sam if anyone close to Stewart has died lately. She explains that Jordan, who used to own the store, was kind of a Willy Wonka to her, Stewart, and Dirk (Aha! His name is Dirk! Which is close to Dean, and hasn't Dean actually been called Dirk before?). He died and left the store to BossLady!Sam and Dirk. Not Stewart, because he fired him twice for stealing. But she hired him back because he's a friend. It seems like Stewart has better friends than he deserves. She tells Sam that Jordan was cremated, and then we see something frosting over behind her.

Sam is adorable, trying to look casual as he pulls out his EMF meter and it lights up like a Christmas tree. He tells her it's a carbon monoxide detector and she needs to leave. He starts to tell her she's in danger, and then the David Yeager statue smacks him into the comic book display and knocks him out cold. Even though he hits it with his back. (Handwave!)

When he wakes up, BossLady!Sam is terrified but unhurt. She gets a quick version of the "monsters are real" speech and finds that the door is locked, and Hatchet Man took the keys. He throws something at the door, but it's shatterproof glass. Apparently Jordan was serious about thieves, which explains why he's so keen on killing Stewart, that Panthro-stealing little asshole.

He calls Dean, who's fanboying with Dirk about horror movies, and tells him it's Jordan's ghost. And the David Yaeger figure is on its way. Dean can hardly believe his luck. He pours a ring of salt around Stewart's bed, having given him the speech, and orders him to stay in it. Boy, it's a good thing they reminded us what salt is for in the "Then," or else we'd be really confused right now.

Store. BossLady!Sam figured out what I did, that Jordan wants to kill Stewart because he's a thief. She says she's been taking money out of his check to pay for what he steals, but Jordan wouldn't know that. Sam breaks his lockpick, and then asks if they have any cleaning supplies.

Hospital. Ghost stuff starts happening in Stewart's room, and Dirk panics and flees. Dean takes a hatchet out of a fire emergency box, even though I think that would probably set off a fire alarm. (Handwave!) Dirk's mom is carrying a tray of food from the cafeteria and comes across the Yaeger figure. She drops her tray and screams, just like the woman in the movie. Dirk shows up and puts on a stern face and tells Jordan that if he's going to kill his friend, he has to go through him. Oh Dirk, you sweet little thing, you're channeling Dean so hard now and I adore you. Jordan does come for Dirk, who says "crap" and runs off. There's a funny sequence where we cut back and forth between Dirk and some hospital guards who are watching All Saints' Day and ignoring the actual mayhem happening on their monitors.

Meanwhile, Sam is mixing drain cleaner and something else in a Scooby Doo lunchbox. {Sidebar: I'm not a Scooby Doo fan, but I love the show's constant references to it and the way the Continuity Fairy always remembers Dean's a fan.} BossLady!Sam asks how he learned to do this, and he says "I had a messed up childhood." It's funny because it's true. He hangs the lunchbox bomb on the door and they hide behind the desk. After it blows the door open, they both slowly peek over the desk and simultaneously say "cool." I'm starting to love Sam and his little doppelganger too.

Hospital. Dirk hides in the morgue (no, Dirk, never in the morgue!) and gets a scary hand on his shoulder, but it's Dean. Then a body on one of the gurneys sits up. Yeah, it's Yaeger.

At this point there's a fake movie promo for All Saints' Day III: The Reckoning. It starts out "Three Years Ago," which reminds me very much of a certain scene that starts out "Twenty two years ago." Looks like David Yaeger was killed in a fire on October 31, 1983, which is two days before Mary Winchester dies in a fire. Oh, you clever, clever show.

Back to the show. Dean gleefully fights the Yaeger figure. At least he's gleeful until it seems he's not doing very well. Sam and BossLady!Sam show up, and she's wearing Jared's coat from the EW Halloween photoshoot last year.

Bless you, Show.

She figures out that Jordan must be attached to the Batman keychain. Meanwhile, Dean is cornered, and about to get axed, when precious little badass Dirk stabs Jordan in the back. It doesn't kill him, of course, but it gives Dean a chance to get up and start losing the fight again. The Sams run in and BossLady!Sam figures out that alcohol will help them burn the keychain faster. Whoosh! There goes Jordan, and the statue falls lifeless to the floor.

Aftermath. The guys tell Dirk and BossLady!Sam that everyone is safe now. The Impala scene starts with Dean thanking Sam for "giving me a win." Sam asks him to stop hiding out in his room. "What happened with Michael, you said yes for me, for Jack, for your family. You did the right thing." He says nothing Michael did afterward is Dean's fault, and he needs to stop blaming himself.

"I'm never gonna get over it, okay?" Dean says. "I'm just not." And once again, Sam could say "yes, I understand how you feel, because I've been there too," not to make this all about him, but just to commiserate and show Dean that he's not just blowing off his horrific experience, he knows how bad it was and he might have some good ideas about getting past it. And once again, he does not. But that's okay. What isn't okay is what happens next. Dean asks again why Sam hates Halloween, and Sam tells some ridiculous story about having a crush on a girl in sixth grade and throwing up on her at her Halloween party, and you know what? I just refuse to accept this. WE KNOW WHY SAM HATES HALLOWEEN. AND IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH A GIRL IN SIXTH GRADE. I don't know why you're doing this to me, Davy Perez. You're usually so good about canon. I cannot accept that Sam Winchester, whose entire life has been Halloween, whose mother died two days after Halloween, is distressed because of something that happened in sixth grade. I'm going to pretend this part never happened. Who's with me?

Dean says that next year, he and Sam are going to wear couples costumes (and if you happened to be wearing your shipping goggles, I think I heard you squealing). Batman and Robin. Bert and Ernie. (!) Rocky and Bullwinkle. (!!) Shaggy and Scooby. Turner and Hooch. Ren and Stimpy. Thelma and Louise. "We just it in drive and go." {Sidebar: Who wants the show to end that way, Thelma and Louise style?}

Meanwhile, back at the hospital, one of those useless security guards finds the Yaeger figure in the morgue. The guys left it there? Oh well. It's a good horror movie ending.

So! For the most part, this was just what I needed after three episodes of mytharc. A good MOTW with lots of humor and nods to canon. On the other hand, there's that one thing. But since I'm ignoring that one thing, I guess this was a fantastic episode! What did you guys think?

Please help me stay unspoiled, thanks!

[kayoiwritingarchivies]

TITLE: We’ve met before, haven’t we? (Part 2)

CHAPTER TITLE: His lucky number is 4

WARNINGS & RATINGS: No warnings apply, Teen and up rating.

FANDOM: Overwatch

SUMMARY:  These three have met the supernatural, whether they wanted to or not. It’s a small world after all. (Or rather, this is the story of how three people keep running into the supernatural, and had favours and boons repaid.

Jack Morrison’s first encounter with the supernatural was when he was 15, overhearing his parent discussion.

“There’s something out there, killing the cows. I don’t know what it is, and honestly, if it ruins more stock, I don’t know what to do…” He heard his father say, and Jack was struck with an idea.

He’s going to get whatever’s killing the cows!

It wasn’t the best idea, but that didn’t occur to him as he snuck into the shed and “borrowed” his father’s shotgun, going out into the wheat field alone.

He’s standing there, in the middle of the field, when something sprung out at the field at him, and Jack didn’t shoot, and just stood in mute terror at the thing flying towards him, only for it to be knocked back by a jackrabbit with antlers.

The horned jackrabbit snarled at the thing, which scampered off, and turned to Jack, who was still paralysed fear.

And then, if the day hadn’t gotten any weirder, the horned jackrabbit spoke.

“What the blazing hell do you think you’re doing kid?” it said in a sort of high-pitched voice. “Trying to go shoot a Chupacabra like that! You suicidal or something?”

“You-I-what…” Jack stammered, trying to wrap his mind around what just happened.

The jackrabbit groaned, and looked at Jack “I’m a Jackalope, which is funny, because my horns are not from an antelope and jackrabbits are not rabbits, but you humans are stupid anyway so what did I expect.” The Jackalope introduced itself. “What’s your name anyway?”

“I’m-uh-what-who.” Jack stammered, still very much overwhelmed by the situation.

“Bah.” The Jackalope said, and turned to leave. “You take care of yourself, ya hear! Don’t want to be saving you again!”

Then it left, hopping off to go knows where.

Jack sat in the wheat field, staring at the empty fields before picking himself and his father’s gun up, trudging back to the farm house.

(Hours later, Jack Morrison would wake up to a pile of fruit on the doorstep of the farmhouse, with a large note reading “idiot” in large, messy letters. Jack didn’t question any of this and walked back inside to scream into a pillow or at his brother.)

-LINE BREAK-

The second encounter was better and worse at the same time, when Jack, fresh out of the SEP program, was currently lost in the tundras of Russia, alone and cold.

His team had disappeared into the blizzard, and his new-found friend Gabriel Reyes was also nowhere to be seen. His com had died ages ago, and even so, he would get no signal in the unforgiving storm of snow and ice.

And god it was cold, the snow already piling up to his knees and the wind howling in his ears, and Jack had collapsed from exhaustion, the last thing he saw was a great flaming bird, swathed in oranges, reds, yellows and golds, descend from the heavens before Jack Morrison blacked out.

When he woke, he was in a house, and he blinked a few times, when an old woman walked in, leaning heavily on a cane.

“Ah good, you’re awake.” She said, her accent thick but the English was understandable to a certain agree. “I was afraid you were dead.”

Jack patted his body a few times, before turning and saying “Ah, thank you Ms?”

“It’s Baba Yaga, and you should be thanking the firebird that brought you here.” She said, gesturing to a bird sitting on a perch with a weathered hand. “Anyway, you must be hungry. Eat something. I have some Guriev porridge and I expect you to eat some.”

She offered a bowl filled with a yellow-brown mix, topped with nuts, and a spoon, and Jack took it, eating a spoonful. It was warm, and was a strange mic between bitter and sweet.

Jack finished the bowl, setting it on a nearby table, before standing up and picking up his equipment. “You wouldn’t to know the nearest settlement, do you?”

The woman huffed, before declaring “I can do better. I can take you.” Before the house rose up a good 3 metres and began to move, unsteadily, but still rather balanced.

Jack sat back down, as Baba Yaga cackled, and the firebird hummed.

(It was a few hours before they reached a village, where the rest of his team were, ready to tell command that he had gone missing. They asked where he had been, and all Jack could reply with was “Someone found me, and got me here. They were rather nice.” He decided to leave out the whole moving house and firebird portion of the story, and instead, palmed the feather the firebird gave him, now in his pocket. It glowed a cheery red.)

-LINE BREAK-

Jack Morrison is in Switzerland now, the newly appointed strike commander of Overwatch, and he’s alone in the base kitchen in the dead of the night, staring down at a cup of tea between his palms when he hears Hissing. He looks up, only to see a large reptile with two, stubby front legs, it’s cat like head resting on the table, the rest of its body trailing off the table onto the floor.

He blinks.

The reptile blinks back.

Jack’s hand slowly reaches out to the creature, and the creature hisses again, prompting Jack to pull back his hand with a slow “Okay…”

It hisses again, pushing itself off the table, it’s tail smacking into Jack’s legs, moving it’s head to the corridor.

Jack had no choice but to follow after it, and he got up, leaving his tea to grow cold.

They go deeper into the base, the grey and orange hallways seemingly going on forever, the creature scampering around corners, its green scales in stark contrast to the rest of the hallways. Jack hears his own footsteps, the clicking of scales, and soon, they’re at a door, one that leads outside.

Jack didn’t have any weapon on him, bar the pistol he carries, and he opens the door, hand drifting to the gun on his hip as he follows the creature, now out of the base and going deeper into the woods.

That’s when they stumble upon a ring of mushrooms.

Jack doesn’t step in (He’s not an idiot, he knows the consequences for standing in one.) and he only stares as the creature gives out a low hiss, and the ring glows.

There is a ball of light forming, and a woman appears, wings seemingly made from starlight and glass upon her back, and she’s smiling, holding light in her hands.

“Greetings, I am the queen of the Fae, and I wish to speak with you, Jack Morrison.”

Jack stood, staring, not trusting himself to say anything.

The creature mewled, and curled up around the Fae queen’s legs, and she smiled as she regarded Jack. “I come with a gift, a warning and a guide.”

Jack considers before saying, slow and steady “There are always prices. There’s always a price.”

The Queen smiles, and says “There is always a price. I will collect my boon in due time, but for now, here is my help.”

A blue trench coat appears, and she hands him the garment, and he takes it, feeling the weighted cotton and other natural fibres, the pads on the shoulders made from a metal that was coloured blue, and the Overwatch insignia on the shoulders.

“A protection, something that will withstand the greatest of magic, of fire and sleet and snow. It will not tear, it will not rip, and it will not burn.”

He looks it over, and he thinks about the rules, of when accepting gifts from Fae. Then he puts on the coat, and it fits quiet well, the ends of the trench coat hitting his ankles.

The Queen continues, and she narrows her eyes. “I now come with a warning. Someone will betray you, a close friend, and they will cause the world to burn.”

Jack’s fists tighten, and he whispers “Who?”

The Queen cocks her head and replies with a quiet “I do not know.”

The she gestures to the creature wrapped around it’s legs. “He, is a Tatzelwurm. He will guide your way out of the forest, and hopefully later.”

The newly dubbed Tatzelwurm hisses, and pulls on the edges of Jack’s coat. Jack looks down before looking back up at the Fae Queen.

“I-Thank You, your Majesty.” He manages to say, and the Queen only smiles before turning to leave.

“Don’t make my gifts go into vain, Jack Morrison. I do hope we meet again.”

(After making his way out of the forest, he stumbles onto his bed in the base and sleeps the rest of the night off. When he wakes again, the coat is still on his shoulders and a note is left in it’s pocket, with only the words “Be wary.”. Jack doesn’t understand, and burns the note soon after, watching ash flutter into the sky.)

-LINE BREAK-

A year after the Switzerland base exploded, Jack, now Solider:76, roams the world with a stolen pulse rifle and an old jacket. His hair is no longer blond, but now a slivery grey colour, and there is a visor on his face. (His blue coat he keeps too, but it’s almost never worn.)

He’s in Mexico, after a scuffle with the local gang (Los Merutos, he think’s bitterly, are a bunch of shitheads.) and he stops when he sees…a skeleton.

An honest to god skeleton.

Jack almost shoots it, when the skeleton turns, waves it’s skeletal joints about, and yells (Somehow) “Don’t shoot! Don’t Shoot!”

Jack stands there, his visor blocking his face of utter confusion because there is a skeleton, wearing nothing but a pair of pants and a large sombrero, its ribcage on full display.  His skull is painted, covered in whites, blacks, blues and reds, the design circling around empty sockets.

The skeleton gives out a relieved rattle, and looks at Jack in the eye. “Amigo, I don’t know who you are, but you sure ain’t Mexican. Your Spanish is shit.” The skeleton says, a finger tapping against is tactical visor, where the mouth should be.

Jack shifts before saying “I’m from America, up North.” His grip on his pulse rifle tightens, and he’s pretty sure he wants to run.

The skeleton looks at him, and begins to guffaw before saying “Oh, you idiota americano, no wonder you sound so strange. Have you even eaten a good Mexican burrito? You haven’t, have you?”

Jack blinks behind the visor, and he’s suddenly reminded of Gabriel Reyes and Jesse McCree.

“No?” Jack says. “Unless Taco Bell counts?”

The skeleton regards him and says “You poor, poor man.”  

(Later, the skeleton introduces himself as Marco, and drags him to a restaurant, muttering about how “Taco Bell is not real Mexican!” and “Fucking pendejos work there that’s what.” Jack does not bother fighting against the sentiment, reminded about how he’s had the exact same conversation with Reyes so many years ago.)

-LINE BREAK-

The fourth time, it’s at Watchpoint: Gibraltar, and he’s sitting on a couch, watching the sun.

He’s met the new Overwatch, with the D.va girl (She’s too young to be here) who yells at nothing and Hanzo (Who’s quiet, reserved, and stares at empty walls and hallways and mutters about inugami and monsters.)

Jack watches the sun, and then he hears a roar.

At first, he assumes dragons, because Hanzo and Genji seem to have them, then he looks at the beach.

There is a snake like monster on the sand, thrashing, wings at odd angles and two legs scrambling for purchase.

He gets up, opens the window, and scales the cliff.

When he reaches the beach, feeling sand on his bare feet as he walks to the creature, a hand out, quietly saying “It’s okay, it’s alright, I won’t hurt you, it’s okay.”

The monster stops thrashing, judging Jack with careful eyes, before letting him closer.

Jack carefully looks the wings over, seeing broken bones and ripped skin, and he drops a few biotic emitters, letting them take over the healing while he comforts the creature, stroking its nose, and whispering reassurances.

After a few hours of being bathed in the yellow glow of the emitters, the machine’s shut off, leaving Jack and the monster on the beach, both asleep.

It’s the first time Jack sleeps without nightmares.

(Later, he wakes up to Hanzo shaking his shoulder, alarm in his eyes and mouthing “Are you alright?” Jack nods, and stands up, and notices a rainbow fish scale in Hanzo’s hands. He thinks about the fire bird feather in his pocket. The monster is long gone.)

[punkscowardschampions]

Ali & Tommy

Ali: yo yo yo Ali: i'm back to civilization, using the term loosely there but Ali: what i miss Tommy: hey girl hey Tommy: oh you know several family feuds Tommy: standard Ali: oh the joys Ali: reckon i'm right on time for the next one Ali: soz I didn't have signal, what you want me to do lads Tommy: reckon you have a fair point Tommy: and solid excuse Tommy: if I had someone to do, my phone would be off too, like Ali: i've made the case for not spoiling the areas natural beauty with phone masts but appaz 'not the fucking point' Ali: no chance of getting away with that, city boy Ali: gutted x2 Ali: should be jelly though 'cos 😍 Tommy: Oh honey I am Tommy: Sickeningly so Tommy: much like your socials of late Ali: Haha piss off Ali: its the honeymoon phase Ali: and you can't act like you'd rather witness the death rattle of my last playing out like Tommy: Well yeah, never a more legit word spoken Tommy: Poor Marls Tommy: Bet she took to the heartbreak like a duck to water though Tommy: as for you and Carls, you've been in that phase for bloody ages Ali: I know, I'm evil Ali: not her first, or last, which says it all Ali: Not even Ali: anyway, gotta milk it, you'll see when you're being gross yourself Tommy: Not evil just scandalous Tommy: We've all had our heads turned by the straights Tommy: Can't pretend I'm not thrilled that you got kissed instead of your head kicked in, love that you got lucky there Tommy: Yeah even, you too been circling and flirting since the dawn of summer if not time Tommy: I think not. I'm nothing but fab in all things Ali: More Marilyn than Hitler Ali: one for the bio, thanks Ali: Ha, laughable, no one is immune to my charms also I do the kicking so Ali: coming up roses forever baby bro Ali: Exactly 😏 gonna be vomit-inducing 'cos you're gonna be thinking yours is the greatest love story ever told 🙄😉 Tommy: stick it on your tinder when the honeymoon's over kid Tommy: welcome welcome Tommy: And Marls thought she was so tough. Not immune to a curb stomp were you, babe Tommy: roses are cliche as hell so agreed Tommy: could be, sister, could just be Tommy: surrounded by sapphic role models in you and your boo Ali: could do it now Ali: sooooooo modern like that, darling Ali: omg shut up 😞 didn't mean to and not funny Ali: psh, as if you wouldn't be buzzing your tits off if someone got you roses Ali: umm not telling you you're doing this whole 'gay' thing wrong but you know the girl ones aren't for you, yeah? 😂 Tommy: yeah but will ya or are you too 😍 Tommy: real question is, has Carls taken to her new status like a duck to water or more like water off a duck's arse Tommy: calm down dear I won't mention the ex again, scout's honor Tommy: atm my tits would be pleased if anyone looked their way at all but we ain't on my sob story, here for your love Tommy: 😂 well now it makes sense Ali: only just got back, like Ali: can deffo take a day of recuperation Ali: not asked tbf Ali: i don't need a label on her or what we're doing Ali: poor baby 😥 Ali: wish you'd let me look at your profiles, pimp em up pimp you out Tommy: but she's still 😍 too, yeah? Tommy: not scared her off like Tommy: Oi! Take your own advice and take a day off Tommy: You can come when I hit the town if you're wanting to wingwoman that bad Ali: Oi yourself! Ali: Scared her off indeed Ali: trusted me enough to go into the wilderness alone like Ali: duh Ali: not even a question Ali: though really need to find you a lad there as well Ali: but you can have a hometown holiday romance, special enough for ya snowflake? Tommy: Probs just wanted to stretch. Caravans are well cramped Tommy: Piss off Tommy: You just don't want me third wheeling you and your girl 'cause you reckon I'll make it awks when she finds me more fun to dance with than you Tommy: Gotta take her and get her initiated though 🌈 Ali: yeah a 2 man tents well better Ali: melt 🖕 Ali: oh you gonna steal my girl? okay 😂 Tommy: You trying to say you didn't look at the stars? Get to fuck you lying scrag 😂 Tommy: Could do, she is cute Ali: Am I that predictable? Sigh Ali: Might be modern but draw the line at family 3way Ali: if anything, a step back Tommy: You ain't invited, honey Tommy: Full offense Ali: Finders keepers I saw her first bitch Tommy: Only 'cause I was miles away Tommy: play fair you dirty bisexual Ali: When you get a mans Imma call bagsy then Ali: wanna talk fair Tommy: we'll both be in wheelchairs minus our own teeth by then so I'll race ya Ali: 😏 oh hush Ali: secretly getting all the d and keeping it dl Tommy: 😂 Tommy: I wish Ali: 👀 Tommy: You filthy perv Ali: how did you know Tommy: Carls told us Tommy: we're that close now like Ali: well, that's a stop coming onto me if I've ever heard one 😂 good one, babe Tommy: 😂 Tommy: Get a lot of that, does she? awks Ali: You said yourself, she cute Tommy: Gotta do some kicking, kitten. Have you learned nothing from your previous? Tommy: 🥊 Ali: how not to keep a woman? Ali: harsh but Tommy: legit Tommy: fuckboy free inbox though Ali: yeah Ali: got their uses though, ain't they Ali: don't be too picky like Tommy: Not for me but you do you, darling Ali: 🤷 Tommy: with your luck they'd fall for you anyway tbf Ali: Like you don't remember having to hold Ma back Ali: weren't that long ago Tommy: Blocked that shit way out Ali: those were the days tho Ali: but fine, won't invite ronan to the gay club Ali: imagine Tommy: For you. Aged ma + 25 Tommy: poor bitch Tommy: Probs had to get her roots done Tommy: Which one was he again? The curly haired gypsy Ali: s'alright, marlene still fancied her and carly also said she would Ali: not doing bad old girl Ali: one of Ali: first and worst, some would say Tommy: OMHG REALLY Tommy: get it ma Tommy: oh that cunt Tommy: hit it Celine 'cause it's all coming back to me now Ali: yeah Ali: smug bitch Ali: no one in this family can keep it to themselves, apparently Ali: 😂 mhmm Ali: lives where Carly does, and was kinda her boyf when I met her Ali: official, like Tommy: reckon I'll steal your girls it's that saucy mare you gotta watch Tommy: Disgusting Tommy: You two fucking by association before you got near Tommy: That's some funny shit Ali: Real talk Ali: someone warn Da Ali: not me 'cos awks when I'm fuming at her for running off with my woman Ali: oh honey you don't even know Ali: we have a list Tommy: On it Tommy: Love getting shot in the face myself so I'm well keen to twirl past with that message Tommy: 😂 Tommy: How long a list we talking? Ali: Interpretive dance it out for him Ali: the most vague form of communication Ali: You actually wanna know or? Tommy: I'll get workshopping rn 'cause ma ain't go no chill Tommy: she won't wait and we know it Tommy: You tell me, sister, do I or not Ali: She's a busy woman Ali: if Rock didn't look so much like Da's side I'd question it frankly Ali: You know how I roll, scandalous from the womb to the tomb baby Tommy: When the adoption jokes ain't just craic Tommy: ooops Tommy: that's why we're the irish twins 'cause same girl same Ali: She's got some nerve, us all out here raising the devil child Ali: give him to his real daddy the inn is full bitch Tommy: 😂 Tommy: puts him in the postie's bag like back you go lad Tommy: he's kinda fit bet ma would Ali: oh babe Ali: hate to bring this bad news to you but he left Ali: probs got a modelling contract, eh 😏 Tommy: 💔 Tommy: pissed on my parade proper there Ali: i am so soz Ali: maybe i traumatized him Ali: okay you can get with carly once but that's it, then we're even Tommy: Not gonna ask what you let him see Tommy: between you and JC every sunday Tommy: 🎉 Yes Ali: knock on my door son, gonna get what i give you Tommy: 👏 Ali: idc if you're just trying to bring the bills, SIR Ali: we don't want 'em Ali: liverpool days got us all forever scarred Tommy: Too real to deal Ali: when you back fr though Tommy: Patience 🦗 Tommy: I got scholarship stresses Ali: must suck being talented enough for one, like 😉 Tommy: Says the genius Tommy: what's your IQ again? Ali: check the tinder lad Ali: put that on there too, how i get all the ladies Tommy: 😂