#i'm still cackling to myself :d

[iceheap]

@panicataphmausinsanity okay so Zane HC's LETS GOOOOOOOO

Before we start trigger warning for like, child abuse and torture and shit. Seriously this gets dark. Zane redemption must come at a price >:D

So. Something interesting to me in regards to Zane is how in MCD, He's like, this evil, terrible human being, but in Mystreet, he's like, a semi functional human being who can be a NOT bad person and NOT do bad things. And so I got to thinking.

I don't think Zane was born a bad person.

Personally, I kind of hate the way Jess wrote Zane. Like, yes, evil for the sake of evil is great and all, but like. In season one and two, Zane was this overarching antagonist who was always one step ahead of the cast and plotting and having a good time being a paice of shit.

And then season 3 comes around and now he's a shadow knight, on the run, has PTSD...

Look, I'm not knocking the guy for having PTSD. I'm just saying that the way it's portrayed kind of makes him seem like a whimpery coward. AGAIN, NOT KNOCKING PTSD!!

I think the position that Zane found himself in season 3 was a PERFECT set up for a redemption arc and it makes me SO MAD that it didn't happen.

So I guess I have to do it myself apparently -_-

I've been thinking a lot about Zane. I don't want him to stop being evil. Not right away. So we keep what happened in the first two seasons the same. He's a cackling maniac that has killed a shit ton of people and is on his father's payroll.

And then he dies.

(skill issue lol)

Anyway, Zane is dead. But he's also Zane, so of course he weasels his way out of being dead. And then he gets tortured and is subjected to the same suffering he condemned so many others to yada yada yada PTSD bleh.

Everything seems to be the same so far.

But then he breaks out if the nether. Still, we're on track, right?

He gets captured, he gets expedited to Phoenix Drop, he gets interrogated, it's all the same.

But here we find a canon divergence. Instead of being absolute dumbasses, they don't bring him into the nether. Let's scrap that plot point entirely.

Instead, we're going to let Zane bake in prison for a while!

Here are the main issues that make Zane irredeemable.

1. He's killed like, a shit ton of people, for funsies ig

2. He killed Vylad.

3. He destroyed Aaron's village.

Let's keep those things in mind.

So he's in prison. While in prison, Garroth starts to visit him (along with Travis but shhhh we'll get to him another day) and just. You know. Be angry.

Garroth has seen Zane as a spoiled brat his entire life. He's always been their father's favorite. He's always had everything handed to him on a silver platter. He's always been willing to do whatever it takes for power. He's greedy. He's psychotic. Garroth hates him.

But Zane is Garroth's brother. And Garroth is the type of golden retriever, gold hearted, kind type of character to still love his brother even if he hates him.

That doesn't mean he goes in and is like, nice to him though. Nope. Garroth goes to visit him and nine times out of ten it devolves into a screaming match where Zane antagonizes him the entire time and Garroth yells at him for being a shitty human being.

And then one day Phoenix Drop is attacked and Zane escapes.

They track him down eventually. When they find him, they strike a deal with him. Due to Irene related shenanigans they need his expertise as a scholar of Irene to figure out some more stuff for Aphmau. In exchange, they'll protect him from the Shadow Lord (who he pissed off by stealing one of his soul fragments lol Zane behavior).

Eventually they're able to establish a rapore with Zane. Garroth still gets a migraine whenever they have a conversation. Vylad still refuses to speak to him (oh btw he's visiting from his nether revolution vacation just so u know) and Aphmau still wants to tear out his guts for killing the love of her life or whatever, but he becomes manageable. They can like, stand him. A little bit. Slightly.

And then Zianna gets kidnapped or whatever. So they go rescue her. But when they get back to Phoenix Drop they forget to mention the fact that Zane is like. There and in the wild and not currently killing entire villages worth of people.

So Zianna rolls up to Phoenix Drop and gets jumpscared by her youngest son and also, notably, Zane is NOT happy to see her. He shuts the front door in her face. It's hilarious even though Garroth doesn't think of it that way.

So, now we have our key players all in one place. Garroth, Vylad, Zane, and Zianna.

Let's say they have to all go find an artifact toghether or something and they need Zianna there because it's related to something she knows and they need Zane there because of Irene lore reasons. they go on this mission. One day, they sit and set up for the night, set up bedrolls, whatever. They're lounging around the fire and talking when Vylad eventually mentions his time as a shadow knight in the nether and something about torture.

Zane blinks, and, having not been included in the conversation initially, buts it to say,

"Oh, please. Don't tell me getting tortured by those amatures was DISTRESSING for you. I would have thought father's methods would have given you thicker skin."

The others bristle and start scolding him, of course, because Zane is like, the reason Vylad became a shadow knight in the first place. But Vylad himself, who is very observant and hard to antagonize, latches into something Zane said.

"Methods? What methods?" He says. He says it sharply, too.

Of course, Zane doesn't pick up on this. He just rolls his eyes.

"Don't tell me you forgot. Father had a whole floor dedicated to torture and loved collecting new methods from around the region. I think he even had a historian employed who would research for him..."

"What?" Garroth says, stunned out of his anger.

Zianna has gone silent. So has everyone else, and now they're watching with baited breaths.

"So what? What would that have to do with me?"

And for the first time that they've ever seen, Zane looks... Puzzled.

"What, did he go easy on you? Didn't you talk back to him all the time? Once, after just asking him a question, he had two of my nails pulled. Shadow Knight torture was child's play in comparison," he shrugs, then takes a bite out of his stale price of bread.

There's silence.

Zane looks back at all of them, confused and now kind of pissed off. He looks like he usually does when he feels like he's about to be scolded for saying something crass. Except, that's not what happens. Instead, Vylad looks him in the eye for the first time since Zane killed him, and with the most emotion they've ever heard from him, says,

"What?"

Zane hums.

"Come on. Don't play dumb. He hated you. Im sure he must have sent you to the "torture basement" at least once. You got on his nerves constantly,"

Garroth makes an aborted movement, like he's going to stand up and rush him, but Vylad stops him with a flick of his hand. And then Vylad starts doing what he does best. Interrogating him.

So remember that list, right? Let's reframe a few things.

Zane was not the favorite child. Garroth was.

Garte was a paice of shit. Garte hated Vylad. But he also hates Zane. Why wouldn't he? Vylad was his wife's affair child, sure, but Zane, Zane was Zianna's spitting image.

When Zane was little, he used to take snails and out them in the grass after it rained. He uses to clamor for his mother's pastries just like his brothers. He was a normal child, and he was NOT born a psychopath.

But Garte had a thought, one day.

Wouldn't it be funny... If he made his wife think he WAS one?

Wouldn't it be funny to punish her that way? Wouldn't it be funny to turn Zane into a terrible person, and have her think it was for no reason? Make her think that she birthed a psychopath? How much would it hurt her? How much would she weep?

Garte used to punish Zane for Vylad's joy. One of Vylad's laughs would equal one slap to the face. One side remark in defence of their mother would equal one hour locked in his father's study closet in his office.

Garte turns Zane against himself brothers. And the best part in his mind?

He makes Zane believe that they know about all of it.

He tells Zane that his mother knows about it. That his brothers don't care that he's beaten. That Vylad does things so he gets punished on purpose.

Zane grows up thinking that his brothers probably go through this too. He grows up thinking that his mother just doesn't love him. And so he doesn't say a thing.

Garte starts having him tortured instead of superficially physically abused? He says nothing.

Garte makes him become a priest of Okasis even though the consequence of failing the academy is death? He says nothing.

Garte would encourage Zane to blugeon animals to death and bring them to Zianna and laugh at her horrified face from afar. Garte encourages Zane to say psychotic things while they're eating dinner, and watches as his family becomes more and more convinced Zane is a monster.

Until Zane is one.

But this reframes a few things.

The people Zane killed? It was under orders. He eventually became his father's right hand man. Most of his overarching goals have been in service of his father.

For Aaron's village, we'll stick a pin in that one, but long story short, Aaron's village had been planning a coup that night under his wife's orders. Zane had them killed under his father's orders so they could eliminate them as political neighbors. He let Aaron live out of pity.

And Vylad.

Basically, remember when I said that Garte used to punish Zane according to Vylad's actions?

One day, Vylad gets into an explosive argument with Garte defending Zianna. And Garte, again, without the other's knowing, has Zane tortured. Except this time it's for a WEEK STRAIGHT.

So when Zane gets out. He's. Very unstable.

And then he comes across Vylad in a semi secluded area.

And Vylad is acting like he did nothing, and all he's ever done is make Zane suffer, and Zane hates him hates him HATES HIM--

And so he snaps. And he kills him.

Keep in mind, though, Zane thinks this is all normal. He doesn't realize that killing his own brother has traumatized him. He doesn't realize that he's a victim of abuse. He doesn't realize that what his dad did is not okay because he THINKS HIS FAMILY KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED, and if they didn't contradict his abuse, then this must be normal. He thinks that Vylad has probably been tortured too. He thinks Garroth is their father's favorite because in his mind he's determined that Garroth not receiving any attention from their father is a GOOD thing because ATTENTION EQUALS TORTURE to him.

And this reframes a few things. His constant bid for power? It's not greed, it's DESPERATION. Power makes him feel safe. Hurting others makes him feel powerful because that's how his father had power over him.

His highly volatile and violent personality? It's l he's ever known. Do you have ANY idea what torture could do to a child? He has severe PTSD. Like, severe and repressed and his outburst are more common when he's uncomfortable or anxious or experiencing any negative emotion, which is often.

Garte took Zane's empathy from him. Turned him against his family. Made him into a monster. With these types of characters, I imagine it would probably be very difficult for them to redevelop their emotions and empathy because if they do that, they would have to face their whole mountain of trauma and the guilt of all the lives they've ruined.

I think eventually, after a lot of work, Zane does eventually regain his empathy. It probably finally sinks in during a small gathering. His mother makes her famous cake. Zane has long gotten used to being excluded during these sorts of things, but then...

His mother slides a plate of cake right in front of him.

Strawberry.

His favorite.

And she smiles at him.

This is probably after they found out about Garte being a peice of shit. Maybe a few months.

All Zane has ever wanted is to be loved. Maybe he didn't know it, but when he takes a bite of his mother's strawberry cake for the first time in decades and the nostalgic taste registers in his brain, something snaps.

And he becomes human again.

And he realizes:

Oh.

I'm a person.

I'm a murderer.

I'm a monster.

LMAO WAS THIS COHERENT SORRY PANIC I TRIED MY BEST I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS ONE OSIBWIBDIBSIBU

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV Ep3 Musings - Claudia & Louis (Spoilers)

I'm still teary & choked up while typing this. SUPER emotional episode. It's incredible how much they packed into one ep, too! But the second half of the ep was BY FAR the most emotionally impactful IMO. Jacob's acting is just WAY too good; he had me choking up something fierce.

Louis taking pictures of his food for no effing reason like all the social media girlies do; I love it.

Louis STILL tryna be Claudia's knight in vengeful black. U_U But just like before when he tried to save her from Lestat, he can't save her from Bruce or the Theatre or even his own eff-ups. DANG. 😔

YES YOU DO. If you wanna keep pestering her about trauma she doesn't want to think/speak about, then be prepared for the consequences.

AMC, you GOTTA kill Bruce on-screen for us, either in QotD during all the Burnings, or during the PL trilogy (Killer's death was GNARLY).

LOOK AT MY DAUGHTER ALMOST CRYING RIGHT THERE. God's strongest soldier, she's suffered more than Christ, JUSTICE FOR CLAUDIA. All rapists deserve the death penalty, IDGAF.

Understatement of the century.

I CACKLED at that literal DEMON TIMING. Armand was already AT the door while y'all were concocting your lies! Then he just strolls on in, uninvited! 😭

BULLSH!TE. Not that it matters, since vamps have SUPER-HEARING and can READ MINDS, you morons! Pack your bags and go back to America RIGHT NOW. 💀💀💀

Louis, beloved, bless your heart, but if you don't take your garbage attempts at lying back to NOLA and stop playing with this ANCIENT immortal dressed in all white like the effing BOSS PIMP you USED to be.....

Alpha DADDY Maitre Armand Sir, I take back every bottom Uke Omega joke I ever said about you~! 😍

Yeah, about all that.... 😬

Aaaaannnnnd THIS is where you effed up, Claudia.

And Armand heard the WHOLE THING. 😭

Look at her FACE. 😭😭😭😭

They KNEW she hated being treated as a child, and they KNEW her time was numbered cuz she lied about breaking their Great Laws, so they DELIBERATELY made the "Baby LouLou" role to humiliate her, and EXPLOITED her image to bring in extra revenue (how many BLACK actresses did they ever have in their coven/stage? ZERO); all while KNOWING they were gonna kill her and Louis ASAP.

I hate this Theatre coven with ever fibre of my being, Maitre.

Excellent point, Louis. Cuz I noticed in Ep2 that their apartment is kind of crappy--I assumed it was cheap & low class cuz of the tenants all being college students & sex workers, and I noticed a bunch of chipped paint everywhere; on the doors & walls.

They're slumming it in a studio, sleeping in the living room, as neither has their own room & she has to use a Murphy Bed. Major step below 1132; the exact opposite of how book!Claudia & Lou lived in Parisian opulence--highlighting my point that AMC!Claudia got NOTHING out out being a vampire.

But it's also pointing out how Louis covers all the cracks--in his MIND, in the lies he tells himself, just to live with the glaring problems he desperately wants to cover up & deny.

I'm finna yeet myself out the nearest window.

This is SO bizarre, cuz in this version Lou KNOWS Lestat's not really dead! In the book Lou set him on FIRE. So ofc he'd think Les was really dead. But here it makes no sense why he's carrying all this guilt!

Armand knew Lou & Claudia LIED, sure--but he SHOULD know Lestat's still ALIVE--he's probably chained up in the Theatre basement in one of those friggin "wet room burial vaults!"

THANK YOU.

The guilt is out of control. Louis, if Les couldn't tell you loved him after ALL OF THAT, then he's a effing fool who neither understands nor deserves you. Now go chop his d**k off!

Is that what you tell yourself when DreamStat's in bed with you every night? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

I haven't seen mental trauma treated so well in Horror media since Senua's Sacrifice; this is incredible. 👏

Lou, give yourself a bit more credit--you're doing the best you can! :( Even if your best is an entire travesty. U_U

NOBODY TALK TO ME!

Just when I thought she was having a breakthrough, she doubles down on thinking Lestat lied to them about Europe being terrible. 🤦

(The way Lou clutches his pearls like he's having a heart attack--STOP it, ma'am~! 👌) And YES, you should've told her that you folded and spilled the beans to Armand and that she was walking into a trap, WTF!?! 😡

Jacob, your GirlDad is showing; PLEASE have mercy on us! 😭

EMMYS. 👏 GRAMMYS. 👏 OSCARS. 👏 TONYS. 👏

[i-like-anything-water]

Wenclair prompt: Enid using pickup lines on Wednesday and Wednesday being absolutely oblivious, confused, and sometimes a little concerned

Here’s a couple for inspiration

“Feel my shirt! Know what it’s made of? Girlfriend material”

“Something’s wrong with my eyes because I can’t take them off you”

“If you were words on a page, you’d be fine print”

Note: Admittedly not my best work but I hope it's decent enough! I think this is around 1k or less? Thank you for the cute prompt! : D

Riddles and Spells

"I'm starting to get worried about the table."

Enid glared at a snickering Yoko, groaning as she hit her head against the table, again. They were probably getting concerned looks from the other occupants but they could care less. The blonde let out a whine, her hands balled into fists.

"Okay, your moping was funny before but now it's absolutely painful to watch," Yoko sighed as she patted her pup's head. "Addams really did a number on you."

"She's so pretty," Enid replied instead, her cheeks dusting just a slight pink. Her roommate for a year and crush for a month hadn't shown up for their usual lunch. She was probably at Eugene's or off investigating another case that caught interest.

"Sometimes I wish I was a murder mystery."

"Why?"

Enid chuckled, "Cause maybe then she'd be so interested in me?"

Yoko cackled at the blonde's statement which earned her an indignant huff and a 'you suck at being my bff, Yoko!'. Oh, man. She was absolutely smitten with the small murder machine.

"Y'know, maybe if you used your pick up lines on her instead of rambling how amazing she is to poor old me, you could actually score a date."

"That's ridiculous!" Enid shrieked, "I'd just make things awkward! It took me months for her to let me get close to her without a knife up my throat, I am not going to break that."

"Simp much?"

"Yeah and I kind of like still living."

"LMAO, ditto."

Yoko's eyes darted across the pentagon as a smirk formed on her blood stained lips.

"Enid, listen."

-

"Enid? Are you listening?"

Enid nodded, determined, "Listening? Yes. Single and available? Yes as well."

Wednesday stared at her.

"What?"

Enid leaned back in her bed as her gaze never left Wednesday's, "You asked me if I was listening. I was. Every. Word."

"Is that so? Tell me," Wednesday said, "What did I say?"

"What did I say."

"That's not-" Wednesday frowned, "Since you haven't been listening, clearly, I'll just repeat myself."

"You can repeat yourself until forever."

"That's impractical, why would I do such nonsense?"

"Because your voice is my melody."

Wednesday's brows furrowed. Was Enid talking riddles with her? Given that the riddle hadn't contained any words that would suggest a casting spell, she disliked when she doesn't have an answer to anything. Well, she's wrong to challenge her of all people.

"Really? If my voice is a melody then surely yours is it's musical accompaniment." Bullseye. Enid's eyes widened as she sputtered out her response.

Wednesday rolled her eyes but a satisfied smirk made it's way across her face.

"Next time you think of challenging me to riddles, think again."

"Oh my god."

Apparently Enid was ever the competitive spirit because it didn't stop there. Wednesday had to commend her dedication into outsmarting her in these nonsense but no Addams ever backed down from a duel, swords or words. She'd learned from Thing that the best way to combat them is to answer just as Enid had said it. Maybe she should have seen the teasing - how does a hand even look teasing - way Thing had made an 'OK!' sign.

"You should wear hoodies more often, it's definitely made from girlfriend material."

Wednesday turned to her, "Maybe you should give me yours then."

She continued walking as Enid walked straight to a lamp post.

Enid had slid next to her during lunch, a fruit in hand, "If you were a fruit, you'd be a fine-apple."

Wednesday took a sip of her soup, "If that's so, then I'm definitely good for you."

Enid blushed as she took a bite of her pineapple slices as Yoko laughed while patting Bianca's back who had choked at Wednesday's response.

The riddles were getting ridiculous as each day passed but Wednesday was anything but a quitter.

"Are you made of copper and tellurium? Cause you're CuTe."

"I'm not but I already have enough chemistry with you."

"Do we really need these sources for essays? My search already ended when I met you."

Wednesday hummed, surprised at the sudden spike in her heartbeat. Strange, she doesn't remember consuming poison, "Yes. Despite the search already ending, we need something to hold on to."

"You're such a cat, cause you're purrfect!"

That sudden spike again. Perhaps they weren't riddles, but spells disguised under teenage nonsense.

"I gotta get my eyes checked, they can't stop looking at you."

Enid smiled at her warmly and Wednesday realized how close their faces were. It felt like looking directly at the sky, drowning in pools of blue.

"No wonder you love books, you're fine print yourself."

She had Enid on her lap sleeping peacefully, the morning after she wolfed out and brought her a bag of dead squirrels for her. Her book forgotten as she combed through the blonde's hair.

"I'm no serial killer but I'd be happy to give you hearts."

Her hands were covered in blood when Enid had found her, her own face smeared with blood and dirt. She couldn't help the sigh of relief as arms enveloped her in a hug, glad the blood wasn't theirs.

"If loving you was a crime... I'd be happy to be in a life sentence."

Wednesday had never once gave up. It wasn't like an Addams to admit defeat easily. But Enid was standing there, heart bared out as she was close to tears. Wednesday felt that familiar skip in her usually calm and slow heart that scared even the smartest of surgeons.

"I love you." It was simple. It was whispered softly like a prayer. It was the answer to all the riddles they've told.

"I love you more, mon soleil."

[lovelynim]

Congratulations on your milestone!! 🥳🥳🥳 You're so so creative and talented! I love your event so much skdkg

If I'm still on time, (if not, please feel free to ignore this!), could I request Wanderer & traveler of your choice, wheeeere traveler gets just t i r e d of Wanderer's nasty attitude so our traveler has to tickle that attitude out of him? >:)

If this doesn't inspired you, feel free to ignore it! Thank you very much and congratulations agaaaain~ ❤️❤️❤️

AHHH MIA

Thank you so much <3 <3 heheh and, well, your prompt did inspire me to write something. I hope you like it ~ I'm eager to see how this one turns out...

also sorry, i couldn't come up with a name for him so i just called him Scara

“Scara, plea-”

“I don’t want to.”

Aether sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to not lose his temper and snap back at the wanderer at that moment. He still needed his cooperation to reach that luxurious chest. ‘Think of the rewards, Aether, the rewards’, he told himself inside his mind. Maybe a different approach would do it…

“I really need your help, you know? I could end up hurting myself trying to climb that.”

“You can fall off that cliff for all I care.”

Aether jaw dropped in disbelief, shocked by the coldness and stubbornness of his teammate. His eyes twitched as Scara was starting to get at his nerves. The Lesser Lord Kusanali herself asked him to try to tag along with him, to keep him company and all, but this guy was simply impossible.

“You- ugh, can you stop with all this snark?”

The wanderer grinned, noticing how the traveler was already so flustered. “What if I don’t want to stop, huh? What then?” He continued, letting out a small chuckle when he saw Aether’s fists clenching. “You dragged me to this when I said I didn’t want to come, deal wit- AHH!”

Before he could do another sentence, Aether tackled him down to the ground, sitting on top of his legs. Using his arms to try to lift himself, Scara could only catch a glimpse of the traveler cracking his fingers with an angry smile on his face.

“What are you do-AHAH! NoHOHOh!!” 

Aether didn’t bother to answer, taking out all his hands as he mercilessly dug into the boy’s hips. Letting out some embarrassing high pitched laughter, Scara’s arms flailed around, barely able to reach Aether’s hands from where he was.

“AhaHAHAh, s-stohOHOHop!!” He whined through another stream of giggles, arching his back as Aether squeezed his side before going back to his hips.

“You reaaaally need to watch your words, Scara,” Aether muttered, not sure if his words could be heard under the other’s loud cackles, but the annoyance was evident in his voice. The angry, irritated smile remained in his face, making him almost look like some sort of psychotic villain. “People might not like how mean you sound sometimes, you know?”

“E-EnohOHIOugh! AHAhaha, j-just quIHihi- AHAH, q-quit ihihit!” He cried out softly, thrashing his head left and right as he tried to escape from the unbearable touch on his hips.

“Well, that depends,” Aether said, taking a deep sigh as he decided to give the wanderer a break from the ticklish punishment. Sitting back on Scara’s legs and moving his hands away, Aether crossed his arms as he looked down at the boy. “Do you have something to say to me?”

“Y-yes,” the wanderer wheezed, trying to catch his breath.

[accirax]

initial thoughts on DCAS episode 7

very notable that this was within the context of being about "love" specifically. (at least) one-sided trevek canon? (i'm not even a huge trevek shipper i just think this whole plotline is funny)

okay, so Yul's foot injury IS real. or at least, he's using it as an excuse to complain. still, the fact that it was brought up again an episode later makes me think that it's going to have SOME relevance to the plot.

any time that Yul has to parrot something in Emily's "you go girlfriend ;D" manner of speaking i cackle. he didn't choose the home decor saying any time is wine time lifestyle, the home decor saying any time is wine time lifestyle chose him.

Grett i am... genuinely confused. how can you possibly think that Yul is actually in love with you? did you really receive THAT little love in your home life? you have no ability to distinguish catty and fake praise for your accomplishments from real ones because your family gave you THAT little recognition? man. now i made myself sad :( ily Grett

okay, confirming that 1) it was Tom's trap, 2) they are willing to eat squirrels, 3) Tom is serving as the provider for the Cyan tribe. all things to take into account for any upcoming Cyan eliminations.

why

and how does said boyfriend feel about you kissing another man on television, Tom? this is a stupid lie.

again, why? it's probably already apparent from my earlier comments, but i changed my mind; i'm fully with Jake in this argument now. sure, Jake is really insecure and overly emotional, but what the HELL is Tom doing? making up a boyfriend is a really shitty thing to do, whether Tom had a legit reason for not calling Jake these past two years or if he didn't contact Jake due to his own mixed feelings/indifference. in either case, he should have told Jake the truth. at least when Jake was acting immature in S1, he was 24. Tom is a nearly 30 year old man. ACT LIKE IT.

Fiore slay

this is a really interesting response due to how vague it is, including in the vocal performance. was he taken off guard by his boss being nice to him? does he believe that she's telling the truth? does he feel bad for Trevor, or will he come to believe that he IS way better than Trevor? i'm glad that they're continuing on with the concept of the hosts having a plotline, because imo that was one of the highlights of S2, but they aren't doing it in a way that eats up as much of the screentime as it did in S2.

if Will was out of the picture i would be shipping these two so hard. who am I kidding, i kind of still am anyways.

Ally's other gf is here :,) glad that they got to reconnect (and neither of them were eliminated for it)

Fiore slay

the confirmation that Aiden thinks that the idea of him having any attraction to Tom is laughable and disgusting is HILARIOUS to me. bro really said, "why the hell would i be into YOU when i have JAMES lmao" straight to Tom's face. tbf, James and Tom are like... opposites in terms of personality and appearance (beyond being generally handsome and athletic young men).

"silly me, i keep forgetting that not everyone met their super cool and attractive boyfriend on reality TV. my bad!" (/pos)

(i tried to type "hubby" instead of boyfriend but i spared you all. it was too cringe even as the one subjecting others to the cringe.)

okay this was very fitting for her. iconic.

honestly, Alec and Riya's villainous alliance/friendship is really fun. leave it to Alec to always find himself in the least likely but most entertaining duos. Riya really benefits from being paired with a legitimate strategist, and someone who won't just let her totally get away with stuff.

we had to get in one last Fiore taking unnecessary damage for the road :,(

feeling like Jaiden is going to be winning the starting couples' survival roulette. and Wishley, to the extent they count.

now i'm no physicist, but how did this work? shouldn't the ball be a fast and heavy enough object at this point that it would jump over the log, not ricochet off of it? i suppose if the ball is made of something more like wicker than yarn, it could be a bit more likely to do that. but then why is it going to the side? it hit the log straight on!

... are you not allowed to help him anymore? what?

ellie is going full villain mode fr. if her and gabby's relationship gets messed up, that would definitely be karma. but, i suppose she survives this episode...

this is funny because nobody strikes me as the pizza and soda loving type. Alec, Grett, Yul, and Riya all seem like people who would want to eat something that's both fancier and healthier.

communication W (for both of them)

Fiore is such a best girl that she's not even a salty juror. she's not mad at them for so long that she can't use her final moments to throw a wrench in the works for everyone else. the grind never sleeps, clowns <3

and she even conquered her greatest nemesis, the bus, this time. fly high, queen. i'll miss you.

well, as a Fiore stan, this episode was a bit sad for me. but, i do totally understand why Magenta would both vote for Fiore and lose the challenge. (damn you, Ellie...) Fiore already did super well in both S1 and the original Adventure Camp, so i understand why they wouldn't have her go super far again in this season, especially when everyone knows she's such a threat.

i just hope that we can still get a little more closure for her and Alec than we got already in this season. all it has to be is, like, him being sad at her elimination for reasons other than pure strategy and maybe a nice conversation at the finale. it doesn't have to be Alec finally adopting her... even if i did want that to happen... i'd just prefer to know that they leave things on good terms.

anyways, another really solid episode! i look forward to the next one. thanks for reading!

[minniiaa]

*rolls down window, throws new story out and drives away tires screeching*

This one just came to me and I couldn't help but write it. I continue to question why I like to make myself (and LawLu) suffer. Either way, I'm very proud of this first chapter. I hope you enjoy.

(One Piece, Law x Luffy, Explicit)

Law spent ten years praying that his soulmate would never find him. He couldn't accept that his life would be decided by something as arbitrary as "fate." Even after he met his soulmate, Luffy, and everything felt right, Law still desired to break free from the chains that tried to bind him.

Luffy had been waiting for his soulmate for as long as he could remember. He is overjoyed when he finds him in the form of Law. He's everything Luffy ever dreamed his soulmate would be and more. He just can't understand why Law won't simply love him as fate decided.

Together, they face a problem much bigger than their feelings for each other—soul bindings are absolute. If you reject your soulmate, you die.

Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Modern, Setting, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Rejection, Falling In Love, Smut, Anal Sex, Switch Monkey D. Luffy, Switch Trafalgar D. Water Law, Self-Harm, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Eventual Happy Ending, Law is Fucked Up, My Demons are Cackling As I Write This

[amethystina]

Hello !!! I hope u r well and recovering 💘

Fir the ask game: 🤡❌️👀

Unfortunately, things are still pretty rough but I'm hanging in there :)

🤡 What’s a line, scene, or exchange you’ve written that made you laugh?

I'm not sure if there is such a line, to be honest. Mainly because most of the things I write aren't all that funny, but also because it takes a lot for me to laugh when it's my own writing. Because I already know the punchline before the joke's even started, so it's just not that exciting. If that makes sense?

That said, Yoon Sa Wol from Black Knight is an absolute hoot to write and there is one exchange in particular that definitely makes me want to cackle whenever I think about it. It's when he's talking to 4-1 (a coworker of his) and they accidentally stumble onto the subject of whether or not Sa Wol could have sex with 5-8 (the dude he is definitely interested in having sex with) and the following happens:

All things considered, it didn't seem like a bad idea at all. 4-1 didn't seem to agree. She gave him a flat look, as if the answer should be obvious. "He'd eat you for breakfast." Sa Wol paused for a beat but, really, the only thing he could think to say was: "I mean, wouldn't that be the whole point?" 4-1 let out a choked noise that sounded outright painful.

SA WOL, NO.

But also, kudos on being so goddamn shameless.

❌ What’s a trope you will never write?

I'm not sure if there is one? Because, sure, I'm not personally into mpreg or A/B/O but I can't say I'll never write them. Like, if someone gave me enough money to write those tropes, I probably would. We get money where we can in this economy xD

I think the closest I come to a complete "I refuse to write this" are the things I find triggering or just don't agree with on a moral level. So I'd have a hard time glorifying abuse, for example, or write something that involves incest or non-con between a romantic couple. The kind where transgressions are eventually forgiven or brushed aside because "they actually love them and it was just a mistake" and that kind of stuff.

There's a reason why I'm so determined to call out Yo Han's bullshit in my Devil Judge fics, for example, and why Moon Jo is such a lovesick simp in my Strangers From Hell fic. I find them to be incredibly fascinating as characters, but I admit I would never be able to write them doing something along those lines. They both skirt the line from time to time — which is sort of the point in some ways — but I try to criticise the behaviour rather than excuse or glorify it.

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

I kind of mentioned all of them when I did the WIP Tag Game not too long ago, so you can see what they are and read about them if you look at this tag right here!

But aside from that, I can say that I'm currently trying to edit and post chapter six of A New Dawn (Begins With Us), and, after that, I'm going to try and edit chapter 3 of The Right Set of Circumstances, and, after that, I... well, I don't know x'D I'll either try to edit Thou Shalt Not Covet or maybe I'll allow myself to write chapter 42 of Who Holds the Devil.

I'm kind of holding that chapter hostage right now since I HATE editing and would much rather write — it's just so much more fun. But if I only wrote and didn't edit, I would never post anything, so I kind of have to force myself to edit from time to time, too.

And it's extra annoying right now since I'm so feverish and that just makes editing ten times worse for some reason?

So yeah. I have a lot going on right now in terms of WIPs and it's kind of beginning to feel like a second job, not going to lie x'D

Thank you so much for the ask! :D

Fanfic Writer Emoji Ask

[invisibleraven]

unexpected gifts for the unexpected pairing of your choice ;D

"Dammit!"

Kayla looked up from her book, curiosity peaked as she heard Julie growl with aggravation once more. "Jewel? Is something the matter?"

"Sorry, I keep dying!"

"O...kay," Kayla stated, finally getting up to go look in the office. "You look pretty alive to me."

Julie rolled her eyes and pointed at her screen. "In my game. This stupid tween trolls keep killing me, and I'm annoyed because I am so close to winning every time they do!"

"You didn't strike me as the gaming type."

"I'm normally not," Julie admitted. "But after my mom passed, it was a good way to get Carlos out of his shell. We bonded a lot over games, and we still play together when we can. He's the one who got me into this game, even though I suck at it."

"Hey," Kayla said, coming over to squeeze her shoulders. "You're learning. Practice makes perfect right?"

"Yeah, I guess," Julie replied. She pushed off her headset, sighing as she looked up at Kayla, pursing her lips for a kiss, which was happily given. "I think I'm gonna put it to the side for the night though. Maybe we could watch a movie?'

"Sounds great."

The rest of the week, Kayla knew now what the sounds of frustration from the office meant, and each time she tried to help Julie-offering a snack, a shoulder massage, or a distraction. But enough was becoming enough.

Julie mashed on the buttons of her controller, cackling with victory as she took out one of the punks that had been sniping at her all week. But she knew his cronies were still out there, so she was on guard.

Yet there was no one-she could actually clench this one. She snuck around a wall, the end was so close, she could taste it. She just had to reach it without encountering anyone else.

But then-there he was, the head idiot, and here she was, with no ammo and her back against a literal wall.

"Fuck."

Only as she prepared to be killed by this douche again, she saw him fall. Looking around, she saw another player lower their weapon and waved at her to take the gold.

"thank you!' she typed out, running for the finish, cheering out loud as the YOU WIN flashed across the screen. "Kay! Kay I did it!"

"I know."

"Sorry, guess the screaming gave it away?" Julie said, turning around. Only Kayla was standing there, holding her laptop. "Oh crap, did I interrupt your work?"

Kayla shook her head, turning her screen towards Julie, and she was shocked to see the game screen looking back at her.

"Was...was that you? Who helped me?"

"Yeah, I figured I could give you a hand."

"But...you hate video games!"

"I don't hate them, I just have no interest in them," Kayla replied. "But I could see that those idiots were getting to you, so I got myself a copy, got good so I could give them a little retribution."

"You are the best girlfriend ever!" Julie squealed, leaping up to hug Kayla, trying to ensure she didn't topple over or drop her laptop.

"Anything for you Jewel, you know that."

"We should find something we can play together next!"

"Let's not go that far..."

[stackslip]

people went insane about the last two pages which, valid, i cackled out loud myself, but there's so many little details in this chapter that make my head spin, like:

nayuta getting her classmates to give her their desserts. that's so insanely petty i love this child i love that she's still very much the control devil and a little shit

the scale of the mass deaths and disappearances makes so much sense and it's gonna keep getting worse, and it's good to see how it affects everyone in society. so far we've mostly been seeing orphans who've lost their parents but kids themselves are just as likely to die, if not moreso!

asa's recurring dream.......... What Does This Mean

oh i'm losing my mind about this one. "report any persons inciting fear" could mean anything, from reporting wannabe doomsday prophets out of worry they'd increase the fear and thus the power of devils, to grifters, to an excuse to report and jail anybody who says anything about the government as "people inciting fear" lol

also yeah this is affecting the entire world. fun

I FUCKING KNEW HARUKA WAS GONNA BE A FIRE PUNCH SUN STAND-IN I KNEW IT. SUGAR WE ARE GOING DOWN SHIT IS GONNA BE SO AWFUL

watch the chainsaw man society get more and more powerful, watch as pochita's powers decrease, watch as eventually something happens to turn awe and adoration of chainsaw man into utter terror and thus increase his power

there's something really nasty about the talk show host inviting teenage haruka who's seen so many people die and is obviously so dedicated to chainsaw man in part because the world is so fucked up just to poke fun at him, like his classmates weren't murdered a couple of weeks ago.

i really, really like the use of mirrors here. genuinely

also fami's "you don't need to think"........ hmmmm the makima parallels are increasing

a world without evil.......... yeah they're gonna try to use pochita's powers to erase some things huh. we know yoshida talked about erasing death a while back huh

g-d i generally have absolutely no feelings on yoshida whatsoever except that he's fucking hilarious. hysterical even. gosh denji sure is good i plucked you out of class huh!!!!

he is certainly not beating the accusations either lmao

also denji losing his mind at public safety (bc no way this ain't public safety or a government org) putting their hands on nayuta......... emo

you know for all the jokes about yaoi it's definitely kinda chilling that denji would propose sexual favours in exchange for nayuta's safety. like idk if fujimoto is ever gonna explicitly state that denji is a csa survivor but it's hard for me to not think of this as another clue in that direction

only one week wait this time YIPPEE

[scullymurphy]

Two questions for you, as someone who just finished BL/FD:

How dare you?

What recommendations do you have for dealing with my BL/FD hangover? And BEFORE YOU SUGGEST ANYTHING please know that yes, I did immediately reread them. It’s literally all I’ve done this past week. I want (NEED) a young Harrison Ford to slice these fica open and shove my prone form inside them to keep me warm through winter.

Thank you for writing them and sharing them with the world!!

Looool!! I loved getting this in my inbox, THANK YOU! Fandom moves so fast that it's easy to feel like your work is done and dusted. You have no idea how happy it makes me to see it's still delighting and moving readers like you.😭🥰

To answer your questions:

I'm so sorry, I know. I wrote these two stories from a place of pure self-indulgence during the pandemic and some personal hard times. So I poured a lot of angst and emotion into them. Falling Dark especially does not pull any punches. So I do apologize, kind of 😈. I confess I love to make my readers cry and/or miss sleep and school or work. I need one of those 'tears of my readers' mugs!

Gah, I LOVE that you re-read already! And I mean, I wrote Teach Me How to Forget pretty quickly after FD wrapped in my own bid to staunch my hangover. It's the lighthearted, low-stakes, low-stress, few obstacles Dramione puff piece I needed to immerse myself in after all that angst. It's also got a rom-com 'young professionals in the city' vibe that's very different from the settings of BL and FD. So there's always that! And stories by other writers that have truly immersed me are Love and Other Historical Accidents by my great friend PacificRimbaud, Dancer Adjusting Her Shoulder Strap by adathoroughgood2018 (do not be put off by the fact that it's missing a last chapter--it's just an epilogue and it's truly not needed), ANYfreakingthing by provocative_envy (seriously do not limit yourself to her Dramione) and Hot for Teacher by MotherofBulls, which will have you cackling all the angst right out of your system. If you're in the mood for holiday stuff, the D/Hr Advent fest is posting right now, and giving some truly delightful stories and art. I have a story in the fest this year, and there are something like 13 years of collections, all of which contain absolute gems. ALSO, I may be (cough cough) posting a new WIP come January time. Although it will NOT be lighthearted or fun. We will all be on a dark, broody train with D&H trying to solve heinous crimes...

ANYway, thank you so much for this ask. It brightened my day immeasurably. xoxo ~Scully

[luimagines]

Ok so I was just thinking, imagine if modern!reader still had access to the internet in Hyrule and woke the boys up with the Monster Inc earr*pe meme

------

It had been a long day, a switch happened during right before everyone was going to bed and set them back to morning. To make matters worse, everyone was dropped in the middle of a lizalfos camp.

Needless to say, everyone was beyond exhausted. So much so that when they found a decent place to set up camp, everyone just dropped. It was still before noon mind you, bedrolls hadn't been placed, those who wore armour and chainmail still had them on, etc. Just asleep in seconds.

Fast forward and modern!reader is the first to wake up after the impromptu nap. It's now nearly supper time again so they decided to give Wild a break and make some food. Make a fire, set up the pot, get a meal cookin', all's good.

When the food is finally done, it is now time to wake everyone up so they can eat. Modern!reader decides to be efficient in this process so instead of going to each person and shaking their shoulder, they pull a bluetooth speaker from their bag.

They then proceed to blast this (https://youtu.be/dQzGkhd4YXw) at full volume while cackling like a mad person.

No one else is amused

------

I'll see myself out for this

~🖤

(Can i be 🖤 anon?)

Sure you can be that anon! XD

I'm not my computer right now so I can't really do the emoji thing, but there's not a black heart anon on the blog yet :D

Also. that is evil.

If I was woken up like that I would instantly choose violence.

I would know because one time I was asleep and my brother clapped by ear and I wanted to punch him so bad. My mother was nearby so she put a stop to that quickly but I have never been so angry!!!!!!!! GAH!

Those poor boys!!! No!!!! Do it gently and nicely!!!!! DX

[this-acuteneurosis]

Random. But do you have any star wars fic recs ? Fics recs of any kind are welcome actually ^_^

Oh, uh, sure.

Let's see, I've mentioned @chancecraz a bunch of times, I love all their stuff, if I had to pick a favorite I'd say Of Queens, Knights, and Pawns but how does one really choose?

I've also mentioned @fialleril and Double Agent Vader, which really got me into the SWs fandom in the first place. I love everything I have ever learned, it hits me so hard in the feels each time. (I also really loved Sigyn's Saga if we're also talking not-SW stuff.)

I enjoyed The Desert Sun series by @blue-sunshine-mauve-morning. (I will be honest, I have only read the first series I have not started Rise and Fall.) It's engaging and fun and thoughtful.

doing it by my lonesome and staring down the barrel of the hot sun by magneticwave are two fun Luke/Din stories featuring appropriately cute Grogu. I also liked pages filled with scribbled ink, which is an epistolary Padmé/Obi-Wan fic that had me cackling. (their non-SW stuff is good too, I especially enjoyed just me against the sky)

Other...serious(?) recs include: The Wingless Dragon by husborth if you like being sad and horrified about Vader's bad choices. Food Scandal by Malicean for some situational hilarity and for lots of OC perspective on Imperial bureaucracy (my other weakness aside from politics). PRojects IN Controlled Environments by Beth Winters for Imperial R&D bureaucracy, more situational hilarity, and very relatable coworker nonsense.

More silly/fun premises include: Compromising by samvelg, which inspired me to write a (very different) Piett POV of Luke and Vader nonsense. Memo: Jedi Maintenance (The Care and Feeding of Your Jetii) by RainofLittleFishes is exactly what it says and what you would hope for from such a title. Luke Skywalker is Altogether Too Likeable by Mokulule is another Piett POV of Skywalker nonsense.

As far as Non-Star Wars recs

It would be a crime and sin if I didn't mention Embers by Vathara , an Avatar the Last Airbender fic which honestly changed my life and how my brain was shaped.

World Ain't Ready by @idiopathicsmile is a Les Mis fic I've gone back to a few times. The dialogue is just really good. I spend a lot of the fic laughing, and also screaming at the characters.

I fell absurdly in love with Second person familiar, I think because it tickles some part of me that just dies over linguistics, and I'm a fan of pretty much everything @jackironsides has done for The Witcher.

Salvage by @muffinlance is a very fun Avatar the Last Airbender fic about Zuko getting reluctantly adopted by Hakoda (it's so good).

Finding the Line by Miss_Lazy_Tuesday is a Batfam fic that sort of ruined me at one point, it's fine. (I enjoy their other stuff too.)

The Angel of Hell's Kitchen by MarbleGlove is a Daredevil fic. I don't really go here, but this was about social structures, bureaucracy, and doing the work, and we all know I can't help myself.

Reconstruction by rageprufrock is the story of Stephanie Rogers, but like, it's Pru writing it. So. Characters are great. World building is great. Tension and longing and grief are great. I cannot stress enough how good the academic and news article asides are. Like, it's good. Incomplete, but so good.

Ordinary Numbers by BootsnBlossoms and Kryptaria, a James Bond fic that I keep coming back to because I too would be a sucker for someone who sent me needlessly expensive gifts.

And This, Your Living Kiss by opal_bullets is a Supernatural fic about poetry. I am not in this fandom, but again, my weakness for language gets me every time.

ever fallen in love (on national TV)? by ganymede_elegy is a GoT Jonsa modern Bachelor AU and...guys I cannot express how much I Do Not Go here, and how much I still recommend this fic. Like, it's just...I don't know. It worked. In spite of me knowing nothing about GoT or The Bachelor. wtf

survival of the fittest by cywscross is a short Naruto fic about a very unpleasant adventure for Sakura and Shikarmaru that just...worked. As a story. Dunno, I just really like it.

I could be wrong, I could be ready by harryromper is a Harry/Draco fic where they are disasters and traumatized, and it is about healing and building houses as a metaphor for overcoming trauma, and it's fine, I'm fine.

eternity will be born from hope by theseviolentdelights99 is a Yuri!!! on Ice fic that is about a time traveling Yuuri who (you'll never guess) goes back in time and does bureaucracy in his hometown and his sport to help the people that he loves. The unreliable narrator is excellent, the social media asides are wonderful, and it's not complete but it is exactly my poison.

(Wow, this is so long and all over the place...)

[asukaskerian]

For the writing ask game: 7, 13, and 18?

7. How many ideas for fics do you have right now?

n... none...

i lie, i have two for svsss but i'm not gonna write them. they're too vague, have no ending, AND i would have to reread the canon to make sure i place them well and my current brain weather is not good for it.

but it's VERY weird and unsettling not to be having a dozen competing ideas right now, outside of writing out already planned WIPs. :(

13. How much planning do you do before writing?

highly depends! sometimes i have an idea for a scene and type out the scene and i'm left scrambling for what happens next, most times i know the first three chapters and a nebulous skeleton of the rest (then when it's time to fill out those "maybe two chapters worth of materials" the fic becomes an accordion) , often i have a whole file of copypasted chats with friends where we laughingly riff on said ideas and them i'm left desperately trying to frankenstein it all together because i love all of it and can't choose...

recently i've been using Dynalist to make myself bullet point plots, it's super good, it has collapsible sub-bullets and stuff and it's very convenient to see the big chapter titles all at once and figure out where the fic is plot-light or plot-heavy, and then i can get into a chapter and add tidbits that need to be mentioned etc etc.

but, i still get distracted too easily so sometimes i fill out 3/4ths of a plot and wander off all "oh i know what happens i'll write it later i'm sure i'll remember" WRONG...

or else i plot everything from start to finish and lose all desire to write it in full. that also happens. :(

18. What’s one of your favorite lines you’ve written in a fic?

... memory is really bad today ;; idk. it mostly all does its job?

ok i was going down my fic list and this one made me cackle, so right now, this one:

"You guys are touching daemons and you're going to say you're not touching dingalongs? Papa-san, either you have raised a liar or a fool."

but i also REALLY like sentences that are very simple and even pedestrian on their own, but it's the implications that make you go oh noooo. like this one:

Maybe if Dave manages sex they can cuddle afterwards.

mmm. delicious. >:D

[blood-mocha-latte]

so i mentioned this in a post like yesterday and immediately have decided on previewing this monster of a fic about a ship and fandom i have never brought up on this blog before! but, as mentioned again in a previous post, i locked myself out of that blog so...

it seems we are previewing it here!

literally just a vietnam war harringrove au, because i never write anything easy (so the rumor has it), so enjoy this hot mess!

-------

Steve's been in Vietnam for a little less than five months, and yet the one thing he's certain of about the country is that it is, without a doubt, fucking hot.

His shirt is long gone, probably somewhere in the bottom of his duffle. He'd finally shed his boots after a fierce internal debate about permanent sand in the liners of the jungle boots versus jungle rot, the sun-heated sand like fire ants against his now-bare feet.

They've been off the front line for a little less than four days, all four of which, for some reason, Steve has been obligated to spend on the beach from sunrise to sundown.

Jonathan Byers is sitting a few paces away from him, also fine with just sitting on the sand banks instead of going into the tumultuous ocean, bent over and fiddling with the shoelaces of his own jungle boots.

"Get any good shots?" Steve asks, awkward, having to shout slightly over the sound of the crashing waves and the rest of the shouting unit.

Jonathan looks up quickly, eyes wary, before blinking and turning to drift his hand over the camera case laying in the sand next to him.

"Nah," He says, pressing his lips together in an awkward approximation of a smile before dropping his eyes back down to his boots. "I've gotten photos of the previous three days, and publication doesn't want too many of everyone..." He trails off, lifting a hand from the laces to wave it around vaguely. "They don't want everyone thinking that the guys over here are slacking off."

Steve just nods, turning to look back out at the shore.

He has to pause and think about that for a minute or two. Steve doesn't really think that this is slacking off - according to Hop, the army's been pretty short on men, and they'd been on the front line for a little over three weeks rather than the usual eight days.

Four days of boogie-boarding and beach dwelling seems like more of a reward than slacking off, but, well, Steve isn't smart. He's sure there's things going on behind the scenes that he doesn't know about or wouldn't understand.

While he's staring out where the distant shapes of the rest of his unit are splashing around in the shore, Jonathan moves from fiddling with his boots to fiddling with his camera case, flipping the leather flap of the thing back and forth.

Steve likes Jonathan, he had decided, early on when the other had joined the group. Granted, Steve's only met three embedded journalists, but Jonathan had stuck out the longest, going on three weeks of his apparent seven.

He's lasted the longest, anyway, of the three, and he's quiet, so Steve doesn't think he could be all bad.

"You're not ever gonna go out there?" Jonathan asks him abruptly, and Steve turns again to look at him. "I mean, last day here, might as well..." He trails off again, and Steve hums.

"Nah," He says, and thinks about his parents' swimming pool. "I - have a thing with water. Rice paddy's are bad enough, I'm okay not dealing with the ocean."

Jonathan just nods, and Steve turns his attention back to the shore, where a new wave of hollering has been started up by the guys. Steve only catches the tail end of it, but he sees Tommy Hagan shove a cackling Billy Hargrove into a sandbank.

Billy Hargrove.

Steve doesn't know what he thinks of Billy Hargrove.

To be fair, Steve doesn't often think, but his point still stands.

Hargrove is... something else, Steve thinks, because that's what his mother would tell him about guys like Billy Hargrove.

Ellen's kid got put in the slammer again, stole a pack of Juicy Fruit from the corner shop. That boy is something else.

Steve doesn't really believe that Hargrove is really... bad, per se. He watches out for the other guys, they watch out for him. But... he seems to take a sort of joy in being in Vietnam that Steve doesn't really see.

Steve doesn't think it's dangerous, but he thinks it's... unique.

But again, Steve doesn't often think. Maybe he's rusty at it.

Billy Hargrove has pushed himself off of the bank and has turned his back to the ocean, waving his hand at the boos of the rest of the guys, and is walking towards Steve as Steve works on thinking.

Jonathan notices him before Steve does, but doesn't bother doing much else other than pull his boots closer to him before dropping his attention back to the camera case.

"Got a fag?" Hargrove shouts at Steve as he gets closer, and Steve just blinks at him.

"Huh?" He asks, trying to find a reason that Billy would drag himself out of the ocean, seeing that Steve's at least eighty percent certain that Hargrove lives off of sea water.

"A fag," Hargrove repeats, making an aborted gesture of bringing two fingers up to his lips. "You know, cancer sticks? You ain't goin' out in the water, pretty boy, you've got no reason not to have a pack on you."

"Oh," Steve says, and then has to try and remember where in the hell his cigarettes are. "I think they're back at the reserve trench. Kept getting sand in the pack."

There's sand everywhere, all the time, even when it's pouring buckets and they're squatting in the middle of a rice paddy, because apparently sand is just a permanent part of Steve's life now. He's pretty sure that if he shook like a dog that he'd bear an uncanny resemblance to Pigpen from The Peanuts.

"Well, shit. Why'd I come over here, then?" Billy says, then drops into the sand next to Steve anyways.

Steve says, "I dunno." And leaves it at that.

Billy's been with them for about three months, eighteen clusters of tally marks carved messily into the inside of his helmet, not that he's wearing it now.

((Hagan had told Steve that Billy hadn't cut his hair all through basic and that it had been down to his shoulders, and the reason that Hargrove has that small crescent scar that follows the curve of his jaw is because right before he was deployed one of the drill sergeants held him down and cut it with a butcher knife, and that Billy had bit him.

Tommy had stories like that for everyone in the unit, liked to make it sound like everyone was some big badass from one of those old flicks about the second big one, but Steve thinks that that's all they are: stories.

Tommy tells everyone else a story about Steve where the reason that Steve's over here is because he told his old man that he'd rather fight the Viet Cong with just a stiletto knife than buy his way out of the draft, and that certainly isn't true, so Steve doesn't think the story about Hargrove is.

But Steve also wouldn't believe Tommy Hagan if the guy said that squirrel shit has nuts in it, so he supposes anything is possible.))

Roughly ninety tally marks in Hargrove's helmet, and Steve still feels like he's the newest member.

In reality, he'd been the newest one for Steve, who had only stopped being the green one once Hargrove came along.

All this to say, Steve still has no idea of what to do with Billy Hargrove.

So he just goes back to staring at the shore and practises thinking.

Except for now his concentration is shot to shit, because where Jonathan Byers sort of becomes camouflaged into the background of whatever he's doing at the moment, Billy Hargrove stands out like Day-Glo, and makes Steve just as dizzy.

(Steve thinks, absently, that Billy Hargrove could be a perfect poster boy for the army. He could even see a Hawkins High School newspaper headline for him if he thinks hard enough about it: Groovy new army brat gets to lovin' and killin' in the 'Nam, more on page six.)

“I don’t blame you for not going out into the ocean, Harrington,” Billy says, when no one’s said anything for a few minutes. When Steve glances over out of the corner of his eye, he can no longer see Jonathan and feels a spike of envy. For some reason, he can never escape anything as easily.

“That so?” Steve prompts slowly, when Hargrove doesn’t elaborate. He probably shouldn’t play into Billy’s palm, knows he doesn’t say anything kind for free and hardly ever charges anything, but, well.

He left his cigarettes at the reserve trench, he supposes this is the next best thing.

“That’s so.” Billy repeats him, eyes still on the shoreline. “You need to be sturdy in water, otherwise it’ll pull you under. You never plant your feet, you’d be swept away.”

Steve can’t help but laugh at that. He says, “I’d say I’m pretty sturdy with an M1,” because it’s true. He’s a damn good shot, one of the best in the unit, and being sturdy with a weapon seems more important than being sturdy in the sea.

Billy just hums. “I could be sturdier than you, if I wanted,” He says, and Steve glances at him again. Hargrove still hasn’t looked at him, sharp eyes in vivid contrast to where he sits, lithe and relaxed, on a beach in South Vietnam.

“Do you think so?” Steve asks him, because he’s actually curious. Hargrove is fast, sure, but he sure as hell doesn’t have the accuracy that some of the others in the unit have, people like Steve and Jason Carver.

Billy finally turns to look at him, flashes him a smile that seems more like baring his teeth than genuine happiness. “I never stop thinking,” He tells Steve.

Then why are you here? Steve wonders, but doesn’t say. He supposes it’s not any of his business.

“Then why aren’t you?” Steve asks, instead. “Sturdier, I mean.”

Billy shrugs. “I’d rather be precarious.” He says easily, and settles further into the sand.

Steve envies Billy Hargrove at times, on top of being unsure of what to know of him. To be so certain and so stable that you can afford to be capricious. It’s something he’s unaware of, but seems to be the whole of Hargrove.

“What are you doing all the way over here, anyways?” Billy asks, when it’s been a few more seconds of silence. “You could have come closer to the shore, you know, it won’t bite you.”

You’re all the way over here, too. Steve thinks and doesn’t say. “I have no doubt you or Hagan or Carver or someone else would drag me out into the waves.” He tells Billy instead, because it’s true. “Also, the shore moves.”

Hargrove snorts. “The shore doesn’t move, the tide comes in.” He corrects, and Steve doesn’t interject, although the two seem the same to him. “And not everyone would try to drag you into the water.” He pauses, as if thinking. “Patrick probably wouldn’t.”

“Patrick’s an outlier and shouldn’t be counted,” Steve tells him, because it’s true. Patrick McKinney has to be one of the nicest people that Steve’s ever met; although granted, Steve hasn’t met a lot of nice people. “‘Sides, it doesn’t matter much because I’m not going down there. The lot of you sure as hell aren’t flower children, I wouldn’t trust you with a grenade.”

He’s probably not using that phrase right, because he actually does trust everyone in this rag-tag bunch with a grenade, and has on multiple occasions, but, well. His point stands.

Billy thumbs at his nose and shrugs. “Yeah, well, you ain’t a dove, either.” He retorts dryly, and kicks out his leg to spray sand in Steve’s direction.

“Never said I was,” Steve says evenly, and as he tries to brush the sand out of his hair and wonders if he’d be able to get it out of the waistband of his khakis, he really, really wishes he’d just brought his damn smokes.

[skylarkking]

"One In The Same"

A Blitzwing x Mech!Reader fanfic

Word count: 1.7k

Chapter 1: Two Cats In An Alley

“Ugh Ratchet come on!” I whined as the medic messed around with some cables connected to the back of my helm. “It's itching really badly.”

“Hold still, Y/D.” Ratchet scolded me. “I'm almost done making adjustments to your stabilizing collar.”

“Yeah um, you never really explained what that thing does?” Sari commented as she sat on my pede and watched the medic work.

“It keeps me from going crazy!” I cackled as my optics turned orange. “Which is just crazy to think about!” 

“Hey!” Ratchet huffed as he lightly whacked my helm with a wrench. “Quit moving! Don't want to cross wires.”

“Sorry docbot.” I said meekly as my optics returned to blue. 

“As Y/D was so eloquently explaining,” Ratchet said with a thick layer of sarcasm. “The stabilizing collar helps control his changing mental states. They used to be far more volatile than before, so I know I'm going in the right direction with these adjustments.”

“How bad?” Sari asked with a sympathetic look.

“He used to switch states around every 5 to 10 earth minutes.” the medic explained. “Now it’s mostly under control.” Ratchet finished the adjustments and reconnected the 3 cables to the collar, my frame stiffening for a second before relaxing. “There, that should do it. And don't you think about trying that stunt again!”

“Hey! It was Bumblebee’s idea to go drag racing in the mud!” I laughed.

“DON’T BRING ME INTO THIS!” Bumblebee yelled from where he was playing video games on the makeshift sofa. 

“Aww, you're still mad I beat you?” I teased.

“Only because I didn't calculate how slippery mud is.” Bumblebee countered.

“Heh, sure, Bee, whatever you say.” I snickered before looking at Ratchet. “Can't promise I won't ask for a rematch.”

“I mean it, Y/D.” Ratchet scolded. “No more dangerous drag races. You almost ripped your processor out.”

“Yeah yeah I know.” I sighed, my tone becoming more meek and somber. “Thanks for fixing it, though.”

“It's not a problem, Y/D. You just need to be more careful.” Ratchet said. 

“No promises. But I'll try.” I chuckled. 

“Hey Sari!” Bumblebee called over to the girl. “Wanna play that stick game with the wheels and the little black plastic thing?”

“you mean street hockey?” Sari laughed as she hopped off my pede. “yeah! Let me get my gear.” 

I watched the little organic run off to her best friend, and a small smile crept up on my dermas. 

“It's crazy to think we'd end up here.” I said to Ratchet. “Thousands of light years from Cybertron on an organic planet filled with such variety to defend the very essence of Cybertronian life.”

“It is… quite a different experience.” Ratchet said. “Certainly not one I'd expect for myself.”

“Y/D, are you ready for your patrol?” Optimus asked as he entered the makeshift medbay. 

“Yeah, if uh, it's okay with you, Ratchet.” I asked the medic.

“Just don't do anything stupid.” Ratchet said.

“Yeah yeah I won't.” I chuckled as I strode out of the base and shifted to my ground mode, taking to the streets with a slight roar of my engine. 

My patrols were usually uneventful since I wasn't really supposed to go far from the Autobot base. But that didn't stop me from occasionally breaking my routes when necessary. 

And today was no exception.

“Optimus.” I called over the comlink as two red streaks of light rushed by me overhead, followed by the sound of something massive crashing not far ahead. “We've got a disturbance downtown. I'm going to investigate.”

“Be careful, Y/D.” Optimus said. 

I headed towards the crash site and saw a billow of smoke rising up out of a massive crator. News report drones buzzed about the impact site and were no doubt broadcasting the whole thing. I shifted forms, and using some tricks Prowl had taught me, I carefully crept my way closer to the edge.  

I saw two massive figures climb up from the crater, and I instantly dove for cover. I rolled to the side and pressed my back against a shipping container that was sitting next to a bunch of construction equipment. 

“Optimus.” I whispered over the comlink. “We have 2 big baddies here. Lock on my coordinates. Hurry.”

��Zis can't be those miserable Autobots!” A voice snapped, followed by the sound of crunching metal. “They're far too small!” I then heard some sort of transformation noise that I couldn't identify followed by a new yet similar voice. “But look at zat one!” It cackled, followed by heavy pedesteps dangerously close to where I was hiding. “It's big, it's bold, it's sassy!”

‘The frag?’ I thought to myself. ‘Who is this bot?’ I peeked around the side just in time to see a massive purple and green mech throw another that I didn't get a good look at to the side, his singular crimson optic fixating onto one of the wrecking ball machines.

“YOU!” He bellowed. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH OUR BELOVED LEADER, MEGATRON? TALK!”

‘Megatron?’ I thought. ‘Oh scrud! They're Decepticons!’

“Optimus, I'm a sitting scraplet out here!” I hissed over the comms. “Wherever you are, you'd better get here quick bef-”

“What was that?” The purple and green mech snarled as his attention was shifted to my hiding place.

“Scrap!” I whispered as I hid from view, my spark thundering in my chassis as if it were going to explode at any moment. 

Suddenly, the shipping container I was taking shelter behind was flung away, the jolt from the movement throwing me onto my side. I looked up to see a massive tan and violet Decepticon with broad shoulders, double barrel cannons, wings, and… tank treads?

I scrambled to my pedes as my optics went absolutely wide in awe. Was I seeing things? Was I really seeing another one like me? I had to make sure. 

Cautiously, but curiously, I circled the Decepticon, his blue faced helm, and crimson optics following my movements with equal curiosity. 

“You.” I whispered. “You're… you're like me?” Before the other triple changer could answer, the green and purple mech turned around and spotted me.

“YOU! AUTOBOT!” The mech bellowed as he stormed up to me and grabbed my smaller frame in his massive servo. 

“LET ME GO!” I begged as I squirmed in his grip, panic flooding me and tears pooling in my optics. 

“WHERE IS MEGATRON!?” He barked, his grip tightening onto my frame and slowly crushing the metal of my armor with sickening crunching sounds. I screamed in pain, and the tears fell, my vents rasping as i struggled to get air. “TALK!”

“S-stop!” I begged, the mech squeezing again and forcing a shriek out of me. 

“I SAID TALK!”

“Lugnut.” The triple changer said coldly. “Give him to me.”

“Why?” The mech, Lugnut, questioned. I heard the sound from before and saw a new face appear on the triple changer, this one red and very angry.

“YOU CLAMBERING CLANK CLUTZ! GIVE ME ZE AUTOBOT! OR I'LL POUND YOU TO SLAG!”

“Not until he tells me where Megatron is!” Lugnut's grip tightened even more, and I felt two of my four helicopter blades snap. I screamed, and my optics went wide with tears that poured out like waterfalls. 

“I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!” I sobbed violently. “PLEASE STOP! STOP! IT HURTS IT HURTS!”

“Zat's enough Lugnut.” The cool tone of the triple changer said. 

“He's hiding the truth Blitzwing. I know it.” Lugnut growled. I looked over to the triple changer with a pleading and pain filled gaze. Blitzwing swapped back to the angry red face and growled at Lugnut.

“GIVE THE AUTOBOT TO ME! NOW!” He barked. “OR I'LL BREAK YOUR ONLY OPTIC AND MAKE YOU EAT IT!”

“Y/D!” I heard Ratchet call as he and the others finally rolled up onto the scene.

“Ohohoho!” Blitzwing cackled as his face shifted to a black screen with a red jack-o-lantern like intake and optics. “Zere are more of them!”

“Let him go, Decepticon!” Optimus barked.

“As you wish.” Lugnut sneered before throwing my extremely damaged frame to the Autobots. I yelped in pain as I tumbled and bounced on the hard ground, eventually sliding to a stop.

“Kid!” Ratchet cried out as he quickly ran to my sobbing side as the others attacked the Decepticons. 

“It… it hurts.” I sobbed with rapid vents as panic took over. 

“Hey hey look at me.” Ratchet said calmly. “It's okay, I'll get you out of here.”

“Ratchet. I-I-I…. Can't vent! Can't vent can't vent!” My audials rang loudly, and my internal systems blared with alerts, my vision going staticky as everything siezed up. I could barely see Ratchet say something to me, but the ringing in my audials drowned out what he said.

Then everything went black as one last warning displayed.

[Initiating Shutdown]

—--------

“Ratchet, is he going to be okay?” Optimus asked as the medic laid my damaged frame onto the medical berth, the other Autobots gathering around me with varying expressions of worry and concern.

“With Sari's key, he should be fine physically.” Ratchet said. “But… I'm not so confident in regards to his mental condition.”

“What do you mean?”

“He went into a serious full system shutdown. It's happened before.” The medic said as he looked to my oddly peaceful expression. 

“He'll come out of it, right?” Bumblebee asked with a sad waver in his voice. 

“I… I hope so. But we need Sari's key if we are to find out.”

“I'll go get her.” Bulkhead said. As the big green mech left Bumblebee and Prowl followed close behind, leaving Optimus and Ratchet behind.

“Ratchet,” Optimus said. “When you did this happened before… what do you mean?”

“He's had full system shutdowns before when we were still figuring out how to get his mental states under control.” Ratchet explained. “They… are difficult to deal with and… I fear with each one he has the longer and longer it takes for him to come out of it. The last time this happened it… i thought i lost him forever.”

“Y/D's a tough bot.” Optimus said as he placed a reassuring servo on the medic. “He'll be okay.”

“That's what I keep telling myself.” Ratchet said quietly. After a long silence, a quiet whine left me as my optics cracked open.

“R… Ratchet…” I whispered.

“Hey kid.” Ratchet sighed with relief. 

“H…hurt.”

“I know, Sari will be here in a moment, and you'll feel better, okay?”

“O…okay.”

---------

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[glassedplanets]

hi. zosan tattoo!au. a) no sensible chuckle here I'm fucking cackling b) love the paired sword through the pec tattoos they've got!!! love that detail!! c) does sanji have one of those butcher "heres where the different cuts come from off a pig / cow" guide tattoos or was that too cliche and d) how inked is the rest of the crew or were the brainworms contained to these two

this is a full ensemble cast AU baybee!! everyone's in it!!!!! the art is biased towards zosan because i myself am biased :^) but to give a very brief rundown: luffy's the owner of thousand sunny tattoo & piercing and the IRS would have his head on a pike if nami didn't have her shit together

everything luffy does is completely off the cuff, vibrantly colorful, extremely dynamic, zero guarantee that you'll get what you ask for bc he decides what he wants to do on a whim. his booking list goes like, almost two years out.

zoro's style is predominantly traditional japanese, will sometimes do reproductions of woodblock prints; very seldom goes back to traditional mediums but does so occasionally (this is a backstory to be unlocked)

nami is their piercer! she also has a backstory to be unlocked! she handles their licensing, inspections, and finances. they would all be dead without her.

usopp has a background in illustration (for children's books!) and loves to do both fun, imaginative, whimsical art and technical illustrations of plants

sanji does american traditional with unusual motifs (often food), still takes shifts at the baratie every so often, zeff has his paintings hung up, sanji finds this soooo embarrassing (endearing)

chopper is slowly working his way up to apprenticeship, was going to go into medical illustration And Then He Met Luffy

robin does extremely detailed and highly technical (body) horror

franky does sickass biomechanical type stuff

this is a direct quote from giffy because it's so fucking funny i can't bring myself to summarize it: "brook was a big name in the 80's and then luffy met him at like. a denny's parking lot and was like hey!! want a job. the denny's is run by moria, it's the closest place to undeath i can imagine"

jinbei does really bold, intricate geometric blackwork, guested a couple of times, and then luffy sniped him for permanents from big mom's for-profit college scam

i'll be real with you i am SO BAD at coming up with tattoos for characters but i think sanji would have something to do with different cuts of meat in some way tbh. the minute i posted this blue hit me with "okay please tell me sanji has a mermaid tattoo somewhere" and my jaw dropped bc i didn't think of that myself but it's absolutely correct, he does (either on the side of his ribs or on a thigh, idk). also glad you brought up the Tiddy Tattoos because now i get to make another bullet point explanation!

luffy has given everyone on the crew a tattoo over their heart (or like, as close as possible if they already had something there)

zoro was first, so his is the simplest: an anchor, for steadiness

sanji's is a reflection of where luffy met him: the way the baratie feels like for luffy via synesthesia, lots of colors and waves and love, very abstract yet vivid

zoro and sanji exchanged those right about when they both realized they're in it for the long haul re: luffy and originally it was just an acknowledgment of what each of them means to luffy

the italicized oh moment came later. everyone else continues to find this immeasurably funny.

(robin's is two hands: one reaching out for help, the other reaching out to offer it)

(usopp's is the shape of his kabuto with a bright burst of vivid green in the middle)

(chopper's is a caduceus staff with the wings bursting outwards in a spray of color, the edges fading out to cherry blossoms)