#in the meantime finishing games Ive been meaning to!!!

[dapperrokyuu]

Finished Kirby's Return to Dreamland (main game) for the first time. Yippee!!!

[omophagic-beast]

for the tarot asks! Empress and Moon!

hi! thank you for the ask :33 questions are from this ask game

The Empress — Where do your ideas come from? OR Do you seek out or avoid inspiration while working on an idea?

i answered the first one here, so ill answer the second one this time >:3

i absolutely seek out inspiration while working on an idea! i feel like you gotta. though theres always a touch of fear that whatever im working on is something someone has done before, i think trying to avoid confirmation of that just means youre denying your project the opportunity to grow in an unexpected way

also i would be but dust without my project pinterest boards

The Moon — Talk about a game you’re working on and what you’re struggling with.

i havent been working on anything recently, not since we finished the final draft of Before the Flood, but ive committed to having my time travel game (working title Hooked) be my next project (not including game jam stuff)

but if i may make a prediction about whats going to be difficult with it, id guess the layout. its going to be written like a time travelers journal, a person giving advice to their past selves in an attempt to perfect and escape the loop theyre in. but the journal has been passed down through several loops already, which means currently ive got around 6 versions of this character in my head who all want to add their notes into the margins of the game

im not even sure how to show that in a plain word doc, notes with numbers beside them? different typefaces? i know i want them to be different colors in the final game but in the meantime i want things to be as plain and easy to read as possible

and then the actual process of laying everything out is just, oof. i want to preemptively apologize to my future self for this one

its gonna be sick though

[tryhardgwen]

rs archive 03/12/2024:

I'm interested to know what your writing process is like! I know you have several wips right now (and I'm so excited to get to read them hopefully in the future) so how do you choose what to work on? Do you just write on the wip depending on your mood for the day? or do you stick to one until you finish it and then move on to the next one? Do you also do outlines or just go in with feelings?

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS QUESTION SINCE I MADE MY RETROSPRING ANON I QUITE LITERALLY LOVE YOU (yes... i am an attention whore and narcissist that likes talking about myself i am so sorry) but . um. sorry i get excited. i just like chatting and discussing things 🥹🥹

so one thing about me is i TRY to choose what to work on and make lists but i ultimately fail. i don't control shit. you will see my tweet about wip lists on twt "i will finish gumakeria aml spinoff for valentines day" no im fucking not. "ok i work on this in march, this during summer..." no i absolutely wont. im not listening to a thing. i just work on whatever im inspired by atm. its all very messy and uncoordinated. i have wips from last year i haven't finished, yet i have a published fic that i thought of and completed in two weeks (??). make it make sense. some of my older wips need to be let out of the dungeon i nEED to work on them. SOME OF THEM DONT EVEN MAKE SENSE TO BE RELEASED ANYMORE BECAUSE ITS LIKE TIME-RELATED AND my own self ruined that. like i have 2023 summer fics in the works. i could've written and released them during worlds?? but no i worked on aml instead. by the time i release those time-relevant fics its going to be so long ago. will anyone care about them? should i even write them at this point? i don't know. :| why am i a mess. my mind is literally a mess. why do i do this to myself.

so yeah, i just choose to work on based on vibes/how i feel which leads to a lot of fics in the dungeon. i will eventually get re-inspired and finish those, but who knows how long that's going to take. i do work on one wip at a time pretty much, but not necessarily until i finish it. oftentimes ill choose an idea and finish it then move onto the next one, but like i said, sometimes i will abandon said wip to go work on and finish another. i have like 10k of a camp half blood au rotting in the dungeon. also 8k of this piltover au gumaoner ive been trying to finish since may of last year. longfics also fuck up my schedule a bit because of how... long they are. i usually work on them consistently for quite a while and work on other smaller fics in the meantime. i think i started the hunger games au in may of 2023? im not even close to done because i kinda jotted down the starting ideas, didn't touch it until november (so, after i finished writing "all my love"), and then like didnt touch it all of worlds bc i was pissed off at it. then i picked it up again in 2024 (rewriting all 50k i had written previously) and that's what im working on in the background rn. "background" as in i will put it aside if i have a shorter fic idea to work on and quickly publish. like i abandoned it for 2 weeks to work on the kindred showmaker&chovy fic. you see what i mean?

all my wips typically start with an idea and one or two lines of dialogue. ("imagine being loved by me" started with the two lines "where do i belong / with me, of course.") or i'll listen to music to get an idea which the lines/scene then spawn from, or i see some picture of some proplayer (keria with "don't blame me") ill jot them on a google doc or a discord server, and then when im inspired ill expand on it, and eventually finish it! a lot of my scene ideas happen in my head before writing. sometimes ill think whole scenes through in my head, including dialogue and actions, before putting it to paper (or, document on the computer i guess). other times it just comes as i write. sometimes i write fics in one sitting ("homemade dynamite") but most of the time its longer than that, whether it be a week or like, months lol.

as for outlines, i do not use outlines. barely, anyway. honestly, outlines would probably help me a lot! i used them twice i think (both recent fics, huh), once with "take a bite" because fluff is so fucking hard to write i needed help, and another time with "the mouth of the wolf, the eyes of the lamb" because i wrote the ending for that fic first and needed help filling it in. but yeah, generally no outlines. oftentimes i have a whole detail of the story in my head to begin with, or i just write and sees what comes out. again, i am not organized in the least. rip me.

i also... don't write chronologically as you might've been able to tell. i like bounce between wips and scenes. the very first scene of aml i wrote was actually the scene of wooje driving the mustang again for the first time in chapter one! typically, like i said, my wip ideas will start with a few scene, and only once i have those down will i write chronologically to link up the other scenes and complete the fic!

soo i hope that sort of like explained/gave you some insight on my very messy writing process (i have a very messy brain.) as a parting gift i will give you a wip list that i will definitely not follow. do not fucking trust me. 1. hunger games au. 2. worlds fakenut. 3. yeah why am i making a list im not going to follow it. BUT I WANT TO FINISH THE HUNGER GAMES AU SO BAD ITS TAKING SO LOOOOONG OH MY GOD. okay, anyway. i love you. thank you so much for asking 🥹🫶🫶!! i hope you have an amazing day <3

[askfallenroyalty]

is this blog still active? it's ok if it isn't

Yeah I'm just in an art slump from overworking myself. I mentioned before I left for a bit that I was taking a month or two off to get over it

I've also deleted the tumblr/Twitter apps off my phone and stopped checking the sites habitually (I still glance at it every few days) because I realized I was wasting my time online so often. Social media was becoming a huge stresser so I stopped.

Honestly, this blog has been a huge stresser as well. I overworked myself to finish the story (ironically at the finish line) and I've been more self reflective of the experience since.

Idk. Anyway I'm not feeling up for much of anything lately. Sorry I'm not very active/social lately. I don't know what I'm doing with my life and it's not really anyone online's business but my own -something only I can figure out.

But yeah I still intend to come back one of these days and finish AFR properly. I don't know when that is, but should be in the near future-ish.

In the meantime I've been making progress on my fangame and working more heavily on one of the team projects I help on. I'm keeping myself busy. I want to be a better game dev.

But yeah back on topic: thank you and others who've been concerned. Ive always have had AFR as a separate account in a different browser to help space myself from this account and not obsess over it -but it also means I can neglect checking it a lot easier.

[bimbosupreme]

mephistopheles love post

the equivalent of a mental breakdown tangent is all going under a read more

yes believe it or not that freaky ass literally not even human clown in fgo gets love, and love from who? me and like 3 other people

first off

ok and with that out of the way,

i’m not even familiar with their lore. Reason why i stopped caring about the lore behind faust and mephistopheles is that an interlude happens that shows that mephistopheles is just some homunculi made by some mage nobody named faust. and even then the interlude doesn’t talk about the lore behind the novel, its just you helping mephy kill faust

that being said though i would hope the developers expand on their origins more and potentially even release a “true” mephistopheles (a girl can dream)

So, they’re not even the real deal demon known as Mephistopheles in the first place, and i can hear u going “well that’s lame” and like, no, we just need to redirect our feelings from appreciating a demon to appreciating a homunculi who has a weird characterization in the fate universe

Design tangent:

Fgo was actually my first gacha, and so when I came across this servant I kinda instantly fell in love with their design, I love the colors used in their final ascension and overall appearance. The hat that has horns but they're not quite horns, theyre these weird colorful pointy twisty things, the large garish butterfly ornament on their chest (which isnt ugly at all and somehow works so well with their everything on them) is cool, the tights are so cool to look at, i mean look -- a checkered pattern with golden lining on the shorts portion, the tits out look like yes we get it youre insane, the gloves??? purple and also cool, plus theyve got this gradient thing going on? and the fingers have this line going through them, thats so cool. actually the only other servant that comes close to this in terms of “out there” colorful designs is probably final ascension kama and qsh ( i love them both). Also, mephy has this scissor weapon?? thats so cool lol i dont see any other servant wielding giant scissors (for the love of god give mephy an animation update i need to see them use the scissors while doing flips) and they also have this bomb obsession going on? cant relate, but the bombs designs are so so cool i mean its a fucking centipede -- no idea if centipedes are a thing in the original faust but thats something Ill have to look up at some point. ALSO mephy is wearing heels oh my god anytime people wear heels is an automatic win. No clue whats going on with the hair but its kinda cute (dont question me on that) and it has curls and the hair colors are cool i mean its like a lavender thing with darker purple highlights? i love colorful things and i love people with wacky personalities so. Oh my god their tail how could i forget that its so cute and dumb i almost forgot it was there, like what is that even a whip? i dont.. but its got these little purple tips to them that are kinda cute/cool but more cool because tails are fucking up there alongside heels in terms of cool stuff on characters. and of course their fluffly cape -- again no idea what the designers were going for i mean look its a mess of a design i have no fucking idea what any of it means and i hope they explain it someday because that hair and the butterfly and the tail and the hat and the fluffy garb and a bomb obsession?? and this got the go ahead - yeah lets add that to the game like what

ALSO LETS TALK ABOUT THEIR EYES

appreciate these with me for a second

god.

oh and the blue lipstick and face paint god thats a cool design ugh

they can be normal too or at least as normal as possible i mean they even trimmed their eyebrow here lol but you can see the not so well hidden insanity/goofiness peaking through with the inside of the suit at the bottom being highlighter purple and a green shirt with gold accents underneath the black coat at the front <3, fuckin hate that hairstyle tho bro we gotta get that middle part hairstyle outta hereeeee--

TAKE A DETOUR AND LOOK AT THIS LINK THOUGH THIS IS THE MOST NORMAL AND BEST IVE SEEN THEM IN FANART. THE POTENTIAL IS THERE. WE CAN HAVE NICE THINGS AND THEY LOOK GREAT ITS POSSIBLE. I HAVE TEARS STREAMING DOWN MY FACE FROM THAT DRAWING.

anyways this is me going off all about why i like their design! but we haven’t even touched the nitty gritty of it all. their personality! what personality you may ask? havent they always been some weirdo laughing a lot and saying dumb shit all the time? well yes and no

Characterization:

True to their dumb little clown design mephy also acts like one.

Some servants bond 1 lines are like “fuck off” and some actually talk to you, nah this bastard mephistopheles’ just laughing. and for the second bond line it seems to imply theyre fuckin with you more (showing up and dissapearing and saying ‘afterimage’) so thats nice that theyre actually making some effort to mess with you in a way? some servants take a long time to actually interact with you so this shows theyre not afraid of interacting with you and thats just at bond 2. and of course the third bond line implies they were probably trying to betray you, its stated in more than 1 place that mephistopheles (actually isnt this a caster class thing?) will betray you or attempt to do so. So the third bond line seems to imply that their attempts have been stopped by you and that’s what they say after some failed attempts. So after stopping this freak from doing some shit their next bond line is actually doing a confession! a jester being honest who couldve seen that one coming but theyre 100% not lying, they really arent a demon but a homunculi made by faust

speaking of faust we’re going to backtrack a little into their interlude that i brought up at the start of this post, its one of those dream interludes and it starts with mephy asking you to help him plant bombs for their eventual reuinion/showdown with faust -- in the meantime faust keeps sending golems in an attempt to kill both you and mephy

When you track faust down, it’s shown that faust was your typical mage, inhumane and uncaring. It’s also pointed out that this faust killed innocents, but this typical mage behavior is boring to mephy, and they say that boring typical behavior is why they wanted to kill them

 so i really cant blame mephistopheles for being the way they are, being raised by this type of guy, even if mephy was always messed up and wacky from the beginning its no reason for faust to attempt to kill him.

Mephistopheles also shows up in salem, cu alter’s interlude, and of course the knk crossover event, and some other things im most likely forgetting but those 3 are ones that i find notable

anytime they show up theyre actually helpful, in salem mephy points out that the nature of the being responsible for the salem epic of remnant is something alien rather than a typical foreign god, mephy also tells you that time is also being sped up and in their weird way they try to cheer you up by spouting some nonsense at the beginning (guda needed some kind of distraction from the grim events that had just transpired at that point in the story), i cant quite remember what mephy did in the knk event but they were a part of your group and were helpful the whole time, actually @/zeravmeta does an amazing analysis of their role in the knk event as well as some extra character analysis here

mephistopheles is kinda cryptic in a weird way though,

like overall i mean theyre a jester homunculi in appearance so yeah its to be expected but come on i love morally gray characters, despite their supposed betrayal hints scattered around here and there

they have this one line that always gets to me

and this line is said with a completely serious face too

the rare serious mephistopheles face! its kinda grim to see that line, no laughs, no nothing, their voice is kinda serious and monotone too. of course this could be just to get you to lower your guard but its still kinda out there that they have this rarely used portrait and that line, so i like to take it as being said to you when youre by yourself and with sincerity

and at least sei (with her wacky outfit and all lol) seems to get along with mephy and thinks theyre nice woohoo

so at the end of the day you have this guy that laughs a lot and gives mixed signals

and they fuck with you

and will most likely try to kill you more than once but hey thats just another tuesday at chaldea

Before I finish last thing I want to point out is this snippet from the fgo source material book which provides more information on servants, and this specific translated bit under mephistopheles

at the core of it all this homunculi....can be your friend! you just need to not go into despair i guess

of course this entire post is an overanalysis into an underwritten character, quarantine + all online college classes have done this to me, i have a douman icon what did you expect

OH...BEFORE I REALLY SIGN OFF AND FINISH THE POST HEY CLOWN LOVERS CHECK OUT THESE FANARTS AND FANARTISTS...

THE FIRST ONE IS HASENDOW YES THE DOUMAN DESIGNER... <3

i cant believe they drew mephy

twice !

and for those of you on twitter check out @cuz_pb and @L0VEYAMA003

[blackmageeljin]

Hey, have you been doing okay? I just noticed how long it's been since Repeat updated and saw you haven't seemed to have posted anything anywhere in a while. Hope all is well.

thank you for checking in! have no idea how old this is, but figured it was a good enough place to explain why i have been aggressively dead for like, 2 years.

first and foremost- I will definitely eventually finish Repeat it is near and dear to m heart and i have more or less all of the main points planned to the end in an outline and even some potential sequel fodder, but its not something I'll be able to work on for a while (and i can admit some of my other kh fics may wind up unfinished). I am hoping to post some snippets I've done from other fandoms (mostly ff) in the last few years at the very least in the meantime.

AS FOR WHY I HAVE BEEN MIA a lot of shit has happened, including but not limited to:

-moving

-moving again

-having my batshit grandmother in law try to sell the house out from under us because her realtor wanted a bigger commission for it even though we were actively living in it, she told us she was going to sell it to us, and we had been taking care of her for a year =D

-buying said house after the rest of my inlaws got super pissed at her

-having to deal with all of the serious issues in said house including the basement flooding because she wouldn't let us get it inspected if she was selling to us and denied the existence of said issues

-planning an whole ass wedding from scratch

-doing everything for the wedding myself because we're poor, including baking the cake and making my and my spouse's garments

-getting fucking married (actual yay!)

-fighting with social security to get my name changed during covid (its still not changed =D)

-fighting with insurance to start T (i got married in october and im still not on my spouse's insurance =D)

-applying for and getting denied disability on multiple levels =D

-helping two roommates move into our house over the course of all of this, one from another state

so yeah, a lot has happened and things are a lot more stable now but still turbulent. writing has been hard, and most of my writing spoons and kh spoons have been going to a kh themed dnd game ive been running. i am sure the next proper kh news drop will fill me with inspiration and i'll be able to get back on that horse. in the mean time i am trying to post what content i do produce, but im still pretty bad at the internet for a millennial ><

[blookmallow]

sighs 

i finally decided to find out what the hell project makeover actually is 

this is the best fucking dress ive ever seen

so its your standard match-3 game with pretty much the exact same mechanics as matchington mansion, i have too many of these and am very tired of matching things and yet i keep downloading more of them anyway

off to a great start here with the “take away her glasses and it’ll make her instantly hot” trope 

i thought maybe we’d be giving her some new glasses that suit her better but nah she never gets the glasses back lmao 

the poor girl with the bushy hair is not a gremlin who hasnt showered in weeks standing there with her hair actively on fire, she’s just a college student who recently graduated and wants help with a new professional look, it’s actually very focused on “lets help you look good to inspire confidence and love yourself” and generally pretty wholesome except for the “you can’t wear glasses it makes you look like a nerd lol” thing 

also the blue hair guy is not her boyfriend, or the blonde lady’s boyfriend, he’s the makeover show’s hair stylist. the blonde lady is actually the villain. theres a villain of this makeover game, more on that later, but my point is i do not understand how these app games don’t ever seem to get in trouble for false advertising when their ads literally have nothing to do with the game 

granted, everything about the real game is massively better than the ads. but i still dont understand 

anyway you also redo their rooms too, and the process for this is like. taking absolutely everything out and just replacing it all so in the meantime you end up with. like 

this poor man fsdjkg i took everything from his garage and also his shoes and now hes just standing in there looking lost. and barefoot 

alright lets get some DESIGNER concrete in this barren basement 

gjdsfsgh it did actually look nice when i finished this one. i didnt use the designer concrete 

theres a whole section for drama, which is very funny to me 

so the blonde lady was the previous show manager/host who ran the whole thing in a very “you’re ugly and disgusting, let Me, the Great Fashion Diva, try my best to fix you” way so she got kicked off for being terrible and now she’s out for revenge and also has an assistant who is desperately in love with her. the assistant is also really vindictive and mean to everyone too 

“greta left her laptop here so i went snooping in it. and hacked into her bank account. gotcha” 

isnt that like. illegal 

she didn’t actually hack into the account, greta left it logged in (even though. most bank sites log you out automatically after a while im pretty sure, but whatever) but isn’t it still illegal to go searching through someone’s laptop and personal finance accounts without their knowledge or permission. even if they are a fashion villain. like greta’s Mean but she hasn’t done anything illegal 

hold up why the fuck is this girl on my makeover list she clearly doesn’t need me 

can she give ME a makeover. look at her she’s gorgeous. she has everything figured out what more can i possibly do 

if i have to ruin her gothic theater and turn her “”normal”” im going to actually cry i really want to play this one bc i want to meet her so bad but im also so, so afraid 

like so far it hasn’t been “everything you like sucks we’re going to Improve You” its been like. ok the guy in the basement with the designer concrete was a car mechanic who Wanted to learn how to take better care of himself/his appearance but didn’t know how, and wanted to look good for his wife but needed help, and he already has a professional garage and all this stuff so it was like ok he loves coffee and cars lets help him make his garage into a little coffee lounge with car posters and stuff so he can actually relax at home and not think about work so much 

so it was “what would help improve this person’s quality of life and give them more confidence/lets use the things they love” so i cant imagine they’d just be destroying everything this girl loves??

also id just like to point out the horrible eye slime dress is one of my own personal wardrobe items that i bought because i love and hate it. why am i allowed to have the eye slime dress and she’s not allowed to have her vastly superior victorian goth look here 

anyway my theory that maybe if i finally play this game it’ll stop following me everywhere with these horrible ads was a failure. im still getting these and i still hate them even though the game itself seems to be mostly pretty alright 

i still think homescapes is the superior match 3 game of all the ones ive played but this one’s at least alright. they dont give you nearly enough powerups though its rly frustrating when you get stuck and i refuse to spend actual money on this, so 

[sweetestmonotony]

I compared niall's albums to shawn’s and WOW

So I always felt like Niall and Shawn were writing about each other but only casually listened to Shawn so I never made any hard connections, but I just went through and listened to/read the lyrics to niall and shawn’s past two albums and WOW. they basically tell the same story but from each other’s different perspectives. SO  I went through and wrote a little summary for each song and then compared their albums. Feel free to read or completely ignore!

Shawn: ILLUMINATE 2016

SUMMARY: shawn very much loves this person but he isn’t sure how they feel about him/ he also makes it clear to this person that they can’t actually be together not because he doesn’t love them but because of other unsaid circumstances (i.e. can’t be openly in love with a guy)

There’s nothing holding me back: Confident girl that keeps him guessing, makes him crazy- wants to confess love for her

Ruin: Questioning if the other person thinks about him/remembers their time together, believes he’s the only one for this person but doesn’t know if person feels the same way about him

Mercy: YOU’VE GOT A HOLD ON ME DON’T EVEN KNOW YOUR POWER///EVEN THOUGH YOU DON’T MEAN TO HURT ME YOU KEEP TEARING ME APART//like every lyric of this song screams hopelessly in love with a friend

Treat you better: pining for someone-- again believes he’s the only for this person

Three empty words: sad about a relationship ending/going through difficult time

Don’t be a fool: telling this person that he isn’t worth it “a mess you won’t want to fix,” saying that they both love each other but circumstances keep them apart

Like this: Trying to move on from relationship but cant stop thinking about this person/ still picks up the phone for them I CAN TRY TO STOP IT ALL I LIKE HANDS DOWN IVE LOST THIS FIGHT CANT HIDE THE TRUTH –I read this is as he cant hide his feelings any longer-he is definitely in love and can’t hide it

No Promises: does not want to complicate relationship/ can’t make promises because there will be consequences

Lights on: wants to have sex—biggest takeaway is another mention of being in a hotel, lots of hotel mentions from shawn and at least one from niall (meet each other in other cities)

Honest: can’t give person what they need/there is no other person but shawn cannot be with them---extenuating circumstances once again in the way

Patience: person can’t make up their mind about shawn/keeps him guessing about their relationship/shawn knows this person makes him crazy but he keeps coming back

Bad reputation: this person has been with other people/shawn doesn’t care and claims to know more about this person better than others

Understand: trying to find peace/acceptance with himself

Hold on: basically love song for his dad—again about finding himself/peace

Roses: wants to know if this other person loves him -- he needs to know

 Niall: FLICKER 2017

SUMMARY: in love with this person who constantly pulls away, niall is always reassuring and wants them to be together despite things that try to keep them apart, including the other person’s worries and doubts

She’s on the loose: alluring woman, she’ll meet niall wherever, loves attention

This town: can’t move on from a loving relationship

Seeing blind: someone took him by surprise/he can finally see

Slow hands: they both want each other

Too much too ask: can’t forget about this person/wonders if this person thinks about him or stills loves him-imagines this person coming back to him

Paper Houses: they tried to hold on to their love but just couldn’t-outside circumstances/ he could feel this person slipping away—can’t forget them

Since we’re alone: knows this person is hiding feelings—they are afraid/running—niall tries to reassure them, tells them he is trustworthy and will not break their heart

Flicker: relationship is rocky but he is still hopeful/not giving up—begging this person not to leave him

Fire away: niall can tell that this person is upset (similar to since we’re alone)/again tells this person that they can trust him—person keeps him at a distance

You and me: promises this person that they will end up together even though things are against them/asks this person to wait for him

On my own: embraces his being alone/insists he’s happy on his own

Mirrors: reassures girl who is unsure of herself and who wants love

The tide: don’t let the tide wash us away!!! He doesn’t want their relationship to end, something always tries to keep them apart but niall wants them to stay together/wants to hide them away

 Illuminate VS Flicker

Both love and care about each other but Shawn feels the pressure of society much more than niall, making him always pull away in the end. This leads the other person (niall) to most likely hook up with/hang out with other people confusing Shawn. Shawn constantly asking for reassurance that this person loves him, even though he cannot make any promise. On flicker Niall feels this person (shawn) pulling away and tries to be there for them/comfort them and promises that he can be trusted. Very much wants to keep their relationship together and reiterates this multiple times.

  Shawn: SHAWN MENDES 2018

SUMMARY: Shawn and this person (niall) have decided to be friends but inevitably hook up with each other/ become friends with benefits but it is not easy because they obviously love each other but feel they can’t actually be in a relationship with each other. They both try to date others, causes jealousy/more confusion but makes shawn realizes this is the only person for him.

In my blood: obviously depressed/upset “just take her home and you’ll feel better” “Its isn’t in my blood”—needs someone to help him

Nervous: is always nervous/excited about this person—knows this person wants them too

Lost in japan: LOOKING THROUGH YOUR TIMELINE ALL I SEE IS RAINBOWS –KNOW THIS IS MORE THAN A FRIENDSHIP—will fly anywhere to meet them for one night i.e. friends with benefits

Where were you in the morning: Person did not stay the morning after but made shawn think there was more to their relationship

Like to be you: fighting with this person—trying to understand them/ still loves them and wishes things were better

Fallin all in you: only supposed to be one night but they’re falling in love/making him rethink himself “Baby you are bringing out a different kind of me, there’s no safety net that’s underneath im free fallin all in you, FELL FOR MEN WHO WERENT HOW THEY APPEAR trapped up on a tightrope now we’re here WE’RE FREE fallin all in you”

Particular taste: YOU’LL BE BEGGING HER FOR MERCY

Why: every lyric in this song screams niall but to sum up: they know they both love each other but neither will speak first/ I PRETEND THAT IM NOT READY WHY DO WE PUT EACH OTHER THROUGH HELL/WHEN I HEAR YOU SING, IT GETS HARD TO BREATH CANT HELP BUT THINK EVERY SONGS ABOUT ME —so obviously this is about a person who is a singer/songwriter! (NIALL)—AND EVERY LINE EVERY WORD THAT I WRITE YOU ARE THE MUSE IN THE BACK OF MY MIND—no further comments but this song is for real and he only wrote it with two other people SO

Because I had you: shawn is trying to move on but says he will never love anyone else/ takes someone else out to all the places they had been too (trying to recreate their relationship with someone else but it doesn’t work)

Queen: angry at this person for brushing him off or pretending like they don’t have history

Youth: society won’t get him down

Mutual: person keeps him guessing—wants all of this person but doesn’t know if this person can commit/ believes it’s a game for this other person

Perfectly wrong:  says this person is “perfectly wrong” for him but still loves them anyway, they were never gonna work out

When you’re ready: only ever thinks of this person, ANYTIME YOURE READY IM WAITING (this makes me think of you and me when niall asks the person to wait for him, you and me is the last song on flicker standard addition and when you’re ready is the last song on this album= an answer to niall’s question) –shawn tries to be with others but is always disappointed because it is not this person

BONUS: IF I CAN’T HAVE YOU 2019

Shawn obsesses over this person—reads their texts constantly, only writes songs about this one person/only wants this one person CANT MOVE ON IF WE’RE STILL GONNA TALK/IM GOOD AT KEEPING MY DISTANCE/EVERYTHING MEANS NOTHING IF I CANT HAVE YOU—this song screams in love with his friend he hooks up with ALSO its co -written with the same two people he wrote Why with

 Niall:  HEARTBREAK WEATHER 2020

SUMMARY: (keep in mind that niall said to listen to this album start to finsh to “feel the storyline”)

Niall is in love with this person and wants to be with them forever but the other person pulls away. They both see other people but niall can’t get over them. In the meantime, they continue to hook up with each other but niall can’t change the fact that he loves this person. He finally comes to the conclusion that he wants to be with them and asks them to take him back because he’s still in love with them. This album really feels like it tells the whole story of niall and shawn’s relationship start to finish.

Heartbreak weather: niall feels happy/content with this person

Black and White:  IN ALL YOUR GORGEOUS COLORS/ I WANT THE WORLD TO WITNESS WHEN WE FINALLY SAY I DO—promises that he’ll never love anyone else, pictures them together when they’re old

Dear patience: trying to tell this person how he really feels/is nervous but needs to say how he feels

Bend the rules: worried this person is seeing someone else, is worried/upset and misses them, feels crazy

Small talk: Hooks up with someone else SHE’S NOT MY BABY SHE’S GOT THE WRONG CRAZY

Nice to meet ya: Meets someone new, wants to take them out

Put a little love on me: thinks about this person, wonders what they’re doing/ how they are -- ARE YOUR TEARS FALLING DOWN WHEN THE LIGHTS ARE LOW ANOTHER FRIDAY NIGHT TRYNA PUT ON A SHOW (shawn playing concerts/ being sad about niall in between performances) WE WROTE AND WE WROTE TILL THERE WERE NO MORE WORDS (both writing songs about each other) heartbroken about not being with person

Arms of a stranger: he was in love with this person and they left him with nothing, he’s “in the arms of a stranger but why do I think of you?”

Everywhere: Tried to forget about this person but sees them everywhere

Cross your mind: ITS YOUR SHOW IM JUST WATCHING IT/ IF YOU LEAVE AND DON’T COME BACK TOMORROW AT LEAST YOU CAME TONIGHT – friend with benefit—knows this person sees others and believes this person doesn’t know how much they affect him—loves this person anyway, person says they love them too but he doesn’t know how serious they are

New angel: is always thinking about this person and is looking for a distraction TO SAVE ME FROM MYSELF I NEED A NEW ANGEL—hopes this new angel will help him forget the other person

No judgement: (makes me think of since we’re alone and fire away) will not judge this person and is here for them/ I GET US BREAKFAST IN THE MORNING OR YOU CAN SLIP OUT IN THE NIGHT/ EVEN THOUGH WE DON’T TALK FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS ITS LIKE WE DIDN’T LOSE ANY TIME I CAN BE YOUR LOVER OR YOUR SHOULDER TO CRY ON/ I HOPE WE NEVER CHANGE EVEN THOUGH WE’LL BOTH MOVE ON AGAIN ILL KEEP YOUR SECRET SAFE TILL WE FIND OURSELVES ALONE AGAIN—he obviously has a lot of history with this person and knows things about them, is always there for them, they may not see each other all the time (on again off again) but they always love each other and come back to one another

San Fransisco: wants to be with this person but thinks they can’t last—makes up his mind to be with this person and asks them to take him back/ SAY IM DONE RUNNING FROM THE ONE I WANT SO BAD

Still: Niall is sorry for what he has done but wants to make it work with this person, he is still in love with them/they have been through a lot and broken up but have come so far and IF HONESTY MEANS TELLING YOU THE TRUTH WELL IM STILL IN LOVE WITH YOU/ tells them it’ll be alright

 SHAWN MENDES VS HEARTBREAK WEATHER

On each album they sing about becoming friends with benefits with someone they love. They both try to move on and see other people but only ever think about each other. They both come to the conclusion that they want to be with each other despite all the hard times they have been through.

*Extra side note: Teddy Geiger co-wrote almost every song on illuminate and shawn mendes and now co wrote a few songs on heartbreak weather. also, niall and shawn have the same group of people (different groups of people for each of them) that they write songs with on their albums which makes me think that these people know the storylines and are people they trust/maybe confide in. 

[honeyhan-123]

Say Thank You IV

Series Summary: Nearly five years have passed since Steve Rogers saves your life without so much as a thank you. When he sees you again by chance, he makes sure that he’ll never let you go and maybe teach you some manners in the process.

Series Warning: This will be a dark!Steve fic with stalking, kidnapping and manipulating as well as non-con and dub-con situations. Please don’t read it if you don’t like that sort of thing.

Chapter Warning: Kidnapping and drugging. 

Word Count: 1.9k

I. New York II. Madrid III. The Apartment

Series Masterlist

My Masterlist

IV. The Trip

‘So Stevie, where’d you disappear off to last night? I thought you said you were headed back to the hideout but you didn’t get back ‘till what? Two in the morning?’ Bucky looked to Nat as though asking her for confirmation about Steve’s night time practices over breakfast the next morning. 

‘Nah Buck, I reckon it was more like three when he finally came in.’ The red head locked eyes with Bucky over her coffee mug. ‘I mean, if I didn’t know better, I’d wanna say Steve was out at some booty call’s last night coming in at that time. I know I always like to get a fix after a mission.’ 

Steve could feel the blood start to rush to his face as he tried to remain passive in front of the two super spies. He wasn’t ready to tell them about her just yet, they would try to convince him to change his mind but it was too late. Preparations had already started. Instead he lied, despite knowing what a dangerous game it was to lie to highly trained spies, yet he thought he might be able to swing it.  ‘God Nat, I can’t believe you would even say that. I was just out at a little bar down the street, getting a drink.’ 

Steve thanked the powers at be as Nat’s phone started ringing, signalling their conversation had come to an end. 

‘Oh wow. Thanks for the invite Rogers.’ She rolled her eyes as her finger swiped across the screen and hit the speaker button, letting Sam’s voice fill the room. ‘Hey Bird Brain, how’s it going in Sokovia?’ 

‘Yeah we’re good here. Just calling to let you guys know that Chekhov is on the move, we think he’s headed up to a facility in the north, it seems to be pretty heavily guarded. Wouldn’t mind some assistance with this one, it looks kind of intense.’

‘Yeah sure, we’ll be there in the morning, we just finished up with Alejandro last night so we’re good to move out.’ 

‘Actually Nat, I think we should stay here for a little longer, or at least one of us. We want to make sure all of Alejandro’s men are gone.’ Steve’s eyes met Bucky’s as the latter spoke, and he knew he hadn’t even remotely fooled his best friend, Bucky clearly realised something was up with him but he also knew that Bucky wouldn’t push him, not if he wasn’t ready to share. 

‘Yeah I think that’s a good idea Buck, we really don’t want any of these guys hanging around. How ‘bout you and Nat catch a flight up to Sokovia tomorrow and I’ll meet you there or back in New York after I make sure it’s all clear down here.’ Steve was quick to set his plan in motion, grateful that the others pretty much always agreed to whatever plan he came up with, this way he would be able to easily extract y/n using the quinjet instead of picking her up from the airport in New York and have to deal with bystanders maybe getting in the way. 

‘Sounds good to me. Wanda and I probably don’t need all three of you anyway, I don’t think Chekhov will be too hard. I’ll probably just see you back in New York Cap. Stay safe guys and see you tomorrow.’ Sam signed off the call and Nat put her phone back in her pocket. 

‘Well Barnes, looks like we got some packing to do.’

+

The week passed far too slowly for Steve’s liking, every minute felt like hours and the hours felt like days. Anticipation flooded through him every time he caught sight of you, he just couldn’t wait to have you back at his house in New York, back at his mercy. 

The only upside of the week was he now had more time to watch you. In the mornings he would accompany you on your morning jogs, following slightly behind, appreciating the way your ass jiggled with every step and then sneak into your apartment while you were showering, learning everything he could about you from your living space. Then, he would head back to his hideout and have a shower of his own, his cock in his fist, dreaming about what would happen in mere days as he came, his seed spraying over the tiled walls of the shower, slowly sliding down before pooled at his feet as it disappeared down the drain, his breaths shallow and frequent as he came back after his orgasm. 

Post shower he would spend his days at the cantina, following you with his eyes as you served the customers. It seemed you were working more than normal and he figured it was probably to make up for your trip away, to cover your expenses as he had overheard a conversation between you and the elderly woman who owned the cantina. It was cute, watching your fret over finances while he knew that soon you wouldn’t have to worry about anything other than minding your manners around him. 

He tried to get your attention whenever he could, coming up with reasons to talk to you but due to the air conditioning and the promise of a refreshing drink the cantina was often packed, filled with tourists and locals alike, trying to refute the summer heat, meaning that you often had little time for him, once again filling Steve with memories of double dates with Bucky back in the forties. Of trying to get their attention which was always focussed on Bucky instead of scrawny little Steve. But soon enough, he promised himself, you would be all his. Real Soon.

+

The days passed slowly for you too, despite you being so busy with work and preparing everything for your trip but finally, at last, it was your last day working at the cantina - for the meantime at least. 

‘I’m sorry Señor, but we’re closing soon, can I get you anything before we stop taking orders?’ You asked the strange American who had been coming to the cantina everyday recently. You frequently wondered why he was in Madrid if all he was going to do was sit in the cantina but he tipped well and was nice enough to look at if you had a moment in between customers. 

‘Trust me Sweetheart, there’s a lot I want from you but for now I’ll just take another Americano thanks.’ A chill crept down your spine at his sinister smile, although he may be attractive there was something wrong about this man and you barely managed to smile back as you walked away, the hairs on your neck standing up. 

You avoided the American as best you could for the next half hour before the cantina closed, but being the only one still working made it hard as you still had to serve him. Thankfully, the clock hit ten and you managed to kick him out quite easily except for his promise to ‘come back soon’. You made sure to lock the door behind him, looking out into the night as he walked down the street. There was definitely something wrong about that man, but at least you wouldn’t have to worry about it for the next two weeks. 

You made your way to the back of the shop, most of the cleaning already done as you waited for the man to be finished with his coffee. Knocking on the door to Mariana’s office, you entered slowly, finding her simply reading some book. 

‘Mariana? I just wanted to come say goodbye before my flight tomorrow, it’s pretty early and I don’t think I’ll see you before I leave.’

She smiled and walked around her desk, wrapping her arms around you. ‘Querida, I’m so glad that you’re going through with this. I think it will be very good for you, going back to New York. I only ask that you send me a postcard, something touristy.’

You laughed into her shoulder, not wanting to break away from the biggest maternal figure you knew. ‘Anything for you Mariana.’ 

‘Be careful querida.’

‘Always am Mariana, don’t you worry about me.’ With one last smile you left her office, heading upstairs to your apartment. 

As you unlocked the door and made your way through the small loft, your mind was so busy running through a last minute checklist for everything you still had to do that you didn’t notice that the window you had locked that morning was now open, the curtains fluttering in the breeze. You also didn’t notice the figure waiting for you in your bedroom, hiding in the shadows until his arms were wrapped around you in a vice like grip, one hand covering your mouth as the other held something against your neck. There was a soft prick, and slowly you felt your eyes getting heavier, closing on their own and the whole room faded to blackness. 

+

You slept so peacefully on the quinjet as he flew you over the Atlantic that Steve almost never wanted you to wake up. He knew that it would be a while before you were this calm in his presence again but he could wait. He was a patient man after all. He landed the quinjet just outside of the city, somewhere hidden where it wouldn’t be found and gave you another shot of sedative before transferring you to Natasha’s car. If he had known that he would see you again in Madrid he wouldn’t have ridden his bike out to the landing pad. 

It was a real pain being on the run from every government, it meant doing their job was becoming increasingly hard but the team - or what remained of it - never complained, they each stood by their choice to help Steve against Tony. Ironically enough the best place for them to hide at the moment was actually in New York, one of the biggest cities in the world and the last place Ross would think to look for them, plus if he ever did, Tony always covered for them, claiming a fake sighting in another country, because while he was still hurt but Steve and the other and wasn’t quite ready to forgive them, they were still his family and he would never turn them over like that. 

When he finally made his way back through the city, back to his brownstone in Brooklyn, Steve was kind of shocked that he had actually managed it, he had actually gotten you, right where he wanted you. A smile came over his face as he carried you down to the basement, the modifications he had requested had been made perfectly while he was away. While the room had always been a guest bedroom, he had to make sure that you wouldn’t be able to escape and that he could always watch you, especially in the first few weeks. The new thick, metal door would be enough to keep even him trapped down here and if he didn’t know exactly where to look, the security cameras were almost undetectable. He lay you on the bed, tucking you in, under the soft light grey covers, and pressed a kiss to your forehead before walking away and locking the door behind him. As much as he wanted to stay and watch you all night, there was still a lot he had to do before you woke up.

+

Tags will be added in a reblog

V. The Basement 

Series Masterlist

My Masterlist

[icedcappujaeno]

03. Signal. | jjh. [ idol!au ]

warnings: none in particular.

word count: 1,547

“There’s something on your sandwich.”

Before you could even react, Soomin was already taking the sandwich off your hands, peeled the piece of paper away and gave it back to you. Your stomach growled for the 3rd time today and it was only 10A.M. - and the only meal that was in your stomach right now was the small cup of coffee your manager made for you before going to your respective schedules. Now, you’re inside the dressing room, taking a break for at least 10 minutes before your respective make-up artists and hairdresser do their works on your trio.

To say that you’re hungry was an understatement. Famished seemed to fit better with how badly you want to take a bite off the sandwich you’re holding right now. Though you try your best not to roll your eyes and grunt as it was deemed unfit for a lady-like idol like you, you still did. Voluntarily.

“Let me guess, it’s from Valentine’s boy again?” Mari giggled, taking a bite off her own sandwich as well. “I wish Chanyeol-sunbae would do the same for m-ouch!”

You glared and pinched your co-worker’s side before she could even end her statement. All the while she’s talking, you finished your share - all in hunger. Your female manager was glaring daggers at your direction but you heed no mind - what is etiquette and public figure when you’re dying of hunger in any moment?

Also, you did glare at your other manager, who was a male. It was him who went to the cafeteria and got your snacks, and apparently, he was an asset to all these stuff. He only shrugged and chuckled, so he was taking part in this - why was it so fun to tease you with Jaehyun?

“What did it say?” Mari cooed, leaving her seat beside yours to scoot beside Soomin. 

“For the meantime, I hope this will do. But next time, I want to take you out on a romantic dinner for two. - JH”

Soomin and Mari looked at each other with knowing smiles on their lips. 

“Gross!” 

“But it’s still sweet Soomin! And it rhymes too!” Mari laughed, slapping Soomin’s thigh out of habit.

You only blew a raspberry, and your manager thanked all the heavens that your hair isn’t done yet as your hands ran through your hair in frustration - forehead lightly bumping the tabletop. You were sure it will leave a red mark - but whatever, your make-up artist would do something about it anyway.

“Why don’t you just tell it to him straight?” Soomin shrugged, picking one of the sliced apples from her plate. “It’s been months, I kinda feel pity for the guy.”

“He’s going to be enlisted next year!” Mari reminded. “At least give him a chance? I mean, he’s pretty cute-”

“Why don’t you date him then?” You jabbered and raised your head. 

“Ah, Jaehyun’s not really my type. I told you, Chanyeol-su-”

“I get it,” your eyes rolled annoyingly. Although sometimes Mari’s crush over your seniors are cute, it gets overboard. But now you know she’s just teasing you. Everybody does.

“Break’s over, let’s get back to work,” your female manager said, cleaning up the left-overs at your table while the three of you go back to your respective places to get dolled up for music core.

“This came in the mail.”

A bouquet is thrown on your bed by your female manager while you were busy putting make-up on. You were glad she came in with notice because you were sure that your make-up will get ruined once she didn’t. Another thing you’re sure of was the sender of the said bouquet, and looking at your manager’s expression through the mirror, she wasn’t very happy about it.

“Message him to stop, please.” Though you weren’t pleading, rather than a command. You could only sigh and nodded, saying that you will and she left. You picked up your phone and took a deep breath before typing in his name on the recipient bar.

It only took you seconds before you received a reply.

You sighed. Pretty sure this is going to be a long conversation. You know he’s joking, but the topic isn’t going anywhere intellectual.

Finally.

You locked your phone and continued with your make-up. You were glad that you woke up earlier than expected, so you had a lot of time to prepare for an appearance at a music festival later at night. For a moment, you felt weird with Jaehyun’s final reply. It felt odd but you carried on, and just when you finished your brows, his message tone ringed and your phone lit up.

Ugh!

Jaehyun was at his peak. 

A solo single coming out to the public in 2 days, which concludes fan signs on the following weeks during the promotion. Music shows and award show appearances. Another recording for collaboration for SMTOWN Station in the next month. Jaehyun did have time, but it was all cramped on his busy, idol, schedule. 

All while the others are still in the military, Jaehyun and the remaining had to carry their group name, as well as keep the sales coming for the company. The idol industry isn’t just entertainment, after all. In the end, it was business -- the rest of those who still haven’t enlisted must carry on.

And because Jaehyun is going to be enlisted for the next year and a half - it was only necessary that the company utilize each member, especially Jaehyun. In this current generation, Jaehyun is a King - all with his god-like visuals and heaven-sent voice, it was sure that he’ll be stable until his enlistment.

But all that, King Jaehyun is lonely. Sure, his entire body and soul is dedicated to his work - it’s his life. But his heart was needing something - someone to fill its void. And he was pursuing that need, the need that was you.

“Have you heard?”

Soomin asked, looking directly at your eating figure. You were slurping on a cup of ramyeon as you watched The King of Masked Singer with your team: squished between you and your female manager was Mari while Soomin rests her head on your crossed legs.

“Heard what?” You replied, slurping on another set of noodles.

Soomin wiped her face in disgust while some of the ramyeon soup went on her face. “God, I wish our fans could see how much of a pig you are.”

“Whatever,” you replied.

“What were you going to say Soomin?” Mari asked, eyes still glued on the TV. It was very much expected of Mari not to forget rumors — but not choreo. You still love her anyway.

“Jaehyun was rushed to the hospital just this afternoon.”

You coughed, dropping some blessing onto Soomin’s face causing her to jump.

“Ya!”

Thankfully there was a nightstand beside the couch where you placed your ramyeon. You wiped your mouth from the droplets of spicy and salty ramyeon and immediately fished your phone from the side of the couch and dialed Jaehyun’s number.

The other line answered, Jaehyun’s voice resonating through.

“Yes hello? It’s rare for you to call,” you hear him chuckle.

“Are you okay sunbae?” 

“What do you mean?” 

Your brows raised with his question — confusion was written all over your face. Soomin shrugged and stood from where she sat, Mari and your manager following you. As soon as they had their backs on you, they giggled, making you miss the smug grins on their faces.

“Hello? Still there?” Jaehyun asked on the line.

“Yes, Soomin told me you were rushed to the hospital—“

“I’m perfectly fine,” he laughs. “I think you just missed me.”

You felt your cheeks heat up in embarrassment. Proven, you were stupid enough to fall for Soomin and Mari’s tricks. You were thankful that Jaehyun can’t see your face as you were sure that your face is as red as a tomato right now.

“I’m just worried…” with threaded words you replied.

“Sure you do,” and sure you were that he was being sarcastic. 

“Sunbae…” You could only flop your butt back on the couch, palming your forehead of how much dumb you are.

“Well, I’m glad that my baby missed me, but break’s over and I have to head back to practice,” he chuckled.

“Alright,” you sighed. Yes, you heard the name he called you, but you were sure that if you mention it more, more teasings would come your way. You decided to pretend that you didn’t hear it. “Goodluck with practice, Jaehyun-sunbae.”

You hear the line go silent that you thought he ended it without you noticing, but when you looked at the screen, he was still on. You put your phone back beside your ear and hummed. “Sunbae, put the line down.”

“Why don’t you go first?” His tone was teasing—you could almost see the smugness written all over his features.

“Alright. Bye sunbae.”

With that, you pressed the red button on your phone and tossed it aside—The King of Masked Singer already on its ending cue.

On the other line, however, was Jaehyun lying on the hospital bed, IV inserted on his median cubital. His lips tugged into a smile as the call ended as your photo with him flashed on the screen.

“Hard to get, are we?”

the third fic for @jackbabewang and I’s drabble game! check out her work here!

[defensematrix]

Give us the good boy Bap tips 👀 I’ve been playing him a lot and it’d be nice to learn some new things!

yall want TIPS? yall want to see an autistic ramble at full power for an embarrassingly long post??

OKAY so baptiste is a really interesting support hero in that he rewards good mechanics, but he isnt completely useless if your aim isnt that good, especially if you just focus on healing your team and using your abilities

that being said! his primary fire can be very deadly and its absolutely worth it to practice using his gun so you can take out enemies on your own. his burst fire is a little weird to get used to, but after a while ive found that his gun plays really similar to soldier, so if youve played him bap might be a little easier

baptist’s spread is a vertical three round burst that looks like this:

(i tried to get an in-game pic but it didnt show up well lol)

the shape of it means that its better to aim his crosshair at the neck of heroes as opposed to their head, but the verticality is mainly due to his recoil. as such, it helps a lot if you pull down slightly when you shoot

heres a gif of me shooting at the head without fighting the recoil

and one where i am. note that at this range it only takes two shots

baptistes primary fire is best used when:

behind a shield/in a bunker. baptiste can help a lot with shield wars so dont just pump grenades into your team afraid that they might take tiny bits of damage if you focus on something else for a second

to finish off low health targets. it helps if your team calls them out but usually you’ll have to keep an eye out yourself. baptiste is very good for this as opposed to trying to get solo kills, especially if you just have average mechanics (like me)

in chaotic teamfights that could go either way, use your best judgement as to whether to do damage or healing. on attack, i would say to try being more offensive, and on defense always be defensive with his kit unless youre the only person left alive

against tanks and certain squishies (hes really good against pharah/mercy, zen, junkrat, etc, but has trouble fighting tracer/mini dva and snipers that are out of range)

when using his ultimate. the extra damage is actually really good

important note as of the current patch (6/18): baptistes ult is bugged so that it doesnt amplify healing, so dps away until its fixed lol

now onto his healing grenades!

they have a lot less range than you would think (like 3m i think) its good to go into the practice range and see for yourself just how close they have to be to hit teammates so you have a better feel for it in game.

he does 60 heals per second (120 when his matrix,, actually works.) and has 12 ammo per clip, making him a decent primary healer.

in general, his healing works best when youre on the high ground, due to them being grenades. so use his jump boots to take high ground as needed to heal your team! also, if youre in an area that has open sky, they can be shot directly up into the air for a delayed healing effect

technically, you can shoot his primary and secondary fire at the same time, but its rare that doing so would actually be helpful imo, where you aim for each is very different. i guess it wouldnt hurt to practice it just in case

also, his grenades have the same projectile trajectory as his immortality field, which is good to keep in mind if you want to aim the field more precisely. when i first picked up baptiste i made a lot of mistakes bc i flung it way too far lol

speaking of his immortality field, my Most General baptiste tip would be to use his ultimate on cooldown like an ability (since it charges so fast) and to use his immortality field like an ultimate

if you play zenyatta or lucio, i would compare using it to their ultimates. ive found that the longer i wait before using it the better (in my replays i see myself use it too early out of panic and the result is Sad), but you dont want to avoid using it completely and end up with a dead team. finding the balance is hard but it comes with practice

like lucios ult (and sometimes zen) it can be used for initiation! i had a really good team that fought a bastion bunker on paris with dive, and i helped by throwing my immortality frisbee on top of the bastion when they went in. if you have a winston, try throwing it in after him when he initiates

its also very important to pay attention to where exactly the frisbee ends up, because if you place it right, it cant be hit by the enemy team. try to place it slightly behind cover whenever possible. this is by far the most abusable part of his kit and i wouldnt be surprised if the duration of it gets nerfed to compensate. so if you want to cheese your way up the ranks, go into each map in custom games and practice where to put the field so that enemies cant hit it. this alone wont do much if you dont have the game sense to know when to do it, though

ultimates that immortality field is good at countering:

GRAV. zaryas get so mad about this bc people forget to shoot it and its so funny. also hanzos dragons cant kill the field so it can counter that combo entirely, just be sure to communicate to your zen so they dont waste ult

dva bomb/junkrat, but it will be instantly destroyed and your team will be very low health, so be careful. it also counters pulse bomb if you get stuck

earth shatter. if you suspect rein has it, stick to the high ground at all costs to avoid being caught! this is good advice in general for supports, but especially for ones with defensive abilities

in that same vein, you can counter emp if you can avoid being caught by sombra. note that sombra can hack baps frisbee so watch out

genji. genji can kill the field but it takes away from the amount of slashes he has and in this time your team should be able to kill him. if hes nanoboosted, you have less time to get to safety, so try charging your boots to get away from him in the meantime

mccree. high noon cant target the field. press f for everyones favorite trash cowboy. (it can however help friendly mccrees and pharahs from dying as soon as they hit q so try to combo!)

speaking of pharah, its possible to get her to kill herself with barrage if you put your frisbee right in front of her face

not good ultimates to try to counter:

doomfists ult can be avoided by charging your shoes and jumping up in the air (as long as youre not directly beneath him lol) so its not worth it unless you see someone else about to be smashed

related to doomfist, if he gets on you it can be hard to set the field down right bc of how his abilities displace you, so be sure to look straight down when you use it

reaper, soldier, and bob all auto target the field, so if its out in the open it just disintegrates

torbjorn and hammonds ults also kill the field pretty much immediately

also, as good as immortality is, there are some situations where baptiste just doesnt work as well as other heroes. if you have a good zen or lucio who use their ults well, or if you have a really mobile/spread out comp, you might want to pick one of the other main healers.

if in general you feel like youre not doing enough healing, try switching to mercy to reach your teammates better. if you need crowd control or anti heal then pick ana, and moira can be good at lower ranks if youre not getting any peel/dying too much (just please keep focusing on healing)

on that note, if your other healer insists on playing dps moira, baptiste is a good fit since he can main heal and also provide defense abilities to make up for that

as for his regenerative burst, all i really have to say is to try not to use it out of panic every time you take chip shots (i do this still lol) it works best when you and your teammates are all in a fight, actively taking damage

im sure that even with all i wrote im still forgetting something but i think im gonna call this done for now. i uhhhh love baptiste a lot and think hes a good hero to try to rank up with bc his primary fire has a high skill ceiling but his healing/abilities are more forgiving at lower ranks

[snarky-sims-witch]

Ask Pileup

It’s finally here! The asks that have been collecting dust in my inbox! Doing them in one post just because it would be hella spammy if I did them all individually.

Don’t see your question here? It’s probably because it’s a 100BC ask that I’ve either answered before or is already clarified in the rules.

@simvanglade:  I love your sims medieval posts! I've never put that much effort into it before but you make me want to!

Aw thank you! I assume you mean the ones I was posting in the Sims Community Facebook group? I don’t think I’ve posted a lot of Sims Medieval to my tumblr, but I’m super happy you love them so much! I’ve wanted to do a Sims Medieval story for a long time on this simblr. Remind me when I finish one of my current stories. ;)

@consultingpolymath:  I have a question about the 100 baby challenge!! When my matriarch is an elder and ready to move out, is it ok at that point to make her immortal, or is it still against the rules? Even if she's not in the house anymore, I wish she could live to see some of her grandchildren, instead of just dying of old age after a week.

So I don’t typically answer a lot of 100BC questions anymore but this is kind of an interesting question that I don’t actually think I ever thought to address??? Yeah, it’s fine. You can basically do whatever you want with moved out kids and elderly matriarchs as long as it doesn’t break any rules that would in any way affect your active household. Moved out kids and matriarchs aren’t technically part of the challenge anymore.

@darkgrungemusic:  Hiya I just saw your answer to the ask of your text color on your blog and I wanted to let you know on Mod the Sims there's a mod to change the load screen and the main menu so its like normal, and there's one that lets you pick the colors instead. Just letting you know in case you didn't. Love you and your blog! Have an amazing day!

Thank you so much! I’m so happy you love my blog! I knew about the mod but since I knew a darker load screen was coming soon, anyway, I didn’t really want to bother with another mod that I’d just end up uninstalling again in a couple weeks, anyway. I appreciate the help, though!

@hotcocomash:  [i swear this isnt a 100baby ask] I found you from the buzzfeed 100 baby videos and got hooked on your not so berry story! ive kinda been reading it backwards cause of how mobile works but im still loving it. when i have time im gonna sit down and read everything chronologically. thank you for making so much interesting and fun content!

Lol I don’t actually mind answering 100BC asks. I just don’t like repeating myself. I’m so happy you found me through Buzzfeed (which is kind of surreal, wow) and I’m even happier you like my Not So Berry Challenge so much! I hope to get back to the Sweet family soon! They’re lots of fun.

@tekimimotaku: So I've only just found you. By looking up the only challenge I knew: the 100 Baby Challenge. But I'm looking through your blog and I'm captivated by the other challenges so far. Some aren't to my taste, but I can still appreciate the thought put into them and that others will enjoy them. Had I not already made my matriarch, I'd say F it and do a different challenge of yours. I can't wait til I'm done with this one so that I can start on the others! I wish I could think things through like that!

Aw thanks so much! I hope you’re having fun with the 100BC and it’s totally fine that not all my challenges appeal to you. :) I try to create different challenges that appeal to a wide variety of players so for most people, some of my challenges won’t be all that fun for them, but there could be others that they love so much, they just want to play over and over. That’s always sort of my intention when making a new challenge; trying to engage a different group of Simmers.

@mmfinch: I know that you're completely tired of the 100 baby challenge questions. I went back and read your Midford series as an apology of sorts and thoroughly enjoyed it. Your creativity in storytelling is amazing. I read through all the Q&A but this hasn't been asked. Is show hidden objects allowed to get a birth certificate for non hospital births? The have baby option was clicked by accident and couldn't be cancelled. Show hidden objects is a cheat, but the object is decoration only.

I’m so happy you love The Midford Legacy! As for your 100BC question, there are definitely a LOT of objects in the debug menu that I would consider cheating and not allowed, but the decorative birth certificate isn’t one of those things. Go ahead and buy it if you like. :)

@bipolarrrbearrr: Hey! I know you’re not super into this page right now, but I’ve been keeping up with your not so berry story and I love it. I haven’t been able to go past peppermint because I’m on safari and can’t get the app right now. I wish you could have streamed or recorded it because that would have made the story so much better! You’re awesome 😎

I have kind of a personal loathing for the YouTube/Twitch scene for... many, many reasons, some of them valid and some of them petty, lol, so I don’t think I’ll ever take up YouTubing again. I like the written word too much and the freedom of being able to stage my shots, but I appreciate the sentiment! I hope you get to read the rest of the challenge soon!

@sim-sizzlin: I did originally follow you cause you are the 100 baby (and many other cool challenges) OP writer, but it's really cool to see an active simblr making sims medieval posts it makes me want to reinstall my old copy it was YEARS AND YEARS ago ty

Aw, thank you! Yeah my Sims Medieval content is surprisingly popular. I think I need to make one of my next storytelling projects a Sims Medieval one. Thanks so much for the feedback!

@yennibelle: Hello there, I have an inquire about your unnatural genetics for children and toddlers in the sims 4. I just re-downloaded it, due to this months patch and was wondering if you have added Island Living hairs? Or did I miss them? And if you have not, will you? Either way, I appreciate your mod/CC :)

Hi there! I’m so sorry, but I haven’t updated the hair for Island Living, yet! All my files and palettes I used for those hairs is on my old laptop and I haven’t gotten around to transferring everything I need onto my new one, yet, but thank you for reminding me that’s something I need to do. :) In the meantime, all the hair should still work fine in your game. You just won’t have funky varieties of the IL hair (yet). I’ll be sure to post when I take this on but it may not be for a while, yet.

[anathtsurugi]

Day 11 - Heat (NSFW)

I’m gonna get through all of these. I am! @kalluzebweddingplan​, here is my Day 11. The second of three NSFW fills I had in mind. Enjoy!

Also, @jellysharkbat​, once again, I believe we have your divine HCs to thank for this scene. ;D

Heat

 Zeb loved Kallus. Really, he did.

 But sometimes he also wanted to smack him upside the head.

 He could understand how the climate of Yavin IV lent itself to people going around in a state of somewhat less dress than usual. Hells, he'd like to remove his own fur if he could, but that wasn't exactly an option. Kallus, on the other hand, definitely had the option. Zeb remembered the initial days after they'd all escaped from Atollon, about how straitlaced and Imperial the human had been, still was some days. That Alexsandr Kallus never would've considered removing even a single stitch of clothing, no matter how hot it was.

 But with time and distance, the man had begun to loosen up – time, distance, and a damn good lay (if Zeb said so himself). These days, he was much more comfortable joining his rebel cohorts in shedding clothing that wasn't strictly necessary. And Zeb had no doubt Kallus knew he was looking.

 Really, how could he help it? When Kallus began the day in full uniform, but gradually peeled away pieces of it over the course of a very hot day, until he was down to just his pants and boots, leaving very well-defined muscles bared to the humid air, each perfect inch glistening with sweat...

 Bogan take him, but he was so gone on this man. It was hot enough as it was. Did he really have to suffer through it with thirst on top of everything else?

 The last straw came for the Lasat when Kallus paused to take a drink of water in helping fetch some spare tools for Hera while she worked on an X-wing. Zeb looked over in time to see him taking a swig from a bottle, a few drops of clear fluid escaping his mouth and sliding sinuously down his neck...onto his chest...

 Zeb was across the hangar space before he was even conscious of making a decision to move. He was just as vaguely aware of pulling Kallus with him beneath a parked freighter, concealing them from the rest of the bay's view behind one of the ship's landing struts.

 "You are entirely too good-lookin' for your own good, Alex" he groaned as he nuzzled his face into the ex-Imperial's neck, mingling his scent together with his, even though it hardly mattered. There was no one even on the planet who could understand the meaning of their joined scents, much less actually smell that heady, musky fragrance.

 "You're probably right," Kallus conceded, shuddering with want as Zeb mouthed at the juncture of his neck and shoulder. "But I hope you don't plan to do anything about that here, Captain Orrelios. Where anyone could spot us."

 "Oh, no. We're not playin' that game. You've been grindin' down my nerves all day and you know it," he said, looking up at Kallus with a teasing smirk. "Mon Mothma herself and the whole of High Command could stroll up right now and I wouldn't give half a kriff. I'd slam you against the nearest star ship hull and do you so hard, you wouldn't need the ship to touch those stars," he said, lowering his mouth to one of the ex-agent's exposed nipples and briefly swirling his tongue over it, drawing a barely contained gasp from his lips.

 "Ungh...Zeb..." he whimpered faintly, and the Lasat was pleased to glance down and see a conspicuous bulge already beginning to form in his partner's pants.

 "But we can get to that later tonight. Right now, I know Hera's waitin' on you, so I'll make this quick," he said as he dropped to his knees before the former Imperial.

 The little moan that slipped from his lover's mouth could only be described as delicious. When he looked to the man's face again, it was to see a heated blush blooming on his pale skin.

 "Zeb!" he choked out quietly. "You can't seriously think to- right here...out in the open. We're- exposed," he tried to protest.

 "That's the idea," Zeb pointed out harshly before snapping open Kallus' belt and jerking his pants down a few inches. Then he was mouthing very deliberately at the shape of him through the sleek black fabric of his undershorts.

 Kallus very nearly cried out at the sensation, head falling back against the strut while his fingers scrabbled desperately at it. And much though Zeb would've loved to draw this out, to work over every inch of his lover through the tight fabric before even thinking of going further, he had promised Alex that this would be quick. So, lowering the undershorts only to about mid-thigh, he took just a few precious seconds to appreciate the sight of the human's beautifully hard cock before lapping the tip of it into his mouth like a favorite bit of candy.

 Kallus really did cry out this time, barely managing to muffle the tiny, stricken sound with an arm thrown over his mouth. The sound alone was enough to draw Zeb to full arousal, causing him to groan around the human's prick as he went at it, rough tongue laving generously over every inch of heated flesh he could get at.

 "Oh...Zeb...oh, stars...ah!" Alex panted out, one hand reaching forward to grip at the fur at the base of his skull, clearly resisting the urge to thrust, even though they were both perfectly aware Zeb could take it.

 The sounds Zeb was making devolved into outright growls as he bobbed his head up and down on top of the human, utterly merciless in his ministrations, licking and sucking and nipping until he knew his lover couldn't take it anymore. When he allowed one of his fangs to run dangerously along the length of hard flesh, it became too much for Alex.

 Actually rising up on his toes, the ex-Imperial tensed for just a moment before coming completely undone, muffling his own cry as he released down Zeb's throat. The Lasat just growled possessively all the while, eagerly taking in every drop of his seed.

 Once Alex had finished, Zeb held him like that against the strut, hands clamped firmly at his hips while his prick softened in the Lasat's mouth. When he finally released him, he stood quickly, pulling the blissed out human into his arms for a brief embrace. Alex laughed faintly against his chest as he struggled to remaster himself.

 "That really was too good for my own good. Had best be careful teasing you in the future."

 "Too right," Zeb returned, pressing a quick peck to his lips before pulling back from his lover, careful to make sure he could stand on his own before pulling away entirely.

 "Did- did you-" Alex started to ask, reaching for his belt. Sometimes the human managed to make him come untouched, but this wasn't one of those times.

 "No," he said, stepping just out of Alex's reach. "But come find me later and we'll see about returnin' that favor. Meantime, I'll be thinkin' about you," he said, saluting the ex-Imperial before making a somewhat jaunty retreat in the direction of the Ghost, hoping nobody noticed the state he was in.

 "Oh, I'll have you later, Garazeb Orrelios. That I promise you," Kallus called after him.

 "Lookin' forward to it."

[elfyourmother]

Heart of the Phoenix is prolly the best possible example of what I’m talking about. I realized a while back that I wasn’t at all happy with the start of the fic. not just because my writing has significantly improved since I started it all those years ago, but the fic ballooned and evolved into something much larger and complicated than I intended it to be, and I realized I would need to rework the entire first act as a result. I started drafting that rewrite but like...i felt overwhelmed by it, and warcraft going completely off the rails didn’t help, and then I got sucked into final fantasy xiv, which I fell head over heels in love with and totally got invested into and it reinvigorated me as a writer and I started all these things and it made me happy in a way I haven’t been in a long time w a game universe

but I feel this intense kind of guilt about basically abandoning this long running fic for something shiny and new, and it’s proof of how my hyperfixation is a curse, and I never finish anything, and I’m letting everyone down, etc etc.

some days that fic honestly feels like an albatross around my neck. I mean, the fact that it’s been sitting there unfinished even though I’ve outlined it to the end and know exactly what will happen...jfc. it casts a long shadow over me. I feel strangled by it sometimes. so many other plotbunnies I’ve had have gone unwritten because of the intense guilt I feel for leaving Heart of the Phoenix in the state that it’s in. “I can’t even finish this fic, I have no right to work on anything else! think of the readers who’ve you let down with glacial updates, dropping it, picking it up again!” I feel like I’m a bad mother and I’ve abandoned my child.

that fic is the single reason I never wrote a whole slew of things in other fandoms, like the complete story of Gisele’s journey in Origins (or even just the truncated “Landsmeet to endgame when she fell for Loghain” version), Marisol and Sebastian retaking Starkhaven, the crack Thor crossover AU story, and now I’m struggling against it with virtually anything major I want to do with ffxiv, like Gisele’s story as Warrior of Light and specifically thru Heavensward. this last is probably the worst guilt of all bc a) I never wrote her original story, her Warden story and b) how dare I even think to start writing another huge MMORPG story when HotP languishes.

cause on top of that it’s like, “well who tf do you think you are, wanting to start another massive project when you can’t even finish this one you claimed to love so much?? you’ll just anger and disappoint a whole new set of people”

and I would have taken hotp down a long time ago, if not for the plethora of comments ive gotten on it. I still feel like I’m letting those readers down. but I know there are people who absolutely adore that fic—because they’ve told me, again and again—and I’m still proud of it (unfinished mess that it is!) so I leave it be, and struggle to cope w these feelings of guilt and inadequacy in the meantime.

these decisions aren’t easy, is what I’m saying. no matter what the end result is.

[slimercore]

outfits subject to change but for now thats what it is...

okay SO! the next thing to finish obv the beta trolls line up. honestly its not that difficult bc the line art isnt actually my reg line art im jus cleaning it up then coloring

AFTER THAT!! i decided what im gonna do for this project and thats make a game. its gonna b done in rpg maker an its for myself rather than anyone else so idc if its not super polished.

well actually im makin multiple games. theyll be like short chapters of certain events in the story. the first one im doin focuses on john summoning davesprite. i have it all planned out event-wise the only problem is idk how to end it. ihave some ideas so i jus need to think it out

honestly the most difficult part will b the fact i want to hand draw everything which is either gonna b super bad or super good. honestly even tho im not as good as i wanna be i find my style charming and i think drawing a bunch of objects and backgrounds will be good practice :) yea its a pretty big project but im not really doing anything else and ive begun to shift my life focus on: fuck it, just go ahead and do it

so far its been pretty good!

plus ill be planning out the houses / town layout / sprites for this one which will 100% be reused [or remade when i get better lol] in the future! and this will be good practice for learning rpg maker. i bought it a few years back on sale but never did anything with it

i rlly wanna get to drawing and figuring out how to do settings and things but im using my dads mac to hook up my drawing pad but i need an hdmi adapter :( ill have to wait a few days till the weekend to go get one. so in the meantime im gonna plan the story out and watch more tutorials

the main thing i have to remember is not to get too ambitious on my first try and also that this is for me rather than anyone else! i mean if others enjoy it id be glad but mainly its my story and im doing it to have fun :)

[pinkipie100]

Lance and the 25 Days Chapter V: Clay

Yo, guess who? Also, later that usual! HAHAHAHAHA, THAT MEANS ANOTHER MORNING REBLOG, HAHAHAHAHA!!! Okay, hysteria and sleep deprivation aside, I’m pretty proud of this one; Pidge is my favorite character, and I’d die for her, so whenever I get to write her, it’s a real blast! Another note is that at the end of this chapter, I included something as a humor aspect that I should have realized was a stupid idea. The thing about Ficcember is that I want to keep it as broad as possible, so I want to keep it both strictly clean of ships, as well as clean in general; it seems my sense of humor simply cannot go long without dropping swears. I apologize, but I because of this, I have censored the word completely. Those who know the book, or heck, even those who haven’t can probably fill in the blank if they so desire. Thanks for reading, and happy holidays!

Words:2012

Category: Gen

Contains: brOT3 Shalluridge, dreidels, Holt Family Feels [esp. Matt], triggering peanuts, Gunderangst, black paladin!Lance, in a way, considerate!Lance, bedtimes stories, censorship, Go the F*ck to Sleep

Takes place the afternoon after the Space Mall escapade in Chapter IV.

Allura was observing Pidge carefully as she measured out the sculpting sand. The young paladin appeared to run complex calculations completely mentally as she determined the correct proportions and weight for the dreidel to spin properly, like a top. Hunk had given the teen a set of tools to help her sculpt, and she had smoothed the sides of the dreidel to perfection. Allura gasped when Pidge picked up a tool only to ruin the perfectly flat sides of the dreidel, carving in an indent. Pidge explained that the princess had no need to worry, as everything she was doing was intentional. Allura resumed spectating while Pidge carved strange symbols. They had some features similar to Altean, but they were otherwise unrecognizable to the young Altean woman.

Pidge, once finished carving the indents, held one side of the dreidel up to Allura. She told her, “So this one-” she pointed to a three-pronged symbol, “-is shin. When you spin that, you add a piece of whatever game currency we’re using to the pot. This-” Pidge signaled to a symbol on a different side, “-is nun. When you get this, it means you don’t do anything, and the next person spins. This next one-” Pidge gestured to a symbol that looked like and unfinished box, “-is hey, and the player who spins this gets half of the pot. This word, everyone’s favorite-” the green paladin smirked mischievously, “-is gimel, and it means you get to take the whole pot.”

“Fascinating! So, this is a gambling game?” Allura asked. Pidge nodded with a cute smile, and the princess voiced, “I thought that gambling was illegal for children on Earth, Shiro. Isn’t that what you told me?”

Shiro, leaning not far from the two on the kitchen wall, chuckled a response, “Well, it is if it’s real money, but this is just a game. You gamble with things like chocolate coins, or typically other small food pieces. Sam always told me Katie hated it when they used peanuts as the currency.”

Pidge concurred furiously, saying that Matt suggested it every year, and their mom always complied, much to Pidge’s chagrin. The smallest paladin complained that Matt did that specifically to rig the game against her since she wanted nothing to do with the gross, dry nuts, so she did everything in her power to get rid of them, even cheating by feeding them to Bae Bae. She recalled with a cringe that last Chanukkah, Matt had just sat across the table, staring at her, crunching down the peanuts when he won.

Once Pidge was finished regaling of her family’s dreidel shenanigans, she sighed, her figure collapsing. Shiro and Allura’s faces shifted to mirror the green paladin’s despairing countenance, and at Shiro’s sympathetic prompting, Pidge revealed the cause of her upset. She vented, “I was just thinking about playing with Matt, you know? He had his own dreidel, and he whittled it himself, just like I carved this one. My mom showed him how… Anyway, we played our own separate games at the Chanukkah parties my parents would host all the time, and I just remember that he loved playing dreidel. Probably because he won,” she cringed fondly, “but looking back on it, we created a lot of memories from playing together, just the two of us. The thing is…” Pidge paused, shoving her glasses higher on the bridge of her nose as her head drooped and Allura put a supportive hand on her shoulder, “…I brought his dreidel with me to the Garrison.” Shiro uttered the paladin’s name in sympathy, walking closer to her and placing his own hand on Pidge’s free shoulder. “It’s the one that Hunk probably saw, and I brought it because I wanted to give it back to Matt when I found him. Only, the night we found you, Shiro, I didn’t realize that I had been playing with it that morning, so when I went out to scan for frequencies that night, I forgot it wasn’t in my bag. By the time I checked for it in my bag, we had already taken down that Galra ship with Voltron for the first time and become the Defenders of the Universe. I still regret it, and I’m worried that I may never get to give it back to him, even if I do find him…”

Shiro stopped Pidge there, cutting her off, “Pidge. You’re going to find your brother. We’re going to bring him back; you have to know that. You’ll get to play dreidel with him again, this time with your own lucky dreidel.”

Allura agreed with the black paladin, putting in that if the two faced off using Pidge’s own dreidel, Matt would finally lose to his sister. Pidge laughed at this, claiming that she doubted it, but she wouldn’t mind losing to Matt again as long as it meant that he was right there with her, doing something other than worrying about a Galra attack or one of them being in the custody of those villains. Shiro guffawed and added that Matt would probably feel the same.

Allura straightened back up as Shiro patted Pidge’s back, and she scanned the kitchen for the other Altean on the ship. “Where is Coran? Shouldn’t he be learning about Chanukkah games as well? He’d love this! …especially since it’s gambling; it’s practically a mini version of the unilu swap shops he used to love so!” Pidge answered that she noticed that Lance had dragged the Altean off to a private room right after they had gotten back from the Space Mall, this time unscathed by Varkon’s pursuit. She assured the young woman that Coran could learn to play dreidel when she re-explained it to the other boys.

The trio was disrupted, however, when Lance came over the intercom of the ship, calling for all to meet on the bridge. Pidge proudly dunked her finished dreidel in the water for it to harden, then obeying Lance’s orders. Shiro and Allura followed too, and the princess joked to Shiro that it seemed that Lance was the holiday black paladin, earning her a hearty chortle from Pidge whilst the man himself scoffed.

Hunk had met up with Shiro, Pidge, and Allura along the way to the bridge, and upon entering, they encountered Lance standing front and center authoritatively, Coran standing behind him and to the side in support.

“Alright, Team Voltron! I was a little busy doing some holiday logistics after we got back from the Space Mall, but I think we’re all ready for a report now!” Lance proclaimed. He pointed to his best friend, inquiring, “Hunk, what’s the food situation?” Hunk answered that there was more than enough to feed the whole team including Keith as their plus one. Shiro brought up Hunk’s idea for the Olkarion feast, and once the yellow paladin delineated his idea, Lance pondered for a moment, then confirmed, “Yeah, that sounds like a super selfless idea! Maybe selfless enough for the Olkari to throw us a para-” a groan from the team indicated to Lance that this was not the time, so he finished, “-Ahem, Hunk, we should absolutely do that. You and I can contact Ryner and make plans for a refugee cookout in the Olkarion woods! So, Shiro, you’ve got some decorations for the ship, right?” Shiro smugly smiled before grabbing his shopping bag from his paladin seat and picking some representative decorations from it. He showed off the Anbytorian stones he’d foolishly purchased, believing them to be peppermint bark, but then proposed that they could be made into tree ornaments. Lance applauded Shiro’s creativity, followed by the rest of the team. Shiro then pulled out some silver string along with cerulean ribbons so that the team could make the halls festive for Hanukkah. Pidge gave her approval, and Lance’s accompanied hers. The man then started pulling out some deflated-looking items that looked like balloons, explaining that they were, apparently, floating lanterns that could be both lit and inflated by simply charging them through a Galra-issued charging station. Lance questioned if they even had one, to which Shiro pointed to his Galra arm, grasped a lantern with the prosthetic, and illuminated it. The lantern puffed up at a frightening speed, then ascended into the ceiling like a rocket. Coran suggested that Shiro should probably charge them with the lowest power setting his hand could offer.

“Great! So, it looks like we’re all set with decorations, except for the tree. Here’s the deal,” Lance began. “Allura, Coran, and I weren’t able to find any Christmas tree, or flora of any kind, at the Space Mall.” The boys and the Alteans groaned in disappointment, at which Lance twisted his face at the Alteans because, hello, they were there, but he amended, “That doesn’t mean we won’t have a tree, though! I won’t sleep until one is found! If I have to wormhole us to the next dimension MYSELF, I’LL DO IT!” Shiro squinted slightly, anticipating another threatening Christmas spirit episode, but Lance seems to have averted it. The red paladin announced, “In the meantime, we’ve got lots to do, Team Voltron, so…!” Pidge slumped in dread of more work, expecting Lance to start bossing them around to start hanging decorations and whatnot. “…get some rest, everyone.” Pidge, caught off guard at Lance’s tender tone, gazed back up to him while he added, “Today’s been a hard days’ work, so we’re going to need to rest our muscles for all of the hard labor of decorating for tomorrow. I’m proud of you, team, you really pulled it together on short notice!”

Hunk expressed hesitance, since Lance always decorated on the first of December no matter what, but Lance answered that he, himself, was tired as well. Lance dismissed everyone, and Hunk softly and fondly grinned at his best friend’s consideration. He, of all people, knew how hyper Lance was about Christmas, so the teenager was proud of his lanky friend’s restraint for the team’s sake.

Lance abruptly protested to everyone leaving, though, as there was one more favor he needed done before he went to bed. The team sighed.

Shiro yawned, smacking his lips while he waited. The sound of the shower had stopped a considerable amount of time ago, and he couldn’t but help growing slightly impatient. He called for Lance in the bathroom, wondering when he’d be done, and for the fifth time, Lance stated that he was ‘almost done.’ Shiro sighed through his nose.

At last, the bathroom door slid open, and Lance exited through it in his pajamas and blue lion slippers. Lance apologized to Shiro for taking so long, but made the excuse that the art of after-show skin care simply could not be rushed. The red paladin then tucked himself and and shimmied into the position of optimal comfort.

“Okay, so, the whole thing should’ve been transcribed on there by Hunk. It’s under the file ‘Lance’s Christmas Bedtime Story,’” Lance told the black paladin.

“This one?” Shiro indicated, and Lance confirmed it. “So, your mom still read you this even while you were in the Garrison.”

“Oh, yeah,” Lance bobbed his head enthusiastically. “We just did it over a video call; it was practically just like she was there! She read me this for the first time back when I was four, back during that December I woke up to decorate.”

Shiro nodded, then opened the file on his tablet. He then recited the transcribed script: “‘The cats nestle close to their kittens, / The lambs have laid down with the sheep. / You’re safe and warm in your bed, my dear. / …please go the ~QUIZNACK~ to sleep,’ Lance, your mom read this to you?”

“Yeah,” Lance put simply. “What of it? Go on.”

Shiro, eyes bulging out of his head, dramatically turned back to face the script, shrugging off his concerns. He continued:

The windows are dark in the town, child.

The whales huddle down in the deep.

I’ll read you one last book if you swear

You’ll go the ~QUIZNACK~ to sleep...