#it’s perfect bcs Miles contributes nothing

[nebulous-c]

Idk if anyone cares, but if people start shipping Lionel and Miles together please let the ship name be Brains and Bron

[raven-dor]

can you write a fem reader x James Potter where she like has an anxiety attackat like 3 am bc her parents say she isn't getting good enough grades and that they're gonna pull her out of Hogwarts and so he like calms her down?

drink some water and eat something <3

also can I be :3 anon?

stay with me

In which james potter comforts his best friends twin sister

PAIRING: james potter x sirius black's twin!reader

WARNINGS: anxiety attack, horrible parenting, mentions of abuse, self-esteem issues, fluff ending

WORD COUNT: 1.6k

AN: loved writing this!! as someone who craves academic validation, this was kind of healing to put into the world <3

Her hands shook as she stared at the letter her parents had sent her. It had been the fifth one this month, not that she was counting. And they were all the same: vile insults of her knowledge and constant reminders that her brother was a better student than she would ever be. 

She laughed when they had said it the first time, telling them that “comparing anyone to Regulus, and he’s a better student.” Her mother had smacked her for that. 

This letter had been the worst of them. Her parents knew how to get a rise out of her, stating that if she did not better herself, she’d be pulled from Hogwarts before she could graduate. And even worse, if she was pulled, they would marry her off to Amycus Carrow, the insufferable twat. 

Her head of house had pulled her aside weeks ago, telling her that she was doing poorly in her classes, stating that he knew of multiple tutors who could help her fix them. She ignored his offer; after all, if she had wanted help, she would have asked Remus. 

It was late; curfew had passed hours ago, but she still stumbled through the halls, hyperventilating. She’d told herself she needed fresh air, but that hadn’t helped. Then she thought a walk would help; also useless. Now, she was just choking on her tears in the hall, hoping Filch didn’t find her. She was used to it, the constant belittling by her own mother and father. Even her cousins contributed. At first, it hadn’t bothered her; if her family had nothing better to do than insult her, they should feel free. 

Eventually, their insults warped her mind. She became a shell of her former self, no longer cracking jokes or teasing her brothers and friends. She sat in the corner of the library, reading the pages of her textbooks over and over until her mind felt numb. Sirius had tried to cheer her up constantly, one of his attempts resulting in a detention. 

A breeze pulled her down the dark corridor, the night sky visible at the end. Maybe sitting by the Black Lake or lying on the grassy hill would help her calm down. She sniffled, pulling her robe closer to herself. The Quidditch pitch was empty; she was sure of it. The grass there was well-kept, thanks to the gamekeeper. She pushed past the cloth, the great field standing before her. 

She ran to the middle, falling to the ground in a completely undignified manner. If her mother were here, she’d scold her. “That is no way for a lady to sit.” She could hear her, even hundreds of miles away. 

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the voices that attacked her. Her heart pumped harder, beating against her chest. She gasped, rubbing her hand in circular motions, grounding herself. “You are no daughter of mine.” That is what her mother had said in the letter, the last thing she said before she signed off with her perfect penmanship. “You are no daughter of mine.” 

Y/N laughed. She didn’t want to be her daughter anyway. Sadly, she did not have a choice in that matter; Walburga had pushed her out 17 years ago, and here she was. Sobbing violently in the middle of the night on the grass.

Most likely the best thing Y/N Black would ever do.

She couldn’t get her grades up, no matter how hard she tried; she couldn’t be the perfect daughter, and she couldn’t be normal. A normal person, she told herself, wouldn’t be sobbing over her horrible grades. “You are no normal person, Y/N.” Her father would say. “You are a Black.”  

She brought her hands to her face, shaking her head. She murmured to herself, hiccuping every so often. A hand touched her shoulder, and she jumped, ripping her hands from her face. “Y/N?”

James. 

He smiled lightly. “Are you alright, love?” 

She sat up, wiping away the tears that still flowed. “I’m fine, Jamie. Don��t worry about it.” She stood, smiling. “Have fun.” 

He stood in front of her, blocking her escape. “I wouldn’t say you’re fine. You’re crying.” 

She scoffed. “Well, I didn’t ask for your opinion.” She stepped around him, speaking over her shoulder. “Drop it.” 

His hand wrapped around her wrist, holding her in place. “Indulge me.” He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. “Sometimes I forget to breathe, and I do these exercises to help regulate myself.” He smiled. “Can you do it with me? It would really help me if you played along.” 

She knew he was tricking her, but she didn’t really care. “Sure, James.” 

He nodded. “Just breathe in for five, hold for two, exhale for five.” He smirked, nudging her shoulder. “Works wonders.” 

She tried not to roll her eyes, following along. God, she hated it when he was right. He often was, too; that was the horrible thing. James tried to play the dumb jock stereotype, but he was brilliant in Transfiguration, DADA, and Potions. It irked her to no end that James was not only a great quidditch player but an amazing student, friend, and person. 

They sat in silence for a moment before he spoke again. “Do you want to tell me what had you so worked up?” She shook her head. He sighed, holding her hands in his. “Can I guess then?” 

“Be my guest, Potter.” 

“Dear old mum and dad.” He raised his eyebrow, smiling lightly. “Am I right?” 

“Once again.” She nodded. “You know how they are.” 

He nodded back. “I do. But I’ve never seen you this upset over something they’ve done.” He whispered softly. “You don’t have to tell me, but you need to know I hate seeing you like this.” 

“Am I that hideous when I cry?” She laughed. “I’ll try to refrain from violently sobbing next time.” 

“Don’t do that.” He rubbed her cheek, smiling when a blush formed. “You’ve never been hideous a day in your life, Y/N. And you never will be.” 

She scoffed. “You flatter me too much, James.” 

“I only tell the truth.” Their hands swayed in between them. 

“They told me they were going to pull me out of school because my grades were so poor.” She murmured. “Don’t they know I’m trying?” 

“Your parents are unforgiving and cold. They disowned Sirius, for Merlin’s sake.” He pulled her closer, leaning down. “You know they have no logical thoughts.” 

“I know.” 

“I know you’re trying,” James smirked. “And honestly, that’s all that matters.” 

“How could I forget?” Y/N laughed. “The great James Potter, in all his infinite wisdom, strikes again.” 

“Is there…” He sighed. “Is there anything else?” 

“If they pull me out, they’ve already promised Amycus Carrow that we will be married.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “My worst nightmare come to life.” 

James gasped, visibly disgusted. “Merlin, I knew your mother was a horrible person, but to promise you to him-” He shivered. “She really has no love in her heart.” 

“She does.” Y/N corrected. “It’s reserved for Regulus.” 

“Ah.” He sighed. “You know you’re a good student, right?” 

She glared, trying to pull her hands out of her grip. “Don’t be mean.” 

“I’m not, I swear. You are an amazing student. Remember when you helped me with DADA? Last week? I would have completely failed if it wasn’t for you.” 

“Nonsense.” She blushed. “You would have been fine. DADA’s your best subject.” 

He laughed. “Maybe. But because of you, we’ll never know.” He giggled, wiggling his eyebrows. “You’re my hero, Y/N Black.” 

She shoved him away, rolling her eyes affectionately. “Shut it, you.” 

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, walking them out of the Quidditch Pitch. “I could use a hot cocoa. What about you?” 

“Cider sounds better.” 

He rolled his eyes. “Fine. Cider it is.” 

The kitchens were luckily not far from the pitch, and with one tickle of the pear, the door opened, not a single house elf in sight. Y/N settled into one of the two large leather seats, staring into the fire. “It’s my fault they don’t love me.” 

“What?” James scoffed, kneeling in front of her. “Why would you say that?” 

“I should have been a better daughter. If I had spent less time-” 

“Living? Y/N, listen to me. You are doing your best. And if they can’t see that, then that’s their problem. You, Sirius, and Regulus are better off without them.” 

“Sirius and Regulus, maybe.” She mumbled. “I don’t deserve it.” 

“It?” 

“Happiness.” 

James shook his head. “Never say that again. If you can’t do it for yourself, then do it for me. You- You deserve everything.” He brought his hands up to her cheeks. “Everything.”

She blushed. “James-” 

“Say it.” He looked at her rather dangerously; her stomach flipped. “Say you deserve everything.” 

“I don’t-” A hand tickled her side, and she gasped. “James!” 

He grinned, tickling her incessantly. “Say it, and I’ll stop!” 

“I- I deserve- I deserve everything!” She cackled, panting from the sudden attack. “I deserve everything.” 

He nodded, looking much too pleased with himself. “Good.” He stood up, grabbing her mug. “My lady.” 

She scoffed. “The least you could do after your violent attack.” 

“Please.” He smirked. “You know you love me.” 

“How exactly did you know I was on the Quidditch Pitch, hm?” She raised her eyebrow. “Were you following me on your little map?” 

He blushed, taking a sip of his cider. She smiled to herself. “That’s what I thought.” 

[wzrdsmith]

Miles:

So I started therapy again this week. My therapist is cool - black lady from Louisiana. I feel like we addressed more in an hour than I ever did with the white counselors in Syracuse.

We spent almost half the session talking about Andy. It was nice to be able to talk shit about him to someone who doesn’t have any connection to the situation. Honestly, I’m embarrassed that I was his friend and I lowkey don’t want any public record of our relationship.

To be clear, he left. He quit Peach Thxory, skipped out on the lease and moved back to Syracuse after only two months. This is cowardly for so many reasons. I’m not letting him out of our lease - I refuse to transfer any bills out of his name plus I know his He is financially responsible for paying his rent for the rest of the term of our lease.

I can’t imagine moving out of an apartment like that when your parents are paying your rent - I would be to ashamed to break the news to my dad. I can’t imagine moving to a new places and moving after 2 months to go back to the only city I’ve ever lived in. The first few months of any move is hard, doesn’t matter where you go.

The crazy thing is Georgia and I don’t really know why… he said he made the wrong career choice. He said the relationship Georgia and I have made him uncomfortable. He said he wasn’t happy with how things were going. He said he didn’t want to make music the way we were making music. He said he didn’t feel like he could be himself around us.

He never said anything about the way I spoke to him, which I know was mean, but nothing I ever said to him was wrong; he didn’t practice our songs, he didn’t contribute to our work in anyway. You ask him to do something and it takes a month. We didn’t like that the entire downstairs near the bathroom he used smelled like piss, or that we were sharing credit and profits equally and when someone asked what the peach Thxory mission was, he said, “Idk I’m just the helper.” He tried to leave in the middle of the night without saying goodbye - we caught him loading his car. He left furniture like it was some gift and didn’t consider that we actually would have to clean up after him.

He was always making us look bad, because he doesn’t think “big picture,” and underneath the facade is an incredibly weak ego // DURING Peach Jxm Szn 1, he had this idea for another live music series called “Tiny Tea House.” It would feature only Asian artist… He wanted to use Sofia Violet, Froggies bc of Maria and others. He had a list of Asian musicians in Syracuse… Georgia and I actually were cool with this bc except for we didn’t want him to take artists that we had already booked and he couldn’t call it “Tiny Tea House” because all Asians don’t drink tea and we couldn’t just rip off Tiny Desk. It was such a huge problem, and he’s Vietnamese lol He shut down bc we didn’t just go along with his idea… he just didn’t want to work hard on anything… good enough is not good enough, sometimes you have to critique your work, you have to perfect your craft and he just didn’t understand that.

No standards for quality // No ambition // No direction // No sense of urgency // No integrity.

It’s hard to work with someone like that on something you love. It’s hard to be friends with someone that doesn’t love themself.

The reality is, Andy was just “a good buddy,” as Georgia likes to say. He was someone that was only fun to be around when he was fucked up. He lived for nicotine and a good time. We went through a significant depression after he left but it was obvious our lives immediately improved because we didn’t have to parent him. We didn’t have to deal with the results of his carelessness, recklessness and inability to consider anyone but himself. I don’t have to worry about what random drugs he’s taking or if he’s gonna to crash his car into a tree.

I do hope we see each other again, exactly once when we’re older because I wanna be able to use him as a mirror. When we’re in our 40’s I know I’ll look in his eyes and hear his voice and know I made all the right decisions. But in the meantime he’ll be seeing all of the shit he’s missing out on. Georgia and I are meeting so many cool people, going to new places, making new music and booking really cool gigs. We’re even supposed to go on tour this fall… and I think it sucks for Andy that he won’t be there.

I honestly, wish him the best. But not better than me. And I hope he goes to therapy too.

Like I said, my life is better now that he’s gone, so I shouldn’t have anything to be upset about. But clearly I’m upset. I think I have a right to be, I put a lot into that relationship. I guess I just don’t fuck with the fact that his decisions are affecting my livelihood even in his absence.

Georgia and I get more done by ourselves because we don’t have to fix all his mistakes. He created more work for us. But something’s he did make easier - he has really good ears, it takes him like 2 minutes to learn most songs. And well, he made pho better than most Vietnamese restaurants, even though he got fired from a Vietnamese restaurant in New Orleans after like 3 shifts.

Our first single is coming out this Friday - we took Andy’s part off it bc it had no feeling, as he has almost no personality.

You guys should pre-save, then stream it this Friday.

[whoreiaki-kakyoin]

(As for OC's, I have an OC named Belladonna Una, she's Trish's twin and she's a generally very shy individual. She wears a purple dress and she's a stand user with a penchant for arson and using her father's favorite move, the donut. She's got pink hair, green eyes and freckles and tends to take more after Diavolo than Doppio and she adores Fugo; yes I was the anon that had asked previously about OC's)

May I please have Belladonna and Fugo with the "no panties?" prompt?

AH awesome! I'm really happy you asked tbh bc I hadn't thought before about whether I’d write for OCs. And I think Belladonna sounds awesome, so hopefully I did her justice here! Sorry about the wait 💖💖💖

It's a typical enough day to begin with— Mista rummaging in the kitchen, gathering snacks for the pistols, while Narancia grumbles under his breath about a set of math problems. Belladonna seats herself easily at the table next to her sister as Trish thumbs through a fashion magazine.

When Fugo comes down the stairs, Belladonna finds her gaze glued to the boy. God, he looks good today. Of course, he always does, but— a foot taps hers under the table. When she glances up, Trish raises her eyebrows with a small smirk, her meaning clear: You were staring again.

"Shut up," Belladonna mouths, and Trish purses her lips in that tight smile that usually means she's stifling a giggle.

"Just tell him," she mouths back, and Belladonna just shakes her head, electing to ignore Trish's eye roll. It wasn't like she hadn't thought about making her affections clear to Fugo. But actually doing it... that was something else entirely.

"What are you two whispering about?" Speak of the devil. Fugo takes the chair between Narancia and Belladonna, because of course he has to sit that close. It takes Belladonna a moment to process those violet eyes staring right through her, and her breath catches in her throat, but luckily Trish speaks up.

"Nothing," she tells him airily. "Girl talk, you wouldn't be interested." She returns to her magazine with a shrug, but Fugo keeps his eyes trained on Belladonna. She toys with the fabric of her dress under the table, fighting the urge to squirm under his searching gaze. Realistically, she knows it's only a moment or two, but it feels like the silence stretches endlessly before Mista makes some comment that pulls Fugo's attention and she allows herself to breathe again.

She thinks maybe she's in the clear when Fugo turns his attention to Narancia'a work. At first, anyway. The first time Fugo's leg brushes against hers, she assumes it's unintentional, even if it does wake up every nerve in her body. The second time is suspicious, and the third.... her heart just about stops when Fugo's eyes meet hers, the corner of his mouth twitching upward ever so briefly with a raise of his eyebrows. Just as quickly as it happened, he dips his gaze back to Narancia's papers on the table.

It continues all week. Fugo's hand brushes hers over dinner with the team at Libeccio. Belladonna contributes an idea when discussing a mission, and the blonde allows his typical serious expression to slip, giving her a slight smile as he nods. "Clever. That might be just perfect."

Belladonna finds herself turning it all over in her head one night, lounging in the sitting room when the rest of the gang is asleep. She flips idly through the pages of a book, but her eyes gloss over the words, her mind miles away. Could Fugo be attempting to flirt with her? She didn't want to read into something that wasn't there, but she could swear there was something in his eyes lately.... something that wasn't there when he looked at the others.

She couldn't deny that there was something that drew her to Fugo. He was intelligent, passionate, had strong convictions. Something about those deep violet eyes made her shiver when they met hers, and then of course there was the low timbre of his voice. She wondered how it might sound if he would—

"Belladonna?" Looking up, she sees Fugo standing in the doorway. She hadn't even heard him come in.

"Fugo! I didn't realize you were still up."

"I could say the same for you." He smiles slightly as he crosses the room. "Lost in thought?"

"I guess so, yeah." She offers a shy smile of her own, feeling heat rise to her cheeks.

"Mind if I sit?"

"Of course not, sure!" She sets her book aside as Fugo seats himself next to her, their legs brushing despite the ample room on the couch.

"I wasn't able to sleep," he tells her. "I figured I'd get a little air. It's a nice time of night for a walk." Belladonna smiles softly.

"I couldn't sleep, either. I have a feeling I'll be up for a while if you want to hang out."

"Hm. Anything in particular on your mind? A reason you can't sleep, maybe?" Ah. Shit. Fugo's eyes narrow as he assesses her. She's seen him look similarly at puzzles, at Narancia's homework, at Giorno when he suggests a plan that shouldn't work but undoubtedly will... like she's one more thing that challenges and perplexes him, and he's eager to figure her out.

"You say that like you know what it is," she counters, her eyes not leaving his once. She's aware that the gap between them has narrowed, though she's not sure which one of them leaned in first.

Fugo's fingers twitch, like he's uncertain of himself, before he raises a hand to brush soft, pink hair back from Belladonna's face.

"It might be presumptuous, but... I was hoping it's the same thing that's been on my mind." Belladonna feels her heart skip a beat as she places her hand over the one cupping her cheek, leaning into Fugo's touch with a sigh.

"I think it might be."

"Belladonna..." He says her name softly, like it's the first time his mouth has held each syllable. "May I kiss you?"

She doesn't give him an answer, at least not in words. She closes the distance between them on pure instinct, pressing her lips against his own. It's the right decision, she decides, if the sigh Fugo gives against her is anything to go by. It's sweet, chaste, at first— she thinks in the back of her mind that she can taste a hint of strawberry chapstick— and she buries her fingers in soft hair.

Without thinking, she tugs a bit harder than she meant to, prompting a low groan from Fugo that sounds like pure sin. He blushes redder as they separate to breathe, his eyes huge. Belladonna doesn't miss the way his pupils are blown wide and dark.

"I'm... I'm sorry about that, I didn't..."

"No, it's okay. I thought it was hot." Fugo's eyebrows raise, and his eyes glint mischievously.

"Did you? Mm, pulling my hair like that to get a reaction out of me, of course you did." The next thing Belladonna knows, Fugo is pulling her into his lap, kissing her much harder than the sweet kisses they shared a moment ago. He nips at her bottom lip with his teeth, and she makes a pleased, breathy sound against the heat of his open mouth. His hands are strong, firm, as they hold her, a warm palm at the small of her back as the fingers of his other hand toy with the soft hair at the base of her neck.

"Pannacotta..." She arches into his touch, and the blonde gives another low, needy sound at the shift of her hips.

"Fuck... Belladonna, don't... Don't fucking do that." She blinks at him for a moment, then smirks, grinding down against his crotch more deliberately.

"Don't do what, Fugo? That?" His hands come to rest on her hips, fingers establishing a bruising grip on the soft skin. Fugo breathes out slowly before meeting Belladonna's gaze.

"I never thought you'd be such a fucking tease, you know that?"

"Mm..." She smiles, pleased with herself as she presses herself down against him once more. "I could help you if you'd like."

"Oh, I think you're going to." He tips her chin up with his fingers, leaning in to whisper in her ear. "If you're intent on causing problems, you ought to at least fix them, don't you think?" Belladonna shivers, and the breathy squeak she gives in answer elicits a laugh from Fugo.

"You're stunning, you know. Fucking perfect, Belladonna." He runs his hands down her sides. "Are you certain this is okay?" Eagerly, she nods.

"I'm sure, Fugo. Please. I'm certain about my feelings for you, I want to do this." Grinning, he leans in to press a gentle kiss to her lips.

"Okay. Here, undress for me?" Gently, he guides her shirt over her head before turning his attention to her sleep shorts. His breath hitches as he helps Belladonna out of them. When he returns his gaze to Belladonna's and cocks an eyebrow, his violet eyes are dark with lust.

"No panties?" She blushes, but nods. "Fuck," he breathes. "Just walking around like that, ready for me to take you... You're so wet for me, too." His hands fumble, making quick work of his pants and underwear, discarding them in a heap with Belladonna's clothes. Her eyes drift to his hard cock, the tip flushed and glistening with precum... He was decently thick, and had to be at least a good six or seven inches, she figured. She blushes as she glances up to see Fugo’s eyes on her. As she was definitely staring at his cock. His cheeks are dusted just as red as her own must be, and she runs a hand down his now bare chest, taking in every last scar and freckle.

“Beautiful,” she breathes. “Fugo, you’re stunning.” He shakes his head, a tiny smile settling on his lips.

“I think that would be you, bella. Sei perfetta.” Belladonna gives a breathy moan as he slides a finger into her aching pussy. It feels strange, different than the way she stretches herself, but it’s a pleasant feeling. She gasps and whines as Fugo curls his finger to hit exactly the right spot, and he huffs out a soft laugh as she squirms.

“Ah… you’re so beautiful like this, you know?”

“Fugo…. Fuck, please…”

“Mmm, more? I don’t want to rush and hurt you.” He slips a second finger in, and Belladonna sighs, canting her hips into his hand as he spreads and crooks both digits inside her. It’s good, but it’s not enough, the pace agonizingly slow when what she wants is him.

“Pannacotta… I need you to fuck me, please.” Belladonna feels her cheeks burn at the words. “I need your cock.”

“Shit.” Fugo breathes. “You don't know how incredible it is to hear you say that. Amazing. But first—“ He slides his fingers out of her, only to position them at her lips. "You made a mess, so clean it up." Obediently, she parts her lips, taking his long, slim fingers into her mouth, swirling her tongue around them to taste herself. He groans at the sight, Belladonna's lashes sweeping her cheeks as her eyes drift closed.

"Che bella," he murmurs, slipping his fingers from her mouth and bringing them to his own with a chuckle. "You taste so sweet." His voice is low, breathy with want. "I think I could get addicted to that easily. But I did promise I'd fuck you properly first." He guides the head of his cock carefully to Belladonna's entrance, pushing in slowly. Her head tips back, a choked-off moan catching in her throat as Fugo hilts himself inch by inch inside her.

"You're doing great, that's it," he breathes, rubbing gently at her sides. "Ah, you feel amazing..." Belladonna rolls her hips with a soft whine, enjoying the fullness she feels, the stretch of Fugo's cock inside her becoming less discomfort and more pleasure by the second.

"Fugo, mm, please move? I need— need you to... ah!" Fugo's hands grip her waist firmly as he ruts into her, guiding her hips to move along with his.

"So gorgeous, Belladonna... Does- Does it feel ok?" Belladonna tucks her face into Fugo's neck, pressing soft kisses against the skin between low moans.

"P..Perfect, Fugo... Go faster, please?" Fugo swears softly under his breath as he quickens his pace, angling his hips to drive deeper into Belladonna. Their breathing becomes uneven as they each start to near their peaks.

"Fugo," Belladonna whimpers, feeling heat pooling in her stomach as he fucks right into her sweet spot. "I think I'm close!"

"Cum for me, bella, per favore, merda—“ Fugo brings a hand down to rub rough circles over Belladonna's clit, and in moments, her back is arching as she cums with a cry of Fugo's name. She pulls roughly on the blonde's hair as she rides out her release, and Fugo follows shortly behind, cumming deep inside her with a moan.

It takes Belladonna a few minutes to process what happened as she lays there in the afterglow, pressed against Fugo's chest.

"So," she murmurs, carding fingers through his hair.

"So. I, uh. Take it you feel the same, then?" She laughs, pressing a kiss to his lips.

"Definitely. I'm a little glad you couldn't sleep tonight." Fugo's hair sticks up at odd angles, and his skin is flushed a pretty pink from his climax as he pulls her closer.

"Yeah. I am, too."

[beyoncesdragon]

Rather have you smile | jw

→Pairing: Jackson Wang x Reader (I think it’s even gender-neutral, I don’t remember using pronouns at all)

→Summary: Taking care of yourself is productive but Jackson has to learn this first.

→Warnings: sad and stressed Jackson, a bit of self-doubt but nothing really tragic.

→Wordcount: <1k 

a/n: this is more of a drabble I wrote at like 3am in the morning bc I can’t help but worry about my sweet boy sometimes. 

Masterlist | GOT7 Masterlist

You missed him when you woke up and he wasn’t still sleeping next to you. Or more like: you woke up because he wasn’t sleeping next to you. The mattress was still dipped slightly where he had rested but the place was deserted and only half warm. With a soft sigh you pushed back the covers, shivering when the cold air hit your warm skin. You hoped he hadn’t had one of his nightmares again – though it was to expect since he was nowhere to be seen – they tended to haunt him before every comeback.

The sound of your naked feet tapping over the cold floor was all that could be heard, everything else around you was dead quiet.

(Taking that it was past three in the morning, that wasn’t a huge surprise.)

You found him in the kitchen, staring out of the window with a mug of tea in his hands. His posture was hunched over, the pale light from outside dancing over the tensed up muscles that peaked through his tank top. He was breathing flat and jerkily, almost as if he was fighting for air. So he had had a nightmare again, a nightmare of him failing in the worst ways possible, losing everything and disappointing everyone.

Jackson was tough, but not eternally so. He was extremely hard working, the type of person that would sacrifice his own being for a cause. Be it staying in dance studios until he literally collapsed, taking vocal lessons whenever his schedule allowed him to, working out six days a week straight, dieting even through the toughest times…the list was endless. He would drown himself in work, the people-pleaser that he was, never hesitating to go the extra mile for anyone he cared for. And all that whilst making everyone laugh and raising the mood whenever he entered a room.

That was why comebacks were always a hard time for him and all the people who cared about him. Jackson’s sheer phobia of messing up the tiniest detail made him reckless and uncaring of his own needs – and that was nothing you want to see someone you love go through. He would do almost everything for ahgase…and sometimes he just simply shouldn’t. Because at the end of the day, his health should stand over a perfect choreography and two thousand percent stage presence. But not for Jackson, never for him.

“Jackson?”

His hands relaxed around the steaming mug of tea at the sound of your voice.

“Everything okay?” Nothing was okay, you could see that from here.

“I should be working out. I should be rehearsing or taking vocal lessons.” You stayed quiet, watched him from afar. He still hadn’t turned around. “I should be contributing something to the group. The fans have waited seven months for our comeback and I should be productive…” You stepped towards him finally, hands wrapping around his body from behind. With a small sigh you rested your cheek against his shoulders and kissed the tense muscles.

“You had a major competition not long ago Jackson-ah. A competition your team won first place, may I add.” His breathing already grew less rigid and deeper, and he relaxed a tiny bit. “You need rest. You have been practicing for months and almost slept in the studios after some days. And dieting for weeks too. Your body deserves a rest.” He sighed softly, his hands carefully cupping yours. “I know but…I’ve been slacking. I’ve been the opposite of productive and for a comeback…”

“Taking care of yourself is productive.” He stayed quiet after that for a while.

“But they waited for so long…”

“Jackson, I know. And you guys are coming back, right?” he nodded hesitantly. “Is you relaxing for two days and eating a bit more than rice and tomato juice going to change that?” He shook his head slowly. “See? Besides, I am one hundred percent convinced that your fans rather have you smile than your abs. Just to be clear.”

His eyes widened a little bit, and his lips pulled into his significant closed-lips smile that was to die for. That smile that made his eyes crease at corners a bit and seemed to hold the gentleness of the whole universe in them. “You think so?”

“Of course baby. Don’t trade your happiness for an unflawed image that you know you can’t hold up anyways, Jackson. You hear me?” He nodded, the smile fading into a small smirk before he saluted playfully. “Yes, chef.”

You chuckled softly. “Wonderful. And now come back to bed I missed you.”

— ✩ thank u for reading ✩ —

[detectivehole]

Go comic feral, i followed this blog for a rEASOn and it's bc i like to hear your random vents and rants and also you reblog cool stuff. But i digress, go comic feral i am hERE for it

fine

PETER PARKER BEING RICH IS STUPID  he didnt even ern what he has himself it was nt even himn he wasnt in his body maybe if i had got to see him start fron nothing to being a cool ceo or whatever id be able to stand it but nooooooo he just GOT is for nothing so it feels stupid like “ha ha what if like tony stark haha” its DUMB and i haven’t read a spider man comic for a long time

deadpool/spiderman crossover comic bad. feels out of character a lot. funny concept and full of funny jokes but as far as characterization its bad in my opinion- was made to capitalize off the hype of the ship and we all know it

don cates should be banned from writing comics bc he fucking sucks and ill never forgive him for what he did/tried to do to venom

deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good dea

the venom movie was a lot of fun but it was very ooc a lot HOWEVER seeing some of the cut scenes and scripts you can see that it used to be actually fairly in character for the comics but a lot of scenes with eddie establishing himself as not actually the most nicest of guys (not that eddie isnt a nice guy deep down but he is a good amount fucked up with a big ol hero complex and a problem with ‘i can do no wrong” mentality sometimes) were cut and considering how the fandom for the movie treats him i can see why the cut those bits out bc i dont think movie goers would have liked him as much wich is a shame bc he is a good guy at the end of the day just fucked up

straight white male comic fans are the worst people in the world and breaking their fingers is a daydream i indulge in 

matt murdock is a himbo

foggy nelson is a good man who deserves better friends

i can tell what deadpool comics someone has read based on how they characterize wade in their fan works and i have a 80% success rate with it. the most common was the daniel way run but now its the spider-man/deadpool crossover series

soulda used miles for the mcu spidey instead of cannibalizing his story for parts like they did. dick move, Disney

mcu bad

i think just the idea of dc’s Red Tool is fucking hilarious but i dont like his character at all

batman and superman should fuck but they wont :/

matt and foggy should to but the comic industry is afraid of making long running characters lgbt bc theyre WEAK

deadpool need a canon bf they cant keep telling us hes pan and not showing us for reals- hell he could just go on one date or be shown having a one night stand or something- something beyond a damn joke

cable gay. no i will not listen to any other opinions.

im excited to read moon knight i have a book waiting i just have to finish my current one

SCUD the disposable assassin is the most underrated comic EVER and i LOVE IT however i think it ended stupid and bad however it went on fucking hiatus for like a decade and then was rapped up really fast so any ending is a godsend

i desperately want a long-form stand alone series abt wanda wilson bc shes the perfect foil for a good Feral Dumbass Woman comic. think abt it; shell sell immediately bc of recognizable brand, and then she can just go on violent stupid adventures without any of the other dp corps. it doenst have to line up with any canon i just want insane lady dp adventure comic. this is an unreasonable dream but mine none the less

i though that agent venom was stupid

tank girl is fucking amazing and i love it i never understand whats going on and i enjoy the confusion

reading early hulk comics feels like watching a weird, poorly produced old black and white sci-fi soap

there needs to be better, more easily accessed, official reading-order guides published and posted on the walls of comic shops everywhere

the 80s and 90s were the best time for marvel comics and no one can tell me otherwise. that was peak comic time

the worst time for comics was the 2000s and early 2010s

sometimes i am shocked by the art that gets the editors pass in comics. some of it is so bad and im not even talking about the disproportionate ladies

the lego marvel and dc movies are way better than the live action movies and im not even being sarcastic

seriously the 2000s made some horrible comics

i feel like committing acts of mass violence every time someone says comics arnt real reading/stories/implies theyre worth less of any value than a novel

i read the first deadpool comic i got so much that the art itself is so ingrained in my mind that people have shown my just the corners of panels and ive identified them correctly

i distinctly remember the first time the woman at the book store stopped asking me for parental permission to buy the comics i was getting (12yos) because i went there so often that she just remembered who i was and that the adult would say its fine

i refuse to talk about comics with people at cons because i am gatekept or flirted with every single time no matter what and there is no in between. and yea its because i have tits. youd think that eventually theyd learn but gross comic men never do and all the others have adopted the same policy as me so the closest i come to positive comic interaction at cons is standing in the same vicinity as another chick, looking at the same section, and the kinda smiling at each other

i think the avengers are boring. really really boring. the x-men are way better

i related to gwenpool too much when she first started and it scared/offended me so i stopped reading for a while until her character developed more and we stooped being so similar

i have spider-man bedding. i picked it out only a few months ago. its good it makes me feel cool in a very uncool way

watching spider-man as a kid made me wanna be a scientist. watching batman as a kid made me want to do martial arts. i ended up failing chemistry and falling on my face a lot instead.

i had a huge venom toy and a huge spiderman toy as a kid and while i did make them fight a lot i also made them hug just as much. i wanted them to be friends

on that note PETER IS MEAN TO THE SYMBIOTE NOW AND HE DONT EVEN HAVE A REASON NO MORE hes just such a dick about criminal reform eddie and the symbiote aint special with this- he says he believes people can be better but he really doesnt show it. he tends to think people are set in their ways and while this makes sense forthe most part considering how much hewas bullied as a kid/adult (that also contributes to his mild “i protect my own” mentality  tho at least he consciously fights that one) it stil pisses me off

i can think way more but i need to sleep i think

[coralieamontreal-blog]

Here we go again (ENG)

Where do I begin… Not even sure what language to write this blog in… Man, 3 years in New Zealand has not only changed me but also the language of my thoughts… English, Italian, French, Spanish and some Dutch here and there with the family. But since the majority of you guys speaks Dutch, I will write this blog in Dutch and you guys, yes my English speaking fans :D you’ll get to read this - really sorry guys - partially Google translated version.

As I mentioned above briefly, the last 3 years in New Zealand were an absolute whirlwind on every level. Not so much on a daily basis because my life consisted of: getting up - working - coming home - eating - sleeping. Especially because Lorenzo is a chef and I am often alone. Hey,  I am definitely not complaining, just saying that life abroad is not necessarily an adventure every day. It sure is challenging: the culture, the language, the habits etc, that's really the max and it keeps you on your toes but daily life is daily life, even if you live thousands of miles from home. Life always comes down to sleeping - working - family & friends. Everywhere. Those are the basics and it’s the same thing everywhere.

I briefly checked and I saw that my last post was in January 2016. I would say, I’ll give you a brief overview but even a brief one will be very long - oh well, here goes:

My first experience abroad was in Toronto in 2014. The company I was working for had given me the opportunity to do an internship in Toronto for 4 months. I had an apartment, work etc. Everything except friends ahahaha. No, not entirely true, my colleagues really did their best to see me after work as well so that was cool. Toronto was great and I noticed that I enjoyed that independence, but also living in another country, speaking a different language ... Waking up in another culture gives me a rush, no doubt ;) After the internship I started traveling in British Columbia ... WOW ... BC is so beautiful! The Canadian Rockies was a jaw dropping experience. I had never seen such a wild and beautiful nature in my life. Belgium is Belgium and has beautiful cities and certainly some nature here and there but BC ... you could probably say it was life changing in a lot of ways. It will not surprise you that I had a hard time going back home ... Had I been given the opportunity at the time, I would have stayed in Canada. Unfortunately it wasn’t that easy and it wasn’t what we had agreed on with my employer and even less so with my family ;)

A long story short - and someone had already told me: 'once bitten by the travel bug, always bitten' - I could not get used to life back home anymore. Life was so ... normal. At least for me it was. I did not speak a foreign language anymore, I knew the way to work by heart and I was just not motivated anymore. I didn’t have to think twice about applying for a working holiday visa. It was approved and in June 2015 I left for Wellington. Without a job, without a house, without acquaintances or family... and yet that did not bother me. I always say: 'as long as you have money, you have no problems'. This has always been the case since I started travelling. And also: if I really did not like NZ, the airport was never far away, I could always go back. But I think: if you want to do something in life, just do it. When people ask me about the past three years in my life, they often say: "Wow, I wish I could do that!" I really don’t like it when people say that. Nothing came falling from the sky. I have been living abroad for a little more than 3 years now, but I have had to sacrifice certain things for that. The comfort that I was used to for example: living with other people was not really what I call a pleasant or relaxing experience. But look: I wanted to live in Wellington and the rent there is just ridiculously high so then you have to make do. And that's okay because that was my choice. What I want to say is that the past few years were not always as easy as it may seem at times. At times, it may seem like a nice long vacation for some and in certain ways it definitely is, but it is certainly not Insta or FB-perfect. Far from it. But nobody likes to talk about the reality, or the negative aspects. Well on this blog I want to give you a 360 ° view. Because nothing in life is just fun, right ?! Take the living with other people for example, what a nightmare! That certainly contributed to Lorenzo and I making the decision to move closer to home. With a lot of heartache hey. Every day because Wellington is a very very big part of our heart. But when I see that Lorenzo has a hard time I try to comfort him (and myself) by saying: "We must be grateful for the opportunity we have created for ourselves and that NZ has given us. The opportunity to live and work in NZ, to explore that beautiful country, not everyone can say that. 

As I indicated above, Lorenzo and I decided at the end of 2017 not to renew our work permit in NZ. Mainly because we were too far away from our continent and also because of the housing prices. We are both 30 years old and really wanted a place from us. And since Canada was always on my mind, we decided to take our chance.

And look, after a holiday in Myanmar and a welcome stopover with the family, we arrived on 8 August in Canada. We both said that this would be our last international adventure. From the beginning we said: let’s give it a try, if it doesn’t work, no prob, then we’ll return to Europe (Italy or Belgium) and we’ll have a look at the options. And so it happened. Even though Lorenzo was not 100% pro Canada in the beginning, I told him very frankly: 'I'm going to give it a try, if you want, I can include you as my partner in the application, you tell me.' He had never been in Canada so I definitely understood his hesitation. But look, he has chosen to try it. Lorenzo has now been working for 2 weeks as an Executive Chef in Joiea Sociale, an Italian restaurant downtown Montréal. I start from next week at Axa in the Concierge team where I will assist people with booking trips, looking up certain items etc. We also have an apartment with lots of light. I am decorating the apartment as good and as bad as it can. The people we have met are friendly and we are exploring the neighborhoods around us. And coffee, lots of coffee. Yes, I wake up happy, I'm glad I have a home now. And Lorenzo and I appreciate that even more after 3 years living together with roommates. 

Ok, this week it's more a flash to the past than a look at the now but next week I'll have some more news

Coralie

[savetheblackpaladin]

Hey I love your blog! It's my favourite! Could you do a Shiro imagine where it's years after Voltron and him and his s/o have children and it's all cute and fluffy! 💖💖💖

ok, so I got a lot of this type of request so I’ll just do random HC’s, yeah? Mostly because if I broke these all up they would probably be extremely similar

Shiro’s got twin girls and he’s Blessed™ every morning he gets to see their beautiful faces

we’re continuing with the twins from earlier posts: Astrid and Hayden

if you didn’t think he cried when he got his first ‘#1 Dad’ you’re fucking wrong because this man bawled

it’s his favorite mug

until his daughters grow up more and start making him one every year, then those are his favorite

also he loves the crazy ties they choose for him each year. 

you thought he was romantic before marrying him? Well buddy, i have some news for you

takes every opportunity to say “Wifey” any time he possibly can. You are his ‘wifey’ and he loves saying it.

or ‘husband’ if that is what you prefer. every time. “Hey Husband.” what is your name? Husband.

flowers/chocolates/food/gifts weekly. just because he likes the look on your face when he comes home

you know that Roseanne post where dan gets her flowers? Yeah, that’s him

date night every wednesday (bc Fridays are busy) and sometimes it’s fancy, other times it’s not (”What do you mean Panda isn’t romantic? This is peak romance right here.”)

randomly massages parts of your body without asking

“What are you looking at Shiro?” “Only the most beautiful person in the universe.” “You’re a loser.” “But a loser who’s in looove~”

*soft sigh* “How did I get so lucky?” you’d think you’d be used to this, but it still makes you blush years later

“You’re so perfect, absolutely perfect.” “Shiro…I’m picking up dog shit.” “Yeah~”

has pictures of you, your daughters, and your pitbulls (3) all over his work area

there’s a small voltron dedicated area too, but it’s tiny compared to his family area. Lance is appalled.

“You won’t believe how cute my girls were this weekend!” proceeds to whip out the new 63 photos long album on facebook

speaking of, amateur Dad Photographer Shiro

he’s got a fancy Cannon with a bunch of different lenses

weekend daughter photoshoots are a hoot

your girls grow up loving it, being dramatic, imitating tyra banks, wearing ridiculous outfits, they are owning that back yard

they continue pretty much until the girls are like 13, because “It’s embarrassing dad!” “Ok, but I’m supposed to be embarrassing?” 

Soccer Mom Shiro

he’s got shirts that say his daughter’s names and numbers for every sport

he’s got noise makers and flags

the obnoxious parent who heckles the refs

“Hey ref! Did you come from FootLocker!? Because that was BULLSHIT!”

“oH SCREW YOU COACH! YOU WANT ME TO COME OVER THERE AND SHOW YOU HOW A REAL ELBOW GETS THROWN??!!”

he gets red carded, a lot.

you don’t even fight it anymore

the team loves him though because he’s super supportive of the other girls and he brings some killer snacks

not homemade though, he can’t cook for shit

remember his Expedition? He finally traded her in for a new version and is the official Mom Car™ for team/friend trips

let me repeat, he can not cook for shit. but for some reason he can throw it down of the barbecue

convinced it’s a perk you unlock after childbirth

very protective of his daughters, but respects their right to privacy and right to do their own things

but he taught them how to fight, so every fuck boi within a 10 mile radius knows not to fuck with the Shirogane Twins

he chugs that Respect Women Juice

wants to break a kid the first time a daughter cries over a romantic partner. but then he remembers murder on Earth is illegal. 

overly supportive in whatever his daughters and you choose to pursue

just overly supportive in everything really

he basically lives for you guys 

doesn’t get sick for some reason, so whenever someone is sick in the house, Nurse Shirogane/Dad is on it

“Who wore their shoes in the house?? Seriously?”

*pinches his nose with a deep sigh* “I’m sorry, my daughter punched Travis. But frankly, he kept harassing her even after she told him to stop snapping her bra strap. So the question we should be addressing here, Principal, is why your teacher allowed this sexual harassment to continue and did nothing to help my daughter?” Guess who got detention? Not his daughter.

Wants to cry a bit when his daughters start asking questions about sex

but he’ll be damned if they don’t know everything

it was actually a good family talk, after the initial awkwardness

The Hot Dad

his daughters’ friends all have a crush on him and he can’t figure out why

it’s totally not because he’s hot

or that he’s actually interested in what they have to say

or that he does yard work shirtless

or that he remembers random facts about them that they thought he would forget

nope

his daughters are grossed out

you think its hilarious because you get to tap that

drops off his girls at school

“Have fun! I love you! Make good decisions! I miss you already!”

“OmG DAD GO HOME!”“GROOOOSSS!”

goes to pick them up and has a little sign like people do at the airport that says “Shirogane” with like glitter and hearts and shit

the twins are embarrassed each time but they secretly love it

threw up the first time he had to change a poopy diaper

he did it though. he did it.

sings around the house a lot, just little random song parts or to the dogs

“Where oh where are my pup-py dogs~?” the dogs come slipping and sliding around the corner every time you guys come home

*badly and purposely out of tune* “And there’s the love of my liiiiife!!!~” “Oh stop it Shiro!” “She thinks I’m talking about her~. but I’m talking about the noo~odles~” *you throw a noodle at his head*

accompanied by bad dance moves

speaking of puppy dogs, has 3 pitbulls that look vicious as hell but they’re just as sweet as him

they are wonderfully trained and big babies

his ‘other children’ 

wouldn’t hurt a fly, but ain’t nobody fuck with you guys on walks

Their names are Mr. Murder (Murds for short), Cupcake (Cakey), and Rebel (Bells). He didn’t name them. The girls did.

There is also a grumpy house cat that nobody knows how old it is or how you acquired it. The Captain has just, always been…

Cappy showed up one day and never left

he’s a solid grey Blue Russian/Siamese mix with green eyes that rules the dogs

only loves Shiro and tolerates everyone else (he loves you guys really, but Shiro is his person)

Shiro baby talks him, “Who’s a good murder cat? You are! Yes! You!!!”

the house cleaner, his house and yard is spotless.

once broke out a ruler to measure the grass. you made fun of him.

“I swear to God, if Jim’s nasty ass tree grows over the fence this year, I will cut it down. I don’t give a fuck.”

fond of power washing

hot mechanic, does his own car work

head kisses for everyone! you are a well kissed family

also you’re the couple that’s always got your hands linked, arms wrapped around each other, or just leaning against each other

you’re always touching. always.

family Halloween costumes

Halloween is his JAM

lives for Halloween decorating

watches House Hunters religiously

The one who drags the family to World Market and Kohl’s for house decor

the house is definitely decorated for every major holiday

and he’s actually really good at decor? Like, you wouldn’t think so given with his clothing style and bad hair cut, but wow. you’ve got a nice house. (yes, i’m dragging Shiro)

you’ve come home routinely to the girls doing is hair and makeup and nails

“Hey honey, look how pretty I am. Didn’t the girls do a wonderful job?” “Just…marvelous dear.” “Right? Your turn is next.” oh no…

doesn’t wash off the nail polish, nobody makes fun of him. nobody.

tries to make you breakfast in bed on your birthday and valentine’s day

he can only make harboiled eggs and toast

when the girls get older, it gets more elaborate because they can help

super excited to teach the girls how to drive, but worried about dying

screamed more than once in the car and tried to slam on his invisible break

“Please…stop… you’re making my hair whiter…”

“I said SLOW, THIS IS NOT SLOW!!!”

Hands are pressing on the roof of the car and he’s twisted in the seat trying to brace himself

one day he figures out how to work the crockpot and can now contribute to family meals

loves taking you guys camping

tent camping, because RV camping ‘isn’t real’

a pyromaniac

everyone needs a personal bear mace and a dog at all times

the cat goes too, on a harness

family snuggles in the hammock for star gazing. including said pets. it’s a big hammock. 

everyone has an absurd knowledge about space. he was an astronaut and lived in space for a few years, so yeah

routinely uses Scary Aunt Allura as a threat

selfies!!! he has a lot of surprise ones where he just comes up and kisses you and takes the picture

the girls are selfie queens too family pictures happen. a lot.

“Family selfie!!” “We’re at Albertson’s????” “Don’t care, get in here.”

just, embarrassing but totally authentic dad!Shiro melts me

~*~If you enjoyed this or any of my other works please consider donating to my Ko-fi or Digital Tip Jar!~*~

[mollymauk-teafleak]

The night we shared for the first time + hamliza (bc who else) please?

Here it is, the AU you’ve all been waiting for! 

Best Friends and a Baby AU!

(Also, seeing as it’s my birthday, if you fancy giving me an amazing, completely free of charge present you could always leave a comment on this or any of my fics on Ao3! And for the more affluent, I have a ko-fi)

Forthe second time in as many weeks, Alexander Hamilton found himself on aspectacularly, singularly uncomfortable chair, looking at his best friend withan utterly staggered expression in his wide, brown eyes and straining his earsthrough the ambient chatter around him in the vain hope that he’d just misheardand she didn’t just say what he thought she’d said. It was a pretty damnspecific situation to be in but it was one that he was starting to find eerilyfamiliar; one he assumed with a sinking heart he wasn’t through with.

“I’msorry, it’s how much?” he stressed, his hands shifting restlessly in thedeep pockets of the hoodie he wore, a nervous, fidgeting tic he’d been doingsince he took his seat in the waiting room and hadn’t stopped or even slowed.

Elizasighed deeply, tiredly and pulled the stiff pamphlet the doctor had just givenher out from under her arm and pushed it across the seat between them towardsAlex, the relevant page open so she wouldn’t have to say it again and tastethat sour disappointment.

“Fuckinghell,” Alex winced at the sight of the figures almost apologetically printed onthe page, a breakdown of all the medications needed and the consultanciesrequired and the procedures involved, each with its own piece of stone to addto the enormous boulder of a sum at the very bottom line.

“Yeah.That about sums it up,” Eliza allowed with a forced shrug, “And I’d have totake time off work too. For yet more hospital appointments.”

“Oh,”Alex grunted, biting his lower lip and freeing one hand from his cavernoussweater to play with his hair, a sure sign that he’d shifted onto a whole otherplane of anxiety. He knew how much Eliza despised hospitals, it was a miracleand a testament to how much she wanted this that she was even here today, “That…that sucks.”

‘Sucks’felt like it fell a few thousand miles short of what this situation was. Alex’sstomach felt like it had detached from whatever biological skulduggery held itin place and was bouncing loose inside his stomach, the sensation someone wouldprobably have if they’d been riding one of those proper skull-shattering,skeleton-rearranging roller coasters for two weeks straight. Which was prettymuch exactly what Alex had been experiencing, albeit in more of an emotionalthan literal sense.

Hecouldn’t deny that the overwhelming emotion he’d felt when it had become clearthat his best friend didn’t intend for this to be one of their usual lunchdates where they spouted bile about their colleagues who were driving them upthe wall (mostly Alex) or entertained with stories of what ridiculous RichPeople Shit their family had pulled this week (exclusively Eliza), the emotionthat ruled his mind in that instant was fear. He refused to feel guilty forthat and knew Eliza wouldn’t expect it of him. How else was he supposed toreact when the girl whose right-hand man he’d been since the very first day ofcollege, when he’d made an admittedly shaky but impactful first impression bywalking into her and spilling black coffee down the both of them, took hishands across their usual table at their favourite place to eat in the city andasked him in that firm but quiet voice of her’s if he’d mind having a baby withher. She genuinely did phrase it like that, of course she did.

She’dclarified a little better after Alex had recovered from choking on his soda andspending ten minutes hacking and spluttering loud enough to turn most otherheads in the cafe towards them. Her eyes had grown anxious and her cheeks hadturned pink as she’d insisted that she wasn’t asking anything of him but asperm donation, she’d thought about this so carefully and agonised over it formonths, she couldn’t think of anyone better than him, she trusted him, if hedidn’t want to be involved with…what it produced, no obligation at all, ofcourse she’d understand…

Allwhile Alex felt like someone had whipped away the classy hardwood floorsunderneath his feet and left him spiralling through empty space. Memories he’dhoped to never feel invading his brain again were piling up faster than hecould tip them back down into the darker recesses of his mind, giving him thesensation of swarms of spiders clambering and skittering over him, gettingunder his skin. The word father didn’t have amazing connotations forAlex, it never had, but he’d been able to avoid it for a long time while he wasat college and law school, only getting the slightest roiling stomachs andsweaty palms and lips chewed until they bled when his friends would talk abouttheir children, Lafayette and Martha and even John would talk of his daughteroften and fondly. Of course, the panic would only last until he actually metthe little sprogs, they were all cute and funny and liked how their Tio Alexkept marker pens in his pockets so they could colour in his tattoos; theanxiety never held up long after that but there would still be that twinge deepin his stomach at the word alone. He wasn’t sure that was ever going away butat least it was small enough to cope with.

Andthere he was in the middle of the cafe, trying to hide a goddamn riot behind agrin that was turning into a grimace and eyes that were far too shiny to beconsidered normal. And somewhere in the middle of it all, while his back wasturned and his brain occupied with damage control, with putting out as manysmall fires on the inside of his skull as he could before it could turn into aconflagration, a ‘yes’ slipped past his gritted teeth.

Bothhim and Eliza had been utterly stunned by that, nothing passing between thembut a shared look of slack, wide eyed surprise. Alex hadn’t even been awarethat there was a ‘yes’ lurking somewhere, battling its way through his anxiety,through beating winds and raging storms to climb off his tongue ahead of thefrantic screech that oh fuck, he just remembered he’s parked by a meter and heleft his iron on at home and he doesn’t speak English and he only has two moreseconds to live, please excuse him…

Butit had worked so hard to get there…so he supposed that was his answer?

Sohere Alex was, being confronted with the damnable highway robbery that was theAmerican medical system and trying to platonically make a baby with his bestfriend. What exactly his game plan was in the moment his…stuff mixed up withEliza’s…stuff and made…more stuff and he was technically no longer neededaccording to the laws of biology, of that he wasn’t exactly sure. He could tellEliza was wondering but she hadn’t pressed, she’d only began to cry and leaptacross the table to give him one of her patented, full body, vice tight hugsthat showed how much unexpected strength was in those delicate arms of her’s.Alex didn’t really think he deserved so much thanks, that he’d earned that lookof awe and adoration in her eyes when she looked at him ever since that fatefullunch date, just for saying yes to jacking off into a specimen cup. That’s allhe’d said a firm yes to. In the few weeks since that day, he’d been franticallycombing his mind for another scrap of certainty to present itself and tell himwhat his brain wanted but it seemed to have completely dried up after the firsttime. Which was pretty fucking rich of his brain, to get him into thissituation and then bail entirely, leaving him with just a terrifying, panicstreaked blankness.

Buthe was here. He loved Eliza, he wanted to help and he’d hold to his promise.Besides, it was only himself he was terrified over, he knew without a singleshred of doubt that Eliza would be a fantastic mother, so wonderful and perfectfor the job that it would be kind of criminal to deprive a child of being bornbelonging to her. Maybe that love and assurance would be enough to cancel outhis contribution…

“Howis it so expensive?” Alex exclaimed, reading the paper again like he could willit to be more palatable, “I mean…isn’t it just like a fancy turkey baster?”

Elizascrewed up her face, making her nose that could only be described in that clichédbut sweet way as ‘button’ crinkle adorably, “Ew, Alex.”

“I’mpretty sure that’s what it is,” Alex crossed his arms defensively, “I did do myreading.”

Hehad, in fact. Alexander Hamilton didn’t do anything without researching itfully first.

Elizaran her fingers through her hair, twisting it into curtains around her facelike she always did when she was stressed, “Well…I guess we can’t do thisright now.”

Alexwinced. He’d love to offer to cover the cost of the procedure, hell even halfof it would do, but college and law school had left him with a crippling amountof debt and not an awful lot else. He’d arrived on his very first day with nextto nothing and had somehow come out the other side with even less.

“Couldyou ask your parents?” he suggested, not liking the idea even as it came out ofhis mouth but he just wanted to do something to take that devastated look offher face.

Elizalooked down at her hands, retreating even more into the sanctuary of her hair,“Um…I would but…they aren’t really fans of the idea.”

Thatjarred him. Not only was Eliza making this huge decision, and entrusting awhole huge chunk of her future happiness to him, she was doing it without thesupport of her parents. Alex wouldn’t be surprised if this was the first timein the twenty-six years she’d been alive that such a thing had happened.

“Oh…”Another thought closed up his throat and made his fingers tense into fists,“Are they…not fans of the whole idea or of the fact that it’s gonna be mybaby?”

Eliza’seyes widened, ‘Oh! Oh, no, no it’s not that, I promise. They’ve not liked itfrom the start, I told them I was thinking about it a while ago and well…thereaction wasn’t great. They just don’t get it.” Her voice grew so faint and sadat the end, her eyes dropping, her tone resigned but as if she’d still hopedfor better in spite of the evidence.

“I’m sorry, Bets…” Alex murmured in as soft a voice as he could evermanage, reaching across and taking her hand, gently moving it from pulling ather hair to clasping it in his lap with both of his own. If there was anyonewho understood general parental shittiness, it was him.

“Hey,it’s okay,” Eliza said, smiling with her usual quiet bravery, “I don’t mind.This is just a setback, right? We can come back to this in… I don’t know, ayear or so. Less if I let my car finally die and start roller-skating aroundNew York. Hey, maybe I’ll have an even more stable job and this will turn outto be for the best?”

“Morelike you’ll find a much better sperm source,” Alex lifted an eyebrow, smilingcrookedly.

“Hey…”Eliza socked him lightly on the arm, “Stop that. I don’t want anyone else, youknow that.”

Alexchuckled, appreciating the lengths she’d go to in defending him from himself,in silent awe of her which, in fairness, was how he spent most of his timearound Eliza. But he knew that face. He’d seen that face at 2am when they’dbeen sharing a cab back from the bar and she’d stuck her head out of the windowto see the lights rushing by and feel the wind in her hair. He’d seen that faceat half past eight, with thirty minutes to go before their final exam, blearyeyed with wild bird nest hair and a look of fierce, caffeine fuelleddetermination the likes of which he’d never seen. He’d seen it illuminated fromwithin like there was some kind of power source behind her eyes that otherpeople didn’t seem to have, a kind of sun that worked on pure joy and wonder,so bright that it could even warm someone like him. He’d seen that face nearlyevery day of his life for the past six years and he knew how to read it.

Andright now, he could see plain as day that Eliza was devastated.

She’dlooked so excited, that joy there again, as she’d taken him through all thethinking and daydreaming she’d done about this, how she’d known the time wasright now that she’d gotten herself a low paying but at least steady job, doingsome kind of clerk or data stuff type for one of the orphanages in town. It hadthe right hours, she could advance in time and with the time she’d beenspending with Dosia’s two boys and Martha’s little Frances and the gaggle ofkids Laf had been producing since the scarily young age of eighteen, she justwas so certain that this was what she wanted. And a year was a hell of a longtime to wait for something you wanted that badly.

Maybeit was that thought, that desperate need to offer her some kind of help, orelse pure and simple stupidity, the rise of his chronic and terminal foot inmouth disease, that made Alex say what he then said next. Or maybe it wassomething else entirely. Maybe, and this was a pretty shaky maybe, it was hisown want for this crazy, insane thing to happen. Maybe it was the fact that, asterrified and confused as this whole thing had made Alex at the start, rightnow? The thought of having to let go of the idea was more than he could bear.

So,he said it.

“Well,why don’t we just do things the old-fashioned way?” he tilted his head, tonelight and airy but there was no solid evidence that he was joking, “You andme?”

Elizalooked at him, a snarky comeback loaded and ready to go on her tongue but whenshe saw his face, her face became a mask of comic surprise.

“Theold-fashioned way?” she asked in a voice that was half scandalised, halfastounded, “As in…like…that.”

“Sex,Eliza, yes,” Alex filled in the gap for her, “You and me. Having sex. To make ababy. That is how it’s worked for thousands of years so…”

Elizagaped at him, reminding Alex of something his mama used to say, about closingyour mouth before you started catching flies. Absurdly calm, enough to reachover and delicately bringing her lower jaw up to close her lips, Alex smiledbemusedly. There didn’t seem to be any flies in here but you could never be toocareful.

“Imean…” he clarified, “This is something people do, right? They hook up forreasons other than, y’know, that they’re in a relationship. Platonic like. I’mnot gonna lie and say I don’t find you attractive, certainly enough to get thejob done. I may be setting myself up for a Mike Tyson blow to the ego here butI think I know you well enough, Bets, to say that you feel the same about me.”

“Butit’s…” Eliza found some words, if fragmented and scattered, “I… I do and I…I know what you’re talking about but…I do love you, Alex…but it’sweird!”

Alexpursed his lips and raised his eyebrows, “As weird as asking your friend todonate sperm?”

Elizaflushed a little, “Okay, smarty pants. Now we’re even.”

Hechuckled, noting that she still hadn’t taken her hand back from his own, shehadn’t moved away from him, “It is weird. But it makes a lot of sense, doesn’tit? We’re both single and young and pretty damn good looking and, mostimportantly, we care a whole damn lot about each other. And you’d get a baby,free of charge with no hospital fuckery required.”

Elizapercolated the logic in her head for awhile, Alex did always have a gift forselling his utterly madcap, bonkers ideas in a way that made them seem like thebest option for everyone involved. And she’d never seen him be wrong yet…notcompletely anyway.

And,if she was being completely honest with herself? At the thought of a night withAlex, freshman Eliza had perked up considerably and was currently bouncing onthe balls of her feet. Her crush on him had been intense, with it being hervery first and all, but it had settled with age as they both grew and maturedand the whole thing that once very possible could have been just neverhappened. Alex was the best friend she’d ever known outside of her family,someone who understood her completely inside and out and somehow still wantedto know more.

She’dalways love him and she was dizzyingly excited at the possibility of being amother. Ever since Alex had said yes, she’d been daydreaming of a tiny littlething who curled into her chest looking for love and safety that she was sowilling to give in staggering amounts, something beautiful that she could lookat with pride and know they would always belong to her and her to them. Herlittle piece of the universe. And yes, with Alex’s wry smile and thirst tolearn and to persevere through anything. The slight weirdness of having sexwith her best friend would be well worth that price.

Andwith half the stuff she and Alex had been through together, what was seeingeach other naked? What was a little roll in the sheets between friends?

“Okay,”Eliza had to laugh a little as she said it, feeling like a character in asitcom about to cut to commercial, “Just to get me pregnant.”

Herlaugh was infectious, soon Alex was giggling helplessly too. It was hard notto.

“Hey,it’s not even that weird, right?” he snorted, muffling his laughter in hissleeve so they didn’t get any more suspicious glances from the nurses andpatients around them, “Just think of it as me loaning you ten dollars. Except,y’know, instead of money, picture my penis…”

Elizalaughed even harder then, so hard tears began building in her eyes, “I thinkI’d rather not.”

“Well,yes, it’s a terrible metaphor,” he chuckled, “But in my defense, this situationis pretty damn rare.”

Thatwas certainly true. Rare and wild and risky. But that was kind of how Alex andEliza had always operated.

Elizashifted a little closer, only looking cuter red in the face and glittery in theeye from laughter, her hands knotting together with Alex’s, “You really are thebest friend ever, Hamilton.”

“Hey,let’s reserve all accolades until you’ve seen my moves, okay?” Alex chuckled,grinning that way he did that made the corners of his eyes crinkle up. But hestill kissed her cheek as they got up to leave, “And you’re my best friend evertoo. Which is exactly why you get the privilege of seeing me naked.”

“Oh,shut up, Hamilton,” Eliza grinned, “I take it back. Now, come on and knock meup.”

Alexscrewed up his face, trying not to dissolve into hysterics again, “Your placeor mine?”

Theanswer to that question was obviously Eliza’s place. Alex had a little cornerof the heights where you could touch both walls at once by stretching out yourarms and the whole thing rattled whenever the elevated train rushed past, insuch a way that all the furniture was rearranged when it was gone. That and itwas inhabited by Alex himself, who’d turned it into a nightmarish hoarder’snest. Not exactly the most sexy of locations, there were no pornographic filmsset amongst stacks of books threatening to fall over and boxes full of halfeaten pizza and groaning folders of case files fit to burst.

So,Eliza’s it was.

Bothof them let out twin sighs of relief once Eliza had put a glass of wine in eachof their hands, it made things feel a little easier. There was a thick pull oftension in the air, one that threatened the whole madcap operation until theycaught each other’s eye in the middle of a slightly stilted conversation on howAlex’s last few job interviews had been going (Eliza had been coaching him forevery single one). Then they both just bust out laughing.

“Idon’t think the whole ignoring the elephant in the room thing is working?” Alexgrinned, rubbing the back of his neck, “Want to just call it what it is and dothe damn thing?”

Elizasnorted, nearly getting rose right up her nose, “And would ‘the damn thing’ inthis case be me?”

Thatmade Alex laugh out loud, the tension in the pit of his stomach uncoiling andslithering away to hide, the way it always seemed to when Eliza was around,“Good thing this isn’t a date or I’d be out on my ass, huh?”

“Coursenot, I’d give you at least two more strikes,” she chuckles, “Though, to befair, if this was a date I wouldn’t be inviting you to my bedroom this early.Which I am about to do, heads up.”

“Thanks,”he smirked, clambering to his feet. He didn’t need Eliza to show him where herbedroom was, he’d slept over a good handful of times, after parties where Elizadeemed him too tipsy to get himself home.

Ithad to be said, the room was quintessentially Eliza. She couldn’t do much aboutthe faded carpet in the living room or the squat, leather sofas or the kitchencupboards that were the colour of phlegm, in Alex’s own words. But the bedroom,tucked away in the corner of the apartment with a window that looked out onto afire escape where she could perch on an evening and watch the sun sink belowthe New York skyline, leaving the stars free to come out, like a million eyesopening cautiously, only gleaming as bright as they could through the thick pollutionas soon as they saw the coast was clear. The room itself was a dusty blue, asoothing colour that seemed to wrap itself around you and keep you safe, thepalate broken only by the many, many photos of her loved ones on the wall (manyof them included Alex) and the rainbow of books and the bursts of green asflowering plants and succulents gathered like old friends embracing on everyspare surface. The quilt on her bed was the same one Alex remembered from herdorm room and every other place she’d lived since, the one she, of course, hadmade herself.

Thewhole scene was just so familiar to him as he stepped inside, trotting atEliza’s heels, so warm and safe and forgiving that he relaxed in spite of thefact that this was a step closer to go time. It was just that this room, maybein different locations but the same room in essence, had seen the absoluteworst of him- crying, having a panic attack, blind drunk, angry- and yet stillwelcomed him back.

Alot like Eliza herself.

“Okay,”Eliza spoke decisively, as if the awkwardness could be wrestled intononexistence by a firm word and a pair of crossed arms, “Kiss me. That’ll letme know if I actually want to do this or not.”

Alextilted his head a little, rolling the sleeves of his sweater up his arms, “ButI kiss you all the time?”

Andhe did, it was true, pecks on the cheek and forehead to make her smile when shewas feeling blue or in joyous awe after she yet again saved his ass with aperfectly timed up of coffee or one of her wonderfully simple solutions thatsomehow utterly fixed problems that he’d been chewing over for days.

“No,I mean…” Eliza searched for words, looking a little exasperated, “Kiss me likeyou’d kiss someone you really wanted to have sex with. Kiss me like…likesomeone you were dying to see naked, like you’re going to explode if you don’tget with them right this minute.”

Alexgave a little snort of disbelief but he stepped forward all the same andwithout another thought in his head, he brought his best friend close to him byway of firm hands on her shoulders and a swift, sure movement, pressing herlips to his, thinking of passion and love and want. He let his lips part alittle after a few moments, after she relaxed in his hold, tilting his head toclose just that little bit of unnecessary distance and was gratified to findher mirroring him. How long the kiss lasted, neither of them were really surebut it ended with both of them a little reluctant to let it go, leaving theundeniable answer as ‘not long enough’.

“So…”Alex murmured, a rasp in his voice.

“Yeah,”Eliza’s eyes were wide and her pupils seemed so big that Alex could fall intothem, “Yeah, I want to do this.”

Hesmiled that crooked smile of his though, underneath it, he was thinking thatthe kiss didn’t really feel all that different from any other time he’d kissedher, which was…disconcerting.

Theydecided to shed their clothes at the same time, in the interests of fairness.

Elizadiscovered that Alex had a lot more tattoos than she’d ever imagined, one’s hehad mentioned to her but she’d never seen with her own eyes, diminishing their expansiveness.Constellations scattered across his lower stomach, she’d seen them poking upabove the line of his pants when he stretched but she’d never realised how farthey reached, how detailed and beautiful in their simplicity they were. A papersailboat trekked bravely across his upper thigh, waves crashing around it, afeathered quill penned a long, looping line of ink up the length of one leg,smatterings of English, French and Spanish were carefully etched onto variousparts of him, curling around clocks and birds and flowers and a Puerto Ricanflag. He was a work of art.

Alexdiscovered a kind of roundness, a fullness, to Eliza around her hips, thighsand stomach. There were curves and slopes and valleys usually hidden underneathher clothes, a smattering of stretch marks he hadn’t known existed, a fewfreckles that moved up the inside of a thigh to places he couldn’t see fromhere but found himself desperately wanting to follow them. His fingers itchedto touch that softness, follow the curves and squeeze and stroke and kiss.

Itwas amazing what new things you could learn from someone with one glance andthe absence of clothes.

Elizahad read up on good positions for conceiving, where gravity could hopefullyplay its part, bringing all the right elements close enough together for thespark to catch and a baby to start forming, like the way dust and gas collectedinto stars under the same force. A pillow under her hips and sprawled backagainst the cushions, she felt a little silly but all Alex could think of wasthe intoxicating darkness of her hair against the sheer white pillows, the wayshe could look up at him as he moved to take his place between her knees, thesoftness now right there under him and nothing to stop him reaching out andcaressing it.

Noone needed to make any kind of verbal request now, their lips met entirely oftheir own accord, though it was Alex who started the gentle nipping at Eliza’slower lip, already a little drunk on kissing her full, slightly swollen,beautifully dusky pink lips, the spine tingling but not unwelcome sensation ofhis tongue sliding over her’s. Though it only took a few seconds before Elizawas responding in kind, her hands coming up to tangle in his thick, dark massof hair and keep him good and close.

Alexalmost made a total idiot out of himself and stopped to request a condom beforehe remembered the whole goddamn point of this and just went for it, needing toshuffle her over a little, raise his own hips, fumble just a tiny amount andthen he was there, with a low sighfrom himself and a short gasp of surprise from Eliza. He almost stopped, terrifiedhe’d caused some hurt, moved to fast, moved without permission, taken too muchtoo soon. But then Eliza’s legs were thrown around his hips, her feet pressinginto his lower back and pushing him, if anything, deeper.

Herteeth grazed his earlobe and she murmured in a tone that was nothing short ofbegging, “Please.”

Alexwasn’t about to make her ask twice. He didn’t think, he didn’t ask for anylogic or reason, he just chased this wild desire in his chest and the plea inhis friend’s voice. He rocked her, heavy and rhythmic, into the softness of themattress, never taking his eyes off her, not wanting to miss a second of theway she bit her lip and her eyes rolled back when he hit home and her pupils swelledand her face took on the achingly beautiful blush of fresh rose petals. It goteven better when his thumb, apparently of its own volition, slipped down andpressed none too lightly against her clit; that made her cry out loud, herexpression rapturous, panting as she climbed higher and higher under hm.

Assoon as he saw her getting there, the only thing he wanted to do in the wholedamn world was get her there faster, harder, better, the pace of his lithe hipsincreasing until the bed springs began to make themselves heard and Eliza’ssweet little gasps became louder and higher, melding into one wordless cry.Alex wasn’t even really aware that the low, wanton growl was his own, the onethat pitched so perfectly with the noises she was making. He just lost sight ofhimself in the pull of her muscles, the feeling of her fingers tugging at hishair, the beautiful heat where their bodies joined and his thumb rubbed.

Asdistracted as he was by what he was doing to her, what she was giving him inreturn, his own climax caught him by such surprise that Alex felt the wholeroom, the whole damn world, tip dizzily around him as his hips jerkederratically and he spent himself inside her. Though he didn’t miss Eliza cominga second or two behind him, writhing so uncontrollably that he was a littleworried for a moment, until the tension let them both go and they were leftexhausted and a little bit shaken.

Alexand Eliza both held their breath, waiting for the awkwardness to comebarrelling back with a vengeance, braced for it, Alex actually mapping outwhere he’d left his clothes so he could scramble back into them as swiftly aspossible and bolt for the door. But it never seemed to find them, like they’dsuccessfully held their breaths and stilled their bodies and it had just passedthem by.

Theyuntangled themselves as painlessly as they could, leaving Alex to roll onto hisback by Eliza’s side, both just catching their breath. At some point theirhands found each other and joined, subtly and gently, without either of themreally being aware of it. It was a long time before either of them saidanything.

“I…well,hopefully that worked,” Eliza found her voice first, eyes fixed on the ceiling.

“Yeah…”Alex began, short of breath, gazing straight ahead just like she was, like theyboth recognized that that was a safe place for their eyes to rest. Who knewwhat might happen if they went wandering? “Though…what are the chances that yougot pregnant back there?”

Elizablinked, her free hand fluttering unconsciously to her stomach, resting therelightly, “I’m not sure. Low, I guess, relatively speaking.”

Alexspoke as casually as he could, “Well then, it would make sense, wouldn’t it,if, y’know, as long as you were still ovulating, we…we kept doing that?”

Therewas a slight mutual wince as they both froze, waiting to see of what he’d justsaid had crossed the line, upset the painfully delicate balance they stood onhere. But there was no thunder, no sudden swarm of locusts, the earth didn’topen up underneath the bed. Nothing happened.

“Imean, it’s only logical,” Eliza murmured, “Yeah, why not?”

Evenas they (eventually) dressed and gathered themselves back together, it stillfelt like something important hadn’t been said, there was the feeling of a gapgoing unfilled, a missing step. It was still there as Alex stood on Eliza’sstoop, lingering as they said goodbye, both of them feeling this glaringabsence.

“Hey…”Eliza called out as Alex’s sneakers touched down on the sidewalk, reaching in asudden, frantic rush to fix the problem. But as Alex turned back, looking ather quizzically with his wide, brown eyes, she didn’t know what to say.

So,what she said was, “You know you’re my favourite person ever, right?”

Alexcracked a smile, chuckling gently, “Yeah. You’re my favourite too.”

Itwasn’t quite right. But it would do for now.

[maychorian]

Weekly Voltron Fic Recs #41

This is two and a half days’ worth of recs. I had to make a list or it was going to be obnoxiously long. I’m slowly catching up to all my open tabs, but it’s taking some work. You may notice a lot of Lance birthday fics in this post. My writing time has also taken a bit of a hit, unfortunately. Next chapter of The Godsent Wanderer is languishing at nine hundred words. (The Adventure Zone’s finale dropping today did not help.)

Rules: You can find past weekly rec lists here, and non-list recs in my general fic rec tag. Also follow @maychorianrecs for individually tagged posts, the easier to search and reblog. This is stuff I like, and I have a huge bias toward Lance, hurt/comfort, and general fluff, in that order. Gen unless otherwise noted. Please comment on the fics if you read and enjoy them!

Who is in Control? by WildWolf25 Words: 13,995 Author’s Summary: Shiro wished more than anything that they could go back to those days, full of catching grasshoppers on sunny afternoons and rigging up elaborate Goldberg machine-style boobie traps around the house to drop water balloons on Matt’s sister. Back when the biggest conflict they faced was Shiro trying to convince Matt that they couldn’t build a life-sized, fully-functioning robot for their project in the elementary school science fair. Back when their hands were covered with grass-stains and dirt rather than blood-stains and scars. Back when both of them had two hands made out of flesh and blood, rather than metal and wires. (Matt is turned into a weapon by the Galra. When he is “captured” by Team Voltron, Shiro and Pidge help him come back to himself) My Comments: Heartwrenching but satisfying way to bring Matt into the Voltron fold. Be aware of the tags. This fic gets pretty dark at times, though it’s all viewed through memories, which gives it some distance. Wonderful to see Katie and Matt reunited, as well as Matt and Shiro. Shiro says some very important things to help Matt after all he’s been through.

Hugs and Besos by Ninja_Librarian Words: 5,504 Author’s Summary: “Well, there’s only one planet that has Varadero beach, pizza shack looking over the water and the garlic knots and… my mom’s hugs…” She didn’t believe a word the Garrison officials told her. After all, she knew her son better than they did. My Comments: Gorgeous, beautiful, perfect Lance’s mom POV. All of the backstory is so sweet and fits Lance perfectly, and I can just feel the love coming off the page. Wonderfully satisfying conclusion, too.

the best day of the year by FluffyBlue Words: 1,709 Author’s Summary: Lance forgot about his birthday, but his team certainly didn’t <3 My Comments: Aw, so sweet. Show that boy some love. What a good team.

not so little after all by victuri Words: 2,542 Author’s Summary: How to successfully create an alliance: bluff your way through a diplomatic meeting. It helps if you’re afraid. My Comments: Good gosh, I adore Lance and Allura developing a mutually benificial relationship. It took some work, but he gave her the confidence to be absolutely MAGNIFICENT here.

Birthday Surprises by A_Zap f Words: 2,948 Author’s Summary: On a certain day, each of Team Voltron finds themselves the recipient of a package. It doesn’t take them too much to figure out who’s leaving them anonymous birthday presents. Pretty much a 5+1 fic of the times members of Team Voltron are given a birthday present and the time they decided to return the favor. My Comments: Ahhh, this is so cute! I adore Lance being kind and thoughtful to his teammates and getting that love back in return. Beautiful fic.

Too Soon and Not Soon Enough by hufflepirate Words: 6,506  Author’s Summary: Remix of oldmythologies’s Lost in the Fog, which is AWESOME and should probably be read first. Shiro is gone, and none of the remaining paladins know what to do about it. When the rest of the team visits Black to talk to Shiro, Pidge listens in, but can’t bring herself to face the lion - or the place where Shiro vanished. Not until she’s ready to bring him home. My Comments: Completely fabulous alternate perspective and expansion on another amazing fic. I loved Pidge’s perspective on everything, and extended reunion scene at the end was so so so good. SO GOOD. Ahhh, it made me so happy, I can’t even tell you. 

Hold Me Close by SerenePhenix Words: 2,221 Author’s Summary: Keith was not made for the cold. My Comments: Poor Keith. Good thing he has his team to take care of him.

Day 2: Hypothermia by GemmaRose Words: 1,781 Author’s Summary: Downed in a shuttle during an ambush, Coran must survive a blizzard with only his wits, centuries-old survival training, and what meagre supplies he can scavenge from the wreck. My Comments: HURT CORAN! So rare, so precious. Great characterization, he felt very steady and strong even as he sort of accepted that he was probably going to die. Super glad he didn’t, of course. The team can’t do without him.

Rockabye by SerenePhenix Words: 2,171 Author’s Summary: Pidge has to stop the bleeding and is terrified. Coran is there every step of the way even when hundreds of miles away. My Comments: GAH, this fic is intense. Love Coran being the rock Pidge needs, even from far away, keeping calm and talking her through it even while I am positive he’s freaking out on the inside.

dead battery by babitty Words: 3,345 Author’s Summary: a drabble that popped into my head so i sat down and wrote it out real quick. I’m sure people have done this or smthn like it already but fuck it. Lance brought his phone into space. And when Pidge finds out the battery is dead, she helps him out. Bc he’s family. I wasn’t sure what to name Lance’s sister, but i think Mari works??? I honestly don’t know, i may change it even though this is just a drabble. also this is not pidgance at all, i’m rlly hopin that’s clear enough Edit- so apparently mari is canon and I’m real good at guessin names lmao My Comments: Really cute fic. I love Pidge helping Lance fight his homesickness, followed by all the team bonding as they look at the pictures on his phone. The second chapter made it worse, or maybe better. Poignant and heartachey, but sweet.

To Light The Way by A11e_B00klover Words: 13,169 Author’s Summary: When her father dies in mysterious circumstances and leaves her alone with nothing but questions, Allura sets out to find the truth, come what may. Or the time Allura decides to go Sherlock with her family-friend Coran and the five friends she makes in the process. (for the Voltron Gen Minibang 2017) My Comments: A little slow to start, but there are some great ideas and fantastic characterizations in here. Fun modern AU where the team forms a Leverage-type crew to battle corporate corruption and find the truth. I could do with more.

Nobody Learns by SassafrassRex (Serbajean) Words: 30,570 Author’s Summary: He knows there was a time, before he was at this camp. *** Wiser people than Matt knew to steer clear of stars, dreamers, and all other fantasts. *** It’s a pretty strange fate, that Matt had played supporting cast in the story of his own life. *** If they try and they win, you’ll hate them for how they leave you behind. If they try and they fail, you’ll hate yourself for having to tell them let go of their pipedreams. *** “Could mean you need some better friends” – And Shiro has got to know how punchable his face gets whenever he grins like that. *** Shiro’s got it in his head that he could be selected for the Kerberos mission. Matt wishes he would give it up now. Before he burns himself out. *** Written for the Voltron Gen Mini Bang, with the wonderful artist, dylogger!!! Also prequel to All-Pervading Corruption My Comments: This is a prequel to a previously recced fic, but it stands alone fine. This fic is STUNNING. I love the characterization for Matt and Shiro. All of the backstory makes a lot of sense, and their friendship is so strong, weathering a lot of storms along the way. With this kind of background, it not only makes sense that Shiro would sacrifice himself for Matt, but it feels inevitable. All of the “current day” stuff in the prison camp is very harsh and hard to read, though, so beware. In that context, all of their college day shenanigans gain a kind of golden edge to them. Those were the good days. They just had no idea. It was hard at the time. But Matt is strong, and he’s a survivor, and he fights. He fights so hard. Amazing fic. The art complements it perfectly.

Earth Isn’t So Far by safety_dancer Words: 1,356 Author’s Summary: “Geez, Hunk! You scared us! I come running, thinking maybe Zarkon had teleported his ugly self into the- is that a cake?” My Comments: I really love all the presents everyone gave Lance in this one. They were so thoughtful and sweet.

Gift Me the Stars and Night Sky by Not_Jazz Words: 1,299 Author’s Summary: Lance never asked for anything. He was happy to just have his family. So, his family decides to surprise him. Or: Lance’s Best Birthday Ever My Comments: Gah, this is ridiculously adorable. The story about tiny Lance made my heart hurt in the best way. What a little sweetie pie, and I’m so glad he has his space family to be with him now.

What We Least Expect by inkbadger Words: 1,712 Author’s Summary: When Lance forgets it’s his birthday, he doesn’t take it well. So he retreats to the Blue Lion. But his team aren’t about to let him celebrate his birthday alone. That’s what family’s for, right? My Comments: So sweet. Everyone cares so much.

Candlelight and Supernovas by Faequeen40 Words: 12,614 Author’s Summary: Deep in space, Lance is really missing his family as his birthday comes up. The Voltron crew go about trying to throw him a birthday party. My contribution for Lance’s Birthday Week! My Comments: I really love how long this is and how everyone got their moment to shine. All of the bonding was sweet and lovely, and everyone put so much EFFORT into making sure Lance had a good and happy day. So heartwarming.

Wild Boys by Cocopops1995 Words: 13,437 Author’s Summary: Shiro wakes up back in Galra captivity. But he’s not having any of that this time. This time he’s determined to escape or die trying. Along the way he meets up with some familiar faces, some more unexpected than others. My Comments: Really fun action fic featuring BAMF Shiro and rebel Matt, among other things. A much more enjoyable way for Shiro to get back to the team than we see in a lot of fics, haha. All of the reunions were top-notch.

Summer Days (Drifting Away) by Atalto Words: 2,630 Author’s Summary: The team take a break from Voltron to regroup and recharge for the final fight against the Galra. Pidge discovers that she doesn’t really like alien beaches, no matter how human they are. My Comments: I expected fun in the sun and got emotional hurt/comfort and cuddling. I’m not complaining at all.

Little Fingers Hold the Tightest by Utsukushin (UserFromPluto) Words: 12,817 Author’s Summary: After the final battle with Zarkon, the Voltron team begins a desperate search for Shiro, but not even Slav’s ramblings on quantum realities could have prepared them for what they find. Shiro has been turned into a child–a bright-eyed, scarred little boy with one arm and no memories–and although they try their best to accommodate the change into their already-chaotic lives, no one quite anticipated just how challenging it would be. My Comments: Ahhh, this fic is amazing and adorable. Tiny Shiro is so cute, but he’s still getting flashbacks and nightmares and needs a lot of care. All of the paladins interact with him in the sweetest ways, and the art is beautiful, too.

The Burden of Adrenaline by spitfire00 Words: 1,329 Author’s Summary: Pidge carries an injured Shiro out of a hostile situation using pure spite alone. My Comments: PIDGE! What a badass! This little fic got my own adrenaline pumping, for sure.

It’s Like a Lithium Ion by F-117 Nighthawk (F117_Nighthawk) Words: 5,314 Author’s Summary: On their way to the Balmera, Keith runs across a homesick Lance and tries to comfort him. Then he finds Pidge and accidentally gives her an idea and gets roped into helping. It’s a win-win though, because in the end he’s found a way to help Lance. My Comments: Such a sweet fic. Love everyone working together to try to communicate with Earth so the kids can have a way to relieve their homesickness, and Keith was a darling for sticking it out.

Oh, Won’t You Comfort Me? by Ironic_Swag7782 Words: 2,123 Author’s Summary: Crash landed on an icy planet, one broken kit of armour, damaged lions, Lance getting dangerously cold? Shiro could safely say this mission could have gone better. My Comments: I’m always up for Shiro and Lance huddling for warmth. They’re both trying so hard to take care of each other, even in bad circumstances.

Flirting Lessons by sinelanguage Words: 2,099 Author’s Summary: Allura consults her worst– and only– flirting expert for advice. My Comments: Super cute fic with the worst pickup lines ever and Lance being a good wingman. Somehow it all works out in the end. I love Lance and Allura’s friendship.

Lean On by SerenePhenix Words: 1,712 Author’s Summary: Allura tries to complete a mission while feeling anything but perfectly well. My Comments: Short, sweet sickfic featuring dizzy Allura, smart Lance, and protective Coran.

Magnesium Fires by MoonlitWaterSunnyRiver for Mellisah Words: 1,328 Author’s Summary: In retrospect, wandering into a haunted house with no backup had been a bad, bad idea. But it’s amazing how much time you have to consider these things hanging in midair with a poltergeist deciding whether or not to munch on you. Poltergeist: 1. Keith Kogane: 0. Things Pidge can hold against him: too many to count. My Comments: This is so fun and funny and cute. Keith is just trying so hard, but it’s a good thing Pidge is capable of saving him.,

A Leg to Stand On by Aclyr, hufflepirate Words: 26,526 Author’s Summary: Hunk has never wanted to be in charge of anything, but when he gets stranded on an unknown planet with a concussed Shiro, light-years away from where they were supposed to be and unable to contact the rest of the team, he has do it anyway. A galaxy away, the rest of the team is short on resources and shorter on personnel, but they’re not about to let Hunk and Shiro go without a fight. (Story by hufflepirate, art by Aclyr) My Comments: Everything about this fic is utterly perfect. Hunk is anxious, but a badass anyway, and concussed Shiro is like a confused baby chick who needs to be herded back to the nest several times. The frantic search the others go through to find them is very suspenseful and heartwrenching, and you can just feel the tension and stress everyone is struggling with. Great action, great characterization, great emotional moments. I love it to bits. The art is also amazing.

Day 1: Fever by GemmaRose Words: 2,141 Author’s Summary: With Shiro missing and her Paladins scrambling to find him, Allura can’t possibly justify taking a break. My Comments: Short, sweet sickfic featuring fanting Allura and protective Coran.

Have Faith. by halelujah for InsaneJuliann Words: 2,750 Author’s Summary: Four times where the Black Lion reassures the Paladins that all will be well, plus the time she’s reassured herself. My Comments: Post Season Two fic with a really sweet characterization of Black. Hunk is particularly adorable, as well.

hope of a better tomorrow - VLD fanfic remix for babitty! by volleycatnika for babitty Words: 3,190 Author’s Summary: How the five paladins missed Earth and came together to comfort each other (a 5+1 fic). My Comments: Lovely team bonding fic. 

Fics with Season Three spoilers under the cut. After this list, I will no longer be tagging spoilers, since it’s been two weeks now since the season came out.

What’s my name? by greenglowsgold Words: 3,538 Author’s Summary: No one ever knows who they’re going to be until they are. Names don’t always work forever. She doesn’t know who this is, but he isn’t Shiro. My Comments: Season Three spoilers. I love Pidge’s journey here, and this would be a clever way to deal with the Not-Shiro problem. Her stubbornness and determination in the face of everyone else’s disbelief is perfectly her.

You’re Brave and You’re Loved by Talking_Bird Words: 6,464 Author’s Summary: Shiro is gone, but the universe still needs defending. When Keith becomes the new Black Paladin, the team assumes Allura will replace Keith as the Red Paladin. It doesn’t quite go like that and Lance has some insecurities to overcome. My Comments: Season Three spoilers. I honestly liked the way the show did it, but I this version is nicer, with Lance getting some much needed encouragement and love. Mild Klance.

[soft922-blog]

Travel diary: Malaga

Málaga is a world apart from the adjoining Costa del Sol: a historic and culturally rich provincial capital which has long lived in the shadow of the iconic Andalusian cities of Granada, Córdoba and Seville. Yet, it has rapidly emerged as the province's city of culture with its so-called 'mile of art' being compared to Madrid, and its dynamism and fine dining to Barcelona.

The tastefully restored historic centre is a delight: its Gothic cathedral is surrounded by narrow pedestrian streets flanked by traditional and modern bars, and shops that range from idiosyncratic and family owned, to urban-chic and contemporary. Cast your eyes up to enjoy a skyline that reflects the city’s eclectic character; church spires jostle for space with russet-red tiled roofs and lofty apartment buildings while, like a grand old dame, the 11th-century Gibralfaro castle sits grandly aloft and provides the best view of all. The former rundown port has also been grandly rebuilt and cruise-line passengers are now boosting the city's coffers and contributing to the overall increase in tourism to the city.

Málaga is a municipality, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 569,130 in 2015, it is the second-most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth-largest in Spain. The southernmost large city in Europe, it lies on the Costa del Sol of the Mediterranean, about 100 kilometers (62.14 miles) east of the Strait of Gibraltar and about 130 km (80.78 mi) north of Africa.

Málaga's history spans about 2,800 years, making it one of the oldest cities in the world. It was founded by the Phoenicians as Malaka about 770 BC, and from the 6th century BC was under the hegemony of Ancient Carthage. Then, from 218 BC, it was ruled by the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire as Malaca (Latin). After the fall of the empire and the end of Visigothic rule, it was under Islamic rule as Mālaqah for 800 years, but in 1487, the Crown of Castille gained control after the Reconquista. The archaeological remains and monuments from the Phoenician, Roman, Arabic and Christian eras make the historic center of the city an "open museum", displaying its history of nearly 3,000 years. This important cultural infrastructure and the artistic heritage have culminated in the nomination of Málaga as a candidate for the 2016 European Capital of Culture. The internationally acclaimed painter

and sculptor Pablo Picasso, Hebrew poet and Jewish philosopher Solomon Ibn Gabirol and the actor Antonio Banderas were born in Málaga. The magnum opus of Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona, "Malagueña", is named for the music of this region of Spain. The most important business sectors in Málaga are tourism, construction and technology services, but other sectors such as transportation and logistics are beginning to expand. The Andalusia Technology Park (PTA), located in Málaga, has enjoyed significant growth since its inauguration in 1992. Málaga is the main economic and financial centre of southern Spain, home of the region's largest bank, Unicaja, and the fourth-ranking city in economic activity in Spain behind Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.

Why go?

Eating just-caught sardines by the sea is one of life’s great simple pleasures, and the beaches either side of Malaga are the perfect place to do it – particularly after a morning at the Picasso and Carmen Thyssen museums. Unlike some Spanish cities, it does not wind down in summer, and is particularly lively during the Malaga Fair in mid-August, when even the most reserved visitors might find themselves joining the locals for a twirl in the streets. If you haven’t been for a while, you’ll be amazed at how it has been spruced up. Chic boutiques, gastrobars and cool cafés have sprung up alongside the traditional taverns in the winding lanes in the heart of the city, while the waterfront has been developed with a promenade, bars, restaurants and shops - and new this year is the Pompidou Centre. Although there is plenty to see and do, Malaga is really a place to kick back and just enjoy the laidback Mediterranean vibe.

When and Where

It rarely gets really cold in Malaga, and it is often warm enough to sit at pavement cafés during the day even in December and January. Spring and autumn are the best times to visit. Although not as well known as Seville Holy Week, the Easter processions are among the most important in Spain. For most visitors, Málaga is simply a gateway to the beach resorts of the Costa del Sol, with few venturing far from the airport or into the city. Well, they’re all missing a trick because this once-shabby port has undergone something of a reinvention. There’s a sparkling new waterfront and millions of euros have been pumped into the art scene, thanks to mayor Francisco de la Torre’s vision to turn his city into a cultural hub, with a branch of the Parisian Pompidou Centre among the latest museum openings. The Alcazaba fortress, Málaga’s more modest answer to Granada’s Alhambra, sits proudly in the historic centre – a maze of gardens and fountains – and above it 10th-century Gibralfaro castle stands guard over the coast. Round the corner lies the vast Renaissance cathedral, nicknamed La Manquita (“one-armed woman”) because its south tower was mysteriously left unbuilt. While the city beaches are nothing to write home about, the food definitely is. The subtropical climate and maritime location mean there’s plentiful fresh produce, exceptional local wine, melt-in-the- mouth jamón and top seafood – the locals are nicknamed boquerones (anchovies) because of the quantities they eat. There are countless great bars and restaurants, and more opening all the time, but eat late if you don’t want to look like a tourist – Malagueños go out late, and dining after 10pm is the norm. With dozens of low-cost flights a week, Málaga ticks all the boxes for an alternative city break or a stopover on the way to a beach holiday. It’s just surprising more people haven’t cottoned on yet.

Do

Málaga’s cathedral was started in the 16th century on the site of the former mosque. Of the mosque, only the Patio de los Naranjos survives, a small courtyard of fragrant orange trees.

Inside, the fabulous domed ceiling soars 40m into the air, while the vast colonnaded nave houses an enormous cedar-wood choir. Aisles give access to 15 chapels with gorgeous 18th- century retables and religious art. Climb the tower (200 steps) to enjoy stunning panoramic views of the city skyline and coast. Building the cathedral was an epic project that took some 200 years. Such was the project’s cost that by 1782 it was decided that work would stop. One of the two bell towers was left incomplete, hence the cathedral’s well-worn nickname, La Manquita (the one-armed lady). The cathedral’s museum displays a collection of religious items covering a period of 500 years.

Uncovered in 1951, this Roman theatre slap- bang in the city centre had lain hidden for many hundreds of years. It was built in the time of Augustus (1st century AD) and remains relatively well preserved. An adjacent interpretive centre has touch screens and some artefacts dug up from the site. The theatre is particularly evocative at night with the Alcazaba illuminated behind it. No time to visit Granada’s Alhambra? Then Málaga’s Alcazaba can provide a taster. The entrance is next to the Roman amphitheatre, from where a meandering path climbs amid lush greenery: crimson bougainvillea, lofty palms, fragrant jasmine bushes and rows of orange trees. Extensively restored, this palace-fortress dates from the 11th-century Moorish period; the caliphal horseshoe arches, courtyards and bubbling fountains are evocative of this influential period in Málaga’s history. Don’t miss the small archaeological museum located within the former servants’ quarters of the Nazari palace, with its exhibits of Moorish ceramics and pottery.

The Museo Picasso has an enviable collection of 204 works, 155 donated and 49 loaned to the museum by Christine Ruiz-Picasso (wife of Paul, Picasso’s eldest son) and Bernard Ruiz-Picasso (his grandson), and includes some wonderful paintings of the family, including the heartfelt Paulo con gorro blanco (Paulo with a white cap), a portrait of Picasso’s eldest son painted in the 1920s.Don’t miss the Phoenician, Roman, Islamic and Renaissance archaeological remains in the museum’s basement, discovered during construction works. There are also excellent year-round temporary exhibitions. Besides the grand, marble-paved main shopping street Marqués de Larios, where shoppers can find high-street and designer names at bargain

prices, thanks to the weak euro, Málaga is a treat for those who like discovering little independent boutiques. Calle Andrés Pérez, in what was a run-down part of town, is also a good place to browse. The shops and restaurants clubbed together to clean up the street and pay for street lights. Top finds include organic clothing at ColorHueso (no 7), antiques at Patio Almanzora (no 5) and vintage goods at Quasipercaso (no 1). For beautiful handmade jewellery, try P&C in the old centre (Calle Santa María 13). The newly hip Soho district is being turned into an open-air gallery by the Maus (Málaga Arte Urbano Soho) project which has invited big-name international artists to create artwork on the city’s walls. There are giant animal murals by the Belgian Roa, pop-art style creations by D*Face and smaller works by local artists. More work to be added by Kenny Scharf, Aryz and Abraham Lacalle soon. Pick up a map and explore by yourself or join a guided tour by CAC (three free tours at 10, 11 and 12 on Mondays). For another alternative arty experience head to Plaza De Jesus de La Pasion, where artist Valerio “fishes for people” by dangling a rose and a note inviting guests to his studio to have their eye sketched for free for his “Eyecylopedia” or just to browse his work. Valerio is the man behind an alternative “art currency” circulating in the city – “the Valerio”, notes made from his printed etchings are being accepted by a range of “wholesome” businesses, from yoga studios to cafes.

Malaga's port is one of the oldest ports in the world with over three thousand years of antiquity, it is now one of the most important cruise ship terminals in Spain. Bringing many thousands of passengers onto Malaga’s sunny shores every year. The port is conveniently located near the city centre, within easy walking distance to all of Malaga’s cultural and historical highlights.

One of the city's biggest parks is right across the road, as is the Alcazaba, the Gibralfaro castle and its just a short walk to Malaga's historic centre and the main shopping areas - including Calle Larios. A visit to all is easily doable in a few hours. For cruise ship passengers, the location is ideal, you can be in the heart of Malaga within five minutes. Until fairly recently, Malaga's port was off-limits to members of the public. Over the last ten years, there have been two projects aimed specifically at Malaga's port and the surrounding areas. An expansion plan and the city-port plan. The expansion plan is ongoing and has so far opened up 11 docks as shipping and cruise ship terminals. There are now over 700,000 passengers arriving on Malaga's shores from 220 different cruise liners. This number has been growing rapidly over the last few years. Malaga's port is now one of the most important in Spain. The city-port plan was devised to develop the port area for recreational and commercial use. The ultimate aim of the city- port plan was to attract private investment - something that hasn't happened as quickly as hoped. Its two biggest projects to date, have been the openings of Muelles Uno and Dos. Quays one and two.

The quays are situated side-by-side and the names are are often used interchangeably by local Malagueños. Muelle Uno was opened at the end of 2011. The 14,000m2 shopping and commerce centre is home to restaurants, shops and has underground parking for over 1000 cars. The most exclusive part of the port, it is home to Malaga's onlyMichelin-starred restaurant (Jose Carlos Garcia's) and has a marina for luxurious yachts, known as "Ricardo Gross." Despite its exclusivity, there are also numerous other cafés and bars that cater for all tastes and budgets (including an Indian restaurant). Muelle Dos is home to the beautiful waterfront promenade invitingly named “The Palm Garden of Surprises,” "Palmeral de las Sorpresas” in Spanish. The promenade is an ideal place for families with small children. There are ample gardens, several children’s playgrounds, water features, and various activities to keep them entertained for hours. There are also numerous benches and quiet corners for people to sit and soak up the atmosphere.

The whole complex is very modern and elegantly designed. There are 420 recently planted palm trees lining the walkway and a further 7400 trees and tropical plants that make up the gardens.

The whole area offers a surreal, modern feel to it. You can fully understand why Malagueños are proud of the newest addition to their city's sights. There is no better place to enjoy an evening's ‘paseo’ and a bit of people watching.Very different to the old Malaga we all know and love.

Photography credit: Sofia Castellaccio

[spuriusbrocoli]

@tolarian-academic for the track-by-track review of “Mouth Moods” by Neil Cicierega.

First off, I had never listened to this album or Neil Cicierega before, so this is an entirely novel experience for me.

For the general review: Neil is not a DJ; he’s a meme. This is not an album to be listened to as anything other than an hour-long joke. And for that reason I wouldn’t really recommend it. Go through the songs Cicierega used and find ones that you love or love to hate and watch Cicierega throw tomatoes at them, but an hour is too long for what’s a pretty unstructured joke. There’s a reason that most feature-length comedies tend to have a conventional plot they attach themselves to (see: the good Monty Python films); it gives the audience room to breathe which “Mouth Moods” emphatically does not. Still, the eldritch familiar attaching itself to my shoulder advises that I at least pretend to have a sense of humor, so my wholly arbitrary ranking was based on how much each track made me laugh. And tbh, I was actually really getting into the groove of the album by the latter third. So take from that what you will.

1. “Wallspin”: This was the goddamn funniest song I’ve heard in years; “You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)” and by extension Dead Or Alive’s first three albums are under-appreciated gems of eighties quasi-ironically good dance-pop. Seriously, go listen to “Youthquake”. It’s actually unironically good in parts.

2. “AC/VC”: I ranked this highly in no small part because I harbor secret guilty pleasure at “A Thousand Miles”, and the utter dissonance with ACDC was *Italian finger-kiss* perfecto.

3. “The End”: The most scathing thing anyone can say of New Metal is that by simply shuffling out the edginess of the sound, you’ve basically got a particularly polished and dull brand of Top 40 bait. This songs kicks ass. Tat said, it takes a bit too much buildup and is less punchy than “AC/VC”, hence the third-place.

4. “Mouth Pressure”: Much like the place directly below it (I’m writing this out of order if you can’t tell), this is a mix of two things that only go together ironically. But where “Stand By Me” and “One Week” are both actually good, “All-Star” is perfect, meme-y garbage.

5. “Stand By Meme”: (1) Perfect title; and (2) “Stand By Me” is one of my brother’s favorite songs of all time, so that helped this more than it probably ought to have. But hey, “Stand By Me” has some great orchestrals. And by “great” here, I of course mean “utterly dissonant with ‘One Week’.”

6. “Wow Wow”: “All-Star” is a recurring theme of this album, much like it is in life. The “Wild Wild West” is certainly among Will Smith’s worse career choices, and it’s pretty good ironic enjoyment fodder. And as a rap song, it has one hell of a beat. Unfortunately, if this were a ranking based on anything other than ,,””ironic””,, enjoyability, then “Wallspin” wouldn’t be at the top.

7. “Shit”: Speaking of things taht only got their place because of ironic memeingful enjoyment...

8. “Annoyed Grunt”: I like the use of overlapping layers here. It’s easily the best song-as-a-song on the album. The use of the audio clips isn’t too distracting (or perhaps it’s just distracting enough), and they’re properly structured into the song structure. The reason it’s below “AC/VC” is that it didn’t make me laugh out loud.

9. “Dear Dinosaur”: This song actually kind of works as an experimental rock song. The janky planking and slight dissonance is like if Xiu Xiu had a sense of humor and desire for radio play.

10. “T.I.M.E.”: You’ll notice that all the funny songs get high billing bc fuck listening to this memebait as actual music (speaking of membait, I’m glad “All-Star” is a running theme in this album). But dear GOD do the Village People not acquiesce to a full-bodied orchestra.

11. “300MB”: I feel like the “song” of this track is better than that of “AC/VC”, but the joke is less punchy and immediate. As a song, though, it’s a touch too generic edm, but hey, the “song” isn’t really the core engagement here.

12. “Smooth”: Given that this one has actual, y’know, layers and shit that I love so much, I feel bad for the low placement here. And as a song, it pretty much works. But the retooling of the “One Week” vocals to fit “Smooth Criminal”’s melody was just imprecise enough that it was all I could focus on. I’m a nitpick. Still, it improves quite a bit as it progresses, and it’s a great buildup to “Stand By Meme”.

13. “The Starting Line”: This was ambitious, but I was ultimately a bit disappointed by the actual music. I prefer my music layered with lots of little sounds overlapping to immerse myself in. “The Starting Line” takes moments and hooks out of which to build a pretty conventional pop song, but I would like to see this level of ear for hooks and talent for careful selection applied to something actually intrinsically good. Still, points for ambition.

14. “Busta”: Meh. A pretty decent ensemble of its component parts, but not engaging enough on its own merits, and not outright hilarious enough to justify it the way “AC/VC” was.

15. “Tiger”: See above, but loses points for the joke being unfunny.

16. “Blockbuster”: This made me feel the ages wearing into my bones, how dare

17. “Revolution #5″: I’ve got nothing against album transitional songs, but they rarely rank high as track in their own right. Also, the ear-to-ear got more than a little grating by the end.

18. “Floor Corn”: Copy-paste all my criticisms of “The Starting Line”, but remove the part where I gave points for ambition.

19. “Bustin”: Two great tastes that... added nothing together. The use of one of the Gorillaz’s best songs contributed nothing. I’d say this is by far the laziest track on the album. Every other track at least had an idea. This just kind of sounds like a bored rapper releasing a bleh mixtape because he’s aware that he’s at the point of his career where no matter what he makes, he’ll get the same result, so why bother?

20. “Shady Interlude”: Have I publicly mentioned that I hate Eminem? Worst white rapper in history. Yes, worse than Vanilla Ice. Because people actually like Eminem. He is exactly the kind of witless edgelord from high school that you were promised you would get petty comeuppance against by outperforming them in the job market, except he’s a millionaire. Fuck Eminem, and fuck this song for reminding me of his existence.

So thank you again @tolarian-academic for inflicting this upon me. You’re all welcomed and encouraged to send me whatever album you fancy for me to rank its tracks with another mini-breakdown. (Though please send me real music this time.)

[junker-town]

2007: The inside story of the greatest season in college football history

Les Miles and 2007 were made for each other all along

Hello. This is a project all about the 2007 college football season, the wildest season ever. We've included dozens of interviews, stories, and other fun stuff in this package (take a look around!), but first, let's talk about Les Miles.

Maybe the problem with every other team in 2007 was this: they insisted that things make sense, while Les Miles and LSU never did. In a season of gambles and black swans, Miles was wearing a ghillie suit at the roulette table. It’s not that he had planned it that way, mind you. It’s just what he always wore, and one day, the perfect moment would come along for the outfit.

Consider that LSU might have had another unfair advantage from the start: being three teams at once.

One was the LSU that destroyed Mississippi State and Virginia Tech to start the season, a physically superior crew of crowbar-wielding sprinters and trench monsters so frightening, they scared poor Michael Henig of Mississippi State into throwing six interceptions in a single game.*

*Full disclosure: by the time he threw his fifth, everyone watching wanted him to throw six, because ... well, his public failure had come full circle to a kind of valiant achievement, hadn’t it?

Another LSU was a defense-averse scoring machine bent on playing deep into triple overtime. That team lost twice — twice! in a national title year! — to Arkansas and Kentucky and roared to victory in a shootout with Alabama.

The final LSU was the one everyone remembers best, the LSU that passed with one second left against Auburn or pulled off fourth down conversion after fourth down conversion against Florida in a comeback win or called a bizarre fake field goal for a TD against South Carolina or needed a pick six to win the SEC Championship Game.

It’s hard to beat three teams, but it’s also hard to be three teams. Fortunately, Miles mostly won with all three, though it was clear which one he preferred, even if that version was the one that forced LSU fans to drink even more after victories, simply to take the edge off what they’d just seen.

***

Take a chunk out of the cult of coach by pointing out how many of LSU’s biggest plays of 2007 happened because of perfectly timed individual contributions, usually in well-portioned turns. Craig Steltz popped up with pass breakups and interceptions exactly when required. Trindon Holliday, all five-foot-nothing of him, would snap a game open with a kick return. Cornerback Jonathan Zenon turned into Erik Ainge’s best receiver at the worst possible time for Tennessee, returning an INT for a conference-winning score.

LSU was a team of five-star talent and two-star heart, and the peak example was running back Jacob Hester. With a corps of fearsome locals, LSU’s leading rusher would be a fullback with male pattern baldness at the age of 22. Hester wasn’t supposed to end up where he did, but when you keep ending up across the first down line, it’s hard to take you out of the lineup.

It was hard to say exactly who would fall from the rafters at exactly the right moment and save LSU’s ass.

It was easy to say who was fine with that and would openly dare probability not to cough up a positive return on a gamble, even when the gamble was mathematically insane. Whether it was because he was a bullshit artist too scared to ever admit it or so ebulliently confident he infected his whole team, he thrived in it.

And for one year, Miles turned up exactly where he was supposed to, every time, with exactly the right answer.

He was perfectly on time when he called the fake field goal.

He did not just call a fake field goal. He called a flip toss by the starting QB over his shoulder to LSU’s kicker. The burn on trick play enthusiast Steve Spurrier, standing on the opposite sideline, was so precise, Miles made the noise "heheheheh" when watching a replay at Tiger Stadium.

heh

He could have made the same noise all five times he decided LSU was going for it on fourth down against Florida, a backbreaking series of gambles that completed LSU’s 28-24 comeback at home. Miles might have chuckled his way through that whole second half, for all we know. It was very loud in there, and I couldn’t hear my own heartbeat, much less a coach laughing several hundred yards away.

He was on time when LSU was tied with Auburn, with the clock burning down and everyone in the stadium assuming LSU would try to win 26-24 with a Colt David field goal.

When Demetrius Byrd brings down the TD, listen to the crowd’s screams and hear everything all at once: that LSU passed up the obvious answer, nearly blew the last second it could’ve used to kick if the pass had fallen incomplete, and scored despite risking an interception.

You can read some inspired defenses of this play, if you want to go deep enough into the archives. Don’t. It makes no sense, never will, was late, and ... was right. This is a horseshit play, and it worked. Later in his career, Miles and LSU would get in serious trouble with clock management, and this would all seem less than cute, but in 2007, LSU was unstoppably lucky.

They pressed that luck, even when they became phenomenally unlucky. The Tigers spit the bit at Kentucky and at home to Arkansas. The Kentucky game seemed like enough of an anomaly, the kind voters could forgive. True to bizarro form, LSU outgained Kentucky in yardage, had fewer turnovers, and still lost in triple OT.

Arkansas was worse. A sleepy, 7-6 game at halftime caught fire in the second half, and the three-headed backfield with three future NFL starters — Peyton Hillis, Felix Jones, and Heisman finalist Darren McFadden — ate up yardage until another triple OT loss* surely destroyed LSU’s hopes for a title run.

* There is another achievement LSU can claim, in addition to being the first two-loss AP champ since 1960: the only title team to ever lose two games in overtime, let alone triple overtime. Not that anyone would ever want to claim that, knowing what it’s like to chug rubbing alcohol at 11:45 p.m. while watching your team do this again.

***

Miles showed up when he was supposed to show up, even when he wasn’t supposed to.

2007 was my first year covering college football for money, and the 2007 SEC Championship was just my second game as credentialed media. I still did not know how anything worked, so during pregame, when LSU informed the collected media that "Coach Miles wishes to make a statement," I assumed this was normal.

The SEC

Have a great day

I was informed it was not.

Set this all in context. LSU had just lost a shot at the BCS Championship and would be starting its backup QB in a conference title game against a dangerous, 9-3 Tennessee. The SEC title seemed like a consolation prize, and reports of Miles, a Michigan alum who played and coached under Bo Schembechler, talking to the Wolverines about their coaching vacancy were everywhere.

Whether it was ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit reporting on TV that morning that Miles was as good as gone, or whether a fourth cup of coffee hit Miles sideways in the Georgia Dome locker rooms, or whether years of the accumulated WCW in the air possessed him, Miles felt the need to cut a wrestling promo live on the carpet in Atlanta.

When Miles was done with his speech to a room of baffled and bemused reporters, he appeared again exactly where and when he was supposed to appear. He had told ESPN to kiss his ass and made ESPN show it live on ESPN. He proclaimed in what was suddenly the thickest of Ohio accents that he had a "damn strong football team." He did it for himself, he said, and I believe it; his team, sequestered in the locker room, didn’t see the speech live and couldn’t have used it as some kind of motivational tool.

Miles punctuated his speech with the most truculent "have a great day" ever. Later, after the national championship and grown men from the Bayou running naked down Bourbon Street, the Tigers would put the phrase on the back of their equipment truck, so the whole world could kiss their gear’s ass as it rolled down the highway.

Starting the backup QB in a mop-up game, LSU let Ainge throw the winning TD to LSU’s Zenon. Everyone kept showing up in the right place at the right time, even people who were on other teams.

So when West Virginia lost to "the shittiest fucking team in the fucking world," Oklahoma couldn’t muster the votes to overcome losses to Texas Tech and Colorado, Georgia couldn’t make the case because it didn’t even get to the SEC Championship, an undefeated Kansas lost to rival Mizzou at the worst imaginable time, and Mizzou lost again to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship, it only made sense that LSU would suddenly face its third chance at a national title.

Getting to do it in New Orleans might have been a little heavy-handed, but the script was the script.

***

There are people who cannot thrive in normal circumstances, who struggle to make basic schedules work and whose only optimal working environment would madden a normal person to the point of tears.

Those people, 90 percent of the time, barely manage to fit into a lane. The really gifted and adaptive ones might become functional, with enough coaching. Others find themselves in much worse situations, often flagrantly so.

Miles is one of those people. After 2007, it became clear that quiet order would do Miles no favors. He’d recruit brilliantly but squander talent, particularly on offense. His carefree approach to clock management would become a running gag, his fake field goals would eventually only work on Florida, and LSU would wane as Nick Saban categorized, analyzed, and systematized the SEC into little more than Bama’s strip mine.

2007 was Miles at his best, but the flip side was 2011, when a phenomenally talented LSU showed up to the BCS Championship without anything resembling an offensive game plan. What Miles could profit from in chaos, he could waste in order. The decline began in earnest; by the time Miles was fired in 2016, quirks that were endearing had become intractable frustrations, even when his teams were still competitive.

If chaos-compatible people are lucky, sometimes they fall into exactly the right, irregularly shaped spot at exactly the right time and work where few others would. Miles fell into the right spot not once, but twice.

Getty

In 2005, after beating Auburn in OT

The first came after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, his first season as LSU’s head coach, when the chaos-compatible new guy helped steer an entire school through a natural disaster. Fats Domino was sleeping on QB JaMarcus Russell’s couch, Baton Rouge turned into a refugee camp overnight, and helicopters were flying over Tiger Stadium at all hours, but LSU managed not only to play a full season, but to thrive. In the year of Katrina, the Tigers somehow won 11 games. Almost everyone involved with that season agrees Miles was the person the program needed, when everything else fell apart.

There is a tendency to lionize coaches, overstate their importance, and diminish players in the name of using a single authority figure as a catch-all for a group of ever-changing faces.

That said, there was no one more suited to step into college football’s slipperiest, least predictable season. And once he and LSU stepped into it, they took everything, even well after reason said they were finished. In 2007, when throwing deep into the end zone with no time left made more sense than a field goal, Miles was the safest bet.

***

And at no point did that Ohio State team, or any Ohio State team coached by Jim Tressel, stand a chance in any universe’s 2007 title game, against any team.

2007 had already bit the Buckeyes once — losing to a Ron Zook-coached Illinois counts — but in a year of festive arson and freewheeling nonsense, Ohio State was doomed from the start. The Buckeyes didn’t understand the language on a spiritual level (and on a physical level, could not compete with LSU’s defense). Ohio State ran on a clock, and 2007 was too surreal for anything but melting pocket watches.

LSU won, but all I really remember was the aftermath, a French Quarter bursting at the seams with astronomically intoxicated LSU fans. Almost all of them were clothed.

Miles showed up at one point, too. I don’t remember exactly what time he appeared, but whatever time it was, I have to assume it was the right one.