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not-poignant · 6 months ago

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Stupid question, but I remembered seeing you mention having monthly minimum wordcounts on one of your previous posts and I wanted to ask if you're a professional writer? Because at first I was like "that sounds so stressful"* and then I realized that it makes a lot more sense if you're doing it for a living.

*Also acknowledging that people are different from each other and what is stressful for one person might be productive and useful for another.

I am a professional writer!

My original serials are my job, basically, and they're supported by generous folks at Patreon and Ream. That, in turn, allows me to do this in a more professional and focused way, vs. say just as a hobbyist who doesn't update for 9 months at a time. It also lets me share my works for free, in a fandom friendly manner, which lets me keep doing something I love in a way I love to do it, but in a way which is like...I guess more reliable than you'd necessarily be if you were only doing it for fun.

I can instead pledge high fidelity/loyalty to my main serials through thick and thin (hence my wild author's notes), which means folks following WIPs get to know they'll be finished, and I get to enjoy doing this for a living! It's hard, but it's a good hard. Except for taxes.

As for my monthly minimum, that actually started as a way to break out of the very ableist 'you should write every day' (as a professional writer) which is literally impossible for me and my chronic illnesses. I sometimes have big chunks of time where I can't write, sometimes weeks! And where it would be unhealthy for me to make myself.

(More about my writing process beneath the Read More!)

Alongside that, I have quite severe dyscalculia (think dyslexia but with numbers and directions and left and right lol) so I can't keep a 'running wordcount' because the numbers confuse me too much. Luckily, because my writing life is defined by chapters completed (and not novels), I count the wordcount of every finished chapter only. Unfinished chapters don't count! My growing wordcount per month grows only when that draft is finished (my drafts are clean, so chapters only tend to grow or shrink by about 100-150 words per edit, so give or take it all evens out).

It's not how any other author I know does it, but it works so well for me that I've been doing it for nearly a decade now.

I started the monthly minimum (which currently is 25k words per month) because I tend towards being a workaholic, and so my therapist and I established a minimum not as an unreachable goal that's hard to meet, but as an easy goal that's generally effortless for me to reach in good months, and average months, and even many bad ones. After I hit 25k words per month, if I crash, feel burnt out, feel awful, or life gets Life-y in a bad way, I have permission to stop writing. I can just stop. Everything else is gravy. (Though secretly I always want to hit 30-35k but shhh).

When I hit 50k words, I also have to stop immediately and take a mandatory 3-5 day break from writing even if I want to keep writing. Because I don't know it yet, but I'm probably exhausted on at least some level, lol.

I didn't hit 50k at all last year and there is at least one therapist who would be really proud of me about that even though I feel kind of guilty about it, lol.

Here's an example of my tracking:

You can see the chapters I've written, which dates I've written them. They're colour coded, so I can see at a glance if I'm writing enough of a story or not. And then on the far right is an addition of every month's wordcount.

April was so low because I took an intentional writing holiday (which I'll be doing again ideally in March this year). December was so low because December sucks.

And then I erase it all at the end of the year and start again. The blank whiteboard is actually very motivating to write that first chapter because I always feel like I haven't done anything until then.

This whiteboard is two feet away from where I write quite literally, and is never moved etc. so I have a yearly tracker basically that's extremely visible (super helpful to my ADHD brain, because if I put this in a spreadsheet I'll stop updating it after 3 weeks and then forget it exists). The colour coding gives me dopamine, so does adding chapters.

Also acknowledging that people are different from each other and what is stressful for one person might be productive and useful for another.

This is true! This is actually the least stressful way of doing things for me.

That being said, anon, it's still super stressful. Being a serial writer is one of the most stressful things you do, because you have constant and never-ending deadlines for years. Novelists can kind of escape this, in a way, because they can't release novels as often as I release chapters. But I have to be mentally switched on at least 8 times a month, re: putting work out there, making sure it's at least semi-polished, making sure I let everyone know, and tracking responses because obviously, unlike a novel, if you lose interest you can't just "skip ahead" you simply lose your readers. A lot of novelists couldn't live or work this way, a) because they couldn't write a hooky serial and b) because many realise that having to update all the time is really exhausting actually. There's a kind of social labour to updating a serial, and getting it Right every single time. One of my greatest fears that I have nightmares about

Serial writing is the most stressful kind of writing I've ever done (and I've done a few different kinds), I just happen to like the adrenaline rush of this kind of writing, and I happen to work well under a controlled level of stress! I know that, because I've been doing this for over 10 years, refining it, figuring out how to make it healthier (it was really unhealthy at first), getting better at it, figuring out my weak points (some of them are still weak points) etc. I actually think I'm pretty good at it now!

I'm also getting better at not thinking my entire career is over if I take 2 weeks off.

I went from being entirely dependent on a Disability Pension, and like, sometimes having to skip meals and doctor's appointments and even medication due to money issues (the Disability Pension is ironically not enough if you have mental health issues because our subsidised healthcare doesn't cover mental health adequately and Australia has no food stamps system), to being able to live a bit more freely and support my chronic health stuff a bit more because of writing this way!

For the first time ever through these stories I was able to afford a psychiatrist, and a few other things I really desperately have needed since I was a teenager. So being able to write like this, even when it's really hard and I'm really tired, feels still like a miracle to me. I've never been well or healthy enough to work a full-time job with typical 9-5 hours, and always kind of was stuck imagining a life where I'm just...never knowing how to afford certain things, to being in a position where I'm fairly confident I can get my meds every month, or pay for my dog's pet food, etc. It's really nice.

But yeah honestly serial writing is the most stressful form of serial writing there is as soon as you lock it in as a professional job where you must meet nearly 10 deadlines every month and you happen to have pretty intense ADHD so deadlines make you scream a little.

Sometimes what is extremely stressful and sometimes even distressing for someone is also extremely productive and rewarding for them too. We probably wouldn't have a lot of emergency surgeons if that were the bar for how we decide what we do!

#asks and answers #pia on writing #i've actually realised over 2024 that the schedule itself is *very stressful*#and introduced breaks from the schedule last year #vs. writing breaks #so March will be like a 'mid-season break' where i taper down the schedule so i'm really just fulfilling #patreon and ream rewards and that's it #but in exchange i should be more well-rested and hopefully means i can update more regularly #fingers crossed!#anyway writing is a weird job but serial writing + patreon/ream is like #a weirdly stable writing income #compared to the boom-bust that is novels #idk there's pros and cons to every kind of writing job

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neonzparkoflife · 3 months ago

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PLEASE TELL ME BOUT UR AUS AND HC AND ALL THAT JAZZ! I need to hear(see) someone else rant cuz about what they love!! Also if you need me to pick a character or something... I can't so you pick!

You've given me far too much freedom! Wow!

I'm just gonna talk about some of my shorter ones I never really expanded on or thought about after I said "hey this would be cool"

- One where none of the south park kids actually lived there until they were in their mid forties. Most of them end up being neighbors but no one really talks until Cartman organizes monthly barbecues. Stan and Kenny live across from each other and get closer after Kenny takes him home drunk from the bbq one afternoon. After a few months they end up drunkenly confessing. Stan doesn't remember it happening, Kenny does. Kenny starts to treat him as his boyfriend and Stan starts freaking out. He goes to Kyle who says "Why don't you talk to him about it?" (absurd idea) while Kenny goes to Vic who says "Why don't you talk to him about it?" (ABSURD!!!).

- zombie/infection au. It starts with Tweek (cant remember why) and he mysteriously disappears in the woods with his parents, who come back unscathed. However, Craig had been hanging out with him and starts getting sick as well. He goes to check on Tweek one day when the infection reaches his brain and his first victims are Tweek's parents and it spreads from there. The main four are trusted with making the cure, led by Kenny with Kyle as his assistant. Karen is immune to the infection so they test on her. When Kenny gets bitten they have to lock him up and since the first stages are average cold and flu symptoms Stan sits from outside the glass and keeps him company, basically watching him fade away. Kyle takes the lead with Stan as his assistant and Karen keeps pushing all of the testing in an effort to save her brother.

- very very basic 2000s movie Stan quarterback and Kenny cheerleader except the whole point is to break gender stereotypes (nonbinary stan and transmasc kenny :3)

- hot topic employee kenny and spencer's stan YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT NO THEYRE NOT SWAPPED!!! They meet on myspace, everyone tells Stan he's getting catfished and this "beautiful girl" is gonna end up being some old guy but they meet up for a date and he's just some dude. The date goes awkward but the next day they work the same shifts and end up seeing each other by chance. They like to sneak around the mall at night and stuff 0_o

- au where Kenny is a biblically accurate angel who assumes a human form and comes to earth to live a human life. Craig and Marjorine become his friends and show him the ropes of being human but also it doesn't work very well because they're all weirdos!!! Kyle, Stan, and Eric are always trying to get Butters to invite Kenny so they can tease him for being a little strange (well, Stan has other motives but yk). Meanwhile Craig is trying to attract the attention of a boy he likes but keeps getting constantly interrupted by this random freak of nature who crash landed. One day he gets really upset with Kenny and wishes he would just disappear again, but Marj and Craig eventually get him to change his mind. Craig apologizes and Kenny gets him a date with Tweek (it goes really bad, but they still arrange a second one)

- one where Kenny still dies, but he can only come back when the moon is full. There is a twist though! People who have kissed Kenny can see his ghost form between resurrections. Kenny tells Stan this after their first kiss when he dies. For the next couple of weeks, Stan is slowly realizing just how many people can see him and that he was actually late to the party. Each time he asks what happened it ends up being something stupid and normal like "we kissed as kids when we played that stupid game with the heroes and ran first face into each other". Stan finally asks him why he was basically the last person and Kenny tells him it's because he's just always liked Stan and didn't want to give it away.

- everyone remembers Kenny's deaths except for Kenny himself so the whole town is always doing their best to keep him alive and always failing

OTHER THAN THOSE I HAVE BIGGER ONES I HAVE ACTUALLY WRITTEN DOWN. THOSE ARE JUST FROM OLD TEXTS. These:

- avian au (Eons)

- tsot au

- tfbw au (I Hope I Didn't Scare You)

- farmer stenny au

- country dawn au

- dog au (Dog Park)

- Sunder

are aus I have written more for and have more info about!!!! If you wanna know about those I probably need more specific questions/requests lol :33 i know I come up with way too many of these this aint even the half of it. Most of these are kenny/stenny related too i do not have favorites tho 0w0!!

#south park #kenny mccormick #stan marsh #stenny #south park au

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mishy-mashy · 4 months ago

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Golden Dawn moments in an OC fic (Commoner!Castor)

The Golden Dawn bet on how long it would take Yuno to realize who their Vice-Captain is; Yuno finds the board displaying their bets

Captain - 2 months Castor - 2 weeks Langris - 20 days Alecdora - 5 weeks Letoile - 6 months

“What does this board record, Castor-senpai?” Yuno asked, staring at the writing. “Those dates.”

Castor didn't miss a beat, saying, “It's the longest we've ever held a shit.”

Yuno stared at Letoile's name.

“She's a real beast, isn't she.”

He had to hold back a laugh, settling on a very big smile and pinched lips… when Yuno picked up a chalk and added his name at the very end.

Yuno - 4 days

And the time Letoile finds out

David's eyes slowly widened, and with it, a grin, as the misunderstanding dawned on them.

“Yuno, who told you that?” David whispered in rapturous delight. “Because they're right. They're absolutely right.”

Yuno found their reactions a bit odd. But, everyone else in the base knew what the board meant, so it shouldn't matter on who told him, right? So—

“Castor-senpai did.”

“Oh, that genius bastard.”

“I’m gonna kill him.”

William treats the squad to dinner. The disparity of wealth between social classes has the Golden Dawn nervously avoiding eye contact with their Vice-Captain and latest recruit (Yuno)

“Either you all pay your bit, or thank the Captain every day for the rest of your lives,” Castor told the squad dryly. “With over 200 total plates ordered, not counting dessert and drinks, the bill is over 400 000 yul.”

(Yul is equal to yen, or cent)

For this big of a group, it was actually not a bad deal at all. It was very cheap, actually. Any noble would say this was nothing.

But their Vice-Captain was a commoner, a cheapskate, and a scary person, so they kept their mouths shut. 400 000 yul was a substantial amount for a commoner - and chump change to a noble - so of course it'd be a lot to their Vice-Captain.

“... What's the total combining everything we ordered?” David hedged, trying not to sound too curious, because he knew he wasn't supposed to act like that was an easy number any of them could pay off.

“650 000 yul,” Castor deadpanned. “Do you have enough cash on-hand for that?” He gave William a flat look.

“Thank you, Captain.” Yuno actually bowed his head deeply to William. Unlike the others, he actually understood the weight of that amount, having grown up a peasant; they had to beg the village chief for tatoes through the winter. That much money could renovate the church and provide enough tatoes for a decade.

Yuno was even more money-conscious than Castor, because while Castor was the average commoner, Yuno was a peasant even among peasants.

“........”

So the nobles all kept their mouths shut, in the face of the bowing, grateful peasant, and the unimpressed commoner who just told them to be grateful for the rest of their lives, over what counted as their weekly childhood allowance.

“I know it's the monthly pay for a low-ranked knight,” Castor drawled, “but don't forget knights are paid extremely well. This is still a lot of money.”

“..... S-Sure……” David finally spoke on all their behalf, voice meek.

Their Vice-Captain is the only one concerned with keeping property damage to a minimum. This specific invasion on Kiten is Incident #192

“YOU TELL ME TO TONE IT DOWN ALL THE TIME WHEN YOU ALWAYS PULL THIS SHIT?!”

“Oh, the bocchan’s mad,” Yami commented, as his voice rang clearly from below without the aid of any sorts of magic.

“I'm sure he’s talking to someone else,” William said too calmly.

“WILLIAM VANGEANCE!!!!”

“.... I don't suppose you'd mind us staying up here a bit longer?” he asked, awfully serene. Yami would even fall for it... if his Ki wasn't saying his stomach dropped. It'd be the closest he see him to shitting his pants, and honestly, that meant Castor must've been doing things right.

“FACE ME LIKE A MAN OR I'LL COME UP THERE MYSELF!!!”

“I don't think it matters either way,” Yami admitted, scratching the back of his neck with a finger, before raising a hand in half-prayer. “My condolences for your death, Goldie. Your Vice-Captain is a beast.”

“Please don't joke about that..”

###

Langris smiled in satisfaction, watching as the apartment complex came crashing down, thanks to his magic.

Well… half of it. Thanks to his magic erasing the rest from existence.

“YOU TELL ME TO TONE IT DOWN ALL THE TIME WHEN YOU ALWAYS PULL THIS SHIT?!”

Said smile abruptly stiffened, and he immediately began sweating, as the bellow of rage cracked through the air.

“WILLIAM VANGEANCE!!!!”

“Oh, thank the stars,” Langris breathed out in relief, finding he wasn't the target of their Vice-Captain's ire. He laid a hand over his chest, where his heart was thumping.

“FACE ME LIKE A MAN OR I'LL COME UP THERE MYSELF!!!”

“Thank you for your sacrifice, Captain. I'll pledge you my desserts for a week,” Langris swore, doing a three-leaf salute in the direction of the otherworldly tree.

###

“YOU TELL ME TO TONE IT DOWN ALL THE TIME WHEN YOU ALWAYS PULL THIS SHIT?!”

Yuno's entire body flinched, having just destroyed a large chunk of the border wall in his attack.

I'm so dead..

“WILLIAM VANGEANCE!!!!”

Oh, I'm alive.

“FACE ME LIKE A MAN OR I'LL COME UP THERE MYSELF!!!”

Thank you for the sacrifice, Captain. I'll remember you. Yuno saluted to the large tree with a little sparkle.

“W-W-W-Who's that angry voice?!” Sylph chattered, pulling on the cloth of Yuno's shoulder. “Y-Y-Yuno, hurry up and use my powers! This is dangerous!”

Yuno kept up his salute for two seconds longer before dropping it, and shaking his head.

“It's fine. He's not mad at us,” he said.

He would, in fact, be mad at them.

CRACK!

“That didn't sound good,” Yuno muttered.

They assumed it was the sound of a blood vessel rupturing in the Vice-Captain.. or maybe it was actually the well-timed fountain collapsing to their left.

CRACK CRACK CRACK!!!

Langris winced, slowly backpedalling from the frozen Vice-Captain.

The scream he let out made them think he was having an aneurysm. Which, honestly, didn't seem like a farfetched idea.

The topic of William having a "twin" they've never met

“You have a twin I don't know about?” Castor repeated, incredulous. “But I've seen you naked-”

“-Please don't bring that up-”

“-and we've been stuck together since you started the Golden Dawn. How would I not know? I even know about the mole you have on your-”

“Please stop talking.”

“-and the time you were little, you-”

“Castor!”

Alecdora and Langris are signed up and registered by Castor to run a marathon for the sake of a mission

Alecdora sipped his water through a straw, Castor dealing with the organizers in the customer service booth for them.

“You can't cancel the event! A homeless little boy is depending on the cash prize!”

“BLFFFT.”

The water was immediately spat out as he turned his head to the side.

“I-I’m Sirgnal,” Langris stuttered, forced to play along, while Alecdora coughed incessantly in the background. “I-I’m 13, and I never learned how to read.”

“See?!”

The volunteer squinted. “He doesn't look that little-”

Castor dramatically slammed his hands on the table. “You have to let him run! He needs the money to pay a mage that'll turn his mother back from a toad!”

“You keep talking about my mother, I swear to-”

“You can't let his dreams turn to ash!” Castor wailed. He fell, actually fell, to his knees in front of the table, hands clasped together in supplication. “You gotta help us, man! Please, please, please!!”

How the hell is this our Vice-Captain?!

“Fine, fine!" the volunteer snapped. "I'll see what I can do. Stop begging already.”

Alecdora can't be nostalgic and reminisce over the mission that led to him devoting his grimoire to William because they always troll him

"It was a few years ago, during a mission," Alecdora began.

"Was it the mission where you got bit in the ass by a little kid?" David guessed, leaning on the table.

"No, that's a different one. It was-"

"I bet it was the time he had to escort a kindergarten class," Langris challenged.

"Those were the same mission," Castor called out from the kitchen. "Try the one where he got his cape stuck on a tree and had to hang for seven hours!"

"That wasn't a mission, that was him coming back from a mission!" David hollered back. "Alecdora, be honest; was it the mission where you accidentally slapped the Heart Kingdom's queen and almost got eviscerated?" he asked with a gentle smile.

"No- you know what? Memory gone. Come back another day."

"No, wait! I need to know it!"

"No you don't."

"But how will we know why you like the Captain so much?" Langris asked heatedly. "The Vice-Captain is literally baking your birthday cake right now in the shape of the Captain's mask."

Alecdora and Yuno have different gods. This almost scares off the new recruit from their squad.

"I see you're the only one who prays before you eat," Alecdora stated, sitting across from Yuno. "Do you pray to our Lord Vangeance, like I do?"

"....... I pray to God," Yuno said. "The normal, one and only, God."

"So Lord Vangeance, yes?!"

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ourpickwickclub · 1 year ago

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If you believe in karma (which I most certainly do) ML got a huge dose of it after Blake discovered her cheating, pretty dam quickly divorced her and then ended up dating/marrying Gwen (someone ML admired and who tops her fame 10 fold). Icing on the cake, she had to settle for toothy whom it appears she bought out in some kind of strange arrangement after a few weeks(def not a love connection) and he’s as philandering and sleazy as she is. Two of kind😂

According to Blake and Gwen’s pretty in our faces Easter eggs from over the years, they both found out about their spouses cheating in February 2015, and neither walked out right away. Looking at Blake’s posts and things he said between Feb 2015 and when he filed in July 2015, he spent 5 months trying to make it work after he knew about ML’s 18 month affair with Ryan Westbrook. He even bought a house with her in Brentwood, TN to try to give her more Nashville time despite the fact that she had agreed to make OK the martial home, I think.

My point is, he gave her a lot, he forgave her a lot, and he tried hard to make it work until (I believe) he found out she was sleeping with Anderson East whom she met recording Dave Cobb’s Southern Family. I think then, he was done. And she will never have someone who cares about her and fights for her like that again. She didn’t deserve it and she certainly doesn’t have it with her latest husband/dependent. Even her dependent has dependents she has to pay monthly now. She pays a big price to have her saving face ‘husband’ around.

And Gwen has also always eluded to the fact that there is more to her story than the nanny stuff. She said, if people knew what really happened they wouldn’t believe it, that it was a CRAZY, crazy, even juicy type story because it is so insane, but that she wouldn’t tell it for the sake of her kids. Gwen always has seen Blake for the prize he is. She acted quick (imo) when she found out Blake was single again. I’m certain that she already had things underway to divorce GR, but imagine hearing your hot, handsome, funny, talented co-worker is also divorcing. She knew a million women would be after Blake soon. And I’m sure he realized the same thing about Gwen.

They both slammed those doors to their exes shut and never looked back. And 9 years later they are still goofballs in love. And the exes are bitter af.

- B

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callsignspark · 2 years ago

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Mar[r]y Me - part 8.5.2

pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Mariella “M&M” Vertucci (fem!OC)

summary: A love story told through friendship, laughter, and food.

series warnings: 18+ minors DNI, discussion of insecurities, difficult family relationships, discussions of food and alcohol use, discussions of body image, conversations on what it’s like to be a fat woman trying to date in today’s society, extreme fluff, like soooo much flirting, warnings to be added as needed

word count: 3.6k

previous part | series masterlist | main masterlist

note: happy Friday! I hope everyone had lovely holidays and 2024 is going well for you so far! I did have some issues tagging people so apologizes if you didn't notified! I really loved writing this chapter, especially since it's going to help set the stage for the rest of the story! (only 4 more parts to go! isn't that crazy??) please be safe if you have snow coming towards you this weekend, and enjoy these two pining and yearning for each other more than ever.

part 8.5.2 - rambling and rings

Friday, April 16, 2021

Mary waves at the obnoxiously large SUV as Slider honks and drives away. Leaning against the entryway table, she slips her heels off and wiggles her painted toes at the feeling of the soft runner beneath her feet. Shuffling over to the entertainment console, she hums as she connects her phone, choosing the song that was on in the car.

The dreamy guitar intro floats through the air, making her smile. And the last beams of golden sunshine disappear as she dances through the living room, enjoying the peaceful feeling that’s settled in her chest and closing the blinds in between twirls.

Good things are happening at work, rumbles that there’s a promotion coming on the horizon. The monthly call back home to her parents hadn’t ended in tears for the first time in months. Most of her evenings are spent in the company of at least one Dagger family member, helping Kris and Dani with their kids or enjoying the adult-only life with Aaron and Flora. Bradley is messaging her as often as he can, every email making her heart flutter, increasing her joy with every sentence he types.

Everything is coming together in ways she had never even dared to dream about.

An early dinner with Ron, Mav, and Penny was the cherry on top of a great week. The four of them laughing and telling stories the entire time, taking advantage of the warm spring weather at the patio table Pete had reserved for Slider’s birthday. As stories and photos were traded across the table, Mary felt like her heart could burst learning about baby Bradley. The only quiet moment of the evening was when their waiter brought an unordered round of drinks to the table, prompting the men to venture inside and thank the old Navy buddy that had spotted them through the window.

“Thank you, Matt; it was getting just a tiny bit too windy for us.”

“No problem, ma’am.” The young man smiles over his shoulder as he finishes turning the outdoor heater on. “Can I get you ladies anything else?”

“I think we’re good for now, thank you,” Penny answers, glancing at Mary, softening at the sight of the younger woman lost in thought as she stares out at the ocean with a content smile.

She watches as brown eyes drift from the water to the table, gentle fingers tracing over a copy of a photo that’s older than the girl studying it. Penny stays quiet, letting the sound of waves crashing on the sand accompany the slight furrow that creases Mary’s brow as she brings the photo closer to her face.

“He looks just like his dad, doesn’t he?”

“He does; he acts a lot like him, too, more than he realizes.”

“You knew him?” It’s not a surprised reaction, just curious.

Penny hums, “We weren’t close, but I knew him enough to see how much Bradley has turned out like him. He’s a good blend of both his parents.”

“Did you know Carole very well?”

“More than Nick, by default, but for the most part, we were at different stages in life. She was older than me by a few years. I was in college and she was a widow raising a toddler. But, as you know, the aviator community is pretty small, so we were friendly. I would even babysit Bradley sometimes when the guys were deployed.”

“He was a cute baby,” Mary says softly, eyes back on the last photo taken of the whole Bradshaw family.

“He was… turned out to be a handsome man, didn’t he?” Penny asks, taking advantage of the moment.

She smirks as the younger woman looks up at her through her lashes, a shy smile stretching her pink cheeks. “He did.”

“Can I ask you something while they’re still inside?”

“We’re not together. But we are going on a date the week after he gets back.” Now it’s Mary’s turn to smirk at how Penny’s eyebrows rocket up to her hairline. “That is what you were going to ask me, right?”

“It’s close enough. Are you excited?”

“I am. I really like him.”

It’s the first time she admitted it out loud to anyone other than her best friend. She revels in the encouraging energy and words Penny gives back, both of them still giggling like school girls when Pete and Ron return.

“What are you two laughing about?” Slider asks as he slips Mary’s wrap over her shoulders.

“Oh, nothing.” When Penny winks, she has the overwhelming urge to cry. The knowing look accompanying those two words is more affectionate and maternal than anything her mother has done in years.

Their hug goodbye lasts a few seconds longer than expected, and the gentle hands that smooth some stray hairs back make her throat tighten. Slider is quiet on the ride home; familiar with the many moods of Mary, he lets her work through her thoughts with the radio on low.

“Y’okay, kid?” He doesn’t speak until he pulls into her neighborhood, giving himself a five-block buffer to determine if a pit stop to the closest ice cream shop is required.

“Yeah. Just-” Mary pauses, trying to figure out how to best explain. “Just still getting used to it.”

“To what?”

“To how easy it is to just be me out here. Surrounded by people who have just folded me into their lives with zero hesitation, like I’ve always been here.”

“Mary, were you happy in Florida?”

“I was content. Getting to know you helped with that a lot, but let’s face it; if I was happy, I wouldn’t have been so excited to leave.”

“And you’re happy now?”

“I am. I can’t remember the last time I was this happy.”

It's a cheesy line, but true. She knew that when she said it, accepting the light teasing that followed with a smile. One that hadn’t left her face as she said goodbye to her mentor, one that grows as the song starts again. She can’t help how big her grin gets. This song always reminds her of Bradley.

“I'm in love, I'm alive. I belong to the stars and sky.”

Letting the song stay on repeat, Mary stops in the kitchen for some water on her way to the bedroom. It’s still early - not even eight yet - but a full night’s sleep is calling her name, eyelids feeling heavy.

She slips her clothes off, folding the jeans for tomorrow and tossing her shirt in the laundry. A small groan of relief accompanies the unclasping of her bra before she slings it into the hamper. Turning the bedroom speakers down slightly as she enters the bathroom, a grimace instantly creases her face when she catches sight of herself in the mirror.

“Jesus…” Her disbelief echoes in the room as gentle fingers rub over the harsh red lines where her clothes dug into her skin. It’s evident where the waistband of her jeans sat all day. And the tender spots under her arms lets her know it’s time to look for better-fitting bras, again. Mary tugs the leg of her panties up, relieved to see at least one piece of clothing hasn’t left its mark.

She’s massaging the sore spots on her chest, letting her warm hands diminish the pain, when her phone rings. Her eyebrows furrow deeper at the unknown number flashing across the screen.

Usually, at this time of night, she’d ignore an unknown number and let the other person leave a voicemail, but something in her gut tells her to pick up before it’s too late.

“Hello?” There’s a muffled response, and she scrambles to disconnect her phone from the speakers. “Hello? Can you hear me?”

“Hello, ma’am. Can I speak to Mariella Vertucci?”

“May I ask who’s calling?”

“This is Lieutenant Corso in the communications bay on the USS Roosevelt. Can you confirm your identity with your full name, birthday, and the eight-digit code given to you by Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw?”

Mary’s heart stops for a second. This is it. Bradley is calling. She’s going to get to talk to him after forty-eight days. Hear his voice. See his face.

“Ma’am?”

“Sorry. Mariella Theresa Vertucci, born March 14, 1987. The code is 0125-2020.”

“Thank you, ma’am. One minute, please.” The soft clacking of a keyboard filters through the phone, the Lieutenant's tongue clicking as he types. “You’ve been verified. Does the phone you’re using have video chat capabilities.”

“It does, Lieutenant.”

“Excellent. Stay on the line, and in a few minutes, a video chat will come through with Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw. You have been allotted 30 minutes today. I am required to remind you that communication is not secure. This means, for security purposes, you cannot ask what time of day it is, what location, or how any missions have gone. Please confirm that you understand.”

“I understand.”

“Thank you. I am also required to let you know that this video chat is conducted in a private area and will not be monitored. However, the audio will be recorded, so any lewd acts are discouraged but not forbidden.”

Mary can’t help the snort that escapes. “But not forbidden?”

“Uh- the uh-” She smothers a chuckle at how the kid trips over his words. “The Navy understands that loved ones are apart for long periods of time and can’t forbid any uh- urges that couples may wish to act upon during their chats. But we are legally required to inform everyone of the recording.”

“Ah, I see. Thank you, Lieutenant.”

“No problem, ma’am. Please stay on the line, and your loved one will be joining shortly.” She giggles at how quickly the hold music starts, humming along to Anchors Aweigh as she clips her hair up, ready to take her makeup off. She’s about to wet a washcloth when the music cuts, and the video call comes through.

Taking a second to look herself over, Mary admires the tendrils that have escaped, perfectly framing her cheeks that are still flushed from the wine she had with dinner. The slightest bit still tipsy and a little frazzled about Bradley, she realizes just in time that she’s still only in her underwear, hitting the accept button and dropping the phone on the counter.

“One second! Just- oh, come on! Fuck!” She curses under her breath as she struggles to slip into her bathrobe. “Hang on, Bradley!”

Finally getting both arms in, she ties the robe, eyebrows raising in surprise at how it cinches her waist, before eagerly grabbing her phone.

“Hi, Mary.”

“Hi, Bradley.”

She greedily drinks him in. It’s been 48 days since she’s seen his handsome face or heard his warm voice - the longest since they met - and she’s missed him. Her heart clenches at how tired he looks, the bags under his eyes more pronounced than ever.

“Hi, honey.” The sweet name hits something deep inside, and she can’t help the tears that immediately form or the way her bottom lip wobbles. “Oh, shit, Mary. Please don’t cry, honey.”

The emotional reaction surprises even her; she was expecting to be a bit overwhelmed, but nothing like this. It makes her feel a little ridiculous, crying about a man she’s barely even kissed. But you love him, her brain chimes in, sending more heat to her face.

“This is your uncle’s fault!” She laughs, swiping tears away and propping her phone against the mirror.

“Mav?”

She can’t help but giggle at his disbelieving tone as she reaches for a tissue. “No, Slider. He’s in town this week, and he may or may not - but definitely did - get me tipsy at dinner, like he always does!”

She trills on about dinner, telling him about the childhood stories that were shared and the baby photos that now live on her phone, not noticing the look on his face until he interrupts.

“You getting in the shower, Mary?”

The husky tone immediately grabs all of her attention, a shiver running down her spine at the smoldering look on Bradley’s face. She follows his eyes down, surprised to see how much her robe has come undone. The valley between her breasts is completely visible, and the fabric is threatening to expose her belly button - and more - if it’s not fixed.

“Oops…” She mumbles to herself, tightening the robe so much it pushes her cleavage together.

Normally, this is where her insecurities would ruin the moment - flooding her brain with terrible things. Make her spend the rest of the call analyzing how she looks in the tiny corner box, agonizing how prominent her double chin is from this angle. But the soft fuck that crackles through the phone squashes the anxieties before they can take root, shifting her attention to admire the man looking back at her.

And god, he is a man.

Bradley Bradshaw has always been gorgeous: tall, strong, and deliciously tan. But mid-deployment Bradley Bradshaw is a vicious attack to the senses. And the hormones.

His broad shoulders have gotten broader, filling the little privacy cubicle in the communications room so much that he’s brushing both sides of the walls. His curls are more golden than usual, clear evidence of time spent flying in the Pacific tropics. His tan is deeper, too, glowing even in the harsh florescent lighting, the bridge of his nose slightly sunburnt. His neatly trimmed mustache moves with his lush pink lips, warmth building in her core as her thoughts drift to the memory of how they felt pressed against hers.

“Mary?” She hums, eyes focusing back into the present and away from her favorite post-deployment reunion fantasy. “Whatcha thinking about?”

“You.”

It's clear he wasn’t expecting that answer from the way he drags a hand over his mouth to muffle a cruse, his eyes scrunching shut.

She wasn’t expecting it either; the effects of the wine have mostly worn off, leaving her with flushed cheeks and apparently a slightly looser tongue. She can’t bring herself to be embarrassed about the overly honest answer. Communicating exclusively via email for the last month and a half has allowed Mary to gain confidence in Bradley’s feelings. It’s hard to wonder about his intentions when every email ends with him telling her how many days are left until he’s home.

“Your lips…” She continues, emboldened as the last remnants of wine soften the sharp edges of her insecurities and the pink working its way up his neck. She loves how easily Bradley blushes for her. Their few kisses have always ended with his cheeks a lovely, rosy shade. “How soft your hair is. Your mustache. How strong you are. How much I miss you…”

The words make them both pause. It’s not an uncommon phrase, every email containing some variation of the sentiment, but hearing the words out loud makes it real. Cementing the longing in their chests.

“I miss you, too.” The words are quiet, echoing against the tiled walls. She chuckles, throat thick with emotion, and Bradley can’t look away from her soft smile. His heart pounding at the emotion on her face, something he can’t quite place. He can’t stop staring as she picks the phone up and flicks the light off, “Where are we going?”

“Couch.”

He smiles as the familiar walls of her living room appear, grin going slack when she props him up on the side table, and the slit of her robe reveals a thigh that he’s dreamt about as she shuffles pillows. Bradley manages to pull his mind out of his post-deployment fantasy as she plops on her couch - that damn pink couch - and smiles at him over the arm, her eyes almost closing she grins so hard.

“I’m sorry I missed our call.”

“It’s okay, Bradley. I knew it was a possibility, and Mav let me know what was going on. I understand.”

“I want to hear about your birthday.”

“I told you about my birthday! We’ve discussed it extensively.”

“I still want to hear about it. I want to hear your voice.” He revels as she softly whines and smooshes her face into a pillow, thrilled to cause that reaction. “C’mon, please, Mary?”

“You’re not fighting fair.” The muffled complaint comes back, making him laugh, but she does as asked.

Bradley listens, humming along as she recounts her birthday for him and insisting for the hundredth time that it was his pleasure to give her presents. He lets her lead the conversation as it shifts to what’s happening in San Diego, content to watch her as she shares stories of what he’s missing at home. Happy to just admire her and occasionally ask questions.

It’s so easy to get lost looking at her. Dark hair swishing around her shoulders, just slightly shorter than it was in February. Her brown eyes look darker than usual, the low light in the room making them almost black instead of the warm brown he’s used to staring into. And despite resecuring the robe, it’s coming loose again, enough that the top curve of her breasts are visible; freckles dotted all over, disappearing beneath the baby blue fabric. Bradley thinks about what it would be like to connect the dots on her soft skin, tracing invisible lines with his fingers or lips. He imagines there’s more hiding behind the waffle material. He wonders if she’d let him find out.

The fantasy of how wonderful it would be to memorize every mark on her body is interrupted as red nail polish grabs his attention. He loves her hands, smaller than his but so strong when she’s working on a jet. Steady as she calls out instructions to her team, grease smeared up to her elbows and her nail color of the week shining through the black sludge. Mary insists that she doesn’t talk with her hands, that she managed to avoid that stereotypical Italian-American trait, but Bradley smirks as her hands swirl through the air. He’s about to interrupt the story she’s giggling through - something about the latest swear word that Danielle accidentally taught Annie - when something sparkly on her finger distracts him.

A ring.

A diamond ring.

A simple silver band lined with tiny diamonds.

On her ring finger.

On her left ring finger.

His eyebrows furrow as he tries to study the never-before-seen piece of jewelry. Mary must notice his confusion because she cuts her story off and flashes her hand at the camera. “I bought this for myself when I got promoted for the first time. I went from EI to EII, which is entry-level engineer to associate engineer. It was $50 from this little shop that was on the same block as my first solo apartment in St. Louis.”

Relief sweeps through his body, thrilled that Mary hadn’t gotten engaged with him.

“That’s awesome. Have you done that every time you’ve moved up?”

“Kinda? I always buy myself some sort of gift - last time, I splurged and got that big blender we used at the Christmas party. But I’ve only done jewelry a few times. I think I’m going to get a necklace next time, something to match this.” She explains, wiggling her fingers so the gems shimmer in the camera.

“It’s very pretty.” Bradley compliments, feeling bold enough to go further. “You look good with a ring on that finger.”

“Jesus, Brad-”

She’s cut off by the two-minute alert popping up. They had been so distracted they weren’t paying attention to the countdown timer.

“Already?” Mary pouts, forehead crinkling as she frowns. “But I didn’t get to ask you about carrier food.

“It’s bad, honey. Yours is so much better.”

“Or how you’re sleeping.”

“Reuben’s snoring has somehow gotten even louder since last time we shared a bunkroom; Bob, Mickey, and I owe you for the extra earplugs you sent.”

“You’re sunburnt.”

“I’m wearing the sunscreen you gave me; the sun is just strong.”

“I knew I should have sent the SPF 75!” Bradley smiles as Mary throws her head back in faux despair. “Oh well, now I know for next time, I guess.”

“Next time?”

“Yeah. You didn’t think I’d only send you a care package one time, did you? I gotta make sure you have everything you need. I know I missed some stuff this time, but I’ll get better in the future! I promise.”

I love you.

He just barely holds the words in.

“God, I fucking miss you.” He stares at the screen, watching the prettiest brown eyes in the world fill with tears at his words. “Oh, honey, please don’t cry. I’ll be home so soon.”

“But twenty-four days is such a long time, and I miss you so much.”

“I know, but we’ve already done 48 days. Twenty-four will be a breeze to get through.” The timer starts blinking, the last 60 seconds counting down. “I gotta get going, Mary. But you keep sending me flirty emails so I have something to read and think about.”

He chuckles at the little surprised noise she makes. “You noticed that?”

“Did I notice that? Mariella, in the kindest way, you are not subtle.”

“Well- I-” She splutters. “Neither are you!”

“I’m not trying to be, baby doll,” Bradley revels in her reaction to the pet name - mouth dropping open as she blinks at him, cheeks pinker than he’s ever seen - one he didn’t even mean to use.

The flustered hand she waves at the camera while yelling at him makes him laugh. “Bradley!”

“I would say I’m sorry, but I’m not. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Be safe. Only 24 days.”

“Only 24 days.”

“I miss you, handsome.”

Bradley's face feels hot, choked up at the look in her eyes, the softness of her words. “I miss you, too, baby doll.”

They don’t say goodbye, choosing to admire each other as the final seconds tick away.

5…

I can’t wait to see you in person.

4…

God, you’re so gorgeous.

3…

I don’t want to hang up.

2…

I miss you.

1…

I love you.

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fic tag | credit for dividers here

#top gun maverick fic #top gun maverick au #top gun maverick imagine #top gun fic #top gun au #top gun imagine #bradley rooster bradshaw fic #bradley bradshaw imagine #bradley bradshaw fic #bradley rooster bradshaw x oc #bradley bradshaw x oc #rooster imagine #DSS universe #MM fic #mar[r]y me fic #elle writes

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nothingunrealistic · 3 months ago

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Unlikely San Francisco neighborhood gets its closeup in highly anticipated new indie movie

SFGATE assistant local editor Amanda Bartlett interviewed director Elena Oxman about her new San Francisco-set indie drama, 'Outerlands'

It’s a familiar commute — one I used to take home to my studio apartment nearly every day in San Francisco’s Richmond District. Once you leave downtown, it gets darker, foggier. You make your way into the lonely thoroughfare barreling through the underbelly of Geary and Masonic, past bodies buried beneath the Target — formerly the site of San Francisco’s oldest cemetery — and the abandoned Lucky Penny diner in the shadow of a Trader Joe’s. Mattress stores, blinking neon signs, churches and dive bars blur together as you zip toward the western edge of the continent and, seemingly, the end of everything. The meditative view is one of the establishing shots of the highly anticipated new indie drama “Outerlands.” The closing night film at SFFILM festival this Sunday is the quietly devastating yet tender debut feature of director Elena Oxman, who moved to San Francisco in 2011 and went on her first date with her eventual wife in the neighborhood, where she also shot her short film, “Lit.”

“It’s underappreciated,” Oxman told me over the phone, referring to the tunnel she also traveled through often to get to her misty destination. “It’s got this amazing light that snakes through, and you feel this energetic transition as you come out on the other side. There’s something very romantic about how it looks at night — the older parts of the city you don’t always see on film.” Nostalgia for the NES games she grew up playing as a kid on the East Coast and nights out at Hamburger Haven and the Bitter End in part inspired Oxman’s coming-of-age film, which intricately captures the nuances of trying to make it work on the fringes of a changing city. “Outerlands” follows Cass (Asia Kate Dillon of “Billions”), a newcomer to San Francisco who is juggling gigs as a nanny, a waiter at Tosca Cafe and a party drug dealer just to barely make monthly rent at their shoebox of an apartment. When they discover their coworker Kalli (Louisa Krause) lives nearby after they bump into one another at the laundromat, sparks fly, and they spend the night together. The next morning, Kalli is gone, but she calls Cass up to ask for a favor: if they can watch her 12-year-old daughter, Ari, for a couple of days while she takes a job out of town. With a little reluctance, Cass agrees, and Ari (a knockout performance from Ridley Asha Bateman) seems unfazed by the shakeup in her routine as she moves in with them — it’s clear this isn’t the first time this has happened. Over time, Cass starts to crack through Ari’s stoic exterior, and the duo bond over their shared love of video games. But as days pass and Kalli fails to return, Cass realizes they might have more in common with Ari than they thought, and are forced to reckon with the childhood they’ve been running away from. It’s a captivating, slow burn of a film that gently balances the emotional heaviness of topics like family isolation and addiction with compassion and hope for its characters.

“Thematically, I was interested in this idea that we all have kids inside of us — younger selves we forget about,” Oxman said. “We come to a point where we connect with those kids more, as we find the courage to put down the protective walls we build and face the tender and vulnerable parts of ourselves. I wanted this film to show what happens when that portal to the past opens up.” Last year, locals may have noticed when the film with then-working title “Project Brick Breaker” (likely an allusion to the “Pong”-adjacent game Cass is seen playing throughout the film on their phone) shut down parts of Clement Street. During the approximately three-week shoot, it closed one of the oldest diners in the city, Hamburger Haven, and Free Gold Watch, the pinball arcade in the Haight. Other scenes were shot near Kelly’s Cove on Ocean Beach, the Anza and Sunset branches of the San Francisco Public Library, and Sparkle Laundry Services on Balboa Street. “I don’t know anyone who would say making an indie film is not challenging. You are not sleeping,” Oxman said with a laugh. “But what made our film uniquely challenging was that we had over 30 locations and were running between them every day. The pace of the shoot was really fast. But it speaks to the quality of the actors, who had little time to rehearse and delivered these great performances.”

When Oxman moved to San Francisco, the city was in a period of upheaval. Twitter was plotting its move downtown. The historic lesbian bar the Lexington Club was about to close. Her wife and friends were facing housing instability, and many of them left altogether. While such changes aren’t the explicit subject of “Outerlands,” Oxman said they informed the emotional tone of the film, inspiring her to create a bit of a documentary-style time capsule showcasing the places she loved before they potentially disappeared. (She mentioned going to scout an arcade in the Japantown mall, only to find that it was already gone.) An early scene where Cass is longingly looking into the window of a queer bar where they once found community and formed their identity, now dark and empty, felt poignant intercut with later shots of glass homes and huge cranes looming over downtown skyscrapers. “I wanted the images of the city to evoke a sense of loss and longing that mirrors what Cass is feeling internally,” Oxman said. “The faded apartment buildings, diners, dive bars, corner stores and churches we shot suggest a certain way of being in the world, or a certain world of being that has become fragile and is therefore charged with a kind of beauty, reminding us of how fragile and subject to change things always are.”

Yet, there’s a quality of resilience in Cass that viewers might also find within themselves. Oxman said that when she started making “Outerlands,” she had no idea where the country would be when the film was released. Now more than ever, she hopes it resonates. “To me, film is a sacred form of perception, of revealing the world around us and letting it speak for itself,” she said. “There’s no particular message, but I hope people connect with this idea of peeling back the layers and having a willingness to open up. If that touches them, I feel like I shared something I wanted to.”

#outerlands #elena oxman #asia kate dillon

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eli-writes-sometimes · 3 months ago

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Finding the Write Time - "We have to try"

I'm taking part in @did-i-do-this-write's monthly challenge, Finding the Write Time!

This month, the prompt was "We have to try", and even though I'm submitting this at the last minute, I still managed to have some fun with writing some backstory for Phoenix and the Band taking part in the Karaoke Kontest!

I let this idea brew for a while, but I managed to plan and write it in about 45 minutes, so I'm happy!

I'm starting to like it here at the A.R.A. - I've managed to work my way into the others' lives, ad they've made their way into mine.

As I think about this, lying on the couch with a sci-fi book, I can hear Niamh training, Riley on a call with a senior agent, and Ash and Kai laughing at some episode or another of what I assume to be Doctor Who. The realization that I understand these people and know as much as I can about all of them isn't an unpleasant one, and I feel a small smile creep its way across my face as the thought develops.

Of course it's this moment that someone chooses to knock on the door.

"Phoenix, could you get that?" Riley's voice echoes from the back room, and I shout a confirmation as I pull myself up.

Stumbling towards the front door of the "Lair" as the blood returns to my legs, I reach for the handle and just manage to wrench it open in time to see a flash of orange hair disappear round the far corner at the end of the hall.

"Hey! Was that- oh they're gone." I give up on shouting after whoever it was just as quickly as the words leave my mouth.

I'm about to shut the door when a small spark of neon yellow catches my eye. Below me is a small flyer, with bright colours and a cartoon microphone almost leaping off the page.

"What the..." I mutter as I bend down to pick it up. It's nice quality paper, and the colours are even more striking up close.

Above the microphone are emblazoned the words TEAM BUILDING EXERCISE along with a date, time and location - 12/06/25 17:00, Grand Hall.

November 12 - it's in a week. The Grand Hall, though... for as long as I've been here, which I'll admit isn't that long, I've never heard of anywhere like that. It might be offsite, but that seems like a lot of effort for something that doesn't seem compulsory.

"Riley!" I call out as I shut the door, hoping that he's done with whoever he's talking to. "Yeah?" He doesn't seem too annoyed at me shouting for him, so hopefully that means he's done. "Do you know what this means?"

I run into the back room and show him the flyer.

His eyes immediately narrow.

"Where did you get that?" "Uh- I think someone left it outside? It was just lying on the floor outside the door. What is it?" "It- well."

He takes a deep breath, and moves over to one of the chairs in the corner, collapsing on it with a slow exhale.

"Okay, well. So, for the last few years, there's been a monthly event for all the taskforces, organised by my friend Jae - you remember them?"

I nod.

"Right, them. The faculty told them that we - the taskforces, that is - had to all bond somehow, and so they came up with the monthly team building project. We used to participate a lot, but now..." "Oh. Right."

I don't need him to tell me what happened to stop them from taking part

"But what is it?" "It's a-" He looks up at the cieling with a small laugh. "It's a karaoke competition." "Sorry, what?" "You heard me." "And the Band... took part in this? Willingly?"

His eyes flick away from me for a second.

"Not all of us were as- enthusiastic," he starts, clearly choosing his words carefully, "but she made up for all of us." "Oh."

Somehow, it always links back to her. Carmen worked her way into every single part of their lives, and now she's inescapable. Everywhere I look, traces of her memory remain.

"Wait- if Jae's organising this, don't they know that you're not doing it anymore?"

From my admittedly limited interactions with Jae, they seem to really understand Riley and what Carmen's death did to him.

"That's what I thought." Riley sighs and stares at the wall opposite him for a minute.

It doesn't look like I'm getting any more information out of him, so I wander out of the back room into the lab, where Ash and Kai are still watching Doctor Who, Kai lying on top of the couch with Ash sitting cross-legged on it in front of him.

"Hey guys?" I start. "Yeah?" Kai glances over and points his "screwdriver" - apparently a glorified TV remote - at the screen, pausing the episode as I walk over. "Do you guys have any idea why someone would leave this in front of the door?"

I hold up the "team building" flyer, and I see Kai's eyes widen for a second.

"Is that-" He looks from the flyer, to Ash, to me, back to the flyer. "Yeah. I asked Riley what it was, he told me it was some kind of karaoke thing?" "Shit..." Ash sighs.

"Someone left that outside?" Kai asks. "Yeah. I didn't see who it was." I shrug. "Huh..." He tilts his head to the side slightly, thinking about it.

"Do you have any idea who it might have been?" I ask, but he shakes his head. "Could be someone trying to fuck with Riley. Might not be an actual invitation." "Is there any chance it might actually be? A genuine invitation, you know." "It's unlikely..." He starts, but Ash perks up her head with a start and interrupts him.

"Wait-" "Yeah?" Kai jumps. "It might actually be an invitation - if not from Jae, then maybe from someone else? Ollie, maybe?" "Why would anyone want to invite us back? We were pretty clear when we said that we wouldn't be coming back."

Ash shrugs.

"Maybe they heard that we had a new member, thought we'd want to rejoin." "Why would we? It's not like Phoenix is going to jump at the chance to spend one night a month singing random songs with us."

"Can you not talk about me like I'm not here?" I interrupt. "Who says I don't want a part of this?"

I don't really know why I'm encouraging this - it doesn't sound anything like my kind of fun. There's just this thought, somewhere in the back of my mind that somehow... I could bring them back together, the way that Carmen seemed to when she was still around. Some optimistic corner of my mind seems to insist that I could be the one to fix this broken group - and maybe karaoke is the way to do it.

I cringe even as I think it, but the thought won't leave me.

"Do you- want to do the contest?" Kai sounds just as surprised as I feel. "Why not? It might be fun. Especially if you all used to do it, people might like to see you all back doing it, especially now there's a fifth person."

Ash nods. "It's not like we can use the four man band excuse anymore."

I don't know where the courage comes from, but I straighten up and finally decide to stand up for my idea.

"We have to try, right? Someone clearly wants us there, so we might as well take them up on it, don't we?"

Kai's wings bristle as he glances back and forth from me to Ash to the floor.

"I don't know..." he mutters softly, "Riley might not be as enthusiastic about it..."

Ash exhales heavily before pulling herself up and standing beside me.

"You know what?" She says finally. "If you're really serious about this, then we should go for it. Show Jae and Ollie that we're back in business, even if it was some kind of shitty prank." "Seriously?" I can barely believe that she's on my side. "Seriously." She smiles. "I'll handle Riley, don't you worry. You and Kai work on what we're going to sing next week."

Her face breaks into a grin and she lightly punches my shoulder.

"Carmen'd be proud of you, kid."

I try not to show how much that means to me, and I mask my joy with a small smile.

"Let's do this, then."

#exams took it out of me but im happy i managed to get this out :D #eli writes sometimes #five man band #fmb kai #fmb phoenix #fmb riley #fmb ash #fmb writing #finding the write time #writeblr #writeblr challenge #my writing

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dnfao3tags · 2 years ago

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Monthly Fic Roundup - November 2023

i will make separate posts for dnf week fics so look forward to that. here are the regular fics posted this month :]

please take a couple seconds to leave some love !

— noughts & crosses by sageafk (expl. | comp. | 12k)

It's just instincts, but with everyone assuming Dream is an alpha and his sister sharing the news of her new litter of pups, George feels a little short. He needs to be fucked and bred and knotted, and his omega boyfriend will do everything he can to make him feel better.

— There's Hope Out The Window by Scoops (consciousness_streaming) (expl. | comp. | 14k)

Dream and George make a late night run for snacks and end up involved in a gas station robbery that makes them question everything they thought they knew.

— just his luck by dreamskis (expl. | comp. | 11k)

There is no way Dream just walked in on George getting off, evidence still pulled up on the screen in full high definition glory, and instead of doing the normal person thing and leaving to avoid any awkward conversations, he just… Plops himself down. Right on the other end of the couch, just a few feet away from where George is clutching the pillow to his lap for dear life, flames burning in his cheeks. As if this is any other normal interaction for the two of them. Like he walked in on George watching a new episode of Better Call Saul and not Brunet Twink is a Cock-Hungry Slut: Part II.

— you're not a friend again by cqfnce (mat. | comp. | 7k)

Dream blinks at him, big eyes wide. “George… That’s not how- Kissing does not work like that.” “So you’re good at kissing then?” George teases. Dream grins. “The best, actually.” “Prove it,” George replies, the words on the edge of his tongue since the conversation had started.

— tried and true blue by twostorms (expl. | comp. | 13k)

Sapnap decides to move out. George isn't sure what that means for him and Dream.

— just go home by hardtofindneuro (expl. | comp. | 14k)

Dream's busy and always expects George to change around the plans for him but George is tired of it. When George refuses to budge on his birthday plans, Dream tells him the one thing that makes him regret even coming to America in the first place.

— Can You Hear Me? by VicIsWriting (expl. | comp. | 12k)

He's pictured it a million different ways, maybe Dream meets him in the airport and they run into each other's arms while all the busy noise of Orlando International Airport melts away– and all they can hear is I love you radiating through their souls. It didn’t happen like that, obviously. Instead it was a driveway and sweltering heat, with Sapnap watching on. It was Dream walking out looking like a damn god with the sun glowing behind him, it’s an awkward hug and an unfamiliar smell.

— teach you how forever feels like by jack_not_found (mat. | comp. | 27k)

a spontaneous match on a dating app leads to the best thing that's ever happened to george: dream, and his son.

— goddamn blaze in the dark (you started it) by brokenlikeastitch (teen | comp. | 25k)

This is it, the culmination of seven years of friendship and a little over three years of…something else. George’s lips part, expectant, and just as he’s about to push forward and join them entirely, the kitchen light flips on. It’s abrupt the way the bubble around them pops, and Dream flinches back, startled at the interruption. George immediately feels colder, and his stomach sinks. So fucking close.

— time’s uncertain wing by snowdreamr (teen | comp. | 14k)

On loneliness and distance, but above all else, on the agony of being known—inside, out, and all around.

— if i got one thing right by nervouswaltz (teen | comp. | 4k)

George wants to adopt a cat. Dream realizes, with time, that he wants more.

— it's your birthday (make a wish) by newsouls (expl. | comp. | 1k)

In the shower before George's stream, he gets his first birthday gift of the day.

remember, you can always send your own favourites of the month for me to include!

#dnf #dreamnotfound #dreamwastaken #georgenotfound #dnf fanfic recs #dnfao3tags recs #mfr #mfr nov 2023 #monthly fic roundup

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remidyal · 2 years ago

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Bad Ideas of the Day, part 5, Even Worse Edition

It's time for my monthly-ish roundup of my regular bad ideas of the day from the D20 fanfic discord! Last month's is available here and has links back to all the prior ones because now there's too many for me to be bothered direct linking here!

As usual, these are a mix of fantasy high and other D20 prompts and are open for anyone who wants to do something with them, though I appreciate letting me know because I wanna read it!

Bad idea of the day, class swap (but not like that) edition: Due to a clerical error - namely, their cleric signed them up for it - all of the bad kids have to attend each other's classes for a week, resulting in Fabian sitting through a Worlds Religion lecture, Kristen doing her -3 Dex best to sneak around in rogue classes, Gorgug going to the bard classes that Fig never actually went to, Riz doing his best to remember everything Adaine's ever mentioned about how wizarding works, Fig faking fighting instead of raging for once, and Adaine trying to pass off her furious fist as just being how her anger manifests

Bad idea of the day, abc edition: In the village of Happly, at the harvest festival, Pinnochio enters his infamous bubblegum and whiskey pie and gets himself run out of town by a mob of angry villagers

Bad Idea of the Day, Toxic Masculinity is Undead edition: The adventurers of Solace are well aware of Halloween, because every year on that date the soulless corpses of villains slain in the past year rise again to chase after their killers. Can Fabian keep ahead of both Zombie Penelope Everpetal and Zombie Bill Seacaster?

Bad idea of the day, Figueroth Faeth's Day Off edition: Receiving notification halfway through junior year that one more unexcused absence is going to result in her being expelled, Fig drags her friends into a heist to break into the school, fake her attendance record and show that she's been there the whole time.

Bad Idea of the Day, Drama Edition: It turns out that there's a reason that Aguefort has a theater department. Once every hundred years, a performance must be put on that is quote truly moving unquote lest the school be destroyed, and it turns out that Riz is fated to play the heroine of the most recent attempt. Can the Bad Kids teach him to not botch his lines or hide under the stage?

Bad idea of the day, not all cats are good cats: Puss in Boots must fight off a new contender for children's hearts and minds as the trickster cat du dour. Can he successfully murder this strange cat and his lame rhymes and thing-like minions to keep his throne, or will he be the first to fall to seussian influences?

Bad idea of the day, death stalks you edition: Adaine starts sending out Solstice cards to people who annoy her throughout the year with prophecies of their deaths. Most of them she just makes up, but one or two are genuine every year just to mix things up.

Bad idea of the day, World's Greatest Detective edition: Riz is asked to solve a murder that seems to have all the classic detective tropes he truly loves involved; it's only partway through that he realizes that Fabian, with their friends' help, has staged it because they were all worried about Riz getting bored and spiraling between quests.

Bad idea of the day, I know Halloween was two days ago but I rewatched in the mouth of madness recently edition: The Bad Kids come to realize they are being controlled by mysterious and unknowable forces, and reach a decision: To cut off the flow of evil into the world, they are going to need to find and kill whatever a 'DM' is.

Bad idea of the day, I think we've all learned some valuable lessons here edition: The Dream Team realizes some kind of truly awful existence is sweeping over new york, in which every conversation and conflict ends with everyone having picked up a seemingly valuable but really quite shallow moral to the tale; they eventually figure out that it is in fact an attempt by a powerful sorcerer to turn the world into an after school special on this, a very special episode of The Unsleeping City.

Bad idea of the day, No Really A Starstruck ODYSSEY edition: The crew take a smash and grab job investigating missing people near a remote outpost, and discover a mad scientist conducting strange experiments but also offering great hospitality and food. Can the crew of the Wurst figure everything out before the more foolish of them (gunnie) end up as pigs?

Bad idea of the day, just how sure are you about this new god edition: In the summer before junior year, Fig and the Sig Figs record a music video for their new smash single. Watching it for the first time, Saint Kristen Applebees notices something in the video that noone else seems to be able to see: A familiar tabaxi, hanging out in the crowd watching the concert.

Bad idea of the day, that gum you like is going to come back in style edition: Fig at last discovers Porter's one flaw that makes him a truly intimidating barbarian with an unstoppable rage: Students putting chewed gum onto the bottom of their desks.

Bad idea of the day, ashes to ashes edition: Tired of Fig's chainsmoking cloves, Jawbone and Tracker stage an intervention to maybe at least talk her into some sort of rebellious vice that doesn't stink up the home of two werewolves with strong senses of smell at least

Bad idea of the day, my frog is real and so is magic edition: Adaine grows up without spellcasting ability at all until on the morning she starts at Aguefort, when on her way walking to school she runs across a frog who offers her magical powers she might be able to use to improve her life.

Bad Idea of the Day, You Wouldn't Steal a Car edition: Seeking to impress his father, Fabian gets into Solace's new age of piracy, selling illegal copies of movies, music and apps throughout Elmville. Will the lawsuits catch up to him in the end, or can his amass a horde of treasure suitable for a Seacaster?

Bad idea of the day, unfamiliar edition: At Some Point in the future, Jayhson feels a magical tug from afar and appears due to the whims of one of these 'humans' who has summoned a familiar. Can he kill this whizzered and get back to his family?

Bad idea of the day, I shot the Sheriff edition: Riz wakes up one fine morning in his office to discover Agent Angela Worrel came knocking in the night, and one of the traps his paranoid ass has set up for his office has killed her. Can he cover up this capital offense, or will Worrel finally succeed, posthumously, in getting at least one Bad Kid in jail long term?

Bad idea of the day, foreseeable problems edition: The Hangman gets impounded due to a series of unpaid parking tickets, leading Fabian to argue that the Hangman should count as a pet and not a vehicle. This results in him also getting tickets for having his dog off the leash.

Bad idea of the day, Heaven or Hell edition: Following an unfortunate but hopefully temporary death, Figueroth Faeth finds herself at the center of a dispute between the planes that threatens a war, as Hell wants its archdevil but Rock Heaven insists that they have a claim to everyone who has a rock album go platinum. Will this begin a true battle of the bands?

Bad idea of the day, I admit these are getting weirder edition: The bad kids wake up one morning in the midst of a campaign designed by just the worst kind of a DM, with railroaded sidequests, boring samey npcs, and combat every six feet. Can they figure out what's going on and escape back to Spyre before rocks fall and they all die?

Bad idea of the day, Lost Things and Misfit Toys edition: Irritated as hell at the blue fairy after ending up a puppet again, Pinocchio turns not to his new stepmother for power but instead someone else who dislikes the blue fairy, someone else who believes in the occasional misdirection, someone who is pretending to be the blue fairy's sister…. one "Gwendolyn Thistlehop".

Bad idea of the day, the WORST fusion edition: After she goes on a mission trip to parts unknown, all of the bad kids notice that Kristen is acting… odder than normal. This is because (burrow's end spoiler!) she's being piloted by chipmunks, of course.

#fantasy high #burrows end #a starstruck odyssey #never after #dimension 20 #fanfic #prompts

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amenders93 · 2 years ago

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12 Weeks till Chicken Run 2

Love interests in movies (live-action or animated) can start with the simplest thing - the first time the couple ever see each other. Sometimes these first meetings can be romantic, sometimes they can be casual, and other times they can be really awkward. That’s why for the first weekly countdown post of Rocky and Ginger, I’m doing the scene where they first see one another.

This scene starts with Ginger coming out of one of the huts after the secret meeting. She’s frustrated because even though she tries to stay positive that the chickens will be free from the farm soon, it’s hard to when the other chickens are always doubtful and also just not as smart as Ginger is. Ginger starts to pray for a much needed miracle.

Then we hear an explosion and what sounds like someone screaming. Ginger hears the screaming as well and turns in the direction of the sound. She looks up to the sky to see what looks like a rooster flying through the air screaming, “Freedom”. Ginger is truly amazed at seeing another chicken flying over the fence, but what’s even more amazing is that this chicken is a rooster; a rather handsome rooster to boot.

Up in the air, Rocky is soaring over the farm enjoying his freedom and then glances down slightly until something, or someone, catches his eye - a rather pretty hen looking up at him. She chuckles with delight and he gives her a friendly salute.

Looks like a rather friendly first time meeting until it doesn’t end well. Because Rocky wasn’t looking where he’s going, he ends up crashing into the weather vane which spins him around and ends up flying towards the other direction. He then ends up into the power lines which springs him toward the chicken coop. He falls down into the chicken feed through and slides down inside it, then popping out into a couple of flips until he lands on his feet, right in front of Ginger. Rocky seems rather disoriented as he strikes a “ta-da” pose and groggily says, “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. You’ve been a wonderful audience.”

Ginger looks at him a little worried. And if that wasn’t bad enough, when Rocky popped out of the trough, he managed to get it up on one side tipping it over towards him. It then crashes right on top of him, causing him to sprain his left wing and knock him unconscious. A poster then drops from the sky and lands right into Ginger’s hand. After looking at it, she realizes this is the answer to her prayers - this “flying” rooster will teach all the chickens how to fly out of the farm. Hearing the dogs barking and Mr. Tweedy coming, she ushers the other chickens to rush Rocky inside a hut to hide him from the farmers and bandage up his sprained wing.

This first time meeting of love interests is one type of classic example of an awkward meeting. Rocky and Ginger first laid eyes on each other and were impressed with what they saw until it ended badly with one of them getting hurt and knocked out. Despite that incident, every time I see this scene, I cannot help but thinking to myself how they never knew it but they end up seeing their future husband/wife, not to mention the future mother/father of their future daughter as well.

Anyway this is my first weekly Rocky/Ginger moment post commemorating the upcoming sequel to Chicken Run. I hope you enjoyed this post. There will be 11 other posts about the first film coming up in the future as well as 2 monthly posts about the sequel. Waiting for this long-awaited sequel may not be easy but these posts are making it easier as the release date draws nearer.

#chicken run #chicken run 2 #chicken run dawn of the nugget #dawn of the nugget #ginger and rocky #rocky and ginger #rocky #ginger #countdown

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twilightknight17 · 1 year ago

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P3R while I was gone, part 2: featuring unnecessary romantic issues, ride or die, and the last full moon.

In the last two weeks before the end of everything, we visit Fuuka’s class next door, where Natsuki has an announcement to make!

“Goodbye everyone, I’ll remember you all in therapy!” XD

More seriously, though, Fuuka is very upset. But they have a lovely conversation on the roof, and Natsuki promises to keep in touch. It helps Fuuka realize that she finally has real friends and a place to belong, and it leads to her persona evolving.

Juno is cool. ^_^ I like the wings.

I spend my time after school with Bebe to finish off his social link. He’s taking the kimono back to France to show his uncle, in the hopes that he’ll be allowed to continue living in Japan.

I’m not sure how leaving in the middle of the second semester works, but I guess it’s okay?

Considering Maiko, I’m starting to think most of my social links are going to end with people leaving. The bookshop couple didn’t, but like… they own the store. But anyone not specifically tied down has a chance of disappearing.

….DANGER NOODLE! I was wondering if you were here!!

I’ve only got one ongoing nighttime social link, so I have some time for browsing the websites I’ve bought from the deep web informant. This time, we’re going to check out a blog that guarantees to increase the yield of my crops. ^_^

……………….is… is this really the website link we bought from a sketchy dude in a club? God. At least it told me where to buy golden tomato sprouts.

The next day, we’re heading back to Tartarus to retrieve our monthly victims who wander in, as well as another cat!

Another one of my social links is in trouble, and it’s Maiko this time, which… how dare? That is a child?

Maiko was supposedly moving away that day, so… I wonder if it’s always the same links that go missing, or if it’s random. Because both times, I’ve been warned of dire consequences if I don’t save them, but it’s also been people I’ve already maxed. So that’s kind of silly.

We’ve also found the last(?) memoir piece in Monad, which…

Prince, huh? Does that make me the prince’s consort? :D

We had to leave Tartarus because we’ve reached another border floor. I GUESS we’ll never get to see what’s past it, since Tartarus is going to disappear after the next full moon. It’s SO SAD that we’ll never see the top. Can’t believe the game is almost over.

Lmao

Anyway, back to social linking and school. XD

Never change, sensei.

I’ve been helping Yuko train some elementary schoolers to run a race against the middle-school kids who want to take over their play area. They tied their race and apparently made friends with the middle-schoolers, so we’re having a party to celebrate their success, even though they keep calling me Yuko’s boyfriend. I laughed it off, and so did Yuko.

No problem! Your room’s nice. Cool stereo.

We laughed that off, right???? So why are you asking me about whether I’d want my hypothetical kid to be a boy or a girl. In conjunction with talking about your future kids?

Yeah, apparently picturing our future children. X’’’’D Look, Yuko, you’re great, and I’m glad you’ve discovered what kind of career path you want to take in the future. But I don’t think this is gonna work out.

I forgot that eventually I’m going to have to start turning down people developing crushes on me. It always makes me feel a little bad because I do like them, I just don’t want to date them?

(I want to date Mitsuru, but I’m not a ~*genius*~ yet.)

At least Aigis is having fun with her yakuza novels.

After school the next day, I receive a call from Kenji, who is freaking the hell out.

Dude, what the fuck. Were you just going around talking about this to people other than me? I thought it was a secret.

But the man in my dreams insists that I remember the consequences of my actions, so you should too. I don’t know what you expected to happen when you decided to court the ETHICS TEACHER. FFS, Kenji. Keep it together. I don’t even know if I can offer advice for this one.

At least Strega is having real problems.

They grew up in a lab, with only each other. I can understand their feelings regarding that, at least. It’s the same sort of thing as with Goro in P5R. Removing the memories of those experiences would completely change who they are as people. Like, they’re not a good people, but the solution to that is not wiping everything and making them someone else.

Jin still remembers what Takaya told him, to get him through all of that.

Taking that away would be… cruel.

But we can’t keep going like this, either.

There’s two days left, and only one of my Sunday social links is ready to rank up, so let’s go hang out with my track rival!

...you know, at least you have parents and siblings. Mine are dead. Please don’t assume anything about me. :/

So now, at last, it’s the night before the finale! Time for one last team meeting. Everyone is grateful to me for being leader, and Mitsuru is finally willing to fess up what her real reason for fighting is. It’s not entirely about righting her family’s wrongs. It’s about protecting her father.

She’s been doing this since probably even BEFORE middle school. No wonder she wants to bring an end to it so badly.

Well, we all know what’s coming. Strega is going to try to stop us. But we can’t stop now.

Takaya, you’re still not wrong, but you’re being willfully ignorant of what the actual problem is.

Jin is a Fortune arcana, and his persona looks like a spinny dice. :D

But there’s more of us than there are of them, so this was never really a contest, even if they are strong.

I dunno if evokers are really “naturally awakened”, but… yeah. Forcing it isn’t good for you. That should be obvious.

Mitsuru wasn’t aware of the fact that the Kirijo Group was experimenting on people. Which, she was a child, so I’m not surprised. But based on the note Takaya gave me before, part of the reason to experiment on other kids was to make things safer for Mitsuru. So… we probably shouldn’t tell her that.

I’m starting to think we don’t know a lot of things.

Takaya is willing to shoot himself with his real gun, but Jin stops him. Even if it’s just so he doesn’t go by himself.

They fall back over the side of the bridge, and then it’s just us and the final shadow.

Honestly, I hate the Hanged Man. The fact that it’s being held up by hooks in its skin is gross. X’D The gimmick was interesting, though. It could give itself a bunch of extra turns, and it hit really hard. Not quite final-boss hard, but it was a challenging fight.

But we won!

We can go home content in the knowledge that the world is now safe from the Arcana Shadows.

...I didn’t even know you could exist outside of the Dark Hour, honey. Wow. This is surreal.

What do you think of the sun? Have you ever seen it before? Have you seen it through me?

Yeah. Things are good. ^_^

……….

Can you at least tell me why you have to leave?? What did you remember? What ruined this miracle? I might need to know that?????

If you cry, I’m going to cry.

I wish I could hug him, but… God forbid a protagonist be allowed to hug anyone. Except Yukari in Yakushima. X’’’’D

I’ll see you soon, Pharos. Love you.

#Li plays P3Re

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alyjojo · 1 year ago

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April 🤯 2024 Monthly - Gemini

Preshuffle: You could be saving money, or collecting grudges, for the purpose of quitting something eventually. Your job? You just want to move forward in a different direction, you’re not happy with the way things currently are…or you could be realizing a new thing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be either.

Meditation: It could be a particular person at work that really grinds your gears, they’re showing up as someone on your level, maybe the person sitting next to you. In the vision, you were seeing them as a clapping seal (which cracked me tf up), just OR OR OR OR shuuut up! You can’t concentrate, can’t focus, this person drives you absolutely nuts & you’re thinking “as if I don’t distract myself enough.”

Main energy: 5 Pentacles

Oof. Okay I don’t see anything DEEP per se, and maybe it’s just an off day, week, something like that. Your oracles showing Gemini & Sag, could be a Sag placement that especially annoys you this month, fire is heavy, or it’s just someone not like you. The differences between you and someone else are really getting under your skin this month and you could be bottling them up…either to explode in some glorious temper tantrum later on (it’s gotta come out somehow) or you could just be planning on bringing down a Tower, kicking this b*tch to the curb and never coming back again. Moving to Barbados. BYE ✌️But don’t actually. I see Calm & an Apology here too so…keep your cool Gem. Your ego is on fire this month and you’re ready to take on something NEW. Maybe make that a hobby or something instead, start small. This could be someone you’re newly dating as well, they’re hot but they drive you nuts. You enjoy the lusty bits. That may just be enough to overcome the irritation, for now 😆

What’s going on in April:

Queen of Wands:

This feels like whoever the irritation is. Could be your partner, for most it probably is. Could be work too, and if so this connection is *normally* stable, it’s just this month is your cranky month and it’s their defensive or can’t shut tf up month and you two are clashing hard. Could be over money, especially if you’re doing their job FOR them, which is someone’s story. There’s a deadline and this person gabs all fkn day, maybe you’ve had to stay late or something because of them or you’ve been delayed and held back, it irritates tf out of you. Even if you like/love them, you’re defensive about whatever it is they’re doing. You feel confined, building grudges, tryinggg to keep your mouth shut BUT UM. Bitch. Look. 👏

4 Pentacles:

I’m dying here. You want to quit, or end this, you think about it frequently, it could get you through the day. Like revenge scenarios. “Just wait, I’m gonna save up 6 months worth of bills and disappear”, that is literallyyyy what I heard! Vengeful! On the other hand, this can always be switched so, if someone is noticeably irritated IJS. On the bottom, for most of you that this is a partner or someone new you’re seeing, you could be feeling like you went too fast too soon, rushed into this one before you really even knew them. Or a job, a home maybe, something that your personal and financial stability banks on. I heard a neighborhood for someone, like the house is great but it’s surrounded by crazy people. Now it’s oh no. For someone it’s possible someone is withholding sex, and that’s the thing that’s irritating you, they’ve got all sorts of reasons and bs and it’s been long enough in your mind, don’t you matter too?

Judgement:

Whew, for someone I heard “I’m here to work not make friends”. Idk if you’re saying this out loud or not, maybe not, you’re definitely thinking that in the work story. If a person, you could be considering going back to someone you dated before, maybe you appreciate them more now that they’re gone, it’s someone that put in a lot of effort for you. You could simply be internally judging this persons work ethic or standards of living, by some practical means, maybe they’re the life of the party and you’re the worker - so they leave you to it and don’t even try to help you. The Hanged Man at the bottom shows a need for perspective, I don’t think you’re coming right out with this vengeful energy, but it’s stewing beneath the surface. Being judgy. You have a hard time celebrating the positive moments because the effort parts aren’t being taken seriously enough in your opinion. It could be way too much on you. With Optimism and Versatility, while I see you want to pop off hard, Spirit is trying to talk you off the ledge. Think positively, to with the flow, try to see things differently, rather than just up and moving to Barbados like it’s not *that* bad. Could be improved though 🙏

Strength:

See, a much better row. IF you hold back, bite your tongue, things are going to balance out. Either with work or your person, Queen & King of Pentacles are showing up together. This person could be in a phase of feeling larger than life, sexy, excited, at a time when you’re not. Sag rising maybe? Then you both would always be experiencing opposite house activations at all times, not easy to overcome, except by realizing that this is an individual person that’s on a whole different timeline than you. If it’s work month, pain in the ass month, this could be party month for them - or it was and is now changing. Synastry could help figure your person out in comparison to yours, a partner. You have different highs and lows, I don’t see this person as bad. Not annoying, not brash, not full of bologna. They’re willing to meet you on your level…eventually, not right away. Or things will work out where you don’t even have to say anything, a boss will, they’ll just pick up on it, they’ll tire of the last phase and see you’re overworked - stepping in. If it’s a house or neighborhood, then you can’t do anything but look right now, waiting for *the right* thing before you move - but you definitely intend to.

6 Swords:

Moving away, from drama, from where you live, from someone that drives you nuts, from your job. You are one foot in and one foot out the door at all times. Page of Swords at the bottom can be opening up and talking about this with some people, you’re trying to learn more details about the situation in question, or you’re just very observant. If a job, you’re looking for job. If a house, you’re looking for houses. If someone drives you batshit, you wonder if you should even tell them? Or just move on? It feels like you have every reason to see this as a positive thing, and you need to remain calm things will work out just fine. Not the day you want to flip out though, that day maybe fake sick and buy a fancy ice cream or something. Chill 🍨 For your mental health.

Signs you may be dealing with:

🔥 Aries, Leo, Sagittarius, Capricorn & Taurus

Oracle: ✨

33 Integration 🧬

We are a sum of all of our experiences in this and other lives. We all bring forward a wealth of knowledge, talents, and wisdom. One of the challenges is remembering who we are. We are bombarded every day in every way with messages on who we should be, what we should do, what we should wear, how we should live…

These messages coming from the media, society, our family and friends, and even strangers can drown out who we are really meant to be: who we have grown into lifetime after lifetime. Find some quiet moments in your day to identify and start a relationship with that small, strong voice inside of you. Pretty soon you won’t hear the other messages. Many times in your interactions with others, you hear that small voice tell you something is not right. Your logical mind tells you stop it, nothing is wrong, you’re being silly/dramatic or overreacting. You may ignore your inner voice in a quest to fit in, be loved or admired. You do not realize that your inner voice is warning you that the other person’s energy is not matching their words or actions. Listen to your instincts about this situation or person.

Confinement 🪢

Captivity - Tolerance - Unfreedom

Calm 😌

Inner Peace - Simplicity - Meditation

Apology 😞

Guilt - Confession - Forgiveness

Optimism 😁 Moon - Sagittarius

Versatility 🤸‍♂️ Sun - Gemini

We enter into April as:

Topaz 💛

“If I seek peace, I must embrace my fears.”

Topaz speaks: “To be enlightened is to realize that to gain peace, fear in the heart must be faced.” If Topaz has come to you, he is telling you that it is time to stop talking about what you intend on doing. You must just do it. Things happen for us when we take action, which is the only way to break through what is holding us back. The change that is called for here is surrender, which is an action in itself. No great tasks were ever achieved easily. Remember we do a lot to avoid what we feel will hurt us; you must understand that the pain will recede if you face your fears, allowing you to walk through to the other side. Topaz whispers “Pray for guidance and you will be assisted.” Do not despair, for if Topaz has come to you, relief awaits. By facing your fears, peace and enlightenment will be your reward. That is the gift. All you need to do is ask.

What is to be learned in April:

The Emerald Stone 🧩

“The heart knows what the eyes cannot see.”

There are times when things happen to us and no explanation is possible. Often our journey brings us full circle, leaving many of us to wonder why. The Emerald Stone is inviting you to follow through in whatever is before you. Going back is not an option. Forward movement will change your entire perspective on life - for the better. You may now be able to hear something that you have been told many times. Your reward will be a closer relationship with yourself. If Emerald Stone sparkles for you, it is with the understanding that you are now developing a new perception of things. The Stone welcomes you out of the dark and into your heart.

Green may be a lucky color 💚

#Gemini #april 2024 #monthly tarot reading #monthly #astrology #tarot #tarotblr

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