#its also my first job like this but everyones been nice nd helpful :'')

[niteview]

my first few shifts have gone well i think!!

[tomurasprincess]

Kinktober Day 09: Somnophilia (A Witches’ Brew)

Day 09: Somnophilia Title: A Witches’ Brew Pairing: Witch Shindou x F!Reader Word Count: 2k Warnings: noncon, somnophilia, mind control, manipulation, drugging via potion, quirk use, Stockholm-ish, yandere Note: I stayed up late to finish this and now I am very tired. Hope you guys like 😂

Kinktober Masterlist

The first thing you hear when you open the door to the shop is the ding of the bell hanging above the entrance. You glance around and see an absolutely enormous amount of magic supplies, some you know the purpose of and some you don’t. Along one wall are floor to ceiling bookshelves, and there’s also a wall of magic potions and artifacts.

As you’re looking around, you hear the voice of what you assume to be the owner call out to you. He’s tall, with a muscular build and dark black hair and a smile that could light up a room.

“Hello, welcome to my shop! Can I help you find anything?”

“Hi, yes, I - “ You can’t bring yourself to finish that sentence, too embarrassed by what you’re after to even be able to say it.

“It’s okay,” the man smiles at you, and it's so warm that you can’t help but return it. “There’s no judgment here, I promise.”

“Well in that case,” you say hesitantly, “I’m here for a love potion.”

“Oh, I can definitely help you with that.” He motions for you to follow him to the back of the store. “My name is Shindou, by the way”

“Nice to meet you, Shindou.” You tell him your name before explaining why you’re here. “The love potion - it’s not how you’re thinking,” you say quickly. “I don’t want to force someone. Just make it a bit easier, maybe?”

He laughs gently as he glances back at you. “I told you, no judgement from me.”

Finally you reach a door that he unlocks and opens for you to walk through. In this room is a large cauldron and a worktable full of various magic components. “Feel free to sit down, and we can talk about what you’re looking for.”

You choose a chair a respectful distance away from the worktable, but one where you can still see everything going on. Magic has always fascinated you, and you don’t want to miss the chance to watch it in action.

“Well, I’ve been having such bad luck lately. All of the guys I’ve tried to go out with have canceled, or dropped out of my life entirely. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” Your voice takes on a slight tremble at the last sentence, the constant rejection finally getting to you.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you,” Shindou scoffs. “If someone doesn’t want you, then they’re idiots.”

“You really think so?” You give him a shy smile.

“Of course I think so.” He turns away from you as he picks out various vials and strange looking ingredients, laying them out in front of him. “You said you only wanted something to help you out a bit?”

“Yes, exactly! I don’t want to alter anyone’s mind or anything.”

His smile has a hint of a smirk, eyes darkening just enough that you can notice. But it vanishes in the next second, leaving you to wonder if you only imagined it. “You’re so good hearted.”

He takes a mortar and pestle, grinding something into a fine paste that he puts in a bowl. He also grabs a red liquid and a green liquid, measuring them out before adding them to the potion he’s creating.

“I’ll need a hair of yours,” he reaches out to you before pulling his hand back. “Assuming you don’t mind, of course.”

“No, go ahead, I don’t mind.”

His finger traces a line down your jaw, causing you to shiver a bit at his touch. He smiles at your reaction before grabbing a piece of hair around your face and pulling it out. It’s just a few small strands of hair, and you watch as he puts them into the bowl and stirs them up.

“Why do you need my hair?” You can’t help but ask. “I don’t mean any offense, just curious.”

“Oh, since you’re wanting a more general love spell, I’m adding yours so that you’re the focus of the spell.”

You give a quick nod at his explanation. You know nothing about magic, and his reasoning makes sense. The reason you went to Shindou above a handful of other witches was because he came highly recommended by everyone you talked to.

The smell of the potion quickly fills the room, almost overpoweringly strong. It doesn’t smell bad, but it quickly gives you a bit of a headache, causing you to stand up and walk just a short distance away in an attempt to find a bit of fresh air. You see his hands move quickly through finishing the potion, mixing it up thoroughly before handing a small vial to you.

“Thank you so much,” you whisper as you clutch the potion to your chest. “How much do I owe you?”

“We can discuss payment in a second,” he stares at you with a look of deep intensity. “Why don’t you drink the potion first?”

“Why, is there something that could go wrong?”

“Nothing bad, I assure you. But potions can have different effects for different people to begin with, and I just want to make sure you’re okay.” He steps a few paces closer, rubbing down your arm with one hand. “Please humor me?”

You laugh as you uncork the potion bottle. “How can I say no to that?” You throw back the vial, throat working as you drink the whole thing in one rush. It tastes much better than you would have thought, but once you finish the bottle, you feel yourself sway on your own feet as dizziness overtakes you.

The bottle slips through your fingers before shattering on the hard floor below, and your knees buckle. Shindou wraps an arm around you before lifting you gently, gazing down at you with a look you can’t place.

But you think it looks like victory.

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

Shindou chuckles to himself as he carries you to his bedroom using a secret doorway that only he can see.

“Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for you to come into my shop, sweetheart?” Shindou muses at your unconscious form. He lays you gently on his bed, trailing his hands down your body as he begins to undress you. “I was getting so impatient watching you look at everyone but me.”

He unbuttons your shirt and bra before throwing them over his shoulder, and then slips down your pants to reveal your lacy pink panties.  “They would have only hurt you. I did you a favor, sweetheart.” He trails a finger up your clothed slit, causing your body to jerk a bit. “They won’t treat you well as I will.”

He activates his quirk slightly, fingers vibrating against the sensitive skin of your clit through your panties and drawing a deep moan from your throat. “See how responsive you are? Your body already knows you belong to me.”

He wraps a hand around the back of your neck, pulling you in for a deep kiss. He massages your tongue with his own, easily dominating your mouth with no resistance. His hand cups your breast, tracing feather light touches along your nipple and causing it to harden.

“God, you’re so beautiful,” he murmurs as he moves down to your neck, sucking hard at your pulse point and leaving a trail of bruises wherever he kisses. “And I know you can hear all of this.”

As a response, your body trembles a bit in his grasp, and his chuckle is dark and amused. “The potion is doing its job. You're going to be able to feel everything I do to you.”

“This needy little body of yours is going to crave me.” He moves your panties to the side as his finger dips below, grinning as he feels how wet you are for him already. “Or maybe it already does.”

Two fingers slip into your heat as he kneels down, placing small kitten licks along your entrance. You let out a soft whine as you buck your hips up towards his mouth. “Since you can hear all of this, I’m going to explain what this potion will do to you.”

He curls his fingers up as he searches around on your inner walls, smirking when he finds a spot that causes you to clench around him. “I wasn’t lying when I said I could help you with a love potion,” he says conversationally, as if he wasn’t indulging freely in your body. “I just added a lock of my own hair when you weren’t looking.”

He lashes his tongue along your slit, licking up the wetness that has begun to leak out of you and nudging your clit with his nose. “The potion will make sure that you fall madly, obsessively in love with me, and only me. As it should be.”

And at that, he begins to slam his fingers against the spot he found, causing you to moan and clamp down around his fingers. Your hips buck back with his thrusts, and he knows you’re close already. You’re overly sensitive from the spell he laced into the potion, and when he sucks your clit into his mouth, you cum hard on his tongue, liquid gushing out of you that he laps up eagerly.

He doesn’t stop until you’re twitching to get away, body overstimulated and throbbing. Finally, he pulls away as he unzips his pants, removing them quickly and guiding his thick length towards your still fluttering pussy.

He snaps his hips in one quick movement, burying himself in your pussy instantly. “Fuck, you’re so damned tight,” he grunts as he begins to move. “You’re squeezing my cock so much that it's hard to move.”

His eyes light up for a brief second as he withdraws from you completely, glancing down at his cock and confirming what he’s thinking. There’s a slight amount of blood on the tip of his cock, and the sight makes him throb as he realizes he was the one to take your virginity.

He enters you again, but this time he makes short shallow thrusts as he tries to loosen your walls up a bit. The entire time, he strokes your clit with two fingers, activating his quirk and causing your head to fall back in pleasure as the vibrations run through you.

Finally he can move a bit easier, and his thrusts become savage, hard enough that your breasts bounce with every movement. You let out a broken moan as you near another orgasm, tears running down your eyes nd drool running out the side of your mouth. He grunts when your walls begin to flutter around his cock, balls tightening up towards his body as he reaches his own orgasm.

Your tight pussy milks his cock for every drop of cum in his aching balls, and he makes sure that he doesn’t pull out until he’s completely empty. He looks down at your fucked out form, cum oozing out of your pussy, neck covered in bruises and hickies. He doesn’t think you’ve ever looked so beautiful.

He gets up to retrieve a warm washcloth, using it to clean your body before he puts you in a pair of pajamas that he bought for you.  After he’s done taking care of you, he goes to the bathroom and cleans himself up before climbing back into bed with you, pulling you tightly into his chest.

He holds you there, murmuring sweet nothings until you finally wake up, eyes fluttering open to see his face smiling down at you.

“Hey sweetheart,” Shindou murmurs as he presses a kiss to your forehead. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

Your face twists briefly into a mask of confusion, glancing around the room and at Shindou as if you’re trying to figure something out. “You - you gave me a potion, right? Brought me here and - “

You blush as you refuse to meet Shindou’s eyes, and you feel the deep rumble of his laughter against you. “Yes, I did. Is there a problem with that, sweetheart?” He pushes just a bit, wanting to make sure that the potion is in full effect. “I only did it because I love you so much.”

The look of concern and alarm falls from your face instantly as you smile back, rolling over to burrow your face into his chest. “Of course not. I love you too, Shindou.”

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

Kinktober: @thewheezingwyvern​, @vixen-scribbles​, @katsukisprincess​, @hisoknen​, @trafalgar-temptress​, @leeswritingworld​, @burnedbyshoto​, @bakugotrashpanda​, @kittycatkrissa​, @reinawritesbnha​, @yanderart​, @dabilove27​, @fae-father​, @anxietyplusultra​, @flutterfalla​, @angmarwitch​, @nereida19​, @babayaga67​, @fromsunnywithlove​, @dabis-kitten​, @bakugos-cumsock​, @yumeneji​, @the-grimm-writer​, @iwaizumi-chan​, @slashersheart​, @cissiewrites​, @bunnyywritings​, @bakarinnie​, @angie-1306​, @emplosion22​​, @lalalemon101​​, @videogameboiwhowins​​, @armoredashley​​, @f4nficbaby​​, @tenkoshimmy​​, @baroque-baby​​, @bbyspiiice​​, @thirstyforthem2dmen​​

[crystalbahamut]

pounds of flesh

FFXIV Write Day 3: Scale

Summary: The Exarch is familiar with tactics used to dodge those most dangerous of creatures (Healers) and offers you his assistance.

Author’s note: Am currently ignoring the fact that there’s no faucet in the Pendant room (that I could find) because that seems inconvenient for such an otherwise nice kitchenette. The prompt started me off with the idea of scaling a staircase feeling on par with scaling a mountain but it sort of veered off from there. I really loved this prompt though; there are so many ways to take it.

Warnings: Shadowbringers spoilers, unspecified WoL, non-healing WoL (kind of), 2nd person pov, WoL/Exarch, overworking oneself on purpose

Words: 1,876

 ---

You might have gotten a little bit…carried away today. Triffids, hoptraps, wargs, and more; you had carried out a number of quests to reduce the threats posed to those traveling the roads of Lakeland, and that wasn’t even counting the morning spent in Rak’tika helping out the Night’s Blessed with some of their chores. You don’t mind– it’s nice to be helpful, good, necessary even– but now that everything aches and some of the cuts have opened up again you wonder if maybe you took it a little far. All you wanted to do was make sure you slept well tonight, but even taking the intercity aetheryte was too much to ask of your energy stores. You have scaled cliffs and mountains, but right now the thought of scaling the steps to your room is making you want to find a place the guards don’t patrol and just lay on the ground. It’s a good thing the manager is on break right now, or you’d have to field some uncomfortable questions about why you’re just standing around, staring.

“There you are.”

You flinch. Mayhap the manager would have been the lesser of two well-intentioned evils, considering the Exarch sounds…not exactly smug, but knowing. You stand taller and clear your throat. “Evening Exarch,” you say. “Did you need something?”

“Not precisely, though I am wont to worry when you stay out so late,” he says and steps towards you.

That…you almost turn around for that. He worries? You shake your head; of course he worries, you are (supposedly) the one hope for the world’s survival. ‘Tis nothing more than prudence. “Nothing to worry about; I’m quite fine.”

“Oh?” You can hear the smile in his voice as he comes around your side, and you quickly look away. “Should I be flattered that you seem to be emulating me?”

You scowl and pull the head covering down farther. How in the world does he see anything like this? “You didn’t invent hooded robes, Exarch.”

“No, I did not,” he chuckles. “However I have not seen you wearing one, until now.”

“Mayhap I simply felt like it.”

“Mayhap you did,” he says. “Or mayhap you are trying to hide a head wound incurred when a lake viper used its tail to swat you into a tree.”

You don’t have a good comeback for that. “You know, nobody likes a know it all,” you grumble and try to sink into your shoulders. One of these days you are going to break that damn magic mirror of his.

“My dear warrior,” he sighs as though indulging you in a whim. “What would it take for you to accompany me to Spagyrics?”

You turn to give him a look of incredulity and then realize that probably isn’t very effective. However he sighs and says, “I see.”

“Do you?” you ask. “I can’t see anything like this; I don’t know how you do it.”

He doesn’t take the bait, unfortunately. “Would you allow me to see to your wounds then?”

“I can heal myself.”

“If you could, you already would have.” He puts a gentle hand on your shoulder, though right on a sore spot that twinges, and you try not to wince. “I would just like some assurance you are well enough. If you are uncomfortable with me, I can fetch one of the Scio-”

“You,” you say immediately and take his arm. You pull back the hood to see with your good eye and find his mouth partly opened in surprise. “I trust you.” Also, if Alisaie or Y’shtola see you in this state, they will put you out of their misery. But you meant what you said. You do trust him.

“Thank you,” he says earnestly, as though he’s honored, and the wondrous tone of his voice is enough to give you the energy to make it up the stairs and to your room.

“I don’t think I’ve seen someone manage to limp so successfully on both legs before,” the Exarch says and goes to the cupboard where the first aid kit lives.

“It’s not that bad– though I’m going to warn you that I’m a bit dirty so it probably looks worse than it is,” you say and pull off the robe. Gently, as everywhere it touches seems to throb with new pain, or maybe the fatigue is getting to you. While he’s turned around you quickly (ow) change into some shorts and a tank top and sit on the bench by the door.

When he turns around the Exarch actually stops in his tracks. “Wicked white,” he says and sighs. “If Chessamile saw you like this…”

“The Warrior of Darkness would be ended by the wrath of a bypassed healer.” You put a finger to your lips. “But surely now my trusty accomplice will help me.”

He smiles again, though he looks like he’s trying to wrangle it back into a disapproving frown. “Extortion now, is it?” he asks as he starts filling a bowl with water.

“I think your offer belied the feelings of one used to dodging chirurgeons,” you say and give yourself a quick check to make sure anything that needs treating is visible. Thankfully your torso just endured some bruising; it’s your limbs that took the brunt of everything. And your head, you’re reminded as you try to gingerly scrape off some of the dried blood and accidentally reopen the wound, making fresh blood course back down over your eye. “Oops.”

“Perhaps I have, but even my own injuries pale in comparison. I can see why any healer would have their hands full with you,” the Exarch says as he comes over to take your hand, shove some cloth in it, and force you press it hard against the cut. “Pray just hold that there for now.”

Now that you’re able to relax and do nothing, exhaustion courses through your bones and you do as he bids if only because anything else is far too much effort. You struggle to stay awake as he pulls over a chair, the medical kit, and the bowl of water, and blink yourself back to consciousness when he sits down.

“Are there any sprains?” he asks as he looks over the injuries.

“My right ankle feels a bit funny, and I think I pulled something in my left thigh, but mostly I’m just scraped up,” you say. He dabs some of the scratches with the clean water and it’s uncomfortable but not unbearable. You almost start to fall asleep with his gentle ministrations.

But when he presses a new, slightly damp cloth to those scrapes, the stinging wakes you right up. “Thal’s balls!” you hiss and resist the urge to rip his hands away. On the plus side, your head has stopped bleeding again; now it only throbs as you set the bloodied cloth aside and try to quell the nausea caused by pain.

“I apologize,” he murmurs and dabs it more gently. It’s not a good feeling but you can bear it a little easier now that you know it’s coming. He clears his throat. “What were you working on so frenetically today?”

“Huh?” You think about the question. “Oh– nothing much really; I was just taking a few jobs here and there.”

“Are you in need of gil?” he asks and lifts his head. Presumably to look at you. “Surely some of these jobs could have waited another day?”

You take the washcloth and wring it out before you start cleaning your other leg, and then your arms. It will help him get through this easier. And it also makes it so you don’t have to look at him now. “They could have. But I wanted them done.”

“Because you plan to take the day for yourself tomorrow?”

“Perhaps,” you say. “Perhaps this is how I want to spend my days.”

“Working yourself to the bone when you already do so much?” He finishes wrapping your ankle and grabs your hand. He says your name gently, without reproach. “What is wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong.” You shut your eyes. “Sometimes…I just want to sleep. That’s all.”

“I see,” he says and doesn’t press for more. If this were Alphinaud you wouldn’t be able to escape without some awkward attempt at platitudes on his end, or Urianger, who would try to make suggestions while also nearly putting you to sleep with one of his lectures, but the Exarch keeps tending to you with hands that are gentler than they have any right to be.

When he starts treating the cut on your head it’s a good excuse to close your eyes, but even without some supposed excuse you don’t think you would do any differently. He’s so…gentle. Healers, even the kindest ones, are all business– as they should be, as they’re always the ones that have to make sure everyone is fighting fit for the next catastrophe. But the Exarch touches you so tenderly, like he wants to put you back together piece by piece, with soothing motions and soft brushes of skin, and crystal that’s warmer than it looks, and it’s all you can do to keep from falling apart in his capable hands.

“One moment, my warrior,” he murmurs and you realize you’re halfway to sleep by the fact that you can’t seem to open your eyes when he leaves, but it doesn’t bother you overmuch. When he comes back and nudges you to stand, you manage to do so, but you still don’t open your eyes even as you shuffle over to the bed with his help. You sit on sheets– the cover has been pulled back already, you realize with delayed thoughts as the Exarch tucks you in. You’ll be mortified in the morning, but for now…

“I pray sweet dreams find you tonight, my warrior.”

You think you imagine the gentle kiss placed upon your brow, but in case this isn’t some lovely dream and he is still around to hear it, you whisper, “Thank you.”

 The next morning finds you sore and a little stiff, but you can recognize that you’re better off than you would have been otherwise.

You also find a collection of medicinal-looking mixtures all lined up in bottles in a neat little row on the table. And, when you go over to investigate, a note from the Exarch.

 My dear warrior,

Though it is not a happy thought, there are many in Norvrandt who share your desire for uninterrupted sleep, as well as your difficulties attaining it. These elixirs each have their own cards describing ingredients and dosage; if you find one to your liking, it would be a simple matter of requesting more, and I should be delighted to do so.

Also, if you ever find the climb to your room to be too arduous, perhaps the smaller staircase leading to the tower itself would be less of a strain. Once inside, there are easier ways to get around that I would be happy to show you.

With fondest wishes,

The Crystal Exarch

 You smile and fold the letter back up. An easier way to the Ocular, hm? You’d like to see that. Perhaps now is a good time to stretch your legs and make the climb.

[swaps55]

POV Case Study – Have Some Writing Meta

Point of View (POV) is an integral piece of the storytelling puzzle for Opus, my main body of fic, so I thought I’d do a meta post that walks through how I use it as a narrative tool. The intention is not to tell anyone how they should or shouldn’t use POV, but rather to demonstrate one way I used it very deliberately to create narrative tension, weave in characterization, and develop an overarching theme.    

Your POV character is an enormous tool in your writing toolbox, whether you are using a single POV or multiple. How you use it depends on a lot of things: what person you’re writing in (first, second, third), the type POV you’re going with (omniscient, meaning the POV narrator can see into everyone’s heads, or limited, meaning you only have access into the head of a specific POV character).

My preferred writing style is 3rd person “in-your-face” limited POV, that puts the reader so solidly in the POV character’s head it’s almost like 1st person in a 3rd person trench coat. That coupled with present tense gives me some extra intensity that I love taking advantage of in emotional or climactic scenes. Again, this isn’t to state a right or a wrong way to use tense or POV – there are lots of great ways to use these tools – but for the purpose of this exercise, this is my chosen loadout.

I made the conscious decision early in Sonata that I did not want to use Sam Shepard’s POV, ever. Every story in his series would be told through the eyes of the people around him. Why? Because one of the key character traits of Sam is that he makes himself whatever someone needs him to be. He sees himself as a tool, so to be a useful tool, he has to have the right shape for the job. This raises the question: who is Sam, when he is free to just be himself? I’m not sure even Sam knows the answer to that question, so to reinforce it through storytelling, I never wanted to reader to see what goes on in his head. Everything you learn about Sam comes through the perceptions of others, and to show the reader how differently he is perceived by others, I write with multiple POVs rather than just Kaidan’s.

Below the cut, I’m going to walk you through a specific example where POV was an essential part of crafting the story I wanted to tell. The chapter in question comes from Fugue, a story I’m writing that explores the aftermath of Alchera. You don’t need to have read Fugue to follow the logic, but if you care to read the chapter, it functions well on its own separate from the rest of the story.

Fugue – This Hole You Left.

This was a very complicated chapter that lived and died by POV choices, and it was extremely difficult to put together. The approach I took was a gamble that (thankfully) worked after much fretting, gnashing of teeth, and help from @pigeontheoneandonly.

This Hole You Left takes place after Sam dies over Alchera. I wanted to paint a ‘kaleidoscope’ of grief, and explore how Sam’s death impacted the people around him in very different ways. Therefore, I needed a plethora of POVs to work with, each one giving me something different. The goals were this:

Find differing POVs that would offer demonstrably different perceptions of Sam and/or illustrate different stages of grief and shock.        

Allow each of those POVs to mold to that character’s specific goals and motivations. i.e., I did not want the grief of other characters to be tied to the romantic relationship that had been lost – because that’s not the lens those characters would look through.

Each POV had to move the chronology along in a way that made sense and felt natural.

Kaidan’s POV was off limits. In the absence of Sam’s physical presence, I wanted to treat Kaidan like Sam – the character people could see, but not explore the headspace of. Everything the reader learns about Kaidan in the immediate aftermath of Alchera comes from other people.

That last piece was important. Arguably, Kaidan’s POV was the most valuable one of all, but I was going to have lots of time to explore it in meaningful ways elsewhere. I thought it might be more powerful to express his grief through the eyes of others, and use him as a central theme to weave in and out of the chapter. More about that later.

This constituted one hell of a puzzle to put together, especially when it came to the chronology. For instance, an early mistake I made was putting the most powerful POV (Anderson) too early in the sequence, which diminished what came after it. Moving that POV around meant re-framing other POVs to keep the chronology moving forward (for example, Garrus’ POV initially came after Anderson’s, by moving it before his, I had to change the context so that Anderson’s POV wasn’t a step backwards in time).

Each POV scene was also intended to essentially be its own self-contained short, creating a microcosm of grief, that when put together, would create a much larger and significant whole.

I could write forever about all the trial and error that went into finding the right formula, but it’s probably more valuable to look at where I wound up, and why:

1st POV: Lora Alenko (Kaidan’s mother)

Why: She gave me a window to set the clock in motion and make the loss of the Normandy feel real, because she had the advantage of having no idea anything was wrong. Plus, her perspective felt like a unique one I hadn’t seen in fic when it came to Alchera. I’d set her character up in Sonata, so readers of that fic would be familiar with her and understand what that phone call meant to her in a more meaningful way.

How I used it: I put her in the middle of a mundane, normal, event – lunch with a friend – and then shattered that normalcy with a phone call telling her the ship her son was on had been destroyed. That shift from normal to a state of dread gave me the tension I wanted to use for the rest of the chapter.

Excerpt:

But before she can answer, her omnitool flashes. She frowns and looks down at her arm. It’s a message from Marc. SOS. Call now.

A chill runs down her spine. SOS isn’t something Marc throws around lightly. She’d gotten an SOS from him when he’d found Apollo, the warmblood she’d ridden for years, with a leg stuck through the paddock fence, and the day they’d learned about Vyrnnus.

Kaidan.

“Melia,” she murmurs. “Excuse me, I have to take this.”

2nd POV: Admiral Hackett  

Why: Hackett gave me the chance to explore Shepard through the eyes of the Alliance. To them, and to Hackett, he’s a weapon rather than a person. He also gave me a chance to weave in a sense of anger, one of the stages of grief.

How I used it: This POV came about late in the revision process, but I’m thrilled it did, because I was missing that cold, calculated look at Shepard’s importance. Shepard dying fucks up Hackett’s plans and political machinations, and his immediate response is not to mourn someone who died, but to move on to plan B. This also gave me a shot to work in Shepard’s mother. By seeing her in Hackett’s POV, I could reinforce the ongoing theme that Captain Shepard sees her son as a legacy, rather than a person.

Excerpt:

There isn’t a list of people who can replace Shepard. Time to make one. Hackett exhales, gaze falling to the datapad on his desk, Shepard, Sam still displayed at the top of the casualty list.

He picks it up and hurls it at the wall. It cracks, screen flickering to black as it clatters to the floor.

What a goddamned waste.

3rd POV: Joker

Why: Joker was an easy one. I’d set up some rather terrible foreshadowing in Sonata with a scene in which he makes the comment “I’d go down with that ship,” and Sam replies, grinning, “Not while I’m around.” I wanted to spike the ball over the net in Fugue, so parking in Joker’s POV in the immediate aftermath was a no-brainer.

How I used it: Through Joker I could explore guilt and shock, so I went back to that memory from Sonata and used repetition to make Joker feel stuck in that moment. It was also my first chance to weave Kaidan in to reinforce the notion of guilt and lay some neat groundwork for narrative tension that would come to a head later.

Excerpt:

I’d go down with that ship.

Not while I’m around.

He should have abandoned ship. The escape pod was right there. He could have given up the Normandy at any time. All he had to do was step over the bodies of Pressly. Chase. All he had to do was leave them all behind.

Instead he’d stayed, and Shepard had made good on his word.

I’d go down with that ship.

Not while I’m around.

4th POV: Dr. Chakwas

Why: Through her, I could look at the adrenaline and denial that comes with managing trauma. To her, Shepard was a patient. Because she is overwhelmed with patients in the form of the Normandy’s wounded, she cannot stop to think about the one she cannot help: she has a job to do, and she has to do it. There will be time to grieve later.

How I used it: Again, I used Kaidan to emphasize her role as a caretaker. Kaidan, who is in command of the survivors, has a moment of weakness that she cannot afford to have, and he can only afford to have in front of her, because she overrides his authority in a medical emergency. Because we are in her POV, we see her outwardly refuse to crack, when internally she’s hanging by a thread. It made for a nice contrast.  

Excerpt:

“There was no transponder signal,” she tells him, saying out loud everything she’s been repeating to herself. “We were in hostile territory, with over twenty injured crew. He was gone, Kaidan.”

His fingers curl, eyes still trained on the window.

She puts a hand to her forehead. Between Virmire, triage on the Citadel and this it’s too much. Before today she’s never felt old. Tears sting the corner of her eyes and she swears under her breath. Not here. Not today. Tears are something for tomorrow. Right now, she has a job to do.

5th POV: Garrus

Why: Garrus was a member of the crew who wasn’t on the ship, which is a completely unique perspective. But the question that took me forever to answer, was, how does he react to Sam’s death? What was Shepard to Garrus? I hadn’t written about them during ME1 yet, he was not part of Sonata, and ME1 Garrus is always a little tricky for me. I knew there was something important to gain from his POV, but I couldn’t figure out what it was to the point of tearing my hair out. Eventually, I settled on Garrus seeing Shepard as a mentor he couldn’t live up to, and made his POV about failure and regret.  

How I used it: Shepard was everything Garrus aspired to be, but could never quite achieve. He left the Normandy because Shepard made him feel like he could make a difference, only he didn’t. And then, his friends needed him, and he wasn’t there, and now Shepard is dead. I wove a lot of doubt, regret and self-deprecation into his POV to drive that home.

Excerpt:

Dammit, why hadn’t he stayed on that ship?

He grabs another report from the top of the pile on his desk, which is getting tall enough to sway in the breeze.

This is why. Because Saren had obliterated the Citadel, and Shepard, damn him, had made him believe he could make a difference. He thought he could make it here. Crazy thing, having to fill out a form every time you find a corpse. He’s got three more to add to the list after today.

6th POV: Anderson

Why: Anderson was both a father figure and commanding officer to Sam. Because he’s known him for most of his life, he has a perspective no other POV character has. To him, Sam was more like a son he’d been tasked to protect, and in the end failed to protect him. He and Kaidan are the only people who know Shepard well enough to mourn Sam, and not just Commander Shepard. Anderson would really let me start to explore grief.

How I used it: This was my heavy hitter. Through Anderson’s POV, I could trace Sam the person as he grew into Commander Shepard, and explore the echoes of the kid that still lived in the adult. I was also able to use Kaidan in a really fascinating way. In Opus, Kaidan and Sam served together for four years before the Normandy. Therefore, Anderson is pretty familiar with him, but doesn’t know him the way he does Sam. He keeps looking at Kaidan expecting Sam. In a sense, trying to plug a puzzle piece into the wrong hole. It was a neat way to show Anderson’s grief.

Additionally, this was a great opportunity to demonstrate Kaidan’s sense of loss without being in his head. Anderson does not know there was a relationship between Sam and Kaidan, but the reader does. Thus, I could have my cake and eat it, too: The POV character wasn’t examining the relationship that had been lost between Sam and Kaidan because he didn’t know it existed, but the reader got to.  

Excerpt:

He exhales through his nostrils. “The Normandy was attacked by an unknown vessel. Whoever they were, Joker says they came out of nowhere. Shepard got him into the escape pod, but the ship lost gravity. He…well.”

Alenko stares straight ahead, silent. Anderson looks for a tell, but he only knows Shepard’s.

Alenko isn’t Shepard.

7th POV: Tali

Why: Tali presented a similar problem to me that Garrus did. What was Shepard specifically to her, and what did his loss mean to her? As my closing POV, not only did she need to hit a home run, but she also needed to close out the chapter in a way that tied all the other POVs together and examined Shepard’s death through a much wider lens, without feeling like I was pulling the camera back from her POV to get there. That’s a lot to ask. Lucky for me, Tali never lets me down.

The answer I came to also called back to Sonata, in which exploring what home meant to each of the characters was an important theme. So I went back to this idea for Tali, as she and Sam had a very important thing in common that set them apart from everyone else: they were both born in space, and did not have the traditional fixed point of home that everyone around them had. Home was different to them than it was to everyone else.

How I used it: Tali was the only one left who understood how truly unique and special the home she’d found on the Normandy was. Therefore, when the crew starts to fragment and fall apart around her, she is forced to mourn the loss not only of Shepard, who gave her that home, but the home itself. I was able to use that grief to circle back to how much Shepard changed the people around him, and how deeply his loss will be felt in ways people haven’t even realized yet.

That conclusion was the magic final puzzle piece that made the whole thing work, and it was literally the last idea to take shape.

Excerpt:

Aliens don’t carry their ship names with them the way quarians do. Perhaps when you’re born with dirt under your feet you don’t need to. For them, home isn’t a vessel among the stars – it’s a fixed place in the universe, a way back no matter how far from it you venture.

But Shepard had been different. Like the quarians, he had no fixed point. Home was what – or who – he carried with him. He’d understood the power of a ship name, even if he hadn’t used one out loud. People who served with Shepard felt like they belonged, in ways they couldn’t anywhere else, because he said to hell with that fixed point in the galaxy and brought home to anyone who needed it. For Shepard, there wasn’t a way back. Just a way forward.

Shepard changed people.

They’ve lost so much more than a ship.

The primary objective of Opus is to examine the relationship between Sam and Kaidan, but to really understand the magnitude of Sam’s death, it was critical to explore it outside the confines of that relationship. Part of the struggle Sam and Kaidan have is that Sam doesn’t truly belong to himself or to Kaidan – he belongs to everyone else. That means his death doesn’t belong to either him or Kaidan. It’s shared with all the people he touched and shaped.

That’s what made this carousel of POVs a challenge I really wanted to make work. It required an absurd amount of juggling, but the diversity and uniqueness of each made Shepard’s loss feel real and devastating. But not only did each of those POVs tell us something about Sam, they provided some meaningful character development for the POV character. How they react to Sam’s death and what it means to them tells us a lot about that character, which in turn lends the entire story more depth.  

If you read this far, I’m pretty sure you deserve a cookie. 

I don’t know if any of that is helpful or meaningful other than to show an example of how POVs can be a really awesome tool to tell a story. There can be a lot of depths and layers to why you use a particular character to tell a story through, and those choices can greatly impact the story you end up telling.

[bae-science]

it’s t-t-t-t-time for another newt bae-science fic rec extravabonanza! same rules, same boys, same bullshit! let’s get into it:

a beginning; a second chance by @dykesword

other newt and i have a long and intricate ritualistic battle to become the alpha newt, but i gotta give credit where it’s due. if you like to annotate your books for fun, this fic will give you a looooong comment you’ll want to write, and for good reason! there’s a lot of really well done metaphor and character detail in here, while still keeping a very soft, melancholy but with a hopeful edge tone. and also, like, the care and detail in which newt’s mental state in the aftermath of the precursors’ abuse is depicted is so so good, and delightful to read

husbandly duties by @kingeiszler

i am soooo biased with this one bc technically it was made for me but GODDAMN it’s good. this shit has everything: gottlieb trio sibling dynamics, vanessa in giant femme earrings, hermann yearning, newt and karla infodumping together, newt’s terrible and accurate gaydar, gay crime, the newmann dynamic and why it works boiled down to its bare essentials, pride and prejudice glasses touch, and neon green acrylics. required reading for the vanessaverse

Say That Again by @robertfrobisherslover

WOOF. if you like mutual pining and lack of communication from men with rocks for their emotional processing centers, and guncle (gay uncle) newt and hermann and KILLER artsy sex scenes, and themes of words unsaid in a story about LANGUAGE..... oogoogogoogouhufug. the writing style is clear and well paced, i LOVE little mako’s scene she’s such a cutie, and there’s like. a line. that’s a play on the whole “it’s always been you” trope. that lives in my mind rent free forever.

speak right to my heart without saying a word by @thekaidonovskys

i’m just gonna paste the comment i left on it here, because that sums up what is so absolutely incredible about this fic the best:

so sometimes you stumble on a piece of fiction that you add to your little collection of stuff you would show a person if you wanted them to understand a part of you that you can't quite explain eloquently, or it would take too long, etc etc, and i've never really found something like that for my autism until now, which, like, poggers. and i'll be as straight up as i can while still being the biggest lesbian in the great state of ohio (not a hard feat but alan invented computers so i love continuing on the autistic tradition of being a living miracle), the chameleon effect hit me like a mack truck. catholic school in the deep south is the most potent and effective form of ABA therapy imaginable :/. so sometimes i wonder what i would be like if i didn't have such a strong ability to pass, and here's where we finally get to the part of this comment where i just vomit compliments at you: you nailed it. you got it. i don't know if you're on the spectrum, but either way, well fucking done. trauma therapy research talks a lot about healing fantasies, which are fantasies, usually in the form of daydreams, that abused/neglected/traumatized/etc people create that directly address a struggle they have and take the form of a scenario in which that struggle is helped in some way. it could be an abusive parent repenting and showering them with the love they never had, or someone finding them during a panic attack and somehow knowing how best to comfort them without having to ask, or being intimate with someone and having a scar or physical deformity they've been shamed for be given attention and care. and i think you have created the ultimate perfect healing fantasy for autistic people, or at least those with """"high functioning"""" autism. it has a character who is visibly and undeniably on the spectrum having the pain and trauma going through life like that causes being acknowledged and validated, they are purposefully paid attention to because person b genuinely likes them and wants to understand and respect who they are and how they function in the world, and thus get The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known as well as the eventual rewards of being loved, person b makes a genuine effort to help teach them social skills in a way they can understand and learn through and is there for them when these skills are being practiced, their space and boundaries are respected but they aren't infantilized or thought of as an emotionless robot, and they receive love and comfort on their own terms not despite of but because of who they are, even specifically being asked not to change the way they are because that way is lovable. they are openly desired. writing is my fucking JOB and it's still difficult to put into words how much you got 100000% right about the dream with this fic. i have been in the EXACT and i mean EXACT same situation as hermann when he asked newt if it was his personality itself that made people not like him, because i deadass made a spreadsheet of all my personality attributes i thought could be preventing me from making friends in college, and then asked my fellow nd friend to see if there was anything i was missing. so i guess what i'm trying to say is that this amazing, and i'm bookmarking it and putting it on my next fic rec post, and maybe one day way way in the future if i ever get a partner i want to explain the whole autism thing to, i'm gonna have them read this.

The Facts With Newton Geiszler, PhD by what_alchemy (NSFW)

storytime: i read this fic a few years ago, completely forgot the title and author, and ended up thinking about the part where hermann admits to having fucked a trailer hitch when he was a teenager, at least once a week. last november, i say to my friend samara on twitter, head of the BSHCU (buttslut hermann cinematic universe), hey this seems like something you’d have read, do you remember a fic where... and samara says FUCK i do know what you’re talking about lemme find it. so if the fact that i have been looking for this fic for like, two years, and that it contains a moment so iconic all i had to say is, “hermann says he fucked a trailer hitch” and she IMMEDIATELY knew what i was talking about, does not convince you to read this... go back to catholic school i guess.

Feeling Blue by TempusPetrichor

fics where newt goes back to work as a biologist, especially a xenobiologist, post pru are really interesting, and usually have something neat to say about recovery, how it isn’t linear, how it often involves us returning to things we love for comfort, etc. this one sure does! some good emotional and physical h/c, LOVE the use of the ghost drift, and it’s always fun to see post pru fics use dialogue very obviously taken from dbt, trauma-specific therapeutical texts, and anything that shows the author has experience with, or did their research on, ptsd therapies.

You’re Everyone That Ever Cared by KlavierWrites

you know a fic is good when it’s an only 9k slowburn and still manages to reach infinite regress levels of are you fucking KIDDING GO TO THERAPY. newt “acts of service” geiszler may have a little misplaced misogyny due to his broken woman-centric gaydar. as a treat. the fucking. post-drift scene where hermann subtextually screams “LOOK IN OUR BRAINS YOU FUCK I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU I JUST HAVE AUTISM AND CAREER IN STEM DISORDER” is soooooo. god just hermann in general in that scene is great. if you like classic mid 2010s era newmann, ghost drift romance, and good ole mutual pining, this is a treat.

Baby, You're Hotter than my Bunsen Burner by SkySongMA

moronosexual hermann representation is something that can actually be so personal

Times of Stress by RadioMoth

the boys are processinggggggg. man what a good, quick and powerful punch to the gut. if you like post-pr1 catharsis and physical h/c, AND are the one friend that likes to comment at the end of the movie that hey newt got beat the fuck UP, check this one out.

black tea by @faggotcas

okay first of all, god fucking tier url, lee. second of all, food as a love language is my SHIT. i love the very slow relationship development here, where you see them making a genuine effort to get along and that in turn leading to feelings reigniting. it’s such a sweet little moment of a fic, with a nice atmosphere and tone to fit it

now here’s the part where i usually drop my latest fic, but i haven’t written one this month because i’ve been busy launching an audio drama! you can find it here, it’ll be right up your alley if you like cryptids and gay scientists and enemies to lovers and good ole americana, but since this is a newmann post, i’m gonna recommend the pacific rim audio drama duology i did a while back! part one is called conversations from the brink, and it’s a little slice of the pr3 we better fucking get from streaming that godawful looking anime. love and lesbians to everyone ❤️

[piraticalarchive]

okay so for everyone who hates big corporations and management who takes advantage of their employees.. this one’s for you. it’s long but .... i find it completely hilarious.

so a brief recap: amy got fired back in march from a huge international retailer, yes? when things first started like they were going south, i worked on really re establishing a relationship with my brother who is like one level below C-suite (cfo, ceo, etc etc) of that same company because i had an idea in mind. March rolls around, amy gets fired .. and I’m like .. okay. time to put this in motion. but stress and depression obviously took the motivation away from me, but i continued to keep that line of communication up with my brother. we started talking weekly, sometimes twice a week via an actual call. well, i’m finally feeling better .. so this week i finally put my plan in motion. here’s how it went

stage 1: i sent a text to my brother asking if i applied to the store in my area if i could use him as a reference. he said, of course but every store is hiring so i’d look at any store besides that one. (which is already fucking hilarious but i digress) ... so i call the store and one of the managers who sat in on amy’s firing answers when i ask to speak to someone involved in hiring (oh lucky day). I start off with “hi! I’m sorry to bother you, but I’ve been looking for a job thats a bit of a change of scenery and my brother is the *insert position name* and works in *insert headquarters location* and he recommended i give the company a try despite that I had a less than stellar experience last time”. And this manager FALLS OVER telling me they are hiring for so many positions blah blah blah and then at the end when i’m like “thanks for the information! I’m definitely going to apply!” she’s like “of course! I’ll give our hiring manager your information so she can pull it immediately. Whats your name?” and i give my name and suddenly its just dead fucking silent... because they know who I am and they know that I’m in a relationship with amy and that i know what they did. But she recovers and is like ‘can’t wait to see your application!’ .. so.. okay. stage 1 was a success. but then, enter...

unexpected event: the store manager himself calls me. Starts off with some small talk, finally gets around to saying ‘so I hear you’d like to come back and work for us? I was looking at your previous application and I didn’t see any mention of the relation you talked about when you called”. And I’m like “oh, yeah... I don’t like using stuff like that because I’d prefer to get in on my own merit  and skills and not by a family member’s position. Plus its like that show undercover boss, you know? I get to see what the place is like before they know. BUT given with what happened to amy, I was unsure if I’d even be considered without a reference like that” and he laughs nervously and is like “i totally get it. So did anyone know that you had a brother in that position?” and I’m like “oh i mentioned it once in passing to [amy’s manger] but I just said my brother was in corporate and there are a lot of levels so i think he just left it at that” and the store manager is like ‘haha yeah different levels but thats like ... its own level...” and we talk a little bit and he’s like “what made you want to come back?” and I’m like “like i mentioned before, the amy thing really threw me off. I was angry and the good thing about siblings is you don’t have to sugarcoat stuff. So I went to my brother and was like this is how you treat people?? are you kidding?? what about job security?? and i sent him the picture amy had snapped of her discharge papers where it listed the reason and he told me that, and everything else I yelled at him about,  wasn’t the company’s way and that the store had seriously violated something. So for one, I now know that isn’t actually something that should have happened and  two, i inadvertently brought this store to corporate’s attention and there are a lot of good people who work here, and they don’t deserve the consequences of that, so I want to help make it right” and he’s fucking sweating yall, I can hear it over the phone. and he’s like “fill out your application and put whatever you want down and we’ll call you and talk about positions and we can find a way to give you what you want” and I’m like “oh, don’t tell me that nick because your chair is looking awfully good right now” and he did a nervous laugh. SO, unexpected event made my plan even better. Then we get to:

Stage 2: I apply. I check literally every management position, including the one they fired amy from and also some hourly positions and put down ridiculous hours. I pass the manager test with flying colors and when it asks why i said i want to be a team trainer i wrote down ‘thanks to knowing the home office, i know how things should work and I want to help this store raise its position in the district and I know what policies aren’t being followed to help make that raise smoother.” I submitted the application, called the first manager I had spoken to and told her I had done so and she was like “I’m sure we’ll give you a call tomorrow!” ‘Tomorrow’ came and by 7 that night, they hadn’t contacted me. So I went to the ‘we’re hiring’ image they had posted on their facebook page like an hour previously and tagged my brother and was like ‘dude this is one of the positions at my store i was telling you about. think i could pull it off?” AND BAM ! they sent me a request for a phone interview at 8am the next morning. I scheduled my interview for later that afternoon at 2:45 and we enter Stage 3.

Stage 3: Amy and I go to the store to pick up a few things. It’s suddenly fucking spotless. There are no gaps in the shelves, the floor has been cleaned since the last time we were there (monday night and i called them tuesday and it is now white and shiny as hell) and they have the lights turned up all the way so you can actually see. EVERY FUCKING AISLE is perfect. Cat food? perfect. Funko pops? stacked and lined up perfectly. Video games? Filled. Clearance aisle? Perfect order. Like its super obvious they did a mad dash and tried to get the store in shape. So amy and I walk down every single aisle and point things out and kind of put our heads together and talk and I take out my phone and act like i’m texting etc .. basically we’re just fucking with people’s heads because the managers are nearby and they can see what we’re doing. 

Stage 4: So later we’re home and 2:45 comes and goes with NO word. No phone call, no email, no hey can we reschedule. they FORGOT about the interview. I’m dying because they’re making it even better and even easier to fuck with them. So I text my brother (who KNOWS my mental health has been in the trash) and I’m like “I filled out an application just to see and they set up an interview and blew me off. You were right .. not a great help when it comes to the blues” and he was like “yep...i’d look at literally any other store” and talked to me a bit more about it. He was irritated that they’d do that and kept saying they were on thin ice.  Finally at 5 they text me and they’re like “hey, this is the [insert store] and we’re sorry we missed your interview. I wanna apologize. Can we reschedule?” And I wait like an hour and a half (i was napping, i’ll admit it) but I respond with “I apologize for the late response, I had a prior commitment I had to take care of. Unfortunately, I reached out to someone [they know who it is. they know]  in the off chance I had misunderstood the process since I hadn’t heard from you guys and I was encouraged to pursue opportunities at other branches in the area. Thank you for the original consideration and I hope you have a great day!” and they waited until 11am the next day to reply back which I’m assuming is because they were waiting for the higher up management to return to the store.

Come to find out the managers are still basically pissing themselves and freaking out because not only did they a) fire someone against company policy and now know the people at the top know and b) drop the ball and forget to interview a family member of said people at the top ... I got to add salt in the wound one more time by mentioning that my brother dropped in a lot (he doesn’t) and that I’d love to show off the store since it’s such a huge part of the community and it was looking better than I’d ever seen it look. And that it would be nice because he’d get the real experience since it wasn’t a formal, announced visit .... but, of course, that he’s salary .. so the policy is that he’s always ‘at work’ and obligated to take note of things.

so basically, i feel justified. Six and a half months of careful planning and maneuvering was totally justified. 10/10, I’d do it again. Let this be a lesson that patience in planning vengeance is completely worth having and I hope I helped make the store better for employees who aren’t management by putting the fear of god into them with the idea that my brother or anyone else from his office can just drop the fuck in whenever they want with a totally casual visit that could still fuck the management over completely. This is a good week, mates .. a very good week. Am I petty? yes. Do i hate their guts and feel like it was an entertainment that was totally worth it given what they did to the love of my life? also yes.

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

Let’s Play ~ K.O. (part 1)

A/n: So @httpnxtt mentioned Kyle and a gun kink and I kind of made it my own because she’s nice and let me lol. Big thanks to @sunlight-moonrise and @gretaamyk​ for beta reading!. Also huge thanks to @april-14-blog for the encouragement to actually write this! Without all of these people, this fic wouldn’t have happened, and even if no one else reads it but them and myself, I’m glad I got it written and published :)

Warnings: violence, death (not any major characters), smut (male on male): fingering, oral, hand jobs, gun play kink, penetration.

Word Count: 5700+

MASTERLIST

Hands were a hard thing to fight off a super strong creature of death with, but it was either that or Y/n was eaten alive, so there wasn't much of an option.

He'd been doing great with his gun until he'd been tackled from behind. His gun had flown off somewhere- he was just lucky that he'd been able to squirm around so he could fight back at all. He thought if he killed enough time then he might be able to get to his gun, but he couldn't even look away without risking those dirty, rotting teeth sinking into his throat and ripping his vocal chords out. Not a great ending to this story if he was being honest. Not the road he wanted to go down.

A gun show went off and Y/n flinched, eyes wide. But he felt no pain and after only a second's pause, the thing above him that used to be the mailman went limp. He shoved it off of him, rolling to his feet. He stared at the creature, waiting for it to move. But then he saw the bullet wound and the blood coming from the side of its head and he relaxed, standing to his feet fully and searching out his rescuer.

There, only a few feet away actually, was a tall man with brown hair and matching eyes. Y/n's gun was in his hands. Hands that were shaking now. His dark eyes had widened in a look of panic Y/n was getting used to. The two men looked at each other for a long moment. "I killed him," the brunette finally whispered.

"Yes," Y/n confirmed. He put his hands up to show he meant no harm and began to come closer and closer. His goal was half to calm the man down and half to get his gun back. The worst thing that could happen is the man would panic and shoot him, and Y/n couldn't take chances with a bullet wound.

The man took a deep breath and finally lowered the gun from where he'd had it pointed to shoot the now-dead thing that had been trying to kill Y/n. "I did a good thing." It was a struggle for him it seemed. He was trying to convince himself.

Well, that one was easy for Y/n. He was a man of truth, but he didn't even have to tiptoe around this one. "A very good thing," he agreed earnestly. "You saved my life." He began to extend his hands toward the other man's, reaching for his gun just as slowly as he'd approached. "Can I have my gun back please?"

A small nod signaled the man's release of the object, and he even dropped the hand that was attached to the arm furthest from Y/n so he could stretch it out to him. "Here, sorry."

Taking it, Y/n relaxed. He felt safer with a way to defend himself if the need arose. "No need to be sorry. Like I said, you saved my life." It was then the man looked at Y/n, tearing his eyes away from the body he was still staring at. When they looked at each other now, Y/n swore that his heart died in his chest.

Perhaps this was the single worst time to notice this, but Y/n couldn't help it as his gaze took in every inch of the man. He was incredibly attractive, simply put. Even with death all around them, who could simply not see such a pretty face? Y/n was a simple man, and the person that had just saved his life was hot.

He looked away, putting his gun at the back of his belt and clearing his throat. As much as admiring was no sin, getting distracted was. He had to think with the right head- there were more important things. But holy shit if there hadn't been... Y/n might have had to ask this guy on a date.

"Well, thanks." Y/n spoke the words to get out of his head. "Officially." He hesitated as the man nodded. "What's your name?"

"Kyle." His voice was suddenly hoarse and it made him even sexier. Goddamnit!

"Nice to meet you, Kyle." Y/n noticed the look the man was giving him and realized he was waiting for a return in names. "I'm Y/n."

Kyle nodded again. Then he pulled a shiny silver gun out of the holster at his side Y/n was just noticing. His lips must have been really distracting for him to just not pick up on the fact that Kyle was armed... They actually had been that distracting. They made Y/n wonder if Kyle was a good kisser.

FOCUS!

"I'm part of the resistance." His grin made him look like a total dork. It was adorable, and Y/n fought not to smile at it. "We have serious firepower, and we're clearing blocks to make sure everyone at the base is safe. Want to join us?"

It was Y/n's turn to nod. "I'd definitely like some purpose in this mass chaos. Where are you headed to next?"

Kyle grinned. "Think you can keep up?"

Y/n cocked an eyebrow. "Do you think YOU can keep up? You look a little too pretty to actually know how to wield that thing."

Y/n's complement seemed to boost Kyle's confidence. "I knew it well enough to shoot that zombie without hitting you."

A soft chuckle resounded through Y/n's chest. "You have me there. Lead the way, Hot Shot."

The pun made Kyle snort. Shaking his head, he turned to look out instead of at Y/n. "Keep up." As he moved forward, Y/n couldn't help but check out the view from the back. "And Keep your eyes on the zombies," Kyle added sharply, though he didn't seem to be shutting Y/n down as much as he was making sure his back was being watched.

"Yes sir," Y/n joked. Kyle didn't respond to that.

Probably because he was distracted by another zombie ducking into sight and turned its hungry eyes on the pair of men. Thankfully, he really was a great shot and he totally nailed the thing. He lowered his gun, smirking as he looked back at Y/n. "I'm already two ahead of you. You sure you can keep up?"

Y/n raised his eyebrows. "Oh, that's how you want to play huh?" Kyle shrugged and Y/n rolled his eyes, searching for his next target. As Kyle went to say something snarky, Y/n found the next dead body. He took aim and shot it stiff before Kyle could even voice his snarky shot. "Careful Kyle. You've unleashed the beast."

Kyle scoffed. "Okay, Mr. Sexy and Smooth. If we're making this competition, what does the winner get?" He shot another zombie, making Y/n jump. "Other than staying alive, I suppose?"

A soft sigh through pursed lips, as Y/n tried to decide. "What do you want?"

Kyle's eyes suddenly ran down Y/n's body and the man shivered under such a look. Before he could respond though there was a scream and both men were rushing to see what had caused it.

There was a small girl pinning a slightly older boy. The boy had a bar in her mouth and that was why he was faring better than Y/n had been earlier. Her nails were digging into his arms though as if she was about to tear his flesh off by hand if she had to. Y/n had to remind himself of two things. First of all, that wasn't a girl anymore. Second, it absolutely would rip his flesh off his bones with its hands if it felt it had to. He went to aim when Kyle helped next to him.

It seemed that between the gunshots and the boy screaming, the noise had drawn a crowd. There were four zombies heading for Y/n and another rolling around with Kyle who was trying to both keep hold of his gun and also get it to the thing's head so he could shoot it. Y/n forced himself to not panic and instead prioritize. He had to keep himself safe first. The boy and Kyle would be much worse off without Y/n there to offer an extra pair of hands wielding a gun.

He took out two before he heard the crunching of the pipe and the gargling of the thing ripping whatever must remain from the boy, going for him again. He'd run out of time, but thankfully before he could switch his attention there was a shot that he found out meant Kyle had taken down his attacker when Y/n looked over to check in on the other man. Kyle got to his knees and turned the barrel of his weapon to the girl, pulling the trigger without hesitation. She fell and the boy collapsed in relief, her fingers falling out of his mouth just as she was attempting to rip his jaw open.

Y/n turned back his attention to the two zombies headed to him to see there were now six.

"Get up!" Kyle yelled at the boy. The kid responded thank god, scrambling between the two armed men who moved to surround Gina s best they could with just two of them. With him between them, they both looked around at the sudden crowd that had come to play. "I have four in front of me and three more to the left." Y/n looked and realized they had less a crowd and more a mob. This wasn't going to go well if they didn't hurry.

"Perfect opportunity to raise those numbers," Y/n mumbled with ease, like he was talking about the cloudy sky or what was on TV. As if this was normal. Kyle chuckled and they both aimed, counting out loud as they took out one zombie after another.

When the street was finally cleared, the silence was deafening. Kyle moves closer to Y/n, the boy having even less room to move around now. "We need to get out of here, in case more show up. At least from the middle of the road. If we just stand here they might overwhelm us, but if we hide and wait for them to come along then-"

"Sounds great and all," Y/n interrupted. Kyle jerked as he was cut off. "But I doubt either of us have many more bullets, and we have a child to get back to safety if you recall."

Kyle hesitated, jaw working as he looked between the kid and the street. Finally, he sighed, shoulders dropping. "Fine. Lead the way."

Y/n felt himself smile at how cute Kyle looked when he was all down trodden like that. It didn't distract him from keeping them all safe and well guided as they made their way back to 'base' as Kyle called it, it did keep him motivated. They returned with only one more dropped body. "What's your name?" Y/n asked as the trio got settled so the two men could stock up on supplies.

"Tyler," the kid responded.

"Tyler," Y/n greeted. "This is Kyle and I'm Y/n. It's safe here. We're part of a group of people who are going to keep clearing the streets so nothing will get to you guys okay?" Tyler nodded.

Just then, one of the much older adults came into the room. "I think we're actually going to call it a night fellas. The sun is going down and that messes with vision. Makes it much easier for them to take us over. They don't have to worry about getting hurt."

"Yes sir," Y/n said in more of a joking way. His words seemed to excite Kyle though, who was getting way too into the spy day dream he was working with. It made Y/n chortle a bit.

When the older man and the boy left the pair of young adults alone, Kyle sidled up to Y/n. "How many did you get? I got fifteen." He said the number with pride and confidence. Y/n already knew this. He had stopped counting out loud, but Kyle hadn't. Too bad his surety that Y/n couldn't beat him was about to be torn down.

"Eighteen." 

Kyle deflated even more and, as if stealing that air, Y/n puffed up in pride. Kyle hesitated though before slowly realizing, "What's... your prize?" He seemed half eager and half trepid. It fueled Y/n for some reason, having enough power to make a man like Kyle some levels of both nervous and excited.

Y/n hummed, moving closer very slowly. He moved behind Kyle, Y/n's breath falling on the other man's neck. Kyle shivered. Now on the other side of Kyle, Y/n leaned over and pressed his lips quickly to Kyle's cheek. "I think that's all I'll claim for now." Then he turned away and began to leave. He heard the shuddering breath of a frustrated man behind him but he didn't give Kyle the satisfaction of him looking back to see exactly what state he was in. Even though he was rather curious... for now, he was having too much fun messing with the poor man.

Kyle, on the other hand, was NOT having fun. Not at all.

-

Y/n and Kyle went on six runs together over the next three days. They slept at night and then sometimes had to get people back to safety, or stock back up on ammo or food, which brought them back temporarily. Every time they headed back to base, they told the other their tallies and every single time Y/n had won. Kyle has even made them begin to count out loud to prove that Y/n wasn't making a number up. He'd had Y/n say his number before him so Y/n couldn't just say some number above what Kyle said. No matter what he did or how hard he tried, Y/n was better at this than him.

It seemed a bit of a reprieve for him when Y/n tripped one day, twisting his ankle. Unfortunately, it had almost gotten him killed. Focused on the zombies approaching him, Y/n hadn’t watched where he was going and had tripped over a stone that had looked smaller in his peripheral vision. When he’d fallen, he’d dropped his gun and the scramble that he’d gone through to get it back had almost cost too much time. He’d had two zombies on top of him and had by luck alone managed to wiggle into a position to shoot both of them as their faces eagerly lowered to begin to take him chunks at a time. He’d stopped one of them with its teeth in his shoulder. THAT was how close it had been.

Now it was over though, and they were headed back. Kyle seemed irritated though.

"At least now you'll get a few days of practice," Y/n attempted to joke as they traveled as quickly as possible before they'd find themselves in a situation that required them to stop and face down any zombies that might head their way. Thus far a few had been pulled down just by Y/n nabbing them as they passed, but if they got any closer than the two men couldn't chance Y/n missing one, and Kyle helping meant he had to have his hands free, which meant he couldn't help Y/n walk which means they'd basically he stuck in place unless Y/n started crawling. And that would be an even worse plan, because Kyle might trip over Y/n if he couldn't see him. He had to keep his eyes on the zombies, he needed to know where Y/n was so his worry didn't distract him from taking threats out.

Thankfully they hadn't gotten to that point yet.

When the house came into sight, both men relaxed. Kyle helped Y/n inside and to a couch where they both collapsed, tired from the journey. "Nice job out there," Y/n gasped around his heavy breathing.

Kyle chuckled. "Don't patronize me. I know you got way more than me today because I dragged you here."

Y/n rolled his eyes. “You know Kyle, I’m not ALWAYS an ass. You probably saved my life today, and even if not you definitely put yours at risk to make mine easier.” He reached out, placing his hand on top of Kyle’s. “Thank you.”

That only seemed to irritate Kyle more, though that was apparent more from the man’s facial expression, as he didn’t move his hand from Y/n’s. “Can’t you just be a little less-” He cut off, shaking his head and standing to storm away, leaving Y/n wondering what he’d done wrong.

The next week passed a lot like that as Y/n stayed home and healed and helped take care of other people as well. He probably could have gone out sooner if he was pushing it, but he didn’t want to take any chances in case his ankle went weak as he put it through too much and Kyle had to drag him back to the house. That was the reason Y/n had decided Kyle was pissed at him for. The day had been cut short when Y/n had been careless and gotten hurt. It was then that he suddenly got so irritable, and he hadn’t been the same since. It made sense that he would be irritated at getting distracted from the work he was so dedicated to, and then that Y/n didn’t seem to care as much as he did about getting back to it once Y/n was well enough to go back.

The day Y/n did go out, Kyle seemed to be really tense. “You okay?” Y/n asked quietly.

“Shut up,” Kyle snapped. Y/n shrunk in on himself, not sure why Kyle was so pissed. The man seemed to notice and sighed, pausing in their stroll forward. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped. I just need to stay focused and you’re very distracting.” He began walking again, Y/n scrambling to keep up around his confusion.

Wait what? “Distracting?” Y/n asked gently, unsure. They’d been flirty since the first second they’d met. Sure the sexual tension was obvious but that had never seemed to bother Kyle before. Or did he mean that he was bothered by Y/n’s presence? Or that he was worried Y/n would drag him back again? Y/n wasn’t sure if him being a distraction was a good thing or not, and his brain was beginning to spiral with worry.

Kyle huffed.”I swear to god Y/n if you don’t stop, I’ll make you regret it.”

At that Y/n stopped dead. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean, Orfman?”

For whatever reason, that was what made Kyle break. The taller man spun around, eyes blazing. He looked at Y/n first then around them. There wasn’t even a sign of a zombie in sight. He gripped Y/n’s arm, pulling him roughly toward one of the houses. Y/n wasn’t afraid of Kyle per say, but he was curious enough to go along. His curiosity also held him from saying anything else, in case any questions made him stop.

Kyle led Y/n to the main bedroom and let him go, racing out of the room. Y/n guessed that it was to check to see if the place was empty, because when Kyle returned he didn’t have anything new. He did, however, have his gun drawn. “Kneel down.”

“Wha-?” Y/n began, stepping forward.

“Do it.” Kyle’s voice was hard. It was a command that demanded not to be questioned. Y/n gulped silently, finding himself very eager to obey. It was something he’d never experienced and it took him so off guard that he just did it. “Shirt off,” Kyle ordered next. Y/n’s eyes widened, finally realizing what was about to happen. As he did so, Kyle paused, allowing room for Y/n to stop this. As frustrated as he was, he wasn’t about to do anything Y/n didn’t want him to.

Far too eagerly, Y/n ripped his shirt off. He tossed it to the floor, still on his knees. His eyes followed Kyle dutifully. For all his flirting and big talk, it seemed that in this moment Kyle had unearthed a desperation that Y/n couldn’t contain anymore. He didn’t just want this, he NEEDED it, and if he had to do whatever he was told to get it then that’s what he was going to do.

Kyle smiled to himself, appreciating it. He just stood there and took Y/n in, making the man on the floor feel self conscious. “Do you want me to do anything else?” He asked softly.

A smirk rose to Kyle’s face. “So eager to be bossed around, huh?” Y/n nodded and Kyle seemed to relax, falling into this role like it was made for him. He came closer to Y/n, his hands winding in Y/n’s hair and tugging to Y/n looked up at him. The gun in his other hand moved underneath Y/n’s chin, the end of the barrel grazing his throat. Y/n jerked in surprise. Kyle smirked wider. “Y/n, do you trust me?”

He didn’t even have to think about it. “Yes.”

That was exactly what Kyle needed to hear. “Have you ever been with a man before?”

“Yes,” Y/n answered quickly, wanting to please. “Have you?”

Kyle shook his head. “I haven’t, actually. Is it that different?” When he paused, Y/n shrugged. “Use your words,” Kyle cooed.

“Yeah, for the most part. And more than just the obvious as well. Men go harder, but women go louder which makes a difference for some reason. Men tend to be quiet during sex.”

Nodding, Kyle stayed quiet a few seconds, as if considering the information. “Do you think either one is better?” Y/n shook his head no. “Just different then, huh?” Y/n nodded. “Well,” Kyle purred, nudging the gun to keep Y/n’s chin up as he let go of Y/n’s hair. “Show me the difference, Y/n.” He pointed to his pants and the man on his knees was fast to change his focus from Kyle’s face. His hands worked to undo the pants and pull them down, revealing the bulge underneath the black boxers. Y/n made a soft sound that made Kyle jerk forward. “Don’t waste time,” Kyle barked. “We don’t have all day.” With that, Y/n pulled Kyle’s boxers down as well, allowing his member to spring free. The sight made Y/n lick his lips, looking up at the other man with a question he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to ask. “What?” Kyle prompted, obviously irritated again.

“Do you want me to get it all in? Or can I use my hands too?”

Kyle blushed and Y/n felt his fingers begin to fidget. “Do what you think is necessary.” His voice had dropped and the sound went through Y/n in waves. It was the last thing either of them said before Y/n wrapped his fingers around the base of Kyle’s cock to stabilize it before he wrapped his lips around the tip. He hollowed his cheeks to create better suction as he bobbed his head, making Kyle groan, his head falling back and eyes closing. After a second, Y/n removed his mouth to pump the length with his hands. His fingers slid along the dent just under the head where he knew would be most sensitive. Kyle grabbed his hands to stop him. “I- I need to sit down-” He moved out of Y/n’s reach, sitting on the bed. “Come here.” His eyes were lust blown and Y/n swallowed, crawling over quickly. He didn’t need Kyle to tell him to start again, he just took action. After a few more pumps, Y/n placed his lips on Kyle once more, listening and stealing glances as well as he could without losing focus on what he was doing. He wanted to make sure what he was doing worked, and if it worked he didn’t want to stop doing it. Just when the brunette man seemed to begin to come unwound, he reached forward and grabbed hold of Y/n’s hair again. “Stop,” he growled. Y/n did, pulling his mouth off with a satisfying popping sound that made Kyle shiver. He lifted the hand that still held the gun. “Do you still trust me?”

“I trust you,” Y/n confirmed earnestly, eyes wide and sincere.

Kyle stroked Y/n’s jaw. “Such a good boy.” He leaned forward, pointing the barrel at Y/n’s lips. “Open.” Y/n did, and Kyle fit the thing inside his mouth. Y/n felt his pulse spike. He meant what he said when he’d said he trusted Kyle, but his fight or flight instincts were still responding and it was a little nerve wracking, making it hard to stay still. “Show me,” Kyle demanded softly, his face inches from the side of Y/n’s face. “Show me what you do to make me feel that good. I want to learn so I can duplicate it, but if you do it on me I’m gonna be distracted.”

Y/n steeled himself before beginning to work his mouth around the gun barrel as he did with Kyle. The brunette man suddenly shoved it deeper into Y/n’s mouth, making him gag. Kyle smiled and Y/n blinked the beginning of tears out of his eyes as they threatened to block him from the view. Kyle was obviously getting off on this. The thought was confirmed when Kyle began to stroke himself with his free hand. He watched Y/n, first licking then biting his lip as he touched himself. “God where did you learn to do this?” Y/n paused and he sneered, “Don’t stop. Just because I ask a question doesn’t mean I want you to answer it.” It was a dangerous order. What happened when Kyle DID want him to answer it and he didn’t? Y/n was kind of excited to learn.

Finally Kyle pulled the gun out of Y/n’s mouth. He hummed as Y/n whimpered. “Please,” Y/n begged. “Touch me. Something. Please.”

“So desperate,” Kyle whispered, his breath falling on Y/n’s face. Y/n nodded, scooting closer. His knees were beginning to hurt but he didn’t dare complain. Kyle stood, pointing the gun at Y/n’s forehead. “Stand the fuck up.” Y/n scrambled to his feet. Only now did he realize that Kyle was taller than him. Before it hadn’t been super obvious but now it was clear as day, with how close they were. His thoughts were ripped away from that as Kyle shoved him against the wall aggressively, nestling the gun under his chin. “What do you want?”

“Anything,” Y/n begged, closing his eyes as his head fell against the wood behind him.

Kyle hummed, considering. “Seem to be wearing a lot of clothes for someone who wants me to touch him.” He was grinning when Y/n shot him a complainant look. “Ah yes, what a good boy. Take them off then.” Immediately Y/n was naked, just in time for Kyle to follow as he slid his own shirt off. Kyle returned the gun to Y/n’s throat, but this time moved it to the right. On the left side of Y/n’s neck, Kyle pressed his lips to the Y/n’s skin. First it was soft kisses until he began to sink his teeth into the flesh just enough to make Y/n suck in a breath, but not enough to leave a mark. He did begin to suck though, running his teeth along the skin to ensure there would be a huge, dark purple mark left behind. Y/n released a breath, but his body remained coiled with tension. “Beg me to fuck you,” Kyle mumbled.

“Please,” Y/n immediately hissed, his body shaking with need. His own member brushed against Kyle’s hand and Y/n flinched. “GOD please, Kyle. Please. Tell what I have to do, I swear I’ll do it.”

“I know baby,” Kyle responded evenly, a satisfied smirk on his face. He reached his hand to Y/n’s shoulder, yanking the man around so he was facing the wall. He then moved very close. Close enough that Y/n could feel Kyle’s breath on his neck and his cock against his hip. “Is this what you want?” He let that same free hand up and down Y/n’s length, relishing the way Y/n wobbled between leaning against the wall and Kyle to keep him standing. “Is it? If not, I can stop.”

“God no,” Y/n groaned, his lips parting in an ‘o’ shape. Finally he let his head drop onto Kyle’s shoulder, used to the feeling of the gun barrel making a path from his neck to his stomach. All his focus was on what Kyle’s other hand was doing. “It feels so good, please don’t stop.”

Kyle sighed, long and breathy. “Turn around.” He leaned just far enough away to allow Y/n to obey and Y/n did obey, just as he had all night. Eagerly and without hesitation. When they were face to face, Kyle tossed the gun behind him on the bed, hooking both hands around Y/n’s waist to make sure the man followed him as he began to move to the bed. “Lay down.” When Y/n did, Kyle crawled over him. “Are you going to keep being a good boy?” Y/n nodded. “Good.” His hands were both now free, but the gun was within grabbing distance so Y/n didn’t write it off yet. It’s just that Kyle needed to keep himself propped up as he touched Y/n, and he only had two hands. The first thing Kyle did was stick two fingers in Y/n’s mouth. Y/n sucked on them, making Kyle smile. But he seemed to have a goal in mind as just when Y/n was getting into it, Kyle slid his fingers out, trailing them down his neck to his chest and beyond. His hands drew shapes lower and lower until he dropped past Y/n’s still eager length to push a finger slowly into the man. “How’s this?”

“Not bad,” Y/n responded through heavy breaths, his body tense.

That continued until Y/n relaxed, Kyle giving the man plenty of time to adjust as he slowly stretched out. Then he slipped another finger in, repeating the process and being just as patient every time to make sure Y/n was ready. “God you’re so pretty.” Y/n hadn’t expected that, his body rolling further into Kyle’s hand. He’d been called a lot of things, but never pretty. There was something sweet about the compliment that made it almost intimate. This wasn’t about sex, him saying that. Kyle was just attracted to Y/n on a base level, and that was all. The way it sent shivers all over Y/n’s body made Kyle’s eyes widen in appreciation. “Okay,” he said finally. “I’m going to fuck you now, okay?”

“Please hurry,” Y/n grunted. He wanted his own release so badly at this point he didn’t give a fuck how he got it.

Kyle chuckled, but responded kindly, rather than being as cruel as someone else might have been about how Y/n technically ordered him even though Kyle was in charge right now. Moving his body to line himself with Y/n’s waiting body, Kyle hesitated only a second before pushing in. Y/n hissed a breath in and Kyle moved slowly. Very slowly, allowing Y/n once again all the time he needed. The pain turned to pleasure as it always di, and soon Y/n’s squeaks turned to soft breathing. With him comfortable with Kyle moving, the brunette focused on pleasuring himself. Or, that’s what Y/n thought at first.

As Kyle continued to fuck Y/n, he wrapped a hand around Y/n’s waiting cock, stroking him in time with the thrusts.

Neither man were going to last long.

When they finally did release, Y/n was both filled with Kyle’s cum as well as covered in his own. It made Kyle smile. When they were both done, Kyle pulled out and got to his feet shakily, leaving the room for a few moments only to return with a towel. “I didn’t want to leave you like…” He motioned to Y/n’s wet stomach. Y/n noticed the sudden shyness of the man; the softness to his words, and the way he wouldn’t look at Y/n. The gentleness with which he cleaned the mess, as if he wished Y/n to be unaware of his touch at all.

And also the speed at which he redressed once the job was done, towel discarded in the corner. Kyle retrieved his gun then cleaned it off as well from the spit that was beginning to dry on it and smudge the clean silver shine. Y/n sat up as Kyle began to move to the door. The man winced and Kyle’s expression tightened. “Are you leaving?” His voice was hoarse, making Kyle’s knuckles turn white as he gripped his gun again, as if it was a safety blanket.

Kyle hesitated. “I don’t think we should work together anymore.”

“Was I bad? Did I do something wrong?” Y/n asked as he moved to his feet, nearly tripping over himself as he pulled his own boxers and pants back on. His knees wobbled but he managed to pull it off.

Obviously trying not to smile as he watched only when he thought Y/n didn’t notice him doing so, Kyle cleared his throat. “No.” It was quiet, strained. “But this can’t happen again.”

Y/n stood, still shirtless. “Kyle-”

“I’ll see you back at the base, Y/n.” And with that he was gone, leaving Y/n confused and alone in the room that still smelled like sex.

What had gone wrong?

-

Male Reader Tag: @sheepfather

[itsthe-neo-zone]

Wands and Potions: NCT dream & WayV 

Please read the Masterlist before continuing ahead with the chapter, thank you.  

Chapter 18:

[02:16PM]

[20th of October]

“Do you even know what he was using the tentacle juice for?” 

The huffs became frequent and the more Lyra questioned the more Selene became tired. Was this really necessary? And why was she being so unbelievably nosy?

“No, and frankly I don’t need to know.” the walking stopped halting the trail the two created in the thick fluffy snow that covered the earth. “because I don’t care.”

“You should, Liu could be plo-” a snicker stopped Lyra’s chapped lips from blurting her thoughts. “Plotting? Is that what you were going to say? He’s plotting against me. Or maybe its against you? Or even Jinsoul.” The words spat back at Lyra.

The brunette took her lips between her teeth, her fingers took the red and golden threads of the scarf wrapped across her chest, fiddling with the bare edges. Selene was already on edge and the change of demeanour pushed her off.

“Hey, I’m not going to feel sorry for you, so don’t give me that pathetic look.” Her fingers ran through her golden roots, her hair had turned a shade darker with the coming of winter making it lose the fiery glimmer in it.

“You all need to stop telling me how to act or feel.” She rolled her eyes leaving the brunette standing there stiff and alone, the only speck of colour on a blank sheet of white for miles.

 The creaking door slid open letting a gust of cold biting chill mix in with the heated warmth of the shop. The three broomsticks was a place where the youngsters could chill and relax. The ancient and rustic feel made it close to home for some.

It wasn’t the same for Selene.

“You need to start talking to her again, Scorpius you can’t just igno-” “Oh but he can,” she shuddered, the witch dropped the scarf and slid the robes off her shoulders setting them next to her. Sparing a glance at Albus, Selene sympathised with the blonde boy before her.

“And why is that?”

“She’s being awfully nosy, quite bitchy too.”

“Just because you aren’t on good terms it doesn’t mean he has to ignore his own sister.” Albus shuffles closer his tone drops to a minimal whisper. Selene rubbed her hands trying to heat up the ice cold blue tinted flesh.  

“Also, what happened to innocent sweet Selene?”

“Oh her?” her arm lifted to signal the server, “she’s usually what most see if they don’t know me too well. Ask Scorpius.”

The glance left Selene and moved towards the empty blonde boy next to him. No response came. His head lulled above his fist pushing the skin upwards, hair covering his glacier orbs.

“You ok?” the ginger placed her hand upon his, she felt his fingers twitch, there was no warmth in his touch. Inside her chest, the breathing became a little harder, an exasperated sigh left her.  

“It’s hard, I know. but you have to believe your father did this for a good reason. And now you can let her move in, you’ve always said you wanted a sister.”

“Move in? After my mother’s death?” his voice dripped with poison. It was a little loud gaining attention from the tables nearby. Jisung sent the most blood curdling nape shivering stare at Selene from across the bar.  His eyes were hard-rimmed and fixed, so much so that it was as if he was not able to move his eyeballs.

If looks could kill. The ginger would have disintegrated instantly.

So would Albus have with what Scorpius was sending him.

“Keep it down a little.”

“I am not going to replace my mother any time soon.” He spat back.

“You need her, Scorpius think about it, she will help you and your father get through this. Lyr-” the death glares the two sent made him rethink his choice of words. “Ehem… I- mean she is a girl after all.”

Selene sipped the jug of glowering orange liquid letting it sting the back of her throat slightly. She needed it. Secretly, it was the only thing she was feeling nowadays.

“Rose Weasley can take her in. After all, the two are half-sisters.” His voice was stiff and cut at the end, it was like his throat was clogged. Scorpius hated this topic. He didn’t want to talk about it.  

The others sensed that.

“And you, cut the long night walks with that German Durmstrang boy.”

“Whys that? Am I bothering you in any way?”

“No actually, its not me you’re bothering but-” A hand slapped the two lips that were moving of their own accord. Selene didn’t think nothing of it, but she missed the alarmed state that Albus was in.

“You shouldn’t be walking around he grounds late at night. Its dangerous.”

“Did little miss snitch tell you I was sneaking out late? I knew it!” she turned to the deflated boy. “This is why you shouldn’t talk to her just yet.” She finished her words with another gulp taking in the tingling sensation.

“Selene, I’m being serious, it shouldn’t matter who told me, this is for your own safety.”

“Why does everyone hate him so much?” the witch continued taking larger gulps the farther she got towards the bottom of the cup.

“Can you calm down; you must be really thirsty.”

Selene chuckled but before a word could be uttered, she lifted the closest free hand towards her head, she felt dizzy and her eyes were going blurry.

“Why’s everything spinning?” a murmur left her lips. It was mumbled aloud. A chair dragging across the wooden polished floor was heard in the distance and someone’s figure made their presence known next to her.

“Did she drink from this?” snatching the cup from the table Chenle grabbed it sniffing the few sips left in the cup.

“Yeah, why?”

Selene didn’t see the glare sent towards the table chenle was situated at before he came over, she also didn’t see the way he dropped the few paper bills on the table.

She did feel his strong hand grasp tightly onto her arm and shoulder helping her out of her chair. The daze she was in was getting stronger. Her knees felt week from the sudden force of standing but she pushed through on his command.

“Whats going on?” the question was left unanswered as she was dragged out tumbling next to him as they ventured into the freezing cold.

She had left her robe and scarf at the bar, shivering and dizzy Selene moved to lean onto his arm. Sliding the other across her waist he pulled her to a nearby stable.

“Why did you drink it knowing its full of poison?” he strained. She wasn’t on good terms with him. Actually, she despised the blonde mixed boy.

“Answer me!” his voice rose. Selene couldn’t really see that well her head was pounding, and it was starting to get even worse.

“I-I can’t see clearly. My eyes…” “What… whats going on?” she lifted her fingers to eyes level but all she saw was a messy blur of what used to be HD clear vision. Thin strips of cream-brown against white.

“You took a morbus potion. From your symptoms only a few drops, too much could have killed you.” A silent pause registered between the two, she was confused and the last few words he had said really hit clear. I could have died; I never finished the glass. I could have…

“I’ve taken no such thing.”

“It was in the drink,” his voice was hard, it was like he had a rock lodged in his mouth. “Someone must have slipped it in.”

“I feel like I-” holding her lips shut with her hands she felt something sinister crawl up her throat it blocked her breathing and restricted her normal body flow. Defying gravity and her disaccord of its appearance. Please no, not here…

“Get it out of your system.” His tone lightened slightly, or maybe it was her hearing things. Why would his tone change anyway Selene was over listening into things that didn’t matter right now.

“Take this.” He handed her a bottle it contained a liquid of some sort that didn’t look too familiar, she stared at it cautiously as if it would transfigure into a centipede.

“I don’t want to.”

She was able to push down the thick trickling of crimson blood

“It’s already gone this far, how do I know this isn’t going to kill me?” Selene didn’t move her head she just lifted her eyes staring him up, the trust was gone. It was hidden, locked away until he took the key out. But she didn’t expect the answer he gave her…

He sighed dropping his hand before looking away his eyes glanced anywhere but her face. The breath that left his dry, chapped lips evaporated into smoke coalescing itself into the air.

“Good point,” he pressed his lips into a thin line. “Why would I stop you from drinking the rest of the jug back then?”

Selene glanced down, his face had no show of remorse and it had a blank expression plastered onto it. She couldn’t maintain eye contact at all. It felt pointless.

His words made sense though…

“Drink it all.”

Listening to him, she took the first sip hesitantly, not minding the bitter taste. It felt heavy on her tongue but she too it in accepting it was good for her.

“You’ll be alright.” he muttered the words, in the wintery cold that surrounded them Selene felt her heart warm up slightly. She would never admit it now but it felt nice having someone look out. Even if it was with a frown and a dry response.

 [09:15PM]

Selene felt drained. Absolutely exhausted and while she did love nothing but a good rest she still had to do her night duties before she finally could rest this included the lengthy check and route of the whole 2nd floor and near the library.

It would have been 10 times easier- not to mention faster- if it wasn’t for the bratty 3rd year that refused to help her out. The job was specifically made for two yet she never showed up. But the ginger couldn’t bring it in her debilitated self to spend any longer than necessary looking for the young student.

“For fuck sake…” selenes face fell completely. She was aggravated to the max now, which can be added to the list of emotions she was feeling. The last thing she’d expect to see was the young student supposed to be helping her helping her own needs.

The sound of lips against lips filled the air and half of her internally cringed, the lewd sounds filling the air too fast to comprehend. God did she wish to wash out her ears with soap. But as she left a figment of her imagination removed the figure of the male student much older than the girl and placed a charming and devilish German student that had been taking up to much of her mind lately.

For a short second, it was barely comprehensible. his light caress and soft touch was all she yearned for. She shook her head continuing all the rounds she needed to finish. The guilt inside her built up daily but she pressed it down.

During the cold and wintery days. The gloom that was slowly being foreshadowed around the castle, Yangyang was the only source of happiness and joy she found. He filled her with something so intangible and sensual it was so difficult to describe.

And Selene felt herself change bit by bit, she tried to subconsciously hold back. Avoiding him on certain days and cancelling scheduled meet ups but it was inevitable, Yangyang was slowly yet voraciously devouring every inch of her being. She could feel it in the way she looked at him. The way her thoughts where changing. Her desires were developing.

Something once so innocent – a touch from him – a simple sensory fondle. Turned into a carnal and instinctual hunger that he had awoken in her. What was I turning into?…

[Selene Pov]

I felt that relief I craved for when I entered the dorms. Red or green it never mattered when I was weak in the knees. I looked at my bed like a man who was stranded in the dessert looked at fresh water.

“Look who’s here...”

“Please don’t start.” I knew this was going to be rough getting past the two crow-like girls at their beds but I didn’t expect their beady eyes glaring in the pitch dark the cool toned shadow casting harsh shapes across their faces.

“What?”

“We know what you borrowed.” A sigh left her lips as Jinny finished speaking, but the sly raven next to her muttered “She really stole it…” “Ravelle!”

“I didn’t do anything.” A frustrated exhale left my own lips. They wouldn’t know a thing because I never let them know about anything. It wasn’t their business.

“Does this ring a bell to you?” Ravelle stood up waving a slither of tentacula its sticky residue dripping from its end.

“Yeah.” I simply muttered, shrugging and to Ravelle’s shock. She probably thought I was going to deny everything.  

“It’s what you mix every morning to slap” I lightly tapped my fingers onto her cheeks “onto your face, what was it for again- oh right. Your beautiful visuals… right?” I rolled my eyes after feigning thought.

The sniggers didn’t go unnoticed from Jinny who had rolled back onto her bed fully. The glimmer in her beading eyes was picked up by the light rays of moonlight sheathed inside.

“Don’t you dare make fun of my natural face masks and answer me truthfully.” Her voice picked up in volume.

“You’re pathetic.” Ravelle spat back after no response from me.

“You’d really love to know what was in that wrap I held before, don’t you?” I edged coyly. I loved having her on edge like this. But it wouldn’t last too long…

“Sit down.”

I motioned to sit down pointing for her to do as I say.

“There’s no point in getting mad now since it’s already over. There is nothing you could do about it.” I couldn’t help but stop myself from giggling slightly. It was too good.

“I gave the wrap of tentacula away. It wasn’t for me anyways.” I smiled

Ravelle started feeling uncomfortable, she shifted from her position awkwardly. Blinking multiple times.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean Gryffindor or any house for a matter of fact is going nowhere. This year belongs to Durmstrang and I just made sure they got a head start.”

“WHAT THE FUCK?” Ravelle’s eyes went as wide as saucers, “What have you done? Selene!” Jinny’s voice piped up for the first time, the shriek in her voice prominent.

“You’ll find out soon.” I sniggered, a smirk coming up to form at my lips.

 “Shit shi- Guys! You won’t believe this!” the doors to the main dormitories slam open and in came a breathless and beyond petrified Irene, the young girl held her posture against her shaking knees.

The worry evident in her chewed dry lips and pale yellow face. A few more moments and it looked like she was about to throw up.

“They, the- oh god.” It’s like realisation flushed her face, Irene was gobsmacked she frowned glancing at the two girls that were accusing me. Jinny flipped over to see the ghastly expression Irene adorned.

“What is it, spit it out already!”

“James. And uh- Well James potter and his friends they got severely injured.”

“WHAT?” the screech was pitched so high I was surprised it didn’t shatter the clouded glass of the window. All three of us flinched.

“Calm down Ravelle,” Jinny pushed past, fixing her hair. She smiled gently towards the terrified girl. “How did they get injured, tell me what happened clearly” after a few seconds of sharp breaths, Irene spoke shuddering the words I had wanted to hear since I gave the plant to him.

“Well, they got injured last night in the pre battle for the lead in the tournament. Someone had put a certain strange plant in their soup.”

“It was- uh… it’s almost fatal for some.” The last few words were muttered but I heard everything as clearly as I could.

At some point I doubted myself, my ears had to be making up sounds for me to hear and feel accomplished. It couldn’t have worked that well.

“It wasn’t just them. The other houses reported similar symptoms to them earlier.” Another young Gryffindor peeped through the wooden door squeaking quietly.

“Get lost pipsqueak!” Ravelle threw the remains of tentacula at the doorway, “I’ll deal with you later. You’ve done something!”

Her eyes screamed anger she was Enraged, Ravelle hit boiling point. Her body buzzing with a fury that could only be calmed with the sight of her secret lover safe.  

“Yeah yeah,” I waved my hand swatting her as she stormed off. She couldn't do a thing.

 This was only the beginning of things…

@ajuniceuajuniceu​ @kkuljungwoo​ @sensiblebutch​ @kangkinoa​ @nctzen2020​ @mystic-jungkook​ @merryandhappylele​ @bcbymingi​ @mochischeeks  @rilakunma​ @jaehyunspaghetti​ @commentgirl​ @99jjh​ @johnnys-wifeu​ @misaraem @apricottulips​ @h2ogamergirl@angelsnowflake​

(if you want to be added to the taglist please send in an ask or direct message me thanks)

[qualquercoisa945]

So We Picked Up A Pen And A Microphone

AO3 Link

Title Inspiration- Ex Wives from Six

so for those wondering what the countdown in my bio has been about anyways yeah uhhhhhhhh i am legally allowed to post this today since it’s my birthday and therefor i am legally obligated to self indulge, thank you for your time

tws- none that i can think of, but please tell me if there are any

Even before the show had started, back when all of them were still in rehearsals and the very few voluntary conversations any of them ever had were stilted at best or arguments just barely disguised as passionate discussions at worst, Anne was never the earliest to places. Partially due to not really wanting to wake up at Too Fucking Early O’Clock, partially because she just genuinely wasn’t the most pontual person- very rarely was she not at least a few minutes late to events.

But today was a bit of an exception. Today was the opening of their West End run, and she couldn’t help the slight skip to her step as she walked from the tube station towards the theatre, for once the first one to get going there. Not that she wasn’t familiar with the theatre or the show or any of that- but she would be lying if she said there wasn’t a reason.

During their UK tour, they had one alternate- Regina. She’d go on whenever any of the queens were ill or busy, but only one alternate for six queens was clearly too little- something Anne herself had brought up with the production team, with no action taken. Of course, as anyone with half a brain could’ve guessed, this resulted in multiple shows having to be cancelled and all of them, Regina included, being exhausted by the end of their run.

So once the West End run was announced, so were the changes to the cast- the addition of two alternates and a swing. And she was shocked when she noticed that she recognized them- from the posts Regina had made with her friends.

She’d looked into them- call it paranoia or stalking or what have you, but she’d prefer not to be around people she knew nothing about, especially not people who were going to be acting as herself when she couldn’t. She had their names- the alternates being Skye Jackson and Ally Rodriguez and the swing Gretchen Warren- and the social media that the show’s account had tagged them with.

Gretchen was the second oldest out of the four of them, just 2 years younger than Regina at 22, with dark brown wavy hair and green eyes. She didn’t seem to have much in the way of public stuff- her account had been set to private when she was tagged, and it was only after Anne had gotten permission to follow her that it was set to public. It was mainly personal, with a few pictures of relatively small local productions that never fully took off. This was understandable- she’d graduated just a year ago, and not everyone had a job offer right out of college. Now Skye and Ally were a different story.

Ally was the youngest, having turned 19 in the past November, just two months earlier, with light brown hair and some of the darkest eyes she had ever seen. A lot of the posts were personal, typical teenager stuff like photos of hang outs or posts at parties. Some were more serious- activism or mental health centered stuff that hinted more into stuff Ally seemed to keep closer to her chest. And there were also some tiny school productions of musicals, as well as covers she seemed to mostly do with her friends- some of them being her fellow alternates and swing, and the closest Skye.

Skye had her curious from the moment she’d seen the clips posted of them in rehearsal. At 19, just a few months older than Ally, and with jet black hair with teal tips and purple eyes, she couldn’t help but focus on her as she acted out what she recognized as her own song. A quick browse through her profile and she noticed the girl’s personality was an awful lot like her own- all huge grins and cocky smirks and quickly thought-up quips and arguments. Her posts, along with the videos she posted on the Youtube channel linked in her bio, were a mix of everything- personal stuff, covers, productions, announcements, and other more serious stuff that she seemed to also avoid.

She’d texted all of them as soon as she could, and although she’d gotten along with them fairly well, conversation had died fairly quickly due to the usual early-friendship awkwardness.

That hadn’t been the case for some of her other cast members, however, as she’d heard Cathy talk about Skye as if the two were friends, and Kitty seemed to have gotten along with Ally quite well. There was a part of her that couldn’t help but wonder why no one had managed to connect with Gretchen, but she figured they’d have time for that once performances started and they had more time to be around one another.

And now, she hoped she wouldn’t be stuck to the sidelines as she made her way to the theatre, hoping to be the first to meet the new cast members.

As she turned a corner, she couldn’t help the grin that formed when she saw a familiar head of golden hair a bit farther ahead on the street. “Oi, Regina!”

She gave her a wave when the girl looked up, and the latter gave the barest hint of a smile before Anne made a dash towards her. “So, how’s our superswing?” Anne’s grin only broadened at the soft chuckle Regina gave- it was clear no one could quite avoid the excitement of opening night, stoic as Regina was (or at least tried to).

“Admittedly, I’m pretty excited.” She replied, only confirming Anne’s suspicions. “Plus, I feel like the six of you will like the new girls. Though, Skye and Ally will bring more chaos into it all.”

“Hey now, Aragon and Jane live with me, right?” She replied with a smirk, earning another soft chuckle from the girl as they turned the last corner- the one that lead them into the street of the theatre.

“I believe they do, yes.” She agreed softly. “And I’ve been dealing with those two for a good decade or so now, I can handle them.”

“How bad are they?”

Regina hesitated at that question, physically stopping just a few feet away from the theatre before turning to face her with a smile and a playful light in her eyes that Anne didn’t think she’d ever seen. “Skye is you and Ally is Kath, only those two are childhood friends and Ally has much less self control than Kath has, so they’re much worse than the pair of you.”

Anne stared at her, mouth slightly agape, before chuckling with her trademark confident smirk. “Well then, guess me and Kitty will have to up our game.”

Regina gave a soft chuckle, shaking her head as she walked the last few steps to the theatre, Anne right behind her as she came inside the foyer.

Neither spent much time there- apart from a quick greeting to the ticket booth worker, they both seemed to agree to head to see the dressing rooms as quick as possible.

As soon as they were in the dressing room hall, Anne could hear soft voices from the farthest away dressing room, voices that sounded vaguely familiar even if she couldn’t pin names to them, coupled with musical theatre tunes muffled by the voices.

Before Anne herself could react, Regina chuckled softly and made a quick dash for it, opening the door. Assorted greetings sounded from it, but Anne was too deep into her own thoughts to properly process them, simply following Regina into the dressing room while registering, from the corner of her eye the names of the four girls engraved on the dressing room’s door.

The first thing that caught her eye was a book, left on the counter right of her. On its cover, Anne spotted a portrait of a familiar girl with fiery red hair and dark eyes much like her own. Before she had a chance to reply, however, a voice spoke up.

“Oh, that’s mine.” Anne looked up to meet sharp violet eyes and a wide grin, and immediately she returned it. “Anne Boleyn, right? Nice to finally meet you- in person, I mean.”

“Right back at you.” Anne returned, sitting on one of the vacant chairs before handing the book to Skye. “I see you’ve done your homework.”

That earned a laugh from the girl. “Eh, I’ve always been a Tudor nerd, to be honest-”

“Can confirm.”

Skye turned back to face who Anne was pretty sure was Ally with an amused, playfully annoyed smirk. “Thank you, Ally.” She replied with emphasis on the girl’s name, before turning back to Anne. “But uh, yeah, have been since I was a kid. Elizabeth is the one they focused more in school- well, apart from Henry, but I was never too interested in him- so that’s where I started and it just kinda grew from there.”

Anne nodded with a soft chuckle. “I see, ‘nd I’m guessing it’s safe to assume you were really excited when you got the job.”

“She called me screaming about it.” Anne looked up at the quiet, soft tone, meeting gentle green eyes and a shy, if amused, grin. “So yes, it is safe to assume so.” Gretchen continued, before falling silent.

Anne nodded, but this time it was Ally who spoke up first. “And uh, just before you ask, I’m first cover Cleves and Parr, Regina is first cover Aragon and Seymour, and Skye is first cover Bo- well, you, and Howard.” She couldn’t help but chuckled softly at the girl’s stumble, before nodding.

“Well then, I can’t wait for a chance to see you all perform.” ________________________________________________________________

That chance, it turned out, would come just that Sunday, their last day of the week and a double show day. Though, not for Anne herself, at least not the first show.

Anne seemed to have gotten herself roped into a last minute interview organized by the show’s producers, and so, instead of the first (and only) debut being Ally’s in the evening show as Cathy, and since Gretchen had to call out due to illness, it seemed Skye would get the honor of first debut as Anne.

And quite frankly, Kath couldn’t wait for it.

Even as she got on stage, with the white lights simply showing their silhouettes backlit to the audience, she couldn’t help but shoot Skye a quick glance, looking up and down at the girl’s turquoise outfit, before fixating for just a moment on her hair, a mix of jet black and the near exact same shade as her costume, before averting her gaze when the first beats of the show sounded.

Kath let her mind run on autopilot during the show, up until just a bit after Catherine’s solo.

“Yeah, you know… the one, you’ve been waiting for!”

The audience sounded softly at that line, as if heating up for the proper cheer, and Kath couldn’t help but all but bounce through the choreography as they prepared for what would usually be Anne’s big reveal, but today would be Skye’s.

“Anne Boleyn!”

The end of the intro to the song was met with laughter from the audience at the sight of Skye sat on the steps, in between Maria and Joan, staring at her hand as if she were holding a phone. She let out a soft, slightly confused giggle along with the audience, waiting until they quieted down before speaking.

“Literally what are th-” She looked up, as if only now noticing the audience, and then seemed to shrink into herself the tiniest bit, although her confident smirk betrayed her actual feelings- she was loving this. “Oh. Sorry!”

At that, she all but jumped onto her feet as the first notes of Don’t Lose Ur Head sounded, and the show was on the road.

As they performed, even after the song was over, Kath couldn’t help but analyze the way Skye acted. It was confident, but not cocky- it was self assured, and grounded, as if she didn’t think she was better than all of them, she knew she was better than all of them. And she would be damned if she didn’t show it.

It seemed to work, as Skye’s delivery of Anne’s one liners had the audience all but roaring all the time, and by the end of the show it seemed as if Skye had conquered the hearts of all audience members.

It was almost scary. But at the same time, fitting. She may have not known Skye for long, but even then she could tell she was good at persuading people. She was impressed, if she was being honest.

It was when leaving the stage that the problems started.

One tiny misstep was all it took, and suddenly Kath had nearly fallen, pain shooting up from her ankle and the only thing keeping her from doing so being the tight grip on her arm.

If it weren’t for the fact that she was in really high spirits and the very light feeling of a costume’s fabric brushing against her arm, she would’ve definitely panicked.

As it was, however, she managed to keep herself together just enough to regain her balance, pressing more on her good foot, turning around as soon as the pressure around her arm was released, coming face to face with Skye, who looked both incredibly concerned and incredibly apologetic.

“I’m sorry I held you so tight, I just wanted to make sure you didn’t fall. Are you alright?”

Kath almost nodded. But then she tried to set more pressure on her hurt foot, and a brand new wave of pain shot up, forming tears in the corners of her eyes.

“Okay, that’s a no.” Skye’s awkward half laugh almost made Kath feel just a tiny bit better. “‘S okay! Probably just a twisted ankle, there’s no reason for it to be anything worse. Can I help you to your dressing room?”

After Kath nodded, she leaned just enough against Skye as the latter wrapped an arm around her shoulders, gently helping her up the stairs and to her dressing room.

Once Kath was sitting on the dressing room’s couch with one foot propped up and Skye sat on the opposite arm rest with a few anti inflammatories (“you underestimate how often I twist my ankle, or get hurt in general,” was her response when Kath had asked her why she just had some on them) in one hand and a glass of water in the other, she took off her show shoe as carefully as she could.

“Yeah, that’s definitely twisted.” Skye stated with a calm certainty as Kath stared warily at her swollen up ankle. She looked up when she got handed the meds and glass, taking them without another word before letting her head rest against the back of the couch.

“It just had to happen on a double show day, huh.” She grumbled, just managing a half-smile that earned her a chuckle from Skye.

“Yeah, it sucks ass. But hey, don’t stress! Better for you to get some rest so you can be back as soon as you can.” Skye reminded softly, and Kath couldn’t help a quiet chuckle when Skye leaned in and tapped the tip of her nose with her finger.

They both looked towards the door when they heard it open, and a very concerned looking Anne peeked in through it, clearly winded from what Kath had to assume was running. “Okay, sorry, I literally came running as soon as I heard what happened.”

At Anne’s slightly panicked tone, Skye gave a soft smile, before standing up. “I’ll give you both some time.” ________________________________________________________________

“She likes you.”

Regina’s voice, calm and serene as always, still managed to surprise Skye as she closed the dressing room’s door behind her. “How so?” She retorted as she took her usual seat next to the older girl, raising an eyebrow.

Regina gave a soft chuckle at that. “Kath doesn’t trust people easily. You can hardly blame her, after everything that happened to her, but still. She trusts you, though- she wouldn’t have let you help her otherwise.”

Skye looked down at the counter while shrugging, feeling her cheeks heat up as she blushed and staying quiet for a minute before looking back up, unusually serious. “Well, yeah, but healing also makes it easier for you to trust people again. You know that as well as I do, ‘Gina.”

Regina’s gaze hardened slightly at that, but still Skye didn’t back down, looking back at her while she waited for an answer. “Maybe so,” she finally settled on, “but even so.”

“I got it. I was just trying to make sure she felt comfortable.”

“She wouldn’t have let you stay if she wasn’t. Either that, or the others would’ve come in way earlier. Jane definitely would have, that woman has a sixth sense.” Neither of them could hold back their snickers at that comment, but even so Regina was the first to regain composure, as always. “So I think it’s safe to say you did just fine.”

Skye nodded at that, before reaching forward to grab her “K” choker. “Regardless, I’ve got bigger things to focus on right now.” She let out a soft sigh, a mix of worry and excitement in her voice. “It’s Howard time, I guess.” ________________________________________________________________

“Divorced.”

The audience’s chatter quieted down as Aragon’s booming voice filled the theatre, save for a few soft cheers or muffled squeals, and Ally could barely stay still as she waited for her turn.

“Beheaded.”

The audience full on cheered as her girlfriend’s voice sounded, clear and confident but still so distinctly young and playful.

But she couldn’t stop to analyse just yet- she had a show to do.

“Survived.”

A similar, or perhaps even louder cheer broke after she’d spoke, and Ally couldn’t help but shoot a quick glance towards Skye, both wearing matching, wide grins, that they both were quick to hide as Aragon moved on with the show, and they both followed the choreography they’d rehearsed to the point of knowing one another’s first covers at least semi decently. Not decently enough to actually play them, but semi decently.

She went through most of Ex-Wives focused on the choreography and words, refusing to let herself mess up on the first song of her fucking West End debut- she knew how harshly swings and alternates were judged, and she wasn’t about to risk it. It was midway through the queens’ individual intros, however, where her body began to move on near auto pilot while she did the choreography.

“Funny how we all discuss that but never Henry’s lil’-”

“Prick up your ears, I’m the Katherine who lost her head!”

Ally could barely hear their “beheaded!” over the audience’s cheer when Skye piped up, and even Skye, who Ally was (unfortunately) very aware of how loud Skye was naturally, had to raise her tone to make herself heard over their screams.

“For my promiscuity, outside of wed! Lock up your husbands, lock up your sons, K Howard is here and the fun’s begun!”

“Survived.”

Ally couldn’t help but feel that familiar mix of anxiety and excitement pool at the bottom of her stomach while she stepped forward, facing the audience- and more specifically the front rows, as she was looking slightly downward- as calmly as she could manage.

“Five down, I’m the final wife. I saw him to the end of his life.” Hand on her waist, she looked up to the rest of the stalls, before moving her gaze up to the circle and its slips as she sung. “I’m the survivor, Catherine Parr.” A nod towards the audience as she raised the fist that was previously on her waist, the women behind her doing the same. “I bet you wanna know how we got this far.”

They went about the show without any problems, but it was after the “I have the plague” joke where she could see the audience (for some members literally) lean forward in their seats.

“Okay, okay, okay!” She spoke up, waiting until the four women had quieted before continuing. “You know what, I think it’s time we heard from our next queen, K Howard!”

The audience absolutely roared as Skye stepped forward, and Ally could barely keep a proud grin off her face as Skye did a tiny curtsy.

Then, she had to physically keep herself from jumping when she saw someone move forward from the corner of her eye, calming when she noticed it was Anne. “Babes, who’s that again?”

Skye’s excited grin fell off her face, and even if Ally knew by the gleam in her eyes that it was all an act, she could barely keep herself from going to comfort her.

Ally felt like she was in a daze as the scenes went on- it was only right before All You Wanna Do when she snapped out of it.

“So yeah! I can’t even begin to imagine how I could compete with you all!” Skye paused, letting the audience laugh, before continuing. “Oh wait, like this!”

And thus the song was on. Skye kept the confident yet childlike act up throughout for the first half of the song, quick smirks and winks towards the audience frequent for the first two verses and choruses. It was after the third chorus ended where things started to change.

“So we got married.” With a nervous chuckle and smile, Skye addressed the audience, rocking back and forward just a tiny bit. “Woo!” Her voice was higher pitched than usual, even as she tried to stay calm (or at least tried to act like she was trying to stay calm).

She went through the fourth verse with a soft voice, so unlike what she’d done before. It was near the end, however, after the final “connection”, that it began to change, turning into a near roar as she put her full emotion into the ending chorus.

“The only thing, the only thing, the ONLY thing you wanna do is-” She tsked, then huffed, almost stumbling as she threw her head back. And then the audience blew up.

After that, Ally wasn’t quite sure what happened. If she was being honest with herself, she went on autopilot for most of the rest of the show. It was only near the end of the final song that she actually snapped out of it, when Skye approached her as they neared the last official line of the show and the two did that same dance move from the very first dance break- take her hand, hold it up, curtsy, switch places. Then, they went into position for the end of the show.

“For, five, four, three, two, one more minute!” Maria’s drums roared, and Ally couldn’t keep a slightly tired grin off her face.

“We’re SIX!”

[jungshookz]

idk if you accept requests or not but if you do can u make an au where ot7 nd yn live together nd like all of them love each other so much but platonically????? also idk the shits they do on daily basis ??? if you dont then its okay jus wanna drop by nd say im so in love with your works ily💞💞

❄️ pairing: ot7 x reader

❄️ genre: nothing but plaTONIC LOVE,,,, SO CUTE,,, FLUFFIER THAN FRESHLY FALLEN SNOW, also jungkook is awful at wrapping 

❄️ wordcount: 2.4k

❄️ notes: MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIENDS! i was actually going to post this in the afternoon but theN i wanted this to be like a surprise present under the tree for everyone so here i am posting it at literally 3 in the morning!!!!!!! so when u wake up in the morning not only will u be opening presents u will also be able to reAD this! YES i’m aware that i skipped out on a couple drabbles from the 12 drabbles of christmas and i am sO sorry but i’ve been spending time with family and y’all know how it is i hope you can forgive me! anyways enough blabbering from me happy holidays merry christmas happy hanukah happy nEw yEar happy whatever you celebrate i love u all and i can’t wait to go into the new year with you lovely people! 

(gif isn’t mine!)

“is she awake?”

“obviously not,,, what time is it??”

“nearly 8 and y/n doesn’t wake up until like 12 when it’s the holidays”

you hear the sound of your curtains being pushed open and you can see your room brightening up even though you have an eye mask on

ugH is it already time to get up????

you were up til 3 watching christmas movies and yA you’re super pumped that it’s literally christmas right now and you get to open your presents under the tree but like,,,

you would prefer to do all of that later,, maybe at like 12

“someone should just push her off the bed”

“don’t do that you priCK”

“someone just wake her up!! i wanna open my preSENTS”

“well you guys take care of this because i have to go and prepare breakfast”

you’re tempted to just go back to sleep but u know that the boys will literally just stand there and talk to each other about how to wake you up 

you reach up to lift your eye mask up and you’re met with the sight of seven smiling faces (except for yoongi because it’s too frickin early for him too and he’s tempted to crawl in and snuggle up with you)

“good morning” your voice is still thick with sleep and you pull your mask off and toss it aside before propping yourself up on your elbows and letting out a yawn “merry chris-“

“mERRY CHRISTMAS LET’S GO OPEN PRESENTS NOW” the next thing you know you’re being swePT out of bed and jungkook has you in his arms and he’s sprinting down the stairs like a madman

you shriek and cling onto him because you literally juSt woke up and your brain is still low-key in sleep mode and the world is spinNing and

jungkook plops you down on the couch and you squeak from the impact before suddenly you’re bouncing off the couch and tumbling to the ground

“oW” you groan and flip over onto your stomach on the ground before reaching down and rubbing at your sore butt

do butts have bones?? because you’re pretty sure all the bones in your ass are completely shattered right now  

“omg get off of me whoever you are” you feel someone take a seat on your tender bum and you reach back blindly in a poor attempt to swat the person off

you immediately hear jimin’s jingly giggle and he slides off before patting your bum “sit up!!”

“no” you murmur with your cheek squished against the carpet

you could just fall asleep like this

ah

yes

sleep

you want to

slee-

“gEt up!” tae grabs your waist and pulls you up and sets you down on the couch next to yoongi who is (this) close to falling asleep

you let out another yawn and rest your head against yoongi’s shoulder and he slips an arm around your waist so that the both of you are comfortable

you never thought yoongi was the cuddling type but it turns out he really reaLLy is which is something u definitely don’t mind

“you two - it’s christmas!!! liven up a little!” namjoon pats the tops of your guys’ head and you grumble in response

“y/n you should open my present first!” tae plops a neat little box onto your lap and you blink down at it before humming and nodding

you pull away from yoongi and he groans quietly at the loss of warmth

“thank you for the gift, tae” you smile sleepily and reach up to pat your cheeks to wake yourself up

hoO

okay

christmas morning

let’s do this

you tear the bright wrapping paper to pieces and immediately feel a lot more energised when you see what tae got u for christmas “i knitted a scarf for you and i have a matching one so noW you too can be a fashionista”

“how long did it take you to make this??” you pull it out of the box and look closely at the stitching

obviously there are a couple missing stitches but that gives the scarf character and it’s oddly endearing

tae stitched in pretty neutral grandpa-y shades but it totally works and it looks v v trendy

“i’m going to wear this noW” you grin and wrap it around your neck and that’s when u notice the scent

tae sprayed some of his fancy gucci cologne on this tOO

you might have to steal some from him when the scent eventually fades away

“y/n! a nintendo swiTCH R U KIDDING ME” jungkook tackles you in a hug before jumping up and down excitedly and hugging the box to his chest “can i play it now???” he gasps and you can’t help but laugh at how childish he’s acting “why am i asking u for ur permission this is mINE NOW also i have a gift for u somewhere under the tree”  

you look under the tree and u immediately recognise all the presents that are from kook because of the (no offence) poor wrapping skills

one of them is just wrapped up completely in duct tape like how r u supposed to open that up without losing a finger

hopefully that one isn’t yours (spoiler alert: it is yours)

“here’s my first gift to you guys-“ jin walks out of the kitchen carrying a tray of mugs “hot cocoa, anyone?”

the boys immediately flocK to jin like a group of seagulls when they spot a single french fry on the ground

“ya ya yA CALM DOwN before i drop the tray!” he scolds

“hyung, that’s my mug!”

“no it’s not, it’s mine! y/n got me the one with snowflakes, remember??”

“yours is the one with the christmas lights you dummy now hand it over”

“no! get your hands off mY mug!!”

“does it really matter whose mug is whoSE but also sorry jimin kook is right yours is the one with the christmas lights and not the snowflakes ” jin nudges the two bickering boys out of the way and heads over to you and yoongi

“yoongi - yours has coffee in it”

“oh thank god” yoongi grabs his mug and immediately takes a sip from it before letting out a satisfied sigh

“and y/n - yours has a sprinkle of cinnamon in it and extra marshmallows” you take the mug from the tray excitedly

“you’re too nice to me” you reach up to pinch jin’s cheek and he scowls at you

“teLL me about it”

“come and open some of your presents! you can make breakfast later”

“the pancake batter doEs need to set for a while so i suppose i can open up some gifts” jin sets the tray down on the coffee table before dusting his hands off “okay so which one is mine”

“u got more than one, silly. open my gift first!! it’s that big box in the corner” you take a sip of your cocoa oH ShiT this is good ur gonna need jin to make at least a gallon of this for u every week

“oH A BIG box” jin gasps and steps over the other boys as he makes his way over to it

he bends down and grunts as he lifts it up “jesus y/n what did you get me??? a ton of bricks???” he huffs and plops it back down on the ground and you’re like bE CAREFUL

jin doesn’t take very long to unwrap the gift and- “A NEW MIXER��� he literally squEaLs with glee and you’re pretty sure your ears are bleeding “you’re right kook we should’ve opened presents earlier because then i could’ve used this baby to make the pancake batter”

look

last year all of your gifts were kind of pathetic compared to everything the boys were giving you and even tho they all insisted they lovEd their gifts you were like ://///// so thIS YEAR you decided to go all out and just get EVERYThing you thought the boys would like and u know what so far you are killing it girl

santa clause whO

also the boys did a really good job with all of your gifts!!

namjoon got you a new journal for the new year

jimin got you fairy lights AND a brand new bedside lamp that’s super adorable

hoseok got you a super suPER cool poster to hang up in your room he hired an artist to paint you as snow white and the boys as the seven dwarves and the captions says ‘y/n and the seven idiots’

taheyung knitted you a scarf

jin got you this fancy silky robe that you’ll definitely be wearing everyday after you come home from work

yoongi got you a new pair of headphones because he’s sick of seeing you use those godawful apple earbuds from like 2008

and last but not least

jungkook got you-

“oh, this is so cute!” you coo as you pull the mug out of the mess of duct tape

it’s a mug with a picture of you and the boys celebrating your birthday this year

you’re sat in the middle laughing your ass off with watery eyes and a crinkled nose with the boys surrounding you and jungkook is swiping frosting off the side of the cake and jimin’s yanking his arm back and jin’s trying to light the candles and tae is sitting on your lap and hoseok is sitting on taE’s lap and namjOon is pointing at the camera (because it was on timer mode and nO one was ready for the picture) and yoongi has his face in his hands looking like he regrets everything

it’s perfectly imperfect if that makes any sense

“thank you kook” you grin and squish a couple kisses to his cheek before looking at the picture again

it’s sO cute and also it makes you thank the gods because like,, how lucky are you that you get to spend every day with these dumbasses that you love and adore so dang much

“i wish it could be christmas everyday” hoseok sighs and shoves a forkful of pancake into his mouth

“i don’t. my wallet would hate me.” yoongi snorts and steals a blueberry off your plate

you nudge it closer to him before leaning back against your chair and rubbing your stomach “i think i’m about to explode” you groan

“i told you not to force that fourth pancake down” jin sighs as he scrubs away at the dishes

“i can’t help it when your food is sO good” you plop your plate down in the sink with a clang

and then u finally notice

“it’S SNOWING” you gasp as you look out the kitchen window

“you didn’t notice??” tae raises a brow and they all watch as you sprint to the living room to puSh all the curtains open

and WOW

thick thiCK blankets of snow covering every surface while snowflakes continue to flutter down to the ground

the backyard is just all WHITE AND YOU’VE NEVER BEEN SO EXCITED BEFORE

“we were thinking after breakfast we could go out and play around in the snow if you wanted-“

“oF COURSE I DO” for some reason you’re unable to lower your voice because that’s how excited you are

in fact you’re so excited u can’t even wait to change out of your PJs and you’re already slipping your coat and beanie on

“c’mon people let’s move let’s moVE jin you can wash the dishes later kook u can play the nintendo later let’s get a moVE ON” you clap your hands together and the boys know there’s no changing your mind at this point

if u wanna go out in ur PJs you’re going to go out in your PJs

“y/n, watch it!” jimin scolds when you nearly knock into his and tae’s snowman after trying to avoid yet another one of kook’s snowballs

“sorry jimin!!” you apologize before bursting into giggles when jungkook starts sprinting towards you clutching a snowball the size of a bouLDER

you duck down instinctively when he hurls it in your direction and-

“jeon jungkook you brat i’m going to kiLL YOU” yoongi roars when the snowball hiTS him and the wetness starts seeping into his sweater

jungkook laughs gleefully and tries his best to flee (it’s hard running in thick layers of snOW) as yoongi starts chasing him around

jin and namjoon are standing by the doors sipping on their hot cocoa and occasionally bursting into laughter at one of your guys’ antics

hoseok has been lying on the ground making snow angels for the past 20 minutes

he’s literally made like 10 snow angels already but he’s having fun so it’s okay

you screech when jungkook pelts you in the faCe with a snowball and you immediately feel like your face is going to freeze over

you end up tackling kook to the ground and u shove snow right into his face and jungkook grins before starting to dig his fingers into your sides to tickle you

“alright aLRIGHT everyone back into the house because there are dishes to wash and wrapping paper to throw away AND i have to get started on dinner and i need all the help i can get!” jin calls out and slides the door open to step back inside “everyone back in this house in 30 seconds otherwise i will not hesitate to lock you outside in the cold!”

jungkook fLIps you over his shoulder when you trip over the snow yet again because of your innate klutziness

you giggle and whack his butt

best christmas ever

:•)

[blackjack-15]

Staying Tuned for a Soap Opera — Thoughts on: Stay Tuned for Danger (STFD)

Previous Metas: SCK/SCK2

Hello and welcome to a Nancy Drew meta series! 30 metas, 30 Nancy Drew Games that I’m comfortable with doing meta about. Hot takes, cold takes, and just Takes will abound, but one thing’s for sure: they’ll all be longer than I mean them to be.

Each meta will have different distinct sections: an Introduction, an exploration of the Title, an explanation of the Mystery, a run-through of the Suspects. Then, I’ll tackle some of my favorite and least favorite things about the game, and finish it off with ideas on how to improve it.

If any game requires an extra section or two, they’ll be listed in the paragraph above, along with links to previous metas.

These metas are not spoiler free, though I’ll list any games/media that they might spoil here: STFD, FIN, RAN.

The Intro:

Stay Tuned for Danger is another short game, though it owes its runtime more to the limitations of 1999 than anything else. Full of wacky, overwrought characters and hilariously over-the-top threats, puzzles, and ‘incidents’, STFD isn’t a smart game, but it’s a mildly fun one, and definitely improves as the second in a series.

STFD relies heavily on constantly rising action, meaning that things never calm down — the game escalates and escalates until it’s over, which encourages the player to finish the whole thing in as few parts as possible to get the full effect.

It does have its problems — way too many things to click on that are pointless, an obvious villain, frustrating and out-of-place puzzles, and the clunkiest interface known to man, but it saves itself from the scrap heap by embracing, rather than avoiding, its own campiness.

The Title:

Funnily enough, this title is actually straight-up ace. It’s a snappy take on soap opera clichés, and is the only game to have a four-letter abbreviation, lest we take Nancy into the world of sexually transmitted diseases.

Er…considering how Rick looks, make that further into the world of sexually transmitted diseases.

Plus, this game puts a heavy emphasis on the continually rising action of its events, so the “stay tuned” part works really, really well. A+ work here.

The Mystery:

Fresh off of the success of finding a killer in Miami, Aunt Eloise once again hears of trouble and sends Nancy Drew barking after it. This time, it’s off to New York to investigate some death threats that a soap opera star is being sent.

Hold the presses, I know.

With everyone working as hard as they can to be unhelpful, it’s up to Nancy to massively invade everyone’s privacy and discover who’s writing the threats (and making the bombs, and dropping the lights, and…) before Rick Arlen actually gets seriously hurt or killed.

Through a lot of snooping, after-hours sneaking, and clunky interrogations, Nancy manages to “figure out” the culprit when he presents himself at the end despite 90% of clues pointing to him, has to solve a puzzle in the nick of time, and treats the audience to a hilarious-looking “capture” of the culprit.

The Suspects:

Mattie Jensen��is the one renting Aunt Eloise’s apartment, and the person Nancy first encounters. Not only is she the (co-) star of the show, but she’s also the only one who stuck with her original agent, Dwayne Powers. 

Her mother is too involved in her life, she moves like a plasticine doll, and is a Horrible judge of character, employing Dwayne Powers and having dated Rick Arlen, but Mattie seems genuinely concerned for Rick’s life, asking Nancy to help by snooping around, and offering her aid to the amateur detective.

Mattie’s not short on motive, having been dumped by Rick and having her career endangered by his anticipated contract-breaking in order to get into films and out of soaps, but she’s not really a “suspect” once you’re 1/3 of the way through the game.

This is one of Her Interactive’s favorite tropes — a suspect cleared early on so that Nancy can have a helper — and it shows up for the first time here. In this case, Mattie helps Nancy go undercover as a budding young actress in order to help her investigate more fully.

Rick Arlen is the other co-star of the soap opera (“Light of Our Love”), playing the male main lead. Tired of the small soap opera notoriety he has right now, Rick longs for the big screen, leading him to try to break his contract with Bill Pappas and leave the show.

Rick is a blowhard egomaniac who’s willing to flirt with any woman he sees — even the young amateur detective Nancy Drew — but that’s pretty much all the depth that he has. He dates a lot, but he’s too shallow to keep any relationship for long, either dumping them (Mattie) or being dumped (Lillian).

There might be a moment or two where you think he might be behind his threatening notes to give him an unimpeachable reason to leave…but then you remember that this is Rick Arlen, and he has No Shame, and doesn’t see anything wrong with breaking his contract.

He does send the first few notes, signing them with an anagram of his name (which somehow Her thought was brilliant enough to use twice in one game), but that’s it as far as his involvement goes — he’s not a man with a death wish; he’s an egomaniac. Pure and simple.

The only other thing about him in the game is that he ditched Dwayne for a better agent, which is treated as, like, the Height of Disloyalty. However, knowing that Dwayne is balls-to-the-wall nuts, not a great agent, and hates Rick for dating Mattie….I’d switch to a new agent as well. Sure, it’s not super kind, but it’s not at all an immoralmove to make, and it’s the best thing he could do if he wants an actual enduring career in showbiz.

Dwayne Powersis Mattie’s agent, Rick’s ex-agent, and all around bleeding psychopath with delusions of grandeur. He’s also one of the most obvious villains in the whole series (tying with…well, RAN), blames Rick for his failing business (when the truth is that he’s just not very good at it and has stopped trying at this point), and casts his Cool Alter-Ego Owen W. Spayder as his crimesona.

Dwayne isn’t diagnosably medically insane like the culprit in FIN, but he’s crazy all the same, from his Loud Speeches about hating Rick, to his skulking around the set in a hat and beard, to his ridiculous bombs and light-droppings, etc. etc.

He’s upset that he couldn’t make it as an actor himself, and resigned himself to helping others with their natural talents. Not only does he let this turn him into an attempted murderer, but he also gives this Huge Speech at the end…which lets us see, yeah, he wouldn’t have made it as an actor (and as if RAN needed to reinforce that point, it does anyway).

Dwayne is interesting in that he’s the only suspect to escape twice and the only villain to be the villain in two games, but…quite frankly, he’s not interesting enough to deserve those distinguishing characteristics. Dwayne isn’t enough to carry one game, let alone two, and it shows.

Lillian Weiss is the snappish, cold director of “Light of Our Love”, who is suspicious of everyone and has the clout of being one of the only characters who can fire Nancy without it resulting in a second chance.

She also happens to be the smartest and most likable character in the game (except for Bill Pappas, of course), willing to accept when she’s been wrong and call Nancy to come back in, who figures out who’s pulling these “pranks” around the set, and poured a pitcher of water on Rick’s head while dumping him. 

She also sent him poisoned chocolates which, knowing the guy, I fully condone. She gets to live out Rick’s dream by going to Hollywood, so that’s nice and karmic as well.

Lillian isn’t ever really nice to you, nor does she lose her snappiness, but she is a good guy, and she’s allowed to be smart and capable without being warm and fuzzy, and I personally think that makes her more multi-faceted than most early ND characters were allowed to be.

Millie Strathorn is the elderly owner and founder of WWB and prop master for “Light of Our Love”. She’s also not quite sane, mixing fantasy and reality at any given moment.

Her “motivation” is that she hates Rick and tries to keep submitting scripts to write him out of the show, and this show apparently doesn’t have a Writer (we’ve got a producer, director, and two stars + talent agent, but no writer?), but her scripts keep being rejected anyway. 

Probably because, once again, she mixes fantasy and reality, and definitely wrote a scene where Rick Arlen and “Rory Danner” face off and mud-wrestle, stabbing each other in the face.

Either that or a ménage àtrois between Rick, Rory, and Yuri (Rory’s “evil twin” in the show”. Which would be Very Tricky to shoot with 1999 technology.

Anyway, Millie makes you solve a few middling riddles and then pretty much effs off for the rest of the game, making her a crazy memorable (not to mention straight-up crazy) character despite her lack of screen time (and overall pointlessness).

William Pappas is the never-seen yet always entertaining producer of “Light of Our Love”, who is super pissed about Rick trying to break his contract is “Light of Our Love” and says that he’ll kill Rick before he let him walk out on him. This threat, of course, is just Bill venting, and after Nancy defuses the bomb in Rick’s dressing room, Bill is more than happy to help her out.

As a suspect, Bill sucks, wholly and completely — to the point where he’s just not a suspect. As a character, however, he is a Delight and a Treasure, bursting with pointless personality. I aspire to be Bill Pappas.

Ralph Guardino is the twice-seen security guard at WWB who gives you access to the building, then promptly effs off until he appears to arrest Dwayne at the end. And yes, his name is just “Guard” with “-ino” added at the end. I guess Her used up all their imagination on weird and wonderful pictures to photoshop their characters into.

Ralph, like Bill, isn’t really a suspect at all; he exists because the story needed a job done, so they created a character to do it. He’s also Bill’s cousin, so there’s some added “meaning” that’s actually pointless as well. There’s nothing offensive about Ralph, per se, but there’s nothing good about him either. He’s just kind of…there.

The Favorites:

The general soapy tone of this game makes it fun, and Dwayne’s villain reveal/speech is only matched in its dramatic campiness by…well, his speech in RAN.

Bill Pappas is my Hero and I wish he’d gotten more screen time (though I love that we never see him), and Nancy’s delivery of “Prop Master of DEATH” alone is worth the price of admission.

The Un-Favorites:

First off, the fact that they forgot to put in the desk key really bothers me. I know that the only stuff in there are fake fan letters to Rick from Mattie, encouraging him to stay (which doesn’t point to guilt at all, and so is pretty pointless), but like…it’s locked. It must be important.

I know Her Interactive wanted to advertise their 100+ “close up shots”, but it drags the game down to look at everything — especially since hidden in those 100+ are 5-10 that are Super Tiny and that you have to click on, even if they don’t tell you anything new, or you’ll get stuck and be unable to progress.

Nancy’s inability to see Dwayne as the villain even when it’s patently obvious is a pretty serious knock against this game. Neither Bill nor Ralph are considered actual suspects, Mattie is cleared early on, Lillian is too snappish with you (too obvious, to Her Interactive’s way of thinking) to be it, and Millie is too old to do the physical stuff (and, with her wanting Rick’s character killed off, is also too obvious) and so as early as 1/3 into the game you’re left with Dwayne and Rick. As Rick needs himself to live so he can go on to Star in Movies, you’re just left with Dwayne, who all the clues point to anyway.

The Fix:

Fixing STFD would require totally re-coding it to fix sound and playability issues on newer computers, updating the graphics, fixing characters so that they don’t look like blow-up dolls…all those Quality of Life improvements are super important and vital to a fix.

But fixing it would also require some re-writing. I realize that Millie is in the game as a nod to the original writer of Nancy Drew, and it’s…well, definitely an homage, if not a good homage, but taking her out would go a long way to streamlining the game.

There are simply too many culprits for Her Interactive’s general ability to write multiple fleshed-out characters who are all plausible suspects (especially with Nik being gone), and so the result is that the incidents, character traits, and character appearances are spread too thin for anything but blatant caricature. Millie is simply the easiest character to remove, along with Bill Pappas and Ralph (who only appears twice anyway).

You could fold Millie into Lillian without too much trouble, get rid of Bill (though it breaks my heart to say it), have Ralph’s name appear early but have him only appear at the end to arrest Dwayne, and it would lighten the load that the story breaks under considerably. I don’t think this would make it an A+ story, but it would at least be less cluttered, and STFD is cluttered enough without needing extra help.

[chippokenabokura]

World Trigger - Volume 19 Extras Part 4/4

From Hiatus to Return

Thank you very much for buying World Trigger volume 19. World Trigger entered a long-term hiatus between the 2016 50th Issue of Weekly Shounen Jump and the 2018 47th Issue (according to Wikipedia), and during that time I received a lot of encouragement and letters worrying over me from the fans, so I thought I would explain the course of events from hiatus to return to transfer here.

The reason for the hiatus is because I damaged my neck, but in the first place I believe it was due to how I recklessly took on too much work (besides the weekly manuscript) without considering my capacity, and then not being able to properly cut corners (conserve energy) on those subsidiary jobs.

After I damaged my neck, for a time I was given a week’s rest every 4 to 5 issues to deal with it, but the symptoms gradually grew worse.  A high quality pain penetrated through the painkillers and spread from my neck to my back and head, there were more times when I couldn’t get up, manuscripts were delayed, and the result was that I entered a dark downward spiral where I had to push myself even further, drinking energy drinks every 2 hours to force my body to move in the style of a doping enemy from a sports manga to do my work. Perhaps because of that, I was becoming more and more worn down mentally, my eyes were spinning and in the end I was having trouble speaking.

Sensing my evil aura, my editor put a stop to it, and it was decided I would go on an indefinite hiatus.

According to my manager, it seems I have a habit of acting cool in front of my editor, and there were several times when I would say ‘I. Can. Do. It. Somehow. Probably.’ Even though I was kind of on the verge of death. So if my editor hadn’t stopped me here then there was the chance it could have gotten even worse. Nice work, editor.

For about a month after starting the hiatus, I pretty much lived on my back. From the 2nd month, I was able to get up for about 4, 5 hours a day, and from the 3rd month I could move around for about half a day.

Because I became unable to ride inside anything after damaging my neck (I would get dizzy after about 15 minutes from the pain in my neck), it was about 6 months into the hiatus that I could be properly looked at in a hospital.

I went to several different hospitals, but all the doctors said the same things: ‘if you continue the treatment and keep resting, you will keep getting better’, ‘for now, it’s important not to push yourself in the future. If yo push yourself you will of course get worse’, ‘it’s an occupational disease, the kind that follows you for life, so if you can I recommend you transfer to a job that’s easier on your neck’. Telling my editor left us feeling pretty down: ‘I can’t really imagine weekly serialisation that won’t make you push yourself…’ ‘Yeah…’.

I couldn’t keep making trouble for Jump, and it would soon be 1 year into the hiatus, it may be impossible to restart serialisation…

As I thought that, one day, I heard from my editor: ‘Ashihara-san, how do you feel about transferring?’

According to him, the problem with weekly serialisation is its killer schedule that doesn’t allow for ‘resting for a day because you’re really not feeling well’. If it’s the web-based ‘Jump+’, each work can be given its own deadline, so you can serialise at whatever pace you’d like. Besides that, transferring to a monthly magazine would also allow a certain amount of adjustment on the number of pages to be drawn that month. Since the worst case scenario would be ‘pushing myself too hard I had to stop writing World Trigger’, so it might be better to match how I’m feeling and draw at a pace of ‘I can manage this’. Well, it wasn’t something to be decided immediately, so if I could just consider this an option…

The more I heard, the better it sounded, and it was something I was very grateful for. But it worried me, considering my social standing as a trash author who had been on hiatus for close to a year.

I was quite attached to Jump, and ‘doing my best at the best magazine in Japan’ was also my motivation, so I was conflicted on what it would be like if I left Jump. But there was the fundamental problem of how many more years it would take me to recover enough to serialise weekly, and whether I could even recover to that extent in the first place, and furthermore I wanted to allow all the readers who still haven’t forgotten World Trigger even after over a year to read the continuation as soon as possible, so in the end I asked my editor to request a transfer.

‘If you request it, I will do my best to allow you to transfer to where you want’, I was told, so I discussed where to transfer with my manager.

Personally, I was still hung up on the paper medium, and due to the reasons of even I knowing about the works serialised in it and that it’s easy to buy it from places like convenience stores, I requested ‘Jump SQ’.  Both Jump and SQ editorial departments went to great efforts, and a lot happened after as well, until the transfer was decided. I was able to safely restart serialisation.

I would like to once again thank the editorial department of Weekly Shounen Jump, the editorial department of Jump SQ, my editors from both departments, and all the readers who encouraged me even during the hiatus. Thank you very much.

Since the chapter I restart serialisation on (chapter 165) is the first in about 2 years, for an instant I considered whether to start it in a special way, but I felt it would seem unnatural when it’s made into a manga volume, so I deliberately went ahead as normal.

From now on, the pace would slow down from when it was a weekly serialisation, but I think I will be able to put out a manga volume at regular intervals. My neck currently have recovered to the point that I can live normally, but I have been told by the SQ editorial department that I am ‘strictly prohibited from pushing myself’, so if the published pages decrease, I would be grateful if you can consider it as ‘playing it safe this month’.

Also, since I want to repay Jump SQ for picking up ‘World Trigger’, if you have the time and a bit more than 600 yen a month, I would be very happy if you can subscribe to Jump SQ. If you are already subscribed, I look forward to your readership.

I will do my best.

~Ashihara Daisuke

As the last part of the extras from volume 19, I also want to take this chance to mention some of the edits made from the magazine version. There were no plot-relevant changes this time, mostly some minor differences in clothing patterns etc. (and now that we know the clothes in the magazine isn’t always decided by Ashihara and he would change it if he thinks it’s necessary, I wonder if he has headcanons for everyone’s fashion choices as well).

But one funny change I want to point out is this from ch162:

Reiji wasn’t wearing a seatbelt in the magazine, and I guess Ashihara didn’t want him to break the law lol

The other kind of major change (in my perspective at least) are these radar panels from ch165 and ch167:

Both of these radars now show LOW, matching Yuzuru’s HIGH in ch171. Showing us that radar is capable of showing whether someone is above or below you, though that’s still not very helpful in an urban environment as the top panel shows.

An earlier Q&A has said that elevation can’t be displayed on radar, so either this is the first time we’ve had a retcon, radar got beefed up without it being noted in story (yet), an operator added that through process of elimination, there’s some other reason, or Ashihara just forgot. Since this is World Trigger, any of these are possible.

As always, credit goes to this wonderful site that records all changes from magazine to manga volume. Please check here if you want to know about all the minor changes as well.

In conclusion, for all of you who wanted to know about the specific details of Ashihara’s illness, here it is.

[irkimatsu]

This is probably the closest I’ve ever cut it, but here it is! My final thoughts on this year’s Eurovision entries!

I’m a little antsy about getting to see it this year. You know that post I made about having off on Tuesday and Thursday? Apparently my schedule’s getting changed, and now I don’t know. And I’m not gonna know about Saturday until Monday – I could easily be in work for the entire final. Here’s hoping adult obligations don’t keep me from my Europop! (And that I don’t even have this job this time next year, although my ideal job would probably keep me away from both semis… eh, win some lose some.)

I tried to find a sorter so I could rank these more thoroughly, because I’m bad at doing that by hand, but I didn’t find one, so I’ll be doing my usual thing of listing alphabetically by country and sorting each song into categories. My categories are thus:

Favorite: My number one pick for the year! Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean the song I think is objectively, artistically best, or even a song I think is going to escape the semi – this is just the song I get the most enjoyment out of. You’ll see why I felt the need to clarify that in a bit.

Love: If I ranked these, these would get the 2nd – 5th spots. I adore these songs, and would be more than happy to see any of them win.

Like: Didn’t quite make the top 5, but I still enjoy them a lot, and don’t want them getting booted out of the semi.

Okay: Nothing objectionable, but doesn’t mean much to me personally. I get a little bit of joy when I listen to it, then it fades immediately after.

Indifferent: I don’t care for this song at all; it’s just not in a style that means anything to me. If I still can’t remember how it goes after two months, that’s a bad sign.

What: This song’s existence confuses me too much to give it a proper placement.

Biased: My opinion on this song is based on factors that have nothing to do with its intent. (aka the “song reminded me of fandom” category. Haven’t used this in a while. Good to see its return!)

Yet again, the “Hate” category has been cut, since nothing actively gets on my nerves for the second year in a row! (…except one, maybe, but that one has enough background info that… well, you’ll know when you get to it.) Songs in “Like”, “Okay”, and “Indifferent” are prone from shifting up or down one within that range depending on how I’m feeling that day; “Favorite”, “Love”, “What”, and “Biased” are locked.

Ranking under the cut!

Albania: “Ktheju tokës” by Jonida Maliqi – I can feel the effort going into this one, but… nah, not my thing. It’s so rare for me to be invested in an Albanian entry, huh? Sorry, guys. Indifferent.

Armenia: “Walking Out” by Srbuk – I don’t know how to describe my feelings on this one, unfortunately, but I do really Like it. Maybe it’s the head-held-high attitude that has me interested?

Australia: “Zero Gravity” by Kate Miller-Heidke – If this doesn’t have a completely batshit performance, I’m gonna be so disappointed. Her voice is certainly impressive! But overall I’m going for an Okay on this one. It’s fine, but I think the stage show is going to outshine the actual song.

Austria: “Limits” by PÆNDA – Oof, this one is so close, yet so far. It reminds me of some artist I listen to a lot, though I can’t place it… but it just seems… thin? If it had something else to it, it could have really been something, but as it stands it doesn’t leave much impact. Indifferent, and that feels like such a waste. Good vocals, maybe if it had better music. (Then again, maybe the sparseness is the point… but if that’s the point it’s not for me)

Azerbaijan: “Truth” by Chingiz – I dunno, I just really like the imagery here, of a man arguing with himself about a relationship that he knows is damaging, but it’s just so much easier to deny it. I particularly like the “Shut up about it!” element, adds to the self-argument thing. I love the concept, and as a song it’s not half bad, either. Like!

Belarus: “Like It” by ZENA – Oh, fuck yeah! A good way to tell if I’m going to enjoy a song – are people insulting it by saying it sounds 15 – 20 years out of date? If so, then it’s probably exactly my jam! It’s such a fun song I can’t help but dance to, and sometimes that’s all I really need. I don’t just like it, I Love it! (oh that was terrible)

Belgium: “Wake Up” by Eliot – It’s a nice beat! But I don’t think it really stands out among the competition. It’s fair enough, there’s just so many other songs I like better than it this year. Okay.

Croatia: “The Dream” by Roko – OH MY GOD WHAT IS HE WEARING. Indifferent, this is not a good song, but god damn I am so looking forward to the stage show, this is going to be the cheesiest shit

Cyprus: “Replay” by Tamta – This sounds a lot like last year’s “Fuego”. This is mostly a good thing! I loved “Fuego”! But the repetition does slightly knock its chances to land in my top 5. Still a firm Like, though.

Czech Republic: “Friend of A Friend” by Lake Malawi – It’s not easy to follow up on the sheer campiness of last year’s “Lie to Me”, but Lake Malawi put forward their best effort, and I appreciate it highly! The song’s pure, campy fun that gets stuck in my head every time I listen to it. Like! …though I tend to overthink the lyrics. What, they hear someone fucking in the next apartment and the singer’s first instinct is to swear she’s only a friend? Jumping the gun a bit much there, dude? =P

Denmark: “Love Is Forever” by Leonora – It’s a really cute song, and I appreciate all the language changes. But realizing what it’s actually about it what landed it in Like – at first I thought it was just a love song, but then I realized the call for peace and optimism and it hit me in the fuzzies. I know the political, Important songs usually irritate the cheese out of me, but I feel like this one actually put effort into the music, rather than trying to ride on their message to guilt trip a vote out of you. I admit it’d probably be in the lower range of Like if I actually ranked these properly, but it really is a good song!

Estonia: “Storm” by Victor Crone – I love how this one gradually transitions from a country song to an EDM song; I always miss the exact part where it does it, it just flows so well. The optimistic lyrics are up my alley, too. It’s a really good one, and I hope it does well! Like!

Finland: “Look Away” by Darude feat. Sebastian Rejman – As a huge 90’s/2000’s European electronica fan who teethed on “Sandstorm” back when no one really knew what an Internet meme was, I nearly shat myself when I heard Darude was going to be representing Finland this year. I have no idea who Sebastian Rejman is, but after this song, I’m gonna have to look into him! This song has such a powerful beat that hits right in my gut, exactly what I love from my music. Firm Love!

France: “Roi” by Bilal Hassani – It’s a cute little thing that I can’t help but appreciate on some level! I think it’s just an Okay for balance purposes, but it creeps into Like on occasion. Also I find the singer weirdly cute. I dunno, as a package it’s just endearing!

Georgia: “Sul tsin iare” by Oto Nemsade – I can hear the passion in his voice, but… no, this isn’t for me at all. People who have read my Eurovision posts before know by now that slow + non-English tends to equal a death knell for me. Sorry, stupid American coming through. Indifferent.

Germany: “Sister” by S!sters – I hate the artist name so much, let me get that out of the way right now. As for the song itself… I don’t think I’d care for it at all if I didn’t have an association with it, but, well, here I am – this song is so, so easy to assign to the Hikawa twins from Bang Dream. Sisters in constant competition who don’t want to be? That’s their entire arc. Admittedly that’s mostly on Sayo’s part, which kind of ruins the duet aspect, but… damn it, if I can’t imagine them singing this together and playing their guitars while members of their bands provide the rest of the accompaniment, what’s the point of living? I’m going Biased on this one.

Greece: “Better Love” by Katerine Duska – I have no idea why I’m having such a hard time clicking with this song, but it’s just not working for me. I’m sure it’s objectively good, but it doesn’t do a damn thing for me. Indifferent.

Hungary: "Az én apám" by Joci Pápai – A returning artist from 2017! Too bad I didn’t care too much then and I really don’t care now. Just like Georgia, this just isn’t my style, and no amount of objective appreciation can fix the sad fact that songs like this always sink to the bottom of the pile for me. Indifferent.

Iceland: "Hatrið mun sigra" by Hatari  – …right. Oh boy. Okay. Look, when I first heard there was gonna be an industrial song in this year’s Eurovision, I was fucking pumped. This was one of the two songs I looked into before properly listening to the finished playlist, along with Finland. I’m not always into industrial music, but when it’s good, it’s fucking awesome! I started it up, heard the music, was so ready for this to be a real contender…

…aaaaand then the vocals started up. I don’t think this is just “I don’t like industrial growling”, they really do sound quite bad. I still love the instrumental, and the chorus is nice, too… but those verses. No.

And then I looked up those edgelord lyrics, and started hearing stuff about the band, and I am 110% convinced this is a troll song, firmly destined for the What category. This is what you send to Eurovision to let everyone know how much you hate Eurovision. I figured it had no chance of getting out of the semi, at least partially because of the feeling that if it does, the band will feel like they failed.

…but I keep seeing it rank high on others’ lists, so… I have no fucking clue what to expect from this one!

Ireland: “22” by Sarah McTernan – It’s pleasant! But that’s about it. I used to listen to folksy stuff like this as a kid, so I guess there’s some nostalgia for it… but I haven’t been into it in a long time. Low Okay.

Israel: “Home” by Kobi Marimi – I often hear jokes about how winning countries will send non-impacting garbage just so they don’t have to host the Contest two years in a row, and songs like this are exactly why I believe them. There’s nothing wrong with it, the singer’s voice might even be good, but as a whole package it’s just so boring. It feels like it’s so much longer than three minutes – such a slog to get through. Indifferent.

Italy: “Soldi” by Mahmood – Oh, I really like this one! The “come va” bit always burrows itself in my head, and I do respect how personal it seems to the singer, with the blending of cultures. (I know I don’t always respect the personal aspect, but I love when “personal” doesn’t have to mean “bland-ass acoustic guitar ballad”.) Like!

Latvia: “That Night” by Carousel – One for the bin of “I can’t remember how this goes”. There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just so forgettable. I’m trying to find something about it that stands out to me, but… nah, it’s just mush. Indifferent.

Lithuania: “Run With The Lions” by Jurij Veklenko – Even more mush. I can remember bits of it, at least, but the bits I remember don’t mean anything to me. Indifferent.

Macedonia: “Proud” by Tamara Todevska – I know I normally crap on ballads, but… I think I heard this song at a time I really needed to. I love the self-acceptance message, as corny and played out as it can be. I Like this one, it’s sweet.

Malta: “Chameleon” by Michela – This came so, so close to my top 5! I really do love the hell out of it! Such a good walking song. Like, but could have so easily been a Love if not for its competition.

Moldova: “Stay” by Anna Odobescu – Oh no. This is the first year I haven’t been head-over-heels in love with the Moldovan entry, and I feel like such a jerk about it. They finally decide to take themselves seriously and send something with a lot of passion! …and all I can do is sit here disappointed! I’m sorry! Low Okay for the “objectively great, I’m sure, but not my genre” thing. I know a lot of people love it, but I don’t think I would have cared for it from any country, and it being Moldova is just disappointing for me. They can of course do whatever they want, and good for them if it works out, but let me pout in peace

Montenegro: “Heaven” by D mol – This is the most I’ve ever unironically liked a Montenegrin song since I started watching the Contest in 2014, as cold as a compliment that is. It’s cute! But cute is really all it has going for it. I’m going with Okay, though that’s mainly from comparing it to everything else I’ve heard from Montenegro; if another country sent this, it could have easily landed lower.

Netherlands: “Arcade” by Duncan Laurence – I don’t get it. I know a lot of people have been heaping praise on this… but I don’t get it, and I feel like the arcade metaphor is insanely cheesy for the mood it’s going for. I can’t take it as seriously as it seems to want me to. Indifferent.

Norway: “Spirit In The Sky” by KEiiNO – I adore this song. Great music, great imagery, I feel like it’s gonna be a good stage show! The joiking took me a bit to get used to, but once I did, I do feel it adds a lot to the song. I cannot wait to see this song performed! Love! In a better world where I have taste, this song would be my Favorite, and even as it stands I’m pretty sure it’s my favorite song that has a chance in hell of actually winning. But as for my actual Favorite… we’ll get to that later.

Poland: “Fire Of Love (Pali Sie)” by Tulia – Little confession for those who were around in 2014 – I regret choosing “We Are Slavic” as my favorite song back then. I admit that I wasn’t really taking the Contest seriously and was somewhat choosing based on meme potential. Whoops. But the good news is, this song proves that I wasn’t entirely going on meme potential. We’re taking traditional Polish singing far more seriously this time, and I still like it! It’s a unique little song that stands out in a good way, and I love the shout singing. I’ve heard complaints about it, but I got used to it right away. Maybe because I’ve been listening to shouty rave stuff for such a long time? I’m used to this style of singing, and pleased to hear it working with a more traditional musical backdrop. Like!

Portugal: "Telemóveis" by Conan Osiris – Haaaaaa oh my god what the fuck. By all rights, this should be dumped in the “What” category and never talked about again… but this weird little song charmed me somehow. I have a bad history with never remembering Portugal’s entries, with them making so little of an impression on me that I always forget if they skipped 2016 or if their entry that year was just that boring. And as weird as it is, I don’t feel like it’s quite strange enough for me to dump it in the same category that I tend to reserve for unapologetic camp. So, you know what, for breathing some bizarre life into a country I wrote off a long time ago, I’m giving it an Okay. I flirted with the idea of putting it in Like just by comparison with everything else the country has sent, but that implies I actually want to see this in the final, and I’m not gonna go that far.

Romania: “On A Sunday” by Ester Peony – By sound, I think it’s just an Okay, but a respectably placed one. I do like it more than, say, Ireland or Moldova. But I’ve been listening to it a lot recently… mainly for shipping reasons. (JyushiHomu, for the curious.) But I also decided it was a fine song even before I made that connection, so I don’t think it belongs in Biased? I may be shooting low on this one because I’m afraid of my shipping goggles impairing my judgment. Maybe it really is a low Like, I don’t know. I’ll leave it here. It’s a nice song!

Russia: “Scream” by Sergey Lazarev – Oh, man, I was so hyped to see that Sergey was back! “You Are The Only One” was my favorite entry from 2016, and I’ve listened to his English Best Of thousands of times!

…so imagine my surprise to hear that it’s a ballad. Keep in mind my usual tastes in music, and my other favorite Sergey songs – “Take It Off”, “Stumblin’”, “In My Lonely Life”. I love him for the fun club nonsense. I’m shallow, I know. But then I managed to shake off my biases and listen to “Scream” for what it is and not just what it could be, and… yeah, it’s a good song. Sergey’s got good producers and a great voice. It’s still a Like. But I feel like if they gave this song to someone I didn’t recognize, it’d land lower.

Not like the other competitor here who’s returning from 2016…

San Marino: “Say Na Na Na” by Serhat – Oh hell yeah. When I first saw that Serhat was back, after I stopped laughing, I clicked it fully expecting some camp bait to throw at Karamatsu, drop in the What category, and spend the next two months gleefully taking the piss out of.

…that is not what happened. Instead, I instantly fell in love with it. Serhat may not make a convincing Casanova, but he sure as hell knows how to party! This feels ripped right from a 2000’s Europop act that leans on disco energy, and that is exactly my type of thing. I’m so sad that this is probably going to get stuck in the semi, because I am so wildly in love with it. I can’t believe that out of the two returning artists from 2016, I fell in love with Serhat, not Sergey! Instant Favorite, I accept my place as the only person in the world who actually wants to see this win. Party energy, optimistic lyrics, how am I supposed to put this below anything else?

Still throwing it at Kara, though

Serbia: “Kruna” by Nevena Božović – Remember what I said about songs I forget the instant they end? Yeah, this is one of ‘em. I just can’t think of anything to say here. Indifferent.

Slovenia: “Sebi” by Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl – Kinda reminds me of a forgettable t.A.t.U album track. That’s not really a high compliment. I do like the vocals, but it’s one of those songs I can appreciate in the moment but don’t really seek out actively. Okay, and a low one at that.

Spain: “La Venda” by Miki – Just typing the title for this one is making me want to party! God this is a fun one to listen to. Party song about not being a bigoted dick! What’s not to Love? Looking forward to an entertaining stage show on this one!

Sweden: “Too Late For Love” by John Lundvik –  …you know that feeling when you think you should really love a song more than you do? There’s nothing wrong with it, I actually do almost like it… but I don’t seem to adore it like so many other people do, and I feel like a jerk about it. Okay because I don’t love it as much as everyone else does, but I won’t be upset to see it perform well. I don’t know what it is that isn’t resonating with me! I’m sorry! It’d probably get a Like if I wasn’t being influenced by other rankings!

Switzerland: “She Got Me” by Luca Hänni – Oh, this is a nice, fun little thing. I think I like it for a lot of the same reasons I like “Friend of A Friend”. It just sounds like the people recording it are having such a good time! Like!

United Kingdom: “Bigger Than Us” by Michael Rice – Nope, sorry. Grand ballad, yay, good for it, not my thing at all, nothing that stands out. Indifferent.

SUMMARY:

Favorite

San Mario

Love

Belarus

Finland

Norway

Spain

Like

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

France

Italy

Macedonia

Malta

Poland

Russia

Switzerland

Okay

Australia

Belgium

Ireland

Moldova

Montenegro

Portugal

Romania

Slovenia

Sweden

Indifferent

Albania

Austria

Croatia

Georgia

Greece

Hungary

Israel

Latvia

Lithuania

Netherlands

Serbia

United Kingdom

What

Iceland

Biased

Germany

[galaxylohnce]

VUD paladin headcanons!!!!

BTW this is based off of @voltronuniversaldefender ‘s reboot!!! CHECK THEM OUT THEYRE DOING GOD’S WORK

also i have read approx 2 headcanons and baRELY understand this AU so if there are similarities to anyone else or inconsistencies iT IS AN ACCIDENT AND IM SORRY

anyway this is just about the 4 confirmed paladins BET ill be doing more about Fa’rah/Takashi/Zahi/Ashanti once i know a bit more about their roles in the team!!

Alvaro Garcia Valladares

he has a twin. i don't make the rules, but he has a twin.

he has a big family. the biggest family. we’re talking, his mom has 8 siblings and his dad has 9 and there’s a 10 year age gap between him and his oldest sibling and he loves them all so much

natia is his best friend. i repeat, NATIA IS HIS BEST FRIEND!!!!

he’s also quite close with kiki. Natia and Kiki are the only two that he met before their great space adventure

he wasn't really sure of his sexuality at first. (i say this because i wasn't sure of my sexuality at first - im bi btw - and all the media i saw told me that any lgbt+ character was 100% sure of their sexuality form the day they were born, which made me doubt myself bc i didn't figure it out till recently, so i wanna see that in some media!! sometime!!) he probably figured it out halfway through having a crush on someone

the someone is akio, and he definitely tells Natia about it first

“natia... natia listen.... I have a crush on akio. freakin akio.... what do i do??? I’m bi, natia... I'm bi. what does this mean -”

“alvaro, I'm so proud of you, but this is a public bathroom and akio is right outside -”

GUARANTEE that the first time he saw Akio he just basically wanted to fight him but also flirt with him and had a slight moral crisis and ended up doing nothing

he is a goddamn sharpshooter, okay. he straight up becomes famous for it throughout the galaxy.

yet despite that he’s still insecure, and those insecurities prevent him from really getting together w akio until much later

he comes off as very suave and extroverted when you first meet him, but underneath it all, he’s actually really warm, personable and funny: not that anyone outside the team know that 

aliens on social media, probably: god, the blue paladin is so cool... i bet he’s amazing and awesome and eloquent...

meanwhile, alvaro: do u guys think i could fit my whole hand in my mouth or nah?

enjoys memes, and shares this love with kiki

basically an all around great guy. because he often felt like a seventh wheel at the beginning of the formation of the team, he always tries to include everybody as best as possible, going way out of his way to ask after people, even if they forget to ask about him sometimes :’)

Natia Nanai

first off: what a gorgeous name. seriously. incredible kudos, my dude. anyway on to the head canons for this gorgeous girl

probably alvaro’s soulmate. already mentioned this, but it needs reiteration. they are best friends

had a large family too (not as big as alvaros tho) and probably major relate to him with that big family dealio

v close with kiki. they complete each other on a technological level. 

natia is very, very creative. she and her sweet engineering know how are always instrumental in getting the Team out of tough situations

Akio: theres no way out of this we’re going to die -

Natia: bet?

she does say “bet” a lot. like, almost too much? but she's always right and valid when she says it

the villain: i’ve got you now!!!!

natia, under her breath: bet

the paladins, thinking: thank god, we’re saved

very soft but also badass as hell. she has a unique duality.

pulls a violet baudelaire: she puts that GORGEOUS hair up in a ponytail when doing work or whenever she has an idea

everyone on the team, regardless of sexuality, is low-key in love with her because she’s just so nice. no one can hate her. she's way too solid of a friend

speakinG of being a great friend: natia is 100% the secret keeper up in this bitch. everyone comes to her because they know she’s got the best advice around and will take their secrets to the grave

akio: idk man... alvaro is just rlly cute, u know?? but i can't tell him...

natia, thinking of alvaro literally whining to her about akio not even five minutes ago: christ

the mom friend. she always has all the things everyone needs on hand or in her lion, and she’s got it all going in terms of chore charts and family meals. she is the queen of figuring out times for team bonding and everyone loves her more for it

definitely started a board game night asap

she has a silent bravery about her that no one else can match. despite her trepidation, natia will always do what has to be done for the greater good. 

she is guided by her heart and her morals, and is easily the kindest person on the team

bc of this kindness, she is often the diplomat when conflicts arise between people on the team

she is seen by the general public (aka the galaxy) as a strong, morally righteous woman. kind of like rosie the riveter-esque??? she’s the symbol of justice and fairness. 

aliens: she's so... peacekeeping :0

natia, at kiki: throw me that wrench, or so help me god - 

basically, a queen who always considers everyone and works really hard to create a family, even when they're all so far from home :’)

Kiki Evans

generally over it tbh

“always tired, but always inspired” - kiki, on being asked why there were dark circles under her eyes

kind of standoffish. she’s not really about being nice, she's about getting the job done, and that can rub people the wrong way, since she is always the first to offer up the cold, logical solution

but underneath that, she’s just a computer science nerd who is loyal to a fault

she really is loyal. its almost dangerous sometimes, because she would put the universe in danger to save her friends, which actually comes into conflict with her typical cold, logical approach.

she has 0-1 sibling. she's every bit the single child. she cannot relate to living in a big family setting, and at first its hard for her to deal with before she warms up to everyone else on the team

she's a genius, and thus found school to be tedious. in fact, she got fairly bad grades, as she wouldn't do the work that she saw as pointless and boring

she is a meme connoisseur, and loves to quote vines, often assisted by alvaro

kiki, as they approach a giant black hole: HZZK

alvaro, catching on immediately: is... is that real???

she is a conspiracy theorist, for sure. the government is watching us all, trying to make sure we don't learn too much.... she’s sure of it, and akio is too

tbh, the first proper conversation she had with akio was about cryptids and how the government had hidden them from the public

she was friends w natia and alvaro from before, but it is akio she becomes closest with the fastest. in some ways, she feels more distant from natia/alvaro bc of how close they are with each other and  bc all of them have known each other for so long while akio is someone she got to know recently: he has no preconceptions about who she used to be, and she has none about him

plus, she and akio relate on many levels: both trans, both gay, both autistic, both theorists, and both loyal to a fault. she finds a real blood brother in akio :D

very openly gay. very. she's a space lesbian, and theres no denying it

kiki, meeting some random space girl: oh

kiki, moments later to akio: god I'm gay

akio, downing a glass of water but acting like its vodka or smthg: god, same

the public sees her as the cold and calculating techie, the brains of the operation

natia is her partner in crime. they finish each others sentences. they've got a tech connection going, babey

kiki: if we just cross-reference the zaiforge tunnel with the -

natia, nodding: particle consummator, of course we’ll get the perfect -

them, together: amount of energy!!!

everyone else: sorry wot

basically, she's a tech goddess with a splash of genius. she's uneasy and a bit awkward, but thats just bc she’s never been in a situation like this before. after literally 1 second with her, she opens up and is such a loyal friend. :’)

Akio Himura

wow this boy is gay and he knows it

he loves his parents (zahi, takashi, and ashanti) but god he will never admit it. not ever

alvaro, after listing his parents, 20 aunts and 100 cousins: and i love them all so much, with all my heart. what about ur family akio?

akio, not wanting to show weakness: they're nerds.

alvaro: um okay cool good talk haha :)

akio, internally: but i love them nd would die for them tbh... but i can't show weakness

he's so guarded after his biological parents left/died/disappeared. poor boy

definitely a single child, and definitely adopted

his parents love him SO MUCH. so much.

akio: why do i have three parents, dad?

takashi, almost crying: its simple. u deserve so much love, that it couldn't be contained in just two people. we needed three. its how its gotta be, my beautiful, sweet summer child

a yeehaw kind of guy. he grew up in the midwest riding horses before his biological parents died and theres a piece of him that will always be a southern boy

the kind of kid in school that pretends he’s a delinquent, but actually just has the aesthetic of a delinquent, and is truly soft

akio: hell yeah I'm a rebel. i logged onto disney.com without my parents permission

kiki, choked up: so brave

mothman is his love. his passion. all cryptids, for that matter. kiki is more of an all around conspiracy theorist: akio is in it for the cryptids 

he’s a bit awkward, and doesn’t totally understand all social cues/jokes. because of this, he stays away from memes, and is very guarded when meeting new people, especially after experiences with light bullying for not only his social ineptitude, but his upbringing.

considering that, his first meeting with alvaro was supremely awkward, and akio accidentally fought with him multiple times before they established a solid friendship

akio, having a gay panic: you are the light of my life

alvaro: sorry what??

akio, panicking more: I said, you wanna fiGHT WITH A KNIFE???

he pined after alvaro from basically day one, but had the foresight to actually know that he was pining, unlike alvaro who just floundered

of course he would never say anything

he is a stabby boi. he is unrivaled in swordplay, and enjoys routine. his natural affinity for picking up new skills plus his unrivaled work ethic basically DESTROYED everyone else when it came to swords

he’s loyal af and is always the first one to take action. akio is a “do something. do anything, but do it fast before we lose a chance to do something” kind of guy

the general public sees him as the fiery one: he’s the one with the fanciest footwork in a fight, and he’s very good with battle tactics. he can come thru with that strategy at the perfect times

he's a low-key emo. for sure. he loves MCR, but strangely dislikes other similar artists like p!atd and fob. 

kiki: but...brendon urie, akio....

akio, sipping tea: as a gay, i can appreciate the aesthetic. but no one can compete with MCR

kiki, exasperated: its not a competition -

basically, a slightly guarded boy with a real talent for defending the universe and his friends, but also an emo cowboy mess who is in love with alvaro and loves everyone :’)

WELL THAT ENDED UP LONGER THAN I EXPECTED. I HOPE U ENJOY AAAA

ALSO FOLLOW @voltronuniversaldefender !!!! its amazing, guys, really check it out :D

[loretranscripts]

Lore Episode 4: Dinner at the Afterglow (Transcript) - 20th April 2015

tw: cults, ghosts

Disclaimer: This transcript is entirely non-profit and fan-made. All credit for this content goes to Aaron Mahnke, creator of Lore podcast. It is by a fan, for fans, and meant to make the content of the podcast more accessible to all. Also, there may be mistakes, despite rigorous re-reading on my part. Feel free to point them out, but please be nice!

The San Juan Islands are a cluster of small, wooded islands off the coast of Washington state, just across the water from Vancouver Island. The western most of those small plots of land is San Juan Island itself, which has a population of less than 7000 residents, and has the welcoming feel of a small, quiet town. Seriously, this place is quiet. The most exciting thing most people can think about of their home there is that one of the residents is Lisa Moretti, a retired female WWF wrestler. But on the northern tip of the island, just beyond Roche Harbour and the resort there, is a road that leads into the woods. What is hidden in those trees, away from the prying eyes of tourists and residents alike, is something so unusual, something so out of the ordinary and bizarre, that it practically begs for a visit. Travelling down the long dirt road that runs into the heart of the forest, like a withered artery, will bring you to an iron archway mounted on stone pillars. The words “Afterglow Vista” are woven into the metalwork. Beyond that, deeper into the woods, is a series of stone stairs that lead up a small hill, and it’s the thing on top of that hill that immediately catches the eye of every visitor, without question. It’s an open-air rotunda, a ring of tall, stone pillars, standing on a flat, circular limestone base. They’re connected at the top by thick, Maltese archways, but nothing covers the rotunda itself – its interior is completely exposed and visible. What’s inside? A large, round, stone table, surrounded by six limestone chairs. Odd, but not creepy, until you realise the purpose this monument serves. It’s a tomb. Resting inside each of the chairs is the cremated remains of a human being. I’m Aaron Mahnke, and this is Lore.

In the late 19th century, San Juan Island became known for its lime deposits. Then, as now, lime was an essential ingredient in important products such as steel, fertilizer and cement, and the lime industry of San Juan Island provided much of the community’s jobs and revenue. In 1886, a man named John S. McMillin purchased controlling interest in the major lime deposits there, and eventually developed the industry there to be the largest supplier of lime on the West Coast. In the process, he built the 20-room Hotel de Haro at Roche Harbour, and then, a company town that surrounded it. In addition to the lime factory itself, he also built the barrel-works, warehouse, docks, ships, offices, a church, a general store and even barns. He even built houses for the workers, with the single men living in large bunkhouses, and the families being given small cottages that had been build into neat rows. All the structures belonged to McMillin, but his army of employees, over 800 of them at the peak of the business, gave them life. McMillin had a vision, for everyone living in one, big community. The town was self-sufficient with its own water, power, and telephone systems, and he paid his workers in company scrip, company currency that was only good there, in town, at the local company store. Of course, workers could still draw their salary in US currency whenever they wished, but the scrip was used in the store all the way up to 1956. That wasn’t all McMillin built though; he was far from done.

John S. McMillin was an unusual man. He was born in 1855, and attended Depauw University in Indiana, back when it was still called Asbury College. There he joined the Sigma Chi fraternity, and helped guide that young organisation to form a grand council, an executive committee at the national level. As a result, he was elected the very first Sigma Chi grand consul. In addition to his fraternity connections, McMillin was a Freemason, reaching the rank of 32nd degree out of the possible 33. He was prominent in business and politics, and even counted Teddy Roosevelt as a friend, who frequently visited and stayed at the hotel. McMillin had four children, and nearly the entire family considered themselves devout Methodists. Only one child, they say, left the family faith, and in doing so he might very well have locked himself out of the McMillin story forever. You see, all those worlds of interest, as different from each other as they all were, co-existed inside the mind of John McMillin. So when the time came to plan an eternal resting place for he and his family, each element had influence on those designs. The result – you might have guessed – was the eerie stone edifice located deep in the forest.

The structure really is a thing to behold. Once you’ve listened to me talk about it, you’ll want to visit some websites to see the true beauty of what McMillin built. When it was first constructed, the forest around it was far less thickly wooded than it is today, and visitors could see Afterglow Beach off to the north-west, perhaps giving the structure its name. It was designed to be a Tholos, a circular Mycenaean temple. It was crafted from local limestone and cement, but what’s really fascinating is the large number of secret messages and hidden meanings that were built into the structure, some relating to the Knight’s Templar, and others reflecting McMillin’s values as a Methodist. For example, approaching the mausoleum requires travelling up three separate sets of stairs, each set having its own meaning. There are three steps in the first flight of stairs, and they’re said to represent the three ages of man; the second set contained five steps, representing the five senses; and the third set contains seven steps, which stand for the seven liberal arts and sciences. Around the table are seven pillars that hold up the arches. Oddly though, one of the seven pillars is broken, the western-most one, but it was done intentionally. Only a small portion can be seen on the base, and protruding from the archway above, and this break was said to be a reminder that death never lets us finish our work. There’s room around the table for seven chairs, but the spot that should hold the seventh, the closest to the broken pillar, in fact, is missing. Some say that it was never there to begin with, and that it’s meant to represent the son who walked away from McMillin’s Methodist faith. Depending on who you are, if eternity is a gathering at a table, not finding a seat with your family would be a ruthless punishment indeed. These are all fantastic architectural details, but what’s missing from every photo of the mausoleum is the long list of reported sightings, all of which started some time in the mid 1950s.  

The mausoleum was built with no dome on top, although that had originally been the plan, but it was expensive, amounting to about 40% of the total budget, and so it was scrapped near the end to save cash. Even still, visitors on rainy days have frequently reported that they feel no rain on them while inside the ring of the stone pillars. Some people have spoken of cold spots near the table, while others have heard voices, even when no one else is around. Those daring enough to actually sit on one of the chairs, keeping in mind that they are tiny little tombs containing the remains of the McMillin family, said that they felt very uneasy doing so, and more than one person has reported the sensation of hands pushing them off. A frequent account is the sight of strange lights at night, including blue lights that seem to hover above the chairs. Some visitors have also reported seeing the members of the McMillin family themselves on nights of the full moon, seated around the table while and laughing and talking.

The mausoleum isn’t the only place with unusual activity though. Originally, John McMillin built the family home right beside the Hotel de Haro, and his long-term secretary, Ada Beane, had a cottage on the other side of the hotel. Later, the Roche Hotel was built around the old hotel, and the other buildings were combined into the structure. Beane’s cottage, for example, became the current dining room and hotel gift shop. That dining room/restaurant has been the focus of quite a bit of unusual activity. The resort’s restaurant manager reported that, on more than one occasion, he has closed up shop, turned off the lights, and headed for the door, only to look back over his shoulder, and seen that a candle on one of the tables has reignited. When he walked back in and blew it out, all of the kitchen hood fans turned on at once. Other appliances have been known to turn on as well. Employees over the years have reported stoves, blenders and toasters turning themselves on and off. The storeroom door has been known to open and close by itself. Furniture in the back room has even been found rearranged in the morning with no explanation. The gift shop, located in another part of that old cottage, has also been home to some unusual activity. One former employee once watched as several glass shelves cracked and shattered, one by one, all without anyone touching them. In the hotel itself, there are rumours of ghosts. The second floor is reported to be haunted by what has been described as a middle-aged woman wearing a long dress. Employees have told the owners that they frequently hear the sound of rustling clothing in rooms where no one else should be. Is it the ghost woman’s dress they hear?

It’s funny how the people who live around us have a way of making an impression on us. We feel them when they’re here, like the gravitational pull of another planet, but sometimes we even feel them when they’re gone. They leave memories behind when they go, treasured gifts, belongings, or perhaps a worn spot on a favourite piece of furniture. Ghosts are a concept almost as old as time. The people we love are here for a while, and then they’re gone, and humans have always struggled to understand what happens to them after death. Maybe ghost stories are a way for us to grapple with our own loneliness and loss. Perhaps they’re our way of bolstering ourselves against our own impending death. We must go somewhere, right? Are we ready? Will we be forgotten? John McMillin believed with all his heart that his life needed to be remembered, and that his body, and those of his family, deserved a resting place equal  to their position in life. The Afterglow Vista stands as proof of one man’s faith in something beyond the veil.

And that light over the limestone seats that sometimes people report to have seen since the 50s? Well, it turns out there just might be an explanation, depending on what you’re willing to believe, of course. Remember how the building that houses the hotel’s gift shop and dining room used to be the home of Ada Beane, McMillin’s long-time secretary? Well, along with being a key figure in the day to day business of the company, she also helped as a governess to the McMillin children, and she was practically part of the family. So when Miss Beane died, prior to McMillin, it was obviously an emotional loss. Rumours persist to this day that her death was suicide, but official records list nothing more than natural causes. Regardless, the family lost someone dear when she passed away. After her death, her body was cremated and placed in a mason jar, and that jar somehow made it onto the mantle in the office of Paul McMillin, John’s youngest son. It wasn’t until the mid-1950s that the resort manager learnt from Paul, still alive and working for the company, that she was there, and that’s when they moved her. Where did they take her remains? Why, to join the others, of course. Her ashes were added the copper urn in one of the seats around the stone table in the mausoleum, putting her back where she belonged: among friends as dear to her as family. But Miss Beane might not have been too pleased about that decision. Perhaps, after looking over the family and estate for all those years, being moved to the cold, dark tomb didn’t settle well with her. It was only after the move that people began to see lights and hear voices. At the same time, the pranks and the unusual activities started up inside the hotel. Coincidence, or the actions of an upset woman who would rather spend her eternity away from the tourists and cold rain of the Afterglow Vista? Can you blame her?

Lore is a biweekly podcast and was produced by me, Aaron Mahnke. You can find a transcript of the show, as well as links to the source material at lorepodcast.com. The music in this episode was written by Kai Engel – be sure to check him out on soundcloud. If you enjoy scary stories, I happen to write them. You can find a full list of my supernatural thrillers, available in paperback and ebook format, at aaronmahnke.com/novels. And lastly, help the show grow by visiting ITunes today to leave a rating and review, and tell your friends. The show is on Twitter and Facebook, twitter.com/lorepodcast and facebook.com/lorepodcast. Thanks for listening.

[callie-the-snarky-geek-blog]

RvB16 Episode 3 Review: Lost Time

(Old Blog Repost)

Wasn’t last week fun everyone? I thought it was fun! But yeah, a lot of shit happened despite Grif’s attempts to not let shit happen… that we can argue caused the shit to happen. Isn’t meta humor fun kids?! But yeah scary alien woman attacked (and converted Tumblr into her own group of worshipers from what I can tell), Donut is a God, and everyone’s been separated ala Season 3. Only this time with time travel… ala Season 3 but the separation happened before that part. I just gave myself a headache. Well.. lets get on with the review while my brain is still intact.

Overview

We begin on… IDK if it’s a planet or not, but someplace with snow! This is where Grif and Doc got sent… so this is the second time a portal sent Grif off to same snowy wasteland. Man, this really is like Season 3 only he’s taking Church’s role as the grumpy one while Doc is… Doc. Well at least he didn’t get hit in the nuts immideatly after this time or thrown in a cell! Anyways, yeah snowy wasteland. Doc is freaked out about the entire thing and what it means while Grif is trying to figure out how the portal gun works so that they can get out before they freeze. He’s also grumpy. But to be fair, if I saw a perfectly good pizza parlor blow up in front of me, I would be grumpy too.

Grif is also refusing to let Doc help or even get near him. Why? Well he’s pissed off cause they got roped into bullshit again, but the biggest thing seems to be that he got stuck with Doc who… you know, is a piss poor combatant, bad at his medic job, and had betrayed them not too long ago. To be fair, Doc… completely understands Grif hating him for that. Heck, he feels guilty for what he did. I’ll get into it more int he analysis portion, but it looks like Joe may be giving Doc character development… or is leading up to a joke later. but hey he’s giving Doc attention. More than I can say for Miles’ run (sorry Miles, I love you but I’m gonna point stuff like that out). Grif ignores the sob story to work on the gun,a nd to his credit he gets the thing to work… on shuffle. Okay, why did God put a shuffle function on the gun? Then again, God has his ways and as a Christian I should know to not question it… assuming that that’s the God we’re refereeing to anyways. Lets just pretend that’s the case for now.

Meanwhile, Tucker and Sister have made the same revelation. The two of them have ended up, to my glee, in Valhalla! Since the Recolleciton Trilogy is my favorite storyline, seeing it again makes me SO happy. IDK what point this is at. It could be before the Reds and Caboose got sent there, could be after the Reds fought Wash and the Meta, I don’t know. But who cares? It’s Valhalla again! I am happy! Also we learn that Tucker is atheist and Sister, like her brother, is agnostic. Good to know!

Tucker tries to figure out Donut’s cryptic warning of ‘the key to fixing the future is to fix the past’ or something along those lines. Sister however wants to hold it off and have a little ‘fun’ with Tucker… boy going through time to bang various historical figures! And Sister is officially more sexually ambitious than Tucker could ever hope to be. Tucker, being Tucker, is unhappy that… you know, she doesn’t want to bang him and all. He also refers to them apparently having had sex in Blood Gulch that… I forgot about I guess. But Sister says it didn’t happen and it wasn’t all that memorable anyways. Ouch… you know, when binging I found Sister pointless all in all and writing her out would have changed nothing. But now that she’s back and Joe is actually giving her attention, I freakin’ LOVE her. Keep it up Joe!

So now over to Simmons and Sarge with Simmons trying to figure the gun out. Him being a nerd, he’s far more confused and nitpicky about it than the others have been. Sarge is more than happy to accept having a ‘magic gun’ though and wants to get on to the ‘fixing the past’ thing. How? Well his first thought is to go to The Battle of Broken Ridge. Apparently it was rather traumatic for Sarge and going back would reopen some old wounds, but he’s willing to face it to fix it. We’ll talk more about this later. Simmons wants to instead go to a lab to get the gun taken apart to figure out how it works since nothing else had made sense and he wants to have something explainable. But Sarge convinces him to just figure it out by actually using the gun, leading us to the Battle of Broken Ridge… so using Ancient Egypt last episode was a total copout so no mummy fights. Damn it!

So yeah, after Gus, I mean Simmons, I mean Gus (come on, you can’t tell me he WOULDN’T do the same thing cause nerds) acts like a nerd by making a log, he and Sarge see the battle in progress. Past Sarge was a lieutenant at the time and sends his men out to make a surprise attack while he covered them from behind the ridges. This ended with them all getting massacred, and present Sarge figures that this is because the went in the wrong direction. SO he goes and tells them to go the other way.. which past Sarge makes them go back and… well, you can figure out how it ends. From the afterlife, I can just see Church laughing at them cause now they know how he felt during his time travel stint (yeah it was a simulation, but still)

Finally, we have Lopez coming back online after his head came off and Caboose fixed him. Shock of all shocks, I think Caboose has understood what Lopez is saying moreso than any other character as he tries to figure out Donut’s warning. He concludes on… universal savings… okay who let Joel write on the scripts?! But yeah, Caboose wants to create savings accounts for everyone in hopes of saving the universe. Too bad that he lost the penny he had on him, but it’s okay! Cause he actually figured out how the portal gun works! Because of course he did!

So the two end up back to the opening scene. Caboose tries to find his penny and… remember when Caboose seemed to lose focus and Grif had to remind him to find Donut? Turns out that it was resent Caboose and past Caboose actually didn’t lose focus. Ah, I love it when jokes come back around like that! So Caboose goes through another portal to keep looking, Lopez resigns himself to the end of the world, and somewhere Burnie is probably wondering how even with Church dead his character somehow always gets saddled with Joel’s. I guess we’ll never know.

Review

This was shorter than last week, but BOY does it leave me plenty to talk about!

The episode seems to exist to explain how the time travel will work, some more character development setup, and just to have some comedic hijinks after last weeks more plot heavy episode. And I thought it was great! Like I said, it reminds me a lot of Season 3 when everyone was separated and the first episode with it jumping back and forth between the pairs, setting up their situations. IDK if this was an intentional callback, but I liked it nonetheless. And everyones current situations and the pair dynamics were done very well. So lets just go in order here:

Grif and Doc: This is the one I’m most interested in, and so far I’m pleased! Beginning with Grif, he’s reacting exactly how I expected him to, ala being angry at the whole thing. t makes sense. Despite his efforts, the universe decided to shit on him again and thrust him and the others into another adventure and one arguably more insane than ever before. He’s also stuck with Doc, who he’s never particularly been on good terms with. Heck when he WAS friendly to Doc back in Blood Gulch and even got validation for using CPR to cure Sarges head wound, Doc threw him under the bus when he realized that Grif was the butt monkey. That was a dick move. Of course Doc has been shit on by everyone far more at this point, but still Grif’s got a bit more of an excuse than the others. Plus again, he was’t there when Doc turned on them and he at least had the dignity to just quit an tell them that he quit before things went to shit instead of just turn his back on then in a dire moment.

But going to Doc… his reaction is good. He actually takes responsibility for his actions, feels guilty that it contributed to everything that happened (Wash getting shot), and that he ultimately couldn’t talk the Blues and Reds out of their plans. He feels that he failed both sides and that in doing so, everyone got hurt. He even completley understands Grif hating him for it since he feels the same way about it. He doesn’t try to make excuses, even when honestly he has very valid reasons to make excuses. He’s been constantly shit on, forgotten about, and even got trapped in another dimension before and everyone just forgot about it and didn’t care. But we could say that betraying the guys when he knows that the Blues and Reds have fallen off their rocker was going a tad too far, even if he did try to use it to convince them to stop and failed. But its a nice look into Doc’s current psyche and Matt did a great job expressing how disappointed in himself he is.

Now will this lead to anything? It might. Normally with Doc, it’s hard to tell. I feel there may be a point where Doc either sacrifices himself to save Grif in a pivitol moment, like shoving him through a portal when one of the villains find him, or he goes all O’Malley to make a sacrifice play so that Grif can escape. IDK, but going off the self-loathing there’s a god chance that something’s gonna happen and this time it may have more of an impact. We’ll have to wait and see, but  hey it’s something. Can’t wait to see what happens with these two next!

Tucker and Sister: Their moment is mainly for comedy but it was good! Like I said, I loved seeing Valhalla again. IDK if they’ll still be there later, but hey I appreciate the callback. It’s also nice to see Tucker being… well, Tucker again. Hes had a lot of character development since Chorus, and it was very well done. But after last season, while I personally didn’t find him OOC, I an see why the way he was written was frustrating for people. Plus after all the events in Chorus and S15, I think we needed to see him in a happier state of mind, and it looks like he is. I said before that it felt like S15 was Joe trying to put the bookend on Blue Team’s problems, and I think it shows. Tucker seems far more relaxed and comedic, like during Recollection. Hopefully he still has his newfound competence, and I assume that when things go to shit again we’ll see that. But he’s in a place where he can be comedic Tucker without him coming across as an arrogant idiot, so this is good.

Then we have Sister… OMG Sister. SO as I said above, I did not care about Sister when I was watertight Blood Gulch. She wasn’t particularly bad, her personality was strong and fitting for the cast of characters she was in. But… she didn’t really do anything. According to Burnie on the DVD commentaries, he had wanted to add her for a while and S5 was the only place he could, but still you could write he rout and very little would change. Her being gone for over half the series since then doesn’t help. But the upside to adidng her back is now they can actually do stuff with her, and so far I’m happy!

Okay so Sister’s so far only expressed wanting to bang historical figures and I kind of hope we can see her do more than make sex jokes. But hey, we can officially confirm her bi now so yay canon bisexual character! Plus the way her and Tucker’s banter was written was very well done. It was really funny and her proving to be far more ambitious with her sex life and finding Tucker not worth remembering was hilarious. Plus her just not giving a shit about Tucker’s advances are both hilarious and make me very happy. Sorry Tucker, but hey at least our probably the only guy who an claim to have had sex with an entire planet… and still paying the lawsuit for it XD

Sarge and Simmons: It was hilarious, Plain and simple. It’s been a pretty good while since these two had one-on-one time and so far I’m pleased with what we have. Simmons wanting to study the gun and have some kind of explanation he can cling to when noting else is making any kind of logical sense is perfectly IC. I’m also glad to see him actually disagreeing with Sarge and trying to get his own point across. Simmons has mostly grown out of the kissass phase, at least tot he extent he was in Blood Gulch, and I’m glad to see that sticking. He feels a lot mroe independent but still the nerd we all know and love. Character development, yay!

Then we have the Battle of Broken Ridge and all the continuity stuff it brings up. If I had to guess, it takes place early in Sarge’s military career before he became an ODST or this was before he got put into Blood Gulch. Considering we don’t completely know how these outposts operate aside form how they use the SIM troopers, I don’t find it hard to buy that Sarge has been on multiple Red Teams before getting recruited for Blood Gulch. But these guys have brown armor so… IDK. But still, it’s good to see some backstory and it was good to see Sarge try to save his men. Sure it looks like he failed, but hey he tried.

Still, it really DOES make me ponder on this whole ‘fixing the past’ thing. Like… what does Donut mean by the past? For the Reds and Blues to fix their own pasts? I’m assuming not since Sarge only inadvertently caused it. Did the villains do something in the past and damage it? Why didn’t Donut just say that though? Or is ‘God’ just using the Reds and Blues to invoke what will fulfill the prophecy mentioned in Episode 1? After all, it’s said they end the world and this may be the catalyst that cause sit, hence why Huggins (where is she BTW?) has to follow them around. But I would hope that the puppetmaster would have made a reasonable explanation about what had to be fixed to provoke that. IDK, it’s way too early to tell and this is a multi-part saga, so we’re just gonna have to see how it plays out.

And finally…

Caboose and Lopez: THIS WAS EVERYTHING I HOPED FOR. Caboose being… Caboose, but also showing that he CAN be competent in his own way. Sure he got Donut’s message wrong, but at least he was thinking about it. Plus he was able to both fix Lopez and actually understand what he said. IDK if Caboose can speak Spanish, but I absolute believe that he can just until what Lopez is saying. And unlike everyone else, except maybe Simmons unless they just used shuffle enough times until they got the right portal (which if that isn’t the case, kudos to Simmons for figuring it out on his own), Caboose is the only one who figured out how to make the gun work. So now hes on a Penny Quest as Lopez continues to regret his own existence. I love it!

I admit I wasn’t sure how this was going to work since Caboose and Lopez are the two most incomprehensible characters int he show. Caboose is random and dimwitted, and no one an understand Lopez at all. But it’s surprisingly really funny so far! Normally having characters together alone like this without someone else to keep it balanced can be annoying very quickly. But in this case, it came off as really funny and not exaggerated. I guess it helps that Caboose can understand what Lopez is saying, but still it’s just the right balance. Which is good since I assume that they’re going to be the comedy relief pair for now. But who knows?

Final Thoughts

As I said, this seems to be here to show us how the time travel will play out and I assume the next episode will either cut to Chorus or focus on one pair for the majority of it. We’ll have to see. Still, this was good! The interactions were really good and I really enjoyed seeing it play out. Everyone felt IC and leaves plenty of setup for their respective situations. It leaves the question of what happened to Donut, but I guess we’ll find out eventually. But overall, this was a fun episode that perfectly sets up what we can expect. Hopefully, we’ll be delivered just what we’re hoping for.