#just got this piece of dialogue for the first time jesus christ

[propalitet]

harrier du bois do you have something you want to share with the class?

[astradyke]

warning this might be a nothing post i'm just a little emotional & rambling but like... i think a lot about hometown showdown and gay and not proud a lot. and i understand this was in the peak of YouTube's fuckery with Dan and disrupting his plans for DINOK so i understand there's like a tension behind a lot of what was ongoing. i also realize that YouTube-- more obviously with hometown showdown-- but generally had strong business rationale for wanting Phil to feature in these videos, with Dan & Phil being the duo of HS and Phil being there in gay and not proud (sorry the acronym for this looks ugly).

but man... i think a lot about how hometown showdown was just kind of a lot of dates. i've not seen the other ones but i hear a lot that they were way more competitive versus Dan and Phil were just casually exploring their hometowns together, showing pieces of themselves to the other. i think about all the dialogue that was cut (that I think was alluded to in WDAPTEO 2?)

and i think about like. the seismic Importance of Phil being in gay and not proud as like... Dan's safe space. the same way he's remote crisis manager, the same way he was part of WAD's pre & post show, the same way he filmed that haircut video basically to promo YWGTTN and Dan is leaving me to talk about WAD. the same way that Dan got a taxi to his place after his nightmare experience at the laundromat to do laundry because "for the first time since I was a tiny child, I actually felt safe."

and after the latest mukbang it's like... it's really insane to me how their personal relationship has continued despite the pressures they've faced as being a comedic influencer duo. the fact that they work as business partners but still have this relationship. the fact that even in these YouTube originals that Dan was resentful of at the time anyway you can still glowingly see how much they love each other. like Phil being in gay and not proud wasn't a cameo, it was a fucking love confession.

i dunno. this is something that's been talked about a Lot but i do think about it frequently. i don't tend to rewatch these specials a lot because Jesus Christ the editing really gets me, but like... idk. "you're next to me in my life," or whatever. 15 years have passed and Phil's still cheerleading for Dan, from his first YouTube video to his first solo tour. i dunno.

[burningcheese-merchant]

burningcheese evidence part 2 because yes

I'm kind of foaming at the mouth right now, I'm not really going to be 100% coherent in this post, episode 6 has melted my brain and I need to cool off (also I have actual work to finish irl lololol)

Spoilers under the cut, don't want to be That Asshole

Also for the 1,000th time, it is perfectly okay and understandable if you do not like this ship, I'm not holding a fucking gun to anyone's head, I know it's not really canon or anything, just let me have my dark hero/villain relationship in peace

"Hey where's Golden Cheese? Is Golden Cheese awake yet? Can she wake up now? No? Why isn't she awake? I want her to wake up already, why won't she wake up already? It's implied that I've asked this question multiple times, when will someone give me the answer I want? I want her here, I want her attention, I want her to wake up already-"

He thinks so highly of her in his Joker-esque way. She's so strongggg. He knows she's strong. Why wasn't she strong before? This isn't like her, he knows that. He knows her. He knows she's strong. He wanted to see her be strong. What happened?

Wanting to straight up get high with her. Wanting to watch her let loose. Calling her a combination of "little thief" and "little bird", two pet names the BurningCheese community (spearheaded by yours truly) has had Burning Spice assign to Golden Cheese

"I KNEW SHE WOULDN'T DISAPPOINT ME" bro thinks the whole damn world of her and had faith she wouldn't let him down, look how fucking happy he is she broke out of prison. She's just like him right now fr fr

She's giving him precisely what he desired, which is a struggle. Which is a chase. Which is a hunt. Which is a FIGHT. Which is HER. HE WANTS TO HAVE FUN WITH HER.

Bro is literally SMELLING her everywhere dude. He's attuned to her. To her presence.

"Hey bring her back to me, I miss her. But I swear to God, if y'all hurt her, if y'all ruffle a single one of her feathers, I will KILL YOU, YOU GOT THAT? SHE'S MINE! ALL MINE! BRING HER TO ME ALIVE AND THAT'S IT! YOU GOT IT?!?!?!"

God the cute sing-song voice I can't right now. Jesus Christ, my guy. Calling to her like that, really??

Sniffing her out again because he's fucking deranged and obsessed with her. He's got her whole essence on lock. Tracking her down like a fucking bloodhound. He's hungry for her, he's STARVING, he's BARKING MAD THAT ANYONE IS TRYING TO GET IN HIS WAY

Little bird? Little bird?? Little bird??? LITTLE BIRD??????????

THE NAME I HAD HIM GIVE HER IN MY FIRST BURNINGCHEESE FIC, WHICH I WROTE DAYS BEFORE THIS FUCKER EVEN RELEASED? THE NAME ALL THE OTHER SHIPPERS HAVE HAD HIM CALL HER TOO? YOU CANONIZED THAT? YOU MADE IT REAL? YOU MADE THE PET NAME HE HAS FOR HER REAL??? I CAN READ THIS IN A DIALOGUE BUBBLE FOR REAL? THIS IS IN THE GAME FOR REAL? ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME RIGHT NOW???

"How good it is to see you in one piece" SMILING AND LAUGHING BECAUSE HE'S GLAD SHE'S OK? TELLING HER SO TO HER FACE? MY GUY

Every step she takes that is wrong to others is right to him. Bust out of jail? Yes good I like that, I want it, I knew she wouldn't disappoint me. Lead him on, make him chase her, have them play hide-and-seek? Yes good, this is fun, I love the thrill of a chase, I KNOW WHERE YOU ARE I CAN FUCKING SMELL YOU I CAN FEEL YOUR FUCKING SOUL YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME LITTLE BIRD. Not taking his own goddamn power back? What kind of fool would make such a stupid, regrettable decisi- JK HE'S GLAD HE MADE THIS DECISION, THAT MEANS SHE CAN BE HERSELF AND KICK HIS ASS STILL, THIS IS WHAT HE WANTED, THIS IS EVERYTHING HE WANTED, SHE IS EVERYTHING HE WANTED! YES! (Also, one Freudian slip of several where he says it's HER Soul Jam and not HIS. He's already handing it over to her in his mind. Why? Why tho? Didn't he want it back? Guess not, huh? Guess having the pretty cheese lady beat his ass was too much of a turn-on, huh???)

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW? ARE YOU FOR FUCKING REAL? HE SAYS THIS TO HER? WITH THAT FACE? WITH THAT TONE OF VOICE? SAYING SHE'S LOVELY? THAT WHAT SHE'S DOING IS LOVELY? CALLING WHAT THEY'RE DOING A "DANCE"? TELLING HER TO KEEP IT UP? TELLING HER HE'S THOROUGHLY ENJOYING THIS?

HE KEEPS TRYING TO REASON WITH HER. HE KEEPS TRYING TO TALK TO HER, TO GET THROUGH TO HER, TO GET IT INTO HER PRETTY LITTLE BIRD SKULL THAT HE'S RIGHT. THAT DESTRUCTION IS THE ONLY WAY. Why go to that trouble? Why does he give a single, solitary fuck what she thinks or feels? Why even bother speaking on the matter at all, if it's a fundamental truth in his eyes already? WHY KEEP TELLING HER TO FIGHT, TO KEEP PUSHING, UNTIL SHE UNDERSTANDS HIM? WHY DOES HE WANT HER TO UNDERSTAND HIM? WHO GIVES A FLYING FUCK? And what's this about "and see the day"? Didn't you want to kill her, Burning Spice? Didn't you want to crush her, break her to pieces? Was that another Freudian slip there? Did your mask fall off for a second? DO YOU NOT ACTUALLY WANT HER TO DIE? DO YOU WANT HER TO LIVE, TO STAND UP AND FIGHT, JUST SO SHE'S FORCED TO RECKON WITH THE TRUTH OF YOUR PHILOSOPHY? WHY DO YOU CARE, MOTHERFUCKER? HUH? WHY???

"Stop teasing me" my brother in the Witches we ALL know you don't mean that. You've been BEGGING her to tease you the past two fucking chapters. Stop lying you dumb fuck, your face is giving it all away anyway

He's still clamoring for them to get fucking high together, honestly wtf is wrong with him? Drug-fueled combat, is that his kink? Also boy he sure has a vested interest in her enjoying their battle, doesn't he

She wants more? She wants more of him? She wants more of what he's got? She wants more fun? She wants him to strike a pose that clearly shows off his arms and chest more? YOU GOT IT BABYGIRL-

"You would destroy everything you have, just to get to me?"

"FUCK YES!!!"

My guy. My man. My cookie. My bro. My dude. Your mask fell off. Your mask fell off, my guy. You just told her point-blank that you'll kill people to get her. You'll blow up your own house to get her. You'll trash everything you ever owned to get her. You even have excuses ready to go to justify it. "Oh, it's all garbage, if you want it go ahead. This place ugly as fuck, I hate it, I wanted it gone anyway." Burning Spice. Burning Spice Cookie. You just admitted out loud that you are so obsessed with her that you will tear down your entire life for her. You just told her that to her fucking face, with a big, dumb grin. You've got the "happy" sprite equipped, buddy. You're HAPPY to tell her in no uncertain terms that all that matters to you is going after her. Fighting her. Getting to her. HER. ALL THAT MATTERS TO YOU IS HER!!!!!!!!! YOU JUST FUCKING SAID THAT SHIT OUT LOUD!!!! CAUGHT IN 4K AND YOU'RE NOT EVEN MAD!!!!! YOU'RE NOT EVEN DENYING THE ALLEGATIONS!!!! THIS CAN BE USED AGAINST YOU IN COURT, BURNING SIMP COOKIE!!!!!!

If he doesn't compliment her in some way, even indirectly, at least once per conversation, he will spontaneously combust. Pointing out how different and interesting she is, how she breaks the mold, how she defies the cycle of change and history even after it's already chewed her up and spat her out. Just say you want to put your dick inside of her, dude, please this is fucking embarrassing-

Ok nvm bro is straight up having the biggest, hottest orgasm of his entire fucking life right now, he's straight up speechless, he says like 3 coherent words to her after she awakens and then he's just looking like THIS and smiling so hard his damn is about to be split open by that ecstatic grin. Laughing his stupid, horny, obsessed, creepy ass off. Bro looks like he's CHEERING FOR HER in this shot, are you fucking kidding me? He's HAPPY she got back up, he's HAPPY she got a power boost, he's HAPPY she's kicking his ass, JUST LOOK AT THAT BEAUTIFUL SMILE, HE'S SO IN LOVE IT HURTS

And last, but not least:

Was this really necessary lol

BurningCheese is canon, Burning Simp Cookie is down terminal, we can all fuck off home and die now, I will now be ascending to Heaven (for 5 seconds before God smacks me back down to Hell, because no way I deserve paradise for all of my bullshit lol), thank you goodbye

[jcs-study]

JCS Ideas: Casting

After my recent delightful interaction with @averagecygnet-blog that got me spitballing about a possible closing for Jesus Christ Superstar if I was ever to direct the show, I started thinking about all of the ideas I'd ever had for JCS, both big and small. I've posted about them before, but it's never a bad time to take a second look at the accumulation of notions and play around with them a bit. After all, I've been brainstorming how to stage this thing since the first grade.

So, let's start with some casting concepts, not all of which are meant to co-exist in a single production, but presented for contemplation nonetheless. I've probably had more ideas over time than are presented in this post, but for right now, these are the things that typically rise above the chaos in the theater of my mind's eye.

Cast Size and Age Ranges

A lot of JCS productions over the years have tended to over-stack their deck in cast size terms, at least in my opinion. While it's tempting to throw as many people at the stage as one can, I think the show benefits from the opposite of the Cecil B. DeMille treatment, especially given Andrew Lloyd Webber's statement (in Ellis Nassour's Rock Opera) along the lines that he saw it as an intimate drama of three or four people. With that in mind, while also not literally adhering to the letter of that statement (therein lies madness), I'd strip it down. Severely.

You've got your main leads, JUDAS, JESUS, and MARY, who obviously can't pull double duty. Then you have supporting leads, who can double as the ensemble in scenes where they're not needed as a named character -- people like CAIAPHAS, ANNAS, HEROD, SIMON/PETER (getting to this in a second), and PILATE. Lastly, to boost the overall vocal sound and spread things out somewhat beyond the supporting leads, you have an ENSEMBLE of 6 performers.

Not counting any separate understudies who may not appear onstage (and would add to the overall number), we've just demonstrated that at a base level, you can chunk JCS down to 14 people. 14 extremely hard-working, strong-voiced people.

Now, as for age ranges, I go into this in somewhat more detail in the "My Two Cents" section of the Dramatis Personae chapter in my book -- namely, it's possible to cast along an unusually varied age spectrum, so long as it makes sense and feels "of a piece." However, I personally think that youth should be a key component in casting, because of youthful performers' natural energy and vitality, and because it reflects the reality of "Roman-occupied Jerusalem and environs," as the show's setting is described; from what we know of Jewish society at the time, a boy would have been learning his trade by age 10, engaged at 13 (girls would typically be 12), and married by 14 (girls, 13). Precocious and unconscionable by today's standards, no doubt, but the reality.

With the above, and the fact that JCS was developed -- consciously or not -- with clear parallels to the 1960s hippie movements, including the generational clashes between youth and the older "establishment," in mind, I'd seek out a younger cast, with an average age of 18-25, while capping authority figures (HEROD, PILATE, etc.) at around 45.

Narrative Threads

I say, and not without reason, in my book that one of the biggest problems directors face with JCS is probably its lack of dialogue. Christianity has been on thin ice since the Sixties, but at least back in 1970, most people had basic biblical knowledge, specifically of the New Testament, which meant the decision to dispense with a script (which would traditionally, in theater terms, help things out from an exposition standpoint) didn't matter so much. Today, however, there is a glaring lack of knowledge about the story -- among believers and non-believers alike -- that exposes how underwritten the piece is in traditional terms. (Check out the stats on it in my "Historical Background" chapter; they raise gasps and giggles in equal measure.)

As no production is likely to get a special dispensation to add dialogue (nor, honestly, do I think they should, even though I acknowledge its absence as a likely flaw), I have a tendency in my casting thoughts to try to tie together the show's narrative in a neater bow and paper over the cracks in the plaster, so to speak.

(Plus, as a formerly religious atheist, I'm more familiar with the show's characters than most from a biblical standpoint, which often leads down intriguing paths and gives me a chance to flex.)

Thus, ideas like:

Casting MARY as a trans woman of color. In addition to all the dramaturgical and cultural reasons that @griffinmackleroy's idea is brilliant and worth borrowing, it also works for lazy directors like me. Anyone in the audience (or who is cast in the role) who knows (of) or has lived those experiences can fill in their own backstory, and suddenly I don't have to explain who Mary Magdalene is in exacting detail. They know (of), are, or have been that person, can fill in a lot of gaps with headcanon, and we're off to the races.

Casting three performers to play JUDAS' TORMENTORS, PRIESTS, and SOUL GIRLS in triplicate, in a manner that can be interpreted by the audience either as filling those specific roles or symbolic of fate/destiny/motivation. It's a little avant-garde, but it also sells the basic idea that fate was at play, we're only human, however you want to phrase it. (If you find this is too weird or a step too far in an otherwise conventional -- if small -- production, then you keep the same numbers from above for a tight cast size, but you take the 3 PRIESTS' lines, assign them to a single soloist, and double-cast them as HEROD. That also creates a nice little through-line about the ubiquity of authority, how it is more alike than different no matter what paper it's wrapped in.)

Combining the roles of SIMON and PETER, in principle/for all intents and purposes if not on paper. Two character arcs that go nowhere become one character arc that goes somewhere, and it flies just fine as long as there are twelve bodies (and one JESUS) around the supper table in Act II.

Casting PILATE as a white cis woman, and more specifically, depicting her as a deconstruction of a modern center-left (American) legislator who means well but lacks the backbone to prevent this judicial murder from taking place because of what it means for her political standing. (I alluded to the idea in brief on the blog, but it's much better explicated in the "My Two Cents" section of my chapter on Pilate, which is the primary link.)

Some of these suggestions also help shake up how male-centric the story traditionally is, which is always a plus.

Miscellanea

These are just ideas that didn't fit in the other two sections, so I'm happily dumping them here.

Fleshing Out a Character With a Deleted Song

For once, I'm not talking about "Then We Are Decided," which I could do (and have done) for hours, though this does involve a priest. I'm talking about the slightly more obscure "What A Party."

The JCS completist in me that recognizes any amount of storytelling, in casting and dramaturgy (more about the latter in the next post) alike, can only help the audience has seen the merit in re-adding "What A Party" to the show, though I've struggled with whether or not it was strictly necessary. At last, I've come to a compromise. If I add it, this is how I'd use it: I'd reassign the "party host" soloist, and in the process, create a character that ties two strands of the narrative together.

When considering the setting of the number, I thought of the Gospel story in Luke of Jesus being anointed in the house of Simon the Pharisee and realized that since "What A Party" doesn't explicitly say he's Simon the Leper anywhere in the lyrics (we only know the soloist is that character in John's Gospel from Nassour), we could instead make him Simon the Pharisee: a priest on the council trying to feel this guy out and being unimpressed, perhaps even discomfited, by the drama brought to his doorstep.

Put yourself in his shoes for a second: you're a respectable religious leader, and before pre-judging this rabble-rouser like your superiors, you want to know what he's all about. You're willing to hear what he has to say over dinner, but he brings his whole crew, including 12 hangers-on, at least one person you know (to preserve my SIMON/PETER doubling, I have one disciple's name escape his memory and have the "Judas, Simon" moment be an exchange of greetings between JUDAS and this person), and a woman you suspect to be a sex worker, with all the judgment of your era implied and applied. (It's entirely possible, given the circumstances, that "You know that you're always welcome..." comes with a backhanded delivery.)

Moreover, they party relentlessly and squabble amongst themselves without caring about the impression they make and whose house they're in. Plus, that Peter guy, a former (?) Zealot, has weapons that are setting off more than a few mental alarm bells. "What a party! Lordy, Lordy..." indeed. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

Your inner monologue might sound something like:

"Messiah my tuchus! This rock star and his entourage are out first thing in the morning. I give them my best wine, introduce myself, and ingratiate myself with all of them, and they descend into petty bickering and platitudes about living in the present instead of thinking ahead. Feh. They are out of control, and if this is what our people are chasing instead of us, we're screwed."

More than that, we explicitly make this character one of the priests reporting back in "This Jesus Must Die," maybe "The man is in town right now…" guy, watching "Hosanna" and "Simon Zealotes" with concern, and possibly even the first person JUDAS seeks out during "Damned for All Time," knowing his concerns will be heard.

(You might say, if you're well-versed in Hollywood epics, that this character has similar vibes to Zerah in Jesus of Nazareth. Why yes, yes he does, and thank you for noticing. If you must borrow, borrow from the best.)

Double Trouble

This, honestly, is just an idea I think is neat that other productions have adopted and that I toyed with myself in a possible star vehicle take that never got off the ground (for which see here).

I would like JESUS and JUDAS to have the vocal stamina to withstand alternating roles during the performance schedule (i.e. some nights Person A is JESUS and Person B is JUDAS, some nights vice versa), allowing them to play both sides of that remarkable relationship and giving the cast and audience two equally valid ways to see these powerful characters. (From a selfish commercial standpoint, it also really encourages repeat viewings, given the different interpretations each performer -- including understudies -- would bring to the characters, sort of like how the current [at the time of writing] Broadway revival of Sunset Boulevard has led some theatergoers to come back for a re-watch and compare Caroline Bowman's and Mandy Gonzalez' performances to Nicole Scherzinger's.)

If it helps you to conceptualize this notion, there is ample precedent. For example, Brian Yorkey's 2011 production at the Village Theatre did this to great effect, with the help of two incredible artists, Aaron Finley and Michael K. Lee. Also, Scott Miller's New Line Theatre did the same in 2006 (albeit with the slightly more stable idea of alternating weeks rather than performances) with John Sparger and Khnemu Menu-Ra.

[timelesslords]

fic writer twenty questions!!!

I got tagged by the beautiful lovely gorgeous @tapemonkey21 who has written some of my fav star wars fics to date and who got me on the cody/obi-wan/satine train without which my current wip would not exist <333

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

55!

2. What's your AO3 word count?

812,034 😵‍💫

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Rn only star wars with Ahsoka in it, but I've written for TLOU and PJO too!

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Under Freezing Stars

have my back, yeah, every day

Violent Heart

invisible string

For Real This Time

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yesssss!!! I honestly love responding to comments just as much as reading them. I like chatting with people and hearing their thoughts and their theories and what they want to happen next!! I think it makes it more fun for everyone but especially for me hehe

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

and the waves come crashing down for sure. I'm really not an angsty ending kind of person except with that fic lol

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Roman Holiday has the cheesiest mushiest most ridiculous holiday fluff ending ever <3

8. Do you get hate on fics?

haha yea 😭 messed up some niche details in my star wars fic and got absolutely lambasted in the comments lmao i never wanted to post sw again 😭 but then i realized i just needed to find the gay people and it all worked out lol

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I would say I'm retired from smut writing lmao 😭 but idk maybe something will change. i am not typing out the gory details of everything ive written on here I have no desire to get cancelled again

10. Do you write cross overs? What's the craziest one you've written?

No but I do write AU fusions <3 my favorite stupid insane one was a James Potter/Lily Evans Batman universe fusion fic it lowkey ate but I had to hide it because I was embarrassed at the quality and the very just-took-sociology-101 level of social commentary 😭

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think so???? back in the day maybe lol

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No but I have had a few podfics of my fics made and that is my absolute most favorite thing ever ever 🥹

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

yes with my wonderful beautiful brilliant best friend forever who shares half of my brain @captain-jackson

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

all-time...,, whew. rn it's definitely Codywan. Idk if I have an all-time transcendent one that I always come back to tbh. I'm really more into platonic relationship dynamics than ships tbh

15. What's a WIP you'd like to finish but doubt you ever wilI?

God, I have one re-writing the Zygerria arc where Ahsoka sneaks onto the mission instead of being incorporated into it that i want to finish SO BAD. when the ties that bind is done I'm really going to hammer it out because I do love it but its kind of a monster.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'm good with dialogue and characterization and, on occasion, plot twists.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I hate writing filler. I can't do it for the life of me, which means I also tend to have pretty poor pacing. im also bad at ending scenes which is why many times my chapters will end with my characters falling asleep 😭

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

jesus fucking christ it's so hard. doing it for Mando'a is hard and it's not even a real language. Usually I just go for the itallics but sometimes it's nice to have the immersion (which only works if you do it perfectly lol)

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I did not stake out the username "timelesslords" back in 2013 for the answer to this question to NOT be Doctor Who

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

cheating and doing my fav from my three main fandoms:

Under Freezing Stars because it was the first long piece of fiction I ever finished, and without it I would not have made three of my best friends in the whole world so its very special and important to me

if you never bleed you're never gonna grow is one where I feel like I did something interesting and innovative with form and perspective and I'm really proud of it. I feel like a lot of times as a fic writer you can feel like what you're doing is repetitive and this one felt really unique to me!

The Ties That Bind is still a WIP but I honestly really love it and have been loving the process of writing it a lot. it's the first WIP I started posting without having at least 75% of the fic completed and it's been really interesting to see what a different process it is pre-writing vs writing as you go! Also, I love the plot contrivance that makes up the premise, I love working out all the little butterfly effects of that decision, I love making it gay and poly and I love writing a million different perspectives!!!

this was so super fun I miss doing tag games like this hehe :3 low pressure tags @bbyannabeth @lena-hills @bookishjules @captain-jackson & anyone else who wants to consider urself tagged by me :3

[residenthesitant]

fic writer interview!

Snagging from @definitelynotshouting because I loooove talking about my fics lol

How many works do you have on AO3?

between my two accounts and including all my anonymous fics, i have published 115 fics since 2014. if we're only counting ones visible on the residenthesitant and hesitantresident pseuds, 58. 

What's your total AO3 word count?

Again, counting both accounts, it's 630,517 words total. On RH alone, a whopping 498,925. jesus christ. i did not think it was that much.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

With the ones just on RH/HR, they are:

Look at the World So Close (And I'm Halfway To It) (DSMP) - 1,777 kudos

Like Begets Like (DSMP) - 405 kudos

END PRINCE LEARNS TO BE NICE (NOT CLICKBAIT) (OSMP) - 314 kudos

That Bitch is Back (& We're Gonna Have A Chat) (DSMP) - 258 kudos

Static (Danger Days: True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys) - 219 kudos

honestly, im kinda surprised by this one. i fully thought there'd be at least one of my anon fics in here. wild.

rest of this is under the cut!

Do you respond to comments?

I try to respond to comments, but have had difficulty in the past. most often i do because i want to talk about behind the scenes stuff.

What's the happiest ending you've written?

I prefer happy/bittersweet endings,  but I think my happiest is world so close, since it basically has a fairy-tale happily ever after to it.

Do you write crossovers?

Nah. I'll do AUs, and maybe there's some crossover due to the nature of the MCYT fandom, but I largely keep characters in their own casts. It feels weird to put them elsewhere.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

No, but someone did delete a nice comment once, which was kinda weird lol

Do you write smut? What kind?

i did kinktober last year! if "toxic fucked up manipulative puppetduo sex" is what this means by "kind," thats generally what i do. i uh. i wrote 1/3rd of the fics in that tag. so.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not officially, but I joke that the writers of the Homestuck Epilogues stole part of one of my fics to write about how dirk felt about his own death. The fact that they read exactly the same means that I Understand the character ig.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! World So Close started a collaboration with my beloved friend Jinx but largely fell to me when they got too busy. I also have a couple Frantic Fanfic collabs and a co-written zine piece coming up.

What's your all-time favorite ship?

Very hard question. I don't think I have an All Time Favorite out of all the fandoms I've been in, but if we go by fav per fandom, they'd have to be dirkjake (homestuck), a rotating selection of c!eret ships though I am extremely fond (understatement) of dreameret (dsmp), shadowgast (critical role: mighty nein), zoethian (yogscast), and a PC/PC romance from my dnd game.

What's a WIP you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

sighs. For Every Failing Sun. it says its marked as complete because i have the rest of the plot in not!fic form, but the fact of the matter is that i dont think i'm gonna get around to completing it unless the danger days hyperfixation grabs me again.

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue all the way. if i dont have a character voice right, i will simply perish

What are your writing weaknesses?

i will use the same words and phrases within two paragraphs of each other and then miss it in the edit, and i'm a fiend with an em dash. take those things away from meeeeeeeeeee

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

this one doesn't really come up for me, though i get a little annoyed when it's worked in very clunkily. dark shout out to 14 yr old me doing this with a tumblr snk fic.

What's the first fandom you wrote for?

Unofficially, Peter and the Starcatcher when i was 7, hand-written. Officially, House of Anubis on the nickelodeon message boards circa 2011.

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

I want to maybe write a perc’ahlia fic sometime soon? Depends on how the mood takes me? Like, I've officially now written for critical role, but perc’ahlia seems like the next step. Only took 8 years of being in the fandom for the blorbofication of Percy de rolo to happen. It's kinda funny, I've been a fan of shadowgast for so long but have never felt the need to write for them. It just hasn't felt necessary. 

What's your favorite fic you've written?

this one's easy. It almost certainly has to be bring a little rust, slow the gears, which i, coincidentally, wrote for TJ for a fic event! genuinely one of my favorite things i've ever done, i'm extremely proud of it and it has some of my favorite c!eret dynamics at the forefront. OTHERWISE, it'd have to be Le Roman de la Couronne, which is a c!punz/c!eret courtly love au, which really just means i spent 33k infodumping about medieval and elizabethan literary tradition, with blorbos on top of it.

anyone who wants to do this, say i tagged you. i love when people talk about their own shit. ok love u bye

[modern-inheritance]

WIP Game Response

Buckle up buttercups!

@demiaseranmage tagged me in the game below, and I didn't want to clutter up the thread it was in so I've plopped it all here. And when I said it's gonna be messy, I just meant there would be a lot. It's actually really a good thing for me to scroll through everything and see what's been left on the backburner! So thank you for the tag!

Rules: Make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! Then tag as many people as you have WIPS.

Here we go. In NO particular order, but grouped by the variety of docs I contain them all in…

Shorts 2:

Denial (requires a better title but I enjoy thinking about Egypt when I tinker with it)

“We’re finding workarounds, focusing on healing things to the state they are now rather than a full renewal. That’s not caused problems yet, but it’s…trial and error.” “Oh?” “...He thought he killed me the first try. Both of us had a bit of a breakdown.”

Short Shorts:

Again! (a frequently revisited concept that has never born actual full stories or shorts)

Voluntary Recall

Vanir

Nerves (kinda abandoned ages ago)

Standalones/Standalone documents w/ a single concept:

AXF First True (the spicy!) DONE!

Wardbreakers

Invaders Story Bits (the animatic which had to be abandoned due to file loss!)

EXA Attempts (continuously revisited as the fancy strikes)

For a Future Story

Debrief

Escape pt 2

MIC Gil'ead Bits (frequently revisited, where I keep all the actual Gil'ead stuff and concepts rather than the flashbacks and Recall episodes)

Short (this is just a random collection of bits and pieces of the time directly before Arya leaves, drawing in Brom, Oromis and Glaedr and later Rhunön to the family drama)

The Meadow (I’m not sure I like the direction this was going now that I’ve looked at Arya and Fäolin’s relationship again, but it’s a concept I will revisit I’m sure)

Fireside (holy shit I forgot about this one it’s just bits and pieces of dialogue from what I wanted to do for the MIC version of the fireside chat Eragon and Arya have in Brisingr surrounding Fäolin, her experiences in Gilead, etc. and I’mma have to look at this again later.)

Things not yet in a document:

Arya vs Unkie KiKi

The origin of Arya’s stomach scar, and the potential issues it brings up with a LOT of things but I need to do more biology and healing research

The joke of how Arya got her eyebrow scar, because hell if I know where she got it, and she ain’t tellin’ ME either!

Glenwing’s encounter with the Forsworn trained group that left him his facial scars

Eragon’s first facial scar and him wanting to keep it

Haircuts. Soooo many haircuts. 

What happened in Thornwell/Brom’s rages

So. Many. Magic system. Concepts!

The Wolfcats/Squaddies and the adventures Arya has learning to adapt like the humans do

Arya, Squaddies and The Tank

Sabotage Runs/No Man's Land Hauntings

A subset of dwarf music that is musically similar to our Bluegrass but with a bit more rough Appalachian style (thinking ‘Devil Wears a Suit and Tie by Colter Wall) and the pop of a lil bit of rough swing (‘Old man of the mountain’ by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy) and instead of being called ‘Bluegrass’ it’s a genre called ‘Slate.’ Because blue slate, bluegrass, slate is commonplace in some metamorphosed areas in the mountains…. Look I have a geology degree, I need to use it for bad jokes sometimes, and I’d love to see if this wild mix of styles would fit together musically one day.

So many interactions between Arya + Fírnen and Murtagh + Thorn. 

JEsus chrIST, Arya’s buried self hatred and guilt issues, especially surrounding Selena’s boys and their dragons

Brom’s own feelings of guilt around Arya’s imprisonment despite both of them knowing full well that he couldn’t have done anything but put himself, Eragon adn Saphira in danger if the ‘rescue’ went any other way.

‘Suffering’ from EPIC the Musical being inspiration for Arya having an induced and influenced hallucination by Durza ending with a similar vein of ‘[Arya] Fine, but only if you answer a question or two/ [Durza!Glen-Fäolin mix]: of course!/  [Arya, with a bared tooth smile] What’s my name?’

THERE ARE SO MANY MORE I PROBABLY CAN’T EVEN REMEMBER I HAD

There is so, so much of MIC that is never shown to y’all because it is never developed past the concept or in-the-brain stage, or it just falls apart, or I hit a wall, or the mojo disappears and i’ve lost the spark for that idea and can’t bring myself to just word vomit it out into the blog because I had/have a decent story set up and waiting. 

I don’t really have anyone to tag really. Not right now, but I’m definitely saving this for a new thread one day to ask all my friendly chatty people. Y’all can ask me about these, literally ANY of them. Because if you don’t there’s a fair chance they won’t ever be completed lmao.

[fingertipsmp3]

Fuck it I’m catatonically bored and I can’t justify starting to make dinner at fucking 3:52PM so I’m going to rate every Stephen King book I’ve read out of 5 stars. If the readmore doesn’t work I can only apologise

Carrie: genuinely iconic although I do think the concept is better than the execution. 3.5

‘Salem’s Lot: immaculate, literally got me into horror, I will always have a soft spot for it. 5

The Shining: iconic. Better than the movie. Argue with the wall. 5

The Stand: really really ridiculously long but I swear to you EVERY PAGE is necessary. 5, would give higher if I could

The Dead Zone: I read this when I was like 19 and I can’t remember much other than that I liked it but it made me sad. 4, marked down because of the scene with the dog

Firestarter: looooved this. 5

Pet Sematary: the first time I read this (when I was 17) it scared me so much it kept me up all night and the second time I read it (when I was 27) it gave me night terrors. 4, marked down because it is lowkey stupid I have to admit

Cycle of the Werewolf: I’m sorry but it is kind of boring. Great illustrations though. 2

It: THE scariest book I have read, haunts me in my dreams, put me through every emotion known to humankind. Sad and gross. 5

Misery: damn near a perfect thriller novel tbh. 4.5

Dolores Claiborne: I remember liking the stream of consciousness style but also thinking “Jesus Christ can we get to the point please”. 3

Insomnia: the first third of this book is fucking wonderful. The second two thirds are a hot mess and should’ve been edited significantly more. 3

The Green Mile: the story is so so good I feel like it came to SK through divine wisdom or something but I am SO sorry, I prefer the movie. I just think it made the dialogue so much more compelling and the changes made were an improvement. Still, 5

11/22/63: one of my favourite pieces of time travel media ever, I think about this book constantly. 5 (6 if I could)

Doctor Sleep: unpopular opinion but I genuinely like it I’m fucking sorry. Like it’s definitely not good but if you don’t look at it as a Shining sequel and you’re entertained by villains with stupid names it’s fun. 3.5

Mr Mercedes: fun and tense, although why SK had to write Jerome Like That I will never understand. 3.5

Finders Keepers: honestly I found this to be just okay. 2.5

End of Watch: a pretty good end to the trilogy tbh although I nearly cried at the epilogue for my own reasons. 4

Sleeping Beauties: another unpopular opinion but I liked parts of this, but I wish SK would learn how to write women… honestly I just wish this book had been written by a woman or someone who understands women. 2.5

The Outsider: if this had been edited significantly fucking better to keep SK from yapping on and on it would’ve been an absolutely brilliant supernatural thriller, but it is in fact 200 pages longer than it needs to be. 2

The Institute: SK should stop writing about women and instead write about kids. 4

Fairy Tale: maybe this was good or maybe I am just a sucker for ‘boy and his dog’ type stories. 4.5

Different Seasons: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption & The Body are easy 5 stars, Apt Pupil is like a 3.5 because the constant gratuitous violence is just not for me, The Breathing Method was boring and a 2 at best

Four Past Midnight: honestly I liked all of these novellas. The Langoliers was my favourite and I was kind of sad to find out that’s not a popular opinion. 4 overall

Nightmares & Dreamscapes: stupidly good. Like it’s hard to list my favourite stories because there are too many of them. The Ten O’Clock People, The House on Maple Street and Popsy would have to be my top 3. 5 overall

Full Dark, No Stars: messy but good. 1922 is my favourite overall. 4

The Bazaar of Bad Dreams: think I gave this 4 stars on storygraph but honestly it probably deserves more like 3. Top 3 were Ur, Obits & Bad Little Kid but I also have a soft spot for Drunken Fireworks

If It Bleeds: ughhhhhh I’m sorry but I was epically bored reading most of this. The Life of Chuck was good once it came together and Mr Harrigan’s Phone had a decent payoff, but the title novella had basically the same problems and plot as The Outsider, and Rat just felt pointless to me. 2

[jellybeanium124]

watching a new simpsons episode for the first time since... season 32? and let's be real I don't remember anything past season 29 because the simpsons got reeeeeeeal boring. but taika is in this episode so fuck it amirite? anyways here's my reaction to season 35 episode 9 "Murder, She Boat."

wow the animation seems worse? something is noticeably worse

I like that bart is acting like a 10yo with the vroom-vroom thing. a big issue later simpsons have is the kids acting like teenagers or even adults (in lisa's case)

homer simpson: nerd hater

wow they're parodying that thing from phineas and ferb!! :D (asdfhbsdgjl I know p&f was doing a parody too)

also there was already a simpsons episode where they went on a cruise and it's one of the best damn episodes of the modern era if you ask me (23x19 "A Totally Fun Thing Bart Will Never Do Again")

ANNOYING ANNOYING ANNOYING ANNOYING

"Oh my God is that Taika Waititi?" I stg lisa's had a line like this every since since season 11. STAHP IT INTRODUCE YOUR CELEBS NATURALLY YOU PIECE OF SHIT HD SIMPSONS EPISODE

remember when simpsons celeb cameos used to be good. because I don't because it was all before I was born.

Why is everyone moving weird. seriously wtf is up with the animation they're too damn smooth

"You know it's good, because it's based on existing IP" ouch wow ouch... ouch it hurts

Comic Book Guy acting Like That™ is the only guy who works because CBG is supposed to act like that. Like CBG should be an obnoxious nerd that you'd root to see homer actually beat up lol. not any other random motherfucker!

CBG shredded bart's comic right in front of him??? jesus christ that dude sucks

You can really tell the producers were like "taika, just read the lines" because his performance is giving "taika, just read the lines"

shut up with your vegemite american writers

see it's cute when taika pretends to have a stupidly inflated ego of his own volition but when the simpsons writers make him do it I'm like "BRO ARE YOU OK BLINK TWICE IF THEY'RE HOLDING YOU HOSTAGE UNTIL YOU SAY THE LINES IN THE BLANDEST VOICE YOU'VE GOT!!!"

What... what the actual fuck was that joke with Kumiko. Like her whole character has always been kinda racist but that was such an incredibly racist joke... what the fuck actually for real was that.

The Futurama reference was cute tho.

CRINGE CRINGE CRINGE CRINGE

there was like, a halfway decent albeit tropey bart & lisa moment in there but then we went straight back into the cringe

"Of course I'll help you. Why? Because I have a medical condition that forces me to be multitasking at all times." ok can everyone shut up forever actually and stop speculating about that man. if the simpsons writers are making that joke it's time to stop

taika actually sounds like he had a gun to his head and recorded these lines for 18 hours until 3am

something weird about the simpsons going on for 35 years is that all the characters sound slightly different than they did in seasons 2-15 now. like they've all aged 35 years and you can hear it in their voices. the kids have this... oldness to them now that, even tho the voice actors on this show are talented as hell, can't totally hide (and who knows they may not be trying to because who gives a fuck it's simpsons season 35)

taika being distracted joke. haha. what if I release the bees on everyone who speculates about that.

I can't listen to the horrible lines they gave him anymore 😭😭😭 "egomaniac" isn't funny 😭😭😭

I mean like it's not like the dialogue anyone else is getting is great either, just to be clear. it's pretty terrible across the board lol. I'm just a titch sensitive to how taika (real man) is being written for... reasons... I mean maybe I shouldn't it's not like it matters and nobody thinks your portrayal on the simpsons is how you truly are. there's a time honored tradition of celebrities being portrayed as egomaniacs or fucking crazy on the simpsons when everyone knows they aren't (bette midler doesn't throw cans at people irl and darryl strawberry isn't a kiss ass... although both those celebrities have their own issues). I guess it bothers me because it is playing up something that's real and fake at the same time, and also this man is getting unduly criticized for a lot of shit rn.

Kumiko's speech was actually painful. "When we got married, I was his priceless collectible." DID NOBODY FUCKING SEE A PROBLEM WITH THAT IN THE WRITER'S ROOM?? DID NOBODY SEE HOW THAT BLATANTLY PLAYS INTO THE FETISHIZATION OF AISAN WOMEN??? Like holy fucking shit what the hell was wrong with the writers of this episode???

wow I love seeing marge and homer be really depressing bad parents -_-

Ok so when Rainer Wolfcastle shouts out his latest movie, that's funny and doesn't bother me. Troy McClure's shtick never bothered me either. Probably because they're FICTIONAL

Lisa said "damn it" ?!?!?!?! SHE WOULD NOT FUCKING SAY THAT. Lisa doesn't curse wtf are you doing she'd say "darn it!!!"

cringe cringe cringe cringe

if I had a nickel for every time lisa simpson solved a murder mystery because of the cuprit's signature favorite food being left on a weapon, I'd have two nickels. which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice, right? (the first time was the 3rd segment in treehouse of horror XV, "Four Beheadings and a Funeral")

taika being mad at people tearing apart his room was the best line delivery he gave in this episode. like there was a real emotion.

sideshow mel saying "who speaks with such an exaggerated affectation!" got 1 chuckle out of me

damn. CBG dropping the doll into lake springfield is just like ed dropping his leathers into the ocean. (not even remotely true)

in conclusion is this a bad episode of television don't watch it

[movemnt]

so, this is me rambling through a rundown of most of what they cut from the final version of r.esident evil r.evelations 2. This is all summary of what was gathered from the horrid mess in the data files that a friend datamined and we sorted through about a year after the game released. It's a goddamn nightmare in there.

To make a very lengthy story short, they had the full game set to go until about 2 weeks to the first episode being released, and then basically halved it after delaying it for about another week with no explanation??? Nobody knows why they decided to go this route and we probably won't ever know. they left the game data in a bit of a cobbled mess with those data files still in it (and when I say it's a mess i mean it's a M E S S. it took three weeks to get just some of the dialogue that was missing and then much more to make some semblance of sense of the whole thing and piece it all together. like why not just delete all of it???? unless it was a case of 'if i remove this tomato the entire game will cease to function so it stays in this spot outside of the stage'-) and some dialogue tags and actions have zero context to them in the game in its current state.

i'm also not putting in the dialogue tags and am instead summarizing them because this post will be 10x longer than it is.

I also want to note that as much shit as I'm about to give it I fucking adore this goddamn game, it got me through some very dark times in my life, I even have Moira as my alias for most websites- it's amazing, but the fact that they left this much is kinda bizarre and makes me wonder what could have been. also it's v weird to do this summary again. i've done it once before but some details are missing from what i had in a draft of the deleted post i wrote and the post that a friend wrote so some of this is from memory.

alas.

The first episode is basically the same in terms of story. Claire and Moira get kidnapped, they wake up and Moira is freed after Claire does the first puzzle in the cells. It's much more hyper in pace and intense then smoothed into the more liminal space horror that we get in the prison currently. It was lengthy on both sides with a bit more of a reflection on things from barry's side in reference to Moira and LOTS. OF. PUZZLES. ON CLAIRE'S SIDE. kind of a blessing i'm not going to lie. alex went fucking hard (she literally set all these traps herself with a bit of help from neil) and her dialogue tags are ruthless. the xbox 360 demo they sent to cons and press reflect this.

The second episode... jesus fucking christ my guys.

For Claire's side: So instead of the ending being based solely on the choice you make in the third episode, there were a couple of different choices you can make in the second alluding to different endings where some characters die, some don't, ALL CHARACTERS DIE, all but one live, etc (I'll explain this in the fourth episode). Basically, you can help guide Moira's conquered fear a bit more instead of making it based around this one pivotal moment. It's a nice, slow blend into the root cause of her fear. She even talks more about what happened and Claire encourages her to try to protect herself more, even knowing what happened. Moira seems a bit more sympathetic, though is still angry at Barry for being over"bear"ing (ba dum tiss). It's not a constant slew of 'I HATE BARRY'' 'DOES HE ALWAYS TELL THAT AWFUL JOKE' and teenage-ish angst, there's actually much more of a blended mix of her trying to process what's going on and what happened between her and polly years ago. ( also there's a lot of what I like to call "Burton Joke Moments" lmao )

Also. I must state that the N.eil x C.laire dialogue was not present and actually isn't present in the original script of the game still, either in the old version and in the script in the japanese version. C-usa is notorious for implying things in their translation of R.esident E.vil stories (they got some fucking fire up their ass from Capcom and the development team after this one though, it was BAD.). The basis in the japanese script is that they were coworkers, he's the boss, without him terra save might crumble, and the script went more in the route of Claire being concerned about Neil as the leader of Terra Save as a whole.

Also, CLAIRE ACTUALLY ACTS LIKE CLAIRE. While the moment of Moira and Natalia bonding over the bracelets is still present and connected with the other pieces of dialogue, in the pieces of dialogue we found she is much more presently concerned with the actual fucking child they have tagging along with them. "Natalia, are you okay?" "You can come down" "Can you jump that high?" "Do the monsters scare you?" "You've got this, we'll get you out of here, don't worry." "Wow you're strong!" "do you need to catch your breath?" etc. While some of what was found can also be implied to be towards Moira, all of it sounds much more uplifting towards the kid than what we get in the present version.

Pedro's death is marginally the same, though the dialogue is that much more heartbreaking. That man was so fucking scared and Alex taunting him seemingly pushed him even more and made him an example of what those bracelets can do. Claire is also much more reassuring to him and trying to take charge of the situation before it eventually goes to the hell it turns into.

that's what i remember of claire's side, barry's side-

It was so much more creepy because Alex actually follows and watches you throughout the chapter (tbh a bit of an inside joke between me and a friend is that Alex walked so MR. X could run). There's animations and coding that imply she was supposed to be loaded into each scene in the city. Once you load it with the monster Alex model that's covered, she is permanently Watching you it's really fucking weird and was honestly funny to watch my friend test out (after it took hours to get it to Function). This also goes along with the present implications of her watching through cameras and through the revenants. She is literally Always watching you.

Speaking of! Fun Fact that I love just bc of its creepy factor- Alex is literally watching you through the revenants, but even this mechanic seems a bit faulty, or it's faulty on purpose? They don't seem to see Natalia, but heaven forbid they touch Barry if he's hiding it's an immediate grab (npc controlled or not). Oddly enough this is kinda the same for Moira in Moira's dlc chapter. They see her but also kinda dont? i'll explore that in my own hc for her later. Makes me wonder if they have this whole system of snuffing out who's infected and who's not it's really fucking cool. Or if it's glitchy. I'm gonna go for the former option bc it's cool.

anyway- that is most of what i recall from his side of ep 2, i think there was more with the pedro fight but it was mostly repeats of his scared rant in claire's side, if i remember more i'll add on to this.

episode 3-

i dont remember much about anything before the big neil fight, so im not sure if much of it changed aside from the aforementioned script stuff with claire and neil. there was a bit more talk about barry from moira following the encounter with evgeny and it's much more defeated than the high strung nature we get from her in the first chapter. "i didnt have to be told i did something bad" or smth turned into something like "i just wished we could have talked more without being stubborn". like honestly it seems less that they always fought, but were more complacent and silently tense until one of them poked the bear. kinda like a "not causing a fight for the family" sorta deal???

the fight though- i think it would have been so much stronger with the dialogue that was taken out. like i am not saying i dont like 'WE WERE SUPPOSED TO SAVE PEOPLE IT'S IN THE GODDAMN NAME!' but, claire is really going in on what neil has been doing, she's much more reactive after she has gotten some more clarity on what neil has been doing.

there's also like this document found in the chamber where you can find the dead butler, and it talks about albert and his visits and how ppl would just look really weirdly at this dude dressed all in black leather and telling them not to mind him lmao

barry's side didn't change much. barry's discovery of evgeny and then of moira's phone hit me like a goddamn brick wall and i dont think it changed much aside from the little different bits of dialogue you can hear from moira in episode four (i'll explain this in episode 4's piece)

now. episode 4.

holy shit on a shitstick-

some of this will be a mish mash of what i remember, what is missing, what is in concept art pieces, and what we had to gather from all of the above.

Starting with Claire's episode. So, there's a massive reason why claire episode 4 is only 10 minutes long as opposed to the other chapters, in short, there was a LOT cut out of it and connected to other pieces that were cut out, etc. I'll start with smaller bits of info and go up into the rather massive thing that we could only piece together and theorize about because, quite frankly and as much as this might make no sense, what we found makes no goddamn sense unless we connect it to scene stuff.

so, little weird things first- moira was supposed to get a katana from the tower at one point. for some reason alex kept one around, highly suspected to be albert's but i don't know. there's also a silenced pistol that implies that claire was supposed to silently shoot at the glasps that are released once the tower starts to go into self destruct mode. There's supposed to be more puzzles strewn about the lab, and more sight seeing around it too. Like you were supposed to see around it a lot more and not just from the confines of a glass box.

and then you get to moira's death.

you were supposed to hear her voice recording to barry as claire is walking away. that's fucking heart wrenching. like there's a reason why she has her phone in hand but not doing anything with it- she was about to record her final words to her dad, thinking she was about to die.

Now the big thing.

When you take the camera away from the insulated box they have you in with claire and moira and go beyond alex, you can find some bits and trinkets: two hospital beds (of which you can already see) some tricell equipment and purple tubes with rocks. Close inspection shows that they look a hell of a lot like lava rocks. Now hold on you may say, would that imply alex was trying to clone a certain brother of hers- i don't believe so. However, it implies that she had his dna. It's also implied that she was testing out what she was doing with natalia to see if she could do the same with albert's dna. which. makes a lot of other things make sense. Honest to god the one thing i hate about the way they did this is all the disconnected plot lines, like the one that "you were right albert it's not enough to live i want to transcend" alludes to. Like they left that in there and just didn't bother to explain why and let you assume he just rambled on about it to her one time and he continued that ramble into 5- yeah just. ugh.

another thing to ramble about before going into the brief discussion about barry's episode 4- the ending of barry's episode 3 (among other things) is just so. so unclear without the piece that is missing from claire's episode 4. alex grabs natalia and there's a brief moment where alex shows genuine fear, that's because her experiment worked, but only half way. See, half of her escaped and transferred into natalia and now lays dormant, the other half, however, is cursed to stay into the mutated form she is in. The only problem is this half in natalia is the worst half. this is where the "true or false, you, natalia, are false, i alone am true" thing and her raging hatred for natalia comes into play. only thing is they didnt show this or explain it.

and then barry's episode 4.

so, the multi-endings bit kinda comes into play here. Right now we have only two endings, a good ending and a bad ending. However, there's parts that make it look like the ending was supposed to be split up. Barry and Moira were supposed to work together for a bit (like when they escaped the area the first boss fight with alex happened in, it just cuts to them somehow running outside even though this cave was DEEP into the ground), there's some lines for evgeny (even though he dies which is honestly really curious).

that's honestly all i can recall at the current moment and as i dive into old files i might find more. hope yall enjoyed my ramblings.

[gifsbysimplysonia]

I am not one who usually goes for traditional enemies-to-lovers because a lot of those stories start out with such strong, fundamental disrespect (not playful or fun or obvious covering up of attraction lol) that it hurts my heart for whoever is receiving that and I'm like, nevermind cuz how do you build something real after this?

And if I read that Ransom is involved, I'm like, oh dear. Cuz if ANYONE has a mouth to say things that will cut to the heart and can't be taken back? It's him. And I was pleasantly surprised to come across this story and try it out (cuz Ransom lol) and REALLY enjoy it.

Because Ransom is FULL of piss, vinegar and rancor for his soulmate. The entire build up to the first time we get to see/meet her, good LORDT, he is spitting pure unadulterated dislike. She's everything he doesn't want but they are legally bound to each other and neither can do anything about that. But, isn't it funny how he spends paragraphs disparaging her lack of wealth or appearance or personality ... only to end up wondering where she is because he saw her mug wasn't on the shelf and then realized he hadn't seen her in days? Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike as SOON as I read that, I was giggling to myself cuz I KNEW! The boy got got.

What’d you do to his couch? Is that every single pillow and blanket from your side of the house? Did Yankee Candle Company throw up in here?

LAUGHED OUT LOUD!

Alright, now Ransom is just sad. You’re naked in his living room, rubbing your thighs together and listening to an erotic novel on your phone.

Mmmhmm. SAD. You're sad, Ransom, but your perv self is stuck in that doorway watching the blanket fall down her body. Liarrrrrrrrr.

Why listen to this awful shit instead of show off him as your husband? From the quick shiver racing down your spine and the curl of your toes where they hang over the cushion’s edge, it’s because you’re fucking horny for it. Good god, how low are your standards?

He honestly makes me CACKLE because he's like SO MANY PEOPLE who look down on romance writing lol but he somehow thinks HE is worthy of being shown off / makes a weird competition between her audio romance novel and him. He legit wants to know why he doesn't rank with her like this audio novel does. But he wants to ignore/forget her ... sure, Ransom. Suuuuuuuuuuuuure.

Financially independent or not, when a pussy is presented to him, Ransom will say ‘yes.’

That's an incredible sentence lol

This quickly evolves into some delicious smut because he is trying to act like he hates it almost the WHOLE time but his lies are so transparent. And then the fact he is in the middle of The Deed with his soulmate and the audiobook is still playing causing him to say this:

“Jesus Christ,” Ran growls, “are they still not fucking?”

Again, LAUGHED OUT LOUD! But that leads to this

A giggle bursts from your lips, a sweet, happy sound he’s never heard from you before, and you reach for him. Your palm lands on his soulmark, your fingers curling to scratch the hairs at the nape of his neck, and there’s…there’s…

which is so sweet and obviously overwhelming for Ransom too.

This is just a sentence that is so well constructed and impactful

He’s enveloped in a binary system of souls, gravity tugging at that connection between you.

And more just really well written introspection on Ransom's part

He’s speechless as the room fills with heated love declarations amidst passionate sex and bad dialogue. Ran tries to catch his fucking breath. He’s glad you don’t speak either. Everything about his life—his past, his present, his future—sits utterly raw in front of him, and he can’t cope.

GUT PUNCHED. I find myself wanting to quote like the whole ending section because it's just really beautiful but still has that essence of Ransom because though he is fundamentally changed, he is STILL BEING HIS BITEY A-HOLE SELF.

REALLY REALLY loved this piece. TYSM for creating and sharing @ronearoundblindly

I am sorry but I'm going to need a Ransom story with this prompt. It can be RoaR or a one-off, he can love it or hate it in this space, he can see it over Reader's shoulder on the computer screen, your choice!

o.0 oh boi oh boi oh boi! Fall Vibes but it's gonna be my summer challenge submission to @the-slumberparty's Sundae Bar, featuring the flavors Cookies and Cream (soulmates) and Rocky Road (rags to riches) with the topping Oreos (marriage of convenience (reluctantly)). Also my second entry for @stargazingfangirl18's Birthday Bonenanza, featuring a babe in love and cranky about it + "can you just...hold me please?"

For Show Ransom Drysdale x poor!soulmate!reader

Summary: Ransom hates that you--his soulmate and wife--are nothing like him.

Warnings for smut and Ran's a**hole brain (rude, nasty thoughts that he barely even believes). Classic Lexi--this is cheeky, y'all, but you know it's because I can't help myself... MINORS DNI. Find all-age friendly fic on my Light Masterlist. WC 2.1k

Ran didn’t believe in love to start, but this is fucking ridiculous. Opposites attract? Get wrecked, asshole. He’s keeping opposites on the other side of the house. It’s not far enough.

It’s standard practice for the confirmation of matching soulmarks to act as a de facto marriage contract—common law, if you like,—and Ransom Drysdale fought tooth and nail to make you prove you had his name on you. He needed to see it with his own eyes or fuck that shit.

His is obvious; he can show it off. In fact, Ran is surprised by how long it took you to come forward, considering his family and status, considering his lifestyle of being very visible.

But no, he had to wait for a fucking database to pop out record of his match from your healthcare provider, and he had wait for that because the government knew about your health…because they know such things…about people who need their fucking money. The registration of soulmarks puts the financial responsibility on the soulmate if they end up having the means.

Now Ran is responsible for you, a woman he made lower the front of her panties in open court to reveal his goddamn name in his own goddamn handwriting imprinted right above her goddamn cunt, and suddenly it became his cunt, his problem, his responsibility.

You’re not even fun. You had no money and didn’t care to have any, so you moved your few, ratty belongings into his home, replacing nothing, offering nothing in return for his—well, in return for every fucking thing he has now being yours, too. It’s so fucked.

You don’t want to show off, and he has no intention of showing you off. He can’t be seen with you, not without the proper clothes or jewelry, and you refused to get them. Instead, Ransom leaves you alone in the house, doing whatever he wants, whenever he wants, as always. He won’t talk to you because he just gets furious every time. He’s not going to have deep conversations about the state of the world, though he might have one social justice issue he can fight for: the mother-fucking law that made you his wife without question.

Ran slams the kitchen cabinet storing all-white, matching stoneware mugs when he notices what’s missing: your single, sad, flea market mug. It’s clay so it always looks dirty, and he hates it.

He lightly punches his own neck in irritation.

He didn’t stand a chance fighting the marriage, not with your name in deep, port red letters creeping up his throat, higher than any turtleneck he’s ever owned. Coupled with his legal name resting snuggly beneath your pubes, it was obviously, technically accurate that you’re soulmates. When was the last time someone challenged that system, he thinks. That might be a better use of his money than—

Where are you anyway?

For all his annoyance, he hasn’t set eyes on you for days.

His house is large enough (and he spends so much time anywhere else) that you have your own room, which you didn’t question, and the kitchen is easy enough to share when one of you eats out with other people (as he does two to three times a day). You get the slightly bigger and more formal living room while Ran gets the den with the big TV. Really it’s been the perfect system for almost forgetting you exist.

He pours tea into his clean, white mug and leaves said big TV fairly loud on some program he wasn’t paying attention to, leaning over the granite countertop to see if he can spot you from this angle.

No luck.

He steps closer, sipping.

A little closer, more sipping, a purposeful smack of his lips to grab your attention if you are just around the corner.

There are two openings, both far larger than doorways, to the living room, each through the central hall. When he doesn’t immediately see you, he steps to the farther opening. What the—

What’d you do to his couch?

Is that every single pillow and blanket from your side of the house?

Did Yankee Candle Company throw up in here?

What, the fucking fireplace wasn’t enough ambiance for you? You had to make some sort of nest with his stuff? And there’s that ugly-ass mug, no coaster, on his super-expensive, reclaimed hardwood coffee table.

A pillow shifts.

No, not a pillow; it’s your back, and when you shift again, Ran sees one of the plush throw blankets slink farther down your bare skin. It’s the largest swath of your body he’s ever seen.

You lay with your arms folded, peering out the windows behind the couch, and you still haven’t fucking noticed him.

He huffs before realizing he isn’t listening to the faint TV anymore, but when he ticks his head, he sees your TV isn’t on either.

“”I think of nothing but you as I fall asleep at night”—” Ran hears a woman’s voice fake a deeper tone before switching to normal “—Javier says, pulling her soft curves into his hard body—”

You sigh dreamily and wiggle on the cushions. The blanket slides over the swell of your ass.

Ran stops moving mid-sip of tea.

“”Please, my darling, let me have you—“ this is fucking terrible, he thinks “—as only a lover can.””

Alright, now Ransom is just sad. You’re naked in his living room, rubbing your thighs together and listening to an erotic novel on your phone.

“Chloe felt his digits dance across her clavicle, his eyes enchanted by her heaving bosom…”

Go out to a club or restaurant with him? No. Wear nice clothes he could buy you? Nope.

“”Javi,” she gasps, distracted by his rough palm groping her breast hungrily, “I can’t believe you want me.””

Ran is going to fucking gag at the whining appall in the narrator’s voice.

Why listen to this awful shit instead of show off him as your husband? From the quick shiver racing down your spine and the curl of your toes where they hang over the cushion’s edge, it’s because you’re fucking horny for it.

Good god, how low are your standards?

He stalks forward, feet hitting the floor hard until he reaches the plush rug.

Startled, you peer over your shoulder at him, eyes wide like a deer in the headlights, and you begin scrambling to recover yourself.

Ran puts his cup down by yours. “Don’t move,” he orders, and to his surprise, you obey, keeping you head turned his direction and sinking back into the pillows.

“”How could you doubt? From the moment I met you, I adored you.””

He swivels to face the same direction as you, reaches out his hand and mime the stroke he’s contemplating tracing over your curves.

“”I’m yours,” Chloe breathes, Javier’s growing member signaling his desire against her silk-covered core.”

Ran finally bends until the tip of his middle finger grazes the inside of your thigh.

As he drags it over one cheek and down the other, you whine and push your ass toward his hand.

That’s…not bad, all things considered. You are his wife, after all, and you clearly want to be fucked. He won’t argue that having some other woman’s name scrawled on him hasn’t limited his game for quite a while. Financially independent or not, when a pussy is presented to him, Ransom will say ‘yes.’

He stops noticing the audio from your phone and just dives in, no sentiments or kind words of his own. He simply unbuckles his belt, pops the button of this jeans, and rips that zipper down before teasing your folds to find enough slick at your entrance to swirl around. He spreads you and your wetness with purpose. Each second that passes drives Ransom a little bit more insane.

Impatient, strung out like a virgin on prom night, he rushes to shove his pants out of the way and kicks one knee up between your legs, his other foot still on the floor. He pumps his fingers inside you until he’s knuckle-deep and nearly dripping, manhandling your hips to the right height to sink his tip into you.

Ran groans at how fucking good you feel. He’s probably just desperate. He’d be excited about any ol’ means to come right now.

He snaps his hips in small thrusts until his whole length glides in and out in seamless stimulation. You’ve buried your face in the pillow, so he can’t hear if you make any noise. He can, however, see your hands scratch at the upholstery and clench into fists. He can see you deepen the arch of your back, angling his dick to fuck just slightly down through your channel. The pressure squeezes the spongy head of his cock like a vice. He’ll never say it out loud, but your pussy is fucking perfect. God fucking dammit.

Ransom relentlessly drives into you, catching the sideview of your breasts bouncing each time his thighs slap yours. He smacks your ass once just to see if it jiggles for him, and that’s when your hand snakes to disappear between your legs. He expects you’re going for your clit which is good because he’s about to get off and get lost, but instead, he feels your soft fingers cup his balls.

He’s so enamored by the sensation that he switches to tiny pulses deep in your cunt while your hand wraps and rolls his sac gently. Twitching and tensing, Ran unabashedly moans until your walls constrict around his length.

He’s got to make you do that again.

Ransom collapses forward to lean over you, his own hand diving to find your clit, resting his palm right over your mound and soulmark. Every inch of his body burns hot with need. He humps wildly, resting his chin over your shoulder.

“”I don’t care how, Javi, just stick it in there. I need you. I need you so badly…””

“Jesus Christ,” Ran growls, “are they still not fucking?”

A giggle bursts from your lips, a sweet, happy sound he’s never heard from you before, and you reach for him. Your palm lands on his soulmark, your fingers curling to scratch the hairs at the nape of his neck, and there’s…there’s…

He can’t comprehend how your body fits his so well. He can’t reconcile this sudden swell of obsession in his gut for you. He’s enveloped in a binary system of souls, gravity tugging at that connection between you.

Ran doesn’t believe in love or destiny. He refuses. He believes in pleasure and perception, in accumulation and ownership.

The only thought left in his static-filled head is mine, mine, mine, mine.

He falls over the edge first, a satisfied shout punctuating each spurt he plants within you, furiously working your messy clit and kneading one breast in his free hand until he feels that squeeze again, and again, and again, dying to a flutter just as your shared cum leaks out around his cock.

By this time, Ran is panting and resting a sizable portion of his weight on you, knees knocked loose in his onslaught, pushing you both flat to the chaise cushion, feet dangling off the end.

You still hold each other’s mark in a comforting palm.

He’s speechless as the room fills with heated love declarations amidst passionate sex and bad dialogue. Ran tries to catch his fucking breath. He’s glad you don’t speak either.

Everything about his life—his past, his present, his future—sits utterly raw in front of him, and he can’t cope.

He makes the mistake of peeling his body off yours, releasing you and dislodging your hand. The cold emptiness which immediately sweeps over him is sickening, and Ran barely waits for you to roll onto your back before he wedges himself between your legs again, instinctually laying on his side, pressing his sweater-clad shoulder against your sopping folds just so he can rest his soulmark right on top of yours.

Euphoria returns to his body and mind, thick like honey and all-consuming.

He doesn’t want to admit it. He doesn’t want to talk about. He doesn’t want to live a moment without you.

Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine.

Mercifully, the audio speaks for him.

“”Can you just…hold me please? That was…that was…””

“”So intense,” Javier rumbles, “so beautiful.””

Ransom, the preening trust fund baby, has finally found something all his own, something he doesn’t want to share, something shown only for him.

He refuses, however, to call it ‘love’…

…yet.

[Main Masterlist; Ko-Fi]

A/N: I'm fine.

[searchingfortheuniverse]

Hello my dear!!! Hope you are well <3

Gonna go with 9, 21, 26, and 28 for the ask game!

Hi hi hi!!! Thank you beloved <3

9. What fic meant the most to you to write? Hmm... I think they all meant a lot in their own ways because when I write it's because I have something I want to write. Whether it ever gets posted is a different matter lmao but I think I'd probably say... Your Head Will Collapse? Just because there's a lot in there about the concept of wanting to go home when you're already there. Even though the situation was different, it had a lot more of a personal situation motivating it than most of my other stuff does.

21. Share your favourite piece of dialogue. Just because I thought it was funny, this snippet from Where the Love Light Gleams is definitely up there:

"Merry Christmas," Joe says.

Webster blinks. "It's only Christmas Eve."

"Merry Christmas Eve."

"You're Jewish."

"Alright, then, Jesus Christ. Happy Hanukkah. Now let me in, it's fuckin' freezing out here."

26. If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year? Finishing writing Both Haunted and Holy for sure. It was the first time I'd started posting before a fic was finished and I got it done without having to change to the posting schedule I'd set myself to keep the updates regular. I'm crazy proud of it because it's also one of the longest pieces I've ever written.

28. How did you recharge between fics? Watching TV, mostly! A little bit of making edits - I finally got into properly making gifs this year, and I've always really enjoyed making text post memes. And also I got very into doing Lego from September onwards lmao. I have had to space them out so I don't spend too much money on them though so now I have four of the Star Wars helmets done and BD-1 is going to be delivered on Monday.

Fic writer asks

[kwanisms]

Kinkuary 23 Felix — phone sex // mutual masturbation

➥ fwb!Felix x fem!reader summary: Y/N and Felix have a pretty easy going situationship; when one of them is needy and the other is willing, they fall into bed but sometimes Felix gets needy when he’s on tour. wc: 3.9k warnings: afab reader, adult dialogue, fwb relationship, sexual content (minors dni!): phone sex, dirty talk, use of pet names (baby mainly), mutual masturbation, Felix and the reader are completely whipped for each other but won’t admit it cause they're idiots a/n: I'm not gonna lie, I struggled with this piece. Not because it's Felix, I’m actually finding it easier to write for him, when before I found it really difficult. I just struggle with writing phone sex lol anyway, I hope you enjoy this piece, thank you for reading and as always, this is a work of fiction and all characters are not reflective of their respective irl counterparts. for entertainment purposes only. banner made by me. I do not allow reposts or translations of my works. All my works are ©️ kwanisms. Permanent taglist: @yoonguurt @candidupped @dejavernon Kinkuary full taglist: @baldi-2 @wonderfulshinee @lacie220900 @sup-dallyboy @drunk-on-dk @violagoth @mixling-blog @kosmoreads @yourfavoritefreakyhan Stray Kids taglist: @niktwazny303 @g4m3girl @rapmonie2047 @indigo35 @witherednotes @cixrosie @fay-ebrahim @imseungminsgf @yeosayang @flowerboykun @beomgyusbabygirl Strikethrough means I cannot tag you. MINORS WILL BE BLACKLISTED & BLOCKED. Join the taglist!

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Your phone dinged with a notification and you picked it up, rolling your eyes at the picture that had been sent.

Fee👅: [image] Fee👅: this interview is so boring 🙄 You: awww poor baby :c Fee👅: ur supposed to make me feel better ):&lt; You: you’re too far away for me to blow Fee👅: …i didn’t mean like that babe You: i’m teasing Lix. Where are you guys? Fee👅: New York You: Ew York Fee👅: Ew York Fee👅: lol jinx You: what do i owe you? 🙄 Fee👅: how about a picture? 👀 You: hmm. No Fee👅: meanie :&lt; You: hehe :> Fee👅: come on Y/N 😩 You: not the government name 😭 Fee👅: pretty please? 🥺

You sighed and opened your camera app, snapping a picture of yourself sitting at your computer and sent it to him.

Fee👅: what time is it there? You: late lol Fee👅: gee thanks i had no idea 😑 You: you asked ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ You: it’s 3:15 Fee👅: jesus christ Y/N go to bed! You: boo ur no fun Fee👅: i’ll text you later lol go to bed. You: okay dad Fee👅: daddy? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) You: GOODBYE

You groaned, locking your screen and setting your phone down. Felix was right. You should be going to bed but this spreadsheet wasn’t going to finish itself and your boss had asked for it last minute, promising to pay you double to get it done asap so you jumped at the chance to get that double pay.

When you finally finished the spreadsheet, you emailed it to your boss and crashed, passing out on your bed, barely having the time to pull your covers up before you were out like a light.

The next time Felix texted you, he was in Chicago.

Fee👅: pizza here is atrocious 🤢 You: you’re just uncultured Fee👅: uncultured? Me??? You: i said what i said Fee👅: you are a liar is what you are You: I. Said. What. I. Said. Fee👅: i can’t believe you called me uncultured. Just for that, i’m not sending you the picture i took for you 😤 You: okay 🤙🏻 Fee👅: wait no come back 🥺 you were supposed to ask me to send it You: but you said you weren’t going to send it???

Felix groaned, looking at your texts. You were so infuriating sometimes.

When the two of you agreed to whatever had blossomed between the two of you, he hadn’t expected much out of it. Sure, he got sex with you but it was always strictly sex until it wasn’t.

The first time you called him and invited him over to just hang out, he knew he was screwed. These hangouts became a regular occurence and slowly he started developing feelings which complicated the booty calls even more.

He chose not to say anything because he didn’t want to lose you so he kept it all bottled inside. Keeping things as lighthearted as he could.

That was until you drunkenly let it slip that you liked him. You weren’t talking to him directly. You had been talking to Hyunjin at a party and you drunkenly told one of his best friends that you liked Felix a lot.

Hyunjin of course panicked because he didn’t know what to do with this information but Felix overheard and had been standing a few feet away talking to Han when he heard the words leave your lips.

Ever since then, he’s been waiting for you to admit it out loud to him but when he gave you opportunities to do so, you never did and it was so frustrating and infuriating but he had no right to be mad.

He just wished you would finally admit it out loud to him. He wanted you to tell him that you liked him. Not just say it drunkenly to his friends.

When Felix didn’t respond you sighed and set your phone aside.

It wasn't uncommon for him to suddenly stop texting. He was an idol after all. He had a busy life, a hectic schedule, and appearances to keep up with. Add a world tour on top of all of that and you were surprised to even hear from him at all.

When he was home in Korea, things were a lot easier. There were no time differences, just several city blocks. Even when he was back in Australia, it never seemed like he was that far away because the time difference wasn't that great.

New York, Chicago, LA were all almost an entire world away.

Felix still hadn't responded when you let out a frustrated groan and pushed your phone away, rolling over on your bed. It had been like this ever since you realized your feelings for him were starting to grow.

When you first realized it, you started to invite him over for more than just sex. It had turned into hanging out and watching movies or playing video games, or even making and eating dinner together.

Sometimes it ended with him spending the night and sometimes he went back to the dorms. It had almost become domestic in a way.

When you and Felix first agreed to whatever this was between you, it had been strictly sex. He always talked about how he was too busy to date, he couldn't be seen in public with anyone or rumors would arise, he didn't have the time or energy for a relationship.

You agreed, knowing what you were getting yourself into but when he came over one night when you called and instead of fucking, he realized something was wrong and let you vent out all your frustrations. He held you the entire time and told you it was okay to cry and to let it all out. It was then you knew there was something more between the two of you than just physical or sexual attraction.

Or so you had hoped.

You weren't exactly sure what woke you but you were almost positive it was the buzzing of your phone on the nightstand.

You groggily looked over at the alarm clock that read it was well past three in the morning. Groaning, you grabbed your phone and answered it without checking the screen.

"Hello?" You croaked only to be met with a cheerful laugh on the other side.

"You sound awful, are you sick?"

You sat up quickly upon realizing you'd just answered a call from Felix. You checked the screen to be sure and it was definitely him.

"No," you said, clearing your throat. "I just woke up."

"Oh shit, I forgot to check what time it is there," Felix said, his voice sounding concerned. Glancing back at your clock, it reminded you of the time to relay to the man on the other end of the phone.

"Fuck, seriously? I'm so sorry," Felix groaned. "I should have checked before I called. I can call you later. It's… it's not important. Just go back to sleep, okay?"

Your heart raced, rushing to keep him on the line. It had been so long since you'd heard his voice like this and he'd already woken you up so there was no point in hanging up, right?

"No, it's okay," you replied, leaning back against your pillows. Anything to get to hear his voice for a little longer.

"You sure? I can always call back later." You nodded even though he couldn't see. "Mhm, it's fine," you answered.

"So, what's up? Where are you guys now?"

"Brussels," he answered. "We finished North America last week before hopping on a plane and landing here."

Fuck, had it really been a whole week since you last spoke?

"Oh wow," you said rolling onto your side, keeping your phone by your ear. "I know. Just a little bit closer to home," Felix replied. You could detect the smile in his voice. He was probably excited to come back. He tended to get homesick pretty easily.

"I miss you."

It was so soft you almost didn't hear it but it still sent your heart into a frenzy. "W-what?" you asked, prompting Felix to repeat himself.

"I miss you like crazy," he answered. "I know it hasn't been that long but God I miss you so much." You chewed on your bottom lip, trying to find the right words to reply with.

You recognized that tone in his voice. The longing, the desire, the desperation. You knew because you felt it, too. You missed him, too.

For you it was more than missing the way he touched and kissed you. You missed the way he smiled and laughed at one of your dumb jokes. You missed the way he let you curl up against him on the couch while watching movies. You missed the way he tried to mess you up while racing against each other in Mario Kart.

You missed Felix so much that it hurt physically. It hurt because you knew he didn't feel that way about you.

"Y/N?" he called softly when you didn't answer.

You wiped your eyes quickly and swallowed back the rest of the tears and sobs that threatened to follow. "I miss you too, Lix," you answered, pushing your feelings aside for what felt like the hundredth time. Even if it hurt you to not have him entirely, you knew you'd still get to have him in one way.

"What time is it there?" you asked, trying to divert attention from yourself and back onto him. "Oh, it's after seven," he answered, his voice softer than before. “So it’s not too late,” you replied, wondering what he did today.

“Yeah. We didn’t have anything planned for today. Just resting before tomorrow. So Han, Seungmin, and I went out to explore the city a little. Did some shopping and ate lunch before heading back to the hotel,” Felix explained.

You could hear some rustling on the other side of the phone and wondered if he was in bed too. If it was just after seven, it would be awfully early for him to head to bed.

“What else did you guys do?” You asked, wanting him to keep speaking. His voice was something that was well loved by fans but also by you. The range of his voice was incredible but your favorite was the tone he reserved for you entirely.

“Nothing actually. It wasn’t so much lunch as an early dinner,” he answered, letting out a low chuckle. “I’m so full that I dont want to do anything else.”

“Who are you rooming with?” You asked. You wondered if he was alone. “Hyunjin,” he answered. ‘Typical,’ you thought with a smile. “Tell him I said hi,” you said as you rolled onto your back, staring up at the dark ceiling.

“Oh, I’ll tell him when they get back.”

Your curiosity was piqued as you propped yourself up. “Oh? Where did they go?”

“They wanted to see the night life. We wont get to see it since we’re leaving the day after the concert so this is really the only chance we have to see it,” Felix explained. “And what about you?” You asked.

Felix’s eyes widened upon your question. ‘What about me? Why is she asking that?’ He shrugged, even though he knew you couldn’t see him. “I just didn’t feel like going out.” ‘Yeah, because I wanted to call you instead.’

“And miss the only chance you have to experience the nightlife in Brussels?”

‘You’re more important.’

“Heh, yeah. I guess,” Felix said softly. It was true. The others had begged him to come with them, citing they wouldn’t have as much fun without him until Chris finally intervened. ‘If Felix doesn’t want to go, he doesn’t have to. I’m sure he’ll find something to keep himself occupied.’

Chris was the only one who knew about Felix’s situation with you and he also knew how Felix felt about you. The older man had encouraged him many times ti step up and tell you how he felt but he knew there was no use.

You just didn’t feel the same way.

“Do you want to go out?” Your question came as a surprise to Felix. He knew deep down he didn’t want to but could he tell you that? ‘Man up, you idiot.’

“No.” The word left his lips before he could stop it. “No?” You asked.

“No,” Felix repeated, settling back against the headboard of his hotel bed. “I don’t want to go out. I stayed back on purpose.” ‘That’s it. Keep going.’

“And what purpose was that?” If Felix didn’t know any better he’d think you were seeking information. And who knows, maybe you were.

“I wanted to call you. I promised I would and I got so caught up in the shows and traveling that I sort of forgot to call.” ‘Liar. You were avoiding her.’

“You wanted to call me?” How you could make his body react with just your voice alone, he’d never understand.

“Yeah. I did,” Felix answered, voice dropping lower. “Why’s that?”

‘Goddamn it,’ he cursed mentally, heat rushing to his cheeks as he felt blood rushing straight to his dick. He’d been wanting this since the last time he talked to you but he also just wanted to talk to you.

It never ceased to amaze him how quickly you could turn the conversation around.

“Cause I missed you,” he answered, fingers curling into a fist while he held the phone against his ear with his other hand. “And what did you miss about me?”

Your voice had gone breathless and Felix could only imagine what you were doing on the other side of the line. ‘Everything.’ He wanted to say it so desperately. He missed everything about you.

Your smile, your laugh, your lips, your hands and the way you touched him, both tenderly as you moved him out of your way in your cramped kitchen and the way your fingers would move over his skin as you teased him.

He settled for the obvious answer. “I miss your body.” ‘Idiot. You’re so fucking stupid.’

A ball of disappointment settled in your stomach. ‘Of course,’ you told yourself. ‘You're stupid for thinking he missed anything else.’

You pushed your negative thoughts aside. “What do you miss the most?” You asked, thighs pressing together as his voice came back deeper and huskier when he answered. “Your thighs. I love how soft they are when I grab them but I love how strong they are when you wrap them around my waist.”

‘Holy shit. Okay. That was quick.’

“Hmm, is that right?” You asked, your free hand resting on your stomach as Felix spoke. “God, yes. I love your thighs so much. But you know what I miss more?”

You tilted your head. “Hmm, what's that?”

“I miss your cunt.” That was so direct and… vulgar. It sent blood rushing to your core as your walls clenched around nothing. “Do you, now?”

“Mhm, god I miss you so much, baby,” his deep voice rasped. “I miss you, too,” you admitted. ‘More than you know.’

“I wish I was home so I could come see you.”

“And what would you do if you came to see me?” Your hand on your stomach moved up to squeeze your tit over your shirt. It wasn’t Felix’s hand but it would have to do.

“Well, first tell me where you are. What are you wearing?”

You let out a soft giggle. “Really, 'what are you wearing?'” You asked teasingly. “Don’t play with me,” Felix whined. “Just answer the question, babe.” The use of the pet name made butterflies erupt in your stomach, your heart pounding into a frenzy. Felix was well aware of how much you reacted to the sweet names.

“I’m just wearing a tee shirt and shorts,” you answered. “What I usually sleep in.”

“Take your shorts off for me, okay?” Felix asked. You could hear movement on the other side of the phone. “O-okay,” you answered. “And one more thing?” You heard him ask and raised the phone quickly. “Yeah?”

“Put your phone on speaker.”

Felix waited while you moved, doing as he asked. He could hear your sheets rustle as you moved. Finally you spoke. “Okay, they’re off.” Felix nodded, his free hand resting on his stomach just under his navel. “Are you wearing underwear?” He asked, biting his lip when you giggled on the other side.

“Yeah. They’re lace.” ‘Fuck.’

“Oh? What color?” ‘Please say black, please say black,’ he thought as he pictured the pair he loved the most. “Black,” you answered, making his cock twitch in his pants. ‘Yes!’ Felix’s hand moved over his hardening cock, resting his palm over it.

“Are you touching yourself right now?” ‘Please say yes.’

“Do you want me to?” Your voice asked softly. ‘God yes.’

“Go ahead, baby. Over the lace though. Gotta work yourself up first,” Felix answered as his hand pressed against himself.

“You touch yourself, too,” you said suddenly. The tone in your voice nearly made him groan. “I already am,” he answered with a slight chuckle. “Does it feel good?” you asked sweetly.

Felix pouted. He was supposed to be asking that.

“I was gonna ask you the same thing,” he said with a chuckle.

“It feels nice, but it’s not enough,” you answered, a slight whine in your voice. Felix chuckled again. “Don’t tease yourself too much, baby. That’s my job.” He could hear your breath hitch and just knew you were probably clenching your thighs together. Or trying to.

Hearing a soft sigh on the other end of the phone, Felix could imagine you lying on your bed, one hand between your thighs as you played with yourself.

“I bet your panties are soaked right now,” Felix said, grabbing his now hard cock through his pants when you let out a moan. “'M so wet,” you gasped.

Felix held the phone between his ear and his shoulder as he quickly undid his jeans and pushed them down, kicking them off before taking his phone in his hand again, his other hand now massaging himself over his underwear.

"I want you to slip your hand into panties and keep touching yourself," Felix groaned. "Just like I would if I was there."

He heard your voice shake, a soft moan sounding as you followed his instructions. "Just like that," Felix whispered, slipping his hand into his boxers, pulling his cock free to start slowly pumping his length. "Keep touching yourself for me."

You could hear soft sighs and low moans from Felix's side and tried to imagine him on his hotel bed, stroking himself as he spoke to you through the phone.

"I wish you were here," you groaned, eyes fluttering shut as you traced circles around your clit, imagining it was Felix making you feel this good. You heard him let out a shaky breath. "I wish I was there, too. I want to be the one making you feel so good."

"You always make me feel so good, Felix," you said, moaning his name as your back arched off the mattress. "Fuck, I love it when you moan like that for me. It sounds so hot," Felix replied.

"Go ahead and use two fingers," he instructed. "I know you can take them. You always take my fingers so well." You let out a moan as you pushed two of your fingers inside your cunt, curling them to find that sweet spot that Felix always managed to find every single time. "Fuck, ngh!" You whimpered.

"That's it baby," you heard him groan. "Keep doing that. Fuck yourself with your fingers. Pretend they're mine, baby."

You whimpered as he continued to speak. "I know how much you love it when I finger you while we make out." 'Fuck why does his voice have to sound so sexy?'

You set a pace you were comfortable with and could maintain while listening to Felix's voice as he got himself off to the sounds of you. You could imagine the dim lighting of the hotel room and the white sheets as his hand moved up and down his length.

"Feels s-so good," you whimpered, your fingers pumping in and out of your hole, the lewd wet sound of your pussy filling the room.

Felix groaned loudly on the other end. "That's one of my favorite sounds," he grunted, his voice growing shakier. "That and the sound you make when you cum all over my cock."

You let out another louder moan. "I want your cock inside me so bad, Lixie," you whined. "As soon as I'm back, I'm gonna come to you and fuck you so good you won't even remember I was gone," he growled. Your walls squeezed around your fingers and you drove yourself closer and closer to orgasm.

Your moans and whines were Felix's telltale sign you were about to cum. "You gonna cum for me, baby?" he purred, his voice low and breathy as he continued to pump his cock faster, squeezing and jerking his hand the way you often did.

He wasn't going to last much longer.

"I'm gonna- oh god," you groaned, a whiny and breathless moan leaving your lips as you came. "Fuck, there it is," Felix groaned as his eyes shut, feeling his own orgasm begin to wash over him as he stroked himself. "That's my favorite sound."

As you came down from your high, you listened to Felix finish himself off with a deep moan your ears zeroed in on something he whispered. "Fuck, I love you." It was so soft you almost hadn't heard it and might not have if you hadn't cum first.

The moment the words left his lips, Felix was mentally berating himself for being so stupid. Why did he have to slip up like that? He hadn't realized he'd said it out loud until you went silent. 'Way to go, you fucking idiot.'

You pulled your bottom lip between your teeth briefly, wondering if you'd actually heard him right. 'Did he really just say that?' You knew there was no way your mind could be playing tricks on you.

Deciding to take the plunge, you took a deep breath before responding.

"I love you, too."

Felix had been so occupied with trying to busy himself with cleaning his essence off his stomach after that stupid admission he made in the heat of the moment that the second the words left your lips, he froze. 'W-what?' He stopped and cleared his throat.

"Say that again," he instructed. "Felix," you whined on the other side of the phone. "Please," Felix begged. "Say it again." He heard you inhale shakily before exhaling.

"I love you, too."

The feeling of weightlessness was so immense that Felix thought he'd float right up to the ceiling. 'She loves me back?'

"When did you-?" he asked but you cut him off. "Since we started hanging out more." Felix truly felt like he could fly. You'd developed feelings for him around the same time he'd developed them for you.

He asked you to start from the beginning and you did, finally spilling everything you'd been feeling and thinking. It matched almost perfectly. Your mutual pining, shared romantic feelings, wanting more out of the situationship. You both felt the same way and were scared the other didn't feel that way. You were both dumb.

What a pair of idiots you truly were.

"Okay, I take it back," Felix finally said, having already cleaned up and changed into his pajamas. "What's that?" you asked.

"As soon as I get back, I'm not fucking you," Felix answered.

"I'm taking you on a date."

[discodeviant]

HARRINGROVE WEEK, DAY 7: Thirty

SURPRISE: Billy’s Favorite Hang-Out Spot

How Many Candles on the Birthday Cake: 30 years old

Specific Dialogue: “Did your wish come true?”

"Happy birthday, sunshine! You're 56 today. Remember thirty? Course you do, you're not geriatric yet. Best day of your life, huh? One of them. Mine's when you proposed. Maybe our wedding. The day we met. Our first kiss. First time. You've still got it, by the way, but you know that. Come downstairs and get your cake. I love you, Steve Bambi Prett whatever just come downstairs."

Read on AO3 @harringroveweek

Billy proposed on New Year’s Day.

They were on the balcony of their San Diego apartment, listening to the celebration on the radio and waiting for the countdown, for the fireworks to start. Billy’s hand was safely in Steve’s, the other arm on Steve’s shoulder with a hand on his waist, and they danced, sort of. It was a slow, tip-toe of a waltz. They smiled with their heads dipped into each other’s necks, hearts in tune with the breeze.

“Surprised you’re still not sick of me.”

“You say that like I’m ever gonna be.”

Steve’s eyes sparkled in the city lights. Billy shrugged and said, “I don’t know. You might.”

“You’ve said that every year, and it’s still not true.”

With a sigh, he held Steve tightly to his chest, keeping their clasped hands down and to the side. “Why don’t I get to kiss you before midnight again?” he asked, grinning wide when Steve chuckled in his ear.

“Because then there’s no point! We might as well go to bed if you’re gonna kiss me anyway.”

“Mmm…” He scratched Steve’s back ever so lightly, rocking to the music, still waiting for the countdown.

“Just wait, babe, and then my lips are all yours.”

“For how long?”

“Until next year. I’ll make you wait even longer.”

So they laughed, and they swayed, and they kept close. Refilled their champagne flutes a few times before the radio cut out to start the charade before the clock would strike twelve. Billy’s heart was in his throat and stomach at the same time, furiously bouncing between the two like it would stop if it sat still for too long. Really, Billy felt like that too, which was why he never stopped moving his feet and kept his toes right by Steve’s to remember they were still there.

The radio announcer went on for far too long, and then there was another music performance. “Jesus Christ, be midnight already!” Billy yelled behind them, anxious to get this over with, to leave enough time to pick up the pieces of his heart if it were to break.

“Patience, baby,” Steve said, cheek pressed to Billy’s, teasing and promising something impossibly warm.

And then it began.

“Ten”—they counted together—“nine, eight, seven”—looked deeply into each other’s eyes, their lips, and held on tight—“six, five”—touched their noses together, which may have been cheating—“four, three, two”—but if it was, they didn’t care. “One!”

Finally, finally their lips met in the middle somewhere. Steve held Billy by the sides of his head, along his jaw, in his hair. “Happy New Year, baby.” Steve was so tender with his mouth, Billy couldn’t have gotten more lucky.

“Hey, hey,” he said, taking his hand away. “Steve.” He reached into his back pocket for the silver band he’d purchased over a month ago. “Marry me. Please.” Steve backed away then, hand still on Billy’s waist as he looked at the ring with shell-shocked doe eyes.

“Billy…”

“Please. I love you so much, Stevie. I don’t know what I’d do without you or where I’d be. You’re everything to me.” Fireworks sparked in the distance and looked over them in faded color. Red, pink, yellow, blue, white, green, gold—every color Billy was feeling, they gleamed in Steve’s eyes. “I’ve never loved anybody like I love you. I’ve—I’ve never known anybody like you, and I—“

“Baby, you’re shaking.” Steve whispered and held his hands, foreheads together, both focused on the ring as a rainbow reflected off of it too.

Billy chuckled airily. “Of course I’m fucking shaking. I’m nervous as shit, Steve.”

“Hey.” It was his turn to hold a trembling hand out, offering a part of himself that he’d given Billy a long time ago. Their eyes met for the briefest of moments, a flicker in time before Billy was sliding the ring onto Steve’s finger, and they were both overcome with fervent emotion. Steve hugged so hard that he almost went numb, and Billy’s arms found their way back around his waist. “Yes,” he said, and he laughed. “Yes.” Again, right into Billy’s ear, pressing kisses to his cheek and his jaw and temple. “Yes, yes, of course I’ll marry you, Billy,” he said, not because the answer was unclear, but he knew Billy would want to hear it anyway. “I love you so much. So much. So, so fucking much.”

Words failed Billy miserably, but the clutch he had on Steve’s back said it all for him. It sent his love in waves through a rapid pulse and shuddering breaths.

“Now you’re really never getting rid of me,” he said once he settled down.

And Steve told him, “Good, ‘cause I don’t want to.”

They went to bed as one.

For Billy’s birthday, after the small gathering with a few of their friends at his favorite restaurant, Steve took him out for some time alone. It wasn’t far from home. A pier that Billy went to as a kid that held more good memories than bad. A place he wanted to share with Steve the moment they set foot in California, and it was a place he loved dearly. Even more now with his fiancé, his one and only Steve Harrington, holding his hand down by the shore like they were in a movie.

After three months, they still hadn’t gotten Billy a ring. Not really, anyway, because money was tight, and he didn’t like Steve spending any on him regardless. So they’d picked out something nice together, barely one-hundred dollars: a slim metal band with leafy engravings that meant more to him than he knew how to say. Steve had been bursting at the seams, though not because he was particularly excited about the ring. Not that ring, anyway.

So he and Billy walked along with their fingers tied, carrying their shoes in the other hands, pressed up close in each other’s heat as shelter from the midnight frost. No champagne that night, but they didn’t need any.

“Kinda wish the moon was out,” Steve said. “I like when it, like, makes you glow. I don’t know.”

Billy laughed. “Shut up.” Before he knew it, Steve was stepping in front of him with a wider grin than he’d seen in a while. “Steve, come on, we’re almost at the end—“

“I know, but I don’t wanna wait.” Steve dropped his shoes and pulled Billy’s from his fingertips to drop right beside them. His free hand went to push the hair from Billy’s face, comb through it over his head as if it would stay in place. “Oh, you’ve still got some glow there, see? No, you can’t see…”

Years ago, he learned to let Steve do his thing of looking at whatever detail of Billy he’d picked out, and he still never quite knew what it was. His left eye, maybe, or the freckles on his cheek. Maybe Steve found a new shape in them and wanted to watch it morph into a hundred others. “What do you see this time?”

Steve smiled. “That little heart right there,” he said, poking his thumb over the spot on the height of Billy’s cheekbone.

“Oh, the heart, huh?” Steve nodded. “That’s been there a while.”

“Mmm, I wonder why,” he said and pressed a kiss to Billy’s freckle-heart, which he leaned into with ease. “Oh, look, there’s another one right here.” Kiss. “Aaand…” Kiss, kiss, kiss, all the way across Billy’s nose and to the other cheek before he got impatient and stole one for his lips.

“You’re such a dork.”

“And I will be for the rest of my days, so buckle up.”

They stood for a while longer, lost in each other’s eyes and hair and mouths as they kissed with the ocean to guide them. It pushed sand between their toes and tickled them all the way up to their heads. The longer they remained still, the harder Steve’s pulse rattled in his chest. He’d practiced the very words he was about to say, but it was so silly now. It felt silly, anyway. He didn’t have anything to be nervous about.

“How’s thirty treating you so far?”

“It’s okay,” Billy said with a loving smile.

“Did your wish come true?”

“What makes you think I wished for anything?”

“I mean… cake, candles… you’re supposed to make a wish on your birthday.”

“Mmm… I’ve never followed rules very well.”

“Like I don’t know that.” Something about this was familiar; they’d done it before, swaying against each other in the dark with stars twinkling overhead. This time, however, they had more room for Steve to pull away and lead Billy into a clumsy dip. They kissed over the water, then again when Billy was back upright. No music, no fireworks to break the silence of Billy’s favorite lifetime. “I don’t know if I’ve ever told you this, but I dreamed about you in high school.”

“Yeah, you have. I did too.”

“No, but I didn’t tell you about the first one.”

“You remember it?”

“Of course I do.” There was a beat, and Billy nuzzled in with him closer. “It was after basketball. We were the only ones left in the locker room. You were dressed, but I wasn’t, and you looked right into my eyes. I didn’t know if I was dying or what, ‘cause after that you were all I thought about. My chest hurt so good. I wanted you to look at me like that again, and I kept trying get that dream back, but your eyes were closed in all the others. You always made me so nervous. Shit, you still do.” He laughed, and so did Billy, and he loved how Billy’s back moved under his hand.

“Good nervous now?”

“It was always good nervous. Must’ve been, or I wouldn’t have chased it so hard.” Billy breathed in deep and turned his head the other way, nose in Steve’s neck and arms around his shoulders, pulling him in as tight as he could. It gave them both goosebumps. “You make me so happy, Billy.”

It was muffled by skin and hair: “You make me happy, Stevie.”

“And it is officially no longer your birthday, so you can’t get annoyed at me for this.” He pulled away, looked down into Billy’s drowsy, confused eyes, and grinned.

“What? Annoyed about what?”

And it was mostly the way Steve had always dreamed of, getting down on one knee and holding Billy’s hand—with his little hundred-dollar ring—pretending that this was their first go-around. “Annoyed about me wanting to propose to you… put this little number on your finger.” The ring he pulled from his pocket was thick and dark, engraved on the inside (which he would show Billy later), and plain enough that Billy might just have accepted it. “Because, even though we’ve said a million times that marriage is for chumps and always sucks, and we’re practically married anyway, and blah blah blah—I saw you on that cruise with your hair trying to stay in place, and your shirt blowing in the wind so your little hip tattoo finally got some damn sun, I wanted to be able to call you my husband so fucking bad, Billy.”

“Steve—“

“And I know we’ve been over this. I know. But I’ve had this night on my mind for so, so long, and I have always wanted to say this stupid fucking line to someone and know it’d last. So just… I don’t know. Humor me, okay?” He held up the ring. “Billy Hargrove… light of my life… will you marry me?”

By then, Billy’s face was red hot and ruined with tears that started falling the moment Steve’s knee hit the sand and still rolled with no end in sight. “Dammit, get the fuck up, Steve,” he said, blubbering, fake-angry the way he got when he didn’t want to be seen. Steve laughed and let Billy pull him up by the collar of his shirt, kiss him with more fervor than their mouths were even capable of. “Yes. Yes, I’ll—fucking marry you—you sappy fucking dork. God.” It was even wetter with Billy’s tears in the way, so sweet that the salt didn’t stand a chance.

“Here, here, hold on.” Steve pulled away to slide the ring onto Billy’s finger, right up against the other one that maybe he’d keep, maybe he wouldn’t. That didn’t matter so much now.

“When did you even get this, what the hell—“

“… November.”

“November!”

“I had to get Robin to keep it for me after New Year’s, or I’d have scuffed this whole thing, and—“

“You really had this all figured out, didn’t you?” he asked, wiping tears and snot away with the rolled-down sleeve of his shirt.

“Yeah,” Steve told him softly, love in his eyes, relief on his back.

“God, you are something else, Harrington.”

“Not gettin’ rid of me now,” Steve said and, just before Billy got his word out, picked him up from under the ass and held him high.

“Steve!” He spun Billy around like it was nothing, kissed his cheek and chin and protesting lips. He laughed and said, “Steve, if you don’t put me down—“

“What are you gonna do? Not marry me?”

“No, but I’ll think of something.”

“Mhmm… whatever, I love you.”

Billy wrapped his legs around Steve’s waist, committed just as much as he was then. “Yeah, yeah. I love you too.”

And they sealed such love under the covers that night, where they could feel each other’s heat and never let it go. For Steve, going to bed sticky was a small price to pay if it meant his dreams of Billy would come true for the rest of his life.

[vanosslirious]

BBS Dialogue Prompts: #180

BBS Dialogue & Sentence Starter Prompts: [10]

SMII7Y

It all picked up so fast.

Everything works for a reason, boys.

Okay, now we can start picking fights, boys.

They came up so quick.

We must go out into the wild eventually.

The bird cannot stay in the nest their entire life, they must eventually fly.

We lasted as long as we can.

Let's go, boys, this way!

I don't know why I came out here, going back…

Oh, I missed...oh no, I don't have ammo.

They still have someone alive.

He's actually up there.

Every time you get in one, it's horrible.

I'm gonna catch you!

I'm gonna press this button, okay.

Stop panicking, why are you panicking.

I actually didn’t know what that did, I was actually trying to get him killed.

No more pushing the button.

I tried to jump, bro.

Why can’t you stand still?

VANOSSGAMING

What the hell’s this?

How did I get third place?

You gotta go slow, bitch.

What the fuck, what happened?

Not if I kill you first!

Let me shoot him!

Can I shoot him?

You sure sounded like you knew what you were doing.

Did he die?

Why did he do that?

BIGJIGGLYPANDA

Fuck you guys, I’m having fun.

Oh, there’s more of them than I was expecting.

You passed me.

I thought you would’ve listened.

It’s fine, it’s payback.

I’m not playing games with you fucking nerds anymore, I swear to God.

At least we can be miserable together.

It’s not going to matter at this point.

A little too much power.

Aw, look at you with your pockets full of planets.

FOURZER0SEVEN

There’s three people behind us.

Who’s trying to shoot us?

It’s fucking impossible.

I haven’t killed a single person since we’ve been here.

He’s chasing me!

I’m not really near you.

That was just…depressing.

Hold my head…oh you dead.

Uh, everyone just got murdered.

It’s going to kill me immediately.

THE TERRORISER

How did I die!

There’s some fucking creepy dude that’s going to turn around and murder us.

Stop having sex, Jesus Christ!

Do you need professional help?

Who has wronged you, sir?

Just don’t question the logic, there is none.

You don’t want to fucking know what I’ve just been through over there.

Stop singing, just go to the otherside.

So, yeah, it was an accident.

We were almost in perfect sync, except you took it a little further than me.

BASICALLYIDOWRK

I don’t need one, bitch.

I feel like if we were on drugs, we’d be here all day.

You fucking bitch, I had that!

Wait, can I come too?

I’m trying to rotate you.

Now we get in the middle, I think.

Come on, I was on a bowling team.

Yes, I did, call my mom!

I like the confidence.

I just turned them off because I’m afraid of them.

WILDCAT

There’s a whole lot of shit going on, give us a second, bitch.

I just sniped the pilot out.

Let me know when you're coming back.

My man is going to Narnia.

Why do I want the healer?

Oh my God, I can’t see anything.

I can’t see anything.

Time to fly back.

Are we okay? Can we still fly?

Is he coming back for us, this piece of shit.

MOO

If you breathe on me, I’m dead, okay, just leave me alone.

I go for whoever I can, okay.

I’m focusing so hard.

Why would you do that?

I can’t believe you’ve done this.

No, anyone can join in.

Yeah...you did.

Hey, you get back here.

Who’s making that sound?

How does that not kill him?

DAITHI DE NOGLA

Are we going to head upstairs now?

We ran so far.

Oh, that’s questionable.

Why don’t we just pick him up, we’re going to kill him anyways.

Let’s go guys, let’s go...let’s not go, let’s go this way.

She’s on the right hand side.

Well, the goat told me to do it.

She got me, guys, she chose me, I’m so special!

I just had the night of my life.

It’s a great time to go, gentlemen.

H2ODELIRIOUS

I'm leaving the slaughter to you guys.

I'm too drunk for this.

I just got here, man, I brought my own Cocaine.

This is a place you can hide a dead body in.

Do you want to confess your sins!

We murdered him!

We threw him in the fountain.

I don't want to die, I'm too young!

Someone got thrown through a window.

Oh God, I still can't see.

[dollslayer]

Botanical Interest

Soft!Mob!Steve Rogers x reader

Summary: You’re a florist working the wedding of Brooklyn’s most respected mob boss when you catch the eye of his best man.

W/C: 1557

Warnings: Allusions to violence, swearing, copious amounts of blushing

A/N: My second ever fic! I wrote this as an entry to @stargazingfangirl18 ‘s Soft Dark 5k Challenge (congrats!) using dialogue prompt 9 (bolded) with a Mob!AU. No smut, just fluff. While I’m a sucker for Soft!Dark I thought I’d keep it light and fluffy! Might enter a second one with some darker themes.

I’m brand new to writing and the fandom so if you want you can check out my first fic (also a Mob!AU!) and please reach out with any and all comments or thoughts! I’m eager to know!! Cheers!

Botanical Interest Masterlist I Main Masterlist

_______________________

The first time you saw him you didn’t actually see him because you ran square into him while you were looking the other way. Stubbing your nose right into his chest and nearly spilling the contents of the box you were holding.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going and I’ve got so much to do so I’ve been running around and I just didn’t see you I’m-“

“Forgiven. You’re forgiven, sweetheart” a smoky voice with confidence and amusement informed you.

You loved being a florist but you were short handed for this wedding and needed to get a move on. You wouldn’t have taken the job but the infamous Bucky Barnes, King of Brooklyn himself was getting married. It would be great exposure for you but when a man like him asks something of you you don’t exactly have a choice. In all the chaos of it you didn’t watch your step.

Cheeks still burning with embarrassment, your eyes met those of Barnes’ right hand man, Steve Rogers. Now you weren’t just embarrassed you were nervous.

Taking a step back and shuffling the box in your hands you sent him a sheepish smile. “Right, well, sorry again. I’ve really got a lot to do before the ceremony, so...” trailing off you started to walk away. Just distract yourself with the work and try not to worry whether you’d just offended a member of the mob.

—————————————

Steve nodded and gave you a small smile, letting you return to the task at hand. There was some issue with the venue and the owners were being stubborn but the wedding planner was busy putting out a different fire. So, being the best man that he was, he decided to come down and use his ‘persuasive skills’.

He almost forgot what he was there for as he watched you walk away. Sure, you looked a little crazed in your work but you were cute. Frazzled but determined as you tinkered with the centerpieces, he let himself be distracted for a moment.

Sighing as his phone buzzed asking for an update on the venue, he shook his head. With a scowl he straightened his posture and clenched his fists as he set off in search of the property manager. Poor bastard.

—————————

30 minutes, 2 punches, and one very credible threat later Steve was leaving the manager's office. He held the door and looked at the man one last time, “And I think I’ll stay to make sure you don’t get any ideas about going back on the agreement.”

At least that was his excuse for sticking around. He still had some time before he needed to get changed so he ambled around until he spotted you across the large room. Planting himself against the wall, a tiny smile on his face as he watched you place each stem with care.

You still looked a little pressed but he could tell you were really enjoying what you were doing. He liked to see a woman hard at work and good at what she does. He liked seeing you so flustered earlier when you ran into him. The heat flooding to your face told him you knew exactly who he was. Good.

Bending to reach a stray peony he took a moment to admire your body. He had to wonder if the blush on your face earlier would be the same one you’d have when he’d whisper dirty things into your ear.

Letting his imagination wander a little bit he didn’t realize you’d gone outside. Maybe it was a good time for Steve to step out and have a smoke.

———————————

You felt some relief as you saw him take off in another direction and felt relief. Finally letting yourself relax a bit you started on the arch. You heard yelling from down the hall but decided to ignore it, you didn’t have time to worry about it.

Some time later you were still working on the arch when you noticed something in the corner of your eye. Taking a moment to look up you saw that it was Steve. What was he doing? Whatever. He said he forgave you just focus on the arch. You worked the best you could to not let his presence bother you.

Finally done with the arch, you needed to go back to the van for more supplies and finishing touches. Letting yourself forget about your unexpected company you climbed into the back of the van and hauled out some boxes.

“You need help with that, sweetheart?” He offered.

You hadn’t expected him out here and let out a shriek. Jesus Christ is he following me now? Steve casually walked over to you with a quirk in his brow waiting for an answer.

“I- Uh, no. No, I’m good. I’m great, actually. My assistant is somewhere around so I don’t need help so you can just, uh, go, I guess. Thanks though.” How you managed to get the entire sentence out only stumbling slightly in your words was beyond you.

“Alright. Well if you need some muscle or a strong set of hands... I’ll be around for a while.” He responded while sporting what you were sure was his signature grin.

You watched him make his way back inside and let out the breath you definitely knew you were holding. Just finish the flowers and get out. You can do this.

—————————

The reception was winding down and you waited for the last guests to leave before you started disassembling things. Waiting out back with the van and your assistant you thought back to your awkward interactions with Steve.

You knew he was dangerous, or at least what he did was dangerous. He didn’t say one threatening word to you and he still had your palms sweating. Hopefully the wedding party would be long gone and you wouldn’t have to see him again.

The lights were starting to come up and you put yourself to task but before you did you took a moment to really admire the arch. Hours of work, hundreds of peonies and ranunculus and so much greenery all put together in one beautiful piece. You couldn’t help but snag a picture.

“It really is gorgeous. Not as gorgeous as you though.” That voice again, seemingly out of nowhere.

“Jesus Christ!” Startled for the second time by him that night your anger got the better of you. “What’s your deal huh? Why are you watching me? Am I on some list now?”

He barked out a laugh in response. “I swear I didn’t mean to start watching you, it just sort of... happened” He admittedly almost sheepishly. “You’re cute when you’re focused, you’re also cute when you’re mad.”

You could only blink at him. What do you even say to that? ‘Thanks, I find you terrifying’? “Um, thanks, I guess.” Good enough.

He held his hand out to you. “Steve Rogers.” You held your hand out to shake when he took it and kissed it instead. You stated your name as calm as you could. When he released your hand you noticed some bruises on his knuckles. Lest you forget who he is.

He seemed to notice you caught that detail. “Don’t worry. I don’t hurt anyone who don’t deserve it, certainly could never hurt a pretty face like yours.” You blushed at the compliment and turned your head. 

“I… should probably get back to the flowers. Don’t wanna be here all night.” You shifted your attention to the arch and began the process of dismantling it. 

“I wouldn’t mind it. Here, Doll”. He noticed you searching around for your tools and handed them to you. “Let me help you, these things look heavy”. You really shouldn’t. A piece of you kept placing this warning around him but every time he opened his mouth he was so sweet. How could you say no?

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So that’s how the big scary mobster found himself surrounded by flowers and skipping out on the after party. He asked you about yourself, how you got into floristry, he listened to you geek out about flowers. You asked him about himself and he did his best to answer while trying not to scare you off. Something about how confident you were in your work but how shy you got reeled him in. He didn’t care who saw him grinning like an idiot at you. 

As he helped you load the last of your things and close the back doors of your van he leaned against it. “So, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is just around the corner from my place but I’ve never been. Think a professional like you could spare some time for an uninformed punk like myself?” 

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Was he asking you out? You couldn’t fight the growing smile on your face. You know what he does is… less than ideal but talking to him you really felt good chemistry between the two of you. He was funny and genuine and those moments where he was a little shy telling you about growing up as a scrawny kid had you feeling like you were peeking in on a side of him that you’d never expect. You looked up at him still smiling.

“Oh what the hell? When are you free?”