#like are you looking at them and thinking ugh they’re so ugly because they don’t wear makeup

[livvyofthelake]

and what’s crazy to me about the situation where the actresses in pride and prejudice 2005 didn’t wear makeup, is that everyone is like. oh they’re lying. oh no one looks that pretty without a full face of makeup. oh it’s a lie they had a makeup artist credited and i don’t believe it was only for “continuity” they’re all lying!! like. are you for real so influencer pilled that you can’t believe that women can be beautiful and appealing to you without covering their faces in makeup. “but no makeup doesn’t translate as well on camera so they’re lying” actually if you know how to fucking film it right and light it right anything can look good just because YOU don’t think YOU look as good without makeup on your front facing phone camera doesn’t mean joe wright doesn’t know what he’s doing… like girl we all already knew kiera knightly was beautiful and had flawless skin is it truly so hard to believe she wasn’t caked in foundation

[specss00]

ALTERHUMAN SLANG DICTIONARY

MAMMALIAN

Got on my back paws - got on my hands and knees. Like how animals can stand up as a trick.

ex: yeah, i really wanted that necklace, i had to get on my back legs so she would get it for me.

Showing fang - standing up for yourself/being assertive. 

ex:  he’s really tough, and he’ll show fang at just about anything.

White eye - going crazy/really scared. Like how animals show the whites of their eyes when very agitated.

ex: haha, i saw how scared you were during that movie, you went all white eye at the end!

Howling at the sun[wolf/werewolf] doing something completely ridiculously/incorrect

Ex: dude did you see how that movie ended? Mc was really howling at the sun

Could hear someone purring[cat, any other purring animal]  noticeably becoming relaxed around someone/something

Ex: I saw you with your new plush yesterday, I could really hear you purring

Treetop chaser - (herbivorous) someone who chases unattainable things.

ex: they’re way out of your league, don’t be a treetop chaser

Bellycrawler - someone overly submissive.

ex - you have to stand up for yourself, don’t be a bellycrawler and let them take advantage of you.

Downy - young, referring to the soft fur of young animals. 

ex - she shouldn’t be out til midnight, she’s still downy!

Sit on your wag - means the same thing as swallow your smile.

ex - i got accepted into college, but my sister wasn’t, so i had to sit on my wag.

Go for the ruff - do something harmless/gently.

ex - the shirt was really ugly, but i went for the ruff so i didn’t hurt his feelings.

Flea - an insult meaning antikin, or a bigot in general.

ex - oh, you have him in your class? Be careful, he’s a total flea.

AQUATIC

Riptide Rider - (aquatic) someone who lives dangerously.

ex: stay away from her, she’s a riptide rider, you’re bound to get hurt.

Current crazy - someone who just follows other people, same as flock brain

ex: my brother joined the football team, and now he’s all current crazy.

Bottomfeeder - an insult for a low-class being.

ex - the boys at my school are such bottomfeeders, they make all the girls uncomfortable.

Floater - an insult for a superior or snobby person.

ex - ugh, they’re such a floater. They brag about their promotions ALL THE TIME.

Seen the whale fall - someone who is very experienced, now become a word for old among younger aquatics.

ex - my gramps has really seen the whale fall, he’s almost 95!

Play remora - like devil’s advocate, because remoras stick close to sharks.

ex - i don’t wanna play remora about this, but i think he was lying.

AVIAN

Flock brain - (avian) someone who can’t think for themselves. 

ex: ugh, she’s only hanging out with them now, she’s being a total flock brain.

A hummer with an eagle - (avian) someone who is clearly out of their depth.

ex: are you sure you can handle advanced classes? No offense, but you’ll be a hummer with the eagles.

Mantling over [smth] - [avian] being possessive, traditionally over food items 

Ex : Sarah is really mantling over that burger menu, I tried to take a fry and she almost bit my head off...

All preened up - [avian] well dressed, well groomed, the state of satisfaction and confidence that comes with A Good Look

Ex : Wow, Eric was all preened up this evening. I don't think I've ever saw him take this many selfies. 

And just for fun...

Going for the rattler - [roadrunner] choosing the hard or dangerous option, with expectation of either great fun or a great reward

Ex : "Huh, this park offers either a canyoning session over rapids or a day in the sun near the lake" "well I'm definitely going for the rattler" 

flare(s) my wings - (avian) makes me tense/nervous/angry 

"i don't like him, he always makes me flare my wings" 

makes my wings flutter - (avian) makes me happy/excited

"pasta always makes my wings flutter"

im pretty sure "ruffles my feathers" is a preexisting one

messy wings (with no time to preen) - (avian) having a bad day/stressed (and haven't had time to cool down)

"yeah today my wings are so messy and i haven't had time to preen"

Having a blood feather - [avian] being particularly irritable 

ex : Don't bother with this guy, he's been having a severe case of blood feathers. He'll jump at you for anything.

Riding the updraft - [flying creature] taking advantage of good opportunities, being lucky in life, having an easy time.

ex : I've been really riding the updraft recently ! Got both a promotion and a new car! 

Beak agape - [avian] furious, about to throw down.

ex : Jesus, this dude really left me beak agape. The audacity to say that !

Feeling clipped - [avian] feeling restless and anxious, like there's no way out

ex : Honestly these last few weeks have left me feeling clipped, between the news, and being dropped from my job. 

REPTILIAN

Makes my scales itch - (draconic) said about something unsettling or that just feels wrong deep down, a gut feeling that something's wrong

ex: We should get out of here. This place is making my scales itch.

Blow fire - (draconic) be extremely angry about something

ex: Did you hear what went down the other day? John was really blowing fire at Derek over that one.

Rattle someone's scales - (draconic) to unsettle or upset someone

ex: Can't stand that guy, he really rattles my scales. 

Cloudy day - (reptilian) usually used as a question, if someone is acting tired or unusual. Like how reptiles need the sun to stay warm, if it’s cloudy, they can’t warm up.

ex: woah, cloudy day? You look like you haven’t slept in months.

[hwasoup]

Tale As Old As Time

Playlist !!

art credit: Marbipa

OMG GUYS IM SOSOSO SORRY FOR SUCH A DELAY, COLLEGE REALLY DEVOURED ME IN THE MOMENT. AND TUMBLR REMOVED THE OPTION TO MAKE THE TEXT YELLOW...SO THE COLOR WILL NOW BE ORANGE. However, this is a double update week bc I owe you guys bc of your amazing patience with me!! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter

like always don't hesitate to lmk if you would like to be tagged:')

prev | next

warnings: talking objects, borderline assault, Canis Lupus

word count: 3.3k

Chapter 4: Dinner is served

However, in the village’s small tavern….

“UGH, WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS ?!” 

“Uhh Ben, chill out here you’re drunk.” Eddie says, while trying to take away his beer. Ben looks at Eddie extremely furious and annoyed “So? don’t you see that- that woman has messed with the wrong MAN ?!!” Eddie winces at his words a little and says “erm…. sure…let's say that she did.” Ben, who was moping in front of the tavern’s fireplace, takes another swig of his beer. “Dismissed, publicly humiliated, How DARE she! Nobody says NO to ME!” he says in a growl. Eddie sighs and rolls his eyes a bit and cracks his knuckles. “Well, you’re not a bad person... And besides forget her, you have tons of admirers in this tavern anyways” he says with a remark. Ben groans “Ugh, EDDIE LISTEN... My rustic cabin, my latest kill roasting itself on the fire, the children playing with the dogs ...and a pretty wife rubbing my feet…And what does Y/N say?? she says NO” he says throwing his beer into the fire.

The flame bursts a bit startling Eddie, but he proceeds to maintain his composure. “Listen to me ben…listen to the tavern…they’re all here because they’re admirers of you...” One man yells “NOBODY BITES LIKE BEN OR CAN WIN AT CHESS LIKE HIM” 

Another man yells “HE CAN EASILY WIN SPIT CHALLENGES” The tavern eventually comes together as they spew out all of their favorite qualities of ben. Especially the women, all of them gushed over his blonde hair, his brawn, his charm, and even his chest hair. (for some reason) Ben’s mood lifts and he smiles as he cheers along with the tavern of the glorification of his achievements and assets. People get together and eventually dance and drink as a small trio plays some music to add more to the cheerful atmosphere. Ben sits beside some ladies and brags about the number of eggs he eats in the morning. “TEN CHEERS FOR BEN RILEY !!” the tavern yells After a while of just fooling around, with a brightened mood Ben sits back in his lavish chair and looks at Eddie “that was very fun, thank you… but how come not a single woman has approached you?” Eddie chuckles and simply scratches his hair “well…I’ve been told I'm either too bored or too clingy .... I have no idea why though...” Ben just stares at him and clears his throat, looking back at the crackling fire.

Suddenly, the joy got sucked out of the room when Mauricio came waddling in tattered clothes, unruly hair, and barefoot. “SOMEONE, PORFAVOR QUE ME AYUDEN!!” The people in the tavern whispered to each other as they stared at him. Mauricio runs towards Ben and other customers in the tavern as he yells “SHE’S LOCKED IN A DUNGEON, EL LO TIENE CAPTIVA !!” 

A man asked, “but who?” Mauricio looks at this man with his eyes filled with fear “...who?... WHO?? MY DAUGHTER Y/N< WE HAVE TO GO SAVE HER NOW !!” Ben raises an eyebrow and looks at Eddie as he tries to stifle a laugh, not believing his words. He gets up and approaches Mauricio and pats his back “calm down Mauricio, now tell me… who is it that has Y/N locked in a dungeon?” 

“UN MONSTRUO! A BEAST !!” 

Crickets could be heard in the entire tavern as it went silent… 

The entire tavern bursted into laughter at the idiocy of his words. 

“Lemme guess! He’s a huuuggee BEAST.” 

“HE’s got an UGLY MOUTH WITH TEETH” Mauricio in his fears nods his head vigorously as he confirms each person’s questions about his so-called ‘beast’. He looks around and trips and falls on the wooden floor “Will you help me?” he asks with tears in his eyes.  Ben rubs his chin as he rolls his eyes as he decides to say something sympathetic to him “alright, alright, Mauricio relax, we’ll help” Poor Mauricio looked up with hope in his eyes as he thanked Ben for his courage to step up and help him. It didn’t last too long since he shortly got thrown out of the tavern by the owner due to his “madness.” 

Little did he know that Ben was already devising a plan with Mauricio’s plea for help…that may or may not have to do with marrying his daughter.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the other hand in the Castle..

After what seemed to be a few hours after that nasty confrontation with Miguel, A starving Y/N emerges from her room. She looks around as to see if she would see Miguel, but she ultimately decides that he has very much retired to his room. Wherever it may be. As she walked down the halls, she didn't notice the sound of giggling coming from behind a curtain.

“Miles nooo, stay away” 

“Ok but I just wanna hug, Gwen” “Miles, the last time you hugged me, you literally burned my feathers” she says with a sigh. Miles sighs and just pouts “It’s not my fault you got turned into a feather duster, ok?” Gwen rolls her eyes and chuckles at his antics. Miles then looked up as he heard the sound of footsteps and his flame burst a bit more “Hey look !!” he says pointing at Y/N “she emerged !!” He left Gwen in a hurry as he quickly hopped his way to Y/N as he followed her to the kitchen. In the kitchen, Peter was putting Mayday to sleep in the cupboard. Once she fell asleep, Peter closed the cupboard only to spot the cook, who was angrily huffing his stove top with fire as he whined over his cooking going to waste. Peter sighed “shh, come on I just put the little one to sleep, it’s been a long day.” Lyla however hops in and sighs “Honestly, I think she was just being headstrong, I mean...Miguel did say PLEASE” Peter sighs and says, “Really Lyla? you know that Miguel has a temper…and if he doesn’t control it, things won’t work out for him.” 

They were interrupted when Y/N walked in. “Hey, you showed up, a little late but that counts!” Peter says. Lyla turns around and greets her “Hello, I don’t think we properly introduced ourselves, I'm Lyla, you already know Peter of course, and in the back over there trying to get everyone in check is Jess and-” Miles butted in the conversation as he smiled at Y/N “and I’m Miles, nice to meet you senorita” he says wiggling his eyebrows. Jess waddled over smiled at Y/N “If you need anything to make your stay more comfortable just tell us honey” “Well ....I am hungry,” Y/N says with a sheepish smile. Peter grins and starts directing the kitchen to quickly cook something up for her. Lyla escorts her to the dining room, while Jess sighs “ok, but we have to be as quiet as possible, or else Miguel will flip. Miles just hops around happily as he says “aw come on, we gotta get Pav here! Actually, Imma go get him” he says as he hops off out the kitchen. 

A little while later, Miles came back with a large piano, “come on Pav, you haven’t played for someone in forever!” Pav smiles as he warms up quickly playing his keys “yep i’m all good” Jess walks in and spots him “Please…play quietly” Pav looks at Jess with the biggest stank face he has gave her “oh no yea..sure..softly… are there ANY more tasteless remarks to my artistry?” Jess says no and walks off back into the kitchen. In the dining room, Y/N was quietly sitting until she saw Miles come up to the table with a smile. He signals to Gwen who’s hovering over the window with a mirror to create a form of stage lights. Pavitir is playing his tunes, and Miles looks at her and smiles happily “It is our pride and pleasure that we all welcome you here tonight. Stay seated in your chair as you relax, enjoy what you see, as the dining room proudly presents…. your dinner!” Y/N smiles in amazement at all of the food that has been placed on the table, she had never seen so many foods from different regions in such a long time. If she had to be honest, it was better than the cooking she had seen from the local restaurant back at the village. She was handed a napkin by Miles, and she took it and placed it onto her lap to catch any food that would hypothetically stain her dress and fall to the floor. Each dish was kind enough to explain to her what each dish was. She had some gray stuff, Beef ragout, Chilaquiles, Asopao de Pollo, Arepas, Mofongo, Congri, Tequenos, Tostones, Pupusas, Camarones al ajillo, Quesadillas, and even Enchiladas. She had never tasted such a culinary cabaret in her life before. As Y/N ate, she chatted with Miles for a bit as he told her how it has been 10 years since they had a guest like her. She chatted with Gwen a bit and found out she’s the feather duster that snuck into her suite while she was busy crying to collect the dust that was piling up. She learned that Lyla is actually a relative of Miguel and learned about all the staff as well. Y/N found herself creating a friendly bond amongst the staff as she happily ate to her heart’s delight. Peter came in after a while on his serving cart with some tea for her to drink “one lump or two?” he asked. Y/N giggled “Just one please” She takes a cup and sips it as she sighed in content as the soothing flavor of the tea. 

After Y/N ate her fill she clapped in awe “this was wonderful, please give my compliments to the chef!” Jess smiled at her from a distance and looked at her minute and hour hand. “Oh dear, look at the time…it seems to me we should all get some sleep” She approaches Y/N and tries to escort her back. “Oh, but Jess…after such a meal, I can’t just go to sleep, besides it is my first time in such an enchanted castle...” Jess nervously laughed and looked around trying to divert her attention, “oh why who would say such a thing..I mean-” Lyla hopped in and heard what they said “Yyyyyeeeaaa…. totally not enchantteeeddd” she says to Y/N. Jess turns around to look at l

Lyla and muttered “it better not have been you” Lyla looked at her in shock at her accusations and was definitely going to retaliate until Y/N diffused the situation. “Oh guys please…I figured it out myself...” she says with a smile. She then gets up from the chair and approaches the door “I hope you both don’t mind If I look around, if that’s okay” Lyla perked up and hopped to her “wanna tour girlie ?” “AH AH AH…. we can’t let her... She might you know... go someplace else?” Jess says sternly. Y/N giggles as she looks down at Jess’s frown “aww come on, I bet you know a lot about the castle…how about if you tell me all about it?” Jess sighs as she gives in “alright then...”  —----------------------------------------------------------------------------

An hour later…

Jess was happily giving her knowledge of the castle, adding her expertise and explaining how old the castle truly was. She gave some stories on how she lived in the castle, as well as her years of service. Y/N looked around in awe as she marveled at each painting and each intricate design of the castle. It might have looked scary at first, but now that she’s taking a closer look. The castle itself is truly beautiful.  They passed by a hall of empty armor, each head turning around to take a peek at Y/N, finding her curiosity quite charming. Jess heard the squeaks of the rusty armor and turned around and with a silent hiss “Turn Around”

She looked back to her direction and noticed that Y/N was nowhere to be seen. Jess wanders around until she spots her trying to go up the west wing. “Lyla damnit go stop her !” Lyla notices and hops as quickly as she could to stop Y/N from going any further, Jess running along behind her. The two eventually reach Y/N and stand in front of her making halt gestures. “What’s up there?” she asked. Sheepish smiles were both seen on both women’s faces as they try to make up some excuses.

 “Oh nothing there just storage, Rubbish, Dusty, Boring, absolutely nothing in the west wing” Lyla says Y/N chuckles as she was able to trick them and says in a coy voice “Oh so THAT'S, the west wing” Jess groans in frustration and looks at Lyla “nice going idiot...” Y/N keeps on staring up the stairs as she wonders what Miguel is truly hiding in the west wing.  The two women then started blabbering as they started to try and convince her to go and see the library. She nods and slowly follows them until she notices that they sped so quickly that they were almost down the hall. She took this opportunity and quickly tiptoed up the stairs and into the West Wing.

The more she went up the stairs, the more she noticed how the hallway had cracks, claw marks, shattered mirror pieces, and broken gargoyle statues. Y/N looked around a little concerned and debated if she should stop. However, her curiosity got the best of her nature, and she kept on going. She eventually made it to the top and walked down a hall to two double doors. “This must be Miguel’s room” she whispered to herself. Y/N looks back behind her just in case Jess followed her but didn’t see anyone. With a deep breath she slowly opened the doors and walked in to see an almost dilapidated room. Everything was broken or at least about to shatter. “Probably from his anger issues” she says softly to herself. After walking inside and looking around she spots a portrait, she slowly approaches it to see claw marks on it. She couldn’t make out who the man painted in the portrait is, but she could tell that he was handsome, but what struck her the most was his piercing crimson eyes. 

She then turned around to notice the window completely open and a table with a mirror and a beautiful glowing rose. Amazed at its beauty she took the glass encasing off of the rose and watched how it sparkled, it was mesmerizing. Y/N then reaches a hand to touch the rose but stops as she feels a shadow loom over her. She looked up and gasped in shock to see Miguel.  He angrily huffed at her and snarled as he quickly made his way to reach for the rose’s glass encasing and protectively covered it. Miguel then slowly looked at Y/N with such rage in his eyes and blocks her from the rose “Porque Viniste” Y/N slowly stepped back as she raised her arms to protect herself from harm without realizing. “I’m..I’m Sorry” she says softly. Miguel growled and rolled his eyes “Sorry? I warned you to NEVER COME HERE” Y/N flinched and moved back even more “I didn’t mean any harm; I Apologize if I offended you” Miguel enraged clenched his paw into a fist “DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU COULD HAVE DONE?” He takes his anger on a broken chair and punches it. “I- No, Please, stop” she said worriedly. 

“LARGATE DE AQUI” 

Y/N didn’t hesitate and ran out as quickly as she could. Miguel raged and punched anything in his sight that was breakable in his room. His eyes widened as he realized he scared her off again. His heart ached at his own actions, and he lowered his head in shame feeling just awful about himself and worried for her...

Y/N on the other hand has made a run for it and somehow found her coat as she was running down the stairs. Miles was playing chess with Pav and spotted Y/N running “HEY, Y/N!! Where are you going ?!” Y/N looked back at them and fearfully said “Promise or not, I can’t stay here for another minute!” She left the castle and, in a hurry, looked around for the stables and found her dear old Felipe, despite the heavy blizzard that was occurring outside she managed to saddle him up and rode him away and out of the castle grounds into the black forest. 

After a while of horseback, she realized that she had no idea where to go, everything was covered in snow. Felipe whinnied and panicked as he fidgeted left and right where to go. Y/N tried to calm the horse down but gasped in terror when realizing there was a pack of hungry and vicious wolves ready to hunt them for their next meal. Felipe regained his control and immediately turned back to the castle’s direction to run away from the wolves. Y/N grasped tightly onto the reins and tried maneuvering Felipe through the woods. The wolves nipped at Felipe’s legs, and he would only run faster. Y/N was hyper focused in getting away that she didn’t completely register the frozen lake in front of her. The two fell in with a splash in the icy water, Y/N kept on holding onto the reins and Felipe quickly swam to the other side, the wolves still following behind. Eventually the other half of the pack caught up to both Y/N and Felipe in the front and spooked them, Y/N fell off the horse’s back and Felipe’s reins got stuck onto a tree branch. 

Y/N quickly got up from the snowy ground and found the nearest thick stick that she could find and stood in front of Felipe to help protect him. She swung the stick left and right, battling the canines on her own, but the stick was split in half when one of the wolves' sharp teeth gnawed into it. Y/N stood there in shock not knowing what to do..she was about to get eaten along with her beloved horse. A wolf leaped out of nowhere and took a bite of her coat, throwing her off her balance and making her fall to the ground. She screamed in terror, as another wolf leaped at her ready to bite. Until she heard a loud thud from the wolf’s body and a loud roar. She looked up and saw Miguel who stood beside her and protected her with his large body on top of her. He then jumped away from her leading the wolves far from her reach and fought them on his own, he scratched, bit, he harmed, and almost killed. 

The wolves, intimidated by his dominant presence, whimpered and scurried away from him.  Miguel let out one final growl until he looked directly at Y/N, his eyes showed relief that she was fine, but quickly rolled behind his head as he weakly fell down onto the cold icy ground. He was bleeding with many bites and scratches from the wolves. He panted heavily as the pain from his wounds slowly enveloped him. Y/N was going to take advantage to run away but stopped…she would be no better than a crude human to leave him out there. He saved her life…and she owed him. She slowly walked away from Felipe and kneeled down to Miguel and whispered. “Hey, I know it hurts…but you have to help me...” 

She was able to somehow get Miguel to stand up and mount the horse. His body however limped on it as he was too weak to sit properly on the horse. Y/N bit her lip in worry as she took off her coat and wrapped it over Miguel’s wound. 

Y/N slowly united Felipe’s reins from the tree branch and slowly led him back to the castle.

With the beast on his back.

taglist: @cupcakeinat0r , @miguelhugger2099, @mcmiracles, @xxsugarbonesxx,@codenameredkrystalmatrix,@deputy-videogamer,@lxverrings,@miguelzslvtz,@itsameclinicaldepression,,@ricekrisbris,@loser-alert , @thedevax, @uncle-eggy, @m4dyy, @freehentai, @synamonthy, @razertail18, @s0lm1n, @badbishsblog, @faimmm, @keendreamknight, @texanadmirer, @stargirrls, @itzsab

[0cta9on]

Fluffy though of gidle miyeon being an older girlfriend and introducing her younger boyfriend to her members

Hello yoohyeons-puppy98! I took quite a few creative liberties with this, hope you don't mind :]

You examine the mirror a final time, unsure of what you see in the reflection. “I don’t know. Are you sure I look okay?”

“Of course you do,” Miyeon reassures you, planting a kiss on your cheek. “You look very handsome.”

“These glasses make me look like a nerd.”

“A handsome nerd.” She gathers her purse, heading towards the front door. “Now hurry up, hun, we’re gonna be late.”

You’re getting promoted to the manager of a bowling alley—hardly a means for celebration. Yet, Miyeon always makes a big deal out of these kinds of things, no matter how big or small. Despite your reluctance, she insisted on setting up a picnic with all of your friends to celebrate your new promotion.

Well, her friends at least. Social interaction never came easy to you like it does for Miyeon. Where you would prefer to keep to yourself, she’s the type to go out of her way to make friends with strangers. A sort of black cat and golden retriever dynamic, she never shies away from showering you with affection. It can be a bit troublesome at times, but at the very least, life is much, much more interesting having her as your girlfriend.

“...And then she had the audacity to just walk off like nothing happened!” Miyeon exclaims, complaining about an interaction she had earlier today while on the drive to the park. “Ugh, the nerve of some people!”

“That sucks, baby.” Judging by her story, it seems like she’s the one in the wrong here, but you would never admit that to her, especially when she’s like this.

“Yeah, I don’t wanna talk about it anymore, just thinking about it is pissing me off,” she sighs. The frown on her face instantly fades, replaced by her pretty smile as she turns to look at you. “God, I can’t believe you thought you looked ugly in those glasses. You look so cute.”

You chuckle softly. “You’re just saying that because you bought them for me.”

“I’m saying that because it’s true.” She waits until you stop in front of the red light before grabbing your chin and turning your head towards her. “I picked well though, didn’t I? You’re giving ‘sexy nerd’ vibes, like you’ll explain the Pythragoran theorem to me before taking me to the bedroom and f—”

“OKAY!” you exclaim, cutting her off before she goes into anymore detail. “First of all, it’s pronounced ‘Pythagorean’ theorem—”

“—So hot—”

“Second of all,” you stifle a chuckle at her overexaggerated lip bite, “Are your friends already at the park?”

“Yeah, I think so.” She leans back in her seat to check her phone, the sunlight through the window dancing on her flawless skin. “Yup, they’re all there. Just waiting for us.”

You breathe deeply, trying your best to calm your nerves. Miyeon, sensing something wrong, places a reassuring hand on your shoulder.

“Are you alright?” she asks.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine. Just a little nervous, I guess.”

With how often she talks about them, you basically know everything about Miyeon’s friends, maybe more than you should know. However, you’ve never actually met them in person. You know they’re good people (Miyeon wouldn’t constantly sing their praises otherwise), but the thought of making a good first impression still fills your mind with worry. 

“You have nothing to worry about, honey,” she says. “I talk about you so much, they basically like you already.”

“Oh really?” The corner of your lip lifts with curiosity. “What did you tell them about me?”

“Well…” That sly grin growing on her face tells you more than enough about the kind of ramblings that go on in her group chat.

“Christ, Miyeon!” you groan, heat rising to your cheeks. “I don’t need them knowing all about… that!”

She simply shrugs, chuckling at your reaction. “It’s a girl thing, I don’t expect you to understand. Besides, I tell them other things about you too, like how sweet and hardworking and attentive you are…” She leans in close until you can feel her breath tickling your earlobe. “...and how you like to call me ‘noona’ in bed—”

You come to a grinding halt pulling into a parking spot. Your entire face becomes enveloped in a burning heat, while Miyeon breaks down laughing in the passenger seat. If there weren’t so many people around, you would’ve already been pounding your face against the horn until your skin became one with the steering wheel.

“I’m just joking, honey!” she exclaims, clutching her stomach as she comes down from her hysterical high. 

Knowing Miyeon, the possibility that she did tell them is still non-zero. All you can do is hope that none of them mention this damning piece of information during the picnic, otherwise you fall victim to awkward future encounters at worst or a lifetime of teasing at best. In hindsight, maybe it would’ve been easier if you didn’t get the promotion in the first place.

______________________________________________________________

The golden sun hangs overhead, complimenting the aquamarine of the clear skies. A cooling breeze offsets the heat emitting from above to a perfect point. It’s a great day for a picnic, all things considered. Somehow, these kinds of things always work out when Miyeon plans them. Perhaps she’s secretly a goddess, bending the universe at her will whenever she wants, even for something as small and inconsequential as a picnic. Or perhaps you just don't pay enough attention to the weather app these days.

Miyeon skips ahead of you, the grass dancing in the wake of her every step as she makes her way towards the five girls sitting on the picnic blanket in the shade of a large tree. You purposefully slow down, making a small show of the cooler you’re dragging getting stuck on a rock, just so you can control your breathing before meeting them. It didn’t help that you’re still all hot and bothered from Miyeon’s previous teasing. The least you can do is not make a complete fool of yourself from the get go.

“Girls, this is my man, I’m sure you know all about him at this point.” Miyeon clings to your arm, shooting a sneaky wink that does little to calm your nerves.

“Hello,” you say, giving them a polite bow.

The rest of them exchange greetings with you, quickly putting you at ease as you fall into pleasant conversation. Most of your time is spent listening to another one of Miyeon’s rants (They all agree that she was in the wrong, but of course, you take her side anyways), but every once in a while, the others will tell stories about their own personal lives. 

You learn about Soyeon’s budding rap career and Shuhua’s inability to hold a stable job for more than a month at a time (You figure you could mention that your place is hiring, but quietly decide against it after hearing about her work ethic). Minnie tells you about her visit to Thailand last month to see her family, showing the group her many pictures of her adventures, while Soojin and Yuqi vent about the different kinds of customers they meet at the bar they work at. They’re such an eclectic group of interesting people, you almost feel embarrassed that they’re all assembled here to celebrate your promotion at a dingy bowling alley

“Congrats on your promotion!” Soyeon exclaims. “It must be fun working at a bowling alley.”

“Eh, it’s alright,” you say, scratching the back of your head. “Mainly just cleaning and general customer service, I would hardly call it interesting.”

“I think it’s pretty cool,” Miyeon chimes in. “Tell them about what happened last week, with the drunk guy and all that.”

The rest of the group lean in with intrigue, putting a spotlight on you. “Um, it wasn’t anything really—”

“C’mon, tell us!” Shuhua screams. “Don’t be a wuss!”

“Hey, don’t be rude.” Soojin slaps her on the shoulder, scolding her. “But yes, we would like to know what happened.”

“Alright, well…” You take a quick breath, trying to recount everything that happened. “There was this big group of guys that came in, I think it was for some guy’s birthday party or a bachelor party or something. They ordered a bunch of alcohol and started terrorizing the other lanes, just being really rowdy and stuff. My coworker told them to chill out, and one of them started getting physical with her, so I, uh…” You pause, suddenly feeling self conscious about all the attention you’re getting. Miyeon rubs your back, looking at them with a knowing smirk.

“...I slip—”

“He knocked him out!” She exclaims, finishing your sentence.

The girls erupt into a chorus of cheers, patting you on the back and singing your praises about how “cool” you are. In reality, you only knocked the guy out after slipping and accidentally headbutting him in the nose, but it’s already too late to correct them. So you settle for keeping quiet, letting them believe in the facade that Miyeon presented them.

“Wah, that’s so cool!” Yuqi cheers. “No wonder you got promoted to manager!”

“Remind me to hire you as my bodyguard the next time I visit home,” Minnie teases.

In the midst of all the commotion, Miyeon pulls you to the side, gently cupping your chin. “See, I told you they would like you,” she whispers, kissing your cheek.

“They like the lie that you told.”

“I didn’t lie, you did technically knock him out.”

“Yeah, on accident—”

Miyeon shuts you up with a peck to your lips, brief yet sweet enough to leave you wanting more. “I just want them to know how cool my boyfriend is, okay?”

You sigh, sinking your face deeper into her touch. “Okay. Thanks.” You lean in and return the favor, giving her a peck of your own. “Noona~”

Miyeon covers her face with her hands, a light pink hue peaking through the gaps of her fingers. The others exchange weird looks, unsure of what to make of her sudden reaction, but all you can do is shrug. For all the teasing she does, it’s a wonder how easy it is to make her topple.

[m1ssunderstanding]

Get Back Rewatch 55 Years On: Day Five

The thing is I absolutely love the album that comes out of this mess. Like I know a lot of people do not like Let It Be, but so many of my favorite songs are on it. One of them being “I Me Mine.” The walz element is haunting, and I can read the lyrics as anti-capitalist even though George himself mostly wasn’t. 

Laughing my head off at two boys from one of the best grammar schools in England, who have at this point made millions off of their writing, genuinely not knowing whether it should be “more freer” or “more freely”

The difference in how George shows Paul his new song vs John is striking. For Paul, he’s relaxed, nonchalant. For John, he stands up and performs it. And I think both are a defense mechanism, poor baby, because clearly, although Paul was very supportive of the song while they were alone, when John is roasting it, Paul just laughs along and George has to go “I don’t give a fuck whether you like it.” 

Ah, the famous “up-against-a-wall” conversation. Paul comes in all dominant and sure. “Haven’t you written anything else? Haven’t you?” But then John touches him, and makes him laugh, and Paul’s a melted, goo-goo-eyes mess. This is the real reason why John got to be the leader isn’t it? Because Paul was too damn soft on him to ever follow through with his bossiness.

Their scouse sounds BEAUTIFUL compared to the stupid ugly RP and MLH’s transatlantic shit.

“And now John’d like to say a few words on the subject.” John starts singing, Paul strums along and joins in on the “chorus.” They can’t communicate like healthy people, but they Can do this. 

So Peter Jackson took out Paul’s bitchy nod at Yoko as he’s stealing her man in real time right in front of her eyes. Unforgivable. But he kept in this adorable laugh, so that’s something. 

Three more covers that I think *mean something* “Stand By Me” and “Spinning Like a Top” by Paul, followed by “You Win Again” by John. Yoko’s sweet little shoulder kiss. Thank you for taking care of the poor wet kitten, girly. Maybe don’t introduce the poor wet kitten to heroine, but you do you, I guess. (OP recognizes that poor wet kitten is also an adult capable of making his own decisions)

The cut from Paul literally dancing to get John’s attention straight to John dancing with Yoko while inside Paul’s head a silver hammer is clanging ominously. I can’t. Followed by the knowing, loving smile from Ringo to Paul. You know, those moments when you validate your friend’s bitchy thoughts with a look. 

George is literally SO big inside himself, you know? You have to have superhuman self-love abilities to watch your friend – who is supposed to be helping you – shamelessly make fun of your art . . . and just “Do you wanna do that walz on the show? That’d be great.”

But did you guys know John was actually a really great mover?

“Yes, alright. Just sod off.” I love John. Paul’s people-pleasing ass would literally die first and he needs John to do this kind of shit for him and John’s only too happy to.

The moment when Paul and John are on the same wavelength about Dennis O’Dell’s stage. 

OK but. Did John get the clear plastic idea from Yoko’s art exhibits? 

“Any time we do anything it’s always got to be the best.” Poor Ringo. They’re all literally so tired of carrying so much weight for such a long time. 

“See, I’d watch an hour of him just playing the piano. Cause he’s so great.” With that fond, loving, smile. SUCH big dick energy here. The others could NEVER. 

“And I’ll have the plastic when you’re finished.” Literally for what, though? John, you little hoarding goblin. 

And then Ringo responding to MLH’s “I love you” with “Yes, I love you too.” Yeah, Ringo wins the prize for most healthy beatle of the day. 

*Pattie Boyd voice* “I just wish I knew what was going on there. But something. Something.”

Ugh, John looks so hurt. So tender. So heartbroken. While Paul is over there playing a damn funeral march because that’s the only way he lets himself express anything. But I actually love how Dennis O’Dell knows the clearest path to cheering John up is to say that Paul liked his idea. And how well it works. They’re literally so obvious to everyone but themselves. 

I love the bit when John walks in on the rest of them discussing the live show and MLH calls, “We’ve decided. We’re going to Africa.” And Paul hurries to cut in, “No we’re NOT.” Because he knows exactly how John can get and he’s going to nip this in the bud before John gets let down. And of course, John is all “YEAH LETS GO LETS GO!” And he’s talking about how they always wish they were recording abroad. “We could be in LA, or FRANCE.” (side eye emoji) 

Paul’s “Well said, John.” and “I’ve seen it, John. I went to the premiere. I thought you were great.” Why do all your compliments to him have to be in silly voices? Like, I know you think everyone is going to call you a pussy for saying something genuinely kind to your best friend, but they’re not, and he needs it. 

Holy shit this was a long day. See you all tomorrow with another long-winded-ass post.

[cuverale]

as it was - t.c

face claim: lily-rose depp

a/n: pls don’t think i hate taylor i adore her 🥹

Part 2 here | Part 3 here

enews

6,493,286 likes

enews looks like our couple is having happy time on their vacation 😍 Let us know what you think in comments!

view comments

timotheefan3 he should’ve been with taylor tho

timmyfan07 agreed!

randomuser yesss she is such a boyfriend stealer

ynfan59 she did nothing wrong u psycho

user47394 this should be taytay! They are end game periodt

ynmybaby lol nope.

taylorfan28 I don’t even know what he sees in her, like no beauty no talent NOTHING

ynfan2 stfu and leave y/n alone

timmyandtaylorr they’re right tho

timmytimmy parents 😍😍😍😍

ynsbabygirl i’m glad there is still persons like you tbh

timmytimmy we’re in this together sis! I love them. And timmy is obviously so in love with her 🥰

tayrussell my babes❤️❤️

*liked by enews

timotheefan13 girl nooo 😭😭😭😭

tayfan95 she stole ur man babe don’t say that

ynfan20 cuties 💖

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tchalamet

liked by yourusername, johnnydepp, tomholland2013 and 9,395,194 others

tchalamet ma meilleure moitié, before I made this post I called your mom and dad, and thanked them for bringing you to this life (I literally said “thank you for making her” because I was excited and I embarrassed myself but we won’t talk about that) thank you for making me a better man and giving me all the happiness I could ask for. You bring my life the light and colors I needed. And I can’t thank you enough for that. Keep shining my baby. I love you more than life itself. Happy birthday angel girl ♥️

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timotheefan74 he calls her ‘my better half’ AAAHHH 😩💖✨

yourusername this made me cry 🥹

tchalamet from happiness i hope?

timotheefan10 lol bitch cry more

randomuser hahah yes i get so happy when you’re sad

yourusername je t’aime je t’aime je t’aime 🖤

tchalamet je t’aime aussi

yourusername my mom said she never heard something like this before and laughed

tchalamet i can’t look her face rn oh god 😭

zendaya HAPPY BIRTHDAY QUEEN!!

*liked by tchalamet and yourusername

user2947 lol queen of what????

username107 stealing 😂

randomuser48 bro seriously leave her alone it’s her birthday for god’s sake

user183 thank you for reminding us today is cursed 😔🙏🏻

ynmybaby HAPPY BDAY MY BABY! DON’T LISTEN WHAT THEY SAY ABT U WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH 💖💖💖💖

ynfan229 YESSSSS

randomuser19 talk for urself

ynsbabygirl fuck off then

timmyfan29 STAN QUEEN Y/N 🤍

randomuser0 she should’ve never born

user924 ugh 😒

username59374 make this day even better and kill urself y/n 😍

ynfan49 get help seriously

yourdadsinstagram I’ll admit that I was shocked when you called us but I’m glad really. Thank you for making my girl happy Timothèe.

tchalamet that’s why I’m here for sir 🫡

florencepugh Happy Birthday Y/n!!!!!

kendalljenner cutiesss 🥺

hulu her smile is the best thing 🥹

tayrussell Happy Birthday bestie i love you soooo much 😘

ynfan27 some comments even made me cry i hope y/n doesn’t feel sad abt this. It’s impossible tho

timmyfan1 i agree!! She doesn’t deserve this hate

username593 yes she does 😍

timotheefan49 you need help dude stop

timmytim19 the caption is too cute i can’t 😭🤧❤️

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yourusername

liked by tchalamet,zayn,taylorswift and 9,953,385 others

yourusername MET🖤

comments for this post are limited

tchalamet 🤯🤯🤯

chanel loved this look 🖤

taylorswift my girl🤍

tayrussell you look amazing!!!

hulu angel 🤎

ynmybaby OH MY GOD ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

pauline.chalamet hottest girl alive

florencepugh hot mamma 🔥

nicoleflender angel girl 💖

ynandtimotheeupdates

1,483,273 likes

ynandtimotheeupdates the way they look at each other 😩🥹

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timotheefan105 oh he is so in love with her

bonesandallfannn no he isn’t

user2943 god i’m so sick of them

ynhater break up with her already

randomuser42 dump her timmy boyy

randomuser204 i can’t even stand her ugly face

user5947438 🤢🤢

ynsbabygirl can y’all stop like wtf is wrong with you guys? Timothée and Taylor are just friends, they said that like million times already. Stop this shit, Y/n did nothing wrong she doesn’t deserve this hate she is getting.

user28472 yuck

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enews

3,373,262 likes

enews According to a close source, Timothèe Chalamet and Y/N L/N called it quits. They said it is because of the hate she gets and that makes her depressed and they can’t have a healthy relationship together. We are sorry for them.

the comments are limited for this post

timotheefan593 nooooooo 😭

randomuser483 god finally!!!!!!

ynmybaby i just hope y/n is ok.

timotheefan59 now get your queen taylor timmy

timmytimmy wtf is wrong with you

ynandtimmyy she deleted all their pic and unfollowed him 😔

ynsbabygirl but timmy still didn’t deleted the pics

timotheefan473 and he still follows her (he only follows her 😭)

taylorfan482 now he can be with Taylor!!!

tayrussell this is getting ridiculous. Timothée and I are friends and we are ONLY friends. You guys are sick. Y/n didn’t deserve that. And let me tell you something I was their matchmaker and I was proud. You guys need a therapist.

timotheefan583 I saw him at a cafe and he looked so damn sad 😔

ynfan63 I saw the paparazzi pics and god he looks devastated

timotheefan0 hope u guys happy now

tchalamet

liked by pauline.chalamet, kidcudi, benbarnes and 5,384,249 others

tchalamet taking a break from social media

the comments are turned off

yourusername’s story

[inthemiddle0feverywhere]

Bad Batch Season 3 Episode 5 (scattered) thoughts and first impressions (ramblings)

Major spoilers under the cut

This one is also very long because mannnnnnn did I love this episode and omg do I have big feelings about it

Also yes I do love each member of tbb but in case it’s not obvious I’m a crosshair girlie. Have been since I first heard his voice in season 7 of tcw so this is gonna be very crosshair centric (because he finally has screen time and more than like 2 speaking lines this season!!)

Lula! 🥰🥰

Is Omega in a supply closet? Whatever better than her barren room at the lab

Ah nope her old “room” the gun turret 🥰🥰

A glimpse of mornings on board the marauder: peaceful boys and caf 🥹 probably only peaceful again now that omega is home

This is Omega’s best look omg the the crocheted vest??? I wanna cosplay her now or actually just wear this outfit fr

At first I was so annoyed they kept crosshair in this ugly ass outfit but I honestly think it’s because even though it’s warm on Pabu he’s always cold because he’s so skinny now (well he always was lean but this is a testament to how much weight he lost as a prisoner) They keep trying to feed him fruit and my man keeps using it as target practice 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

I honestly love when they show scenes through like either a scope or helmet visor. Like I really love seeing what they’re seeing. In this case AZI (so happy they took him from Cids bar- sorry “parlor”….it was a dive bar)

He’s so mad at his hand 😭 my poor baby he really should let AZI look at it. What do we think it is? Nerve damage? I imagine it feels tingly like when your foot falls asleep.

I love that Batcher loves him!! Animals know good people. He’s a good man Savannah! 😭😭😭 and he likes Batcher too and anyone that’s kind to animals is ok by me.

Ugh Crosshair teaching Omega about being a sniper 🥰🥰😭🥰😭🥰 one day she’s just gonna pop out with a sick trick shot lmao

Shouldn’t have given him his rifle??? Sir it’s an extension of him, it’s like you gave him back one of his body parts

“Omega trusts him and that’s good enough for me” Wrecker!!! My sweet boy!! Big man and even bigger heart. He’s now kinda caught in the middle he wants to be cool with Crosshair again but doesn’t want to betray Hunter they’ve been through a lot just the 2 of them these past several months. Crosshair and Hunter are like parents in the middle of a divorce 😭

53%???? Fuckkkkkkk way worse than we thought

Echo!!!!! Yay mom came home!

“No hug for me” screaming crying throwing up! 😭😭😭😭😭😭 💔💔💔💔he’s disguising it as sarcasm but he wants it, he wants a hug! SOMEBODY HUG HIM DAMMIT! I volunteer!!! Please

Omega between her 2 dads 🥰 (Though is Crosshair more wine aunt vibes sometimes?) And batcher by Crosshair’s feet of course

Yummmmm I bet Pabu has banging sushi 🍣 Love Wrecker being an unbothered king enjoying his sush🥰

😭😭😭😭😭 Crosshair’s face when Echo mentioned Tech. He knows. He knows he fell or perished (shh no 🤡) trying to save him. They’re twins and he lost his other half and I’m devastated!! 😭

Haaaaa welcome to parenting a teenager Hunter!!!

Are Hunter’s eyes green all of a sudden?

Crosshair being the voice of reason?? I love seeing this side of him. I HC that since he is silent and highly observant he was a voice reason often for the batch. (Can we please get a series of TBB during the clone wars?? Or like when they were cadets or something. We only see them in 4 episodes in tcw and they were just an insane suicide squad who hated regs and didn’t follow orders or have anyone in charge of them like I wanna see their adventures and their dynamic and how they are when they have downtime! Please lucasfilmmmmmm 🙇‍♀️🧎🏼‍♀️)

“I’m older than you are, little brother” 😂😂😂 and she got crosshair to chuckle lol ugh I love their dynamic so much. They are really feeding us rn (please don’t take it away)

Omg he’s so brave bringing them back there! To that freaking ice planet where nothing but trauma happened for Crosshair. I know he probably wished he would never have to go back there again but he knows this will help so he goes anyway

The old armor!!!! Helllllll frickinnnn yeaaaaaa (he’s so hot in armor omg I have a headache)

“Take a guesssssss” 🥵

“He started it” 😂😂 major youngest sibling energy

Mayday’s helmet! 💔💔💔💔 somebody sedate me!! 😭

Why can’t Hunter sense the Wyrm?

TOOTHPICK!!! Wrecker defo kept his toothpicks in the armor case 🥰

Frickin ice vulture always an omen. (Animals seem to really like Crosshair though even the scary ones)

“I know you” 😭 I know Hunter meant it in a “I know you’re sneaky and closed off and I’m expecting the worst from you right now ” but it just hit me harder than that. “I know you”- you’re my brother, the youngest I’ve known you since the day you were born. “I know you- I know there’s more to your silence I know your still waters run way deeper than you let on.” “I’m your brother- I know you talk to me I know you”❤️‍🩹

Oh shitttttt thems are fightin words yes let it out everyone

“I’ll do it! 😁” Wreckerrrr I love you

Hunter’s fast af boi!

Batcher is actually ripped af 💪

Ok petition that Cross doesn’t yell anymore it doesn’t suit him at all lmaoooo

Poor Wrecker yes it’s always ALWAYS a huge monster 😭

“Fantastic” 😂😂😂

Omg this is a roller coaster of emotions! Crosshair being soft with Batcher, the nodding! Ugh nothing like fending off a giant ice wyrm to bring bros back together

He’s so pretty shut up I know his head is shaped like a lightbulb

AAHH THERES THE HUG 🥰

progress 😌

“I thought I was being a good soldier 😔” * *pterodactyl screeching *

Welp Im deceased, fed and nurtured but dead at the same time.

Thank you thank you thank you for these past few episodes. Us Crosshair girlies were really in pain seasons 1 and 2

[scaryscarecrows]

Komodo Protocol

“You seen what they got going on in Demolitions?” Frank asks around his bacon. “Somethin’ real nasty, looks like.”

“No, I’ve been stuck on ‘light duty’ all week.” Antoine rolls his eyes. “You get one bug and everyone’s on your ass.”

“Yeah, well, you shouldn’t have tried breaking out of Medical all those times.”

“Shouldn’t have passed out mid-meeting, either.” Jimmy cackles. “Dude, if you died, we’d be fucked. Riley’s an enabler.”

“Clyde would take over,” the Knight says dryly. Jimmy squeaks. “Meeting at nine hundred.”

Meeting, not assembly. Something’s come up, then, because they had their weekly briefing two days ago. There hadn’t been anything of note at the time; next shipment of drones to Gotham, more than anything. Antoine’s pretty sure it was largely an excuse to hide from Deathstroke, who had left that afternoon anyway.

“Yessir.”

Once he’s gone, Jimmy leans in.

“So? What do you think’s going on?”

“I don’t know. Everything’s on schedule, and I haven’t seen anything weird come up.”

“Think something’s up in Gotham?”

“Maybe.” He finishes his coffee and tries–and fails miserably–at repressing a cough. “I’m fine, coughs linger, that’s not illegal!”

Mark frowns.

“That sounded ugly.”

“That’s what coughs do.” He’s not whining. He’s not. “Leave me alone, I’m better now.”

“I want you in my office after this meeting. Just for a quick check-up.”

“Oh, come on–”

“Forget, and I’ll come find you.”

Ugh. Fine. He’ll go. But he’s not going to like it.

* * *

“What is that?”

“Insurance.”

Okay. Insurance is always good. This, however, appears to be a bigass mine. Three feet in diameter, easy, and well-armored. Could probably withstand a Cobra drone rolling over it.

“Uh-huh,” Frank drawls. “For what.”

“It’s primarily to keep the military from getting involved.”

Antoine’s got news for him: the military, generally, considers Gotham as ‘fend for your fucking selves’ and probably would just pretend they didn’t see anything anyway. But sure. A little extra reassurance is nice.

“Also to keep anyone–or anything–else from stepping in.” Okay, that one’s fair. “It won’t hurt you if you walk on it; the sensors need more weight to activate the electricity.” Oh, it’s electric, too? Wonderful. “We’ll be deploying them pretty early in the night, once the drones have all been deployed.”

“They won’t fuck with the programming, will they?” Jimmy risks poking the thing. “It’s not like an EMP or whatever?”

“It shouldn’t, but I want you, when you map out the patrol route, to try not to run over them. I’ll give you a map of where I want them sometime next week.”

“How many are there?”

“Fourteen.”

Trent whistles.

“Jesus.”

“Gotham’s a big place.” The Knight shrugs. “We’re not shipping these over ahead of us; they go when we do. Clyde, I’m going to be making a special dummy; same sensors, I want to run some tests with the Cloudburst tank. If it comes to that, I’d really rather not blow this entire operation…literally.”

“Very funny, sir,” Frank says dryly. “I’ll make sure she’s ready to roll when you are.”

“Good. You five are dismissed. Drouot, you’re not.”

That doesn’t sound promising.

The others file out, though, leaving Antoine with the boss and a giant, scary-looking mine.

“These are also a contingency.”

And there it is. The boss has contingencies for his contingencies, which is, Antoine guesses, why they’re all still on this crazy crusade.

“Okay?” The Knight holds out a piece of paper with numbers on it. Antoine raises an eyebrow. “What’s this?”

“The activation code to set these all off at once. In the event that I somehow end up incapacitated, unless I explicitly told you otherwise, I want you to initiate the Komodo Protocol: order a retreat and blow Gotham off the map.”

“Sounds like overkill.”

“When dealing with Batman, there is no such thing as overkill.”

“If you say so, sir.” Such an innocuous little paper. Ten digits. Ten digits and boom, one of the largest cities in the world turned into a charred crater. “Does Scarecrow know about this?”

“No, and we’re not mentioning it. If that code needs to be used, he doesn’t need to be informed.”

Well, in all honesty, Scarecrow is the one most likely to trigger this event. Antoine has never trusted the guy. He’s convinced that, Batman be damned, if he saw a chance to poison them all, he’d take it.

“Hopefully it won’t come to that, sir.”

“Hopefully not.” The Knight looks at the mine. “But I’d rather be prepared.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea, boss?”

The boss just laughs.

“Probably not. Look, it’s like the bomb vests. I highly, highly doubt we’ll need it.”

Yeah…the bomb vests have not been mentioned to the troops at large. Voluntary or not, most people are not going to like the idea of a suicide vest being anywhere near them. If it comes down to that, then they’ll worry about it.

“If you say so, sir.” He looks from the paper to the mine again. “Did you need anything else?”

“No. You can go; I think Jones wanted to see you.”

Dammit.

* * *

“I’m sure that by now most of you have become aware of the events at Arkham Asylum.”

Antoine’s voice is hoarse, going in and out a little. He hasn’t slept, not really. Sure, Mark got a power nap out of him, but that’s about it and it wasn’t enough. He looks like shit, too, all washed out and with eye bags big enough to take on a cruise. That’ll happen, when you spend too much time in a chair.

“Batman do that, sir?”

“Yes and no. Before I continue, I want it clear: Batman is now considered a level five threat.”

“We can take him. Right, boys?” A cheer goes up. “Just tell us where he is, we’ll bring his head back in two hours.” 

Ha. Trent disagrees. Bastard’s got clown morals with Bat-bullshit, if he’s still alive–and he probably is–‘taking him’ is going to be a real bitch. It’s doable, probably, it’s just going to be difficult, especially with their best resource on both Batman and Joker being at death’s door.

Antoine’s smile is wintery and the cheer dies down, gives way to an uneasy silence. Trent can’t blame them for that. He’s usually the nice one. Nice is relative, but still.

“What you’ll be up against isn’t Batman anymore,” he says. “Now, I’m sure you all attended the briefing regarding the Joker’s death of TITAN poisoning.” Pfft. Trent knows damn well they didn’t, but that’ll keep them from jabbering. “Before that incident, the Joker supplied hospitals with tainted blood, and apparently gave Batman a transfusion as well. The cure didn’t take.” 

He turns to his laptop and taps a few keys. On screen, the footage Jimmy managed to get from the boss’s helmet earlier on Halloween looms large. Trent shudders. He’s seen some shit in his day, but that–a laughing, maniacal Batman attacking with full intent to kill–is in the running for his personal Top Five WTF. Thankfully, Antoine only lets it play for a few seconds, but those few seconds are enough to quiet the skeptical mutterings.

“That’s what you’re up against now. He will kill you, without a second thought. He has already killed Scarecrow–”

“Shit, we work for Richardson now?”

“No. The Arkham Knight dispatched her before the asylum blew up.”

At least that one stuck. Last thing they need is that vindictive little monster blaming them for what happened to Scarecrow.

“For the moment, we are going to continue as we were. I want drones sweeping the city, checkpoints manned, and watchtowers fully operational. If anybody sees anything, you call in immediately and you wait for backup. Don’t be a hero, your insurance does not cover facial removal.” There’s a smattering of nervous chuckles that Antoine does not join in. “Patrols: minimum of four, do not let each other out of your sight. Someone has to piss, you all go. Someone falls in one of those damn potholes and breaks an ankle, you all come back to base as a group. Understood?”

“Yessir.”

“Good. Any questions?” If they have any, they don’t ask them. Antoine closes his laptop, disconnects it, and turns on his heel. “Dismissed.”

Trent steps in fully as they file out. A few of them flinch, but most of them just keep moving.

“You look like shit,” he says bluntly. “Mark’s right, you need sleep.”

“I’m fine. Anything?”

“Couple of false alarms.”

“So no.”

“No.”

“Damn.” Antoine runs a hand through his hair. “Any change with the boss?”

“Still out. Look…what are we going to do, if he…doesn’t…wake up? Batman’s Gotham’s problem, right?”

Antoine just laughs, a little bitter, and starts towards the door.

“He only got maybe a quarter of the mines. We pull our men out and blow this city to Kingdom Come, see him walk that off.”

“What?”

“Komodo Protocol.” 

Trent’s heard of it. Well, seen it, in packets, but there’s never been any information about it. It’s just come up as, like, the last resort, no specifications.

“That’s what that is?” he demands. “Detonate the mines?”

“If it comes to that, yes.”

“Jesus Christ, man–”

“My orders are to put the bastard down, whatever it takes.” Antoine turns towards the back hallway. “Check in with the Arkham troops again, make sure they don’t need any further supplies. Did you send them a Cobra?”

“Yeah, earlier.”

“Good. Keep me posted.”

“Antoine.”

“What.”

“You’re sure about this?”

Antoine stops and turns around, swaying a little at the sudden change of direction.

“Yeah. If he dies, or doesn’t start waking up in another day or two, I’m calling it. We’ll finish the job one way or the other.” Jesus. “This stays between us for now. It may not come to that and there’s no reason to unsettle everyone.”

Trent nods.

“All right. You sure you’re not gonna grab a nap?”

“I’m fine.”

Yeah. Sure. Whatever. Look, Frank or Mark will probably bring the hammer down soon and when they do, Trent will be right there to enforce Bedtime.

“I’m gonna take a squadron out there,” he says. “Me and Riley: we’re taking some of his guys to investigate the little Batcave thing that turned up this morning.”

“Good. Stay in touch; that lecture goes for everyone.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll find the bastard.”

“Hope so.” Antoine turns back around and starts walking again. “Good luck.”

THE END

[aballadforbarbatos]

a gift for satan, the master tutor

btw this one is like. 80 points long so gl with that. i had fun with it though! hopefully you do too ^.^

“listen. satan. let’s go out.”

his brain totally stops at that. nobody else seems to notice- did you whisper it? he can’t quite remember! he needs to reboot his brain, hold on a second MC

“hellooo? satan? i asked if you wanted to go out with me to town? on a shopping trip?”

so not a date then. WELL NO WONDER NOBODY LOOKED OVER AT THEM BECAUSE YOU WEREN’T ASKING IN THE FIRST PLACE

there also wasn’t a single question there, so he can’t help but suspect you were trying to tease him with the possibility of reciprocated love…

you smile at him. he thinks about saying no in retaliation. but then… what if asmo goes with you instead… or mammon… can he really risk that? no.

great day in town too btw. nice and warm and peaceful. you say something about how lucifer would give you his credit card if you got 100% on all your exams, and you did! satan thinks about how lucifer is such a goddamn sap when it comes to you. grow a backbone, loser

“so where are we going?”

“clothes shopping!”

ugh. he hates clothes shopping. it’s so boring, and he has enough in his wardrobe. so do you actually, why are you choosing to go CLOTHES shopping with lucifer’s credit card?? you already have enough?!

he voices this. but nicely. you shake your head and laugh.

“no, silly! we are going clothes shopping for YOU.”

we what now

“no offence, and i mean this with my whole heart, but your clothes are so incredibly ugly. it always looks like you got dressed in the dark. this belt looks like the one i had when i was 11.”

ok, rude

“it’s a good thing you’re a demon bc your closet is a sin in itself”

:( he thinks it looks nice!

“tbh i am embarrassed to be out with you looking like that, but for today it's fine because it’s for the greater good”

apparently it does not look as nice as he originally thought. ok

well, it’s lucifer’s credit card, and he gets to spend the day with you, so it COULD be worse

majolish is up first

he does a lot of standing around while you play around with clothes

“it’s kinda hard to see how this would look on you because your jacket is so goddamn ugly. can you take off your shirt for a second”

TOTALLY misses the flirtatious tone in that sentence and is just offended instead

then it clicks what you asked him. but he still doesn’t get what you were talking about and just gets nervous

“mc we are in public?????????”

you give him a Look.

he doesn’t understand why (he will hours later) (he will burst into your room while there’s another brother in there and say “i’ll take my shirt off for you mc!” and pull it off and the brother will punch him in the stomach. i’m thinking of mammon when i write this)

you find a sales attendant

“hey so i’m gonna burn all his current clothes because they’re awful”

you gesture at his outfit

YOU’RE GOING TO BURN ALL HIS CLOTHES??

WHY IS THE ATTENDANT NODDING LIKE SHE UNDERSTANDS??

“the jacket is distracting me because it’s ugly. can you help me out here?”

“have you tried taking it off?”

“i asked but he whined”

YOU DIDN’T ASK DON’T LIE AND DON’T LIE ABOUT HIM?

the attendant purses her lips but keeps her mouth shut. probably because he’s the avatar of wrath

“it’s so terrible because when you look at his face he’s hot, but then you look at the rest of his outfit and realise you value your dignity more. imagine how much of a heartthrob he could be if he didn’t permanently look like he was getting dressed in the dark!”

mc. what the fuck? HE’S NEVER HEARD SUCH A BACKHANDED COMPLIMENT

“i see. this could cost a lot of money…”

“it’s okay. we have his dad’s credit card.”

he’s going to strangle you. he starts thinking about how to kill you. au revoir mc. it is the end of your life. you will not get a gravestone.

then he remembers how much he’ll miss you. FUCK.

satan settles for a very strong glare. scowl and everything

“um. what size is he?”

“great question. satan take off your shirt so we can find out”

he does not. he still doesn’t get it. he does know his size though so he lets the demon know and then she does her thing.

then it’s trying on clothes. DAMN he hates this. this is terrible and SO BORING. how tf does asmo do it

it takes forever too :(

the demon whispers in your ear.

“hey satan have you tried wearing pants that fit you so we don’t have to suffer through the ugly belts you choose”

at least asmo isn’t here with you???

he finishes shopping with you at SEVEN O’CLOCK. HE SPENT NINE HOURS SUFFERING THROUGH THIS

you even asked if he could wear one of his new outfits out of the store and fold up the other one, and that’s how he ended up wearing something more “stylish”

you pay for them to deliver his new clothes to the house of lamentation via truck because you decide you can’t be bothered carrying the boxes.

not that it would be possible there’s like 20 there and they’re NOT small

“i feel like we’ve hit the spending limit on lucifer’s card even though it doesn’t have a limit”

honestly he feels like that too. but he’s a lot less remorseful about it than you apparently are

you grab his hand and squeeze it and look at him with such a lovely warm smile that it makes this whole day worth it.

you really wipe away all his suffering with a smile. this is really bad for him, satan is in for a whole world of trouble with you

you squeeze his hand

augh he’s so in love with you this is terrible. but so GOOD at the same time it’s a complicated thing don’t ask him to explain it

“now we get to go home and have fun!”

have fun…?

OH RIGHT YOU’RE GOING TO BURN ALL HIS CLOTHES HE TOTALLY FORGOT

“we don’t have to go that far”

“no we do. we can get belphie and asmo in on it too!”

so that’s how he’s spending his saturday night. burning all his clothes.

asmo says this is a celebration and brings music

belphie brings gasoline

asmo says that it’s fabric so there’s no need for gasoline

belphie pours more on the clothes like he’s making a point. satan has no idea what the point is

you bring out the rest of his clothes and tell him to kiss them goodbye

“can i at least keep the jacket?”

loud sigh from you! whY??

“ok sure whatever. now lets light these things on fire!”

asmo and you are having a great time. belphie is watching them all go up in flames from his spot on the ground

lucifer comes out and yells at you both but you’re too busy dancing in front of the fire to pay attention

“dance with me?”

satan feels a smile tug at his lips as he takes your hand.

he’s in love with you.

he’s so in love with you.

his heart will beat for you forever, taken in by your evil doings and gentle ways.

and tonight he’ll dance with you until the flames subside and you tell him to stop.

[vodika-vibes]

The Siren's Song

Summary: When your friends, and you use that term lightly, drag you to a lounge rather than letting you relax at home, you think it's going to be a terrible evening. You think that right up until you meet Hardcase, the headliner of the lounge.

Pairing: Pre-Hardcase x F!Reader

Word Count: 1823

Warnings: Toxic friendships

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @thepackerbacker (at your request) @the-bad-batch-baroness (you said you were interested in this idea)

A/N: I managed to pound this out in less than an hour after my anxiety got too bad and needed to be handled. I hope you all like it!

When your friends tell you that you are working too hard and that they are taking you out for a night on the town, you are kind of hesitant.

On one hand, they’re right. You do work too much. On the other hand, your friends’ ideas of a night out tend to involve more alcohol and drugs than you’ve ever been comfortable with. 

So you push back.

You refuse them and their night out.

“No,” You say to them, “Your idea of a fun night sounds like actual torture to me, and I’d really rather not.” And for once, you think that they’re going to just leave it there.

Honestly, you’re not sure why you thought that. Your friends have never been the type to actually listen to you when you say no. So when they show up at your apartment late one evening, after you’ve already changed into your pajamas and are about to start a nice relaxing evening of watching bad movies, you don’t even have the energy to be annoyed.

“Great! You’re still awake!” Your best friend pushes her way into your home and shoves a garment bag into your arms, “I brought you a dress to wear since I know you don’t keep anything girly in your house. And because I am an amazing person, I also brought matching heels.”

“I’m really not interested,” You say blandly.

“I really don’t care,” Your friend replies blithely, “The others are waiting for us at Sani’s Lounge downtown.”

“Great. A lounge.”

“Don’t be like that. I know you’re a stick in the mud, so this place is known for being drug free.” Your friend says with a roll of her eyes as she fixes her make-up in your hall mirror, “Honestly, girl, you need to lighten up.”

“You need to take things more seriously. We’re not in high school anymore.” You counter.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Go get dressed. I’m not leaving without you.”

“This is a kriffing hostage situation is what it is,” You grumble under your breath, before you turn and stalk into your bedroom.

The dress is a bit shorter than you’re comfortable with wearing, but since you already know that she won’t leave unless you’re with her, you suck it up, apply a thin layer of makeup and step back into the living room.

“Stop digging through my stuff,” You snap as you snap your laptop shut before she can dig through your emails. Not that she could, since your laptop is password protected, but the risk is always there.

“Hm, you look alright.” She says judgmentally, “Here, put these on.” She shoves some heels into your hands.

“Yeah, no. I’m going to wear my own shoes, thank you.” You push back, and she rolls her eyes.

“Fine, whatever. You already look like a hot mess, you can’t make it look any worse.”

You roll your eyes and dig some nice sandals out of your closet, and ease them on, “I thought you were bringing me out to help me relax. Not to make me more stressed.”

“The world doesn’t revolve around you.” She counters, “You’re coming along as the ugly friend. The lounge has a siren singer, and we’re going to try and catch his attention.”

Anger and embarrassment burn in your chest, but you bite your tongue. You don’t exactly have enough friends that you can risk losing the few that you have. 

If nothing else, you can dip out after an hour, claiming an early appointment the next day. If they even ask where you’re going. If they even care.

You really need new friends.

“I’m ready to go.” You say blandly.

“Hm. Okay. Can you drive us?”

“No. I can’t.” You counter flatly, “My car is in the shop.”

“Ugh. Lame. Fine, we can walk. Just don’t talk too much, I need to get into the zone.” You roll your eyes as she finishes primping herself in the mirror and then storms out of your house.

You grab your purse and carefully make sure that the door is locked before you trail after her. She doesn’t even like you, so you’re not entirely sure why she’s so gung-ho on you coming with her and her friends.

Probably because someone would guilt her for leaving you out, you decide thoughtfully as you glance at your comm. After all, you’ve been a part of this friend group for most of your life, and some of the others actually do like you, even if they seem to take advantage of you all the time.

Though, in most of their cases, they probably don’t realize what they’re doing. Or they’re a lot meaner than you’re giving them credit for.

Whatever. You decide with a silent sigh, after tonight you’re going to block them all and move on with your life. How hard can making new friends be anyway?

Sani’s Lounge is a relatively new hang-out location near your home. Not super popular, solely due to the menu and the live music that they prefer to use. So you’re not really surprised when you’re able to get inside without much of a wait.

You’re also not surprised when you get ditched as soon as you’re inside. Your friend moving across the quickly filling room to get as close to the stage as she can. You shake your head and settle yourself at a table near the back of the room.

“Your friend seemed kind of eager to ditch you.” A man at a table near you says with a wry smile.

“Tell me about it.” You rest your head on the palm of your hand, “Apparently I was invited because I’m the ‘ugly’ friend. Honestly, I didn’t want to come at all, but she wouldn’t leave my home unless I came with her.”

“I don’t think you’re ugly.” He says brightly, before he picks up his drink and moves to sit across from you, “My name’s Hardcase.” He says as he offers his hand.

You smile at him and offer him your name in return as you take his hand. 

He grins at you, a genial expression that makes you feel much more relaxed than you normally would, and he flips your hand so he’s able to press a feather light kiss to your knuckles.

Your face burns, and you nervously tuck some hair behind your ear, and his grin widens. “You’ve never been here before, I take it?” Hardcase asks as he releases your hand.

“No. This isn’t really my scene.” You reply, pulling your hand back to sit in your lap. “All I know is that they have live music every so often, and they,” You tilt your head towards your friends, “say that the headliner is a Siren.”

“Not a fan?” Hardcase asks.

“Not sure I believe them.” You shrug, “I mean, that’s the thing to do, isn’t it? Clubs and bars claiming that their live attraction is a siren or whatever to draw a larger crowd.”

“Well, I am a regular here and I promise you that the singer is a siren.”

“Or just a good singer.”

Hardcase laughs, “There’s a bit of a difference between being a good singer and being preternaturally good at singing, darling.” He grins at you, “You’ll understand after the first song. You just have to keep your ears open.”

“Assuming I can hear anything over them,” You reply dryly.

“Oh, don’t worry, sweetling. You’ll hear.” Hardcase finishes his drink and sets the empty glass on the table between you, “Alright. Time for me to get to work.”

You tilt your head questioningly, and he winks at you, “Remember, keep your ears open and I’ll make you believe.”

“...wait, you’re-?”

He winks one more time, and then hurries through a side door. Moments later the lights dim, and the chatting in the room dies.

And then there’s Hardcase. Standing on the stage, holding a microphone, with some other people on the stage behind him, starting to play their instruments. 

His gaze locks with yours, and he grins. He lifts the microphone to his lips and he starts to sing.

“Oh,” You breath out. His voice wraps around you like a soothing blanket as he sings his love song. He keeps his gaze locked on you for the whole song, and you’re unable to tear your eyes away from him.

As he sings, it’s like the rest of the world just fades away. And it’s just you and him and the song between you.

And when the song fades, and you snap out of whatever spell you had been wrapped under, you’re suddenly aware that the other people in the audience seemed a bit sullen about something. 

Hardcase slides the microphone back into the stand and hops off the stage, and brushes past the men and women vying for his attention, and he stops next to your table, a boyish grin on his handsome face, “So? What d’ya think?”

You’re unable to hide your answering smile, “Consider me convinced.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He leans on the table, so that he’s right in your personal space, and you’re surprised to find that you don’t mind how close he is to you.

“And what did you think of the song?” He asks.

“It was beautiful. But you have to know that. Did you write it?” You ask.

“Yeah. If by writing it you mean ‘did you make that up on the spot?’ because I did that too.” Hardcase replies with a grin.

“You made that up on the spot?”

“I wanted a song as beautiful as the woman I’m dedicating it to.” Hardcase replies, and he leans a little closer and lowers his voice, “That’s you, by the way.”

You duck your head, a pleased smile on your lips. “You hardly know me.”

“That’s easily remedied.” He replies, “I have one more set. Wait for me and we can go out for a late dinner.”

“I suppose that’s not a terrible idea.” You muse thoughtfully.

Hardcase’s entire face brightens, “I’m going to make up another song for you. Maybe about your eyes and how they look in the candle light-” He trails off, mumbling under his breath.

“Well, I’m happy to play muse for you.”

Something unnatural glimmers in his dark eyes for a moment, and he quickly drops a kiss to your cheek, causing your face to burn, “Just you wait,” He says, excitement thrumming though his voice, and you can’t help but become excited too, “I’m going to wow you, sweetling.” And then he’s gone, heading back to the stage, and he whispers frantically to his band, before he grabs the microphone. 

And once more, his gaze locks with yours as the room fills with soothing instrumental music, and then is joined by his voice. And, as you lose yourself in the ebbs and flows of his voice and the music, you realize that this can easily become love, if you let it.

[db-gochifan]

Dragon Ball Ships Week 2023 (2) - Day 4: Beach/Swimming Pool

Days: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Title: Reconnecting Pairing: Pan/Uub with minor Bulla/Goten Characters: Son Pan, Bulla Briefs, Marron, Son Goten, Trunks Briefs and Uub Summary: Pan and Uub decide to go to the same pool and a meeting is inevitable. Do not repost, claim to be your own work or use it without perrmission. Cross-posted on AO3

It was a typical summer day, though the inhabitants of West City and cities nearby were suffering from a massive heatwave.

“It’s so freaking hot today that even the air-conditioning doesn’t seem to be working and cool the heat down.” Bulla Briefs was lying down on her bed, cooling herself down with a fan.

“I know.” Pan replied, from the floor. “I feel like I’m gonna melt any second. Not even ice is helping today.”

“Hey, why don’t we go to a swimming pool?” Marron suggested and both girls looked at her. She seemed to be the one that didn’t mind the excessive heat that much.

“That’s a great idea, Marron!” Bulla exclaimed, sitting down. “I’m in.”

“I like it, but it’s gonna be crowded. It’s the kind of place everyone goes to when the weather is like this.”

“It’s true, but honestly who cares about this? At this point I’m down for anything to help me cool down.”

“Alright then, let’s go!”

****

Pan couldn’t help but feel a little upset at the fact Bulla and Marron drew attention from some guys on the street. It also made her roll her eyes at their stupidity and lack of common sense. Not that she thought she wasn’t pretty or anything like that, but her two best friends effortlessly became the center of attention anywhere they went. With a long silent sigh, she shook her head and tried to push such thoughts away.

“Pan, is everything okay?” Marron asked in her usual soft voice as she gently waved her hand in front of her friend’s eyes.

“Huh? Yes, I’m sorry.” She quickly smiled at her. “I was just spacing out for a moment. Nothing to worry about.”

“If you say so.” The blonde replied, but didn’t seem convinced in the slightest.

****

The public swimming pool was crowded, but not like the girls thought it would be. Still, it was quite hard for them to find a good spot. Pan laid down on her towel and decided to listen to some music while Goten and Trunks didn’t arrive, which didn’t take long.

“Hi, girls.” Goten said cheerfully and then bent over, removing Pan’s earphones. She had her eyes closed, so she didn’t notice their arrivals. “It’s not cool to listen to music when other people are around.”

“Bite me.” She took a deep breath. “I know, I just didn’t want to deal with guys looking at Bulla and Marron and ignoring me.”

“Why would they ignore you, Panny?” He sat down next to her. “You’re just as pretty as them.”

“Of course you’d say that, you’re my uncle.”

“No.” He touched her knee and gave it a light squeeze. “I’m saying this because it’s true. It makes me sad you’d even think that about yourself.”

“I don’t think I’m ugly, uncle Goten.” She sat up and looked at her feet. “It’s just that they draw more attention from guys than me. And honestly, why wouldn’t they?”

“That’s stupid, Pan. Yeah, they’re pretty, but you are too. You’re pretty your own way and shouldn’t compare to them. I’m sure there are guys out there who’d love to date you.”

“I suppose so.” She shrugged; her tone still skeptical.

Goten moved to sit beside his niece. “I know so. And who knows? You might as well find someone here today.”

She bit her lower lip. “Uncle Goten, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, Panny, you can ask me anything.”

“Please, don’t call me Panny. It’s embarrassing now.”

“Sorry, I can’t do it, Panny.” He teased her with a grin.

“Ugh.” She pressed her palm against her face, but was smiling as well.

“What do you want to ask?”

“Have you ever messed up with someone so badly you don’t know if you can ever make it up to them?”

“I believe you can always make it up to anyone. Unless you committed a crime or did something very bad, everything can be solved with a heart to heart conversation. You just have to be honest with yourself.”

“What if it doesn’t work?”

“Well, then you did everything you could. It’s not on you anymore. But if you mean something to this person, they will understand and forgive you.” Goten assured her. “I honestly don’t see why they wouldn’t. You’re a wonderful person, Pan. And I’m proud and happy for this fierce and beautiful woman you’re becoming.”

“Thank you so much, uncle Goten. It means a lot.”

“Of course, Panny.” He hugged her. “You deserve to be happy.”

The sun was shining at its full force and about two thirds of the people in the swimming pool were actually in the water. The rest was getting tanned on their towels.

“Come on, Pan!” Goten said from the pool. “The water is really nice, you should get in.”

“In a little bit.”

“Okay, but you’re missing out.”

“Hey, Goten.” Trunks approached him. “Isn’t that your father’s pupil over there?”

“Where?” He looked around and grinned. “Yes, that’s right! It’s Uub. Hey, Uub!”

The young man blushed heavily upon hearing his name being called and seeing who had done it.

“Come here, join us!”

Pan felt her heart racing and her cheeks blushing heavily when she heard his name. She thought she would go unnoticed, but there was someone paying full attention to her.

“Pan, why are you blushing?”

“What are you talking about, Bulla?” She screamed, drawing some attention to herself. Her face was blushing even more, but she didn’t really care. “I’m not blushing.”

“Yes, you are!” Bulla insisted. “You have a crush on someone!”

“I do not! And can you please keep it down?” Pan pleaded. “I don’t want to be the center of a scene here.”

“Fine.” The blue haired woman backed down, but Pan knew quite well she wasn’t going to let it go. She also knew she wouldn’t fall for that. But for the time being, she had to avoid talking to Uub.

Bulla turned around and looked into Goten’s black eyes intently. He looked back at her and placed his hands on her hips.

“What are you thinking?”

“What if we set Pan up with Uub?”

“Bulla, I really don’t think it’s a good idea. She’s old enough, she’s capable of finding her own dates.”

“I know, but I thought maybe we could help her. You know, give her a push.”

“Uh, I’m not sure.” He squeezed her hips very lightly. “You know as well as I do that Pan doesn’t like that. In fact, no one does.”

“You have a point.” Bulla ran her hands through her boyfriend’s bare and wet chest.

“Whatever happens, she deal with it the best way she can.”

“I know…” She bit her lower lip and looked up at him again. “But she’s your niece, you know? Don’t you wanna help her?”

“Please, don’t go there.” Goten said firmly. “Of course I wanna help her, but only she can decide who’s suitable for herself or not. It’s not our place to do it.”

“Great, so we can come up with a plan to set them up.” She grinned.

“Bulla, did you hear what I just said?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “We’re gonna give them a push and let them work it out afterwards.”

“That’s not what…” Goten sighed in frustration. He was aware it was pointless to knock some sense into Bulla sometimes.

****

Pan spied the hall, to make sure she wouldn’t run into Uub. Not that she didn’t want to see him, but she didn’t wanna risk bumping into someone else if she was talking to him. She also didn’t know what to say if she ever ran into him by accident. It would be a very awkward moment. She couldn’t help but think he was avoiding her just as much, and she didn’t blame him at all. As soon as she made sure it was safe and walked out of the changing room, she collided with him.

“Hey.”

“Hi.” He blushed a little when he looked into her eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you.”

“It’s okay.” She assured him. “I didn’t see you as well.”

“Right.”

“So how have you been?” Pan asked, breaking eye contact with him. “It’s been a while since…”

“Yeah.” Uub interrupted her, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. “I’ve been good. Still training with your grandfather from time to time.”

“I can see that.” The young woman felt her cheeks blushing heavily after checking his well-toned chest. That made the boy blush even more.

“What about you? How have you been?”

“I’ve been good too. You know, busy with college.”

“I get it.”

“Yeah.”

“Well…” Uub quickly glanced towards the pool and then back at her. “I guess I’ll see you around.”

“Wait!” In an impulse, she reached out and grabbed his wrist. “I think we should talk.”

“Pan, I don’t think we have anything to talk about anymore.”

“Right.” She let go of him. “If that’s what you think.”

“That’s how you made it seem last time we saw each other.”

“What?” The brunette woman was taken aback with his statement. “Is that how you saw it?”

“Was there any other way to see it? You left me.”

“Okay…” She bit her lower lip and looked around, to make sure they were still alone. “I want to explain myself, so can we go somewhere quieter?”

“Pan, I still think we don’t have anything to talk about anymore.”

“But I do. Please.”

Uub looked into her piercing black eyes and took a deep breath, defeated. “Alright.”

The two friends walked into a coffee shop nearby about fifteen minutes later. Pan sighed with relief after realizing neither Goten nor her friends were day, making it a safe place for them, at least for the time being.

“You can order anything you want, it’s on me.”

“You don’t have to pay for me as a way to make it up.”

“I didn’t…” Pan stopped talking when she looked at him and saw his expression. “Okay. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

“So…” She began, uncertain. “As I said earlier, I want to explain myself.”

She paused and looked into his eyes, as if she was expecting him to say something before proceeding. But no words came out of his mouth. She bit her lower lip and took a few more seconds before speaking again.

“Okay, so… it’s not what you think.”

“You already said that.”

“Right.” She pressed her palms together nervously. “I wasn’t ready.”

“Is that your excuse? You could’ve just said it.”

“I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“You did a great job on that.”

Pan didn’t like where the conversation was going, but she knew she couldn’t say anything. He had every right to be upset and hurt.

“I’m sorry.” She said eventually. “I know that saying I didn’t mean to hurt you won’t make anything better.”

“No, it won’t.” He replied. “You’re the first person I know who reacts badly to ‘I love you’.”

“In my defense, you took me by surprise. I didn’t know how to react, since we never really talked about being in love with each other.”

“And running away like that was the solution you found.” The tone of his voice was as sharp as a knife.

“I don’t know what else to say. I panicked, okay? I’m aware that it hurt you, and I’d take it back if I could. I regret it everyday, trust me.”

“I find it very hard to believe.”

“I can’t change the past.” Pan stretched her arms and touched his hands tentatively, just to see how he would react. Much to her surprise, he didn’t take them away. That gave her the push she needed to keep going. “We’ve known each other for so long. I can’t imagine my life – or myself, for that matter – without you anymore. And I really don’t want to.”

“What does that mean though?”

“It means that I’m sorry about what I did and if you let me, I want to make up for all the hurt I’ve caused.”

“Hmmm.” Uub replied very calmly, which caused Pan to begin to lose her temper. “How exactly?”

“I don’t want to run from my feelings anymore.” She took a sip of her drink. “I want to make us official.”

He narrowed his eyes, feeling very suspicious. “Right.”

“I thought you’d be happy about it.”

“It’s hard to believe anything you say now, to be honest.”

“I mean it.” The brunette girl stood up and grabbed his arm, pulling him up as well. “I want to be with you. And I want to tell everyone about it. No more hiding.”

“Still not really convinced.” The boy said, and Pan could tell his walls were beginning to come down. She was definitely going to use that in her favor.

“What if I do this?” She stood on her toes and wrapped her arm around his neck, pulling his head towards her for a kiss.

He resisted at first, but quickly let his defenses down. She seized the opportunity to wrap her other arm around him and smiled when she felt his around her waist, pressing her body against his. They pulled away from each other eventually and let their foreheads touch.

“What about that?” She asked. “Is that enough to convince you?”

“I think so.” He couldn’t help but grin. “That’s more than enough for me.”

“Come on.” Pan took him by the hand. “We gotta tell everyone.”

****

“There she is!” Bulla shouted when Pan walked into the swimming pool place again. She let out a piercing scream when she noticed she was holding hands with Uub. “Oh my God!! Marron, do you see this?”

“I do.” The blonde nodded. “But you don’t need to be so loud. It can be embarrass them, and we don’t want that.”

“I’m just happy Pan found someone! You two make a beautiful couple.”

“Thank you.” Pan blushed and looked at her uncle, who was standing behind Bulla and had his arms around her. He gave her a subtle and warm smile.

“It’s true, you really do.” Marron echoed the bluenette. “I had no idea you two were seeing each other.”

“Yeah, it’s a long story.” The young woman blushed even more, while Uub rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. “What matters is that we’re here now.”

“That’s really nice and all, but I still want to know how you two got together.”

“Bulla.” Goten softly called her out and she bent to her right, to look at him.

“You don’t wanna know?”

“I think it’s something private. They will share it if they want to. If they don’t, it’s okay too.”

“You wanna know!” She pressed her finger against his chest. “I can see it in your eyes.”

“I think it’s time for us to go home.” Marron intervened, in an attempt to help her childhood friend.

****

Goten looked over his shoulder when the group was making their way to the Capsule Corp and saw Pan was the last one on the sidewalk, so he purposely started walking slower to catch up with her.

“So... Uub, huh?” He put his left arm around her shoulders.

“Yeah…” She blushed again and looked down to hide it from him.

“Hey, you don’t have to be embarrassed with it. There’s absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I know.” She finally looked at him. “You were right, by the way. Everything can be solved with a heart to heart conversation.”

“I told you. So he’s the guy you were talking about by the pool?”

“Yes.” She confirmed. “It’s quite a long story, to be honest.”

“You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to.”

“Maybe one day I will.”

“No pressure at all.” Goten squeezed her shoulder lightly. “Do your parents know about it?”

“Not yet.” Pan bit her lower lip. “But I was wondering if you could be there when I do.”

“Of course. I’d be happy to.”

[leonscape]

critiquing + ranking the ikepri outfits this year

although no one asked, i just wanted to give my thoughts on them. i’m not a fashion student or anything so perhaps i shouldn’t be writing this but it’s an opinion piece so whatever. also my feelings about the character won’t affect my thoughts, this is just about the outfits. with that said, just know that i don’t really like camouflage; it’s very hard to pull off and too much of it looks a little meh. nobody in the fandom agrees on who looks the best but it’s okay. this is not meant to hate, i am just giving my opinion, feedback if you will. the artists and everyone working on this worked hard and i appreciate their work.

anyways let’s get into it going left to right

first we have gilbert

he’s not the worse offender, but it’s still hard for me to look at and say i like it. the camo is hidden under the layers which i think is nice because it’s more a little more subtle but still central. i don’t get the blue jewels tho is he trying to match with silvio? did he steal it from silvio? anyways i also cant hate the mesh jacket. i was thinking that it should be plain but now i think that his outfit as a whole would look too plain if it didn’t have the designs on them.

i’d honestly rate his outfit a 6/10

next we have clavis leopard guy

idk man this ain’t it. i don’t get their obsession with animal print like i get that it’s their animal crest and whatnot but it’s just ugh😩 it’s a personal thing but i think they’re kinda ugly. bro looks like it’s 2015 and he got that leopard print shirt from forever 21. the purple and the camo together just ain’t it either, despite him having the least amount of camo. i do like that his accessories are cohesive and he’s keeping his multiple belt aesthetic. he said “emma’s showing tummy so im showing tummy too” but overall, the outfit just kinda looks awkward.

it’s gonna be a solid 3/10 for me sorry

chevaliers outfit deserves to be burned im sorry

the worst offender. go to jail do not pass go and do not collect $200. y’all did not just layer animal print with camouflage. in my opinion the prints clash because camouflage is already a busy print with multiple colors. you add that to the tiger print and it just doesn’t make sense anymore. i think maybe it would’ve been more cool if the vest was camo and the lapel/cuff parts were black? or that gold color that’s already on it? i do like the jewels on his cropped jacket tho, it matches his accessories and adds a bit more flavor to that cream white.

-10/10 just no

i’m doing emma this time and i don’t like this outfit

genuinely don’t know what’s going on here. i’m very confused. is the blue parts supposed to be denim? why are there two different animal prints attached to her hip? and why fur? nothing is working together it’s like they were all assigned a group project but everyone misunderstood what they agreed on and they started to work on completely different things and when it was time to present, they just mixed it all together and hoped that it would work. i do like the denim x camo thing tho i think that could work

4.5/10 i think…

next leon

slayed. the camo isn’t in your face obnoxious and it doesn’t clash with the other elements of the outfit. this is definitely leon redemption arc from last year’s outfit. i like that the camo is able to stand on its own! his white sleeveless turtleneck provides a sort of canvas for the camo and i think it’s great. however i don’t really like chunky jewelry/accessories so the chains don’t really do it for me i think it would’ve been cool if they did dog tags or something because they went with a military kind of vibe with the camo.

you know what? 8/10 it was good it’s easy to look at and hard to hate also it’s a big step up from last time.

up next we got licht

i’m not sure how i feel about his blue with the camo. emma’s blue denim thing she has going on looks more grunge and that kinda works with the camo imo. but licht just looks like he could be a university student? there’s a lot of layers and i wonder if he’s getting hot in there 😹 when i first saw it, i was talking to a friend and i said he looks so boxy, he looks like a transformer about to say “autobots roll out” and then transform into a radio or something 💀 also why is he wearing an attach-on fur tail?

there’s some color clashing layers going on and he’s like an onion with all those layers 5/10

finally we have silvio and im tired of this camo theme

at this point i don’t even know what’s going on anymore. there’s so many shades of blue and im not sure i like it. y’all got dark blue, turquoise, and teal, and even his hair is like minty blue? i guess that’s just his aesthetic his color palette. his jacket is sparkly already but he had to add some sparkly jewels too lol. the square patch of camo just feels kind of slapped on there? i know they love their animal prints but maybe swap the Dalmatian print dog collar for a camo bandana? he can wear it around his neck like how dogs do 😹 it also switches it up a bit because literally almost everyone is wearing necklaces and you’re running out of ideas because leon is already doing the chunky layered chains.

4/10 that’s all

also i feel like if they wanted to have some color, they should try some colored camo

so in conclusion:

best

1. leon

2. gilbert

3. licht

4. emma

5. silvio

6. clavis

7. chevalier

worst

[iamumbra195]

So I just came across a post about Pavitr in the comics having an existential crisis about not being white like all the other different variations of Peter Parker (I’m definitely reading his comics at some point).

But now I’m remembering something from when I was a kid and I was wondering if this was like a universal POC experience from before you actually understood the concept of race and discrimination or if it was a just a weird fucked up thing my mind came up with.

See when I was younger, I was in an arab predominated school, there were like two other black girls but one of them was lightskin (I didn’t even know she was black until like second grade XD) and I hated the other for... various reasons (she was my bully for like six years but we ain’t gonna talk about that) so like I had no sense of kinship with like anyone in my class or school 

Because of that environment and the fact that I didn’t know why the racist secratary always got me in trouble while letting the other girls get away with not wearing the proper uniform until like fifth grade, I had so much fucked up self esteem like when I tell you all my memories of looking in the mirror as a little kid were so messed up-- I straight up hated my appreance and would see like this warped monster thing, I’m being completely honest. When I look back at pictures of five/six year old me I’m like ‘I was cute, why the hell do my memories look so different?’

Not to mention all the colourism and older people who looked like me telling me not to stand in the sun too much so I wouldn’t get any darker. I wanted straight hair for soooo long-- like all the way until I was thirteen and relaxed my hair for the first time and ended up ruining it for like five years after that.

Here comes the fucked up part. 

I never actually met a lot of my extended family when I was younger, so when I would imagine them, I would imagine them looking nothing like me because my mom always told me they looked pretty-- I would imagine them as ARAB, like with dark wavy/straight hair and all their predominate features. 

Anyways, I was a little tiny bit surprised when I met them and they looked nothing like my imagination. But the worse part was perhaps the fact that literally every single one of them had naturally straight/wavy hair or they relaxed it every few months so it would stay that way. I was still obsessed with straight hair at that point so when they offered to get the lady who does their hair to relax my hair I was super happy and excited about it but guess what??? 

She ruined my hair. I lost so much of it, it became dry and tangly because she didn’t bother doing it properly because I was catching a flight in like three days and I needed to leave the thing in for like two days so by the time I got the results it would be too late for me to ask her to fix it or give us our money back.

For the next like three years I kept cutting my hair until all the damage grew out completely and now I don’t have a lot of hair and it’s doesn’t grow as much as it used to.

So yeah.  

I wasn’t around white ppl a lot as a kid, no public school or anything so I think experience was different and my ‘beauty standards’ were more arab beauty standards but Idk tell me if you guys had a similar experience.

Circling back to the thing I said about Pavitr, I felt like that period of my life was the time where I really related to Pavitr’s existential crisis because I constantly felt ugly or that I wasn’t good enough because I didn’t look like the girls around me. I was also kinda (?) bullied for being chubby so that did nothing to help.  

So yeah, I have a lot of feelings about this. UGH.

I really hope they explore that part of Pavitr’s life a little bit in BTSV

P.S.: does anyone else feel really disconnected from their ethnicity and culture and feels really awkward at barbeques with distant cousins and their extended family because you feel like you don’t belong or that they’re judging you because you can’t speak your native language and have grown up mostly around judgy, racist old arab people as your teachers so you adopted a lot of arab mannerisms and.... yeah, I’m gonna talk about this another day

[zrtranscripts]

Season 10, Mission 8: Jailhouse Rock

Prison Break

~

ERNIE VAN ARK: Careful, Ranger Five. Keep to the ruin of the church. That’s Valmont’s correctional facility ahead, a former resort on the island of Tabarca. It appears he’s swapped the swimming pool for a 20-foot perimeter wall with turrets every meter. The patrol of guard makes its changing shifts by the gate. I know it’s difficult being back near your kin. Janine is there, I’m sure of it. Getting her out won’t be easy, Five, but no matter what, remember, we’ll be there for you.

PETER LYNNE: Oh, for the love of – did you have to call this one Five? There’s plenty of numbers out there that aren’t dear and absent friends, you know.

ERNIE VAN ARK: Runner Five is heroic, efficient, devoted, brave. Who better as an icon for the escaped experiments of Red Scorpion Base?

PETER LYNNE: Brilliant! I’ve gone from Valmont’s drugged-up lab rat to joining his posse of lost toys! He’s going to find out I’m free any time now, Ranger. We have got to get Janine out before he does!

ERNIE VAN ARK: I wish we could be with you, Five, but only Valmont mechs can enter that building. I’m getting your shoulder cam live and clear. We’ll be monitoring from the boat. Funny... A prison of that size. What does Valmont need it for? He can’t have that many enemies he wants kept alive. Sorry. That’s him, I think. My other self.

PETER LYNNE: I’m telling you, Ranger, you ought to sleep with one eye open. One of these days you’re going to wake up to find he’s stripping you for parts! Oh, the shift change is done. The old patrol’s gone inside. The new one’s walking the perimeter.

ERNIE VAN ARK: They’re out of sight. See the gatehouse, Ranger? The bunker built into the wall with turrets either side? This is your chance to slip inside before that patrol comes back around. Quick march, like you belong. Fast as you can, Five. Go!

~

ERNIE VAN ARK: Gosh, those turrets bracketing the gatehouse door are big. There’s a scanner on the lefthand one, Five. Press your eye to it. The mechs here are old Model 4s. I used to see them on Red Scorpion. I’ve tweaked your transponder to match. You’re clear. You can get inside.

[door creaks]

PETER LYNNE: Not exactly plush, is it? Like a big, bare closet. Just a work station cycling images of the prison.

ERNIE VAN ARK: Not even any chairs for the rangers on duty! And Valmont let them get rusty, too. Barbaric. Better hurry, Five. There’s a guard watching the far monitor, but they haven’t noticed you yet. Plug the cable from your left forearm into the nearest console. The rangers here are networked with the prison. It was similar on Red Scorpion Base. I can use you as a relay to hack the system.

PETER LYNNE: The other mech’s looked your way. That’s a really big gun arm she’s raising. Ernie, hurry up!

ERNIE VAN ARK: Got it! I’ve sent a signal to all the guards, triggering their diagnostic protocols. They’ll be offline for a short while, cycling self checks. According to the database, DeLuca’s in cell 44 on the far side of the prison. Five, you can take the stairwell behind the gatehouse up. That was an extremely messy hack. The guards won’t be offline for long. And they’re going to be very, very angry when they wake up. Run!

~

PETER LYNNE: God, Valmont made this place a proper Cell Block H, didn’t he? And not even the Freak to liven things up. Corridor after corridor of cold, gray cells with murky portholes on the doors. I don’t see any prisoners so far, just lots of ugly stains. Ugh. I thought my prison was hell. This one might be even worse.

ERNIE VAN ARK: She wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me. I put that tracker on the USB stick in Tunisia. I’m the one who got you captured. The old me didn’t make that choice. This was all my fault.

Peter, the others said... You know about guilt. Do you ever... see something beautiful, like a bird or a sunset or this island, and then worry that you maybe don’t deserve it because of what you’ve done?

PETER LYNNE: No. No. I told you in Murcia when you tried to toast those marshmallows. I am not playing therapist with the ghost of Ernest Van Ark! Christ, you were easier as an evil boss! There! That’s her, cell 44. Break the door down, Five, now! [metal slams] It’s... It’s just... An empty cell and a wire cot. [exhales] Ernie? She isn’t here.

ERNIE VAN ARK: Wait. Look. There’s a loose breeze block behind the cot. Five, see if you can pry it all the way out.

PETER LYNNE: A hidey-hole with a snapped off spoon inside. I can see there’s something carved into the stone in the hole. It’s a... is that a... [laughs] It’s a flow chart. A branch plan. Janine told me they help with organizing thoughts in times of extreme stress.

ERNIE VAN ARK: She’s noting the guard patterns, getting floor plans. She’s working out an escape. Oh, Peter, these branches all link to your name. She was planning to find you.

PETER LYNNE: Valmont was threatening to torture her already. If he caught her planning an escape...

ERNIE VAN ARK: She must be in serious trouble. Five, the interrogation wing is on the bottom level. Take the spiral stairs ahead down. There’s a warden’s office in that wing. It has line of sight to anywhere they might have taken her. Freezing the rangers may have bought her some reprieve, but they’ll probably blame her for us shutting time down. We’ve got to get her out of here. Hurry, Five!

~

PETER LYNNE: There, Five! The iron door at the bottom of the stairs, it’s marked Warden. Kick it down!

[door slams open]

ERNIE VAN ARK: Lots of monitors in there, showing all the interrogation rooms. Look for Janine, Five. Hold on. The way Sam used to describe Abel. That room looks like his comms shack, only filled with extra recording equipment. Are those film cameras?

PETER LYNNE: Yep. That room’s got a Maghreb flag pinned up. That one’s got the stars and stripes. They look like... film sets? What is Valmont doing here?

ERNIE VAN ARK: Five, something’s moving in the vent above you. Look out!

[JANINE DE LUCA shouts]

PETER LYNNE: It’s Janine! She just dropped out of the vent! Careful, Ranger, she’s on your back. Jenny, can you hear me?

JANINE DE LUCA: First sever the optic relays, then the cranial wires!

ERNIE VAN ARK: She’s ripping Five’s external cables out. Hold on, I’m routing us through Five’s speakers.

PETER LYNNE: Janine! Janine! It’s me, it’s Peter! It’s okay. The ranger is with me.

JANINE DE LUCA: Peter? No. Enough recordings, enough simulations, enough making me hear him in distress or Mr. Yao in fear. If you think feelings will stop me, you are very much mistaken!

PETER LYNNE: Janine, it’s me, it’s really, uh – Suffolk tequila! Remember? Number 77 on your bucket list, you wanted to be spontaneous with me! Spent two days planning it. We drank a bottle of tequila from the Suffolk enclave on your farmhouse roof. I sang Fernando! Badly! But we danced, and you fell and sprained your wrist. I don’t think Maxine believed it was a training exercise. It’s really me. I came to rescue you.

JANINE DE LUCA: Peter? No. You should not be on this island.

[alarm blares]

ERNIE VAN ARK: That sounds like a problem.

JANINE DE LUCA: Mr. Van Ark. I wouldn’t have expected you to be involved in this. The other rangers appear to be shut down. If this was your doing, it was very, very rash. Valmont boasted of the security here when I first arrived. If the guards are inactive for more than a short time, the prison will start a purge. All captives will be executed.

I spent months planning a covert escape by the vents, one that wouldn’t raise the alarm! When the rangers shut down, I was forced to expedite my exfiltration in a far from optimal way. We must evacuate the prison. I’m taking command of this rescue operation, effective immediately. Ranger, follow me. According to that screen, the other prisoners are in this wing. Open every cell door that we pass. There’s no time to lose. Down the corridor, past the guard stations. Move!

~

ERNIE VAN ARK: One more cell ahead, Five. From seeing their databases, the last with a prisoner inside. The rest are all trailing behind you and Janine.

[door slams open]

CAPTAIN : Qu’est-ce que c’est? Qu’est qu’il ce pass?

JANINE DE LUCA: It’s a prison break, Captain. Follow me. To freedom!

ERNIE VAN ARK: Wait a minute. I recognize that man. Captain Blaise [Canard, a French sailor who joined the Maghreb. He caused a lot of trouble for Red Scorpion Base before his ship went down. Some of these prisoners must be his crew.

JANINE DE LUCA: Valmont tried to force me to record tapes for Abel, implicating the Maghreb in my capture. I checked the warden’s office during my escape. He’s trying to do the same to other prisoners here, trying to make the Maghreb believe Abel is holding their sailors ransom. This is no mere prison. It’s a factory for disinformation and false flags!

[jingle over intercom]

PETER LYNNE: Oh, that sounds like a Valmont announcement.

BRENT VALMONT: Attention, prisoners! If you’re hearing this, my guards haven’t regained control in the allotted window. Janine, I bet it’s you, you scamp! Well, don’t worry. As the vet said to the vicar, I’ve got a fix for that. My techs developed a painless gas for quelling prison riots! This isn’t it. This one makes your lungs pop and your eardrums melt. Don’t worry, I’ll have your remains stuffed and sent to Peter. What an end for star-crossed lovers, eh? The exits are all sealed. Enjoy your tomb, Janine. It’s been a wheeze!

JANINE DE LUCA: Mr. Van Ark, gas is pouring from the air vents. We could use an exit plan!

ERNIE VAN ARK: I... I don’t know. I thought turning off the rangers was clever. If I had another week, I could have shut the whole system down, but we were in a hurry. I’ve done it again. I’ve doomed you all. I’m sorry.

PETER LYNNE: Ernie! Van Ark, you little megalomaniac, focus! You never felt guilt when you were killing millions. Why start now? They need ideas, not brooding. That’s my turf! What about Five’s arm cannon, is it powerful enough to break through the walls?

ERNIE VAN ARK: It isn’t. Unless... Peter, you’re a genius. The rangers are as deserving of rescue as anyone. The gas will kill them, too. But they might also be our only hope. Janine, Five, there’s a vehicle bay down the corridor. It has poorer ventilation, the gas will take a while to build there. Smash through the doors, Five, and try to hold your breath. Hurry, go!

~

JANINE DE LUCA: [coughs] Mr. Van Ark, we’ve reached the vehicle bay. The door’s sealed behind electrified shutters. The bay is empty save for many frozen guards.

ERNIE VAN ARK: The rangers are all networked, Five, remember? If you use your cable to plug into the nearest one, I can grant you admin privileges. I can route the network through you. You’ll have control of every ranger here, enough to shoot your way out. But the neural strain will be extreme. You won’t be able to take more than a few minutes, maybe not even that. Are you sure, Five?

JANINE DE LUCA: Under the circumstances, Mr. Van Ark, we have no alternative. Your ranger is plugging in.

ERNIE VAN ARK: I’m configuring the network, Five. Linking you to all the other mechs, waking them up, giving you control... now. [Ranger Five screams] Five? Are you all right? If you can still hear me, raise your right arm. It worked! All the mechs in the building are raising their arms! Five, if you can bear the strain, point your gun arm at the nearest wall. Let them follow suit, and fire!

[heavy gunfire]

PETER LYNNE: That did it! And the wall’s coming down. Roof’s starting to give out, too.

JANINE DE LUCA: Thank you, Ranger. Now lead the prisoners into the courtyard before the ceiling collapses. We must get clear of the gas. Through the wall, run!

~

ERNIE VAN ARK: You and Janine are almost across the prison courtyard, Five. Peter and I are waiting past the gates. I’m so sorry, I know this must be agonizing, but if you can manage one more volley, blast the outer wall down.

[heavy gunfire]

Five, thank God you made it out! I’ve set your network to shut down. The other rangers should be going back to sleep any second now. Oh gosh, you fused half your circuits. That gun arm won’t be firing anytime soon. Still, look at all these prisoners you’ve freed!

JANINE DE LUCA: Mr. Van Ark, that was quite the rescue plan.

PETER LYNNE: [clears throat] It, uh... wasn’t all him, you know. God. Jenny, come here.

JANINE DE LUCA: Peter, you’re shaking.

PETER LYNNE: Oh, that’s just some uh, drug withdrawal and a spot of joy. I, um... I didn’t think I would see you again.

JANINE DE LUCA: I had no intention, Peter, of letting that be true. You and Mr. Van Ark are a surprisingly effective team.

ERNIE VAN ARK: We’ve had our ups and downs, but I suppose we’re both immortal. We’ve got eternity to work on it.

PETER LYNNE: Under absolutely no circumstances! He’s been worse than torture, Jenny, really.

ERNIE VAN ARK: Janine, it’s my fault you were captured. I promise, I will make up for it. I only wish we’d got more of the rangers out, but at least we’ve rescued most. If I study their software, I think I can work out a shutdown hack that accounts for Valmont traps. And there’s a yacht beached along the shore we can use to send the prisoners home. Now you’re free. If anyone can give us an edge against Valmont, it’s you.

PETER LYNNE: After we get some rest somewhere far from that cell.

JANINE DE LUCA: Alas, that’s not an option, Peter. Valmont chose to gas his captives rather than use explosives. He likely means to count the bodies. When he finds I’m missing...

ERNIE VAN ARK: He’ll know to raise his game.

JANINE DE LUCA: Indeed. Whatever his plans, whatever he was using his prisoners to distract from, our escape only invites an escalation. We must seek to counter him. Whatever friends we have in danger, wherever Valmont has his sights, I fear things for everyone are about to get much worse.

~

[whimsicalmeerkat]

3 Sentence Ficathon

2.3.2024

Series on AO3

Psy-Changeling

Prompt: Any, any, outsider POV wildly misunderstanding what they're seeing - Judd Lauren & Hawke Snow

“Is this exercise teaching them tracking or fighting or are they learning something more specific to wolves?” Judd asked the alpha standing next to him as they watched a group of young wolf changelings run around in a fenced in outdoor area.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hawke turn his head and fix those strange wolf eyes on him, before saying, “They’re just playing for fun, not training,” in a voice that said he wouldn’t remark on how that’s something he feels Judd should already know.

Judd doesn’t tell him that the fact he temporarily forgot something he learned from Arrow training materials about changeling weaknesses is actually a sign of how much living with the SnowDancer pack is changing him.

Teen Wolf

Prompt: any, any, feral - Stiles/Derek

“You’d think, out of the two of you, you’d have been the one who went feral,” Scott says thoughtfully as he watches Stiles try to bite a nearly hysterical Jackson while Lydia harangues him.

“I don’t think even the hunters could have predicted this being the result of mixing sex pollen and wolfsbane,” Derek says, watching Jackson decide to let Stiles bite him in hopes of saving his hair.

“Stiles, you should come home with me,” Derek calls across the clearing, knowing he could have stopped his mate at any time but no one could ever prove he’d let Stiles bite Jackson on purpose.

Prompt: Any, any, diffuse - Derek/Peter/Stiles

“Derek, man, you gotta help me, Peter gave me this oil diffuser thing and this schedule of when I’m supposed to use it and I think my roommate is going to request a room change because half the time it smells like weird herbs and shit and half the time it smells like man, which is disturbing, but mostly it just makes me seem incredibly creepy.”

“Stiles, I’m not getting in between you and Peter’s attempt to scent mark you while you’re at school and he can’t do it himself.

“Ugh, what are boyfriends for if not to protect their boyfriend from their other boyfriend, boyfriend—a word that no longer has meaning!”

Chosen One Universe

Prompt: any, any, gravitas - Eduard & Bebe

“I just feels it lacks a certain gravitas,” Eduard says, tugging at the hem of the denim jacket he considers so ugly he wonders if some of his mates are pulling a prank on him until he turns around and sees all eight of them staring at him in a distinctly horny fashion.

“OK, what is going on?”

Bebe, the chipper stylist, laughed and clapped his hands together before saying, “It makes your ass look fabulous and you’ve just put your mates through an entire day of clothes fittings—they’re hungry in more ways than one.”

[senseandaccountability]

hiiiiiii i come bearing asks:

3. Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fic

16. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them?

27. What is your most and least favorite part of writing?

3. Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fic

I scramble together notes and inspiration and sometimes some theme and/or references I’d like to put in. This can be anything from pretty words (English is my second language so sometimes I remind myself of gorgeous words and deep-study them in a dictionary), chunks of poetry and various settings to pure characterisation notes. I have three reasons for writing fic. 

An embarrassing number of my stories originate from me disagreeing with other interpretations of the text and/or because I want to put into words what the subtext is SHOUTING at us (me). That’s the pompous academic in my brain - LOOK HERE AT ALL THE TEXTUAL EVIDENCE FOR MY INTERPRETATION LET ME SHOW YOU I AM RIGHT. My Cyberpunk fics for example, where I just used so many words to scream “this is not a Devoured by the Other narrative you are objectively wrong about that all of you listen up!”

A very strong feeling that something needs to be explored or fleshed out, because I like the thing but want MORE of it. 

Nobody else is writing this character/this pairing OR they’re not doing it the very specific way I want. Here I think my age shows. I don’t want to read about gorgeous, innocent people romancing other gorgeous (maybe less innocent) people, I want some grit, some ugliness, some maturity. I’m not 19, I don’t want to write about characters that are 19 and discover the world for the first time, I want to write about people re-discovering it or saying goodbye to it or trying to pick up the pieces of their own dreams.

16. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them?

Aside from the WIPs I’m posting, I’m nursing a handful of stories in my head that I want to write at some point. 

The fire in me now - about Rowan Tavish and Gale of Waterdeep and I just know that it’s kind of melancholic and mushy because they have soft weird intellectual man/prosaic tired secretly soft fighter woman dynamic, I guess? I really don't know but I'm low-key obsessed with how imperfect their relationship will be.

You are more than what you’ve lost, he tells her.

You are better than your worst mistakes, she tells him. 

Banalities to fill the void in the darkest, most lonely stretches of night, empty shells to be crammed full with meaning, with love. And maybe it’s not enough but it’s all they’ve got. 

27. What is your most and least favorite part of writing?

Best: Figuring out someone's voice and dynamic with other characters, piecing together that string of ideas to a whole. It’s extremely nice when it all comes together, and you read through it and go oh yeah, this is what I meant. 

Worst: Writing plot that isn’t immediately related to the characters. Ugh. I really just want to poke around in fictional people’s heads and whenever I get stuck, it’s because of plot reasons or because my fragmented character study bullshit isn’t making any sense unless I anchor it to some overarching structure that I have no energy to build. Sometimes I wish I was writing plays instead and could just insert minor notes about the setting.