#like it had to be something fantastical because it’s Sherlock but not as fantastical as his entire family being secret agents or smth

[musclesandhammering]

oh god oh wow

The Hounds of Baskerville || The Final Problem

Sherlock and Eurus + Human Experimentation

[kaledya]

In an alternate timeline, would Constantine and Serenity ever become an official couple?

I love both of their personalities, how different they are, but how well they balance each other out as well. Would Constantine be able to have genuine emotion of love for Serenity, would he ever consider a real future with her?

How would Serenity react if Constantine ever did hint of something more than a close friendship? Would she accept or deny it?

Thanks for reading, I love your work and your characters so much 🥹🫶🏽🫶🏽. Have a fantastic day Kaledya, keep UP the amazing work.

1) in SS AU I have no idea of ​​planning a romance between the two right now, in general I'm really trying to build a good friendship between them right now

//. But even if there's no romance between them There is a part where Constantin creates the illusion of 1940s New orleans to give as a gift to serenity and takes her there. (he wanted to give a gift that no one else could give) And in this way, he took Serenity to a place from which she could never return again, even if only for a short time,And plus he invented such a comprehensive illusion magic himself for this)

I really love this scene and find it sweet because before Constantine casts this spell, he asks Serenity to think about the place where her best memories are located.And when this illusion begins, Serenity appears in human form again, as does Constantine. They are seriously having fun and in the last scene, Serenity even goes to a place where her old house is (The spell is about creating a place with the memories of the targeted user, so the world they are in is Shaped according to Serenity's memories) I want to draw this scene. Serenity's reaction to what she saw in the beginning was very sweet. //.

But in another scenario, if Constantine were looking for a romantic partner, it would probably be Serenity. Currently, even in SSAU, And the only person who can understand what Constantine is going through is Serenity, and Serenity had similar experiences like Constantine when she was still alive. (I was even planning make a animatic with Loser Baby for them with changing the lyrics a bit )

And on the other hand, no matter how different they are, two people can understand each other. In general, I liken their relationship to Sherlock and Watson, or Marvel's Loki and Mobius, these two characters really complement each other.

Extra: And I'm really enjoying the dynamic of the two In fact, these days I am planning a orginal story about Crime(Detective) and adventure, not as an AU, but with Serenity and Constantine as the main characters. Maybe I can do some world building in terms of magic too. Idk

2) Hmmm, that's a really good question.If I were to think of such a scenario.Seriously, after so long of knowing each other(slowest slowburn) If Constantine realizes that what he feels is something more than friendship. He might try talking to Serenity about this. But I can already imagine Constantine seriously failing at the romance thing. (Ask this man the most difficult questions and he will give you the right answers without any hesitation or thinking too much about it. But ask this Man to tell you about his feelings and a knife event won't open his mouth)

Likewise, if there is friendship and trust between them, Serenity accepts the offer. And say something about it

"We were already like an old married couple, you just made it official."

It was my pleasure to answer your question!❤️❤️

And I'm very happy that you like my work.I wish you a fantastic day too🌟

[count-geiger]

alright guys i got a surprise class cancellation so i can tell yall about the stb dress rehearsal show last night and how it went. this is gonna be a long one grab a drink

no JUICY DEETS if you were expecting that. i am not a leaker and will never be. more like a gushy review than anything

so if you wanna hear about how will wood now knows about my university’s garfield club, feel free to read.

first of all, i can’t actually say much about the content of the show itself. sorry if that’s what you were hoping for but, if you’re going to a show on the tour, YOU WILL THANK ME LATER.

however i can say some stuff

like first of all: it is very much a kind of theatrical performance. no shit sherlock, you may be saying. okay sure but what i mean by that is that it’s not JUST a concert.

it’s very narrative based, that’s the most i’m going to say on it.

additionally, based on stuff ww said after the show while everyone talking feedback and such…

after the tour starts, PLEASE DO NOT POST SPOILERS ON TUMBLR!!! this is the kind of thing you’re going to want to see without any idea going in.

like it’s also very much a comedy show and knowing all the jokes beforehand will kinda ruin it.

so if you wanna post about the show on tumblr after you’ve seen it, maybe like. tag it or something. or put under a cut.

anyways i digress

the show was absolutely fantastic

genuinely the most wonderful i’ve ever seen in my entire life

i laughed my ass off, i cried a little, i thought way too hard about my own life decisions

all the things you’d ever want

it was NOT what i expected it to be. but it was even better than whatever i was expecting

so PLEASE take my word that all of you are going to love it.

okay that train of thought is over anyways

the vending machine at the studio only took ones (LITERALLY FUCK OFF THATS SO DUMB) so i spent most of the show with the driest mouth known to man

i’d had a sprite from said vending machine when i first got there because they also don’t have any water in it (????????) but not even like a whole can it got warm super fast

that’s just a random aside

multiple people complimented both my button down shirt AND the oingo boingo shirt i had underneath

including will’s girlfriend!! who is very pretty and seems very very nice.

she took our phones at the doors and checked our IDs and such and she was fine with the fact that i do not own a piece of ID that confirms my date of birth so that was cool.

the phone pouches we had were handmade by her apparently! they were really cool and she did a great job

anyways

i met will after the show after trying to offer feedback while we were still doing that that and stumbling through my horrific brain fog to say nothing of value because i was terribly sleep deprived!

me and jay (@jayjamjary) went at the same time

now some background.

me and jay are friends IRL, we go to the same college. people who both A. follow me and B. consistently read my ramblings in the tags will know this. but there are like three of those people AND i’m putting tags on this post so yeah

anyways we are both members of the executive board of the (officially recognized) GARFIELD CLUB at our university.

i am dead serious

and because the garfield club’s primary demographic is gay/trans autistic people, there’s a huge population of will wood fans in that club.

so jay brought two excellent drawings he’d made for the club, originally to recruit members, for will to sign.

because we have garfield show and tell contest on wednesday and we wanted to fuckin win

ANYWAYS.

these drawings, by the way, just happened to be of garfield being crucified and of garfield as hatsune miku.

will’s reaction to seeing these drawings was, and i quote, “what the fuck”

his reaction to the existence of the garfield club was, and i quote, “what the fuck”

both like a very amused, bewildered what the fuck.

he then signed them with possibly the greatest thing he’s ever signed ANYTHING and i’ll have to force jay to post them.

anyways

i also showed him a drawing i made for him, because i wanted to make a drawing for him.

he said my drawing was really really cool and he was really happy that i got his nose right because he never sees that

i was SO happy to hear that i was like ready to cry i was scared that drawing sucked

cuz i just did in the course of like a few hours while sitting at a random table in a big room on campus and all that whatever

but like yeah he called his girlfriend over she complimented it too

he signed it!!!

we took a picture and it looked a million times better than the two other pictures i have with him so that’s great

anyways

i’m trying very pointedly to avoid saying anything about the actual show because i want people to be able to go in blind

because *i* did and it was amazing

and i’m so glad that the show i’m going to is going to be super different apparently so i’ll ALSO have no idea what to expect from that

also, for anyone curious, i’m going to asbury park/halloween show november 3rd (and im going as young ford pines, specifically that time in tbob when he was possessed by bill, so if you see that there, that’s me)

anyways

man take shot anytime i say anyways

you’ll be fuckin dead

i had a great night, it was a spectacular show, you’re all gonna love it when you see it

[edwardallenpoe]

Hullo dearest! Please tell us about your thoughts on the several cowardly versions of Sherlock Holmes?? 💛

:v

Well then. I suppose I have been forced to, woe is me.

Anyways. The ONLY acceptable adaption I will not be shitting on is Granada. I love u Jeremy Brett 😘 as for everyone else, they are COWARDS!!!!

First reason why they're cowards, being the obvious reason:

Johnlock

(pt: Johnlock)

Not letting Sherlock and John get together. COWARDS. So many adaptions and only, like, one that I know of let them be together??? (That being this amazing short film I watch ten times a day) And it would be different if they let their relationship just be and let them be platonic while still letting them have that familiar depth like in Sherlock & co., but NO, shows like Sherlock BBC and The Irregulars tease and queerbait to hell and back, and even make the one of them queer and in LOVE with the other (like in The Irregulars, John is in love with Sherlock but as far as I know, doesn't tell him because he's unstable or smt idfk) but they don't get together for one convoluted reason or another. It's frustrating as hell because it's not like there was no substance between the two in ACD/Original canon, it's not like the TJLC invented it bc of Sherlock BBC or the RDJ Adaption, no, their relationship was so deep and so real and so beautiful in ACD canon and if there is gonna be an adaption where their relationship stays the same, that's fine, perfect even, but NO, they add extra bullshit that make you think there might be something and then give unreasonable reasons why they can't be together, making you feel like YOUR the weird one for seeing something that wasn't there apparently.

Reason number two why I find most of these adaptions cowards:

Irene Adler

(pt: Irene Adler)

For some reason, every single adaption (except for my love, Granada<3) they fuck her up. Like. ACD Irene Adler vs BBC, RDJ, Enola, ect. Irene Adler are not the same Irene Adler. Who is she????? Because the Irene Adler I heard in The Scandal In Bohemia, was an upper class woman who had an affair with the king of [Forgor lol] and kept the photo of them together as collateral when he ditched her and tried to get married to a princess.

The Irene in these adaptions??? She's a trickster, a Dominatrix, an Assassin, the Lover of Moriarty, and INSANELY IN LOVE WITH SHERLOCK HOLMES. what the FUCK

Like. Please please please someone correct me if I'm wrong, but is there another Irene Adler in the ACD canon??? Who is all these things?? Because when I watched Granada, when I read the story, and now listening to the audiobook (which, off-topic, found a playlist of free audiobooks of all the short stories on YouTube with a fantastic narrator here) The Woman described in these stories, yes can be secretive and sneaky, but was NEVER fucking like RDJ or BBC's level of Irene Adler. It kinda feels like they just picked whatever character they wanted to make a Pandora out of (which is doubly weird that BBC made Mary Morstan like that when they had Irene but I barely acknowledged post season two canon outside of @gaylilsherlock 's fantastic fics, plus they almost completely left ACD canon after Reichenbach which I don't really mind, but post-reichenbach is a whole other post) instead of making their own character. So I find them cowardly for a) not making Irene at least semi-accurate to the canon besides a tiny photo (even tho canon photo was a FUCKING CANVAS- okay I'll stop) and b) not making up a new fleshed out character of her own to be a secret spy.

And uhhhh I can't think of anything else rn. Yeah:D I would complain about Sherlock & Co. But because it's not finished yet and I like how they're treating Sherlock and John's relationship and also them as their own individual characters I don't have too much to complain about, and I would complain about Irregulars but I could not get past the first five episodes. I just couldn't get into it. It kinda felt like they made a whole story that just so happened to have Sherlock Holmes characters in it. Idk tho.

Tldr: Johnlock and Irene Adler deserved better.

(pt: tldr: Johnlock and Irene Adler deserved better.)

[honourablejester]

With all the discussion going around about kids and reading again, and just because I’m in a nostalgic and reflective mood, I thought I’d have a quick look back over books that had an influence on me over the years. You know. I trawl back through my childhood and later memories for those books that stuck out. Not necessarily because of quality, but because they had something that stayed with me, for one reason or another.

Rambling below the cut:

The Shannara trilogy, by Terry Brooks. The original one, so Sword of Shannara, Elfstones of Shannara, and Wishsong of Shannara. Plus the prequel, First King of Shannara. For a lot of people, Lord of the Rings was their first big fantasy series, but mine was Shannara, because my parents were big fans. We wore those books out. Wishsong and Sword, in particular. The copy of First King we had was a hardback, so it held up better, and Elfstones for some reason was everyone’s least favourite, so it got read a bit less, but the other two were in tatters from everyone reading them. I can’t even remember how old I was reading them, but it was pretty young? Less than 10, for sure. I loved Wishsong in particular so much as a kid.

The Knight of the Word (Word & Void) trilogy, also by Terry Brooks. Again, my parents were big fans. I remember this one, though, because I bounced off it as a kid, and had to come back to it later when I was bit older. Because KotW is much more … adult than Shannara. Not in the sense of more sex and violence, but in the sense that it was set in the real world, and there were a lot of adult topics in there that I didn’t get yet. Things like towns slowly dying as the money dried up, and complicated family dynamics, and bigotry, as well as the more fantastical elements of the demon hunting Nest and the apocalypse looming behind John Ross’ dreams of the future. I had to come back to this trilogy as a teenager, when I had a bit more framework for it. It’s been merged into Shannara as a prequel in the years since, but honestly I never really agreed with that. Knight of the Word was its own vibe, its own bitter, dying, small town fantasy of damaged bloodlines and slow decay. I think, of all the books I read as a kid, this one probably had the most long-term influence on my writing. There’s a tone in it that feels like it comes back to me sometimes.

Lord of the Rings, by JRR Tolkien. It wasn’t my first fantasy, or my most formative, but our house also went through several copies of this trilogy too. I actually miss them, we got new ones after the movies came out, but those one just don’t look or feel as nice as the ones we wore out. I do have an absolutely gorgeous illustrated copy of the Hobbit, though, and it is a prized possession.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle. My dad had a massive green hardback collection of the stories, so big that I could barely lift it as a kid, and I loved it. He still has it. I’ve got my own fancy leatherbound copy now, a Christmas present, but that big battered green hardback is such a piece of my childhood. Reading the Holmes stories young has had weird influences here or there, some odd context for history learned later, and a willingness to read older fiction.

Journey to the Centre of the Earth, by Jules Verne. It was the first book I ever got out of the library. I remember it so clearly. I was seven when my mam first got me a library card, and I remember being so overwhelmed by the number of books around me that I just sort of ran in, grabbed a couple nearly at random, and ran out again. The two I picked were this one, and a book called ‘The Tribe With No Feet’, which I can’t remember the author of, but it was about the indigenous americans meeting white settlers for the first time and calling them the tribe with no feet because they wore shoes (again, I have no idea who wrote this, but this was the mid-90s). I don’t remember much else about that book. But I remember Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Most specifically, I remember the expedition climbing down through the tight caves at the start, and I remember the subterranean prehistoric sea. Which. I feel like people might recognise as an influence for a few things? Heh.

The Famous Five series, by Enid Blyton. In case anyone gets the idea that I was reading mostly fantasy and classics as a kid, nah. Like I said, I got a library card when I was seven, and I read a lot. A lot of what the library had were older books, this was again small town Ireland in the 90s, so they tended to prioritise long series and older series. I read Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Goosebumps, the Babysitters Club, you name it. I also, perhaps more weirdly, read some of the Chalet School series by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer. Because for some reason our library had a lot of british children’s series from like the 50s? Hence, again, Famous Five. But I did enjoy them, so I don’t know what that says. It also meant that Harry Potter was nothing particularly new to me, because I had read a lot of the old boarding school series that it was somewhat inspired by.

A couple of other kids books that have stuck with me:

Strange Hiding Place, by Graham Marks. Kid’s sci-fi about a kid finding a crash-landed alien on the run from a war and trying to help him. I mainly remember the bit in the first book where they’re camping, and Dez (the kid) does the old camping prank of spinning in the dark with his torch pointing up at his face to scare the alien, and Yakob (the alien) having a complete meltdown because he’s a traumatised guy on the run on an alien world where nothing is familiar and can you not do that, please and thank you! And Dex realising that this adult alien is stressed to fuck and scared and in real danger, and realising a bit more genuinely that he needs to help him.

The Luvender trilogy, by June Considine. I don’t remember too much of the plot of these, but they were just spooky as hell in such a cool way, and I loved them. The basic plot is kids in an old seaside town called Merrick having to deal with an evil sorcerer and his minions (the titular Luvenders), and there were possessed dolls, and the ghost of a girl who was a champion against him a hundred years ago, and then a massive mudslide that nearly wipes out the town and the old wrought iron town gates being carried away by it. I got those books out of the library many times.

The Giltspur trilogy, by Cormac MacRaois. I seriously you doubt you can get these outside of Ireland these days, or even within Ireland, but they were just my favourite casual kids fantasy as a kid. Irish mythology, spooky scarecrows, and brave kids. I loved them.

The Forbidden Game, by L.J. Smith. As we got a bit older and graduated from Goosebumps to more young adult fair, one of my sisters and I were obsessed with the Point Horror books. We tried a bunch of them, but easily our favourite, and the one that stuck longest, was the Forbidden Game trilogy. Which is actually a love story masquerading as a horror book, about a girl who buys a game from a beautiful young demon boy and then has to play it for her and her friends’ lives, while also falling for said demon. Despite this, I was still shocked when I found out, literally just now, that the author went on to write The Vampire Diaries. Huh. But, you know. Still a great trilogy!

Then, as I got a bit older:

Discworld, by Terry Pratchett. One of my dad’s friends heard I liked fantasy (again, Shannara, LotR, but by this stage I’d also started reading the massive fantasy tome series out of the library) and loaned me Guards Guards, and the rest is rather history. Shannara was my first, LotR not long after, but despite arriving late when I was a teenager, Discworld stuck hardest. It’s the one of all of them that I reread most often. I adore this series, and I will cheerfully fight people over it.

Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan and Wars of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts. When I say I’d started reading massive doorstopper fantasy series out of the library … I actually don’t mean these two. They came later, when I started buying my own books, mostly out of second hand shops. I still have a massive stack of Wheel of Time books in the bottom of a wardrobe somewhere. I never actually finished the series, but then neither did Robert Jordan? I … I’m not sure if I recommend Wheel of Time, in hindsight there’s a lot of … he definitely had a weird view of women, and relationships, but it was a pretty formative step in my independent reading. And Janny Wurts … Okay. Do you enjoy potentially overwrought whump fic? Read Janny Wurts. I also somewhat blame her for my over-reliance on italics when writing. But. If you would like a doorstopper fantasy series about a beautiful fantasy prince tortured by his (quite literal) empathy while mired in a war with his half-brother by a curse, have I got the series for you!

More Than Human, by Theodore Sturgeon. As you may have gathered, I haunted the sci-fi/fantasy section of the library as a kid. And a lot of the books I read went over my head. This one was a bit like Knight of the Word when I’d been younger, I did not get it. I mean, I read it, I understand all the events that happened in it, but it was one of those books that didn’t actually mean anything to me until much, much later. But it stuck, and I’m still not sure why. But if anyone wondered why telepathy is a theme in some of my work, it does probably go back to this book.

Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo. I have read … a fairly eclectic selection of classic novels over the years. Random ones here or there, starting from Sherlock Holmes as a kid. But Les Miserables was probably the second most influential of them. I heard the musical first, again because of my parents, but when I went to college and got access to the college library, it was the first time I got to read the book. Or the brick, if you prefer. And I really, really, really loved Javert. So.

It was also via the college library (and the classics shelf of the bookshop in the college town) that I ran into both the Arsene Lupin stories by Maurice Leblanc and the Fantomas stories by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre. Which, if you enjoy early French pulp crime stories? Excellent choices. The college library also let me watch the early (as in 1910s) Fantomas silent movies, which I also definitely recommend! (I do think Verne being such an early influence inclined me a bit towards French genre fiction for a bit).

Also in college, I discovered that I really love short horror fiction. I love ghost stories. I have several hardback collections of classic ghost stories on my shelves these days, because if I’m in the mood to buy a book, but not in a specific mood, I usually can’t go wrong with one of those. And college was also were I discovered Project Gutenberg, an online archive of classic works, which introduced me to some weird and wonderful classic horror fiction. A particular one of which that I remember was the Carnacki the Ghost Finder stories by William Hope Hodgson, an early entry into the paranormal investigation/weird fiction genres. As in, again, 1910s. They’re weird, and very early-20th-century, but they’re also fascinating and cool. For example, Carnacki made a lot of use of multicoloured electric light tubes as warding materials, because they were new and fascinating in the 1910s. The stories are on Project Gutenberg still, definitely give them a shot. Unfortunately, that version doesn’t have my favourite of the stories, The Hog, which has the most weirdly terrifying demonic pig you will ever encounter in a story.

The Flashman series by George McDonald Fraser. I had read his book The Pyrates before, my dad loved it, and the bookshop in my college town had large chunks of this series, written in the 60s-80s, about a cowardly British soldier during the Imperial conflicts of the Victorian era. So I read them. Again, Sherlock Holmes as a kid laid a bit of groundwork. And … They’re not for everyone. Flashman, the title character, is a horrible man, though Fraser quickly backs off from some of his more horrific qualities in the earlier books (he rapes someone during a battle in I think the second book?). But. They’re pretty well written and historical fascinating, and I learned a lot about a lot of the darker and smaller conflicts of the British Empire through them. Which I remember because it actually came up in class, and made me sound like I’d done a lot more of the reading than I had. We were discussing Lebensraum and the concepts of national expansionism in a lecture, and the lecturer was asking why the land routes through Russia and Asia were considered so important to many European countries, and I was there with Flashman’s experience of British India and Afghanistan floating in my head, so I piped up ‘British navy’. And he was all, yes, thank you, someone’s done the reading. Which, uh. I decidedly hadn’t. Or at least not the class reading. Heh.

Honor Harrington series by David Weber. Somewhat linked to the previous, by way of things like the Hornblower and Aubreyverse books in a similar vein of ‘military historical fiction’, I also discovered military science fiction as a genre via second hand bookshops in college. And Honor Harrington was the one that stuck, mostly because of several characters (mostly Havenite, a couple Manticoran) that I latched onto hard. The series starts out very obviously as ‘Hornblower in space’, but after the first four books or so starts to swerve hard and picks up much more of its own identity.

The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold. Again, somewhat linked to the previous. As a kid, it was the fantasy half of the science fiction and fantasy section that fascinated me. Later on, I started to venture more into the sci-fi side. And Vorkosigan, like Harrington, has a lot of the bitey, toothy, ‘the bonds and ravages of loyalty’ themes that have rather stuck with me. When you weigh your honour and your loyalty on the scales of war, how much of them, and you, comes out intact? Again, you might recognise some themes I enjoy here.

The In Death series by JD Robb (aka Nora Roberts). Completely different, now, but … these were more my popcorn books, the ones I got out of the library in college and even still when I just want something more low-effort to read, but they’re not bad for all that. They are very much romance fiction tropes in an urban sci-fi coat, but they’re eminently readable for all that. Heh. The main romance is questionable, especially in the early books, but it settles into something more equal and less potentially-skeevy as it goes, and the crime plots are actually pretty interesting here or there. They very much are ‘Law And Order Twenty Minutes In The Future’, with a healthy skeleton of Mills & Book underlying that, but if you want a book to read in an hour or so, you can do a lot worse.

The Charlie Parker series, by John Connolly. If you want horror crime instead of science fiction crime, definitely try these. And by that I do not mean urban fantasy ‘detectives and vampires’, I mean horror crime. As in gruesome crimes where something dark and supernatural lurks around the edges of the world. The books get increasingly bogged down the further into the series you get, but the early books have a spectacular atmosphere to them.

The Philip Marlowe books by Raymond Chandler. Now. Most of the reason I love noir as a genre was because of Batman: The Animated Series as a kid, and then the odd movie here or there later (L.A. Confidential, The Big Sleep, Casablanca), but libraries are a girl’s best friend, and when I stumbled across these, I gave them a shot. And it was definitely worth it. Chandler has a really light, pulpy style that’s quick and snappy and fun to read, and there is definitely a mood and an atmosphere in his work. If you want to see what all the noir parodies were referencing, do try him, he’s excellent. (I never tried the other big pulp hardboiled author, Dashielle Hammett, and I keep meaning to).

… Reading this back over, it’s so obvious that I was a genre kid. It’s all fantasy, science fiction, horror, crime, and then hybrids thereof. Heh. And I’m also noticing a lot of older fiction, as a result of reading what was available to me in a small town in the 90s as a kid, and then being willing to chance older stuff as a result of that as I got older.

Another thing I’m noting is that I read a lot of books that I didn’t get, because while I had the reading ability for them, I decidedly didn’t have the experience or context for them. But the thing with those is, they often stick longer when you do gain the knowledge or experience or understanding for them later on and go back.

Anyway. Apologies for the random trip down memory lane and through my childhood and later influences. Carry on!

[behold-cyaegha]

Jumped on the Markiplier Edge of Sleep <- QCODE/Regency Productions trying to screw him over watch-a-thon mostly because I want to see a live-action Iron Lung and had the time to do so. I don’t know shit about Markiplier and haven’t ever watched his channel and I’ve never listened to the Edge of Sleep podcast before. I was just mildly pissed off enough by what I read the production companies where putting him through - and in the right mood to start a new show - that I bandwagoned and binged it tonight.

And Jesus H. Chuddley Frog. This show is amazing.

SPOILERS UNDER CUT

It’s weird. It’s trippy. The intro is fucking stop motion combined with - I dunno - 1940s dance music or something. There’s cults and monsters and flying whales?!?

Mark is really good at subtle emotion exploding into extreme emotion. All the cast is great, actually. The main 4 characters are really well written individuals that initially read like stereotypes and then start to get fleshed out as we follow them -> and they’re played by really good actors who put real emotion into these characters. The side characters also feel real, get you attached, and some are incredibly unique in a wild and even fun way.

The sets and makeup and practical effects are excellent. None of that “toss some CG at it in post” shit that often happens. Both the fantastical make up and the more mundane are totally believable as happening in this universe.

One of the central conceits of the story is that the main cast hasn’t slept in a long time and that actually shows. Shadows grow under their eyes. Their lips begin to chap. They sweat. They become pale. These are all things that a lot of big budget movies forget to add to so-called sleep deprived characters.

And the actors also show the sleep deprivation in dynamic detail!

As a life long insomniac who needs medical intervention for so much as a nap, I was really there with these characters on the last leg of their journey. Especially Matteo. Fuck knows there have been times where I absolutely should not have been driving and had to implement all sorts of strategies to keep focused.

And the continuous story surprises! You think you know where the story is going and you’re wrong! You think a scene is going to be mundane and it’ll pull the rug right out from under you!

Man, I am invested in this. I want to know where this is going! About the only thing I don’t like is that the episodes are only 20 minutes long and a “season” is six episodes. At least Sherlock gave us ~1.5 hours per episode for that kind of season count! (Can you tell how long it’s been since I routinely watched tv? It’s been a while.)

And the running theory on QCODEs bullshit is that they plan on intentionally sinking it and writing it off as a tax break. So… you know, no reason two. No Iron Lung because they stipulated the success of this project for backing Mark’s IL project. Oh, and they also had the fucking nerve to not even name him properly in the credits?! Like, he’s the actor for the main character and they’ve got his YouTube handle up there rather than his name. Now, maybe that’s what he wanted but it reads as an insult to a lot of people, including me.

Either way, 10/10. I actually do recommend watching it. If nothing else, to take a shit on Hollywood and not let them use it as a tax write off.

[atomicpoetrymusic-blog]

Randomly, on a whim, I decided to re-watch Stranger Things s4. I was focused on other stuff, just letting it play in the background, but I had a realisation about my favourite relationship on the show - Steve and Dustin. And I had to write about it.

In s2, when they were first thrown together, no one, not even the writers, predicted how good and compelling a bond they would form. Steve was going through a tough time, but he still stepped up and helped Dustin with his Dart problem. He gave the younger boy advice about girls, and Dustin grew to look up to him as a capable protector, caretaker and role-model, actively enjoying it when Steve complimented him. Dustin, meanwhile, wriggled his way into Steve's heart with his assertiveness, youthful curiosity, high intelligence, and his sweet nature (also because he essentially followed Steve around like an excitable puppy, and proceeded to not leave him alone).

Along the way, the audience saw how they operated as a team - functionally, they were essentially the trope of 'the brains and the brawn'. Dustin came up with the theories and the plans, and Steve implemented them.

By the end of s2, Steve and Dustin had no specific reason to hang out AT ALL, but they both still chose to. As it turned out, they liked each other's company, despite their differences.

In s3, we got more of the same, with added flavours of Robin and Erica thrown into the mix. Dustin, while still the brains of the operation, needed Robin's linguistic skills, as well as her grounding logic to keep him from going completely off the rails, while Steve also needed Robin to lift some of the weight of responsibility for the younger two. Erica, while only initially needed because of her small stature, kept everyone focused on the task at hand, and also provided an iron backbone to simultaneously criticise and embolden her friends. Their dynamic as a foursome worked, and was many people's (mine included) favourite part of s3.

The relationship between Dustin and Steve, in this time, had clearly become more brotherly, with the bickering and snarking overlaying a genuine trust and care for each other. They were thrilled to see each other again after Dustin had been away, insulted each other to their faces despite being incredibly supportive of each other, and were very protective of each other when in the Russian elevator/base.

In s4, however, the duo, while still the same one we know and love, had developed into something even better - a competent team that knew they work well together, and used that to their advantage (sometimes begrudgingly). Because of their intrinsic differences in intellect, physicality, and general skill sets, they both have very different ways of approaching the same problem.

This is probably best shown in the first basement scene of episode 4 ('Dear Billy', probably my favourite episode of the show overall). Steve, Dustin and Lucas are reading up on Victor Creel, and Steve is vocally confused by the information presented. Dustin criticises Steve on not being able to understand the concept, and goes on to talk about his theories on the Upside Down and HOW it is all happening. Steve then explains his confusion, about WHY Vecna would have done these things, and WHY he had started up again.

And later, in episode 6, 'The Dive', when the Hawkins crew are all updating Eddie at Skull Rock, Dustin again is focused on HOW his compass is acting strangely, and concludes it must be because of a Gate (which he was right about). After some discourse between the whole group about HOW Dustin's compass was going wonky, Steve is the first to question WHY a Gate had opened up.

This is why they make such a fantastic team - because they are 2 sides of the same coin. It reminds me of the most famous detective story dynamic - Holmes and Watson (which is fitting, as Dustin quotes Sherlock Holmes in s4, to Steve).

Dustin (Holmes) provides the scientific, factual evidence and uses this to devise theories on HOW something happened. Steve (Watson) provides the emotional, personal reasons for WHY something happened. They round each other out and build off each other's ideas to form a cohesive through-line that explains both the HOW and the WHY.

There are loads more examples, but here are a few off the top of my head:

S3 - Steve hears 'Indiana Flyer' playing in the background of the Russian transmission. Both Dustin and Robin brush him off, asking him to focus on the Russian, but he wants to know WHY the music is there.

S2 - Steve wants to know WHY Dart and the other demodogs leave the junkyard, and Dustin provides him with the HOW (because of the hive mind).

S4 - Once Steve, Nancy, Robin and Eddie get trapped in the Upside Down, Dustin gets stumped on HOW the Gate opened up. His usual way of figuring things out isn't providing him with answers. So, he turns to another way of thinking - WHY there is a Gate in Lover's Lake. Which then leads him to the answer they needed. (Yes, this is all Dustin, but I truly believe he would not have been nearly so capable of coming up with the WHY of it all pre-Steve. Even in s1, he was the one everyone went to for the HOW).

In conclusion, I once again took a single idea and turned it into a multi-point essay. I always loved the Steve and Dustin dynamic so much, and now my love for it has grown that much bigger.

[comicgeekery]

Sherlock & Co. : The Lion's Mane

I just listened to The Three Students and it gave me the brain fever for this podcast again. Here's my thoughts on The Lion's Mane episodes! 1000 kudos to the writers for making The Lion's Mane actually interesting. It's long been my least favorite Sherlock Holmes story, mostly because it's really stupid. Doyle really cemented the trope of "dude who dies muttering the most obscure possible clue about his death". We get "speckled band", "Ballarat", and "lion's mane" where it would have made way more sense to say "Something bit me", "dick Aussie", and "a goddamn jellyfish"! I appreciate the subversion Doyle did of making it look like there could be a murder but for once it's just an accident, but...it just always super contrived. Anyway, S&C did a brilliant job revamping that story! An entirely new setting, a genuinely intriguing mystery, fascinating cultural exploration, and a solution that was beautifully layered, offering solid twists for new fans and listeners familiar with the original story. I honestly had no idea if an actual jellyfish would be involved by the end, there were so many "lion's mane" red herrings! Then, when there was, there were still very much actual crimes happening! Also, the narration, acting, and music were really on point for conveying the wonder of the sea of jellyfish. Way to make a visual work for an audio medium, team! And smaller detail: We're getting more hints that Mariana's got some secrets. She was obviously reflecting on some stuff that the isolated, insular Scottish town brought up. I'm looking forward to finding out more about her. My only criticism of this adventure is the long bit about Harry Potter stuff. After the transphobic associations of A Case of Identity, I'm really nervous about this podcast being a trans-friendly one. And, sadly, I don't think JKR's work can be suitable separated from her awful, hateful activism. Promoting Harry Potter helps give her more money to put toward passing transphobic legislation and otherwise promoting hate. Besides that, queer content has been pretty minimal on Sherlock & Co. As far as I recall there's only been one explicitly queer character, Sherlock's old friend in The Gloria Scott. It just...has me teetering about whether or not I'm safe listening to this show. I know I've said before that I deeply hope Sherlock and John get together on it by the end, but it's been a long time since I've noticed any vibes that felt flirty between them. Maybe this really is another show where they'll just be friends. Which would be valid, just disappointing. But I hope it isn't at the price of realizing this was never a show for me. Hmm. Wow, real downer of a thought to end this post on! Guess my brain went places! Anyway, The Lion's Mane was overall fantastic and I'm glad I got to hear such a complex re-imagining of the story!

[tbgkaru-woh]

Hiii, I wanted to do some questions out of curiosity, since I love see your arts and intakes on characters

1- Do you have any others fandoms you enjoy outside of the danmei ones?

2- any opinions on Jiang Yanli × Nie Mingjue? it's been awhile since I read something of MDZS so I dont remember if their ages are similar or not, but I have the feeling that NMJ is a dotting husband and there would be so much dotting for each other!

3- Where do you take inspiration for your designs on the clothes???? They are literally amazing!!! Such creative design with so much complementing on the sects cultures!!

Sorry for anything written wrong or confusing, interacting is still new to me, I hope you have a good day!

1- I've been in many fandoms over the years (and they're never fully gone, just pushed into subconciousness) but active-ish ones are Overwatch, Warframe, One Piece, Final Fantasy 14 Past ones were Captain America, Apex Legends, Critical Role, Sherlock (BBC), Life is Strange 2- I love the idea of them a lot ;v; Nielan is still my no.1 because I LOVE Lan Xichen, what a lovable motherly freak, but JYL can occupy very similiar spot to LXC in NMJ dynamic so they are my second NMJ ship :') NMJ just feels like such a wife-guy and I could never see JZX as a straight man I'm sorry I'm not buying it, maybe only if he's into ALL 3 of the Jiang siblings lol 3- Thank you ♥♥♥ I'm such a hoe for fashion shows and photos, I've been injected by fantasy and sci-fi games and medias since ever, so anything that is "weird-pretty" or slightly out of ordinary looking is fantastic, and also I was a magical girl girlie as a kid so every character had to be color-coded and distinct in silhouette and vibe! :D I think all three of those had big impact on how I approach my designs thank you for all these wonderful asks!!! You're pretty good at this interacting thing!

[dlrconlicense]

Louise Brealey On Starring In BBC Three’s Upcoming Comedy Such Brave Girls

Such Brave Girls will arrive on BBC iPlayer on 22 November

By Olivia Emily | 3 days ago

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Louise Brealey is perhaps best known for her witty portrayal of lovelorn morgue technician Molly Hooper in Sherlock – but we’re loving her recent comedy work even more. She’ll next be seen in the BBC‘s hotly anticipated comedy Such Brave Girls, coming later this month. Written by Kate Sadler, Louise plays Deb, the matriarch of a dysfunctional family, trying and failing to keep her kamikaze daughters from disaster. We sat down with Louise to hear all about it.

Interview: Louise Brealey

© Leo Staar

Hi Louise, how’s life going at the moment?

Hello! It’s been a busy summer – my new film has been doing the festival circuit so there have been a lot of planes, trains and automobiles.

You’re about to star in BBC’s new series Such Brave Girls – can you give us an elevator pitch for the show?

Two messed-up twenty-something (real-life) sisters [Kat Sadler and Lizzie Davidson] and their total car crash of a mother attempt to navigate their way out of disaster and into love.

You play Deb – can you describe her?

Deb is amazing. She’s a shockingly bad mum who has completely messed up her two Gen Z daughters. I think of her as one of those vending machines at railway stations and swimming pools where you can get a Twix, but all that’s on her shelves is Tough Love.

What was it like playing her?

A terrifying hoot – she has a lot of lines.

How did you get into character/prepare for the role?

I based Deb on a little girl I used to know. You could see every emotion on her face. Guile, rage, confusion, fear. When she was cross, she scowled. When she was delighted, she beamed.

I used my real accent: Northamptonshire. It has softened over the years, so I sound a lot posher now, but it’s how my family speak and I’ve never had the chance to work using it.

Any funny stories from rehearsals or filming?

The scenes requiring our amazing intimacy coordinator, Elle McAlpine, were hysterically funny and genuinely not at all awkward. Poor Paul Bazely who plays Dev may have experienced some chafing.

What is the cast dynamic? Who was your favourite person to work with?

We are like a little family when we are filming. I feel very protective of Kat and Lizzie. And Paul is a wonderful human being and a phenomenal actor.

Are you still in touch with any of your co-stars?

Yes, we message all the time.

Josie (KAT SADLER), Deb (LOUISE BREALEY), Billie (LIZZIE DAVIDSON) in Such Brave Girls. © BBC/Various Artists Limited/James Stack

You’re perhaps best known for your role as Molly in Sherlock. What is that like to look back on?

Bittersweet because I don’t feel we finished it, and we have lost Una Stubbs. But it was incredible to be a part of what was really a phenomenon. It couldn’t happen now with streaming.

Any special memories from the show?

Too many. Having a candle in an egg custard tart (my favourite) on my birthday in Benedict’s trailer… Laughing and laughing with darling Una and Rupert Graves, who is a dreamboat.

You’ve also starred in the likes of Lockwood & Co, Brian and Charles and Back recently. But what has been your favourite project to date?

I loved working on Clique for the BBC a few years back. I got to play a hard-ass Queen Bee university lecturer in power suits who was afraid of no one, and then to completely fall apart. In an Edinburgh accent.

I loved Lockwood & Co. How does it feel for the show to be cancelled after just one series?

I felt so bad for the young cast, the crew, the fans and everyone whose livelihoods depended on the show coming back. It got such fantastic reviews and great viewing figures. I feel like the hoop it had to jump through for the streamer was just too impossibly small.

Any roles in the pipeline that you’re excited about? (If you’re allowed to tell us!)

I’m the lead in a lesbian chicken factory musical film called Chuck Chuck Baby.

Who has been your favourite actor to work with in the past?

This is much too hard. There have been so many that I admired, and some I now call dear friends. But my buddy Jeff Rawle I’ve worked with three times now, and we are trying to make it a fourth.

Which co-star did you learn the most from?

Antonia Pemberton, who played Nanny in Peter Hall’s Uncle Vanya when I was Sonya. She told me not to keep tomatoes in the fridge.

What’s your dream role?

I’m desperate to get back on stage. I’ve been doing film and television for the past seven years, but theatre is my heart and my home.

What’s a genre you’d like to do more of?

I’d like a good horror. I can’t watch them because I’m a scaredy-cat, but I’d love to be in one.

© Leo Staar

Do you get to spend much time at home?

Not enough. I’ve been gadding about.

Do you live in the town or the country? Which do you prefer?

I’ve lived in London since I left university. I live on a hill next to an oak tree, so it feels like we are in the branches. I can never leave London because I’d miss the culture stuff, but I am a woodland creature.

What’s your interior design style?

A mish-mash of old things I’ve found in auctions. Too many books.

How do you find balance in your personal and work lives?

I don’t.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

An astronaut.

If you could give advice to your 15-year-old self, what would it be?

Don’t sleep with that guy’s flatmate when you are 21.

How can we all live a little bit better?

Choose love.

Anything fun in the pipeline – professionally or personally?

I’m going to run away to a southern European city for January and February to write.

Quick Fire

I’m currently watching… Only Murders in the Building

What I’m reading… We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

The last thing I watched (and loved) was… Silo. I love Rebecca Ferguson.

What I’m most looking forward to seeing… The Motive and the Cue with Mark Gatiss in the West End because I was away for its National Theatre run.

Favourite film of all time… Don’t Look Now

Favourite song of all time… ‘Disco 2000’ by Pulp

Band/singer I always have on repeat… Leonard Cohen

My ultimate cultural recommendation… Join all the museums and galleries

Cultural guilty pleasure… Overcooked 2. It’s computer game where you run around and try to make kebabs.

What’s next for me is… Walking my dog in Beckenham Place Park – it’s south London’s secret mini Hampstead Heath.

Watch

Louise Brealey stars in Such Brave Girls, on BBC iPlayer from 22 November. bbc.co.uk

[safedistancefrombeingsmart]

SMARTIN'!

it is your time to shine!!! please send some great (not too long... under... around 10k words please) hurt/comfort fic rec? (preferably where john hurt his leg/foot...)

love

-your dumbass and broken turtely

Why do you send this to me while I am on vacation? And something so specific, and with such a limit? But ok, I'll try my best. Because I like you.

Warning- most fics are quite graphic.

Not Dying Today by Morgan_Stuart (2.659 words) The first (and only) time John saw Sherlock and Anderson work well as a team without complaint, they were performing CPR on Lestrade.

Breathe into me by Moonlessnite (2.672 words) Sherlock and John are caught in an unexpected explosion.

Death meets, and loses them both, so they can find each other.

Catastrophe Medicine by lasuen (11.061 words) Chasing after a pyromaniac bomber Sherlock and John wind up in a deserted building which explodes and leaves them trapped under the rubble, both severely injured. Some hard-core bromance ensued.

Code 221b by whitchry9 (6.528 words) (John actually injures a leg in one of the chapters) Sherlock Holmes is well known to the paramedics of London. So when John Watson comes into the picture, it seems like a fantastic solution. Someone would take care of Sherlock and prevent all those problems. Of course, they didn't think about what would happen if John was hurt. (They really should have.)

Crash by Laur (4.592 words) John is hit by a car and Sherlock reacts rather strongly. I imagine this happening some time between The Hounds of Baskerville and The Reichenbach Fall.

The Third Brother by uglycrow (4.586 words) During the legwork of a case, John is injured preventing an attack made on Sherlock; with help a ways away and John's injury too much to leave alone, he has no choice but to talk Sherlock through the necessary steps to treat him.

Moments of Peace (Amidst the Chaos) by FannishMinded (words 1.964) John heard the screech, and his eyes whipped to the side as he desperately tried to move forward, just get across, get out of the- it was too late. He was shoved, pushed, flying, he wasn’t sure of anything besides that in this second, he might die- and by something as stupid as being hit by a car. It was silent, long seconds as he bounced, he knew his arm at least had taken most of the brunt of the blow. Time sped up as he took his next breath, then he took another. His arm was splayed out, broken, left arm, always that damn side… right knee, dislocated, probably. Another breath, sound, rushing sound, wind near him, he looked over, and he screamed.

Silver Linings in Golden Tinsel by 88thParallel (CanadaHolm) (7.081 words) Sometimes, you have to lose your house to find your home.

The Shoulder by LMDrums (3.999 words) What happens when John takes an unexpected blow to the shoulder during a case?

Emergency Measures by Quietlymischievous (3.791 words) A few minutes later, after the laughter had run its course, John nudged Sherlock’s foot with his own. “Thank you for saving my life, Sherlock. Thank you for all the times you have saved my life.”

Sherlock pressed his foot back against John’s. “I’ve been told it’s the thing to do when one has a friend.”

John gains more proof his friend is definitely not a sociopath.

A Dangerous Mix by bakerstreetgirl (7.728 words) John gets injured during a case and returns to Baker Street without Sherlock to nurse his wound. Everything is fine and John had been his happy, calm self. So why does Sherlock find him with a mysterious drug running through his veins a short while later? Will John survive? For once, Sherlock is clueless, but luckily Lestrade is more competent in a crisis than Sherlock gives him credit for and Sherlock makes a decision that will affect the rest of his life.

Very Good Indeed by stillwaters01 (4.144 words) John Watson was a doctor, trained to observe details; a fact Sherlock had never been more aware of than when a drugged John’s lifesaving instructions were based on an unlabeled syringe and an unconscious murder suspect’s body:

Not many with a foot/ leg injury that fit within the 10k word limit.

So, I'll add a few which go slightly over the yord limit. ;)

You've Got A Friend by LyricalSinger (20.515 words) When John gets injured at the end of a case, Sherlock announces that he will be the one to aid John during his recovery because he is the best person to take on the job … obviously. While John has no qualms about putting his fate in the hands of his flatmate, it seems everyone else does

Repairing the Broken Things by BakerTumblings (75.216 words) "I'm calling today to notify you that there's been an accident."

The last one is in this list simply because I wanted @bakertumblings included who writes such great John whump and whump in general. Also, it is my favourite fic- and it even includes a leg injury! :D

These are just the ones from my bookmarks, there are more I have read and liked, but don't have the time to find back now. Enjoy!

[drainbangle]

wait omg i’m curious about your unpopular thoughts about temenos writing wise.. i love when people discuss octopath writing it’s really enriching to see what we all have to say about certain story elements. plus you’re like a temenos representative to me. your thoughts about temenos make me go “so true!”

Aw, thank you! It took a while for me to decide on what to write here, since honestly I could go on for… frankly any aspect of this guy, especially in regards to treatment in fanon. But for now, I'll focus on my thoughts regarding how people treat tragedy in Temenos' story— namely, Crick's death— and why I personally dislike it as a writing decision and why I disagree with the idea that it is necessary.

Note: Goes without saying, but this is my personal opinion. If you believe otherwise, then that's all good. I'm not writing this to say that any one person is wrong, just to talk about an issue I have with the game's writing itself.

To start, I'll say that my main reason for disliking Crick's death in SH route is a matter of practicality. Killing him off causes Temenos to lose the main person that he had a fantastic relationship and banter with, and in my opinion, Temenos works best when he's bouncing off another person; not unlike most under the Sherlock-archetype.

Also, genuinely? It works wonders to keep Crick alive, if just because it provides a fantastic avenue to explore Temenos' institutional trauma. Having a character that's lived a different experience but within the same harmful institution opens up ways to explore the scope of its harm. And yes, this is for Crick specifically; not Ort, not the travelers, but Crick.

I think it really adds something that Temenos was raised by the church while Crick converted as a teenager during a really difficult time in his life. These two are good for each other. Crick sure as hell makes it a lot easier to write Temenos in fic.

(If you have a different experience, again, that's cool. I'm glad for you. I, however, will never fail to take the easy way out.)

(This is a lie, I'm over here making up fantasy church law for fic stuff but that's not related to this answer.)

I won't pretend that disliking Crick's death is an unpopular opinion. I mean, "Stormhail Fix-it" is an entire genre of fic on the OT2 Ao3 tag. What I do feel tends to go unaddressed though, is the fact that the idea that Crick's death is canon, therefore it is necessary, therefore it is the best decision; an idea that I wholeheartedly disagree with.

Within the text itself, Crick is killed off in order to give Temenos a personal reason to pursue Kaldena, thus putting him at odds with Kaldena's motivations being driven by her ideology and worldview that, "because humans committed the massacre, it was the gods' mistake to put us here". I also won't pretend that Kaldena's writing here isn't fucking awful, because Crick's death is also a device to make the player want Kaldena defeated even though she is just as much as a victim of the church; and that's to say nothing of her portrayal as an indigenous and dark-skinned woman.

These decisions are ones I disagree with. Killing Crick off was unnecessary to give Temenos reason to pursue the culprit, because Temenos already had someone close to him killed; and that's Pontiff Jörg. He raised Temenos from infancy, but due to the lack of focus on him outside of banter conversations, it's never relevant to his motivations outside of the desire for truth because a crime was committed. 

We also didn't need to kill Crick off to show that the church was a terrible institution, because Roi already went missing in action. The Sacred Guard is the main body of law within Eastern Solistia, it's not unreasonable to think that the reason why Temenos dislikes them is because they clearly didn't do shit to investigate his disappearance.

However, one thing I really don't agree with is the idea that Crick's death is necessary because Temenos' story is a tragedy. And if you asked me why, I'd ask this in turn: why is death the only form of tragedy? Furthermore, why must a tragedy contain only tragic events? That in mind, what gives anything value in a tragedy, then?

Pretend we cannot completely rewrite Temenos' story. Even then, changing Crick's death to a permanent injury, a coma, or whatever is still a tragic event; and that's nothing to say of living with the consequences. Isn't losing your faith a tragedy? Isn't losing something you worked for years to do a tragedy?

Similarly, I'd still argue that it's more valuable to make Stormhail a near-death experience because not only does it show Temenos succeeding in making someone question the church but also the terror that is feeling like you're doomed to repeat tragedy. Even if you really aren't, it's hard to dismiss that feeling; especially when it has to do with being victimized by institutions.

And before someone says, "but bad things happen to good people in real life", I'm not treating these characters as living, breathing people who are subject to things like gravity, hunger, and exhaustion. I'm treating them as choices, and choices made that I disagree with. 

It's why I make different choices. I choose to make Crick have to deal with chronic pain onwards. I choose to make Temenos realize change is still possible. I choose to let them both leave Stormhail alive. Are these better choices? I don't know. But I'll never stop questioning the ones made by the writers regardless; much less stop disagreeing with them.

So, in summary: I dislike Crick's death. I dislike Temenos having to spend the rest of the story without someone he can talk to so easily because Crick's absence weakens a lot of his scenes in Temenos 4. But more than that, I dislike the idea that tragedy is necessary on top of the idea that it is superior. Tragedy's good, I adore the genre; but written in mindful doses and all that.

[raccoon-eyed-rebel]

Part 29 - The switch

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Part 28 -- Part30

Pairing: Marshall x Lexi | August x Anjelica | Mike x Dani | Sherlock x Elena (In that - recurring - order)

Summary: Some of the Crescent Street boys - and their girlfriends/ situationships/ let's face it at this point Marshall and Lex are just a 'situation', not even a 'ship' - go on a ski trip...

Warnings: SMUT, NSFW, 18+, MINORS DNI, (mention of) oral (f receiving, vaginal, anal), p-in-v, some interesting miscommunications, mention of sexual trauma, mentions of illegal activity...

Word count: 7.8k

A/N: Alright, so instead of writing this chapter 4 times, like I did with the NYE chapters, I decided to switch POV's a bunch (Which always goes in the same order: ML, AA, MD, SE.) Apparently stuff like that ends up being nearly 8k. I'd say I was sorry, if I was actually sorry, which I'm really fucking not, honestly.

I like this chapter, I hope y'all will, too! (There's some uncharacteristically sweet August and Ange, and there's a very confused Sherlock, and a very adorable Mikey, and.... The good news is @deandoesthingstome gets her M+L Shower Scene, but it's probably not the hot, steamy event you hoped for, sorry girl...)

@deandoesthingstome @summersong69 @livisss @sillyrabbit81 @ellethespaceunicorn @ylva-syverson @poledancingdinos @geralts-yenn

“I’m off,” August said, a hand already on the door handle.

Marshall raised an eyebrow. “Off to where?”

“Ange,” August answered indifferently.

“Isn’t she sharing a room with Dani?” Marshall asked, not catching on.

“Dani will be with Mike,” August said, fighting to keep the annoyance out of his voice. Every second he wasted standing here was a second closer to the whole plan collapsing. Ange wouldn’t be happy, then. And neither would he. Or Mike, or Sherlock, or either of their girls, for that matter.

“Mike, who’s sharing a room with Sherlock?” Fuck. He didn’t have a complete grasp on the scheme yet, but enough to know something was up. Pun not intended.

“Yes. Sherlock will stay with Elena,” August said, opening the door so he could make a break for it if he had to. And he had to.

“Elena is sharing a room with…” Marshall tried, but August smiled and quickly stepped out. “Walker! Son of a bitch!”

He had no choice but to let himself fall back against his pillows and wait for the soft knock on the door. Actually, he did. But it would ruin the night for six people, and… maybe there was a part of him that didn't want to murder his friends for this obvious setup.

He opened the door with trembling hands. Why were they doing this? They’d been right to keep him out of this; he’d never have agreed to it!

“Hi,” Lexi said as soon as he opened the door. She pushed him aside and walked into the room. “We need to talk.”

“These bathtubs look just about big enough for the both of us,” Anjelica said, sliding her hands into August’s shirt.

“That's been a while,” August hummed in return, his lips brushing the skin of her neck softly, while memories of that evening alone at Anjelica's parents' house made their way to the forefront of his brain.

“Hm,” Anjelica moaned at the attention August was giving her, “that was a fantastic night.” Her fingers made quick work of the rest of the buttons of his shirt, and impatiently pushed it off his shoulders. She was right, it had been absolutely amazing – her father's presence had been needed at some fundraiser, and they'd had plenty of time to fully explore the luxuries of the main bathroom…

“It was… You know, when I saw that fireplace downstairs I was afraid we’d spend our whole evening there,” he admitted, moaning as her fingernails gently travelled down his back. He loved the feeling – she knew that.

“I wouldn't have hated curling up in front of that with a good book,” she replied, pulling him closer – which made August chuckle. Napoleon and Charles – and occasionally Mike, Sy and Sherlock, although the latter could be excused, still, simply because of his lack of experience – liked to complain that women were so incredibly difficult to figure out, but August couldn't agree. He'd always found Anjelica extremely easy to read: She'd pull him close when she wanted him close, and pushed him away when she needed him there. That's pretty much all there was to it. Right now, she was trying to trick him into thinking she wanted, rather than needed, him with her – like there was any sort of real choice involved in that.

“Why don't you curl up in bed for a moment,” he said, wiping a rogue curl out of her face, “I'll take care of the bath.”

“Yay, sleepover!” Mike immediately wrapped his arms around Dani, picked her up and tossed her on his bed. He'd taken the liberty of pushing the two singles together, so they'd have plenty of space for whatever it was that he had planned. Alright, it was Mike, so the plans probably didn't go a whole lot beyond ‘cuddle and fuck', but still. It was nice. And there was plenty of space to do it. Dani laughed when he jumped on the bed too and crawled over to her. “Hi!” He touched the tip of his nose to hers, before kissing her fiercely and then quickly moving on to her neck.

“Mikey!” she shrieked before pushing his face off her. “No hickeys!”

“It's freezing and we're on a ski trip, Sweetcheeks! You'll be covered head to toe. Let me… No! Lemme!” He wrestled her for it – and let her win, because there was no way she could take a guy like Mike on her best days… “You break my heart, Sweetcheeks,” he said dramatically, pouting like a sad little puppy. “Oh, how you wound me! What did I do to deserve this?”

“Mike, cut the drama,” she laughed, climbing on top of him and straddling his hips as he threw himself on his back with a theatricality that wouldn't have looked out of place in an off-off-off-off-Broadway production of whatever Shakespeare play you could think of. “I know the perfect way to make it up to you.”

“I'm beginning to see why you love this part,” Sherlock chuckled as Elena pushed him against the door as soon as he'd shut it behind him.

“I've been waiting for this all day,” Elena whined softly, peppering Sherlock's jaw and throat with kisses. There was no denying it. Even on the bus ride over to the hotel they were staying in for the weekend, she'd curled up next to him, her hands wandering places they probably shouldn't have been exploring in public – even if it was under the blanket she (and all the other girls) had miraculously thought to bring.

“I know,” he laughed, “but could we slow down a bit?”

“We can slow down after we get naked,” Elena replied, impatiently working the buttons of his shirt. It seemed a fair compromise, and he gladly helped her achieve her goal. She kept her promise; as soon as all clothes were off, she slowed down, diving into his arms under the covers as she teasingly slowly moved her hands all over his upper body, her head resting on his shoulder.

“Is it strange that I like spending time with you like this?” Sherlock asked softly, a smile playing at his lips.

“Not at all,” Elena answered, “I like it, too.”

“There's not a whole lot I can say.” Marshall shrugged, looking everywhere in the room except at the girl in front of him.

Lexi put her hands on her hips and scowled at him. “Wrong, Walter. There's a whole fucking lot you can say. Starting with…” She'd planned on making him apologize, but now that she was standing in front of him, her plans changed quickly. Why did he have to be so hot?

“I'm sorry,” Marshall said, the sincerity of his words obvious in his eyes, which he finally lifted to look at Alexandra. That was what she'd been wanting to hear, right? Then why did those words not make it better? Why did they make her feel absolutely overcome with rage?

“Wow, I really thought that would at least begin to fix something,” she sighed, slumping down on the edge of one of the beds in the room. Marshall sat down on the one opposite her.

“I, eh… Get mad,” he said, much to Lexi's surprise.

“What? Why? So you can feel better about what you've done once I've been screaming at you like crazy for a while?” God, why did he have to get his wish, even if she didn't want to grant him the satisfaction? Why was he winning this fight?

“Because I think I don't even know half of what I should be apologizing for.” Oh. Well. If he put it like that…

“Well buckle in, buddy, because it's a long ass fucking list.”

“I thought you hated the scent of lavender?” Anjelica leaned back against August's chest, running a hand up his thigh.

“I do,” he said. It was quite the understatement; he absolutely despised the stuff. And yet…

“Then why, pray tell, are we taking a bath in your worst nightmare right now?” A valid question.

“Because it helps you relax,” he answered, “and you need that. You practically singlehandedly organized this trip, Angel.” It was the truth – she knew that, although she'd never admit just how close her efforts came to being nothing short of completely supernatural.

“Sometimes I wish I could hide from you,” she chuckled softly. It was so difficult for her to give up control, to surrender the illusion that she had everything covered at all times… Sometimes, August staring straight into her soul was something she wished she could opt out of – but it would involve breaking up with him, and she could never.

“And I would let you,” August said to her surprise, “if there was even the smallest part of me that was convinced you'd take care of yourself if I wasn't doing it for you.” Of course he was right. Not that Anjelica couldn't take care of herself – of course she could! In fact, August was convinced she could pretty much do anything. The reality was, however, that she simply wouldn't.

“I know, but…” 

He didn't let her finish that sentence. “Princess treatment for you tonight, my Angel.”

“Eek!” Dani crawled deeper under the covers, grabbed Mike, and pulled his shark Squishmallow closer. “Mike! I hate this movie.” Lies. They weren't half bad when watched while snuggled up to Mike – especially when she got to confiscate Jacques. Yes, the Squishmallow had a name.

“Jacques will protect you,” Mike vowed. See? Squishmallow had a name. And a ridiculous one at that, for a stuffed shark, at least – which was exactly why Mike had chosen the name.

“I want you to protect me,” Dani said, snuggling closer to Mike. “Hold on, is Jacques a way of not having to make any promises to…”

“Yeah, sure,” Mike cut her off bluntly, sarcasm clear in his voice. “Sweetcheeks, no girl I've hooked up with has ever even seen Jacques. He disappeared into the bottom of the closet for… a bit…”

“Oh no! How could you! Look at this sweet, squishy, little face!” She screamed when she looked at the screen of Mike's laptop again at exactly the wrong time. “Okay, turn this off! I'm scared-scared now, not horny-scared.”

“Shit,” Mike deadpanned, tickling Dani's side. “That's the wrong kind of scared.”

‘Slowing down' was out the window. Gone. Long forgotten. All that existed now were the sweet moans Sherlock heard as he kissed his way up the inside of Elena’s thigh. He buried his face between her legs with unprecedented enthusiasm, causing Elena to chuckle, which made him look up, an eyebrow raised inquisitively. Not that there was any way for her to answer his unspoken question, as she was far too occupied with the delightful feeling of his tongue, lapping hungrily at her apex, and the pleasure it brought her far too quickly.

“I don't like how good you are at that already,” she joked as he made his way up her body again, the kisses he pressed to her skin leaving a blazing hot trail. Every part of her wanted to jump him, he knew that. It wasn't particularly hard to figure such things out – she was quite vocal, and her fingers dug into his skin more and more greedily as she became more worked up. Right now, he was convinced they would be leaving marks on his upper arm.

“You're easy to read,” he confessed before kissing her gently.

“You hurt me, Marshall,” she whispered softly. “Let me recap this for you and see if you can spot the mistakes. We get drunk together and you fuck me - don't… I know I was on the other end of that and you didn't do anything I didn't want you to do. I know, okay? I know. Then you tell me you regret that you even liked it because you should have regretted it, which gave me a headache, for starters, and also was just generally kind of rude. Then you fucking ghost me! And I show up at your party at New Years Eve and I see you run off to your room with some fucking puck bunny that's been through half of your team?!” By the end of her speech, she was screaming – maybe mostly because, save for a complete communicative failure, Marshall hadn't actually done anything wrong. Although Alexandra wasn't quite ready to admit that. It was as Elena had said; the big crime she was accusing him of was rebounding. Alright, attempting to. Alright, the ghosting was bad.

“I’m sorry I hurt you,” Marshall said. He meant it – how could he not? Lex had been one of his best friends for a really long time, and seeing her hurt was just about the last thing he wanted.

“I need to know, Walter…” Her voice was a whisper again. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why sleep with me? Why ghost me? Why her?”

“Let's get the Veronique-thing out of the way first… I was trying to forget about you, Lexi. And I couldn't. Because… things wouldn't… I didn't… It… I… Eh…”

“Your dick refused service,” Lexi said without thinking, a sweet smile on her lips. She realized her mistake too late, and hoped her slip-up wouldn’t make things worse.

“Of course she told… Well. Yeah. I ghosted you for the same lame reason. I tried to forget about you because… Because I thought we could never be together. You're my best friend's sister…” He looked at his hands; a feeble attempt to keep his voice from breaking.

“Why'd you sleep with me in the first place?” It's not that she had expected him to confess his love to her when she'd done it. As far as she was concerned, that had been a stupid, drunken mistake. But at least she'd hoped that he'd feel it didn't have to be. That he'd…

“Because I love you.”

The massage had started with a ‘Is this necessary?’ from Ange, who'd then proceeded to attempt to stall and evade August so much that he'd seen no other option than to tie her to the bedframe using the belt of her bathrobe. Relaxation was mandatory, and that was the end of it. Ange had laughed. Now, she was on her knees, still tied to the headboard, with her ass high in the air and August’s eager face between her thighs. The position wasn't ideal – at least; it would have been suboptimal had the objective been to make her cum. It wasn’t.

“You like doing that a little too much,” Anjelica groaned into her pillow. It didn't make August stop, but it did make him chuckle, and soon his fingers took over while his mouth moved up a little, carefully gauging Angie’s reaction. It was something he – much like practically every other man on the planet – had always wanted to try, but they'd never talked about whether or not she was into some ‘backdoor experimenting'. “Fuck!” Aright, that sounded promising… “Three years in… I thought I was going to have to bring it up myself.”

Wait? She was up for it, and he didn't even have to ask? “Yeah,” she laughed, subtly cluing him in that he'd actually said that out loud. “Can you untie me? I really want to cuddle.”

“I'm impressed,” August said – but not before sinking his teeth into her ass once for good measure. “And I'm really happy you asked, Angel.”

“Still scared?” Mike asked. The question was surplus; Dani had good and well forgotten what she'd been scared of in the first place.

“No, definitely just horny now,” she laughed, “you're really getting the hang of eating pussy, babe.” Mike looked a little too proud when she said it, flashing her that insufferable grin before he threw himself face-first between her boobs. She wanted to get mad at him for motorboating her, she really did, but the puppy-eyes prevented her from feeling anything but ‘aww’.

Soon, he climbed up, though, focusing his attention on her neck, and finally capturing her lips in a searing kiss. It was unfocused – which wasn’t unusual for Mikey, but today was something special.

“What are you thinking, babe?” Dani muttered against his lips, because he wouldn’t break the kiss.

“Hmm,” he hummed before finally moving away, “I can’t decide what position I want you in and it’s driving me nuts.”

She laughed. What else could she possibly do? He said it so matter-of-factly that all possible awkwardness – and there was enough of that to go around – disappeared immediately, and she just laughed.

“Missionary?” She suggested, still trying to catch her breath.

“Boring,” Mike said. It was only slightly offensive. “And doggy sounds boring.”

“That’s your favorite!” she said, quasi-shocked.

“I know, that’s what’s driving me nuts!” he grumbled, burying his face in her neck. “I wanna try something new, if you’re okay with that?” And with another dose of those puppy-eyes… how could she say ‘no’?

“God, yes! Fuck me, please,” Elena cried out as Sherlock sank into her with a smooth thrust. The desperation in her request, paired with the sultry determination in her eyes raised heat and color to his cheeks. Elena grinned. Making Sherlock blush was easier and far more satisfying than she’d ever dared to dream. She reached for his neck, pulling his face to hers and kissing him fiercely before bringing her lips to his ear. “Go on, then, you know I love your cock.”

With shame clouding his cheeks and coloring his ears, he began to move. Slowly, at first, but soon encouraged by her words, increasing his pace until she yelped loudly. “Fuck! Just like that.” Upon hearing her words, the corners of Sherlock’s mouth twitched up into a gentle smile that didn’t go unnoticed by his lover. He couldn’t deny that he enjoyed receiving her praise at least as much as she enjoyed showering him with it. Even more than that, however, he appreciated her instructions. They were clear and concise and allowed him to please her better than he would have been able to without them, and he thanked her silently for them.

It wasn’t too long before he felt the increasing difficulty to keep his steady rhythm reach its peak. Through gritted teeth he let out a pained grunt. “I’m…” He didn’t make it past the first word of his sentence before his grip on her tightened involuntarily and he came, swearing softly under his breath. “I’m sorry,” he muttered shamefully as he retreated.

“What on earth for?” she said with a gentle chuckle.

“My… lacking stamina.”

“Give it some time, Sherlock. Besides, that was lovely, either way.” She wrapped her arms around him for a moment. “You know, a shower together wasn’t quite your thing, which I understand, though I do pity myself… but the bathtubs look quite nice…”

“What?” He… What?

“I love you,” he repeated quietly. So she’d heard correctly… “I’ve always loved you. As a friend, when we were little… Then as a little sister during the few years I talked myself into believing I was so much more mature than you – never was, of course—” he laughed awkwardly “— and then… Oh, God. You started bringing boys home on occasion and guys started to ask you out and whatever, and Peter would always complain about it. ‘What do they even see in her? She’s just my stupid little sister.’ And all I could think about was how pretty you were… It took me nearly two years to realize that…”

“That what, Marshall?” she whispered softly as she got up from where she was sitting and sat down next to Marshall instead.

“That I didn’t want to punch all those guys in the dick because I was protecting a sister.” He flashed an apologetic grin at her, while she barely managed to hold back a snort.

“I’ve had a crush on you for… years,” she admitted plainly, not daring to look him in the eye. “Ever since the summer I turned sixteen…”

“You avoided me for most of that vacation!” He laughed — the familiar sound she loved and that always reminded her of the fun the three of them used to have. “I was so confused, and our moms took me apart and told me that you were a little eh… ‘sweet on me’, I believe is the term mom used, and I laughed it off… didn’t believe a word of it.”

“No, they were right. I’d missed you and Peter so much when you were off to college, and our hockey games had been so much fun, and I’d been looking forward to seeing you again… and then you got out of the car the morning you got back, and it hit me like a ton of bricks.”

“What did?” he asked, clearly somewhat confused.

“You. And I didn’t even admit to myself it was a crush until about three days later, when you saved me from the collapsing chair. I was so shocked that I wasn’t disgusted by your chest hair anymore…” She couldn’t finish her sentence, because next to her, Marshall cracked up — and it took him a while and a half to be able to speak again.

“I’m sorry,” he chuckled, “don’t let me and my disgusting chest hair keep you from finishing your story.”

“Like I said: it suddenly wasn’t disgusting anymore,” she laughed as she pushed against his shoulder. “God, remember the last night?”

“What, the teen disco thing?” He snorted, a dirty grin spreading across his face. “Yeah I remember… Shit! Oh, fuck, Lex, did that upset you?”

“That you went outside with the girl I thought was my friend? Nah, why would you think that?” She could joke about it now, right?

“If it helps: she was a horrible kisser,” he said as he leaned over to her, “unlike you.”

“That’s not cuddling, August,” Anjelica said with a smile when she felt the tip of August’s cock at her entrance.

“We can do both,” he replied with determination. It was true, they could – although they hardly ever did, unless it was something one of them, or in this case both of them, really needed.

“I love you,” she whispered when he pushed into her with a grunt that would have to suffice as his answer. She pulled him along as she rolled onto her back, wrapping a leg around his waist.

“My beautiful angel,” he muttered softly against the skin of her neck as he pushed deeper, drawing a whimper from her lips. She moved her hips in time with his, rolling them into his movements as he gently rocked into her. “Good?”

“Mmhmm,” she hummed, a content smile on her lips.

His hand moved to her hip, grasping her tightly as he tried to keep his slow rhythm. It could be challenging; her tight walls clenching around him felt so good it always kept him on the verge of losing his ability to think straight, and there was the ever-present urge for him to make her cry out his name — in pain, in pleasure or both.

At the same time, he relished the thought that he could go for hours like this — if she’d let him, and from the sound of it, she would.

“I missed you,” she whispered suddenly, making August’s brows draw together in surprise. They were together more often than not… “I was so caught up in what I needed from you that I forgot to just want to spend time with you,” she admitted as she gently let her fingers trail the side of his face, tracing his jaw.

“Well then,” August started, bringing his lips to her ear, and snaking his arms tighter around her before he continued, punctuating his words with deep, lazy thrusts that made Ange squeal: “Let’s make sure we reconnect.”

“Shit, babe, this is ah—” Mike’s greedy hands dug roughly into the flesh of Dani’s ass. “Pretty fucking amazing, holy shit… Keep— damn!”

Dani couldn’t do much other than laugh at Mike’s all-over-the-place rambling and mumbling about how much he liked what was going on. Well, that and keep moving, bouncing up and down Mike’s cock while he barely even tried to keep quiet. He loved it, there was no doubt in her mind, but Dani herself? She mostly wondered if she looked as weird as she felt about this. And it was a whole fucking thigh workout…

Mike whined when she climbed off of him. “No, babe, don’t… Hey? What’s wrong?” He reached for Dani with a sweet smile — but the pleading puppy eyes didn’t go anywhere.

Reluctantly, Dani let herself be pulled into his arms. “I felt silly,” she muttered, hiding her face in his neck.

“You didn’t look silly,” Mike replied, littering her face and everywhere else he could reach with kisses, “you looked fucking hot. This ass” — he grabbed it for good measure — “jiggles like crazy and it’s literally so fucking good!”

“Mike!” The last thing Dani wanted to hear was that she jiggled in any kind of way. Even a good one.

“Babe,” Mike sighed, clearly exasperated. “What do you want me to say? What do you want to do? Turn off the lights, get under the covers and — ow! What? Don’t use Jacques to hit me!”

Then, he attacked her, tickling her until she begged for mercy.

“Not until you tell me you’re pretty!” he threatened, pressing a soft kiss to the tip of her nose that she tried to avoid — unsuccessfully.

“Never!” she laughed, and her stubbornness made him smile. Of course, it was easy for him to enjoy this: he wasn’t the one gasping for air as she struggled to keep his hands away from her body. “Okay! Fine! I’m pretty!”

“Yes, you are.” He ceased his attack immediately and wrapped her up in a big hug. “Now, remember that or I’ll have to punish you again,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“Oh no! I’ll be good, daddy, I promise!” Dani tried really hard to keep her face in check, but Mike’s reaction was so funny that she didn’t manage.

“Tell me you were joking!” he said, looking absolutely terrified, even when Dani finally failed to hold back her laughter. “Oh, good! That was…” He shuddered. “Don’t… Don’t call me that. Literally ever!”

“Looks like we found your weakness,” she laughed, poking at his side.

“This is preferable to the shower, but I’m still convinced you’re trying to boil me,” Sherlock sighed — a sound that was part annoyance and part pain — while Elena snuggled into his chest.

“Sorry, I didn’t exactly make the water more accommodating for you,” she chuckled, “I’m very cold.”

“Anything for you, darling,” he sighed, feigning a smile.

“You really are a quick study,” Elena laughed, trailing her fingers over his chest and abs. His muscles twitched under her touch, and she even felt his cock come alive against her hip.

“I have a great teacher,” he grunted as she continued her ministrations. The water temperature suddenly became a lot more tolerable — how strange.

The kiss that followed was gentle, and lasted just long enough to make Sherlock whine softly when she pulled back, his eyes begging her to keep going.

“I don’t mean to start something we can’t finish right now,” she whispered as she settled against his chest again.

A thoroughly sarcastic chuckle escaped him. “It’s a little late for that.” He didn’t mean to sound irritated — but the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

“I beg your pardon, Holmes?” She looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. “Are you suggesting we just… risk it?”

He opened his mouth to reply to her utterly ridiculous proposal, but his words got stuck somewhere between his brain and his mouth.

“What? Nothing smart to say?” Elena moved away from Sherlock as best she could, and looked at him, her eyes clearly posing a challenge she knew Sherlock and his rather limited experience with women were going to accept — except it looked like he still had absolutely nothing to say.

“I think I’ll just go,” he muttered quietly as he got up. Elena seemed less than inclined to come after him, and he prepared to escape the bathroom slightly flustered.

“Perfect,” she snapped at him as he walked back into the bedroom, “you were ruining my bath.”

He kissed her. Gently but decisively, and she gladly subjected herself to his treatment, not hesitating for a second. She’d missed him so much…

“We shouldn’t.” How someone could say that while pushing her back onto the mattress, she had absolutely no clue — but it annoyed her.

“Why not?” Lexi said, pushing Marshall off her and glaring at him. “Why can’t you just be with me unapologetically? Why is that so hard?”

“Lexi,” Marshall sighed, moving closer to her again. “We can’t just… hook up. We’ve never even been on a date.”

“Hockey game in two weeks,” she said with a devious smile. “There’s your date. Now, please kiss me?”

She didn’t have to tell him twice; before the words were good and well out of her mouth, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, making it abundantly clear that he planned on doing a lot more than just kissing her. Lexi’s arms immediately wrapped around Marshall’s neck, pulling him closer, and he was more than happy to oblige. Lips parted and tongues eagerly tangled, moans escaped both of them, hands slipped underneath sweaters and before long, most clothes had come off and fingers were wandering everywhere.

Lexi shivered when her fingers brushed past Marshall’s hardened length – no equipment failures tonight, or so it would seem. It seemed bigger than she remembered…

“Shh,” he whispered softly, “you know I’ll take good care of you.”

“I know,” she muttered. “It’s just… intimidating.” Her remark earned her a low chuckle.

“It’s a curse,” he replied with a wink.

She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure they all saw it that way,” she huffed, a hard to miss edge of annoyance to her voice.

“Six,” he said.

“What?”

“There have been six. Not including you. You are number seven.”

“And if we’re counting hand jobs and oral?”

“Eh… The number doubles,” he admitted. “You’re not the only one who’s been…”

“Intimidated, right?” Lexi stroked the side of his face, her fingers lingering briefly in his beard. She knew she had no right to be upset she wasn’t his first. He wasn’t exactly hers, either, but it stung, nonetheless.

“Lexi, please,” Marshall sighed, leaning his forehead against hers.

“I know, I know… Why did you even tell me?” Right. Like it was his fault…

“You were going to ask,” he sighed. He was right – which irked her. “Why do girls ask that question and then get mad about the answer?”

“Oh, I’m definitely picking this fight, just so I won’t have to deal with your scarily massive dick,” she joked. Okay, fine, half-joked.

“Hey, listen,” Marshal said, picking up on the serious edge to her voice, “if you don’t want to do this, we’re obviously not doing this. But I do want to keep making out, if you’re okay with that.” His eyes were kind, as was his smile, and the kiss he pressed to her neck was gentle and encouraging.

“Oh, I’m more than okay with that.”

She was in his lap now, slowly grinding her hips against his, while both of them moaned loudly with every move. August’s hands rested on her thighs, occasionally sliding up or down, but ultimately mostly leaving her to it. Ange had a hand between her legs and a blissfully fucked-out look on her face – that August was sad he couldn’t see, because Anjelica was riding him with her back towards him. Her slow tempo and sultry moans made him impatient, but he refrained from taking charge.

She was close — he could tell from the way her breath quickened, and with it, her pace.

“Fuck.” The sound was barely audible, as was the name that followed. A name that wasn’t August’s. And, unfortunately, he heard her — but he didn’t let her know. With an insidious little smirk on his handsome face, he let her do her thing, until she finally exploded around him. Then, as she slumped back against his chest, limp and worn out from what had sounded like an amazing orgasm.

August’s hand traveled briefly up her stomach and chest, lingering at her neck for a moment before he decided against his instinctive approach. Instead, he turned her on her knees and entered her from behind, not holding back for so much as a single moment. Within seconds, Ange was squealing into the pillows and grabbing the sheets while August pounded into her from behind. It took him one small adjustment to their position…

“Fucking hell,” she cried out, and he chuckled softly. She’d cum from this — and it wouldn’t take long.

He was right — of course he was. Barely a minute later, she came hard, her walls squeezing his cock so hard he couldn’t stave off his own release any longer.

“Dammit, August, what was that?” she panted, trying to catch her breath as she rolled over in bed.

“Oh,” he chuckled darkly, “so you do remember my name?” As soon as the words left his mouth, Anjelica’s eyes went wide.

“I still can’t believe you called me ‘daddy’,” Mike said, pouting and shuddering while clinging to Jacques.

“Babe, seriously,” Dani sighed, leaning over him. “It was a joke. Can we get back to what we were doing before?”

“Sweetcheeks, I honestly don’t think I’m going to be able to get it up tonight,” Mike groaned dramatically. It was a blatant lie, which Dani didn’t hesitate to point out.

“Uhuh,” she nodded, “nice semi, Mike.”

Mike curled up and glared at Dani, still clutching Jacques to his chest — making his girl laugh in the process. She curled up behind him and pulled the covers over them.

“Wow,” Mike muttered quietly into Jacques. “This is fucking nice.”

Dani chuckled as she pulled Mike closer. “Never been the small spoon before?”

He shook his head and made a ‘nu-uh’ kind of sound. “This is awesome. Do you get to feel like this all the time?”

“About half the time from here on out, I suppose,” she joked.

Mike turned around in her arms, still holding Jacques. “I’m not trying for your spot, babe. It’s just… nice, every once in a while, I guess.” He let out a deep sigh and settled into her side with his head on her chest.

“How did you get Jacques?” she asked after a while.

“Impulsive acquisition in high school. Remember the disaster-divorce?” Dani nodded in response to his question. “I was angry at the whole world for obvious reasons, and I walked past him on my way home from school. He made me smile, so I took him home.”

“And by ‘took him home’ you mean ‘bought’, right?” Dani gave Mike a meaningful look — or rather, tried to, because he wouldn’t meet her eye.

“Ehm… No, I mean ‘stole’.”

“Shoplifting, Mike, really?”  

“Yeah, I wasn’t in a great place, Sweetcheeks. My parents were fighting all the time, and…”

“Failing your classes didn’t get their attention, so you figured ‘juvenile delinquent’ might?” she asked semi-sarcastically — and, much to her surprise, Mike nodded.

“Pretty much. Started small. Nail polishes for whoever I was seeing that week—”

“Mike! Don’t…”

“Sweetcheeks, trust me, it all meant nothing, and I sure as fuck never closed, so… either way; nail polish, lighters… Jewelry, make-up. God, I was desperate.” He laughed.

“Lighters?” Dani asked. It felt like one of those primary school assignments: ‘Which word does not belong with the others?’

”Ehm… Yeah, me and my friends might have set a trash can or two on fire,” he smiled apologetically. “Like I said; not in a good place.”

“And Jacques?”

“Like I said; I saw him, and he made me smile. Reminded me of something from when I was younger, so I took him home.” He absentmindedly stroked Jacques’ head. Or… he was a Squishmallow, they’re all head…

“Never got caught?” Dani asked, curiosity finally fully taking over.

“Once. They let me off with a warning because they thought it was painfully obvious I did it to impress a girl. Needless to say, she was not impressed.”

“Go figure,” Dani teased while running her hands through his curls. “Were you doing it to impress her?”

“Duh,” he snorted. “Sweetcheeks, you may not have noticed this, but I’m not exactly smooth or anything.”

“Oh. No, I’ve noticed,” Dani deadpanned, leaving Mike glaring up at her.

“Thanks.” He rolled his eyes.

Sherlock ran through the conversation-turned-argument in his head a dozen times in a feeble attempt to uncover his mistakes, until the sound of Elena’s voice distracted him. The sounds coming from the bathroom left little to the imagination with regard to what was going on, and the realization made his cock twitch in his pants. Shame reddened his cheeks as he silently cursed at his body’s reaction, and he fought the urge to take matters into his own hands, so to speak.

Focusing on his reading proved impossible, so instead, he folded his hands on his stomach and waited until Elena finally emerged from the bathroom, hoping she would be in a better mood.

“Are you ready to apologize?” she snapped when she came into the bedroom.

Sherlock’s eyes went wide. “Apologize? What about you? You were being completely unreasonable!” Of course, he didn’t realize his mistake until it was too late.

“Get out of my bed,” Elena replied, her voice at least as cold as her eyes. “Now.”

“Where am I supposed to—”

“Lexi’s bed. The floor. I really don’t care, Sherlock.”

“Elena, I—” “Sherlock, fuck off,” she snarled. Bewildered, he got up and sat down on the other bed, watching Elena as she got into bed and turned off the lights.

For a while, he didn’t speak while he wracked his brain in another attempt to figure out where exactly things had gone wrong. “Elena,” he whispered softly, his voice drenched with utter despair, “can we please talk?”

“I have nothing to say to you,” she huffed, turning her back to him.

“Elena, I know you’re upset with me, and I’m very sorry that I did something to upset you,” he said as he quietly got up and walked over, putting a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off. “Please help me understand this situation so I can make things right.” This time, she let him put his hand down, and he sighed in relief — albeit carefully.

“Trust you, relax, tell you if it hurts,” Lexi repeated before taking a deep breath. Theoretically, she was plenty prepared to take him, but in reality? She wasn’t drunk this time, which made it a lot more difficult to relax when Marshall slowly pushed into her. Her face scrunched up when she felt the sharp pain she was familiar with.

“Lex—” Marshall started, but she shook her head.

“It’s okay, it’ll pass, just…” A hand on his lower back pulled at him, guiding him deeper.

 “N-no,” he stammered.

“Marshall, it’s fine,” she said with a warped smile.

“The fuck it is! Lexi, no.” He pulled out and dropped down on the mattress, next to her. “I’m not okay with this. I won’t hurt you.”

“Marshall, really, it’s no big deal,” she groaned. Why was he being so difficult?

“It is to me, Lexi! How can I have a good time when I’m hurting you? I don’t know how to make this clearer… I explicitly do not consent to hurting you.” There was something strange to his voice and about the way he punctuated every word of his last sentence very clearly and deliberately, and Lex I found herself quite occupied with trying to figure out what was bothering him when he announced he was going to take a shower.

“Can I join you?” she asked carefully when she figured he’d had enough time to cool off – and so had she. He growled a ‘yes’, but didn’t turn around when she stepped into the cabin. “Marshall, what happened to you?”

“Do we have—” A wet sounding slap against his shoulder interrupted him.

“Yes, Marshall,” Lexi said as she stepped around him and wormed her way into his arms. “We have to.”

“Alright,” he said reluctantly. “The first girl I ever slept with… Gina David, senior year. She said she was fine, but there were tears in her eyes, she was bleeding. I wanted to stop, but she insisted it was just… that it was just because it was her first time, too. She told me to keep going, I shouldn’t have, but she kept pushing me… and I—” His voice trailed off.

“You felt guilty,” Lexi filled in, and when she looked up, she was surprised to be met with Marshall, shaking his head.

“Not just that,” he said softly, “I felt violated.” He cleared his throat before speaking again: “I don’t care if we never do anything other than hand jobs and oral, Lexi. But I refuse to hurt you, and you can’t make me.”

“Marshall, I’m really sorry that happened to you. And I’m sorry for pushing you back there,” Lexis said softly.

Marshall shrugged and tucked a wet strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s alright, you didn’t know. I’m sorry that pain has always been so normal for you.”

She nodded, and then her face slowly began to show a smile. “Is it always that difficult?”

“No,” Marshall admitted, a small smile breaking through the sadness on his face, but his eyes weren’t playing along just yet. “You saw what happened when you relaxed, right?” He shrugged.

“We’ll get there,” she sighed as she leaned her head against his chest.

“Yeah, we will.”

“August, I didn’t… I’m so sorry! I can—” She covered her face with her hands, but August pulled them away again. Anjelica looked at him in shock. Was he smiling?

“Angel, it’s okay. I won’t mind the explanation, but there’s no need to get this worked up about it.” He was, indeed, smiling — after all, this had nothing to do with him. He knew Anjelica, he knew their relationship, and they were solid. “Why him?”

Despite his unbelievably relaxed attitude, Anjelica was less than excited about answering the question. “Well, eh…” She took a deep breath, while August pulled her into his arms. “I had this conversation with Sol a while ago. And being on this trip reminded me of… That thing that happened that one time…”

“Mike called it ‘the great fuck-off’,” August sighed.

“Mike knows?” Anjelica shrieked, looking at August in sheer terror.

“Oh, like you didn’t tell everyone at your little ‘girls night’,” he sneered, rolling his eyes. “It’s not like we were planning to tell them—”

“’Them’, as in ‘they all know’?” she sighed.

“Angel, please,” August snapped. “Like I said: It’s not like we set out to tell them, but we were drunk, the others were offering up some stories, they caught our mutual death-stares at each other, Mike and Sy came up with some theories that were all way worse than what had actually happened, so we told them the truth. I think they were fairly disappointed.” August shot a sideways glance at Ange. “Especially after the revelation that Dani isn’t as exclusively attached to Mike as we thought.”

“Oh, I think that was—” Anjelica started, but August raised a hand to… well, to shut her up.

“Ange, I honest to God don’t need to know. Back to your little Geralt-mishap from before.” “There’s really not that much more to tell. Are you upset?”

Her question prompted August to laugh. “Not really. I trust you, and I know nothing happened between the two of you. In part because I suspect Sol would have murdered you by now.”

“What makes you think she’d ever find out?”

“She’s you, but tall.” August deadpanned, and Anjelica couldn’t argue against his solid logic.  

“Do you ever…” Ange started, but August shook his head.

“Nice try, Angel. I wasn’t the one caught red-handed, I’m not incriminating myself.”

Mike snuggled closer to Dani and looked up at her. God, he was adorable.

“What’s wrong, babe?” she asked, stroking a curl away from his face.

“Dani, what are we?” On the list of all the things she thought he might say or ask her, that question was firmly at the bottom. In fact, she wasn’t even sure it was on that list. What she was sure of, though, was that she’d expected to have to ask him that herself — bit she hadn’t planned on doing that for another few weeks.

Confused, she looked at him. “You want to DTR?” It didn’t even seem like his style…

“Yeah,” he said, clearly uneasy — possibly because of her lack of an answer. “I mean… We’ve been going out, and I really like that. I really like you. And I’ve been calling you my girlfriend, but we never really talked about it and…” He looked away shyly. “I can’t even really tell you how I feel about you without saying something that’s just way too much, way too soon, but… yeah.” He shrugged — which was fairly difficult, because he was still lying on his side, snuggled up to Dani.

“Mike, I’d be super stoked to officially be your girlfriend,” she said, her smile stretching from ear to ear.

“You didn’t have to snap at me when all I tried to do was stop you from feeling uncomfortable,” she muttered.

“You’re right,” he admitted, “I didn’t mean to sound annoyed. I wasn’t annoyed. I’m sorry I made you feel that I was.”

Now, it was Elena who had nothing to say.

“Would you care to confirm my theory that telling you I thought you were being unreasonable really didn’t—”

“Oh, that was probably the dumbest fucking thing you’ve ever said,” she interrupted with a slight chuckle to her voice. “You were right, of course.”

“I’ve been told it’s not always wise to point that out,” Sherlock replied. “Are we… okay?”

Suddenly, Elena laughed, although Sherlock could have sworn he heard something of a sob in her voice as she did. “If you can accept my apology,” she said softly. “I—” She hesitated. “Oh god, alright. I’m afraid I’m a few days away from my period and my stomach hurts and I’m just… really sorry. It’s no excuse.”

“But it is an explanation,” Sherlock said as he pushed at her shoulder until she moved over, giving him enough room to climb into bed with her. “And a reasonable explanation at that. Come here.”

“I can’t believe our first fight happened because of my PMS,” she groaned as she snuggled into Sherlock’s side.

“Oh, I’m having no trouble believing it at all,” Sherlock chuckled in reply.

Immediately, Elena slammed a hand into his shoulder. “Sherlock Holmes, I swear I will make you sleep on the floor!”

“Easy, darling, I was only joking.”

[memento-yuumori]

I had a dream where William, Louis, John, and Sherlock took the Baker Street Irregulars on a field trip because Bond needed seats filled at a theater performance or something.

At one point Sherlock said “Liam do you want an update on the Lord of Crime? No one still had any idea who he is, isn’t that fantastic?” And he did a big delighted-Sherlock laugh.

And then when Sherlock was leaving he and William just kept saying goodbye to each other in different ways like Victorian “no you hang up”.

[topsyturvy-turtely]

Fluffbruary with turtely

(missed days edition)

Day 20

[day 19] [day 21]

prompts: will be listed at the A/N at the end (to not spoil my own story)

fandom: BBC Sherlock

will be uploaded to "That Stuff Called Fluff" on Ao3!

♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡

John was (almost) certain Sherlock wouldn't figure it out. Not because he wasn't smart enough (of course he was - it was hardly an unsolvable riddle), but because he wouldn't pay enough attention to it. So when John started with his little game at the first evening (he would give his hints only at evenings - to get some routine into it, to distinguish between his hints and his every day utterances), it was something unsuspicious, something Sherlock should be used to by now.

"You are fantastic", he said on Monday (at Scotland Yard, after his flatmate had deduced the murderer's motive in less than ten minutes). But still Sherlock gave him a side glance (which was slightly unbelieving) and started smiling (just a bit) when he saw John's big honest eyes.

Tuesday evening (when they sat across each other in their armchairs) John blurted, "You know, when you solved Greg's cold case the other day. That- you are..." John cleared his throat (awkwardly). "...amazing. Is all." Sherlock looked up, studied his face for a (-n intense) second and nodded. And then it (the intensity) was over.

John decided his hints needed to be more distinguished from his usual declarations (compliments). He wasn't sure why he had decided that: he was going to be sublte (but maybe he wanted to be busted?). This time (on Wednesday) he was not gonna say anything however. He grabbed a newspaper and a pen and circled four letters in the crossword puzzle. Ⓥariant, Ⓘllinois, Ⓟi. Then (hesitantly at first, determined at last) ⓊFO. He placed the newspaper beside him. He noticed Sherlock standing next to him at some point (tea mug in his hand) scanning the newspaper (for just a few seconds too long) then catching John's eyes. The doctor raised his eyebrows innocently. (He was being obvious wasn't he?) And they never exchanged a word about it.

When Sherlock wanted to leave their flat late Thursday afternoon to get cigarette patches (John had refused to get them for him), he was only wearing a dressing gown. John looked at him, mouth wide open. "Are you going like this?"

"I don't see why not.", the detective (manchild) replied.

"You truly are one-of-a-kind." (Fine, it might have been a compliment packed in an insult but John needed to be more subtle). Sherlock said, "You should know that by now.", and left (in dressing gown and dress shoes).

Friday night they walked home side by side (from a dinner, that would probably count as a date if they would want that), arms brushing (not so) accidentally. Sherlock looked up to the sky, at all those stars above them. "It's ravishing, isn't it?", he asked. And John stared at him with disbelief (love) in his eyes. Then he took the opportunity and whispered so quitely Sherlock (almost) couldn't hear, "So are you."

On Saturday they solved a case together (Anderson had sarcastically called them 'dream team'). And when they got home, already fallen into their respective armchairs, suddenly Sherlock started laughing loudly (unapologetically). And John (couldn't help but) join(ed). Getting more and more giggly every time Sherlock laughed (snorted with laughter). "You are intoxicating", John said when they have calmed down a bit. And together they exploded into another laughing fit.

On Sunday Sherlock had cooked something for them (it wasn't all that great, to be honest). And John (teasingly) grinned at him. "You are such a talented cook, Sherlock." And his flatmate grinned right back at him.

They ate their dinner together - in (comfortable) silence. Well, John tried to, Sherlock busied himself sorting his food ingredients next to each other by their colors and sizes. Then he dropped his fork suddenly (making a loud noise). "I figured it out."

John just raised his eyebrows at Sherlock. "What exactly are you talking about?"

"Your... your game. Your riddle. Whatever you wanna call it."

John (didn't know what to say or do so he just) continued looking at Sherlock.

"You were spelling a word. Each evening a new compliment, each somehow describing... personality traits."

John still didn't say anything so the genius continued, "Fantastic, amazing, VIP, one-of-a-kind, ravishing, intoxicating, talented. You were spelling favorite to me. Packed in a riddle."

John smiled at him. "Nice deduction, Sherlock."

Sherlock waved away his (additional) compliment. "Favorite... favorite... favorite WHAT, John?"

"Your genius brain hasn't figured it out yet?", John countered. "A four words sentence. The most important one was the riddle itself. Two were included in every presentation of a hint. Fourth needs to be filled by conclusion."

Knitted eyebrows soothed. "You are..."

John nodded. "The two words provided in the hints..."

Sherlock's eyes widened, "My... favorite?", he asked incredulously. "I am your favorite?"

"You are my favorite.", John nodded, a soft, loving smile on his face. He crossed a boundary he had never dared to cross before and reached his hand out to take Sherlock's in his.

"That- that's...", Sherlock rarely fought for words but John had an effect on him, that made him discover new things about himself every day. He glared at their hands, seemingly decided to focus on words instead, and whipped his gaze up, "What was the E gonna stand for?"

John looked at the floor, before he took a deep breath and stared directly into Sherlock's eyes. "Evermore. You are my favorite for evermore, Sherlock." He squeezed his hand three times (which means 'I love you') and Sherlock forgot how to speak, but squeezed John's hand three times back, because he knew it means 'I love you' and he did (undeniably) love John, too.

♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡

A/N: prompts: favourite | reveal | lounge by @fluffbruary <3

YES to feedback! 💚🐢💚🐢

tag list! (tell me if you wanna be added or removed💚) @justanobsessedpan @helloliriels @fluffbyday-smutbynight @inevitably-johnlocked @hisfavouritejumper @rhasima @forfucksakejohn @ohlooktheresabee @turbulenttrouble @so-youre-unattached-like-me @totallysilvergirl @peanitbear @train-mossman @loki-lock @smulderscobie @timberva @grace-in-the-wilderness @chinike @pansherlock @the-smol-bean-libby-blog @jawnn-watson @whatnext2020 @escapingthereality @missdeliadili @kettykika78 @musingsofmyown @7-percent @speedymoviesbyscience @astudyin221b @francj15 @almosttinycowboy @ladylindaaa @we-r-loonies @mxster-jocale @sherlockcorner @noahspector @our-stars-graveside @jobooksncoffee @baker-street-blog @psychosociogentleman @quickslvxr @macgyvershe @myladylyssa @johnlock2708 @battledress @a-victorian-girl @dreamerofthemeadow @oetkb12 @ohnoesnotagain @mutedsilence

[septemberrie]

fic asks

Thank you for the tag @junkshop-disco!

How many works do you have on ao3?

44!

What's your total ao3 word count?

560,688

What fandoms do you write for?

At this point, just Fate: the Winx Saga but I have a smattering of other fandom one shots on my ao3. Call me a serial monogamist, I guess? It takes a lot for me to be possessed enough to write, so it rarely happens for multiple fandoms at once.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Tempting Fate

Battle Lines

Point of No Return

A Man Plans a Tree in Whose Shade He May Never Sit

En Garde

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I always mean to! but sometimes the Anxiety gets in the way. I made a concerted effort like a month ago to reply to some out of date comments and I'm hoping to continue.

What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I have a history of writing one-shots of whump prompts, so some of those have quite punchy endings. Fate is a very dramatic show and so it's not a far leap to be cruel sometimes. But of my longfics, It Was Just Red is definitely the angstiest, but to be fair it's a prequel story to one with a happier ending.

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

I've written quite a few I would consider happy, one that comes to mind of late is A Lady's Guide to Fools and Fortunes, the Rivusa Bridgerton AU I wrote with Val.

Do you get hate on fics?

In a previous fandom I received hate for a twist ending to a longfic. To be fair to my audience, I didn't lay much groundwork (at all) for the twist; I was still a young author who thought it was fun to pull the wool over the eyes of my readers. After BBC Sherlock showed me how awful that was (plus general maturity), I have since learned my lesson.

I've also gotten a comment or two criticizing my characters' choices and I steam over them but ultimately ignore them. A character making a bad choice doesn't mean I'm endorsing that choice. I don't want to read a story about perfect people who never do anything wrong, and I'm definitely not going to write that either.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Are there different kinds of smut? Tropes, maybe? I have written everything from fading to black to fully explicit group sex. At this point I tend to fade to black except when I consider the detail important to the story (for example, choosing to break a vow of celibacy…).

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I have never really grokked crossovers, I don't think I have that kind of brain where I can reconcile separate worldbuilding. It's never grabbed me as a reader, either, but I am a bit envious of those with the imagination to do it!

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yeppers.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! I had one fic translated recently, with permission, and I'm glad I did because a hilarious catfight erupted in the comments, involving the anonymous aggressor informing my translator that her father, the owner of ficbook, was going to delete the fic, and co-opted a sock account to validate Anonymous Aggressor's paternity.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yessss my usual partner in crime is Val who is fantastic at motivation and bouncing off ideas. Mo my usual beta who provides amazing enough feedback I sometimes feel like I should list her as co-writer.

What's your all-time favorite ship?

I'm a multi-shipper; I tend to fixate on one character and I'm happy to explore their dynamic with a variety of ships.

What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

In general if I start posting something then I'm going to finish it, no matter how brutal it gets. But starting to think that The Last Resort, my Rivusa fake dating AU with Val, might never recover from Fate S2.

What are your writing strengths?

I think I am pretty good at conveying characters' states of mind, through their internal thoughts and what they're physically doing. I think my writing has dramatically improved in the last two years since I got into Fate and most of that has to do with being thoughtful about showing what characters are thinking/doing and why, instead of telling.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Listen. I amn just a litle creacher. Sometimes I just completely miss certain things in canon and their implications, so off I go writing away my own interpretation that's "incorrect" (yeah yeah I know, fuck canon, but it matters to me! Sometimes!). I can be very guilty of projecting qualities onto my most fave and least fave characters that are a stretch when reconciled with canon.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Sure? I have learned not to treat your readers with kid gloves. They can figure out meanings from context.

First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter, on my neopets.com petpage because I didn't know about LiveJournal or fanfiction.net

Favorite fic you've written?

This is just cruel to have to choose! But I always circle back to Point of No Return. Rereading it now there are a lot of improvements I would make to the writing, but a) it's the fic that got me back into writing after a 5ish year dry spell, b) it hits pretty much all of my fave tropes/whumps, c) it led me to connecting with a new community that I now speak to daily and have even visited across the ocean! and d) it absorbed so much of my life (I wrote 60k in a little over a month) that I finally had the guts to share my writing hobby with my partner, who is wonderfully supportive. That fic changed my life for the better in so many ways.

I tag @whenshesayshush @faytalepsy @blue-aconite and whoever else wants to do this!