#logic gets thrown out for a bit but I think this concept is so funny

[mcfaucet]

(spoilers) something something au where both kids get adopted. des in stansbury

[slyvieselkie]

Winx: Fate Saga writing ideas (Season 1)

Hi Lovelies, this is something I had been thinking of for quite some time and finally decided to release it.

So, I'm sure many people have heard and seen Winx: Fate Saga. Just like many of the fans who grew up watching the cartoon, I did not enjoy it a single bit. Winx to me was almost perfect the way it was, maybe a little alterations here and there, but the concepts and ideas they had were beautiful. And Netflix could not have fucked it up worse than they did with the dumbass Riverdale plot line.

Let me explain. Season 1 had some incredible ideas, most it revolving around finding your own identity and understanding it. While it's a cliche story, it's still a great start and connection to many young people nowadays who have no idea where they belong.

For things to take a darker turn, I would start with Bloom and casual discrimination. The world of magic is seen as an incredible and amazing world, this would be a good coming of age moment for Bloom. This amazing world of endless possibilities, combination of dreams and fairy tale seem too good to be true. And it is. Slowly Bloom comes to notice the glances she receive and the whispers of the students around her. She might be a fairy but she's still not one of 'them'. At first Bloom tries to fight it but with her fiery personality it never works out and soon she gives up on trying to fit in conflicted over whether she should just return to Earth as just another girl. She doesn't belong anywhere at this point.

Next up is one of the greatest story line that was skimmed over very briefly in the cartoon. Tecna and her understanding of emotions. This is an amazing and interesting plot. Young people nowadays believe that they feel too much and what to control their emotions. Tecna brings an interesting perspective to this as she has learnt to always place logic first, neglecting her emotions and therefore being unable to identify them, understand them, and truly express them. Throughout the story, she goes through many challenges with this new group where all of them are led by their hearts and emotions. Tecna begins to feel angry, to feel sad, and confused. She tries to distance herself worried about what it happening, actually she feels scared that her world is now being thrown upside down. Once Tecna finally realises this, she now feels jealous at the fairies who can express themselves freely.

Princess Stella...was a complete abomination in the Netflix series. This is how I would rewrite, a character that is beloved by all and yet not many know the real her. Her character was one that defied stereotypes, how the popular and pretty girl doesn't have to be a bully. She's bright, happy, funny and snarky. She's the personification of the sun. I would start with creating an image of Stella as the girl who Bloom wants to become. Then it slowly begins to crumble, the smiles drop and the snark turns into words of hate. Bloom comes to realise the Stella they've all been seeing is the princess, not the 16 year old girl who has problems of her own. And every time someone tries to reach out, Stella will build a brick wall between them. Using smiles and laughs. I think it would be better to leave Stella's problem for Season 2, to keep her mysterious.

Honestly I could not remember what Musa was like in the Netflix series. But Musa in the cartoon was a very interesting character. She's the fairy of music, her mother died when she was younger due to them not having enough money to buy medicine. She's a tomboy and puts on a tough front, despite being the most emotionally vulnerable. I would start developing Musa from her childhood of being the daughter of a successful food tycoon. That's all she's known for, having a rich dad. Who is never around by the way and pressures her to get good grades because she will be taking over the business one day. From childhood she had been used by so called 'friends' for her money, treated differently by everyone, and had very few adults to look up to. Because of this, Musa rejects everything related to her father. Except food and music. Because she still remembers the poor times when they sat around the dinner table picking at the humble dishes but still feeling full with each other's love. Why I chose food was that many second generation Asian imigrants have conflict with their Asian heritage and the way many reconnect is through food. This could also be the same for other cultures.

Lucky last is Flora. Flora is a gorgeous girl with the kindest heart and if she wasn't a fairy she would have to be an angel. Flora, unlike the other girls, does not receive her own story line in the cartoon. However, Flora is the eldest with a little sister. I imagine that as the older sibling, she would be raised to be responsible and be the perfect role model for her young sister to look up to. And she began to embody that as her personality. Flora stays in line and helps everyone out as much as she can. Meaning she starts to get taken advantaged off, and Flora knows it but only accepts it with her smile. Because this is her identity and she feels safe having an identity. But as the other girls begin to mature, Flora begins to understand how changing can be a good thing and starts to break out of her chains.

Mix this in with the core events from the cartoon and some mature fighting scenes, and you have a dark show that doesn't seem so stupid! Well to me any-wait! I forgot about the other characters! Stay with me just a little bit longer.

Onto the Trix (potentially my favourite characters)

For this season, I think I would chose Darcy as the main character with a dilemma of the trio. In the cartoon, Darcy in the first season is physically attracted to Riven (can't blame her) and uses her magic to manipulate him so he would become their spy. I would make this connection more romantically depressed. During his time being manipulated, Riven breaks out multiple times and insults her stating witches like her will always end up behind bars. Darcy grows frustrated that Riven is mentally strong and has no interest in her, not even through her looks and body. As their problems grow personal, Darcy rants to him about how the world and stupid boys always view witches as evil and fairies as good. Here her background is shown. Starting out as just a normal girl, Darcy begin to show signs of dark magic and accept her powers at a young age. Due to this Darcy grew up and begin to act more mature than her peers, dressing more provocatively, and the boys flock towards her. Young and rash, she does whatever they want and gives all of her only to be thrown away for a fairy when everyone begins to split between evil and good. Giving up on Riven, she puts him under her full control, miserable Darcy locks away her emotions and gets back on track with the plan. At the end she is led away to prison and Riven approaches her saying some sweet words to make her heart flutter. With a smirk, Darcy walks off.

Now for some Specialists!

Brandon (definitely my favourite) is Prince Sky's squire, essentially his servant, and merely Sky's shield. But while he is a servant, Brandon is smart, funny, and an amazing swordsman. He is dating the Princess Stella. The man is winning at life. But he is still a servant and that is all he will be for the rest of his life. Besides, Stella doesn't even know who he is. He and Sky swapped identity to protect Sky from a terrorist. Stella thinks she's dating a prince right now, she's not. Just like his girlfriend, Brandon locks all of his insecurities away with a bright smile. Until the secret is revealed and Brandon is back to being at the bottom of society. After this he tries to distance himself from Stella but after the attack begins and Stella is thrown into danger, Brandon charges in to save her and realise he loves her too much. He'll fight his way up, to a knight, a commander, someone important enough that will allow him to stand next to the princess confidently.

To those who read this whole thing, you are truly my lovelies! This is my version of Winx, mature and darker. Winx mixed in with reality to touch the emotions of it's audience which has now grown up or face the trouble of growing up. Please go ahead to add in your ideas and also do this for other shows as well! That's all from me 💋

[violetlunette]

Hi! I read through your blog and i find your analysis so interesting! Personally i like a lot of the characters you criticise and you definetly helped me figure out my mixed feelings or think of a new perspective. (this isnt a bad thing btw i like hearing your perspectives) (Like, i always liked Toga but her character was iffy to me and Shinsou i liked but you made me realise i like the potential of him more than his canon lol)

Anyways, sorry if this is a weird question but who are two characters who never (or very little) interacted in canon that you would like to see interact?

Personally i want Mr Compress and Monoma to interact.

Like i know theyre on opposite sides and have no reasons to but the two have some overlapping concepts. Mr Compress is descended from a phantom thief and Monoma calls himself Phantom Thief and theyre both crafty and sneaky character.

Does it make any sense? No. So i think they would get along? Absolutely not. Do i think it would be funny? Yes. Do I want them to eventually get along? Yes but they would be kicking and screaming.

Its purely self indulgent i admit. Sorry if its annoying but im interested if you have any characters you would also like to see together.

I’m glad to introduce new perspectives to others as that’s what I try to do here! I’m glad people like them! ^_^ And I don't self-indulgent stuff especially when it allows be to be as such. Anyway, Monoma and Compress would be interesting. Both do present themselves as thieves for the greater good and have out-there personalities. I have TONS of characters I wish interacted more. Below are a few off the top of my head but there’s not a lot of detail right now. (Maybe someday…)

Present Mic and Ochako; there’s a set-up for some good interaction as he obviously likes her a lot. No, really. I love Mic’s blatant favoritism with her and I think it would be nice for Ochako to have a personal cheerleader. They also have a lot in common by being the emotional support to underdogs they admire, being energetic, and having a focus on their careers.

Aizawa and Present Mic with Tsuyu; Tsuyu is my favorite candidate for the Maizawa Family child (along with Izuku). Tsuyu not only shares traits with Aizawa but Present Mic as well; All three share bluntness, and empathy, and take care of the ones they love. Tsuyu also shares Aizawa’s rational nature, Hizashi’s supportive nature, along with his ability to see the bigger picture. At first, Mic may be thrown off that he can’t read her expressions but over time he would be able to read her body language and realize her feelings easily. Tsuyu would take care of both the men, however, they never let her take too much upon herself (though it would be hypocritical all around). What Tsuyu has that neither don’t, however, is that she’s able to look at the bigger picture of things logically, whereas they focus more on the emotions of the people they love. Speaking of which;

Todoroki and Tsuyu; These may not show it, but they are very emotional people. They love and care for their friends and basically the mom and dad friends. However, where they differ is their morals. I think it would be interesting to see Todoroki’s ideology of, “screw it, I’m doing what’s best for my friends and family” vs Tsuyu’s “Even though it hurts me, I will put what's right and the well-being of the world above my emotional needs.”

Hizashi and All Might; Shipping thoughts aside, these two have a lot in common, and I believe Mic would be able to help All Might come out of his shell more and help him with understanding people more. (Remember, All Might had to keep to himself for years to keep his secret, so social interaction isn’t his strong suit.) Likewise, I think Mic could use emotional support that isn’t tsundere-ish all the time or snarky.

Midnight and Momo: Both share the fact that they are very secure in their bodies (perhaps a bit too much). It would be nice to show Midnight giving Ochako more confidence in herself as a leader (especially since the manga wants us to believe that’s the case). Also, these two are opposite enough to be interesting as a mentor and mentee, as Midnight is someone very comfortable with her sexuality, and Momo is an Inugene.

Six and Izuku; I’m going to do an entire post on this someday but I think these would be very interesting as enemies.

Knuckle Duster and All Might: Polar opposites, yet they share the fact that they started off as heroes but lost their powers which ended their careers. (I like comedic opportunities with All Might trying to hold Knuckle Duster back from punching someone.)

Makoto and Hizashi: Mic has a busy schedule and Makoto can organize it. That and I believe that she’s one of the few that could handle his energy as she has just as much. If nothing else, she would be a good manager to him.

[stars-a-n-d-scars]

10 Days of Summer - Chapter 1

Hi so no one was really seeing this over on ao3 and I worked really hard on it, so I decided to give it a shot over here. The next 9 chapters will be coming soon, so follow me or the tag to see them!

- Mia x

*

It was the hottest summer Buckinghamshire had ever seen. The rolling fields were dusted with the final remnants of spring, as the less-resilient plants wilted and those suited to the sweltering conditions flourished. The sun sat high in the sky for so long that one began to wonder if the night would ever come. Of course, it always did, but was rarely accompanied by any sort of liberation from the fervor.

The only relief to be gleaned from the unnerving sensation of being cooked in your own skin could be found in the cool waters of a large, clear lake that sat beside a homely manor, nestled in the hills of the county. Hidden beneath the outstretched branches of various trees, the lake had been subject to many a morning swim or late-night gathering over the years. It was here, in fact, that the four marauders could be found, on the hottest day of August, 1975.

With Euphemia and Fleamont gone to France for the summer, the boys had taken the opportunity to spend their last 2 weeks at the Potter estate. Of course, James’ parents had been reluctant to let the boys stay there without a set of rules, and so they created a long list of guidelines, all of which the marauders had plans to break before their return to Hogwarts on the 1st of September. It had already been four blissful days of this, and they still had 10 to go when we join the group.

Sprawled in their various positions around the lake, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew were all basking the shade of the trees, simply taking in this pocket of bliss they had found in a world that was becoming increasingly more war-like with each passing second. The sun was shining overhead and they were with each other. And in that moment, that was all they needed.

The silence was broken with a loud splash, followed by an indignant “OI!” Remus clambered out of the water and up the bank, his eyes fixed on is assailant, vengeance in his expression.

“You fucking moron! I was reading! You could have thrown any one of them into the lake! Merlin knows a good dip would’ve done Peter some good, but no! You had to choose me!” His outburst was cut short when he got close enough to take in Sirius’ expression. His face, far from showing any signs of regret, instead bore his signature Sirius Black smirk. One corner of his mouth was upturned, his nose scrunched in a way that suggested both innocence and the opposite. It was an expression that, on anyone else, would have looked out-of-place and frankly stupid, but that befitted Sirius’ features perfectly. Remus had often marveled at how it drew out his devilishly handsome side.

Having lost his train of thought completely, his wand limp in his hand, Remus decided the best thing to do was to go and find a nice warm patch of sun in which to dry off. Sirius, however, had other plans. Remus had barely taken two steps toward his towel before he was grabbed around the waist and thrown, for the second time that day, headfirst into the water.

Sinking was an enjoyable feeling. Down there, in the water, nothing could hurt you. It was all up to you. Sound became nothing but a detached concept, and time joined it in its alienation. You could sink forever, simply being engulfed by the soft waves of the water, and emerge not a second later. Remus did just that. As his head broke the surface, spluttering, he lashed out wildly and managed to grab hold of an ankle. Pulling hard, the owner of said ankle tumbled into the lake next to him, and Remus soon found himself floating, face to face, with Sirius, once again bearing that ridiculous grin.

As both of the boys tried to catch their breath, time stopped. And it was just them. Remus and Sirius, Sirius and Remus. Floating in that never-ending pool of possibilities. Breaths became heavy as an invisible force seemed to draw them closer, closer.

Their noses were nearly touching now Remus could see every detail of Sirius’ eyes from here. He could almost pinpoint the exact place where blue leaked into grey, which leaked into black. It was strange, really, how anyone’s eyes could be so captivating. Almost a point of curiosity. Eyes had a purpose. They captured light, which was then translated into information, which was then processed by the brain to take in the person’s surroundings. So why did all logic defy Sirius’ eyes to be so beautiful? They had no reason to be. It wasn’t to make it easier to see. It wasn’t to draw in a mate (because merlin, he needed no help with that), so why? Their breath mingled in the moist summer air, their lips inches apart. It was taking every ounce of restraint that Remus had in his not to close the gap and snog his best mate senseless, but then again, that was the norm when you were secretly in love with your best friend.

The tensions was shattered by the snap of a book closing.

“Alright, boys, I’m bored”, James announced, stowing Quidditch Through the Ages in the small bag he had brought down from the house. The boys sprung apart, all nervous coughing and straightening of hair. Remus hurriedly turned his back on his – what, crush? It was more than that. But he knew one thing for certain; now was not the time to figure it out. This was what he told himself as he climbed up the bank and rolled out onto the grass.

In an attempt to restore himself to his former state of nonchalance, Remus rolled his eyes sarcastically (quite successfully, given the situation he was actually thinking about).

“You’re reading that book again? You’ve barely taken your hands off of it all summer!”, he said, pulling Sirius up the bank after him (and definitely not thinking about the sensation of his friend’s warm, wet hand in his).

Sirius grinned. “Aw, lay off him Rem. This is the first year Lily had gotten him a birthday present. Honestly, I would be concerned if he read it any less than a thousand times.”

This comment was met with a playful shove from James, but the lovesick boy couldn’t hide his grin at the recollection of Lily’s favor. James shook the memory from his mind (with difficulty, it seemed).

“I’m bored. Let’s go to town, grab a milkshake or something.”

Sirius, always keen for an outing to the muggle town that was located less than a kilometer from the Potters’ house, agreed almost immediately. Peter followed suit at the mention of food, and began rummaging in his pocket for the stash of muggle money his parents had granted him for the holiday. Remus was somewhat more reluctant.

“I don’t know guys. It’ll be dark soon, and I don’t really want to go walking around a strange village in the middle of the night.”

“It’s not a strange village, Rem! Jamie grew up here!” (The use of the less-than-favorable nickname earned Sirius yet another shove). “Plus… there’s an antiques store. And last time I was there the owner said they’d be getting a new stock of books in this summer.”

“You know me too well”, Remus caved, and packed up his stuff. They went and dropped off their things at the main house, got changed into some town-going clothes and headed for the road that led down into the charming muggle settlement of Padbury.

**

It really was a lovely little town. Old cottages with thatched roofs skirted the border, with carefully-trimmed gardens of heather and honeysuckle. A beautiful old church sat in the town center, with a clock tower and a bell that frankly, shouldn’t still be operational, given it’s age. But, as many things in the town of Padbury, it seemed to be denied the effects of the passage of time, and instead chimed beautiful notes out over the countryside every hour.

The main road took the boys right into the middle of the town, where a collection of stores seemed to be waiting for them. The town square had everything, ranging from mechanics to diners, from supermarkets to florists. And, nestled in between a non-descript restaurant and a lavender-adorned wall, was a beautiful little antique store. Remus made a beeline for it, but was stopped in his tracks by James’ hand on his wrist.

“Come on Remus. Let’s go check out that comic-book store first! I love muggle comics, they’re so corny…”

Remus sighed, knowing that very few people could ever change his friend’s mind, and began to follow him across the street. But fortunately, Sirius was one of the people capable of performing that miraculous feat, and, in that moment, happened to be on Remus’ side.

“C’mon James. Remy doesn’t want to spend hours with you oggling at randos in spandex and getting inspiration for your next move at Evans. You take Pete over to the comic-book store, and Remus and I will go to the antiques shop.” Sirius shot a smile Remus’ way, which managed to both make his heart beat a million miles a second and stop it altogether.

James scoffed. “What do you want with an antique shop?”

“I have to get something for Reggie’s birthday, and he loves old dusty books and things. Plus, I have no desire to spend any amount of time dicussing whether or not Lily would think it was funny if you dressed up as Superman for halloween.”

Without giving James a chance to retort, Sirius dragged Remus back across the street and into the antique store before he even had a chance to register what was going on.

The second they entered the store, the rest of the world fell away. Somehow, the noise of the bustling street outside was silenced, and the only sound that could be heard was the ticking of an ancient grandfather clock that stood in the corner. Remus revolved on the spot, taking in every inch of the sequestered nook that they had just stumbled upon. Ornate carvings of all sorts sat in the windows, varying from animals to sprawling, intricate landscapes. Tapestries and paintings hung on the walls, each a moment of time, perfectly captured and eternalised on canvas. Furniture, bits and pieces and other oddments that had washed up in this place over the years were scattered haphazardly around the room, making for a display of authenticity that, although was now mostly gone from the world, seemed to have survived in this tiny corner of the English countryside. And the books. Oh, the books. They lined ever wall, and were stacked 10 high on shelves. Strewn and slid into every nook and cranny where they would fit. Not in any way categorized, but instead exactly where they were always meant to be. Delicate printings of Jules Verne, Ernest Hemmingway and even Shakespeare were mixed in with books as common as The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Remus closed his eyes and breathed. He breathed in the smell of dust and time. He breathed in the taste of the years these books had seen, the years he might catch a glimpse of between their pages. Be breathed because here, he could.

A soft hand rested on his shoulder and an even softer voice pulled him, somewhat reluctantly, from his reverie.

“Rem?”

Remus opened his eyes. It was Sirius. God, it was always Sirius.

“I’m going to look over here for something for Reggie”, he gestured to the carvings in the windows. “You take your time, okay? We have all day. Hell, we have all summer.”

Remus could do no more than nod as the comfortable weight on his shoulder lifted and he found himself alone again.

**

An hour and a half later, the boys exited the store with more books than anyone could possibly read, and two small, hollow carved flowers that Sirius had plans to enchant so that he could send his brother messages by placing a note inside his, and having it be transported to Regulus’.

They met up with James and Peter in the diner, and ordered four caramel milkshakes. When they came, Sirius whipped out his flask and added a little ‘extra flavour’, as he liked to call it. When the boys had finished their concoctions, they started to head home. However, it was quickly discovered that with the combined weight of Remus’ books, Sirius’ wooden flowers and James’ numerous gifts that he had gotten for Lily (“Maybe we should have gone with him, you know, for impulse control…”), it was going to be all but impossible to walk back to the manor. And so was hatched what was simultaneously the best and worst idea any of the marauders ever had. To rent a motorbike.

All they had to do was walk down to the mechanic down the street and rent one of the bikes they had going. They would only need it for a day, and would bring it back tomorrow. And so, the combined riches of James and Sirius making cost something of a trivial topic, the plan was enacted. The books were placed in a basket on the front, which was lowered so that Sirius could see. James’ takings from the trip were strapped (with slightly excessive security methods) to the back, and the flowers were placed in the side bags. After a few failed attempts at getting the bike started and close calls for the wooden ornaments, Sirius managed to be riding along next to the other boys at a steady pace. It took them no more than 20 minutes to get back home, at which point it occurred to them all that they were wizards, and could have easily bewitched all of the objects to float along beside them as they walked.

The boys ended the night collapsed around the living room fire. James charmed it so that it kept them cool, rather than warm, and Sirius entertained himself by making multi-coloured rainbows blossom from his wand. In the firelight, he looked over at Remus and smiled. Not a smirk, not a grin, a smile. And that smile what all it took for Remus to realise that he was totally and completely done-for. He was in love.

As Sirius went back to blowing bubbles, Remus began to drift off to sleep. The last coherent thought that entered his mind that night was this:

Merlin, it’s going to be a long 10 days.

*

I hope you liked it!!!

[hi-hey-haechan]

can i request 41 + 50 for jaemin? thankss🥺👉👈

Thank you for requesting!

Prompt list is here

41: “The only way you’re getting off is on my thigh.”

50: “Shut up”

Warnings: masturbation, thigh riding because I kinda have a kink. Also, I originally wrote for the wrong dialogue...

It wasn’t your fault that Jaemin barged into your bedroom while your fingers were knuckles-deep in your pussy. While Jaemin would technically disagree with that statement, you stood by this. He just opened the bedroom door, not even thinking you could be doing anything you wouldn’t want him to see. You’d been dating for two and a half years, so there was really nothing to hide.

Plus, it was Jaemin’s fault for turning you on, even when he wasn’t home. Like, a music video teaser dropped, and he looked so good. His hair color suited him perfectly, and the way he stared into the camera so seductively reminded you of how he’d look at you when he was needy. You then proceeded to watch a couple of Jaemin fancams, and just like that, you needed him right there, right then.

So naturally, your hand traveled down your body, closer to your aching core. You frantically removed your jeans and panties, honestly embarrassed by your own eagerness in that moment.

Your fingers ran over your folds, barely touching them, sending a strong sensation through your entire body. Your sensitive skin was slick with arousal, and just the act of rubbing your core was making you even needier. With your fingers, which were now wet, you began to rub circles on your clit, swollen from lack of attention. The sudden stimulation caused a quiet moan to escape past your lips, and you closed your eyes, allowing yourself to get lost in the feeling.

While stimulating the bundle of nerves, heat pounded at your hole. To soothe the ache, you slipped a finger inside of you. It wasn’t difficult to do, since you were already dripping wet. You weren’t nearly satisfied though, so you inserted a second one, which was more of a stretch. Your fingers weren’t anything close to Jaemin’s member inside of you, but it was as close as you could get.

You were so far lost in the pleasure, pumping your fingers inside of you, that you didn’t even hear the front door open. Jaemin’s name fell off your lips in a moan, your mind full of him. His pure smile, which so quickly could become a seductive smirk. His bright eyes, which were easily readable. His loveable laugh and warm voice and sweet, funny personality, too. There was that side of him, which you loved the most. However, when your mind flickered to his abs, and the way his muscles tensed under the brush of your fingertips...that side of him was also attractive.

Jaemin stood in the doorway of your bedroom, seeing how long it would take you to notice him. He was definitely enjoying the view, seeing you so high on pleasure, moaning his name as your fingers slid in and out of your hole.

You opened your eyes for a second, for your head had been thrown back against the pillow with your eyes screwed shut. When you saw your boyfriend standing in the doorway, watching you masturbate, you flinched, startled. Immediately, you withdrew your hands and scrambled around for the nearest loose blanket to cover you.

“You seemed to be enjoying yourself,” he mused. He stood there smirking at you, his arms crossed as he stared.

“Shut up,” you sighed, pulling your underwear back on awkwardly.

“At least I’m not punishing you for it,” he offered.

“Did you have to just barge in?”

“It’s my house; the bedroom door was left a crack open, and you were moaning my name. Naturally, I came to investigate. Also, you’d be heartened to know that the boys are over.”

His logic was irritating you, and so was his smirk and it was also turning you on even more. “Shit, did the other boys hear me? You could have told me that they would be over! Now, would you please leave so I can finish getting myself off?”

“The only way you’re getting off is on my thigh.” At his statement, you sucked in a breath. Riding his thigh? He wanted that as much as you did? You had to admit that you’d thought about it before, especially while watching fancams. Maybe you had a thing for thighs, or maybe it was just his thighs. Either way, you knew your answer.

Your eyes widened at him. “O-okay.”

His eyes looked at you suspiciously, and there was a warning in them. “But only if you stay quiet. You make a sound, and it’s game over.”

He sat on the edge of the bed, and you crawled onto his lap. “I missed you,” you told him quietly.

“I can tell,” he laughed. After that, though, he replied, “I missed you, too.”

You straddled his clothed thigh, only your panties and the black denim of his jeans distancing your core from his skin.

To test the waters, in a way, you grinded yourself down on his thigh. The friction soothed the ache in your core, and it also stimulated your clit everytime you rocked your hips on his leg. Your breath hitched in the back of your throat. It was so hard to stay quiet..

Jaemin grasped your hips, helping you grind onto his thigh. He rocked you back and forth, your clit being continually stimulated, sending you flying in the air. You were so wet, and your underwear was probably soaked with your arousal. Your boyfriend’s jeans probably were, as well. You buried your face in his neck, trying to muffle any sighs you couldn’t help but release. The boys were in the other room, and you were here, in the bedroom, riding Jaemin’s thigh.

Jaemin was enjoying the view of you getting off just by grinding on his leg. You bit your lip, trying to stay quiet, though he could tell, just from your focused expression, how good you were feeling, just from his leg. 

The muscles in his thigh added to the pleasure, your clit grinding against the strong ridges of his leg muscle.

Your folds and clit were being ground against something hard and rigid. The fact that you could feel the different dips and curves under your pussy was incredible, and it felt amazing, too. Jaemin flexed his leg, drastically changing the sculpt and positions of his muscles as he did so. It took everything you had to not moan out loud, the feeling of the flex sending waves of pleasure through your entire being.

“I’m gonna cum,” you whimpered quietly, throwing your head back in pleasure. The fucked-out look on your face was so attractive to Jaemin, and he flexed his thigh again, trying to draw you closer to your climax. He bounced his leg lightly, constantly hitting your clit and folds straight on, as opposed to you grinding on his leg. The contact repeatedly sent you higher and higher on pleasure. You couldn’t hold back anymore, as your orgasm washed over to you, the highest amount of pleasure you’d felt in a long time. You’d forgotten that the boys were in the other room. Your legs shook, and your face buried in his neck, his name falling off your lips like a mantra.

The bit of fluid that escaped you during your orgasm was now on his leg. When you got off of him, there was a dark spot on his leg, wet from your grinding and orgasm.

When you looked up at him to apologize for making a mess on his leg, you could see how dark his eyes were. When your sight flitted down, you saw the tent in his jeans, his erection clearly straining for release. You had turned him on, just by getting off on his thigh. The concept of it was arousing itself.

“You made a sound,” Jaemin said. His voice was deep and husky, and you could guess that he had grown turned on by you riding his thigh. “You lost the game, didn’t you? Well, instead of going out to the boys, you’re gonna make it up to me. But they’re never gonna let me hear the end of this.”

[libralita]

Fate: The Winx Saga Unedited Ramble

Alright so I finished the first season of Fate: The Winx Saga and it was pretty fucking dreadful if I’m being honest. Let’s get into it.

First, let’s talk about the production quality because it was lacking in some weird areas. The audio mixing was surprisingly bad in a few places. Most notability when characters were talking over the phone. Every time Bloom speaks to her parents over the phone the voices on the other end are so loud. And most of the time when a character is talking to someone over the phone, their voice over comes in a bit softer with a filter to make it sound poorer quality. The audio was crisp and loud. There was one funny scene where Bloom is on the phone with her parents and she’s outside and there’s a bunch of background noise and her parents are in a quiet house. When it cuts to Bloom’s parents with Bloom on the phone you can’t hear the background noise but when you cut to her you can hear the general outdoor sounds in everything. Also whenever pop songs could come they were so loud. I would always have to turn down my volume because they would be louder than the normal speaking voice. Now for the sets. They were fine? I guess. Generic castle. Generic house. Generic forest. Fine. The costumes were uh…really awful. Mostly because you have the cartoon to compare it to where you had fashion designers design the outfits and you could tell, all the girls were so fashionable. A lot of the outfits were crimes. Terra’s and Stella’s were especially god awful.

And now, I guess I’ll go through the episodes and point out the problems as I see them. Episode one, I have a lot to say because the problems of the show become evident very quickly. So, first the dialogue. The original show had lame slang, especially with Musa, but my god some of this shit was painful. The first instance is when Bloom accuses Sky of mansplaining, so first of all it’s really great to see my childhood icon being sexist. Great. I love it. Second, she isn’t even using the term correct because by definition it is a man must explain to a woman a concept that she already knows in a rude way. Bloom states before this that she doesn’t know what a Specialist is so it’s not something she already knows. The only line that got a snort out of me is when Bloom says “Gryffindor. Explains the judgement.” Now the roommate situation. They totally moved Terra and Aisha because they wanted more drama. Terra is a ball of anxiety and wants to be friends with Musa, Musa’s an empath and can’t deal. Bloom is naturally gifted and a bit of an…well the show wants us to think she’s a free spirt and a rebel but she’s an idiot. Aisha is smart but has to work for ever bit of magic she gets. (despite that one line where she saws she flooded her school because of a math test but whatever) Another thing is that they say guns don’t work on the Burned Ones but if swords do then guns do. It’s stupid.

A great theme of this show is that everyone needs to calm down. As someone who’s lived in a suite like with this with four/five other girls, you’re not going to be best friends with your roommates the first day. Calm down Terra. Back to bad lines. Speaking of calming down, Bloom’s mom takes away her door (Sidenote: Whoever wrote “Don’t you feminist with me. This basic bitch’ll break out her bullhorn and her dissertation and take your ass to school.” Needs a good slap) and so Bloom is so enraged by this that she…nearly kills her parents by burning the house down. Fucking brilliant. That is the thing that enrages her. That. Fucking moronic. Also Bloom’s parents are on the floor but there’s a clear pathway that they can just walk through that Bloom walks through. This could have been solved if you had Bloom walk through the flames because fire fairy Speaking of people needing to calm down Terra is just absolutely insufferable. Riven calls her fat and she her response is to choke him and when he calls her out on this she smiles at him saying “nice to see you again” or something. Fuck off Terra. Attempted murder not acceptable when someone insults you.

Alright, now to talk about Stella (and yes, we’re still on Episode 1) while I think Bloom and Flora were done the dirtiest, they massacred my girl. While I don’t think Stella is the most complex character, I discovered while watching this that I really like her in the original. I especially love the episode she gets her Enchantix and the episode she saves her father from Valtore’s spell. Both episodes are so beautiful and her character shines. She’s a bitch in this show. It explains why and I actually do feel bad for this Stella but my god, my Stella would never. Which might as well be the title of this show, Fate: The Winx Would Never Saga.

Few final problems for the first episode: First they call Bloom a changeling and that’s not what changeling’s are and it’s very distracting. Find a different word. Second, Bloom’s house does not look Californian and probably isn’t. Also if Bloom didn’t want to lose Stella’s ring, then she should have worn it on her fucking finger. Now onto episode 2.

So, another problem with this show is Beatrix, while she’s one of the most interesting characters on the show, the fact she barely interacts with the girls is stupid. They should have just put her and Bloom in the same room together. Then Beatrix could interact with all the girls. Problem solved. But no. However, I actually kind of dig Beatrix’s relationship with Riven, I remember liking it in the original as well when it was with Darcy. Maybe I just like evil couples. Oh and magic has changed. So now there’s five elements Water, Earth, Fire, Air, and Mind. And you use emotions. And seeing Stella tell Bloom to think of negative emotions hurts my soul because I remember the episode where the girls go to Cloud Tower in season 2 and STELLA WOULD NEVER. Onto episode 3 and 4.

Okay so it’s revealed that Bloom was born in 2004 so that means these girls are 16, 17 in Stella’s case. To which I say bullshit. Now, onto Queen Luna. I don’t think she had any lines in the original series, however I will say QUEEN LUNA WOULD NEVER. I hate that Stella has a shit relationship with her mom. I hate that Queen Luna is queen of Solaria. I hate that she’s the Queen of Light despite her name being Luna because she should the Queen of the Moon because that’s how it worked in the original but no. It’s dumb and I hate it. Though, I will say that her treatment of Stella did make my heart hurt. New appreciation for this imposter Stella. One other thing is that Beatrix’s story is the most interesting. Aster Del was cool.

Episode 5 is when I realized that there were only 6 episodes of this series instead of 8 so…this is the penultimate episode and where shit gets real bad. I don’t like seeing Musa having sex, I think I was on my phone when Stella was having sex but seeing Musa with her bra just made my childhood weep a little. Also, how the fuck did Musa not know Stella was there? Also, I kind of like the scene were Stella opens up to Musa but I would have liked to see Musa say “I’m an empath, dummy, I know these girls aren’t judging you.” Speaking of stupid, Bloom. While Farah not telling you the truth about stuff was dumb, you breaking Beatrix out is massively moronic. And then the show decides to make my childhood weep again by having Bloom drug Sky. Thanks sho w, seeing this happen to my childhood OTPs is fucking great. And you know what? I try to hate this show but then it has a soldier facetiming Marco saying that the Batallion is dead and that she has a broken leg. Then she starts running away from the Burned Ones while hobbling with her “broken” leg and the camera stays on her. It’s…it’s a special show.

The show briefly mentions magical convergence and don’t fucking dare. And then…the characters brains magically go bye-bye. First Bloom is a ding dong for leaving the drugged Sky face down. Then Terra, Musa, and Stella are absolute ding dongs for giving Bloom back the key to break Beatrix out. At first I thought they were fine with allowing Beatrix to murder Dane and then Stella just fucking pushes her into the trap and it made it worse. You don’t fucking know that won’t kill her, you ding dongs.

Onto the finale. Aisha gets shit for being the only one who isn’t a ding dong. “Hope the brownie points will keep you company when you have no friends.” My soul. Bloom becomes really fucking confusing because she doesn’t trust Farah or the other staff but then she just randomly trusts Rosalind. And then she points this out that it’s weird that Rosalind wants her to trust her. And then Bloom goes to save her friends. Funny moment: Stella loses signal, she clearly needs to switch over to the plan that one soldier had where she could face time in the middle of a fucking forest with perfect quality. Then back to Bloom where she confronts Farah and says “What if Rosalind isn’t crazy? What if she had a reason to lie?” And she’s just…an idiot because she doesn’t see how that logic can be thrown right back at her with Farah.

Terra continues to be an ass to Musa. Like she just demands that Musa take away his pain and I understand the Musa needs to open up and get past her baggage. However, Terra does it in such a bitchy way that I would have probably slapped her. Also the show pretends that Terra was helping Sam when she did nothing but hold his hand while he writhed in pain. Also, also you clearly have sedatives in this world, fucking use them.

So Saul “killed” Andreas which is stupid on two fronts. Number one, Saul says to at least Sky that he died in a battle but no one ever questions which one. You’d think they’d find his body on the battle field. Number two where the fuck did Andreas’ body go? Did Saul not care? Fucking stupid. Also Andreas raised Beatrix. Interesting. A little…Mortal Instruments but I’ll allow it. Cool reveal.

Then…the things. Uh, while I’m glad that this show about fairies actually has fucking wings for one scene and they’re pretty cool looking with the fire and almost scale like. However…there’s no magical costume which is bullshit.

Finally, Farah’s neck is snapped and that just kind of the final blow to my childhood. So…overall. This was pretty shit as both an adaptation and just as a story. There were a lot of plotholes and stupid things.

[imaginejamesandsirius]

Hey there! I’ve been in love with your stories for a while now on AO3 so I wanted to make a request! Can we have a pining!James and Oblivious!Sirius with a tiny bit of angst but then some fluff (or maybe smut if you feel like it) okay thank you -T.C.

Sirius would like to think that he knew James well. Quite well. Better than anyone, really. From who his favourite Quidditch player was at the time to his ever-changing favourite colour, and that certainly included who he fancied. It was therefore the most ridiculous thing in the world where Moony-- of all the people, it was Moony, who hadn't realised Mary meant a date when she said, "Would you like to go on a date with me to Three Broomsticks?"-- told him that James fancied him. He actually said the words, "Padfoot, Prongs fancies you." He said that to Sirius's face. Not only that, but he'd left whatever he was doing outside to come in and tell Sirius that. He went out of his way to say that, which made it even stranger. 

Sirius rolled his eyes. Honestly, where did Moony get that from? "He does not." 

"Trust me, he does." 

"Since when do you get involved in James's love life?" Sirius asked raising an eyebrow. 

"Since now. Really Padfoot, he does. I'm  pretty sure he's in love with you." 

Sirius rolled his eyes again. Even if James was in love with him-- which he wasn't-- Remus wouldn't know about it. He couldn't notice shite on his own, and James never would've told him himself. Besides, they had a Marauder's pact to stay out of each other's love lives after Sirius embarrassed Wormtail rather badly back in fourth year-- in his defense, it had totally worked and he'd gotten a date out of it just as planned. Point was, Remus wasn't about to actually interfere with something like that even if he somehow did have insider knowledge that James fancied him. Which he didn't. 

That would make this a very roundabout way of trying to get Sirius to embarrass himself in front of James. The real joke was that Sirius didn't get embarrassed, not when it concerned James. There were only so many times you could interrupt someone wanking-- and vice versa-- before you become impervious to it, and after that, nothing could embarrass you in front of them. Of course, Moony was a very easily embarrassed person and likely had no concept of living a full week without it. 

After Sirius ignored him for long enough, Moony left. It was their last summer before their last year of Hogwarts. He would've thought that Remus wanted to live it to its fullest instead of doing this. Whatever helped little wolfy feel better, he guessed. 

It did made him think, though. Not about James fancying him, because that was quite impossible, but James... well, he was rather fit. And it's not like either of them were dating anyone, so what would be the harm in trying it out? 

*

James regretted telling Wormtail and Moony anything. He really, truly did. The point of telling them that he was head over heels for Sirius was so that they wouldn't say something while they were all together. If James got all heart-eyed in front of them, he wanted them to keep their mouths shut about it. 

Evidently, he couldn't trust people in this group for shite. 

"You told him?" James asked, voice squeaking. His voice hadn't done that in over year, but the little scratch in his throat still felt familiar. "Remus, what the fuck!" He threw a handful of grass at him. "You're not supposed to tell him!" 

"Prongs, relax. He didn't even believe me." 

That brought James up short. "What?" 

"I told him-- figured I'd do us all a favour and tell him instead of letting you pine uselessly for ages and be miserable-- but he didn't believe me. So relax, your secret is safe." 

James just stared at him, eyes wide. 

"Er, Prongs?" Peter said, looking at him with a hint of concern. "You alright there, mate?" 

"I'm going to kill you," he whispered. 

"Me? What did I do?" 

"Not you. Him," James said, stabbing a finger in Remus's direction with a glare. "He's the one who couldn't keep his bloody mouth shut!" He stormed off after that, despite knowing that it made him look like he was seven again. Sirius, when James found him after going back inside, didn't act like anything had happened. Maybe Moony had been lying about telling him in some bid to get him to spill his guts, because that was more believable than Sirius being told and acting like absolutely nothing had happened. Your best mate fancying you was big shite, even if you thought it was fake; it would raise the question of why that lie would be at all believable in the first place. 

"Hey," James said, keeping his voice even. 

"Hey," Sirius replied, just as neutral. To be fair to Sirius, it's not like he was training his voice; he just didn't have anything to be upset over. He was reading some muggle magazine about motorbikes, from the look of it. Either that or it was just a whole bunch of photos of motorbikes, which wouldn't really surprise him. 

"Did Moony talk to you?" 

"Yeah. He's getting senile in his old age. What is it? Seven wolf years to one human year? He's like, over a hundred by that logic. How much longer can we really expect for him to last?" 

"If you're suggesting killing Moony, I agree," James said, throwing himself down on the couch next to Sirius. 

"Maybe a stern talking to will set the old man straight." 

"Doubtful." Sirius flipped the magazine closed and leaned towards James. He pressed a quick kiss to James's mouth, then leaned away and opened his magazine again like nothing had happened. 

James blinked at him. Then blinked again. "Did you kiss me?" 

"Yeah." He turned the page. Then he snorted. "Why do people always insist on yellow paint? It hasn't looked good on a machine in the history of the world." 

"Yellow paint? Really?" James repeated incredulously. Remus goes and flaps his mouth to Sirius, Sirius acts like nothing happened, and then he goes and kisses him! And then he acts like that's nothing either. 

"Right?" Sirius said, apparently taking James's words for agreement that motorbikes shouldn't be painted yellow. 

James snatched the magazine from him, glaring. 

"Hey," Sirius protested. "Give it back, Prongs." 

"You kissed me, and yellow paint is what you want to talk about?" 

Sirius shrugged, holding out a hand expectantly. 

James, in disregard for all the nice things he usually did for Sirius, threw the magazine at him angrily. He was a little surprised by it, same as Sirius judging by the look of shock on his face. "If this is your idea of a prank, it's not sodding funny," James growled, storming off. He'd come in to make sure they were okay, not to get his feelings thrown in his face. Buggering up their friendship was the last thing he wanted, but having Sirius mock it was the worst way it could happen. 

*

Okay, after getting a little space and the rest of the night to think about it, Sirius came to the conclusion that maybe kissing James hadn't been his best decision. He'd wanted to see if there was any truth to what Remus had said, and kissing him had seemed like the easiest way to go about it. Bad news was that it had pissed James off, but the good news was that it got Sirius the answer he needed: James fancied him. The worse news he had though, was that he deserved James's anger. He'd done it because he was curious, not because he thought that he returned those feelings. The best news was that, while thinking about all of this, he came to the conclusion that he fancied James too. That was going to make everything else easier to deal with, but he still sucked bollocks that he hadn't known he felt that way earlier. It was enough to make him think he was stupid, which obviously wasn't true. 

Now he had to figure out how to get James not to be mad at him anymore. Sirius wasn't too great at this sort of thing. He was a lot better at making people miserable than making them happy, and through the years of their friendship, James didn't often need cheering up. It had been lucky for Sirius, but it meant that he was at a loss now. 

Wormtail and Moony weren't here anymore, having gone home for the next couple days to see their families for once; Sirius was pretty sure they saw the Potter parents more often than their own. It made sneaking over to James's room all that easier. 

James looked over at him when he entered, quietly shutting the door behind him, then groaned and pulled the duvet over his face. "Can't you let me mope?" James moaned. 

"Nope. You get sad when you mope." 

"I only mope when I'm already sad, you berk." 

Sirius tugged the covers away from his face. As usual, James looked strangely innocent without his glasses on, and his mussed hair only added to the effect. "Well. Stop being sad." 

James rolled his eyes. "Thanks, I don't know why I didn't try that." 

"I should've asked before I kissed you," Sirius said, sitting down on the side of the bed, and James stiffened. 

"I don't want to talk about it," he mumbled, hoping desperately that Sirius would leave it. He didn't want to talk about it now, and he didn't want to talk about it later. He wanted to pretend like it had never happened and that he hadn't told Remus shite because then he would be able to pine in quiet misery like he'd been doing for the past few months. Moony just had to bugger it all up. 

"What I should've said," Sirius continued, as if James hadn't said a word and wasn't mid-crisis, "was that you're fit as hell." Sirius twisted to throw a leg over James's hips so he was sitting astride him and leaned down so his hair was hanging between them as he put his hands on the bed by James's head for balance. "And that while Moony had no business sticking his nose where it didn't belong, you should have said something to me before he had the chance." 

James suddenly found the air rather thin. He swallowed around a lump in his throat and tried to find the proper response to that, but it was difficult to think with Sirius staring at him like that-- all intense and close, and like the only thing he wanted to hear was what James had to say. The fact that he was sitting on him was not helping James's brain form coherent thoughts, because his blood was pumping a little further south in his body. 

"You gonna kiss me, James? Or do I have to tell you that this is all I've thought of since you ran off?" 

"You weren't very clear with your intentions," James managed to stutter out in his defense. Personally, he thought getting that many words out at once was a wondrous achievement. 

Sirius smirked. "Am I being clear now?" 

James had to swallow again. He was more aware of Sirius's arse than he should be while trying to have a talk about his feelings, but it was right on top of him and he was only human. "Not really. You're acting like it's just physical, and I don't- that's not all I want for us." 

Sirius's expression softened. "James. Kiss me now. Kiss me tomorrow. Kiss me in a month, and in a year. That's what I want. Does that sound just physical?" 

"Not really," James admitted. "But you gotta admit, kissing me like that, and then this... it doesn't really look like you're in love." His face erupted in heat as he realised what he said. "Not that I'm in love with you, that's-" he laughed nervously. 

"I love you," Sirius said before James could dig himself into a deeper hole, "and no offense James, but I think you're lying." He leaned down a little more, which scooted him further down James's body. A hint of his smirk came back when he felt that James was half-hard under him. "Even without that, I'd know that you're lying. You really think you can keep shite from me? I know everything about you." 

"Bugger off," James muttered, but then he reached up and pulled Sirius the rest of the way down. 

[twilightknight17]

So I fell asleep last night before I could make the post, but I got P5 Scramble yesterday and I’m having a blast so far. ^_^

I’m probably going to go through it the same way I did my Royal playthrough, so if you don’t want to be spoiled, don’t click through on these posts!

Before we start, I just want to mention that I don’t really know anything about the story. Somehow I’ve managed to avoid spoilers for an entire year except for a few small things.

I do know the identity of (who I assume is) Kyoto’s Jail Monarch. (Monarch is kind of a weird, formal word. I think I liked Jail King better. Or... Warden? Warden might have been the best choice.) ANYWAY, I think I know their identity, and by extension, I have a vague idea of why Shadow Joker exists. Other than that... You’re getting speculation and bullshit untainted by later plot revelations. XDDD

I did find it funny that when I booted the game up, I got a “No save data found, unable to start game” message. Like... no shit, PS4, it’s a brand new game. But the little starting tutorial fight was cool, and I liked the opening movie!

The police briefing was...interesting. It’s good to see them actually being somewhat logical? Like... considering everything that happened the year before, it makes sense that they’d assume this is the Thieves again. They have no way of knowing that there’s no way to access Palaces anymore. This isn’t really the Thieves MO, though. Except for the guy who confessed to document tampering. The author shredding his work for no reason and the guy streaking through the criminal justice headquarters don’t seem like they did anything wrong. Those seem more like psychotic breakdowns.

But... I guess we don’t know if the police ever knew anything about Black Mask, or if Shido was convicted on only real-world crimes and not the metaverse hits he ordered. I wonder if that’ll get elaborated on.

Zenkichi’s introduction was him laughing at the streaking guy in the middle of this Serious Police Meeting, so I think I’m gonna like him a lot. ^_^

Anyway, the “higher-ups” really want this case closed, according to “Commissioner Kaburagi”, who I already don’t like. If you’re the police commissioner, Makoto really would be a better choice, holy shit. She’s already prepared to go after Akira, who is the only Thief they know the identity of, so I guess that’s fair. But still. Has he not been falsely accused of enough for a lifetime?

Although... if you’re gonna look up all his life details, can you maybe... share some? Just a few things? Hometown? How are his parents? Anything?

*

Coming back to Leblanc was cute. Got some Trickster’s Maze vibes from the initial text conversation where they were talking about how people kept not responding to texts, but I think it’s all good. Love that the Sayuri is still on the wall, and that Morgana’s been home with Akira.

Naming the app “Emma” is never going to stop being hilarious to me, because reasons.

Y’know, Atlus, this would work a lot better if he could like...respond to their curiosity. At least these dialogue options seem to suggest that talking things out with his parents went well. Even “I missed you” isn’t inherently negative. He’d miss them either way.

.......so when my boyfriend gets back from his soul-searching vacation, he’ll be welcomed back with open arms, right, Ryuji? Right?

Meanwhile, for summer break plans, Yusuke wants to go to Kyoto for a month-long art tour. Unless...

Never change, dear. Never change.

Nice of Sojiro to water my plant and keep my room from drowning in dust, but he really couldn’t have replaced the bedframe with literally anything other than the plastic storage crates? XD The attic looks so empty and lonely without the shelves of trinkets and plushies, and the TV.

So my reaction to this next part was literally, “LAVENZA, IT’S BEEN LESS THAN 24 HOURS”. X’‘‘D Akira really can’t catch a break. But Lavenza’s dialogue sounded actually sad that he was being dragged into this again. And she’s promised repeatedly that she’s going to be there for him. It’s sweet, even though my room is still a prison and she’s still using torture equipment. Iron maidens, Lavenza, really??

I’m a little concerned that Igor’s not around, though. Lavenza did the dream/reality/mind/matter speech instead. Where is he? I know he’s never around for spinoffs but considering my headcanons I’m very curious now. And why didn’t he like... tell Morgana that Lavenza said ruin is coming again? Even if we don’t count thirdsem events, Morgana still knows that he’s Hope, and he still has a bond with the Velvet Room. Talk to your cat damn it.

Oh no, she’s cute and Alice-in-Wonderland themed. I’m doomed.

She called it her “EMMA keyword” and I immediately blurted “what? keyword??” and then everything went directly to Hell immediately. Keyword was the key word, I guess. X’‘‘‘DDD

And you can tell it’s been six months, considering that these nerds got caught almost immediately. And got their hands bound. And got dragged to the throne room and forced to kneel!

...I’m doomed.

Someone at Atlus looked directly at this fandom and all the fanart of the interrogation and said, “Yeah, they’d be into that.” XD Steppy steppy. At least she’s not a rapist like Kamoshida, but jeeze, we keep getting beaten up and thrown in the dungeon by royalty. All we need is a princess and we’ve got a whole royal family!

Although, I suppose the prince didn’t bother with a dungeon. XD

I think it’s interesting that apparently the guards tried to take our Desires and failed. I guess being a persona-user means your mental state is stable enough that something like that can’t manifest.

Oh no, she’s cute. I love her. Another for the collection of Joker’s baby siblings. This is number... 5? She kind of reminds me of Jose, a little. I’ll be interested to see what she is, since she’s got amnesia right now. She can’t be just a straight AI.

But if she’s Yald’s mom, I’m also going to be majorly weirded out.

I really like the gameplay? It’s so interesting to see how the characters move and fight when they’re not limited to turn-based attacks. And I like being able to jump to different points and use them to ambush enemies. I don’t fully understand all of it yet, and it’s hard for me to keep an eye on things like status ailments and my teammates because everything is so chaotic, but I’m sure I’ll get it.

I did die to a miniboss, and when I hit “return to checkpoint”, it gave me the prompt to select a language for the voice acting again. I dunno what was up with that. X’D And I’m baffled by the concept that you can just leave the metaverse and come back and it restores all your health and stuff. No penalty. Time doesn’t pass. You didn’t waste a day. Have the kids finally learned that we are capable of entering and exiting more than once on the same day? Hallelujah.

...this boy is angry that we have to deal with the Jails instead of having a BBQ feast. Never change, Yusuke.

If you go by the crepe shop in Shibuya, Morgana still doesn’t think you’re a crepe person. I’m so tired, Morgana. It’s also a bit weird and forced that Iwai and Takemi are both out of town. We couldn’t have seen at least one of them? I know we’re not gonna be able to use those shops when we’re on the road, but we could worry about that then.

(Disturbingly easy to return a gold bar that you apparently bought off the dark web. Omg. That was hilarious.)

AND THEN YOU GET UP THE NEXT DAY AND ZENKICHI IS JUST IN YOUR HOUSE? SITTING IN THAT CHAIR? That is not the “detective chair”, sir, that is my boyfriend’s chair, and you need to move. At least he likes the curry, but jesus fuck. Sir, I have unresolved trauma of adults coming into my house to snoop into my business. Get out of my house. X’D

You give me a detective sitting in my boyfriend’s chair and then immediately send me to a taping of the same show in the same studio where I first met him. God, P5S, you’re trying to kill me.

Alice clearly knows that giving out the keyword is doing something. She’s being very deliberate about this. But I don’t think she’s actually aware of the Jail. Love that she’s so arrogant that she can’t imagine that Akira just... didn’t use the keyword, and that’s why she can’t control him.

So I guess the Jail Monarchs are called such because they’re imprisoning other people’s shadows in their distortions. So these are people that want control over something to the point that it distorted their worldview. Part of me wants to go off on a ramble about how this relates to Mementos or Apathy Syndrome, but I’ll wait and do that when I have more information. I’ve got some more of the dungeon to do, and I cannot wait to see Alice’s boss fight.

I’m having so much fun. I really missed these kids; they’re grea--

.......I hate these children. X’‘‘‘‘DDDD

[kinetic-elaboration]

May 10: 2x18 The Immunity Syndrome

Finally another TOS episode. I missed it. I miss Star Trek in general, I need to... get back into obsessing about it on the regular. It makes me so happy but I haven’t had room in my brain for it lately.

Anyway, I didn’t remember too much about this ep until halfway through, but I enjoyed it a lot!

Hilarious to me that as Kirk says “Some lovely...planet” he’s obviously supposed to be looking at the pretty woman who passes by his line of sight, but the camera also takes that moment to pan out far enough to show Spock for the first time. Who is implying what??

Poor Spock... The Intrepid dying was the thing I remembered most about this ep, because, like, obviously, a whole group of Vulcans on a ship. But this is such a sad moment. But at least his best friends come to see if he’s okay.

Lol Kirk, when has there EVER been another starship in the area? I feel bad for the crew; their vacation has officially been cancelled.

The space amoeba was hungry.

“A deep understanding of the way things happen to Vulcans.” I really like that. I like this whole Spock and McCoy conversation.

Also, damn Spock. I feel like he read not just McCoy but the whole human race. But also like what a hypocrite, because the Vulcans were pretty violent.

Kirk’s thinking face. Like the human embodiment of the thinking emoji.

I feel like this ep is inspired by people’s curiosity about black holes in the 60′s.

Mccoy’s go-to is always the stimulants. That should solve everyone’s problems.

“You’re the science officer! Do the science!” Basically an exact quote.

Star Trek Into Darkness

Oh no, they’re penetrating the Zone.

“The stars are...gone.” Whoops, guess we’ll have to rename it “Trek.”

“Kindly tell me what happened to the stars! How can I have a romantic nights on the observation deck if there aren’t any stars, tell me that, Mr. Spock?”

Is this one of those eps where Kirk pushes himself too hard, and everyone else, too?

“Are you trying to be funny, Mr. Spock?” I mean like in his defense, that was pretty funny. An also, Spock definitely knew it was.

“I recommend survival.” That’s it, put Bones on t100 now.

I’m sorry, but how do people not love and respect Kirk? He just wants to explore, he is so brave, and he always knows what to do.

Drink every time someone says “unknown.”

I feel like Spock is the only one not bothered by all this.

“If it went against the rules of logic [to do everything opposite], would Spock suggest it?”

Also love that Kirk’s like ‘well worst case scenario, it doesn’t work, and I can use this incident to make fun of Spock until our inevitable oncoming death!’

Bones has been hitting the stimulants pretty heavy, I see.

And Spock stays behind for a moment alone with Jim...

I love this take on Vulcans!! They have never been conquered. They don’t understand facing the unknown. At the end, they felt astonishment.

This acting is amazing. Make me believe you’re being thrown about bbs!

Oh, no, it’s like a virus... I don’t like that one bit.

Kirk’s like “I remember my biology. The biology... of Vulcans, right Mr. Spock?”

It devoured the Intrepid extra fast because it was hungry.

Oh no, Spock and McCoy are having a martyr-off. And insulting Jim’s science skills too lol. “Stay out of this, yellow shirt.”

Oh I remember this now. Kirk has to choose between his two bros.

“I have two science personnel in front of me, but only one photo in my hands.”

This is absolutely a classic reality tv show style fake out. “I’m sorry, Mr. Spock... you’re going on the death mission.”

Spock’s shade as they’re walking down the hall. “Sorry I’m better than you at everything, Dr.”

This Spock & McCoy scene too!! How McCoy should wish him luck. Let me have my Vulcan dignity. And then he does wish him luck but only when Spock has left... They’re both so savage here but I guess they’re both stressed out and tired. And Spock’s in mourning too. This is like Spones Unfiltered.

“And Dr. McCoy... you would not have survived it.” Why does that hit me so hard?

“He’s kicked it in the side to let us know!”

Destroy! That! Organism!

Spock getting a jab in at McCoy even now: “You should have wished me luck.”

Attack! The! Germ!

That beastie.

This score is going so hard.

The amoeba would just like phasers. Lots of energy. Yum yum.

Lol I thought Spock was going to dictate an actual will but he was just being extra. I mean... he does have a lot of property.

I love that Kirk asked for one tractor beam and Scotty was like “I think that’s a bad idea” and Kirk’s like “okay TWO tractor beams.” He’s going to save his space husband, Scotty, it’s not negotiable.

Captain McCoy. So sassy.

The power levels are dead, Jim.

Spock is bringing back data for McCoy as a gift! How sweet.

How does McCoy know he messed up the tests?

“Some..lovely planet.” For real this time.

Okay, that was a great episode and I really enjoyed the whole thing: the concept of the giant space cell virus, the Enterprise then becoming a sort of virus itself to destroy it, Kirk’s excellent leadership abilities, the triumvirate scenes and especially the Spock and Bones relationship, the reference to the Vulcan ship--but it did not stick the landing. We didn’t get to see Spock return? More importantly, we didn’t get to see Kirk totally collapse from the stimulants? Okay, maybe that would have been bad. Bb can make it to Starbase 6. I just didn’t want it to end I guess.

I feel like Spock was especially savage today but then it also makes sense. He was probably as drained as everyone else. Plus, I think losing the Intrepid must have been very difficult for him. Like he told McCoy, he felt all of it. Poor Vulcan as a whole; that’s a lot of people. Also, I suspect, based on their pacifism and also how upset Sarek was about Spock joining Starfleet, that they are probably underrepresented generally in the service. That was probably the only all-Vulcan constitution class vessel in Starfleet. And you know Spock knew some of them personally.

Anyway now that I’m thinking about the Intrepid... I so desperately want to know what an all-Vulcan ship would be like. Just 400 Vulcans. At first I suggested they had a meditation room but that’s too private an activity. They probably do a lot of jamming out in their rec room. Also all their cabins must be extremely decadent.

Current plan is to watch another episode on Thursday to make up for missing last week, but the next one is A Private Little War, which is just so depressing so... we’ll see.

[totallypathet]

Episode Three

First of all...what the fuck was that challenge. And what the fuck was the logic to judging it?! I spent so much of this episode just being confused. I think it would have been so much better if they were allowed to come up with their own ideas and characters, instead of having this really narrow space to work in; that was bizarre to me. Like Just Jan could have done a really delusional, high energy character who was the worst singer in the world; that would have been funny! Instead they stuck them with these bizarre storylines that made no sense, and had very little humour in them. Idk whose choice that was but it was a choice. Anyway, let's get into the rundown!

1. Aiden Zhane

I am not living for Aiden at all. Her attitude in both episodes has let a lot to be desired for me. And also, that runway? What was that? I could buy that dress on Asos, glue some bows to it and have that look. The concept was cool, the bows falling on her? Cool idea. But if you're going to do that then you need to Do It, yknow? Like it would have been cool if she'd had a huge wig completely made of bows. Or if she'd had an umbrella and made it look like it was raining bows, or something, that could have been really cool! It could have been amazing and she took a really easy way out. Disappointing. And her performance was dull. She deserved to be in the bottom more than Nicky Doll.

The only thing I will say for Aiden in this episode is the way Brita and Redacted behaved towards her was really uncool. They did that whole "you didnt lead us at all", and then told her that they carried her? You know that if she had led them they would have totally thrown her under the bus and said "well we do this professionally and we wanted to do this, but she was the leader and she made us do that". It was totally a damned if you, damned if you don't; and that was really unfair.

2. Brita

Guys, I am Bored of Brita. I am over it, and I am underwhelmed. I haven't seen anything from her that I've enjoyed! Her looks have been dull, she's not that funny, and I dont like the way she behaves (like I said with Aiden). She wont be next to go home, but hopefully she wont be long.

3. Crystal Methyd

STOP TRYING TO CHANGE CRYSTAL METHYD! I'm so sick of them going "oh her makeup is always the same", when it has been different each time!! She has a style and a brand, but it's not the same face!! Aiden Zhane does the same fucking face, none of them have picked that out! Loads of queens come in and they only have one face! Not mentioning any names Silky Nutmeg Ganache and Roxxxy Andrews. They got away with it because they were beauty mugs and that's the type of drag this show is biased towards. Crystal Methyd is an artist, let her do herself! That runway look was ugly though. Having said all that. Her face was gorgeous, I loved her makeup, I just thought that look wasnt very her! It didn't suit her somehow, it wasn't right. But she tried really hard during the improv, and I think she did a passable job! She honestly should have been safe, fight me. I just really hope she doesn't change herself to please the judges bc she has such a great vision and point of view, and I don't want her to lose sight of how great she is.

4. Dahlia Sin

Dahlia, Dahlia, Dahlia. Speaking of being underwhelmed, am I right? I had such high hopes for Dahlia, but this week she just didn't pull anything out. I personally think the fruit sketch was really funny, but it would have been exactly the same if Dahlia hadn't been in the group. She was so focused on being ~sexy~ (which is tough in a broccoli costume), that she forgot about everything else. Plus her bows and buttons look was just...odd. from the neck up it had this very avant garde, couture feel, but the outfit itself just looked unfinished. And then to have this weird arse peekaboo thing? Really weird choice. She deserved to be in the bottom and, after that lip sync, she deserved to go home.

I have seen a lot of posts about Dahlia "storming out", and I genuinely don't understand what they're talking about? Like, okay, she didn't say anything before she walked off, does that really constitute storming off? If she'd walked off while Ru was still talking, or if she'd yelled/screamed/sworn, then sure, maybe - but from what I saw she was just upset and wanted to leave as fast as possible. Idk, also they haven't released Untucked on the UK Netflix, so maybe there was more I didnt see.

5. Gigi Goode

I live for Gigi so much. I mean come on! Her character in the improv was passed out half the time and still had presence! She's so funny, and she's not afraid to let loose and get ugly. I think she did a good job in the improv, especially for someone without all that much experience, and her look on the runway was incredible. Solid 8/10 for Gigi this week.

6. Heidi N Closet

Heidi was robbed. I bought everything Heidi was selling this week. I bought it, I didn't stream it, I didn't rent it from the Netflix, I bought it. She was so funny during the challenge; the flipper? She spat out? Iconic. She had me dying the whole time, her, Jackie Cox and Gigi Goode should have their own series, I'd watch the hell out of it. Then she came bouncing down the runway as glitter Pinnochio, and she told that story about when she was at school and I loved every second! Shes so charming, and loveable, and relatable, and Jaida Essence Hall must have been gagged when she was top 2. She was robbed, she should have won, and she should keep her name! That whole thing with "the mouth has to change shape and it's not satisfying to say"? Bullshit, utter bullshit bitch. Heidi N Closet 4lyf.

7. Jackie Cox

Jackie made me so happy this week! Their whole group was hilarious, but Jackie doing the bad ventriloquist act just sent me, I loved it. And she just seems like the sweetest person as well! Her runway look was gorgeous, I loved the reference, her makeup was absolutely stunning, Jackie Cox is seriously the whole package. Her and Heidi should have been top 2 together.

8. Jaida Essence Hall

Jaida came in looking like a pageant queen, but she seriously flexed her comedy muscles this week! Her "bad apple" was hilarious, and she really committed to it! She was a firm leader in the group, but she was a good team player in the scene, she let everyone else have their moment too, and it was a good performance! I was a little bit disappointed that her runway look was very very similar to her spring mini challenge look from last week, but it was still a good look, and honestly I probably wouldnt have noticed if it hadn't been one episode after the other. She has shown a lot of diversity already, I think she just set the bar so high last week that I was really expecting something incredible, and I got something that was "just" good instead. She's still one to beat at the moment!

9. Jan

Jan made me so proud this week!! She was really funny in the skit, she had so much energy and enthusiasm, I loved it! Her jokes were funny, she picked a solid character and played it well, and can we talk about the runway though??? I really expected her to come out in something cute, because her personality is so bubbly and instead she gave me horror high fashion, monster couture and she Sold. Every. Second. It was a total transformation from the challenge to the runway and that, at the heart of it, is what I love about drag; that transformation aspect is just art to me. For me, Jan has it all. She definitely should have been top 3 this week. I think she's served the best runways so far, and I cannot wait to see what she does next week.

10. Nicky Doll

Okay, you guys know I love Nicky Doll. This week was not a good week for her. I appreciate that improv must be so hard in your second language, but I think she suffered a little bit from Dahlia Syndrome: she was so focused on staying pretty that she didn't really deliver anything. I kind of wish her character had literally just been French and spoke no English - part of the joke could have been that language barrier and Crystal/Window not understanding a word she said and her getting more and more frustrated about it. That could have been really funny. Also, her runway look...I know where she was going with it, it was a cool concept, and it was executed okay, there was just something missing, you know? It felt a little bit rushed, and again there was this real focus on being ~pretty~. Maybe if she'd looked a little more Cinderella ish, like her makeup wasn't perfect, and her hair was tied up like she was actually sewing, it would have sold me a little more character. I'm not sure, everything was just a little off for me this week, but I still think she's fierce af, and we all stumble sometimes. I'm looking forward to seeing her get back on her feet next week!

11. Rock M Sakura

Rock M was picked last for the challenge, I could not believe it. She deserved better than that, I was shook. She definitely picked the right group though, she was really funny as the Orange! She looked like she was having fun, and that's what I love about Rock M, is that I have fun watching her have fun. Her jokes were great, she matched Jan's energy, and I think she did a good job. I loved her runway look as well, the Alice in Wonderland concept was great, and I love that she kept the dress pretty simple so that the focus was on her hair and makeup! Her makeup was gorgeous, and the detail of the buttons on her face was stunning! It was a great concept, well executed, this week was a great week for Rock M, and I'm going to be furious if she gets picked last again.

12. Widow Von Du

Widow is getting The Edit. The edit that queens of colour who are talented get, where they paint them as bitchy, or loud, or as stepping on the other girls' toes; so that the audience isn't too pussed off when they get eliminated. Widow is exceedingly talented, and funny, and filled with personality. She also serves looks and delivers incredible performances. I will not let this edit take that away from her. She did great this week. She delivered everything I ordered in the challenge and more, she completely transformed for the runway, and she sold me a great presentation. Widow is definitely one to beat.

[glitzywisps]

Just Your Presence

Dennor Week Day One: Domestic

Human au

ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24122461

Mathias hung his keys on the hook beside the door, sighing softly as he loosened his tie. He was good at his job in marketing, but that doesn't make certain days any less draining. Sales were slow and he couldn't stop imagining coming home to a warm apartment with soft blankets. The scent of coffee was noticeable throughout the apartment, letting him know Lukas had already been home for at least an hour. He felt his heart flutter knowing that in just a few moments he would be snuggling into his arms and listening to his dry comments on whatever show they happened to flip to. With that thought in mind, he smiled slightly and called out to him. "Hey, I'm home!"

He pouted slightly at the lack of response and walked down the hall where he could hear faint music. Lukas was sitting on his couch wearing one of his fiancé's hoodies and nodding his head to the music from his headphones. His knees were curled up next to him, laptop resting on top as he typed away. Mathias didn't know how he could think with such loud metal playing, chuckling a bit as he leaned down and carefully lifted one muff off his ear. "So loud you couldn't even hear me-"

"Mat-" Lukas huffed after flinching slightly. He rolled his eyes and paused the music. "You know better than to do that. Who knows what I'll do one of these days," He said, sitting up to gently kiss him. "Welcome home…"

"Maybe your headphones shouldn't be so loud, you'll get ear damage," Mathias practically hunched over the back of the couch to wrap his arms over his shoulder, nuzzling his hair. "What are you working on anyway?" He asked, glancing at the screen.

"Just the basis of a storyline… Thought of it while working."

"I won't distract you any longer then." He kissed his head a few times, the light blond waves tickling his nose. Mathias felt relieved knowing Lukas was getting out of his writing funk, knowing that the block had him feeling down recently.

"I'm just finishing up…" He looked up. "You seem tired… Why don't we order takeout tonight?"

"Genius idea. That's why I love you," Mathias teased with a grin, finally pulling away. "Chinese?" Lukas nodded and put his headphones back on, although the music was turned down a considerable amount this time. Mathias called in their usual order at the place down the street, taking a seat at the other end of the couch. When he was younger he might've tried to convince Lukas to sit with him and talk, maybe kiss a little, but he learned early in their relationship to value space. He was no longer a pushy teenager and recognized that Lukas needed his own space, especially when he was in his work zone. This realization is what made Lukas more comfortable with seeking him out on his own terms; it was what helped their relationship grow and last this long.

This space also gave Mathias the time to appreciate Lukas from afar. He sipped his beer quietly, feeling warm and relaxed from just his presence and the sound of his tapping. Mathias made sure not to stare, of course, he said he wouldn't distract him. Instead, he fiddled with his phone, catching up with news and notifications. The only slight distraction he caused was when he tugged some of the blanket off of his fiancé's feet in order to share, which caused some grumbling. Nothing he wasn't used to after two years of living together.

Eventually, he heard Lukas close his laptop and he looked up. "Finished?"

Lukas nodded, standing up and stretching before taking note of the Dane's curious smile. "I'll let you read it when I actually write it… Flush it out."

"I suppose I can wait," Mathias sighed dramatically.

"Good." Lukas cleared his coffee mug and candy wrappers from the coffee table, taking them to the kitchen to be cleaned or disposed of.

"Wait, no hints?" He called after him, laughing at the muffled 'no'.

By the time he finished cleaning his writer's mess, the door was being knocked on. He grabbed his wallet from the table and hurried back out to the hall.

Mathias was peering over the back of the couch, bouncing slightly when Lukas returned. "Food! Hell yeah!" He grinned and moved to sit on the floor. They always had takeout nights in the living room, it was much more casual and relaxed than when they actually prepared meals (Lukas wasn't very good at cooking but his baking skills made up for it in Mathias' opinion). Eating in the living room meant sitting on the floor so they could use the low coffee table. As soon as they had started eating, Mathias gave Lukas an expectant look.

"No."

"I just wanna bite-"

"You always do this. You have your own food." 

"Please?" He pouted slightly. Lukas pursed his lips, but the glare he had broke and he held out a bite of his chicken. "Open."

Mathias eagerly took the bite from the chopsticks. "Thank you~ Here, Your turn." He held a bite of his own food to Lukas, who rolled his eyes but accepted with a small smile. This continued several times throughout the meal, despite Lukas occasionally commenting on how they might as well get plates out to share. But Mathias shook his head saying, "I like when we feed each other…"

Soon enough, they had to turn on a few lamps as the sun set outside their windows. By now they had thrown out empty cups and placed leftovers in the fridge. Lukas then laid against the arm of the couch, Mathias between his legs and resting against his chest. Depending on their moods, this position was either switched or any other form of draping across each other. As Lukas would describe, 'How cats do.'

"Let's watch Love is Blind!" Mathias said, flipping through Netflix.

"Absolutely not."

"But Lukas-"

"It doesn't matter if love is blind when they're all attractive! A stupid concept for a show."

"But it's funny to listen to you mock them!" He turned his head to look up at him. "Besides, I  think love is blind. Wouldn't you still love me if I was a worm?"

Lukas snorted. "That's different. Loving a worm has nothing to do with looks. And we're already engaged. It would be a waste of a wedding plan if I left you because you're a worm." He kissed his forehead.

"Awe, I'm so happy you'd marry me as a worm."

"I would keep you in one of my jars… With only the finest dirt for my worm husband." Mathias laughed.

"Finally you'd put your jar collection to use! I'm running out of nick-nacks to put in them."

"I might have a problem…"

"Don't worry," He grinned and kissed his chin. "I find it endearing… So now that you've proven love is blind, that means we can watch it now, yeah?"

With a sigh, Lukas begrudgingly nodded. After clicking play, he nuzzled against Lukas' neck, hand resting over his heart. In this spot, he could feel his heartbeat and feel the vibrations whenever Lukas softly criticized the logic of reality shows. He used to be so shy around him and even a bit snippy, but it didn't take long for Mathias to get him to open up. And it was moments like these that he liked to pause and reminisce on how far they've both come as people and how they've grown because of each other.

Lukas used one hand to gently stroke Mathias' hair, the other resting on his other. They were like that for a while, having fallen silent eventually. The only time they moved was when Mathias threw the light blanket off since the close proximity had kept them warmer. Then it was back to their relaxed cuddle session.

Mathias was the first to fall asleep. He looked so calm and sweet that Lukas let him get away with drooling a bit on his chest, although he was definitely grossed out a bit. But after a bit, the Dane's soft snores lulled him into a deep sleep as well, their show being forgotten into the night…

[artificialqueens]

wild flower, chapter four (shalaska) 4/11 - freyja

A/N: If you will turn you attention to the title, you will notice that the _/10 has jumped to an 11. This chapter got wildly out of hand and morphed into two. Someone please save me from myself. Again, thank you thank you thank you to my wonderful sweet beta Frey. I promise all bullying is out of fondness.

And as for chapter four: Alaska fights with Sharon (nothing new), Alaska gets a bath (very new), and things very quickly turn for the worse (more of a matter of degree). Have fun :)

🌸

“I love it. It is wild with adventure.” – Henry Starr describing the bandit life in the Old West shortly before he was shot to death in a gunfight in Arkansas.

🌸

Sharon’s clothes don’t fit quite right.

It’s to be expected - Alaska’s spindly frame doesn’t quite suit the concept of sharing clothes - but she still finds herself desperately smoothing the places where the shirt bunches at her skirt, nearly half of it already tucked into the waist. She steps back to see most of her torso in Sharon’s cracked hand mirror that leans against the middle of the tent frame, and sighs. She’s unused to seeing herself without a corset, and she doesn’t think she likes it. She feels like some pioneer woman, someone who doesn’t know how to dress well, nevermind afford to. The faded pink of the skirt and the cigarette burn on the sleeve of the shirt bother her - no doubt these clothes are old. She stares at herself for a long time in the flickering candlelight. She hardly looks like herself.

She hardly feels like herself.

She wonders, vaguely, at the age of the clothes as she tugs on the too-short sleeves of the shirt fruitlessly. They have to be at least several years old, judging by the old fashioned look of the skirt fabric, and probably from a poorer family. Whoever had owned these had worked the clothes into a wearied thinness.

She realizes, with a jolt, that these probably came from Sharon’s life before becoming an outlaw.

She’d known, logically, that Sharon wasn’t born a bandit. But to see evidence of a former, civilized life… it intrigues her. Rather than help to complete the mystery of Sharon Needles, it only helps add to it.

Alaska runs her fingers over the skirt with a new reverence. What did Sharon do in this? Work a farm? Serve a bar?

Fantasies start to build in her head, and suddenly she’s wondering what had made Sharon turn to a life of crime, or if nothing had happened, if she was predisposed to it, or if–

“I know outlaws are supposed to ride by night, but I would like to sleep while it’s still dark out,” Sharon calls through the tent flap, and Alaska jolts, feeling like she’s just been caught doing something naughty.

“Sorry,” Alaska calls out reflexively, and then immediately regrets it. She has the right to take up a little bit of Sharon’s time, considering the wrench Sharon had thrown into Alaska’s life. She’s tempted to wait an obnoxious fifteen more minutes just to prove it, but she ends up only taking the time needed to roll the sleeves up to hide their awkward length, irritation fading quickly.

She takes one last glance into the mirror, under the spell of some ridiculous urge to look good for Sh– the camp, and unclasps the first button of her shirt before she can talk herself out of it.

Why not take advantage of the lack of society she’s been forced into?

She smooths her shirt once more before ducking out of the tent, spotting Sharon sitting in the grass, a lit cigarette between her lips.

Alaska thinks of the burn on the shirt sleeve, and her heart does a strange flutter at the thought of it pressed against her skin.

“I’m done,” she says impatiently when Sharon doesn’t immediately look at her, eyes pointed up towards the stars. Alaska follows her gaze, and she manages to pick out Orion when the sound of Sharon’s voice brings her back down to Earth.

“Great,” Sharon says sarcastically, her eyes twinkling. “It only took you twenty five years.”

“Really? It felt more like fifty,” Alaska says dryly, and Sharon smirks. She stands, surveying Alaska with something like pride.

“You look good,” she says, taking a draw of her cigarette. “The shirt fits you great.” She looks pointedly at the place where Alaska’s collarbone is on display, and Alaska just barely stops herself from covering it, instead meeting Sharon’s eyes steadily despite the blush in her cheeks.

“It’s a little warm,” she says by way of explanation, despite the very real chill in the air, and Sharon cackles, sounding a little too much like an evil witch on a broomstick.

“I get it,” she says, and Alaska’s gaze wanders down to Sharon’s half open shirt, her usual overcoat still in the tent, before she can control herself. She snaps her gaze back up to Sharon’s face quickly, but Sharon’s smirk tells her that she’s been caught.

They stare at each other for a moment, Sharon’s smirk fading in favor of something softer, Alaska entranced by the glow of the cigarette reflected in Sharon’s eyes. The silence and the familiarity of the stare embolden her to ask the question that has been on the tip of her tongue since the moment she arrived into camp.

“Who were you?” Alaska asks quietly. The wind blows softly. “Before all of this?”

The warmth in Sharon’s gaze flickers away, wariness and distrust shuttering her expression almost instantly.

“Does it matter?"

The message is clear: drop it. But Alaska wants to know, and Alaska is used to getting what she wants.

“Come on,” she says, voice verging on a whine. “The occasion for this skirt isn’t a robbery.”

Sharon doesn’t smile at the tease. “Drop it, Alaska.”

“Why pink? I see black as more your color.”

“I said drop it,” Sharon says lowly, voice full of barely restrained anger. Alaska feels a spark of irritation at the tone.

“I think I deserve to know at least a little bit about the woman who kidnapped me,” Alaska snaps, dropping her smirk. “At least to be polite.”

“I’m not exactly known for being polite.”

“You know who I am,” Alaska starts, raising her voice. “You know what I come from, you–”

“Anything you’ve told me has been of your own choosing,” Sharon snarls, her cold expression breaking into something sharper. “I have never forced you to share anything but the information that you shouldn’t have had anyway.”

Alaska scowls. “Please, you’ve been trying to nose your way into my life since day fucking one. You didn’t have to force me.”

“You think I actually care about your life as a rich woman in the big city?” Sharon sneers. “You think I want to know how hard it is to find the prettiest dress on the market? You think I want to hear about how difficult it is to figure out exactly how much more money you want to marry into?”

The words sting, and Alaska steps back, surprised. She’s hurt, and tears well up in her eyes along with her anger and her embarrassment. “You have no fucking idea what my life is like,” she says, nearly yelling. “You don’t get to sit there and speculate on how easy my life is compared to what? What did you do? Milk cows?”

Sharon just stares at her, face blank with anger. “I’m sorry,” she says eventually. “From what you said, I thought I knew everything about you.”

“Fuck you,” Alaska says. To her horror, a tear escapes her eye, running down her nose and onto her cheek. She wipes it away angrily, embarrassed.

Sharon deflates, letting out a long breath. “So you’ve said.”

They stand in silence for a long time, the cool air whipping their hair and clothes around. Alaska tries to focus on it, imagining it cooling her anger.

Her temper has always been quick, to her detriment, but it’s also always been quick to cool. Even with Sharon’s words still stinging, she finds it in herself to calm down enough to look at Sharon without immediate irritation, and she counts it as a win.

She can only hope that Sharon doesn’t hold onto anger like her father does.

“Come on,” Sharon sighs. She looks tired, but there doesn’t seem to be much anger left in her. “I’ll take you to your tent.”

Alaska nearly protests that she can find her way back on her own, but she bites her tongue. The air between them is tense, and Alaska knows that one careless remark could start another argument like a lit match to gasoline.

“I’m going hunting tomorrow morning with a couple of the girls,” Sharon says as they walk. “But I should be back before noon. Try to stay with Jinkx.”

“What, the other girls a little too dangerous for me?” Alaska says archly.

“Yes,” Sharon says bluntly, and Alaska feels a small pinch of fear at her serious tone. Alaska must look the way she feels, because Sharon laughs a little when she looks at her. The tension seems to fade almost instantly at the sound, and Alaska allows herself to relax an increment as Sharon opens her mouth to say something else.

“They won’t shoot you - probably. They’ll just be….” she trails off, frowning slightly.

“Mean?” Alaska suggests, and Sharon laughs again.

“Sure!”

They fall into silence again, this time a comfortable one, and Alaska tries to decide how she feels, being left alone at the camp. Despite Sharon’s laughter, she’s paranoid about the women she hasn’t quite met yet. She trusts Jinkx, at least as much as she’s willing to trust anyone here, but she’d seen how Roxxxy had reacted to Jinkx’s authority. What if these other women were worse?

“Take me with you,” Alaska blurts out, panic making her decisions for her. “To hunt.”

Sharon laughs a little, bemused. “Why?”

“I want to learn to shoot.” She says it because she doesn’t want to admit that she’s afraid of the unknown women, but as soon as the words are out of her mouth, she finds herself meaning them. She wants to learn how to defend herself - she wants to take as much control in this new situation as possible.

“Very funny.”

“I’m being serious.”

The smile fades away from Sharon’s face. “Alaska, I’m not giving you a weapon.”

Alaska frowns. “It’s not like I’m going to shoot you.” Unless I find it necessary.

“It’s not happening,” Sharon says. “You’re under our protection, and that’s enough.”

“I didn’t tell you it was for defense,” Alaska says, as they reach her tent. Sharon smirks.

“If you’re not going to shoot me, there’s only one other option,” she says, turning to walk away. “And that is to shoot Solomon.”

And with that, she’s gone.

🌸

When Alaska wakes up in the morning, Detox and Roxxxy are gone.

Alaska is alarmed for a brief moment, before she remembers the planned hunting trip, and then she relaxes, spreading her arms out and enjoying the sensation of being alone for the first time in two days.

She lies there for some time, enjoying her chance to relax, but the smell of meat cooking and Jinkx’s soft voice carrying through the canvas of the tent has her getting up eventually, her stomach growling.

She fixes her hair the best she can in a small hand mirror she finds, and she tries not to linger too long on the bags under her eyes. She takes a final moment to take a breath, steeling herself for another day amongst outlaws, possible danger, and stress, and walks outside.

Detox and Roxxxy’s tent is probably the closest to the fire pit, so Jinkx and a brunette woman covered in freckles beside her see Alaska almost immediately after she emerges.

“Aw, she’s cute!” the woman says, and she sounds like she’s eaten Texas for breakfast. “Y’all didn’t tell me she was cute!”

Alaska blushes, smiling back at Jinkx when she grins apologetically from beside the woman. “I don’t know why,” Alaska says, sitting on a log and flipping her hair back. “It is my defining feature.”

“Oh, and she’s funny too!” the woman cries, her green eyes wide open with exaggerated shock. “Where’d Sharon pick this one up? New York?”

Alaska hesitates. “Well….”

The woman throws her hands up, nearly knocking over the pan she has on the fire. Jinkx stills her arm, shooting her an exasperated look. “I swear, I’m a psychic or somethin’.”

“You’re not a psychic,” Jinkx laughs. “Alaska just oozes ‘New York’. Alaska, meet Alyssa - Alyssa, Alaska,” she introduces, and Alyssa bows her head in acknowledgement, lips pursed. The expression sparks something in Alaska’s memory, and in another instant, she’s gasping in recognition.

“Not Alyssa Edwards?”

Alyssa grins crookedly, clearly pleased at the recognition. “The one and only, baby.”

“You disappeared years ago - I was supposed to see your show two weeks after you vanished. Everyone looked for you for months - you’ve been here the whole time?”

“Some birds weren’t meant to be kept in cages, darlin’,” Alyssa says, and Jinkx shoots her a fond look.

“You were perfectly happy shooting for show,” she says. “It wasn’t until Sharon came and told you there was money in being an outlaw that you finally came with us.”

Alyssa laughs. “You’re right, girl, you’re right,” she says. “I miss it sometimes, but I’d miss y’all more if I went back to it.”

“And you’d have a tough time usurping Coco Montrese,” Jinkx says. Alyssa’s face darkens.

“Don’t you ever say that name to me again,” she says, but Jinkx’s giggles take away any of its intimidation.

“Sorry.”

Alaska sits back, watching the exchange and staring in disbelief. Alyssa Edwards, the most popular show in North America, the sharpest woman shooter in the West, the woman who’d disappeared one night, never to be seen again - is hanging around Sharon Needles and cooking breakfast.

It was enough to make Alaska’s head spin.

Alyssa, being a young woman with deadly aim, had been an obsession of hers at the age of eleven, a result of her fascination with the West and its outlaws. If this had happened to her thirteen years ago, she’s sure she would have fainted with delight.

Now, she’s starting to suspect eleven years old Alaska had poor taste.

“Alaska,” Jinkx says, jerking her out of her reverie. “Why don’t you go take a bath in the stream? This won’t be ready for another half hour, and the rest of the girls aren’t even up yet.”

“Unless you want to ask me any questions, of course,” Alyssa says, and Alaska laughs, standing.

“I need a bath. Desperately,” she says. “But I’ll compile a list for when I’m back. I need to know, though,” she looks at Jinkx, raising her eyebrows, “are cougars a problem?”

Jinkx looks like she’s trying to hold back a smile and is failing miserably. “You’re fine. I probably wouldn’t be able to draw fast enough to shoot one, anyway, and if Alyssa goes I’ll burn breakfast.”

“Glad to know where your priorities are,” Alaska says dryly. “I thought the agreement was to protect me?”

“It’s fine. Go take a bath. It’ll do you good.”

“Thanks,” Alaska drawls, but she saunters down the dirt path towards the stream, keeping to her word and compiling a list of questions for Alyssa, some childhood excitement still making her heartbeat quicken.

She feels a little awkward undressing in the middle of the woods, knowing that anyone can see her if they pass, and she gets into the water as quickly as she can.

It feels amazing.

She sighs at the chill of it, a relief in the hot morning sun, and doesn’t hesitate to duck her head under, loosening the pins in her hair and throwing them in the direction of her clothes crumpled on the shore. Giddy with how amazing the water feels on her bare skin and feeling almost rejuvenated with the cold, she swims around a little, floating on her back and letting the Sun warm her face.

By the time she’s finished, the majority of the dust has floated away from her body, and she’s just beginning to scrub it out of her hair, when the sound of horses galloping past makes her pause.

After a few moments of still silence, she begins scrubbing again, making sure to keep her eyes and ears open. Sure enough, a few minutes pass, and she hears a shout echo down the path from the camp. The intensity and urgency behind it makes her heart drop, and she freezes, listening urgently.

Suddenly, more shouts, loud and distressed, can be heard, the words barely distinguishable, but the emotions clear. Alaska’s just beginning to move out of the water when she hears Sharon’s voice, disturbingly desperate, join the others.

Something within her jumpstarts, and she shoots out of the water, pulling her clothing on as quickly as she can. She decides to forgo her boots and their laces, instead grabbing them and flying up the hill, no plan in mind other than to help somehow, some way.

She runs into the camp to see mass chaos.

Alyssa is running across camp, full skirt hitched up nearly to her waist, with Sharon shouting at her to “Get Katya, now! Hurry!”

Roxxxy is echoing her sentiments, sobbing, supporting Detox over her shoulder. Detox’s head lolls against her chest, and a dark, wet patch on her shirt over her ribs glistens gruesomely in the sunlight.

Willam, holding a piece of cloth in her hands, is running from one of the tents towards Jinkx, who stands near Cerrone. Morgan is slumped over the horse’s neck, clearly unconscious, and Jinkx presses her hands desperately against the other woman’s thigh, her hands covered in blood.

Sharon stands in the midst of all of it, shouting orders and face even paler than usual, stark against her dark hair.

“Fuck,” Alaska says helpfully, and she rushes forward.

She goes to support Detox’s other arm, taking some of the weight off of Roxxxy, who looks at her gratefully.

“Alaska, thank fuck,” Sharon says, placing a hand over her ribs in relief. “Help Katya when she comes– she’s coming now, thank fucking god.”

“What happened?” Katya says, sprinting over with a speed much faster than Alaska would have previously expected, Alyssa close behind. “What’s going on?”

“Morgan’s shot in the leg,” Jinkx says, wrapping the cloth above the wound. “Detox has a bullet between her ribs, so get to her first.”

Katya is at Alaska’s side in an instant, taking Detox’s arm from her. “And why isn’t she on a horse?”

“She insisted she was fine,” Roxxxy says tearfully. “I tried to stop her but–”

“Detox is too willful, I know,” Katya says quickly. “Let’s get her to my tent. Quickly.”

Sharon looks at Morgan, worry clear in her eyes. “Jinkx–”

“I’m following,” Jinkx says, leading Cerrone behind the three women.

Alaska lets out a breath, the situation seeming to calm with Katya’s presence and her expertise. She looks at Sharon, who looks the opposite of okay.

“Are you okay?” Alaska asks tentatively, walking over.

Sharon grimaces. “Peachy,” she says sarcastically, but her voice is strained oddly.

Alaska frowns. “Are you sure you’re–” her eyes catch on Sharon’s hand, still pressed against her ribs, and her heart stops at the wetness of the coat around it, nearly invisible against the dark fabric. “Fuck.”

“It’s just a graze,” Sharon says quickly, following her gaze. Alaska glares at her, suddenly angry.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” she snaps. “Katya was right there!”

“Detox was shot in the fucking ribs!” Sharon shoots back. “Morgan was bleeding out. Fuck!”

“We’re going to Katya. Right now.”

“Oh, did you become the boss while I was gone? I can take care of myself.”

Alaska presses her lips together. “Sharon–” But Sharon’s already taking a step towards her tent, and Alaska instinctively grabs her arm to hold her back. It must jostle something, because Sharon suddenly goes weak at the knees, and all Alaska can do is slow her descent.

“Ah,” Sharon says, expression twisted with pain. Her hand comes up to cover her wound again, the other supporting her position on the ground.

Alaska doesn’t know what to do, kneeling beside her and placing a hand on her back. “Jesus, Sharon,” she says, more concerned than she would like to let on. Sharon sucks in a breath through her teeth.

“Get Katya,” she says, and then she faints.

🌸

Alaska waits nervously outside of Sharon’s tent, Jinkx hovering close beside her and unsuccessfully trying to comfort the both of them.

“She said it was just a graze,” Jinkx says, and Alaska raises an eyebrow, irritated.

“She fainted.”

Jinkx looks like she’s about to cry, and Alaska can’t bear to look at it. She instead glues her eyes to the front of the tent, waiting impatiently for Katya to emerge.

She’s sure Sharon is fine.

But what if she isn’t? What if she’s dying? She should be grateful at the thought - she should celebrate. But something like fear shoots through her like a bullet instead, and putting it towards losing her protection doesn’t feel quite right. No, she thinks, bemused. I just don’t want Sharon to die.

It’s called being a good Christian, she tells herself, and Katya’s coming out of the tent allows her to get away with the lie without much more thought.

Both Jinkx and Alaska rush forward, and Katya holds up her hands to ward them off, giving a tight smile. She looks exhausted. “It really is just a graze,” she says to Jinkx, and the other woman slumps in relief.

“Really?” Alaska says, her own relief sparking more irritation rather than soothing it. “Just a graze?”

“Sharon is known for being dramatic,” Katya jokes, but her smile fades quickly. “No, she probably fainted more from blood loss and pain than the actual wound. She only needed three stitches.”

“So she’s okay?” Jinkx asks.

“Yes,” Katya laughs. “Don’t you trust me?”

Jinkx finally smiles, although her eyes are still worried. “Yes,” she says. “Of course. Thank you.”

“One other thing,” Katya says, a little more seriously. “Morgan is staying in the medical tent because I don’t want her sleeping in a crowded tent. I’ll be taking her place with Adore and Willam. As for Detox…”

“You don’t want her sleeping in a crowd either,” Jinkx finishes, and Alaska can’t help but feel a little pleased with the news. Even with Roxxxy’s grateful look to her earlier, the pair still frightened her, with Roxxxy’s clear anger and Detox’s strength. To not have to sleep with them would be a blessing.

“Alaska will have to find another place to sleep.”

Jinkx nods, looking thoughtful. Then, suddenly, her eyes widen. “Oh my God, she’s going to have to sleep with Sharon.”

Alaska colors at the phrasing. “What? No,” she says quickly, glancing at the tent. She can see many ways in which this could go wrong. Very many ways. Suddenly, Roxxxy and Detox seem like the best option.

“Why not with you?” Alaska sucks in a breath as the words escape her, belatedly realizing how rude they might seem, especially to Sharon’s best friend.

There’s a horrifying beat of silence.

To her relief and confusion, Jinkx looks at her like she’s trying not to laugh. “You don’t want to sleep with Sharon?”

“No, that’s not what I–”

“I don’t blame you. She’s a nightmare,” Jinkx says, smiling, obviously swallowing her laughter. Alaska still doesn’t see what’s quite so funny, but she lets it go. “But my tent is already too small with only me and Alyssa.”

“Perfect,” Katya interrupts, clearly over the conversation. She looks at Alaska. “You can look after her. Here-” she presses a wet piece of cloth into Alaska’s hands, along with a small bottle of whiskey. “Clean her wound with this. I didn’t have time to properly disinfect it - I need to be with Morgan. She was still bleeding when I came for Sharon.” And with that, she hustles away, leaving a stunned Alaska to look at the supplies in her hands and Jinkx to let out some of the giggles she’d been holding back.

“Sharon’s going to love this,” she says, grinning maniacally at the whiskey. “It’ll teach her to be more careful.”

“She’s reckless?” Alaska asks, examining the whiskey label. She wonders if it was included in Katya’s medical supplies budget, and the thought of using it against open flesh makes her cringe.

“To an irritating extent.”

Alaska takes a step towards Sharon’s tent, heart pounding for seemingly no reason. She’s been alone with Sharon before - she should be fine. She can hold her own.

Her palms are sweaty where they hold the bottle and the rag.

She stops just before entering, turning back towards Jinkx, who raises an eyebrow.

“Hurry along - I’d like to talk to Sharon about something.”

“What happened?” she asks. “Do you know?”

Jinkx’s expression turns solemn, and Alaska is surprised to see a hint of anger flicker across her normally sweet face. “Morgan said they were ambushed,” she says. “She guesses by Solomon’s gang. She can be paranoid, but….”

“He seems the most likely,” Alaska finishes, the news only adding to her nerves. Solomon is a real threat, and an active one. She can only hope that any news about her presence at her uncle’s meeting died with Solomon’s men.

She feels her gut churn at the thought, disgusted with herself, but there’s no point in it. They’re dead, so she might as well acknowledge the benefits.

Jinkx must see something on her face, because her voice is soft when she next speaks. “Take your time with Sharon. I’ll come back later.”

Alaska can’t possibly see how this is a favor to her, as Jinkx’s tone suggests, but she can’t bring herself to ask. She instead forces a smile and a ‘thank you’, and she ducks into the tent before she can come up with another excuse to prolong her entrance.

Sharon looks awake and aware when Alaska first sees her, lying down on her back and looking irritated about it.

“Alaska?” she asks, raising her head slightly and frowning. Alaska hovers at the entrance, feeling awkward in a way she hasn’t ever felt around Sharon. It’s a strange realization.

“I’m here to take care of you,” she says after a moment, and Sharon groans, letting her head flop back against her pillow.

“Great,” she moans. “Now I know who they care about the least. Would have been nicer if they’d just shot me in the head.”

"I’m not going to kill you,” Alaska says, offended, despite just moments ago thinking that it would be beneficial for Sharon to die. Currently, Sharon looks a little too pathetic for her to be thinking those thoughts. “I’m not like you. I don’t kill people just because they’re vulnerable.”

“I’m flattered,” Sharon says dryly. “But I feel like you’re purposefully misunderstanding who I am.”

“Don’t care,” Alaska says, moving to kneel beside Sharon and feeling bolder with Sharon’s humor. Had Sharon looked more like an invalid, it would have continued to feel strange - she would have had to be nice.

Sharon rolls her eyes.

Alaska unscrews the lid of the whiskey, ignoring her. Sharon eyes her warily.

“Please tell me that’s for drinking,” she says, voice bordering on a whine. Alaska is surprised to hear it.

“You know it’s not,” she says. Sharon groans, and she raises her eyebrows, unimpressed. “Don’t tell me you’re a bad patient.”

“You can talk after you’ve had a bullet wound,” Sharon shoots back, and Alaska flattens her lips, unimpressed.

“Katya was right,” she sighs, dampening the rag with the whiskey. “‘Dramatic’ is the perfect word for you.”

“Like you’d be much better.”

“I’m a spoiled, rich girl, remember?” Alaska says lightly, putting the bottle on the ground beside her. “Dramatics are to be expected, if not encouraged.”

Sharon’s face softens a litte. “I’m sorry about that,” she says, and the apology startles Alaska. Apologies were hard for her to admit to - she would have expected it to be worse for an outlaw. “I didn’t mean it.”

Alaska snorts, but she can’t quite get the edge she wants behind it. “Yeah, I’m sure you actually really want to hear about my latest dress.”

Sharon’s lips twitch up in a smirk. “Only if I get to see you in it,” she says, and Alaska flushes at the ‘and out’ that lingers, unsaid.

“Well,” she says, irritated that even injured and on her back Sharon seems to have the conversational upper hand, “right now, I get to see you out of this.” And with that, she tugs up Sharon’s shirt without warning, making Sharon flinch.

“Jesus!” she snaps out, voice tinged with pain, and Alaska’s heart drops with worry.

“Did I hurt you?” she asks, running her fingers over Sharon’s bandages worriedly.

“A little,” Sharon admits, taking deep breaths. “I know it’s already been a few minutes, but I tend to heal slowly.”

“I’m sorry,” Alaska says, stomach twisting with guilt. “I was just trying to–”

“Get back at me?” Sharon suggests, and she grimaces.

“Yes,” she says, taking a moment to look at Sharon’s face instead of her bandages, which are already spotted with red. She’s smirking, and Alaska immediately understands what she meant by ‘get back at’. She’s right, Alaska had tried to twist the conversation into one she controlled, but her guilt still vanishes instantly. “But I’d say you deserved it.”

“The attempt, maybe,” Sharon says. “But not the result.”

“Oh,” Alaska says lightly, finding the knot tying Sharon’s bandages and untying it. “I don’t know about that.”

Sharon doesn’t respond, so Alaska begins to peel up her bandages, trying to be as gentle as she can and ignoring Sharon’s winces as she tugs some of them off, the blood acting as some sort of glue. She bites back her urge to apologize. This needs to happen, and Sharon’s already gotten an apology today.

As she removes the last of the bandage, Alaska examines the wound, trying to gauge how bad it is, despite Katya’s reassurances. Doctors undersell things. Her dead mother could tell you that.

It’s about four inches long, stretching diagonally from just under Sharon’s chest to the end of her ribcage, and the fact that Katya has put stitches into it tells her it’s deep. She sucks in a breath through her teeth in sympathy.

“Looks like it hurts,” she says quietly.

“Well, I was shot,” Sharon says, and Alaska raises an eyebrow.

“You’re right,” she says dryly. “Which is why we need to clean it.” She dampens the cloth again, this time with intent, and Sharon puts a hand over her eyes.

“I hate my life,” she groans, but it quickly devolves into a hiss as Alaska touches the alcohol to the edge of the wound.

“Don’t be dramatic,” Alaska tells her, and she tries to rub a little bit of the dried blood away, jumping when Sharon yelps a little.

“Fuck you,” she snaps, and Alaska gives her a look.

“That’s my line.”

“God, you know you’re wealthy when you can own a phrase in the English language,” Sharon says, breathing a little heavily. She’s still smiling, though, the small gap in her teeth just visible. “Especially one so common.”

Alaska wipes a little more blood as punishment, and Sharon makes a pained sound.

“Gently, please,” she says, and Alaska feels a small twinge of guilt at the way her voice wavers. “I might faint on you again.”

“And you think I’m the princess,” Alaska mutters, but when she begins again, she’s as gentle as she can possibly be.

“I wasn’t the one in the pink silk dress,” Sharon says, and Alaska raises her rag threateningly.

“This could be a lot worse,” she warns, and Sharon falls silent, though her mouth is still twisted into a slight smirk. “Thank you,” Alaska says primarily, and she resumes her work.

The process takes a long time, especially with how slowly Alaska has to go in order to be gentle. Sharon stops talking around halfway through, trying her best to muffle her pained noises as Alaska gets closer to the center of the wound. Alaska nearly wants to cry herself, resisting the urge to go faster to end the small sobs Sharon tries and fails to hide.

She’s sweating by the end of it, the evening Sun baking through the tent walls, and she’s breathing almost as hard as Sharon. She lets out a breath of relief, hanging the rag over the whiskey bottle and picking up the bandages.

Sharon opens her eyes as Alaska starts to cover the wound, obviously exhausted. “You’re done?”

Alaska glances at her, trying not to linger on the tear tracks leading down the side of her face to her temple. “Yes.”

Sharon sighs, closing her eyes again. “Thank fucking god,” she mutters. “I could kiss you right now.”

Alaska stills, shocked and hardly daring to breathe. She waits for Sharon to continue, but she never does. “Sharon, wh–”

“Alaska?”

She nearly jumps out of her skin at the sound of a new voice, much louder than she and Sharon had been talking, and whips her head around to find Katya poking her head in. Katya raises her eyebrows.

“Sorry to interrupt your little, uh, свидание,” she says. “But I need you.”

“I don’t think I want to know what that word means,” Alaska says dryly, glancing back at Sharon. She seems to be out cold, and Alaska can’t help but feel intrigued by her face, strangely peaceful. She’s gotten so used to Sharon’s hard and sharp expressions - has the curve of her brow always been so lovely?

“It’s an appropriate word, I’ll tell you that,” Katya tells her. Alaska quickly looks away from Sharon, blushing to be caught staring. Katya’s eyes are twinkling at her when they meet eyes again, however, and Alaska almost thinks it’s worth it if it means getting rid of the seriousness that sits so strangely on Katya’s sharp features.

“You need me?” Alaska leads, and Katya startles like she’s just remembered something.

“Yes!” she says. “I need your help with Detox.”

“Not Roxxxy?”

“All Roxxxy can do is cry,” Katya says, clearly unimpressed.

“Have some sympathy,” Alaska says, standing up. Katya’s clear distaste strikes a nerve within her, and her next words are a little more heated than she’d intended. “That’s her friend.”

“A little more than that, I’d say,” Katya grins, eyes sparkling, and Alaska is suddenly reminded of how they’d parted before.

Strangely enough, Alaska doesn’t feel that same knee jerk fear she’d felt before. Her stomach still twists, although more guilty than fearful. Maybe that fear has faded in the face of Sharon’s wound. But, really, it’s faded in the face of Sharon’s latest proclamation.

Thank fucking god. I could kiss you right now.

It’s a phrase. A saying. Sharon had been half asleep, drunk with exhaustion. She’s proven herself to be a fan of innuendos, but Alaska would still be surprised if she were that forward. No, it had to have been a joke.

But still. The thought of Sharon kissing her sends a thrill through her body, and she isn’t quite sure she knows how to crush the feeling.

She isn’t quite sure she wants to, and she hates herself for it.

“Wrap her back up,” Katya says, eyes flickering between Alaska and Sharon. Alaska resents the knowing look on her face. “And meet me outside of my tent. Hurry - I’ve got the bleeding down, but we’re in the woods for as long as that bullet is in her.”

Alaska grimaces, nodding, and kneels back down beside Sharon as Katya ducks out. The tent flap closes behind her, and the afternoon sun vanishes, leaving them in the flickering candlelight of Sharon’s lantern. It’s strangely silent, Sharon’s soft breathing and distant voices outside the only noises filling the space.

Alaska’s heart beats quicker at the intimacy, feeling as though she shouldn’t be seeing Sharon so vulnerable, her expression so open. She feels simultaneously like she’s being watched closely and like she’s completely alone, and, with Sharon’s words from earlier still echoing in her ears, she finds herself taking advantage of it. She’s fascinated by Sharon’s face and the way her chest rises and falls slowly with her breaths, the way a strand of hair lies dark against her forehead. Alaska’s eyes trail down her face, her neck, her collarbone, and it’s not until her eyes catch on the bright red of Sharon’s injury that she’s jerked back into herself. A strange wave of tenderness suddenly washes over her, and she picks up the bandages without a second thought.

Sharon doesn’t move as Alaska spreads the salve over her stitches, keeping her fingers light, and she doesn’t even twitch as Alaska tightens the fresh bandages around her torso, tying the ends into a neat bow.

Alaska looks at her face after she finishes, drinking in her heavy, dark eyebrows and equally dark eyelashes, something fluttering in her stomach at this newfound ability to stare openly, to be with Sharon while also being entirely alone. It makes her brave.

Emboldened, she brushes the strand of hair lying across Sharon’s face to the side, hand almost going to cup the other woman’s cheek as she does so, like it was the next natural move. Sharon’s expression flickers for just a moment at the feeling, and Alaska snatches her hand away like she’s just been burned, blushing so fiercely she can feel it in her ears.

She doesn’t think she’s blushed this hard in her life, and Sharon isn’t even awake to tease it out of her. She’d gone along this path all on her own.

The thought makes her stomach dip strangely, and suddenly, she’s furious with herself - furious with Sharon. It’s so tempting to be herself here, to be free, but she isn’t staying. She can’t go back once she grants herself the freedom to break the law, and to stay here isn’t an option.

Sharon is not an option.

Sharon doesn’t awaken, but still fearful of somehow being caught red handed, Alaska gathers Katya’s supplies as quickly as she can. Nearly dropping the whiskey in her hurry, she practically runs out of the tent, something unpleasant squirming in her gut.

Sharon is not an option.

🌸

Surgery is not for the faint of heart, and after about two seconds of helping Katya, Alaska nearly collapses, black creeping in on the edges of her vision.

She’s sent to get Willam after that.

Katya asks her to wait, because she needs to check on Morgan still, and she would like someone to watch Detox while she’s gone, and apparently Willam is liable to wander off if left with any responsibility.

Alaska has been waiting outside of the med tent for over an hour when Willam comes out, her hands covered in blood and a nonchalant expression on her face. The image is a little disconcerting.

“Katya’s ready for you,” she says. “I’d be insulted that she trusts the new girl over me, but honestly I don’t blame her.”

“I’m not the new girl,” Alaska says, though she finds herself faltering in her words. “I’m just here until Solomon is dead and I can go back home.”

“Oh,” Willam says, shrugging. “Sorry.”

Alaska feels guilt twinge a little in her stomach, and she rushes to apologize. “I mean, not that I don’t want to - well, I don’t, but - it’s not that–”

“Alaska,” Willam interrupts, raising her voice only a little. “Alaska, right?”

Alaska nods, frowning a little.

“Listen. I don’t really care whether you stay or not. Just because Sharon likes you, doesn’t mean the rest of us find you interesting.”

Alaska reels back, shocked. “Well, I’m not,” she says. “And Sharon doesn’t - doesn’t like me. It’s just - we made a deal.”

“Don’t care!” Willam sing-songs, turning around and walking away. “Have fun with Detox!”

Alaska flips her off when she’s certain she can’t see her, and then she ducks into the tent only to be greeted by Katya’s blinding grin.

“Oh, Sharon likes you,” she says, bangs plastered to her forehead with sweat. “She doesn’t make deals on the first day of capture for just anyone, you know.”

Alaska ignores her, excusing her blush to herself as one from the heat, and she sits down on the crate next to Detox’s head, across from Katya. “Warm in here?” she asks instead, motioning to Katya’s bangs. Katya lets out a wheezing laugh, running her hands through her hair. When she’s done, her bangs stand up like they’re the points to a crown. Alaska doesn’t bother to hide her smile.

“Just a little,” she says. “I’m sure it was worse for Detox.”

“It was,” Detox groans, eyes fluttering open, and Alaska startles.

“You’re awake?”

Detox smirks. “I’ve been through this before.”

Katya rolls her eyes, letting out a breath of long suffering as she packs her small medkit. “You see this, да?” She points to a curved scar right below Detox’s belly button. “She got it in a knife fight. And she’s been shot before-” she points to two spots on Detox’s right arm. “-here and here. We spend a lot of time together. I hate her.”

Detox lets out a squawk of indignation, grimacing as it jerks her injury. “I hate you too, bitch!”

“I will see you next week, when you tear your stitches,” Katya tells her, grabbing one final needle. “Goodnight.” And then she’s out of the tent, making a beeline towards Morgan’s tent in the early evening light.

“I love that bitch,” Detox sighs after she’s gone, staring up at the tent ceiling. “I really think I’d be dead without her.”

“This kind of thing happens often?” Alaska says, raising an eyebrow. Detox snorts.

“Yeah. Glad you didn’t come?”

Alaska looks at her. “Sharon told you I wanted to come?”

“She did. I thought you didn’t want to be here.”

“I don’t,” Alaska stresses. “I can’t. I just thought–” she cuts herself off, suddenly embarrassed. Detox frowns.

“Thought what?” she asks, voice slightly softer than before.

“I just thought - I thought I would learn to protect myself,” she says. “I wanted to learn to shoot.”

“Oh, come on,” Detox says, expression disbelieving. “There’s more than that.”

“How could you possibly know that?” Alaska says, defensive.

“We’ve all been where you are!” Detox says. “You can’t tell me you didn’t want to break the rules, at least a little!”

“I didn’t–”

“Alaska,” Detox says, and Alaska tightens her lips. There’s a long period of silence.

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know everything I need to know,” Detox tells her. “I was you. Really, we all were, at some point.”

Alaska stares at her. “What do you mean?”

Detox rolls her eyes, obviously losing patience. “What, did you think we were all born outlaws?”

“No,” Alaska says. “Of course not, I’m not an idiot.”

Detox grants her a look that tells her she disagrees, and she scowls at it. “I’m not.”

There’s a long moment in which Detox just looks at Alaska, her expression slowly softening. “I was pretty rich,” Detox begins. The bluntness of her tone takes Alaska aback. “My father died and the heir, of course, wasn’t me. A cousin of mine inherited everything I could possibly call home, except for my clothes and a few books. I didn’t have anywhere to go.”

“There are places,” Alaska starts, but she falters at Detox’s cold, unimpressed look.

“You mean the places where I would never talk to anyone again? The places where women without husbands or money go to die, alone and unwanted?” she asks harshly, and Alaska doesn’t have a response. A familiar dread makes her stomach cold, the fear of what might happen if she never could bring herself to marry wrapping itself around her again. “Long story short, I met Sharon at a bar. We hit it off. She saved me.”

Alaska frowns at that word: ‘saved’. It seems dramatic, but the more she thinks about the apartments in Brooklyn, or the small houses littering the outskirts of the city, the more it seems to fit. She’d always thought of the people living in those places as ones who’d gambled their money away, or something equally condemnable.

What had Detox done wrong?

“I don’t need saving,” she says quietly, despite the ball of icy dread that still sits in her stomach. Going back home would mean going back to that dread, she’s starting to understand. Being at this camp has been like a vacation from her responsibilities, and suddenly, the idea of going back to them doesn’t seem appealing at all.

Detox looks at her for a long time before she raises an eyebrow. “You sure about that?”

The ‘no’ gets stuck in the back of her throat.

“Yes,” Alaska says.

[creepichan]

El Capitano

Don’t ask, I dreamed of this last night XD But it was way too cute to not write it

Words: 1800

Characters: Roman, Logan, Patton, Some random Girls

Pairing: Logicality, mentioned Roman x unknown, (I leave it to you tho if you want to read it as additional Logincecality)

TW: Mentions of Alcohol, Curse, mentions of car accident ao3 link -----

“Go over the fire ladder! I’ll catch up to you” ,He whisper-shouted over to the pair that already made it half through the window, as they heard the headmaster approaching from the hall. There wouldn’t be enough time for Roman to follow them, he needed to hide and that fast if he didn’t want to get caught in the girls commons and risk to fly from the school. Logan and Patton were already on their way, and Roman ran out of options. Why did they think taking this shortcut was a good idea? Oh yeah, they didn't. Roman did all alone and now that’s what he would get from it. But, the deus ex machina decided to be merciful to him, and made him see that one of the room doors was ajar. So he quickly took the chance and sneaked into the girls room to hide. Thankfully it was empty so he could stay here for a bit. A sigh of relief flooted him, as he took a few steps back, running a hand through his reddish hair.

 “Fuck that was close”

Tho he wished to have just climbed after Pat and Lo. Would have been easier and maybe fast enough on second thought. Oh well… too late now. He only prayed he didn’t have to wait too long here. The girls who this room belonged to could come back any minute and they already were lucky enough no one saw them. Plus: He REALLY wanted to be with the two right now. This day has already been stressful enough and today the deadline would end. Which meant Patton would be finally safe… In the past month Patton had to live with a curse. Roman and Logan had been on edge this whole time to keep him safe from all sorts of things that the universe threw at them. Don’t ask how it came to that, just don’t. It was already enough stress to calm his racing heart and get his breathing under control to not make too much noise. He put his ear to the door and- DAMMIT- she was still outside. And not only that, she talked with other teachers and a few students now. 

“Good fuck, what are they even doing here anyways?!” ,Roman cursed. He couldn’t stay here. What would they think of him? Standing all dirty and with a ragged jacket in a girls room he didn’t even know? So he began to look around. Nothing. No Vents, no side doors, only a window. Wait… a window. On silent soles he stepped closer and carefully opened the window, looking out. Perfect. Just above was their room, but with no ladder. He would have to pray that the ivy on the wall could hold him. Slowly he climbed on the desk, ready to climb out of the- “Ah, so El Capitano honors us again with his visit” 

If Roman had already put a leg outside the window, he might as well would have fallen out. But fortunately he was still enough inside to just let out a startled squee. Welp… there they were. Four girls that this room belonged to. Great… “uh…. ‘El Capitano’?” ,Roman asked perplex while lifting a brow. The girls didn’t seem hostile as they got in and went about their things as if Roman wasn’t even there. Like this was something normal. The redhead came closer with a confused grin. “Wait, seriously? Are you sneaking through so many windows that you already forgot?” His brows knitted together as he tried to recall. When realization hit him, a red flush filled his cheeks. “oh- oh god, yes.” 

The girl let out a small chuckle, her friends joined in. “You were so drunk that you mistook our room for yours and wanted to climb up to yours through the window. And you kept throwing spanish word in while you wanted us to call you ‘El Capitano’” As embarrassing as this was, it was also kinda funny thinking back. He didn’t remember much from that night, only that he woke up with a bottle of tequila in a girls dorm with a pink shirt on. He was so paranoid that he slept with one of them, that his mind tried desperately to forget that hungover. 

“From that on, always when one of us was about to do something stupid on alcohol, we call it “Don’t do a capitano”” Roman grinned a bit honored. “Well in my defense: If I hadn’t been this wasted I would have nailed that climb!” 

“Suuuure” ,a girl sitting on her bed chuckled. The redhead walked to her cabinet, where they hoarded most of their food and pulled out a nearly finished bottle of tequila. “Ever since we were waiting for you to come back and finally get your trash” “You kept it? Couldn’t you have just thrown it out?” 

“Is it our job to clean after the man, after he vanished that morning from our bathtub? Without even a thank you for hiding him or saving his stupid ass?” ,she smirked back. “Okay fair.” ,he rubbed his neck, “Thanks for that, but i cannot climb with a bottle in my hand” 

“Well guess you’ll have to come back another time then. Now if you allow the question El Capitano-” “Actually my name is-” 

“Nope.” ,she interrupted back, “El Capitano suits you. Besides, if anyone asks us whose bottle this is, it’s better if no one of us knows your name. But I’m Ella” ,she shook his hand with a smirk, which he returned. “Now then, Cap. Why are you here?” “Oh well… it’s a long story” That statement didn’t seem to bother the girls much, they leaned forward interest and Roman quickly noticed: They’d be an attentive audience. So he sat back on the table and began to tell them from the most deathly month of his life.

One and a half hours later, Roman said in a braid train that the girls spontaneously decided to form while listening to Roman’s tale. He didn’t know if they REALLY believed anything he said, but at least they were nice enough to act like it and not mock him. Outside the sun slowly came closer to the horizon and the hot summer air warmed the room together with the red light of the oncoming sunset. With Roman’s soft, yet melodic voice, it was really nice to listen to him, while he caught up to the events from today. Where they left the town library and were so close to getting hit by several cars, while trying to escort Patton back to the campus. Dodging a wild raccoon and a bicyclist who just HAD to run him over and ruin his favorite jacket.

“It was like the universe was against us. Well… it had been this whole month, but as we checked the dates again and knew we were close to the end, it was like it was giving us all it had on the home stretch. So we needed to run to the last safe place to wait out the last few hours of the curse. But we couldn’t walk over the campus-” “Why not?” ,asked Edna. Turning around, her braid finally finished by Roman, to face him. Roman’s face lit up a bit red for the second time that evening. “Because my crush was there and I embarrassed myself last thursday in front of him. So he clearly didn’t need to see me all dirty and raggedy. The group let out some soft chuckles and exchanged a few gentle grins. “You are such a himbo, I’m sure he would have found it cute.” “Well ladies, not taking that chance. YET. In this moment all that mattered was getting Patton home safe and- … oh CRAP! I totally forgot-” ,he exclaimed, getting on his feet. “Oh right where are your friends right now?” ,Helia asked. “They went to our room, I need to check on them” ,he said more quiet, putting an ear against the door and fuck- there were now multiple girls in the hallway. He had no chance. Unless… “Hey what are you doing?” ,Ella asked as Roman climbed on the desk once again. “I’m going to prove to you that I can nail this climb” ,a confident grin crept up on his face. “Well then, El Capitano must say farewell now, myladies! But we will see each other again” He received playfull eyerolls from Edna and Mina, enthusiastic clapping from Helia and even a Salut from Ella. “Yes oh Captain my Captain” ,she grinned, having learned about Roman’s love for theater in their conversation. Roman saluted back with a proud grin before he grabbed hard on the thick ivy and other plants that grew on the wall. Slowly climbing up he thanked the stars that their window was slightly opened, but the curtains were closed. Didn’t matter, because with some sweat he made it to the window without too much scratches. Shifting caruffly through the blue curtains that painted the room in calm blue light. He climbed in very carefully, as he saw that Patton and Logan were both in their separate beds, holding hands across. They didn’t seem to be asleep yet tho, since they both peaked their heads up as he climbed in. “Oh there you are, we were already getting worried” ,said Patton, as he carefully put his glasses on. “Sorry, dearest puffball. I caught up with a few… old friends” ,he smiled. Turning to Logan, who mirrored Patton with putting on his glasses, he asked: “How long?” For the first time this month Logan could manage to smile calm while looking at his clock. “It’s still two hours until the sun rises in Azerbaijan” 

A bit unsure if he understood the whole concept Roman carefully fully asked “So… we did it?” And he would lie, if he said that Logan nodding smiling, whispering a small “Yes”, didn’t fill him with the biggest joy he has felt in this whole time. A bright grin planted itself on his face as he looked to Patton, who smiled back just as bright. 

“What even is your arrangement here? Sleeping across like that! Come here!” ,he exclaimed, picking Patton up, who squeed and tightly grabbed around his neck. “Roman!” 

He walked across and put Patton gently down next to Logan, who quickly pulled his arms around the smaller man. Just like Roman who joined on the other side. Finally having their victory cuddle after all these hardships and the fear of losing one another. Holding each other warm and comfortable, even through the summer heat. They didn’t mind. All what counted that they were finally here and finally safe.

Patton sniffed, smiling soft. “Thank you so much, you two… you saved me”

“Anytime” ,they replied in unison. ------ Again, please don’t ask what this curse is and why it’s connected to Azerbaijan. Dreams are WEIRD. But the scene in which Roman climbs back in and sees how they are holding hands across was too cute to not eternalize this moment X3

[youngboy-oldmind]

DISCOGRAPHY REVIEW: 1) THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY ft. My Girlfriend

“Tell me what I wouldn't wanna give for a life like this, arm and a leg quite like this/ Fuck around wanna fight like this, take a hike like this/ I might just, might just, I don't know/ Reinvention, that's my intention/ Want so much more than this third-dimension/ That's not to mention my true ascension is a bigger picture/ No metaphor, I’m being real with ya”

Overall Thoughts

After the success and impressive display Under Pressure, Logic follows up with his sophomore album The Incredible True Story: A perfect embodiment of Logic as a person, rapper, and artist. Here, he is at his most creative, telling an entire story through the lens of a futuristic fictional sci-fi story. Filled with narratives, skits that give insight to the crew’s personalities, and an overall message that resonates even after the album concludes, The Incredible True Story is the perfect reflection of Logic as an artist.

If someone asked me to introduce them to Logic, I’d start with this album. If you start with a deeper, more experimental album like Everybody or a project not quite as unique like Under Pressure, they may be left unsatisfied or unimpressed. But it’s near impossible to dislike his most rounded and well-constructed project.

I’ve said this with every project of his, but the production was excellent. The techy, spacey instrumentals perfectly parallel the theme and tone of the project. The vocal inflections on “Fade Away”, “Young Jesus”, “Run It” and the choir in the first half of “City of Stars” were all brilliantly executed. Also, Logic allowed collaborations on some tracks and they were some of the highlights on the album: Big Lenbo on “Young Jesus”, Lucy Rose on “Innermission”, and Jesse Boykins III on “Paradise”. Overall, the construction of each song on this album was near perfect. It can’t be overstated.

Logic branched out stylistically on this project. On Under Pressure, each song had a relatively similar tone, which made that project very consistent yet unspectacular. The fixed tone was good for the purpose of that project but restricted him from reaching a high peak. Here, his delivery, instrumentals, and lyrical style varied and was less consistent, allowing him to reach highs like “Fade Away” and “City of Stars” while also allowing him to reach lows like “I Am The Greatest”. Despite that flaw, the unique style of the album improves its overall ranking and separates him from the issue of his last project; the issue of being indistinct and being a carbon copy of his influences. 

That’s one of the biggest strengths of this album. While I can think of other artists that could do Under Pressure or No Pressure, I don’t think anyone can do The Incredible True Story. Logic has a niche combination of lyrical talent, production skills, and geekiness that shines profusely. 

The main theme of this project is doing what you love and finding life. This theme paired the fictional nature of the album’s structure loosens the restraint on Logic. Before, he was limited by discussing his experiences and thoughts in an autobiographical way, whereas now he’s allowed to discuss things from an outside perspective and speak more prophetically.

Album Breakdown

Side Note: I will be adding comments and thoughts from my girlfriend who also loves this album. Her comments will be bolded.

1. Contact

This was extremely creative. I was instantly drawn into the music. Sounded like a soundtrack I'd hear in a movie. And the introductory conversation between the two men established a very interesting and compelling start to the album and makes it feel like I'm getting ready to start a story book. Solid start, can't wait to see what happens.

2. Fade Away

Off the rip, this track had me excited. As I mentioned earlier, the composition and instrumental is excellent. He also comes through with an intense flex of delivery and rhyming and syllable scheme construction. This is the first song I’ve ever heard from Logic and it still gets my hype every time I hear it.

The flow in this song just hit me like a truck. The lyrics were pretty good and not necessarily a brag, but more of a showcase of pride. The music was also very catchy and had my bobbing my head before he started rapping. But the flow! Absolutely loved it. Def a hype song for me.

3. Upgrade

This track transitions well from the previous song discussing kai upgrading his system. Logic discusses “upgrading” from his old life and mindset. The space background with a simple drum pattern is satisfying.

Loved how the intro music played off of the space theme established by the intro. The music was already banging, and the countdown had me anticipating what's to come. Liked how the lyrics also incorporated space elements. Somewhat simple song with somewhat basic lyrics, but overall still quite enjoyable.

4. White People (Scene)

This was super fun to listen to and I was laughing when the black guy made fun of the white-man-horror-movie stereotype. I was almost wishing for them to investigate. I am really liking this album so far. Who knew Logic was such a innovative storyteller.

5. Like Woah

Although this song doesn’t say much content wise, the vocals were pretty slick and the instrumental was constructed well. Verses were average and I found the chorus a little iffy. But overall, it’s one of the more mid tracks.

The others definitely fit the theme of the space, but this song felt more of a Top 100 hits song. The flow was not as stellar as the songs so far, definitely no Fade Away, but still steady and impressive nonetheless. Nerdy comment, but the music reminded me of something I'd hear in a video game with the female singing--maybe Zelda or Fire Emblem.

6. Young Jesus

Although this song isn’t in my top 3, it’s still one of my favorite on the album. The boom bap 90s throwback mixes well with the modern, techy sound of the album. Logic and Big Lenbo both flow perfectly; this some of the best chemistry Logic has had with another rapper, the only other contender being Big Sean. Instrumentally this song stands out the most because its composition derives so much from the rest of the track list.

This throwback to the 90s flow with a slight modern twist was fresh as hell and a very fun listen. I actually very much enjoyed Logic's flow in this song. "See I'm a self diagnosed hypochrondria/ Either at the crib, or on the tour bus, is where you'll find me at" was a fun, funky flow that had me smiling as I listened to it. Would have definitely enjoyed if he did this flow and slight drawl in words a bit more. Big Lenbo was perfect for this song. His voice has that 90s feel and his lyrics fit the bragging feel seen in old hip hop songs.

7. Innermission

Another top track on this project, “Innermission” features Logic discussing his life’s purpose and “inner mission”. Lucy Rose on the chorus is beautiful. The mellow beat allows Logic to truly dive into his thoughts without being overwhelmed by the instrumental. And I loved the skit at the end.

Not gonna lie, the music initially reminds me of elevator music, but the lyrics hit hard. Hearing his story of his home life and his friend in prison was...heartfelt? It made me introspective of my role in my friend's lives and my own background. This song has a nostalgia to it as Logic retrospects his life before reaching fame, yet an almost hopeful undertone as he contemplates why he wanted this lifestyle and how he managed to actually accomplish it. And, of course, ending the song with a child continuing the space them fully establishes the air of wistfulness as I hear the kid's innocent tone reminiscing about his home. Genius move.

8. I Am The Greatest

There are few songs that make me rush to the skip button. “I Am The Greatest” is one of them. I hate this song. The different voice clips have no rhythm or syncopation, seemingly haphazardly tossed together. The beat is underwhelming and the yelling is obnoxious. And logics lyrics and delivery are really bad. I strongly believe this should’ve been cut or put on a project like Bobby Tarantino.

9. The Cube (Scene)

As someone who can rap and solve a Rubiks cube, I found this very funny. But also ironic, since I pulled exactly 0 girls from solving it. But, Logic is a nerd and this skit fits his personality well.

So this didn't make much sense until I looked up "logic the cube" and saw some videos of him solving a Rubik’s cube. Cute that he inserted a past time into this.

10. Lord Willin’

Logic has a very distinct flow throughout this album. It's very similar in each song with similar rhythm--I find myself bobbing my head at the same speed as his other songs. Not a bad thing, but just an interesting note. I actually quite like it, though. It makes the songs in this album more harmonious and makes it feel like one long story, rather than several songs thrown together onto one album. The lyrics themselves were actually quite inspirational. I felt a sense of pride in myself swell as I listened to him overcoming and living a full life and encouraging me to do the same. 

11. City of Stars

Arguably one of the best on the album, “City of Stars” features Logic discusses his negative/toxic relationship with the hip hop industry. The spacey beat and echoey chorus vocals area AWESOME. The echo on the snare paints a visual of singing in a wide open space. Logic’s singing is above average, his use of auto-tune isn’t bad either. The beat switch to an intense boom bap and going in sent shivers down my spine. Although this has been done before, its definitely an excellently put together concept.

Also, only hip hop fans will notice but Logic incorporates patterns and lyrics from other songs: Drake’s “Forever”, Kanye West’s “Last Call” & “Two Words” of The College Dropout, and Talib Kewli’s “Get By”. Logic isn’t one to shy away from nodding to his influences, but here it feels like paying homage instead of stealing. Top 3 track.

12. Stainless

This song is 100% dope. From the vocals on the chorus, complex background in the instrumental, Logic’s intense flow and delivery, along with the content. Another top 3 on the album.

Bruuuh, this song slapped from the moment it started. The music had a flow different from the other songs, and his energy from the first few lyrics was solid as hell. I was hype and smiling not even 20 seconds in. This is a riding-with-the-windows-down-with-the-volume-blarring-on-the-highway-as-you-flaunt-your-youth-and-just-jam-hard kind of song. I would have def played this before a basketball game to get myself hype.

13. Babel (Scene)

“Babel” was the best skit by far. I think this plays well into the theme of the album: The concept of doing what you love and finding life. This skit mentions how “paradise” may not be something you find, but something you make and maintain. And on the flip side, you can also turn paradise into “purgatory”. So this journey is about creating the best and making your own incredible life instead of trying to find it. It also transitions well into the next song both musically and thematically.

14. Paradise

This was an interesting song. When he described Paradise initially, he spoke of it as a land of racial equality. I had not expected race to play a major role in this story, but it makes sense, given his background, why he would consider this Paradise. As a fellow biracial person born without a silver spoon, I can relate to his struggle. So hearing him describe this planet called Paradise, I can see why it earned that name. But the beat change. I find it interesting that he switched the message behind his lyrics up. It changed to perseverance and strength to overcome haters and obstacles and doubt. It gives me this feeling of self-worth as I push through the negativity to achieve Paradise. Interesting that he decided to include this message after describing what Paradise looks like. Did he do this to highlight the struggle it would take to get there? The challenge? Saying how "Of those around me that down and pray on my demise/But it only makes it that much better when I rise" definitely encapsulates his ability to attain Paradise. I'm not sure, maybe he did so as proof that he finally reached the top.

15. Never Been

Years ago, I used to be a hater of Logic. I used to despise when people complimented or praised him. So this song about remaining positive and persevering while blocking out negative hits even harder. He battles with fears of being inadequate while projecting a message of not letting those fears control your life and potential success. Amazing message. Musically, the track is very solid. The sped up, high pitched vocals on the chorus and outro remind me of Kanye’s style, and the simple beat isn’t distracting emphasizes the introspective nature of the song.

"Talk all you want about me homie, I'mma let it live/Hater this, hater that, say I sound repetitive/ Hatin' in your blood, you was born to be negative" now THAT is how you diss someone. If someone said this to me, I'd just walk away because what do you say to that? I appreciate that he is able to both dis and praise in a song, yet not come off as cocky and arrogant and braggy. Listening to him, it truly sounds like he worked his ass off to achieve his fame, so hearing him brush off haters and telling me I can do it too actually makes me feel like he's right. This songs has an introspective vibe as he recounts his insecurities of failing, yet how he can't afford to "let the devil in."

16. Run It

“Run It” is another very good track on the album. The flow and beat were dope and simple yet effective and pleasing. I think this song’s placement was strange. After hard hitters like “Stainless”, “Paradise”, and “Never Been”, “Run it” feels underwhelming by comparison. I could see this after between “Like Woah” and the White People Skit. But this late into the album, this song’s tone sit right. Ultimately a great song though.

17. Lucidity

“Lucidity” gives good insight on the theme of the album. Thomas describes taking for granted people on Earth having dreams and wants instead of living to find paradise. I like the concept of one’s life and story being defined by pursuing what you want. Mostly a set up for the final song, it’s still a solid scene.

18. The Incredible True Story

This track can be defined by one word: epic. From the first half with Logic’s vocals and singing, encapsulating the whole question in this album “Who Am I?”. The instrumentation is beautiful. Then the second half with the crew landing on Paradise is so powerful and well constructed. As a listener, I feel like I’m there with the crew. You can feel everyone’s fear, nervousness, excitement, anticipation, and hope.

What. An. Ending. I had no idea how Logic was going to end this and he did not disappoint. His lyrics in the beginning. The sub-sequential inspirational message of following your desires. The 2 men as they get ready to land on Paradise. All of that was flawless. My favorite part was the music change as the female finished her countdown of the landing and it changed to this soft, exploring sound full of hope. Hearing the 2 men talk in wonder as the sounds of nature slowly encompassed the music before hearing the woman say "Life" literally made me so fucking emotional, I'm tearing up thinking about it.

Final Thoughts

The Incredible True Story is the embodiment of Logic as an artist. It is strengthened by being unsafe. Under Pressure felt like bowling with the rails up. You’re definitely gonna score, and you may hit a strike on your own, but it’s just not as good as bowling without safety rails. And yes, you may hit gutters (”I Am The Greatest”), but putting everything on the table and living/creating unrestrictedly allows you to reach highs in life/art you wouldn’t otherwise reach. And I think by allowing himself to create riskily and unhindered, he fulfilled his own theme.

As an avid bibliophile, I will tell you that most sequels are shit. But damn, this album was fucking amazing. I have been sleeping on Logic. Honestly, 12/10 ending. Logic wanted to leave a statement that he could still be one of the best even after his debut album and, trust me, he proved it. This ending alone proved that he knows how to do this shit. I feel like I just finished reading a great book. Who knew rap could be like this?

Top 3 Tracks:

1) City of Stars                      1) Stainless

2) Paradise                            2) Paradise

3) Innermission                      3) Incredible True Story

Overall Grade: A+

Album Link:

https://open.spotify.com/album/5dOpbgAmJeyoakKQ0QLWkR?si=bAQ0FEA4RMupkUEspycH1Q

[imnotlorraine]

I've always wanted kids.

I've known since I was teenager. I don't know how to explain it, but I feel like taking care of someone like that and loving someone like that, is the only thing that makes sense.

In this terrible world full of terrible people, the only thing that made sense to me, was to give it all up to love and care for someone else, and make it a little less terrible in the process.

Fancy jobs are nice, things are nice and having someone to come home at night is also nice, but what good does it do when you live in a society that hates you.

I'm a woman. I've always wanted to be a mother, and maybe I will someday.

Or not.

If I can find the strength to endure reality for a sufficient amount of time, the way I was taught.

Because it's always been like this. The issues are the same, and we're taught that it never changes.

That it's our responsibility to rise above. The world is a man's world, and we take what we can get and we should be grateful it's not worse.

We are walking targets. All our life.

Our education begins and ends knowing you're not just you and your wants and needs. You also need to take in account the wants and needs of every man in the room. For your own good. For your own safety.

And you do it because there's no choice. It's clearly the smart thing to do.

You're not a victim. You're smart and you got it under control.

Clearly, if something happens to a woman by the hand of a man, is because she wasn't as put together as you are. She probably hadn't worked out a system as good as yours.

And you see on the news women causing mayhem with paint and glitter and fire.

And you're conflicted, because a part of you is disgusted by the violence. The same violence you've worked so hard to avoid in your life.

All the work you've put on to make sure you don't get kidnapped, or beaten, or raped.

And maybe you want to break a little something too, because you then realize how exhausting it is to go around life with a target on your back.

The actual active effort you've made to stay alive.

To not get killed. No not be abused.

But you're not a victim, obviously.

Right?

And then you think about your life for a little bit. Your happy childhood full of privilege.

And you remember things you didn't want to.

Like when you were 7 and the teenager from church that lived withy our grandma touched you over the shorts you wore under your school skirt, because boys are dumb and even when you're 7 and you have no concept of sexuality, you know it's your job to not be dumb like boys. Outsmart them, wear shorts.

Girls are winning, see?

Or when the very first penis you saw in your life was when you were 13, walking home from the store a block away from your driveway at 3pm and this guy just drives past the gate of your own house masturbating, slowly, because he wants you to see.

But that's normal, everyone knows there's fucked up people in the world. It probably wouldn't have happened if my dad had walked me to the store, so it's not a social issue at all.

Or when you got catcalled while crossing the street and you ignored it, because that's the only ladylike sensible thing to do while being verbally harassed, and then the guy though it would be funny to plunge his car at you, so you couldn't ignore him.

Or how you taught yourself to always get out of the car with your keys in your hand because you know you can't afford to look for your keys outside your driveway.

How you learned from a very young age boys don't take a simple no for an answer.

So you say you have a boyfriend when you don't, or a million other excuses and best case scenario, the guy finds one of them logical enough and leaves you alone.

Because of course it's your job to make him understand.

And when you fail to do so, it's your job to set boundaries and be completely explicit and clear because if you leave anything out they might get the wrong idea and of course that's going to be your fault too.

But we do everything to not ve a victim, right?

And another day passes and you're alive, things can't be so bad if you're alive and unharmed.

Just 10 more girls are missing.

They found two, they ran away from home with their boyfriends.

To have sex probably. Because that's not acceptable for girls to do at home.

Everything else was surely fine. I'm sure their mom empowered them and their step dad hadn't raped them for years, or beat them, or their boyfriends threatened to kill themselves if they didn't come with, or anything disfuncional at all.

It's not likely, right?

They found 4 dead, raped, mutilated, thrown aside down the road.

Their husband's killed them.

One of them was pregnant.

One of them was a child.

One of them was a baby.

Three of them have been missing for months. And the last one was found alive, beaten, tortured, raped, pregnant.

But it's alright. At least some good came out of it. A child is always a blessing, we're sure she'll love it after we force her to give birth.

And you see these women on the news breaking shit and painting monuments, and it makes you uncomfortable. That's not you.

You've never needed to break something to get respect.

Because if you're being honest, you never expect it anyway. You just strive to lay as low as you can, wear the right clothes, speak under the right tone, go to work, make less money than your male co-workers, but it's alright because you've known all your life that's how it works and you made your peace with it, and it's not so terrible because when you do your hair a certain way, or wear that particular skirt to the office, your boss gets you coffee and a danish in the morning. So that's privilege right?

You've never needed to break something to get coffee and a danish, just make yourself look extra pretty. The TV says pretty women are empowered, so you feel empowered.

Even when you can't afford rent with your little paycheck because you can't afford the salon and the hair removal appointments and the clothes and makeup and those skirts and on top of that therapy because you hate yourself and nothing makes sense to you and you want to die, but you don't know why because you have everything.

You're supposed to be happy.

You're pretty and funny and nice and you have a job and a family and men that want to sleep with you.

And you're alive. You're exhausted, but you're alive.

And you think about how all you wanted was to have babies and love them and protect them.

And you remember all the work it is to survive. No one helps. No one gets it.

So you feel you want to break something.

But there's a familiar feeling too. You're afraid.

Not just to break things, you're afraid.

Of everyone and everything. You live in constant fear and anxiety and denial. Because the truth is too much for you.

Because if there's anything worse than pretending everything is alright, is trying to function while being completely aware.

You have to do the work anyway, but you can't be both heathy and safe. You have to choose and hope settling for being miserable but alive is better than dead.

Maybe I'm not having kids after all.

The world is a terrible place for a woman.

[shortmania]

I know people really like the idea of Gertie actually being sane for the most part and just messing with people -- Craig included -- but I’ve gotta be honest. That... bugs me. A lot. And I think I prefer her to actually have dementia.

Strike that. I do prefer it. I really prefer it.

This has been bugging me for a long time. I never said anything about it for a lot of reasons, but now that Craig’s just outright stated it in interview and made it impossible to wave away as a mere headcanon, I feel like I kind of have to. Maybe I’m just being sensitive, but the idea that anyone would fake that level of instability for the hell of it is....

I’m trying to be delicate about this because I do understand the mindset Craig has and the logic behind it and I want to be respectful of his creation, but it hurts. It’s actually painful to think about. It doesn’t make me mad. It makes me upset. And maybe I really am the only one, but I’d like to explain why anyway. Beyond the intensely personal reasons, because frankly, fuck those.

Explanation under the cut.

I don’t wanna be that caustic tumblr asshole who says something really trite like “mental illness isn’t a joke” and completely bypasses the reality of what’s going on with the situation -- the reality being that both Gertie and Phil are meant to be living parodies of elderly stereotypes, and Craig of course only has the best intentions -- but I’ve got to be honest with myself. The joke, when played to this extent, isn’t very funny to me, so it’s hard for me to shrug off as just another headcanon-y thing I was wrong about and move on.

Maybe it would’ve been easier at one point. Craziness is funny as an objective idea. It’s wacky and off the wall and in direct opposition to what’s considered socially acceptable and that’s what makes it fun. And to that extent, I get it. I used to like faking craziness when I was a kid, too. My friends and I would “overdose” on smarties and walk into walls and make dumb faces and fake amnesia, and from an adult’s perspective it sounds dark, but we were just kids. And HEY ARNOLD!, for all its fundamental maturity, is a kids show. I guess I always just saw Gertie’s behavior through that lens--of us only ever being shown what was appropriate for children. What children would be able to understand and enjoy without having to worry about any of the deeper implications. Much the same way Miriam mumbling to herself, stumbling around and hugging her blender was played for laughs.

But then you get older, and things like that stop being funny because you’ve known someone with dementia. You’ve known someone with schizophrenia. You’ve known people with alzheimers. You’ve seen people actually knock into walls, and actually overdose, and make dumb faces that they don’t know they’re making and not remember things they promised at one time they would always remember. You’ve known alcoholics. And it isn’t particularly funny, and you couldn’t fully get that as a kid because you were a kid.

But you’re an adult now, and when you’re an adult, you see things differently.

Gertie is an adult, so. I guess the long and short of this is: if Gertie is capable of faking dementia because she thinks it’s funny and she likes acting ridiculous 24/7, enough to willingly sacrifice her loved one’s emotional well-beings -- including her orphaned grandson’s -- then I hate her. I think she’s a horrible person and she shouldn’t have children, let alone grandchildren.

I guess it really is as simple as that. I get why it’s supposed to be funny, and I get how it might be fun as a concept, but it’s not funny or fun to me. It’s really just not, and I can’t get past that.

Gertie is delusional. Gertie dresses up in elaborate costumes and takes time to fashion her hair into complicated updos and talks nonsense and frequently looks confused. Gertie has moments of lucidity where she does understand that something important is happening, but these moments are brief and she is unable to hold full conversations so she leaves those up to Phil in spite of his incompetence. Gertie has never had a single conversation with Arnold that lasted longer than a few minutes and remained grounded in reality. Gertie is an intelligent and imaginative woman, so her delusions have intelligent and imaginative foundations, but at the end of the day, they are still delusions.

Gertie interrupted dinner during The Family Man with an announcement that she was Marie Queen of Scotts, thus destroying any chance Mr. Hyunh had of getting a promotion. Gertie regularly ruins holidays and events by insisting they are an entirely different holiday, forcing everyone to go along with her plans in spite of their unhappiness. Gertie has lost all sense of self-preservation. Gertie has stolen the Packard before and driven with Arnold in the car despite not having a license. Gertie got thrown in jail and thought it was a game. Gertie makes Phil angry, annoyed, exasperated and sometimes just plain distressed on a regular basis with her loud proclamations, melodramatic rambles and grandiose antics. Gertie sleeps in a separate bed from Phil. Phil flirts with and propositions other women because his wife hasn’t been his wife in years and he’s given up on her ever being fully herself again.

It is messed up and I’m sure it must bother some people to think of it this way, but it never bothered me. I could laugh at Gertie in spite of her mental illness, for two reasons: 1) frankly, watching her isn’t unlike watching Eugene fall down a manhole or get hit by a bus, and 2) because that’s a way of dealing with the trauma of life. You laugh at it. You laugh, because it lessens its weight and lets you breathe. You laugh, because you can’t do a damn thing to change it. That’s just the way things are sometimes, and it can be sad, but once you’ve accepted it and learned how to smile in its face despite having this understanding, it becomes much easier to live. I think this is an important lesson. Arnold recognizes his grandma’s illness, and it frustrates him sometimes, but he can still smile and laugh with her and love her. Eugene probably falls down a hundred manholes a week and breaks at least one bone every day, but has anyone ever seen him stop smiling for longer than a few seconds? These facts, fictional as they are, are precious to me, and though I do regret calling Craig out like this, I won’t apologize.

...Okay, honestly, Eugene has some emotional problems, but my point stands

This is the way I see it and this is the way I will continue to see it in spite of this interview and any passing comments made in TJM. I don’t like going against canon or Craig, but this is one point I can’t budge on. Because I guess I am a bit of a tumblr asshole in spite of myself, and I don’t want to hate Gertie. 

That’s about the size of it.