#love me these two I'm so rusty with em!

[shadow4-1]

I'm just imagining being nervous around the 141 and yet STILL garnering their attention.

Like, you've done everything in your power NOT to get noticed. You're as happy as a clam to work on all the behind the scenes issues. You don't even go out on the field!

You're the one to get gear in place, you're the one talking to Nik and supervising the equipment repairs. You make sure the armory is stocked and that the showers aren't running with rusty water.

You really DON'T want any eyes on you.

You just want to do your job and do it in fucking peace.

So why the hell are they always wanting your attention?

-

"There she is. Keepin' everything in order while 'm gone." Price chuckles, placing a hand on your back as he passes through the armory's narrow shelves. "Looking to take my spot as Captain hm, Love?"

You bury your face into your clipboard, trying desperately to ignore him. He's not going away but God do you want him to. His presence is always so overwhelming and his gaze so pointed. If you could shrink into nothingness you'd try.

-

"Oi, Bonnie!" Soap calls out to you at mess. He waves his arms wildly, making everyone look his way. "C'mere! Sit w' us today!"

He's so loud his voice echoes across the cafeteria. Recruits and lower ranking members shrink at the sound of it. So do you, even though you can hear only excitement in his tone instead of the usual ire he employs while training the rookies.

You know that if you decide to sit with your friends you'll never hear the end of it. But if you choose to sit with him and the rest of the all star task force you'll be under their gazes for the better part of the morning. You want to just drop your lunch tray and run out, but on unsteady legs and a bowed head you shuffle to the table.

-

"Well well, look who it is." Gaz huffs, looking up from his terminal set up in the surveillance room. "Thanks for packing those extra headset chords for me."

"Uh...yeah, no problem." You nod, trying to ignore him while simultaneously digging in an old box full of wires.

"Whatcha lookin' for?"

"Uh...a mouse. A wireless one."

"Here, take mine." He smiles, unplugging the tiny chip from the side of his laptop. "Need a new one anyway."

"It's alright I-"

"Just take it. You deserve it more than me." He hums, looking away wistfully. "If it weren't for those extra cords we wouldn't 'ave been able to call for evac on that last mission."

You take the mouse into your palm, feeling uneasy. Something about his demeanor isn't right. Gaz is always confident and sure. But the way he glances at you before he turns back to the computer makes you worried.

Is he...jealous?

You slip out of the door and close it behind you without making a sound.

-

"Need t' put a bell on you." Ghost grumbles. "Can't hear you n' those."

You stop midway down the hallway, confused and nervous.

You look down at your old, beat up reg boots from your PT days. They were definitely in need for a decommissioning, but they were comfy despite the fact that the soles had no tread anymore.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." You awkwardly mumble. "Need new ones."

"No."

You raise a brow at him. It was just the two of you in one of the maintenance hallways which was, ironically enough, poorly maintained. The overhead fluorescents flickered and made it hard to focus.

"Keep 'em." He nods, turning away and showing you the full breadth of his back. He mutters at you as while he keeps walking on.

"Keeps you under the radar."

[etherealstar-writes]

I WANNA BE YOURS | WOSO X READER | PT 17

pairings: woso x reader

summary: in which you're accidentally added to a random group chat, not knowing they're all actually famous footballers, and obliviously end up having many of them competing for your love and attention.

part: seventeen

part one here

✦ ——— ✦ ——— ✦

Y/N PROTECTION SQUAD

lotte has anyone checked on y/n lately?

lessi no why? what's up

lotte i feel like she's been trying to ignore us and the groupchat is quite dead that itself should be ringing some bells

niamh last time i saw her was when we went to nandos together a week ago but i could tell she was feeling a bit down, and these past few days she keeps saying she's busy or tired whenever i try to make plans with her

charli same here

leah wait you guys went to nandos again?!

steph that's what's concerning you the most rn omg? nandos? and not my child?

kyra i think we should revoke leah's privileges to be in this chat tbh raise your hand if you agree ✋

niamh ✋

lotte ✋

lessi ✋

charli ✋

katie ✋

steph ✋

georgia ✋

ona ✋

ella ✋

viv ✋

leah EXCUSE ME?! ALSO SINCE WHEN WAS VIV PART OF THIS GC?!

kyra see that just shows how uninvested leah is in this gc she isn't worthy to be part of the y/n protection squad

leah kyra istg you're gonna catch these hands the next time i see you

steph oi you won't lay a hand on my children not on my watch, williamson

kyra thank you mum 🥰

the REAL karate kid guys have we noticed that y/n's disabled comments on all her posts lately?

viv the fans and media can be quite toxic i won't be surprised if they caught up to her

niamh sent a few screenshots

kyra oh.

lotte no wonder she's been trying to avoid us she's most definitely seen all those tweets

katie i'm gonna fight em 😈

kyra i'm joining you 😈

niamh count me in 😈

georgia me too 😈

lotte guess i'll see you all on the battlefield

steph the battlefied it is

✦ ——— ✦ ——— ✦

THE NATIONAL DIVING TEAM

brightness why are we at war in twitter rn

sam the skippa HELP this is so entertaining

rusty metal @ the imposter aka y/n ❤️

meado y/n you need to see this

the imposter aka y/n ❤️ what is happening

mccard y/n protection army reporting for duty

meado

willybum DAMN YES STEPH

rusty metal i need more popcorn for this

the imposter aka y/n ❤️ stop you guys tysm i'm crying

the REAL karate kid you see those are the more .... civilised ones and then there's kyra's ones

pest don't be shy show em 😈

the REAL karate kid

willybum KYRA 😭😭

the imposter aka y/n ❤️ thank you kyra 😈

pest you're very welcome y/n 😈

kie ONA WHO TAUGHT YOU THIS 😭😭

the imposter aka y/n ❤️ PLS IM SO PROUD OF YOU ILYSM HAHAHA

pest our teachings have paid off

ona they sure have pookie 😈

rusty metal STOP 😭😭 you two are banned from teaching her slang

pest it's not our fault you're a grandma

the imposter aka y/n ❤️ okay but genuinely thank you so much everyone you guys really didn't have to back me up there but it truly means a lot to have your support i love you all so much 🥺😭❤️🙏

pest we love ya too y/n ❤️

mccard ❤️

stephy ❤️

neev ❤️

cha cha ❤️

elton ❤️

meado ❤️

viv ❤️

ona ❤️

rusty metal ❤️

the REAL karate kid ❤️

stairway ❤️

willybum ❤️

✦ ——— ✦ ——— ✦

[gimmethosedaddymilkers]

The Secrets One Keeps

Alrighty, This is a request I was sent by an anon! Asking for a reader who's Hosea's daughter but dating Arthur, they have to keep their relationship a secret, especially from Hosea. Afraid for the poor man's heart.

Keep in mind this is my first work since coming back from hiatus, I'm a little rusty, so it might not be as great as it could be, be patient with me as I try to get back into the Rythm of things please! There's some NSFW themes but it's not full on smut, not for my first one back, but never fear, that will make a return.

Warnings: Fluff, language, maybe some NSFW themes Reader is a bit younger than Arthur is. (Don't worry Im not a freak, reader is gonna be over 18 by like at LEAST six years) Female reader, if there's slip ups, please let me know so I can correct them!

Let's jump into it!

You swear to God you just saw him, You just did, you watched him come out this way and you watched him give you that...look.

He wanted you to follow him, you could SEE it.

So where the hell was he?

"Arthur?"

You call out, but you keep your voice low. It's late, and camp isn't too far, you don't want anyone to hear you...you know what the two of you agreed on, and it was better if no one knew about the two of you. Especially your father. Hosea would NOT take kindly to Arthur dating his 24 year old daughter.

Not only that but to Hosea...Arthur was like a son...he saw the two of you as though you were siblings.

You definitely did NOT feel that way.

"Arthur, I swear to whatever God you pray to you better fuckin' come out-"

"Aw now, c'mon Darlin' that ain't very nice of you to speak like that."

You practically hear the smirk on his face as you feel an arm wrap around your waist and a chin on your shoulder.

"'Sides, you know I ain't a religious man."

"Arthur Morgan, how many times do I have to tell you not to scare me-"

"Awww you love it."

"No I don't!"

"Bullshit you don't last time I did you laughed and tried to take my pants off-"

"Shut up."

You twist to face him and sure enough he's wearing that smirk of his.

"You like it."

"Alright! Fine."

He laughs and leans in, placing his lips gently against yours, softly, sweetly, so different from what he showed everyone else.

"Been wantin' to do that all damn day. I hate this sneakin' around crap," He scoffs. "Fuckin' stupid, we're both adults."

"Aw come on, it's not so bad Arthur...The sneaking around is kinda fun..."

"I guess so...I don't know, I'm gettin' real tired of not bein' able to kiss you goodbye, or havin' to hide behind the wagons just to tell ya I love ya. I shouldn't have to hide it like I'm embarrassed."

"I know..."

You give a sigh and lean into him.

"It sucks, I know it does, I know. The sneaking is fun, but...I know what you mean. We should be sharing a tent by now, instead of trying not to be caught."

He gives you a grunt in response, placing his chin on your head.

"How can we be sure that Hosea wouldn't approve of us?"

His voice comes out a little strained. Acting as though he didn't already know the answer.

"C'mon Arthur..."

You sigh again and move so you can look him in the eye properly.

"You know he won't. Hell, he sees us slightly too close to one another and he loses his mind, he stares you down. You know it, you see it."

"I know..."

He grumbles.

"I need to spend more time with you though Darlin' I do. I NEED to."

He pauses for a moment

"We have to at least take a trip together soon, I mean...either that or we just gotta stop carin' about what Hosea thinks. Don't get me wrong I love 'em, I do, but I love you more."

"I love you too..."

The two of you are silent for a few moments, comfortably leaning against one another in the darkened part of the woods, it's late, both of you know that, and both of you know that you should probably be getting to sleep.

But it's been a long day. A long week even, the two of you haven't had nearly as much time together as you would have liked.

"You think maybe I could sneak you into my tent?"

Arthur's voice breaks the silence, quietly, barely there.

"Jus' tonight, please?"

"Arthur, you know dad'll see us."

"No, look I can leave tomorrow before you, leave the flaps down, no one'll go in there, then you just gotta go out towards the side instead of the front, go around the back of the wagon."

You chuckle a little at his enthusiasm, he never fails to make you smile. He's so obviously, deeply in love with you that it's hard to say no to him.

"Alright....alright, okay, we'll try. He should be asleep by now, it's just the others we have to worry about."

"They ain't gonna say anythin'."

You look at him and give a confused look, though your smile never wavers.

"How do you know?"

"They won't cause if they do, it's me they have to deal with, not Hosea."

His voice lowers slightly, and you watch as that look comes over his eyes. You've seen it before, you know what it means.

"Jesus Arthur, would you quit that, you..."

Your face heats quickly and you look away from him. Of course he was attempting to be threatening, but to you, it just seemed...attractive more so than threatening.

He knew that.

"Why Sweetheart...somethin' gettin' into that head of yours?"

"Shut it, you know what it does-"

"Absolutely I do, why you think I'm doin' it?"

He laughs but leans in and kisses your temple before starts to lead you back towards camp.

"C'mon, let's sneak you in."

He ushers you forwards, and the two of you stop at the edge of camp to see who's up, but luckily it seems that mostly everyone is sleeping.

He then leads you around the edge of Clemmons Point until the both of you get to his tent, the moment the both of you are in he closes the flaps up and gives the two of you some privacy. It seemed like the two of you had gotten away with it. Or at least no one had called out to you.

In the dim light of his lantern the two of you share a smile and there's a look in his eyes that you know means you'll be playing the quiet game tonight.

.....

Morning seems to come faster than you would have liked it to, the time spent with Arthur never seemed to be enough, so when you wake up in the early morning you decide to just burrow further into his bare chest.

It earns a quiet grumble from him as he pulls you closer to him, he's awake, you can tell he is, but he stays silent. The only way you know he's awake is the fact that his hand can't stay away from your ass.

"Didn't you have enough last night?"

You mumble but there's a smile on your face as you adjust, throwing a leg over his hip.

"Ain't never 'nough with you."

It comes out as a grumble and he moves to your thigh, gripping it tightly as he pulls it even further over his hip.

He buries his head in your neck and kisses there. As much as he seems to try and rile you up the kiss is soft, more sweet than anything.

"C'mon Darlin'...this could be every mornin'..."

He yawns and shifts himself, trying to wake up a little more.

"We gotta tell him at some point anyhow..."

"I know..."

You huff and move your hand to his hair, gently massaging his scalp, it's nearly instinct.

"I just...I don't know what he'll think, what he'll do...."

"C'mon, it's me. I know it probably ain't what he wants but...He loves me, he knows me...you could be screwin' Bill behind doors."

He stops a moment.

"Shut up Arthur, it is not-"

"I dunno about that, seems kinda dumb to me."

You roll your eyes and laugh before you kiss the top of his head. You're about to open your mouth to try and come up with an idea on what to tell your father when the tent flap opens.

You and Arthur move simultaneously to look and see who's standing there only to have your eyes go wide.

You're leaning backwards, your head turned over your shoulder to look, and you suddenly wish that you could disappear.

Hosea stands at the opening of the tent, his mouth open as though he'd gone to say something and then he'd noticed.

"Hosea, I can explain-"

Arthur starts, he moves, and gently puts his hand on your back to push you towards the wall so that you can stay covered.

"I don't want to hear it!"

Hosea puts his hand out, as though he's trying to block it all from view.

"Get dressed! Both of you!"

He leaves, dropping the tent flap and leaving the two of you alone.

"Shit..."

"Shit's fuckin' right..."

Arthur sighs and plops back down on the cot, covering his eyes with one hand.

The two of you take a moment, sitting in silence. wondering what the hell you'd say.

This silence continues as the two of you go to dress, once the two of you are done Arthur reaches for your hand, taking it quietly as both of you leave the tent.

Hosea stands right outside, and the both of you give one another a look of shame.

"What the HELL do you think you're doing!?"

Hosea nearly yells, it's such a difference from his usual calm demeanor, you've rarely seen your father so mad.

"Hosea, c'mon..."

Arthur mumbles.

"Can't we talk about this outside of camp?"

Hosea takes a deep breath and then nods, and the three of you begin your trudge towards the edge of camp. It's there that Hosea stands with his arms crossed waiting.

"Explain yourselves."

"Hosea-"

"No, Y/N, you first."

"Dad..."

You swallow and look to Arthur and then to Hosea.

"I love him. I mean that. I love him, and I have for a very long time, and he loves me. I know he does. It's not just...it's not just a one time thing, it means something-"

"How long."

"About a year."

A silence falls over the three of you. Hosea's face seems unreadable.

His eyes close and he gives a deep breath, exhaling heavily.

"Arthur."

Hosea opens his eyes and looks towards him, his jaw clenched.

"If anything happens to them, emotional or otherwise, I'm going to hold you accountable, and you WILL NOT like me. You understand me?"

"I do Hosea, you know me. I'm not gonna let anything happen to them. Never."

Hosea doesn't seem exactly...pleased with this answer, but he seems to accpet it.

"Don't EVER let me catch you two like that again."

"You didn't knock-"

"Shut up Arthur."

Arthur clamps his jaw shut and swallows, but there's a look a defiance in his eyes.

Hosea looks at the two of you for a moment longer and then walks away without another word.

The two of you, now alone, look at each other and give a relieved sigh.

"I guess...I mean he knows now at least."

"I have a feeling he's gonna make your life a living hell for a while Arthur-"

"Yeah..."

He breathes.

"More than likely."

[tupperwaretub]

could you do a negan x m!reader fic? mainly fluff and possibly an established relationship between the reader and negan. also, maybe an alternate universe with no apocalypse? :)

(A/n): tysm for the request, I'm a bit rusty so apologies for any bad writing!

Summary: it's you and are boyfriends one year anniversary and you have a cozy dinner to celebrate.

Warnings: light reference to smut at end, that's it :)

....

You sigh as you finally get home from work, you had stopped at the shop on the way home to buy your boyfriend Negan some chocolates it was your one year anniversary after all. As you step inside your senses are filled by the delicious scent of your boyfriends famous spaghetti, you hear him call from the kitchen "sit down at the table babe!" Negan sounds excited.

You sit at the candle lit table and he enters the room with two plates of spaghetti and your favorite bottle of wine. Negan flashes you a stupid grin and pours you both a glass of the wine, "so how was your day?" He kisses your cheek. "Definitely better now." You laugh, you pass him the box of chocolates over the table once he sits down and he smiles, "thankyou love..." He places the box down and holds your hand gently. You speak up "I'm not sure if the chocolates are good enough seeing as you've done all this-" Negan cuts you off laughing, "you can be silly sometimes y/n... I love it thank you, really I'm just doing this because... Well, you know how much of a hopeless romantic i am." You both laugh.

"So how was your day?" You ask him as you both start to eat the delicious meal. "My day?" He begins to answer, "well... You know how those little shits can be, tiring but i love 'em." He grins, your heart warms at your boyfriends love for his students.

The pair of you eat in a comfortable silence and when you finish Negan blows the candles out and offers you his hand, you raise an eye brow and take it. He leads you to the living room where he places a CD in the CD player, the CD he had burnt your own little shared mix of favourite songs and 'you are so beautiful to me' by Joe Cocker begins to play.

Negan takes you into his arms and kisses you softly as you both sway to the song, "I love you Negan..." You whisper, he squeezes your shoulder, "I love you to y/n."

Even as the song ends the pair of you stay in each other's arms, kissing each other softly and whispering loving words.

Soon your kisses become more passionate and Negan picks you up causing you to both laugh, he carries you upstairs. Neither of you could've asked for a better anniversary.

....

(A/n): this felt a bit rushed but again I'm a bit rusty! So thank you for the request and i hope you liked it :)

[pannman]

I have a angsty and fluffy request for you to write. Post season 1 finale; Vaggie painfully transforms into a humanoid and sentient Weremoth during one particular blood moon, and Charlie happens to walk in during the midst of it and tries to comfort Vaggie the best she can. What happens next is up to you!

Hopefully this is within the guidelines.

You're good. I'm not too experienced with angst but I love a challenge so here goes

The Other Secret

Cw: Angst, violence, body horror, hurt/comfort

Vaggie had become very good at hiding her secrets. Her being an Angel unfortunately came out. But her other secret was still hidden

She mostly kept this one hidden for other's safety. (She also thought she looked hideous when she turned)

It was very strange but since she had fallen to hell she was at first shocked her angelic appearance had changed very little. It wasn't until her first blood moon that she discovered her "curse".

She was so afraid for Charlie to find out. Even worse if she accidentally hurt her. Her memory was in pieces like a broken mirror and a bit out of order but she remembered seeing her own appearance. She was a monster

And now even though Charlie had accepted her past as an Angel. Something still held her back from telling her about this. Maybe it was protectiveness, maybe it was insecurity, maybe it was the fear that having one big secret you haven't told your partner was bad enough but two... what if Charlie didn't trust her anymore?

She just had to continue to disappear every blood moon. She found an excuse somehow every time and would go into hiding and chain herself to the walls of an abandoned warehouse

This time though something went awry...

It all started when she told Charlie she was going away for the night to practice her fighting skills. Her skills were getting rusty is what she claimed. Just a late night training session and she promised to try not to stay out too late. (Spoiler alert she was going to stay out the whole night) she could deal with a lecture about self care from Charlie in the morning

Charlie believed her skills were sharp as ever but still decided to give her girlfriend some space and let her go out and train. Vaggie made her way to the warehouse which was still empty it seemed. She went inside and began the process of chaining herself. She placed a lockpick close by. In her monster form she couldn't use them so it was the perfect key

She sat and waited as night fall came. She wasn't excited for this part. She felt her bones shift rapidly... painfully. She felt her body contort like a million muscle pains and her insides burned. She screamed out an agonized scream that transformed into a monstrous shriek.

Her arms and legs extended and thinned out like giant insect legs but with wolf like feet and claws. Wings grew out of her but they were Moth wings. Her face and skull began to stretch painfully into a wolflike snout. A third set of arms sprouted out of her body pulling her skin like a rubber band.

Her teeth became canine like. And her eyes rolled to the back of her skull and then turned blood red. Her ears stretched and shifted to the top of her head becoming pointy. Her senses heightened and her self awareness and sense of identity had left her mind

In this new form she felt claustrophobic and panicky. She forgot where she was and who she was. She she needed to get out. Somewhere! Anywhere! She struggled in her chains. Lashing out angry and scared

Suddenly her head snapped in the direction of a voice

"I thought I heard something in here"

Then another voice

"You told me this place was abandoned! We can't do deals here if there's a squatter in here!"

The other voice talked back

"Relax, well just kill em"

Vaggie yanked on the chains feeling a wave of panic and confusion. She screeched loudly as two sinners came into vision

All she saw was a threat...

"What is that thing?!?"

They pulled out angelic knives

"I don't know but it looks like it's all tied up"

The other seemed scared

"Let's get out of here!"

While the one had a dangerous look in his eye

"Or maybe we can use it to our advantage... hey! You! You want outta here you gotta do as we say"

Vaggie only sensed danger, lashing out and before she knew it the chains snapped...

Charlie was getting worried at how late it was getting. She had texted Vaggie a hundred times. Maybe her phone was just turned off... Charlie had a bad feeling. She knew Vaggie needed space sometimes but she also sensed a growing distance between them. It hurt and she knew Vaggie was keeping something from her. But she couldn't imagine why. Especially after she knew she was an angel now. Of course she had been upset at first

Maybe her reaction is what made Vaggie feel the need to keep more secrets from her. Had she been too harsh? Did she make it hard for Vaggie to trust her? Was this all her fault?

Charlie couldn't just sit there anymore. Her thoughts were just bubbling up too much. It's time she just talked to Vaggie about these feelings. After all communication was the key to a healthy relationship

She left Alastor in charge while she went out in search of her girlfriend. She wasn't quite sure how she was going to find her. She hadn't quite thought this through

Suddenly she heard screams coming from a distance. This was usually a sign that one should stay away. In hell screams of pain and terror were kinda normal. But what if Vaggie is over there? In danger even!?!

Charlie sprinted off in the direction. That's when she saw it. A large mothlike beast with some canine like features. It screeched and howled and tore a man apart, ripping him into ribbons. Charlie had never seen anything like it in all her years of hell

She got up close, manifesting her pitchfork in hand. The creature lashed out at her... but then it stopped. It looked afraid and it looked sad as soon as it seen her. Like it recognized her. Charlie didn't know how she knew. She just did.

"Vaggie...?" She reached out. Vaggie pulled away, backing up. "Grrraaugh..." it sounded like her voice was trying to break through "grraahhh don't look at me errrr" her voice was echoey for some reason

"Vaggie, is this what you've been hiding?" Charlie asked with not a hint of malice nor judgement in her tone. Only concern and love. "I'm a monster" Vaggie growled tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I'm hideous!" she cried.

"Vaggie, I love you. I love every part of you. Your strengths and your flaws. I'm here for you" she spoke soothingly. She reached out again. Vaggid pulled away for a second but then stopped. Charlie placed her hand on Vaggie's cheek. She then pressed her forehead onto Vaggie's

"You're always so hard on yourself. You always treat yourself like a burden... but my life wouldn't be the same without you. And if this is something you suffer from, I want to be there for you. Just like you're always there for me" Charlie caressed Vaggie's face and wiped away her tears

It was then that the full moon finally set as the sun began to rise. Vaggie transformed back. It was as painful as before in reverse. She collapsed into Charlie's arms. Charlie scooped her up and began to carry her. "Let's go home" she whispered with a soft kiss to her temple

"We'll talk more when you are awake"

[pocket-void]

Afternoon! I finally got around finishing something I was working on for way longer than I liked LMAOOO-

I'm getting back onto stuff for my lil species I do for fun~ Well, at least trying to. This is Ballista! She's the guildmaster of a pretty important and well established organization called the Venturing Guild. They sanction expeditions and are generally the ones folks can ask when they need help. They have a larger headquarters back in her hometown, but she moved out to help folks at the capital and to have a more peaceful life with her spouse.

I'll spout some more about stuff below, y'know how it goes. ^///^

Ballista is actually smaller than the average comfy. She isn't short for a person, she's all around smaller. A fairy amongst fairies, perhaps. She is however, incredibly strong, and while she mostly thinks of herself as a retired adventurer of sorts she's never been caught rusty.

She's actually missing both an arm and a leg (her left one, it's why it's extra tied), the prosthetic's just usually covered. (She's got a zipper on the back of her boot) They were lost as a result of having her son, which for their species requires you to basically split off a lil part of your soul, which is what manifests your physical form. Having offspring of any kind isn't actually an inherent part of their kind, and she and her spouse are actually pretty lucky, because having only two people involved in this process takes a much heavier toll when not split amongst more people.

Her spouse is named Bastille, a big hulking gentle giant who can no longer speak as a result of losing their lower jaw to the aforementioned process, but is nonetheless very sweet. Their son likes to go by "Trey", which is short for Trebuchet. (I think I'm hilarious) Their son is usually out travelling or working elsewhere, so he doesn't swing by till later, but I enjoy their relationship. ^///^ Ballista loves making the "You cost me an arm and a leg" joke at her son, she sees the opportunity and she's god damn taking it. She's tough on the guy but it's clear she loves him very much.

There's still stuff to build on but for now I'm just trying to get more refs done for the sake of having em, and cause I have a lot of general stuff to be doing as a whole if I wanna start back up again. I'm pretty excited tho~

[fluffytimearts]

Jeez, you fucking libfems are so braindead, so what if that person is a minor? She was obviously saving the poor girl from the TRA propaganda you all ride dicks for. Rusty is simply saving lesbians from the lesbophobia you push you sick perverts. 

Ya'll-- Ya'll WHEEZE-- we got one.

Alright pedophile apologist having, gay men fetishizing, radfem strapriding, women suppressing, white supremist loving, hypocritical looking, sexual narcissist being, "I'm not like other girls" talking, obviously some illiterate talking ain't no picking up a single book bout facts having, speaking like a wojak having, *gasp* dear lawd, I can't take a breath cuz damn it took it away by the sheer emptiness of your stupidity. Speaking of air, I wonder when you are going to speak, because that dick of "trans brand" mindset is quite muffling. Not even that most of yall, who are mainly entitled femcel white women, do nothing but whine and bitch most of the time to do any sort of affirmative action that protects any lesbians, not that there is anything to protect them from considering. If you picked up a history book, you know that trans people stood with lesbians, so thats number one and two. I see more damage than anything really from radfems putting lesbians down, threatening them of SA and R@pe, and telling them off the wall shit that is more like trapping them in an unhealthy ass relationship with ya'll. 

But alas, call me what you will. Who needs clowns when you are already my favorite entertainment of you guys getting pissy and jumping on my askbox as if you are proving some point "boldly"? 

Keep em coming, sugar tits.

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #1158: New Donk Morning Parade (Super Smash Bros Ultimate)

9:24 a.m. at the Sidewalks of New Donk City.........

It was a bright, lively day in New Donk City as everyone gathered around to watch over this year's Christmas Parade. And what better way to start the celebration of then with.......

'Soft Piano Playing'

Guy Dressed in a Bowser Costume: (Singing While Playing on the Piano on a Float) Peach, you're so cool~ And with my star, we're gonna rule~ Peeeach!~

Chorus: Peach~

Guy Dressed in a Bowser Costume: Please understand!~ I'M GONNA LOVE YOU TO THE VERY END!~

Bowser: (Scoffs Before Turning at His Villains Peers) You guys are hearing this? (Turns Back at the Performance) I can sing that piece MILES better than those posters up there can!

Hades: Really? (Forms an Evil Smirk on his Face) Your last singing performance seems to prove otherwise.

Bowser: It was three years and I was completely wasted that night, so that obviously doesn't count, Hades!

Sephiroth: Drunk or not, your pianist skill is hardly much to be desired in retrospect.

Pichu: (Nodded in Agreement) Pi.

Bowser: (Turns to the Father-Son Duo) That's only cuz I've been rusty for what? A near decade now? (Crosses his Arms While Putting on a Cocky Smirk.on his Face) I was a pretty one hell of a prodigy back then. Check it!

Bowser shows the trio a video of himself playing the piano at a very young age on his phone.

Baby Bowser: (Playing thePhone. Piano Off Key) DA DA DA DA DADADAAAA! DA DA DA DA DAAAADAAA!

Kamek: (Shed a Tear From his Eyes as He Watches the Young King Koopa's Performance) ('Sniff') My darling little king is a prodigy of the making......I'm so proud!~

Pichu: (Looks in Disgust at the Video in Front of Him) Pi....chu....

Hades: (Already Has a Deadpinned Look on his Face) Yeah, you were a really prodigy alright. Of pure delusional.

Sephiroth: (Simply Shrugs) I've heard worse.

...................................................................................

"Santa": (Sitting on his Red Sledge with Mrs Claus, Waving at Everyone Around) HO HO HO! MERRRRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYBODY!~

Sage: (Standing next to Bowser Jr While Watching the Parade in her Hologram Form) So this is what Santa Claus look like, Junior?

Jr: Yep. The big, jolly, fatman himself. A legend among all the boys and girls from across the globe. (Turns to Sage) He's gonna be at mall all month, so we'll probably go he see at some point.

Sage: (Smiles Softly) That sounds fun. (Sighs While Letting Out a Sigh) It's a shame I couldn't physically join you all on this wonderful experience this year.

Jr: Hey, your family comes first, right? There's no need to feel bad about that. Besides, don'tcha guys still have that huge project you still have to finish?

Sage: (Simply Nodded) For the most part. The Homemade Ice Cream Maker is approximately 52,6% in completion, so there's much more work to be thoroughly done. (Smiles Softly) Regardless, that it in of itself, won't ever stop me from missing you dearly, Junior.

Junior: (Immediately Starts Blushing) O-Oh! Well, I'm uh......already missing you already, Sage.....So does everyone else in the Smash Family......

Sage: (Giggles Softly) I can tell~ Your attempts at holding my holographic hands is evidence of that.

Jr: (Looks Down at his Hand Before Quickly Moving it Away From the Hologram) What handing hold? I just feel the need to grab something is all.....

................................................................................

Roy: (Watching Sage Giggling at an Already Flustered Junior in the Distance) ('Tch') Look at 'em. Tryin' to be all cutesy with one another....(Cross his Arms) Gonna be a matter of time before those two start becoming certified lovebirds.

Ludwig: (Too Busy Reading the New Donk City's Guide Book) And yet here you are with little to no one to romanticize.

Kumatora: (Shrugs) Not too surprising really.

Roy: (Glares at the Couple Beside Him) Can it, nimberons! I can get any chick anytime I want whenever I feel like it!

Kumatora: Uh-huh.

Ludwig: (Casually Turns the Page) Highly doubt it, but good for you I suppose.

Roy: Oh screw the both you!

Maria: (Smiles Brightly) I don't think I could ever comprehend how breathtaking these parades are.

Alucard: I've seen more entertaining attractions in my younger years really. But I suppose this.....parade you all speak isn't too bad.

Roy: (Turns to Alucard with his Signature Cocky Smirk of his Face) What's the matter, old man? Afraid of getting out of your comfort zone?

Alucard: (Rolls his Eyes) Far from it. I'm only experiencing the moderation of what this generation has to offer. Which is more than I say about you sulking over having no romantic partner.

Roy: (Starts Letting Out a Offened Chuckle) I'm sorry, was that a remark you made towards me just now?

Alucard: I wouldn't say it was a remark per say. I just happen to noticed a blatant insecurity and felt the need to call it out as it is.

Roy: (Starta Chuckling) Blatant insecurity, huh? Alright. We'll see who's insecure.....(Glares at the Vampire) After I beat your ass in a game of Arm Wrestling!

Ludwig: (Abruptly Closes his Book Before Turning Towards his Brother) What?

Kumatora: (Raises an Eyebrow in Confusion) Huh?

Maria: (Places her Hand on her Lips in Genuine Surprise) Oh!

Alucard: Pardon?

Roy: You heard me! I challenge you to one on one arm wrestle! Winner gets bragging on all accounts!

Ludwig: Roy, have you ACTUALLY lost your mind right now!? This is Master Alucard you are challenging!

Roy: (Turns to Ludwig) AND!? I ain't scare of an old timer like him!

Kumatora: I dunno, ypu should he. 'Heard he's a real tough cookie to crack.

Maria: The toughest cookie I've ever known and love.

Roy: A cookie I'mma bout to crack! (Pounds his Fist to the Palm of his Hands)

Ludwig: (Turns to his Girlfriend and Master) Kuma, grandmother, I'm imporing you to stop encouraging him even further!

Kuma: Luddy, it's fin-Wait. Grandmother?

Ludwig: (Eyes Widened at the Realization of What he Just Said) N-No! I-It's Ms! Ms. Maria I meant to say! N-Nothing else besides that.

Roy: ('Scoffs') Liar.

Maria: (Heart Begins to Melt in Pure Happiness as She Pulls Ludwig into a Loving Hug) Oh my dear, Luddy, I'd be honored to play the role of your Grandmommy~

Ludwig: I-I mean......(Starts Blushing) You don't have to....

Kuma: (Giggles Softly) Awww~ Congrats, babe!~ You just got yourself a grandma to look after!~

Alucard: Is that right? I suppose that makes me a grandfather then?

Ludwig: Master please.....

Roy: (Start Rolling his Eyes) ANYWAYS....(Turns Back To Alucard) Does my request still stands, geezer?

Alucard: ('Sigh') Very well. I accept your challenge. But can we at least do this on a later date? I'm currently enjoying my vacation with mi'lady and our faithful grandson.

Ludwig: (Glares at his Gran- Master) Okay, now you're just doing that on purpose!

Roy: ('Sigh') Aight, fine. We'll do once it's all over and we're back home. Good? Good. (Pulls his Habd Out) Now let's shake on it.

Alucard sighs once more as he reluctantly shakes on Roy's hand, awaiting for his so called challenge. In the near future.

....................................................................................

Diddy: ('Sigh') This is getting ridiculous, big guy. You can't keep wearing that every time you're out in public! You have better clothes to wear back the room.

DK: (Sighs While Wearing a Trench Coat, Hat, and Shades) Yeah, but I don't wanna be given death glares all day! They're reminding me way too much of Wrinkly's glare......

Diddy: (Starts Shivering at the Thought in Particular) Don't remind me.....Those eyes of her could even make Cranky curl up in fear......(Eyes Begins to Widened at Something that Catches his Attention) Hey, DK! This a look at this! (Points at a Float Rolling by of the Original DK Beating on his Chest in Pixelated Form)

DK: (Lowers his Shades Down to see the Float In Question) Hm. That's a pretty good looking float.

Diddy: Right? It's pretty and detailed....It's still crazy for me believe that Cranky used to look like this all those years ago.

DK: (Slowly Shakes his Head) Poor old man must've REALLY let himself go after those glory days ended.......

Diddy: (Shrugs) I can believe that. It would probably explains why he's so bitter and cranky all the time. (Turns Back to DK) Say, you think he'll like some souvenirs?

............................................................

'Horns Playing'

Pauline: (Singing While Riding On her Christmas Float Along with Bandmates) It's time to Jump Up in the air!~ Jump Up, don't be scared!~ Jump up and cares will spar awayyyyy!~

Peach: (Watches the Performance Driving by While Letting Out a Heavy Sigh)

?????: Peach?

Peach: (Immediately Comes Back to Reality) Ah! Um....(Clears her Throat Before Looking Down at Mario) Y-Yes, Mario?

Mario: Sorry for startling you for there. You looked like you were out if it minute there. Is everything okay?

Peach: (Giggles a Bit as She Hugs Onto Mario From Behind) You worry too much, dear~ I'm okay, honest! I was too busy listening to the song Pauline was performing is all.

Mario: (Smiles Brightly) You like it? She wrote for me as thanks for helping her and city out in the past, even went as far as to throw me a huge concert afterwards

Peach: Oooh~ That must've really exciting for you.

Mario: (Smiles Sheepishly) It was more surprising if anything. But I had a great time regardless.

Peach: I'm so glad you did. It seems like a more remarkable reward than some cake.

Mario: (Starts Shaking his hand a Bit) Ehhh.....I think concerts are fine and all, but I prefer receiving cakes more if anything.

Peach: (Eyes Starts Sparkling in Happiness) Even mines?~

Mario: (Chuckles Lightly) Yes, dear~ Especially yours~ You're a wonderful cook. (Kiss the Top of Peach's Hand)

Peach: (Happily Rocks Mario From Side to Side a Bit) Ohh you sweetheart of a plumber, I'm flattered!~ Thank you!~ (Forms a Proud Smile on her Face) (HA! Score one for the princess back home, Mayor!)

Zelda: (Staring at The Couple in the Mid Distance While Standing Next to Mewtwo) Wow. You were not kidding when you said she's jealous fueled

Mewtwo: (Simply Shrugs While his Arms is Crossed) Not surprising really. Her expressions alone were too easy to read.

Zelda: Yeah. Kinda like a certain Legendary Pokémon I know. (Turns to Mewtwo with a Raised an Eyebrow)

Mewtwo: (Turns Away) You're going still on about that?

Zelda: Kinda hard for me not to when you tried to find out what I'm getting you this year with your mind reading shenanigans.

Mewtwo: (Starts Blushing).......Teaching you psychic manipulation was a mistake.

Zelda: Uh-huh sure. Just wait until Christmas morning like everyone else, okay Mewwy? I promise it'll be worth the wait.

Mewtwo: (Pulls Out his Pinky) You solemnly swear?

Zelda: (Giggles Softly While Playfully Rolls her Eyes) Yes, I pinky swear. (Wraps her Pinky Around Mewtwo's) You cute goof~

Mewtwo: Not cute. But also thank you.

@cyber-wildcat

@ma-lemons

@albion-93

@theweebmaster31

[parasolyaa]

hi! it's your grishaverse secret santa again! (who absolutely did not completely forget christmas was coming up and only realized how soon it is today)

i have one follow up question for you

are there any songs that you associate with the crows? and tell me why

(especially songs that you associate with specific characters but can be for pairings or all of them too. if you have cavetown/lovejoy songs that would be cool since i listen to them too but it can be anything)

hiii! I'm so so sorry I'm replying late, life's been kinda ??crazy?? in a probably good way

so, I took a long look at my playlist again and realised that I assosiate most of the songs with Kaz(and it doesn't necessarily make sence, just vibes yk?) so here we go:

There Isn't Any God by Rusty Cage

Inertia by AJR

Nunemaker's Parable by Everybody's worried about Owen(I think I mentioned these two songs in my prev post but hey I just rlly love em)

Home by Cavetown cause again I love this song. Fits Wylan too

Never Love an Anchor by The Crane Wire as a total kanej song("A ship could never love an anchor/Do you ever think of me and my two hands? And wonder why they never held you gently?" THIS IS SO KANEJ CODED AGHHH)

Alsooo here are some songs that give off the vibes of soc in general for me

Runs in the Family by Amanda Palmer - like it's from Wylan's pov? kinda?

Teenagers by MCR - gonna be repeating myself, but yeah, I am a cringe 2020 alt kid. & I embrace it.

Conversations with strangers by Caitlin Cook

We're Alive by Cavetown

I'll be there for you by The Rembrandts

I'm gonna be(500 miles) by The Proclaimers(last two just cause I love happy songs and happy crows although the canon apparently does not)

hope ur having a good day!

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

I'll bite, if you're still doing the episode write ups: Dunkin Duncan? Was a childhood favorite of mine, though baby me liked Disney Direct to DVD sequels so I do not trust them

Author's note: Here's a throwback to when I was taking asks about opinions on episodes. In total, I received four asks for Dunkin Duncan! That means it was tied for the number of asks for Edward's Exploit... y'all love your alliteration ig...

Sorry for the year-long delay on responding to the DD asks. My birthday's tomorrow so I'm sodding off from my chores tonight to blog, and while I'm here trying to clear out as much of the old stuff as I can. So let's finally wrap this up...

---------

Awww. You needn't have any angst about your taste. Preferences are just preferences; we all have 'em. Anyway, I've liked stupider things, and I've liked them as an adult. Give kid-you a cookie and a juice box, they're fine.

Also, I won't say I think this episode is, like, good? It desperately needed a sharp editor for it to be that. But I also don't think it's as bad as some people make it out to be.

Like, I've seen this one get dragged like those trucks did to Duncan over on tttetwt. And, since I posted my epic EtRUE rant, I immediately started getting these requests to tackle DD. As if people think they're on a level? And I've seen a lot of fans point to DD as the low point of the season. Well, it's in the valley, I suppose. But I still think that when you break them down into their components DD never ranks worse than EtRUE and it also has much more substantial good things going on in it.

Here's a link to the episode, as we're going to go pretty much beat by beat.

Let's first discuss the bad and then the good. (Be warned: In the spirit of the last major rant, I'm going to continue to drop generous f-bombs. As a treat.)

The Bad

1. The intro bit. God, the intro bit is so fuckin' uninspired. The "set-up" is Brave Plucky Clever Rusty leading his two pitiful, personalityless old steam engines down the line to "help Duncan with an important job at the incline railway." We did not need to see this unremarkable journey, guys. You plan on showing us the scenery on the line a whole lot in the next two stories; this one should have opened at the quarry. You could even keep the same (uninspired, but very Season 6-y) opening narration, but with, like. Shots of pushing past each other in tight sidings, lots more footage of the incline, etc! It would make this episode feel more distinctive, and reduced the "throat-clearing-ness."

Instead it takes us over 30 seconds just to arrive at the quarry. Just wasting time. Padding the story.

2. An unnecessary beginning also leads to the unforced error of this:

Why does Skarloey look so friggin' pitiful here? The narrator says they like going to the "incline railway." God, why did the show feel the need to just bloody nerf Skarloey and Rheneas after Season 4? Were they too powerful? Fuck me.

Indistinguishable blobs of lukewarm tapioca. I will never forgive this era of the show for reducing them to this.

3. Continuing crimes of characterisation... this is less of a problem than what's going on with the other three engines, but Duncan is subtly off. I mean I get that "we just made Duncan angry and contrary about everything, at all times," is their new strategy, and at least this means he has a characterization (looking again at poor 'Loey and 'Neas), and I can't deny that it was successful. So I'm not going to criticize that, exactly.

But I still really hate the line "I'll show that smelly diesel and those lazy steamers!" It's like they carried on with Duncan's initial diesel antipathy, ignored about the part where he dropped it, and then, in the end, they didn't have the balls to stick with it so they made him one of those "equal-opportunity haters." I think the line is just really bloody awkward and should have been shot down by an editor. (Of course, it's not even in the top 10 lines I think a good editor would have tackled.)

4. Going back to Skarloey and Rheneas, the idea that Duncan could be bitching at them and trying to order them about, and all they do is ineffectually whine back at him, is disgraceful. Their passivity is not canonical, and it's not even interesting. If you weren't going to do anything with S. & R., why have them in this episode at all? You could've just made it a Duncan & Rusty episode. I definitely think the story would have felt cleaner that way.

5. This is a remarkably "busy," squiggley, ill-paced little script, considering how little happens. Like, the one regard in which I think EtRUE was superior to this episode was that its pacing might have been off but it did some stuff. There were loads of characters, who actually all had a personality and were contributing to the plot, and there were different settings (for legitimate reasons, as opposed to the first 30 seconds of DD with its pointless scenery porn). Ultimately I don't think EtRUE's busyness went anywhere, but at least it felt like their problem was that they were cramming in too many ideas, rather than, as DD comes across, desperately trying to massage one decent but unripened idea into a full 5-minute story.

So yeah, DD just has to tell us variations of 'Duncan is impatient' and 'Duncan is rude' and 'Duncan doesn't give a flying fuck about safety precautions' and 'the other engines are sick of his attitude' again and again and again. And they have some good footage to help us swallow all this! But they don't have enough.

Aren't the other engines bitching out Duncan shortly after this that they are only supposed to send up 2 trucks at a time, not 4? But this is the image they use during the 'scene establishing' beat where they describe how the incline works. This is a bit nitpicky coz I guess you can argue it's just showing us how Duncan's been working before the other engines show up to tell him how to do it properly—but it still comes across as confusing TO ME.

7. Something that is NOT nitpicky but back to the real heart of why I think this episode drags (despite the good stuff, of which again see below):

The BEST stuff in the ep is when Duncan's coupling gets tangled and we see him dragged up the incline behind the trucks. Now THIS is a narrow-gauge "rollercoaster" escapade done right! Eat your heart out, 'Neas! (Rheneas: It's literally all I do?) The drama... the suspense...

We should have been able to watch Duncan go up with minimal to no narration. That's how you build suspense when you're filming! In moments like these, shut up and let the visuals and the music score do the work!

Instead we have to listen to this:

"I tried to warn him!" said Rusty. "He never listens," the diesel's driver said.

Sigh.

First of all, though usually anytime a driver gets a line is a plus in a story, we literally just checked off the "engine-driver" interaction box like 20 seconds ago when Duncan and his driver had an exchange. So fuck the samey-ness of this one following right on its heels.

Still, this would be acceptable (though I still think words only detract from the suspense here) EXCEPT WE'VE ALREADY BEEN LISTENING TO TWO SOLID UNEVENTFUL MINUTES OF A) THE NARRATOR TELLING US THAT DUNCAN IS CARELESS AND WON'T LISTEN AND B) RUSTY AND THE OTHERS COMPLAINING ABOUT THESE VERY FACTS.

There is so much repetition in this script. I'm tearing my hair out. WE GET IT.

This is the same flaw that went down in the final minute of EtRUE btw. Between the narrator AND the Fat Controller AND the narrator again we had so much commentary on why our episode's Antagonist was Naughty, Naughty, Naughty.

IT'S SO DULL. This whole series is very much about seeing engines behave poorly and get their comeuppance, but c'mon! We don't need to have the narrator pull a fuckin' Talmudic scholar and interpret the text for us every bloody time!

Compare and contrast to, like, "Middle Engine," where James's comeuppance is shown and felt but very minimally commented on. And it's way more entertaining to me than all these other examples were not only does the story teach a moral, but the narrative has to shove it down our throats at least three separate times to make sure the kiddos get it. Like, fucking chill? If you've done your job right they're gonna make their families rewatch it a hundred times anyway, at some point you have to trust them to interpret the story themselves.

8. Oh, good. Now the Fat Controller's shown up and we have to hear the dressing-down. Again, in case somehow, somewhere, like one kid out there in 2002 somehow missed the ethical thrust of the story.

8b. Bonus: Like EtRUE, the Fat Controller insists on Duncan apologizing to the other engines.

8c. Bonus Bonus: AND THEN, AGAIN, WE HAVE TO FUCKIN *HEAR* IT. It's completely unnecessary, but here we are. In this era of the show, some producer or head writer type really did say "You know what the best part of school was? When the teacher made a kid apologize to another kid. It always lead to these interesting moments that were also so emotionally authentic. I bet it would make for great television! 😇" Look, I don't say anti-worker stuff lightly, but this person should have been docked some pay. Good grief.

Altogether, this episode feels like a combination of AI scraping and regurgitating previous narrow-gauge episodes, mixed in with a wayyyy too generous helping of Moralizing. I can certainly see why there are people who loathe this one.

Nevertheless, it definitely has redeeming qualities, making it just as clear why some people love it:

The Good

1. Duncan! The other three engines' characterizations might be miserable. But (apart from that one small line that jars ME), Duncan is solid. You can complain if you want that his characterization is not quite right re: the RWS, and I won't disagree with you. But they did grasp that Duncan was extremely relatable to bouncy, can't-sit-still, "bad" kids, and they did carry on with that part. Duncan's misadventure here is a good follow-up to "Rock n Roll"—same personality flaw, similarly watchable spectacle. I wish they had characterized the rest of the narrow-gauge engines even half as well as they did Duncan and Rusty, but I will certainly own that they did very well with endearing Duncan to thousands of little hearts in the Oughts.

2. Spectacle! This is the HUGE one. However badly written the script (and I think it unambiguously sucks), the spectacle is great. The incline is fun to watch. The incline with Duncan is even funner to watch. Duncan snapping off and going down the incline is even funner. Him WHOOSHING off it like a half-pipe is even funner. PLOOP into the mud is best yet. The basic plot device here is great, using an actual rail mechanism (it may not be realistic, ofc, but it does utilize its setting, and not in virtually the same way that's been done before, ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME ETRUE) to create a unique and engaging situation.

3. The incline/quarry setting. It's good. I still think they should have used it even more and dispensed with the unnecessary railway establishing shots, but anyway. At least we spent most of the running time here.

4. This one may be more idiosyncratic to me. But you know I'm always complaining that one of the big problems with TVS episodes (not based on RWS) is that they are typically so afraid to do multi-part story arcs? Relatedly, that they insist on cramming a happy ending onto everything, no matter how poor a fit it is? Well, I gotta give it up! They didn't do that here. There's some real astringency to this episode. They let us end on a note of disgrace!

It would have been better (better by far, too) if they had followed it up with another Duncan-related episode where he redeems himself, ofc. But, look. Season 6's major weakness is insisting, again and again, that everyone is jolly and happy and "tooting happily" together at the end of every squabble—which is very cute like, one or two times a season, but which gets trite real fast. I'll take the episodes they dispense with that exceedingly well-worn trope when I can get 'em.

5. I went well out of chronological order to save the best for last.

The early montage showing Duncan's Greatest Hits is a scream:

Honestly, every TTTE montage is terrific. This is one of the best ways to film the models. It always hits. They could have afforded to squeeze way more mileage out of this trick before it was in danger of growing stale.

But this one? Short of the legendary "They had to do James's work as well as their own," this one is the most magnificent, character-wise. It's the way Duncan looks so horrified every time. That face—every. time. He's literally the embodiment of the "when I find the mf who's been ruining my life" meme. It's glorious.

So, yeah. I don't think DD succeeded in as many areas as it failed, but its successes were real.

I also wonder if the episode's haters would hate it less if it were called anything but "Dunkin Duncan," lol. (I admit I'd probably despise EtRUE less if it had a better title.)

[jess-writes-things]

Nightmares and Daydreams

Author's Note: This is a quick idea I had from a sudden urge to write, it is coming straight from my noggin and I am a little rusty, I haven't written anything in about two years. I'm making this as a y/n, I will be using myself for reference but feel free to insert yourself in place as you read

Trigger Warnings: death, maybe hints to innuendo, mentions of SA, mentions of PTSD; undiagnosed but obvious, nightmares, trauma, health issues, fluffiness, big age gap between Dean and y/n but both are legal consenting adults, etc etc (like I said, straight from my head)

Summary: (this is after the finale and after The Winchesters) Dean Winchester thought he had died after the vampire incident and gone to Heaven, found a universe he could save; turns out that was only partially true. (Imagine Sam and Dean as old men in this gif)

"Dean, Dean, calm down! Please....please calm down!"

"Calm down!? Calm down Sammy!? Are you friggin' kidding me!? How the Hell am I supposed to calm down!?"

"I...I don't know Dean! Just-.....please, she's upstairs and she's been having trouble sleeping"

That sentence was enough to do exactly that, calm Dean down, at least for a moment. "Okay-," he wipes his face while he paces after he had just knocked everything off of the table in a fit of, well he didn't know, rage, confusion maybe. "Tell me everything again? Start with, so I didn't die, I wasn't impaled by some inbred vamps, I didn't go to Heaven. My heaven, anyway. That didn't happen? That was all a dream? While I was there, I searched other universes and and I found one, and I found mom and dad before we were born and I saved 'em Sam! I saved all of them....did any of that happen?"

"Well you were impaled, because of the vampires, that happened, I thought I lost you...well you were in a coma for, a very long time-," Sam swallows a hard lump in his throat. "You were in the coma for fifteen years Dean (this is fiction lol), everyone, the doctors, my wife, mom, they all told me to let you go but I couldn't Dean....I couldn't pull the plug, I couldn't do it...."

Dean takes a long moment to respond, with so many things rushing through his head, "so....it was all....a dream? Wait, your wife? Sammy, why? Why didn't you let me go? I-You were there!!"

Sam quickly brings a finger to his lips to shush Dean, "please keep it down.....I don't know..."

"You were there, you had grown old and your kid, your son, he was a man...."

"Maybe you heard his voice, he's almost fifteen and he comes to see you all the time. They both know all about you. His name is D-"

"Dean....yeah, I know....," Dean smiles and with nothing else said the brothers bring themselves in by their heads for the longest hug they had ever had, "well, story checks out...you are an old man," Dean chuckles next to his brother's ear. "Yeah, just turned 52," Sam laughs as they let each other go

"So, wife, son, you did make it to old age," Dean smirks, "pick it fence, good ole' djinn dream huh? And I.....I have a daughter?"

Sam nods, "she's just a little older than Dean Jr..."

"Sammy.....how? I don't...."

"Her mother was named Y/N....," Sam knew it may take Dean time, "you weren't really together, officially....."

"Y/N," Dean was trying his damnedest to remember, "Y/N....when you said she had trouble sleeping it-something told me to let her...but why? I don't remember-what's her name?"

"Rhiannon, she's beautiful Dean and she is an amazing girl. She's smart, loves to read, she's already thinking about college and things are looking good," Sam tells him proudly and both of their faces are slowly covered with big toothy smiles

"Yeah? 'Course she is, Rhiannon,huh? Fleetwood Mac," he smirks, "I've missed everything .....," Dean has to take a seat

"Dean, don't start doing that.....she must have left that down here," Sam reaches over in front of Dean to grab the book from the table.

"May I see it?" "yeah, yeah, sure," Sam passes the book to Dean who lets his rough finger tips graze over the cover which says Bridgerton: Romancing Mr Bridgerton, he lets his fingers drift to the top of the book where a white and floral ribbon is marking a page. His brows furrow and he blinks down at it

"Why is she not sleeping?" He moves his eyes back to look up at his brother

"I need you to hand me the book first because if it's ruined I'm a dead man," Sam says and chuckles nervously, which obviously sparks suspicion on his brothers face.

"Sam, why is she not sleeping?"

"Honestly, I don't know.....Dean and I protect her and look after her but something must have happened, we let her go on a date alone for the first time a few weeks ago and she hasn't been sleeping well since but as hard as we ask, she won't tell us if anything did"

Dean's nose begins to flare and his eyes go dark with where his mind wanders to, "I want to talk to her-," he stands and shoves his way past Sam who rushes up the stairs after him

"Just wait-let me tell her you're here...," Sam pleads and Dean nods in agreement, that was reasonable. Sam knocks with his knuckles and there isn't a call of approval from his niece so he waits and tries again, while holding his brother back.

"C-Come in," the voice is barely audible, Sam slowly opens the door a smidge and steps in after gesturing for Dean to wait and take deep breaths to calm down as if he were flying, "Hi Sweetheart, you okay?" "Just another one....," she nods. "Rhi, please, tell me what happened?" A moment of silence passes, causing much anxiety to Dean outside of the door. "Alright well, there's some big news....your dad....he woke up and he's back....he's outside of the door, he wants to speak with you...." "Okay," Sam steps out and let's Dean come in

Dean didn't know if it were possible for him to be anymore nervous or slow, but, he did know the moment he laid eyes on the girl sitting up in the bed exactly who you were. It all rushed back to him. You, Y/N, you were the one. He also knew why he felt the need to let her rest, and why his mind immediately jumped to the conclusion it had when Sam said what he did. He does his best to make himself smile and he can feel it quiver, he waves, spots a chair at a desk and sits against the wall. He tries to say hello but she beats him to the punch.

"Hi, it's nice to finally meet you," she gives him a genuine smile, your eyes twinkled at him from the moonlight coming in the window

"Hi....," he feels a bit of ease, "you....left your mom's book downstairs," he says showing her, still holding it. "Thanks," she giggles, "that's one of my favorites"

"Yeah? It was one of hers too, it was weird though....you used to hyper fixate on certain genres, uhm," he clears his throat, "Post apocalyptic dystopian society, specifically the Hunger Games, she really liked that one, and this one called Humans, Bow Down where there were these robot people and she liked fantasy, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, things like that. So.....this one....I remember when she couldn't put it down...."

"Yeah? She didn't like romance?"

"Not particularly," he laughs a little, "I think she liked the drama in this one, and she liked the characters, she said most romance books she couldn't read with a straight face because the....parts-nevermind, she thought the....wording was funny"

She laughs, "don't worry, I already know all of that stuff. I haven't done any of it, don't freak," she laughs, he breathes in relief, "oh thank Jack," he laughs.

"You......you are....so beautiful and you look so much like her, I saw you and everything came back," he admits

"Yeah? What do you remember?" She scoots over and taps next to her, "come sit, I can't sleep"

"Yeah....," he slowly comes over to sit next to her, "we need to talk about that...."

"Tell me what you remember?"

"Don't do that, don't try to avoid the subject, shit you are our kid....,tell you what, I'll tell you if you tell me," he looks at her

"......Fine....," she agrees reluctantly

"Okay," Dean leans his back to sit up against the head board and drifts into his memories of Y/N. "Well, we weren't officially a couple....and hey, I'm sorry I've missed everything..."

"There's no need to be, couldn't be helped, you were in a coma and she was dead," she shrugs and leans back as well.

"She's dead?" Rhiannon simply nods, "when I was born," she says casually

"Damn it, I'm so sorry, I should have known better with her health....I didn't know she was-" "It's alright, I've had a safe, happy life filled love and all the mushy shit with Uncle Sam and Auntie and Jr"

".........One of the last times I saw her.....we would sneak away and spend nights together.....well, I woke up one morning and went to see her because she was near where we were and when I walked into the motel room, I remembered she smelled so good. She had just gotten out of a shower, her hair was still dripping wet and she had put in this hair stuff she used, I think it was for frizz, but it smelled so good it was Garnier, and it left her hair in loose curls while it was wet. It was draped over her shoulders-"

-Flashback-

"Dean? That you?" You ask, hearing the door open to your room.

"Yeah," he comes over smiling and crawls up onto the bed, placing a soft kiss to your lips with his plump soft lips. "What're you doing?" He asks, laying beside you, wrapping a arm over you. "Wait, Y/N, baby, what the Hell are you listening to?" He asks, a look of equal parts confusion what could possibly be disgust, you weren't quite sure but had to laugh because it was so cute. "You smell so good~," he buries his nose in your hair and neck.

"Thankyou, and I'm reading," you had Harry Potter in your hand and there was another book by your feet. "Ahuh, and what are you listening t-is that Paint It-is that ACDC? Not that I'm not so proud of you in this moment Princess, but, you hate ACDC"

You roll your eyes, "I never said I hated them, I said they only have a few songs and all of those are just one song they change the words too, still they're good. This is the Wednesday Addams cover from the show, it's perfect ambience for this part of the book"

"Okay, what?" He blinks and shakes his head in confusion, "I think this is the age gap again, how did I get a smoking hot, super smart, 26 year old?"

You smile and peck his lips, "because you're perfect and I have both mommy and daddy issues. This song is perfect because the fat lady was just scared out of her painting by Sirius Black and they can't find her"

"I'm just going to smell you now," he buries his nose again and takes big whiffs as if your scent is oxygen and runs his fingers along your skin on your arm and your new satin pink pajama set, a tank top and shorts with butterflies, "Where is the back of your shirt?"

"I don't know, someone stole it, I didn't notice when I bought it-Dean"

"What is this?" He holds up the book by your foot, "well I love the show and this one is different, I can excuse the smexy stuff from being lame and boring because it's a period piece and I love the drama and the characters," he shakes his head and tosses it aside before returning to his antics

"Dean," you bite your lip and move his hand from his antics, even if it's the last thing you want to do

"I love your hair, it's like Rapunzel's in Tangled, it's like chocolate then if it's dark or wet it looks black like Baby and if the sun hits it it has red highlights and your eyes too, they change to golden in the sun like honey, they're bright vibrant green when you cry.....and dark, they draw me in"

It's your turn to raise a brow at him this time but you're physically incapable, your brows just come together instead, "Dean, I ha-"

"Ah~," he throws his head back in frustration and answers his phone, "Sorry.....I gotta go," he kisses you and you knew it was a real emergency because he practically bolts out of the door

"Dean wait-!"

-Present-

"She-Y/N, she used to have nightmares of memories almost every night, she wouldn't be able to scream, would just bolt up....she didn't like to talk about it," Dean twiddles his thumbs, glances over at the kid, "so I got worried when Uncle Sammy told me you were having trouble.....your mom's were about her parents fighting.....things like that......but," he chews his lips as another memory takes over

-Flashback-

"I am all for helping if I can Dean but this is one job I can't help you with!" You tell Dean and then turn back to the ghost you were fighting. "You! What is it huh!? Shame!? Is that it!? You can't just haunt people and kill them because of what happened to you!! You just-," you storm out and go to Sam, he gave the best hugs and he was waiting at the car. He grabs you when you run to his chest and holds your head, cooing you. He gives Dean a confused shrug when he comes out

"Y/N, what the friggin Hell was that?" Dean asks

"NOTHING! NOTHING! SHE SHOULD HAVE JUST LAID THERE, PRETENDED TO SLEEP AND NEVER SPOKE OF IT!! OKAY!!"

"Hey......wait...that girl was moles-"

"I know! I was too"

"Who?" Dean asks you, concerned

"Okay when?" He asks when you don't answer

"My sister and her boyfriend, I was fifteen," you get in your car and storm off

-Present-

Dean gulps and tries to think of what to say, "Your Uncle Sammy said it started after a date...."

There was that silence he heard before from you

"Did they try something?"

"How did you know?" She looks at him

"......I remembered something about your mom.....what happened?"

"......the date went well.....we were coming home when he pulled over and he started touching me, I didn't like it....so....I did something I shouldn't have done"

"What's that?"

"I took my knife, the one Jr gave me, and I put right up between his legs....and I said stop it or I will call my uncle, take me home....so he did, I guess I scared him, he brought me home....so nothing really happened but I've been too scared to tell anyone because I could get in trouble...."

Dean pulls her to his chest and kisses the top of her head, "I'm so proud of you, but never think you will get in trouble....."

She nods, "can you tell me more about her?"

"Yeah, but enough for tonight....get some sleep," he kisses her head and tucks her in then closes the door as he leaves the room

"Well?"

"She told me what happened and thankyou Sam," Dean hugs him again

"You're welcome? Dean, what was causing the nightmares?"

"She will tell you when and if she's ready, but thanks to you and my nephew she's alright so thankyou....."

"Do you want to rest?" Sam asks feeling exhausted

"Dude, I think I've rested enough for a bit," he pats Sam's arm and trots downstairs, flopping into a chair and reading the Bridgerton book

"Dean, what are you doing?" Sam smirks at him around the corner

Dean shrugs, "looking into what Rhi is reading to make sure she's set for daydreams"

"Huh?"

"Don't worry about it, I'll see you in the morning"

[nancypullen]

A Monday in January

It's just a week before I start my new job at the library. I am cautiously optimistic. I know without a doubt that I can do the job and do it well, though I'm probably a bit rusty. My concern has been improving my wardrobe a bit. Lucky for me, the library has a very casual dress code, but I don't think they want me showing up in sweatshirts. That's been my uniform for far too long. I need one of those What Not to Wear interventions. Today I wore this sweatshirt, purchased from an Etsy shop.

It's actually perfect for the library because it's a nod to Mr. Darcy's insult to Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice. I mean, that's literature, folks. Still, they'd like for me to wear business casual so I've been attempting to add a few pieces here and there. When taking stock of my closet I realized that I'm apparently a collector of black pants. Straight legs, boot cut, leggings, ponte, denim - you name it, I've got 'em. I need a couple pairs of nice indigo/dark wash jeans, they look good with just about anything. I have enough tops and sweaters to rotate. I doubt anyone will really notice what I'm wearing. But, because I have Xmas money and gift cards I traveled to Easton today to shop at the Kohl's there. It was so frustrating. I found plenty of pretty things, but the whole store looked like it had been ransacked. If I found a sweater or top I liked, the color I wanted wasn't available in my size. I refuse to buy anything I don't truly like, so if I want the cobalt blue but they've only got my size in beige, I'm not getting it. I spent hours in the store and finally came out with two tops and a necklace. I found a pair of shoes I liked but again, no 6 or 6 1/2 in stock. I came home and found them on the Kohl's website and ordered them. So that's enough of a happy ending for me. I'll always be tidy and clean, I'll accessorize and then slap on some lipstick. Granny chic! I mentioned the sweatshirt I purchased on Etsy. I was gifted a very generous Etsy gift card for Christmas and I've had a ball spending it. Look at this treasure.

I ordered a beautiful journal, and had a quote and my initials added. I'm filling it with my thoughts, my poetry, and sometimes my melancholy ramblings. If you love it as much as I do, you can order your own here:

Choose the color, your own quote or saying (whatever inspires you) and get to writing. Wouldn't this be a lovely gift? It's beautifully made and quite thick.

I couldn't love it more. It's perfect for me during this season of my life. I am truly out looking for myself. The mister is upstairs on a Zoom photo club meeting, I think they have a guest speaker or something. I'm downstairs with both kitties enjoying the quiet. I just downloaded a couple of books from the library so I've got some good reading for the stormy day ahead.

I'm okay with everything but a power outage. Let the storm rage, but I'm going to need to heat up my soup, ya' know? And speaking of books, I'm considering joining the Modern Prairie Book Club. Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura/Halfpint Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie has a company called Modern Prairie - I loooove all of it, the cookware, the home goods, the clothing, the recipes, everything.

I absolutely love the Modern Prairie Instagram account -

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Modern Prairie (@officialmodernprairie)

so of course I was intrigued by the book club. She mentioned revisiting old books that we all read once upon a time and discussing how we view them now, decades later. I laughed when I saw the first book choice.

Then I got nostalgic (it's been more than fifty years for me!!) and then I became curious. I think I'll give it a whirl. What's the worst that can happen, I'll change my mind and go back to reading Lisa Jewell or Liane Moriarty? No big deal. Best case scenario is that I'm able to recapture some of that sweetness and simplicity. So that's where I'm at on this quiet Monday evening in January - optimistic about the new job, but yearning for the past at the same time. I suppose that's normal for most of us, isn't it? Looking forward with hope while trying to hang onto the best of what was. Sending out loads of love tonight. I hope it finds you and wraps you in a hug. Stay safe, stay well. XOXO, Nancy

[robotsrawesome64]

Heyyyy saw you would like some COD matchups

I'm American, but my mother's side is Slavic. I'm white, 5'6, shoulder length brown hair. I wear glasses and have a coquette aesthetic. I'm not skinny but I'm not plus sized so idk what to call myself lol.

I'm quiet and come off and kinda weird when you don't know me (I have under developed social skills due to C-PTSD). I stay to myself, make jokes that don't even seem connected to the current interactions, have a hard time maintaining eye contact. I love space and art, I have ADHD, Bipolar, and C-PTSD. I'm extremely loyal, can see right through people's bullshit, and am extremely understanding of people's unconventional habits. When you get to know me, I'm more chaotic. Not in an "I'm so random🤪😎" way but "I have an idea, I've thought it 70% of the way through, and we will see how it goes together"

If I were in the COD universe I'd probably be a sniper. I know that's a basic answer but my reasons are due to my hypervigilence, good eye tracking, great at shooting (shoutout to Thanksgiving traditions), and preferance for overall quiet and strict environments.

My top 5 characters are Simon Riley, Nikto, Gaz, Konig (Canon, not fanon), and Krueger.

Feel free to ignore, ik that writing can be really draining!! <3

I matched you with....

KU-KU-KUH KRUUUEGER 📣📢♨️❗❓💢💯🆘

^graphic design is my passion

TYSM for the first ask :,,DD So I got carried away, gonna see if ur into it but if not give me a shout to remove any of the warning stuff/private it etc !! (this is on me lmao) dont wanna scare you off w warnings, its overall fluff but i gotta tag em correctly

W: bbgifying fictional war criminals, violence/murder(described Krueger kills hostiles, implication you have), intimidation(Krueger likes killing/is ego aggressive to hostiles/brief aggro jealousy to others), ally very wounded (brief, blood mention, theyll be ok offscreen dw), unexpected gunshot on the range(all g, it was an ally), stalker-y (lately announced presence, lies that the public german nickname 4u he uses isnt affectionate, pre-dating jealousy), vague bad mental health mention, getting triggered mention, unspecified negativeish Krueger coping mechanism, vigilance(nothing happens but ur partners wanted/tense mission), you guys shooting, long mandated proximity, brief 'is bad man?', worry, long read more, light cliffhanger + HC that you were assigned callsign 'Cere'!

(This is a delulu long 2 off, next inbox ask i get to im gonna chill & try bulletpoints instead :p)(req are closed rite now TYSM for them&lt;3 !)

===============================================🌙

"You're assigned with Krueger? Oh, buddy." Your fellow KorTac operator eyes you with sympathy.

It was the equivalent of a teacher seating the 'troubled' kid next to the 'good, quiet' kid.

Flash back to pre-assignment: as soon as you met him you didn't need to look into any files to know he was a two-faced bitch. He was pretty socially inconspicuous if not for your watchful eye. Low-effort charisma, flattery, egotisical swagger. Heedless apathy if someone that wasn't helping him needed help. All the calm confidence in the world and he's always at least hiding some part of his face. So suspicious for a dude whose job is murder.

Krueger was 'friendly', but he wasn't the type to get invested in getting to know 'the team'. Meaning, once a blue moon when you both decide to stay in a social space together, the max of your interaction is him staring from across the room and snorting at you. A joke of yours had fell on someone's deaf ears and a solid 4 seconds later he chuckled at it. Or at you. Unclear. You'd felt his blatant gaze burning you through the hood as soon as you'd started talking. Anyway, now you both looked "weird".

Maybe it was a sniper thing? You couldn't afford to get rusty as you settled on the faction base's range; one eye closed to focus down the scope. That familar 'pchow' sound: hit. Cock, reload, hit, repeat. Hit. Hit-hit, wait what? What was supposed to be your target dents in front of you as you hear the same sound, but from along the range. Jesus christ. Someone else was practicing too. You still yourself and resume through their tampering/co-shooting. Once you've had your fill Krueger conveniently had too, revealing himself as your competitor to purr a praise at you as you passed by. "Very nice."

Anyway, that mission you two were sent on. Heavy snow, low hills and wind-swept shrubland before forest. Hostile base right in the middle in which you've been ordered to clear by any means. There was no way they'd be able to send in a team yet without getting spotted, which is where you guys came in. A sniper either side. Hit your shots; everything will be okay. Miss? There's only so many places it could've come from.

There was something beautiful in that moment in the calm before the storm. Only the crunch of snow as you settled into position, impossibly small as you painted the final dot in the break of snow back to white. Above you, an even wider sprawling landscape of almost clear blue sky with a few sparse strings of cloud. You could see the faint impression of the moon. And…another planet? Something smaller, stationary, glinting. It was possible to catch planets during the daytime, sure, but you might know that this wasn't their usual positions. You think you've just witnessed something very special.

Married to that sight was the chill of wind over your many layers, and Krueger muttering eerily calm communications in your ear via radio. It's not like sniper fire could be silent, but you had a window of opportunity with the suppressor temporarily hiding your position. You'd shoot together.

He slowly counted down like he enjoyed it. Regardless of his distracting yapping you both hit, and he shamelessly hissed praise as he eagerly loaded his next.

Cut to your report back, your half-smile fades at a joke that didn't land with your befuddled superior. Krueger snickers. This was a long-range mission. Somehow, you were standing to attention in front of them, half your sniper hood burnt up (??) and Krueger standing a little more lax next to you splattered in blood. Now- you had clutched the mission. Thanks to your half-plan in response to Krueger getting ahead of himself, in which upon your very stressed communication you both went all-in on.

You remember a moment in the scuffle in which you were pinned by the last hostile after rescuing a screaming damsel Krueger (you didn't know he hit that pitch). You half expected the knife stuck through your attackers neck to pierce you too, before Krueger threaded the needle and double-neutralized your attacker with a snap of the neck. Panting, he leant out a hand for you to take, with a tilt of his head. "Thank you, bruder." You'd worked surprisingly natural together come the highest pressure. He didn't want to die, and you wouldn't let him. But God, he gave you a headache.

To your dismay/morbid interest you were assigned as a duo together again. And again. And again. Through trial and error you got more and more used to how each-other worked on the field, to the point his more bloodlust-y spontaneous ventures seemed quite tempting. With the guidance of your planning, of course. You swear you could hear him smirk on the other side of the radio when you finally seemed just as enthusiastic as him. Others joining you on your assignments would have to scramble to keep up with the pace of your symbiosis.

When he wasn't screaming and shouting for his life from the consequences of his own actions/in combat/violently taunting his enemies with concerning egotistical aggression, it was quite peaceful. Something about being able to focus together, but apart. Beautiful landscapes to the sound of his soothing dry tone.

And so, sue you if you hung out a little more.

"Come; you're needed." He'd half-joke with a pat on your back if he saw you alone, inviting you to sit with him and Nikto. The life-or-death nature of your field didn't really breed cliques, it's just when you could pick, two other 'offputting' neurodivergents were much less exhausting (once you'd mostly figured they weren't planning to kill you). Sometimes Krueger would be trying to say something and both you and Nikto would lose focus and have a lighter episode at the same time, which could be funnily validating despite the circumstances.

Nikto's threateningly gruff, jovial energy was kind of infectious. It might just come up in conversation: your mother's heritage. Ooh, Russian? Was it Russian? Do you know a second language? Krueger participated in the conversation, but…fuck, why were you looking at Nikto like that? No, no, you should just learn German with him instead. You'll have enough time for it together when you travel for your next mission.

It was very few and far between where Krueger had given anyone a nickname. Acquaintance German speakers would give him weird looks when he called you 'asterisks/little star'- "Sternchen," with a lingering tone. He'd non-chalantly play it off when you asked, oh you know, explaining it meant star, like the callsign you got assigned. You might explain, oh no, 'Cere' is a dwarf planet.

"Oh, really?" He seemed very interested as your eyes lit up into conversation about something you seemed to like.

Upon your explanation, he thinks your callsign suited you very well. Cere: an exceptional astronomical body usually hidden to the human eye. The largest object in an asteroid belt in-between Mars and Jupiter; muddy and icy; sporting brines, carbonates and stunningly shiny cryovolcanoes. Incredibly underrated for a beautiful busy planet that screams potential life.

He still called you sternchen, ft. "Mein sternchen," that one time. He was aiming for a cutesy secret term of endearment, but 'asterisks' technically worked too. You were his 'yes, and'. Shit, was he really thinking like that? I mean, he wasn't totally shy to it. It's just most of his previous attractions were short-term and pretty baseless for a reason. Especially with co-workers that actually had an allegiance to who they were working for.

Which made it all the more natural for him to unblinkingly step over and in the pool of blood of the person you were both tasked to protect when he saw you go down. He shouted scolding concern as he rushed to help you out even though you weren't even half as hurt.

Or when you felt shit, to say the least. You were stationed together in Berlin for an unpredictably long wait for a high-priority target. A safehouse in the middle of plain sight with you guys on deck. Blend in as civillians, barely working, just…waiting to be called on. It felt like leave, except you were living with Krueger.

It was definitely a little stressful for him to be back in Germany. He didn't intially realize his unconscious unconventional coping mechanisms set you off too, until he did, and he was at your side if you ever needed something. Helping you wasn't a big deal as far as he was concerned; he didn't have the capacity for afflictive empathy to get particularly tired of it. He'd stare at you with a limited calculative look as he tried to think of what might make his (..work)partner a little better.

Oh, staring? It was a natural habit of his to unabashedly look right in the eyes of people he considered safe/close. Just outside he tried to keep his anonymity, but here he offered to also hide his face or something indoors whilst he checked himself for that habit. Wouldn't be anything new.

Neither was finding the right words to avoid misconception/upset; casually, calmly squashing any worries.

Or when he kept bouncing his leg after being in too long when he sat, and you met eyes whilst fidgeting yourself. Yeah, no-one needed to say it to know it was time to go out.

Just two solid, fit foreigners with inconsistent tan lines. Yeah, no pressure. Played it off as his American other-half visiting for the summer holiday, or something. Not that he at all minded. An older couple observing you when he used his nickname for you (it..just meant star, right?); when he put his hand on your back to guide you somewhere less dodgy; or when you both stood close like you liked him to inconspicuously mutter information. In one of those moments you thought he might be a bit too much of a natural at this.

But you couldn't exactly leave each-other; he spared the details but let you know the faces to look for. And when his description trailed off, he tried drawing instead. Uh, yeah, no offence, but you couldn't tell what that was. You tried instead for him, kind of like a police sketch artist. Regardless of whether you drew often or not, he'd walk a little closer in interest, hand on the back of your seat to look over your shoulder with an impressed noise. "You made them too handsome, sternchen. That-oh yeah, much better." He'd joke.

Art was a pretty good way to fill the time. Alongside Krueger teaching you a little German to apply it later- maybe at a till. If you wanted to buy paints or something, go crazy. Company money, right? Fashion was fun, too. Unsure if you'd ever get the opportunity again to have packed nice-nice clothes for a job. Unlike him; he was underdressed compared to you. Sometimes literally.

Whenever the sunlight beamed in through your little window at the right time of day, he'd lay in it like a cat, sleeveless/ shirtless if you were comfortable. Men. Which was of note since he couldn't exactly flash them outside, but aside from the few scars (a couple of which you remember how he got them.) he had some cool (..?) tattoos. Shame he couldn't get one from you. Not that he'd back out if you busted out the ol' stick and poke. But hey, plenty of empty space left for illustratory practice to bide the time?

Time seemed to go quicker. Krueger singing under his breath around the small flat-thing as he tried to occupy himself; laying next to you on the floor when you felt bad; routine window sunbathing; eagerly crafting an elaborate game with you via worryingly stacked things from around the place just to take aggressive turns with each-other making it break everywhere and fall. It was the human equivalent of two ping pong balls in a box. His stories being your podcast as you did art; him sitting still-ish for you and being amused by the cute bow he'd been awarded to his bicep (not that he could compare to your style); loosely giving his hands back to you behind his head so you could fidget with or hold them, whatever you want.

If you liked him back? He confidently didn't think it was just an act of care anymore from the way your gaze lingered on him- which he reciprocated. He'd speak back calmly and try to hide the twitch of a smile with a satisfied tilt back of his head.

He'd hold you like he would've done anyway if you needed him, with the added flair of lulling his head to rest against next to yours as he calmly talked your ear off before bed. Maybe as he lightly traced your cheek where his hand laid, if he felt braver.

Your shared enemies always seemed to go down harder, more violently. Other operators caught snarky comments.

You weren't quite sure how it'd all come to an official head, or not. But as far as you were concerned, with your head on his shoulder, it wasn't too bad to be assigned with Sebastian Krueger.

[ka1t0-s]

I've been loving nightbringer so much so far-- I think it's the first time in obey me history I've caught up to the last lesson that's out (which will probably change w due time, I'm terrible at keeping my cards lvled up) and the story has been fun for me so far. I havent played obey me since like early 2022-- so this is quite nostalgic yet fresh for me.

but anyways, the music battles r fine, controls weirded me out at first but I can manage. it was more jarring how the songs used were remixed and nightcored ver. of obey me songs. rlly putting the night in nightbringer I see.

however, speaking on the plot, I find that it had some missed potential? like no one else would care tbh and I can understand why but. THE DOMESTICALITY?? THE BROTHERS SETTLING INTO HOL??? missed opportunity may I say I'd EAT THAT UP!! 

like screw (affectionately, I dont hate this game) the "oh we had it modified to suit our tastes" and now everyone's room looks exactly like how they do in present time. I do understand why they do, and this isnt a case of me being like "grrr they are using the same assets!! they're so lazy boo blah blah blah" as for how rarely weve seen their room in the main story it doesnt matter. its just been a few messily scenes.

but NO. show me asmo fretting over how his room isnt pretty enough. how he needs flowers decorating his room, or vines, or gahh-- anything with some life and freshness and beauty in here because his pink bedsheets are NOT enough.

give lucifer considering his room fine and then instantly stumbling across a cursed item shop, buying some if not most of the stock and then spending a solid hour or two muttering to himself about how this should go here, or how disappointing it is that an item's too big for the spot he pictured it.

let me watch as satan buys up half the bookstore and instead of placing them on his half full shelves, start to slowly pile em up on his floor. LET ME SEE SATAN SLOWLY START THE BOOK PILE PROIR TO HIS ROOM BEING COVERED END TO END IN BOOKS!!!

or mammon. like cmon this man did NOT always have a pooltable or car in his room. show me how he gets a car, or more importantly how it ends up in his room. I'd always assumed his room was connected to a garage of sorts, but seeing as his is on the second floor I doubt that to be the case anymore. fr tho how did he get it in there? magic or smth? have barb teleport it in??

the twins... well I think they have the most believable room of the boys. they're twins, they want to share a room, they have it modified to look both red and purple, compared to whatever colors it was before. overall, they dont do much in that room, beel works out and sleeps there(obv) and bel also just sleeps and naps in there. they dont have it cluttered or stuff. however, I've always wondered what the area above the beds is. a way to the balcony? a balcony in general? or just a small lounge area? I like to imagine it's a small lounge area w a window for bel to look out of, but hey. their room is fine otherwise, unless i missed something.

and leviathan... ah... levi... first of all. NO WAY HE HAD THAT MANY FIGURES. even if he bought them in the castle he did NOT have that many. the collection in present time is after YEARS UPON YEARS of collecting. I feel like they missed Levi's mark the biggest out of the game. I'm rusty, so bear with me, but I'm positive that celestial realm isnt big on technology, hence simeons utter lack of any. Luke's easy to teach as hes young and it sticks, but not simeon. that and, lucifer is the reason he got into it(according to barbatos on the homescreen in OG!bey me!). plus in the angel event or whatever, they went vagely back to how they were as Angel's, or at the very least how they should of been like as Angel's, that parts in the air as I disliked the event and it was how long ago? so all signs point to him not being a shut in until post fall. but otherwise, I firmly belive that levi woudlnt of found anime until they were in devildom, of which lucifer is tired of seeing him mope about and introduces him to something light hearted and childish (only for him to later slightly regret that decision). I wouldve adored that sweet moment between the two, but alas I'll settle for what I got.

however, I'd live for the game to show me HOW and WHY he sleeps in the tub, ik its cause hes comfy but until I find out why he doesnt have a bed I'm going to firmly belive that HoL only had 5 bedrooms plus the guest one downstairs, and that levi was content taking over the "smaller" of the two washrooms, because he didnt want to be close to the kitchen or downstairs, plus fishtank. like that washroom in that romeo and juliet movie. fishtank washroom. if you know what I mean.

[thebrokenbean]

For Your Lives - Chapter 1

So it begins!

I've been working on this story since November, I believe?

The writer's course I've been taking this past semester is what finally booted me into the actual chapter-by-chapter writing process, and for that I'm incredibly grateful! Finally I've got chapter 1 complete and ready to share with everyone! Chapter 2 is being drafted, and Chapter 3 is a little further along than even that. I can't promise I'll have a consistent schedule but considering how the assignment due date is in a couple days, I imagine the next two will be out incredibly soon, lol.

In any case, here it is! The AU that's been rotting my brain for the past six months! Here's hoping I did my favourite psychopath justice XD

AO3 link, if that's preferred:

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

"Sparklings!"

Megatron freezes.

"There are kids here, Megs. Two of 'em. I can't leave them here."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

When Whirl is dropped into yet another life-or-death situation (he seems to keep finding those), he doesn’t really care all that much. In fact, it's even a little amusing. Besides, he'll get out. He always does. And if he doesn’t? Oh well. He’ll go out guns blazing, but… he’s had a good enough run.

Then two bundles of energy barrel their way into his life, and he finds himself caring a lot more than he probably should.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Whirl wakes up in a transport. At least, he thinks so.

He tries to look around but it’s too dark to see anything, even with the dim light from his optic.

The space feels small though – not quite small enough that his limbs feel awkwardly arranged, but not exactly big enough for him to stretch either.

He takes a second to think - because yes he may be Whirl, but he can be smart when he wants to be, thank you!

His memory's all fuzzy but he sorta remembers the Lost Light setting down on some populated planet he hadn't paid attention to the name of. He had gotten bored and run off to scare the locals stretch his legs in the primitive city.

The memories after that are even more blurry but he clearly remembers some glitch-head grabbing him from behind and zapping him.

Tch. Fragger. Who did they think they were, grabbing him like that?

At least the memory files confirm where he is.

He tries once again to look around him, switching to infrared this time, but he can't see any details. The box he's in must be lined with something protective. He can't hear anything going on outside, either, which is weird because he can feel the vibration from the transport's engine. He should be able to hear it.

Hm. A transport that blocks sound and thermal imaging?

Whoever nabbed him, they certainly came prepared.

Which probably means the metal around him is too tough to bust his way out of. Shame. He’d reaaaaallly like to try.

But whoever’s outside probably still thinks he’s in stasis. A mech who hasn’t had experience being zapped with an energon prod a hundred times by now certainly would be.

Great. Now there's a strategic decision to make. He hates strategic decisions!

Option 1: Sit tight and wait till the transport stops moving, then bust out when his captors try to open the box he's in. Maximum shock factor, sounds like fun. Except that he has to wait and utilize his rusty impulse control.

Option 2: Bust his way out now – which he’d love - before he gets to whatever secondary location these glitches want him at (he's heard that's a bad thing. Something about survival chances dropping), and risk doing nothing more than being loud and alerting his captors that he's awake. Because as much as he can't hear anything going on outside the box, he's pretty slagging certain anyone outside would notice him trying to break out.

It's annoyingly obvious which option is the better one.

Gah, but Option 2 could be so much more fun!

... Eh. He's done stealth missions before, this should be no biggie.

He shifts himself as much as he can within the cramped space. There's no telling which side of the box is going to be opened when the transport stops moving, so he tries to prepare for any possible angle.

Cool. Now that's settled. Or rather, he is.

All that's left is to wait.

If Whirl had a mouth, he’d have such a huge smirk right now… these fraggers’ll have no idea what hit ‘em.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Bored.

Bored.

Bored bored bored bored bored bored bored.

Whirl is. So done with waiting.

He didn't look at his chronometer earlier so he has no idea how long it's been, but it feels like hours.

Aside from the inaudible rumbling of the transport's engine, the occasional bump in the road underneath him, and the sound of his own venting, he's been in near-complete sensory deprivation for the past who-knows-how-long.

He feels jittery.

He is this close to saying 'frag it' and busting out of the transport with his claws.

...

…

…

Frag it, he's busting out of the transport with his claws.

He feels around the box for a moment - just a moment - then in the split second before he lashes out at the wall, the transport beneath him jolts to an apparent stop.

Whirl doesn't consider himself a dignified mech. But if anyone ever asks about this moment in the future, he will not admit to the squawk that leaves his vocalizer when he’s thrown against one of the box’s walls.

It seems there’s a surge of commotion outside because his box feels like it’s being put in a blender set to ‘scramble’. There isn’t much for flailing-room but somehow his limbs manage to pretzel themselves more.

Then there's a thud, and the side of the box he's leaning against falls open.

He spills out onto the ground with an oof. He scrambles to his feet instinctually, but it takes him a second to find his balance and get his bearings. When he finally looks around, he's met with a dozen gun barrels aimed straight at him.

"Arrival #14-M, you are ordered to raise your hands and surrender," says the armed alien directly in front of him.

Whirl blinks. “...The frag?”

He ignores the guns for a second - he's had countless pointed at him before, they're not exactly scary - and glances around. He's standing in some kind of warehouse (underground, if the concrete walls and lack of windows mean anything), beside the transport he must've been shipped in on, with his shipping-crate-box only a few metres away, and surrounded by a group of heavily-armoured aliens that are roughly his size.

Whirl gives a mental shrug. Eh, he's been in far weirder situations before.

The organic being in front of him impatiently steps forward in an attempt to be intimidating. "Arrival #14-M, raise your hands and surrender or we will take you by force."

Whirl laughs. If he had eyebrows, he would raise one of them. “First of all, buddy, I don’t have hands. Second…” He narrows his optic in the approximation of a smirk. “I don’t surrender.”

With a yell he launches himself at the organic, digging his claws into their chest armour and throwing them at another being who had been rushing forward.

Gunfire peppers his plating as he tears his way out of the ring the guards had formed and darts across the room to put some space between himself and them.

Now that he has the elbow room he didn’t have in the box, Whirl checks his subspace for the guns he usually keeps there. Scrap, empty. His captors must've found a way to confiscate his belongings while he was unconscious.

Ah well. Hand-to-claw combat it is!

Unfortunately his opponents have a different idea. One of them fires a kind of bola out of a fancy-looking gun. Whirl manages to dance out of the way, but the second shot - from someone positioned on the sidelines - manages to hit. It tangles around his spindly legs and sends him crashing to the ground.

The beings waste no time swarming him, pinning him down as they wrestle his arms behind his back.  His wrist shape isn't exactly handcuff-friendly, but they seem to find a way to manage because suddenly his arms aren't going anywhere.

"Hey, frag off!" he snarls, struggling under their shared grip. Once they're done, one of the organics grabs him by the shoulder pauldron and roughly yanks him to his feet. He stumbles a little but manages to rid his ankles of the now-loose bola with a kick. He wrenches out of the being's grip and backs away, his optic narrow.

"What the frag do you think you're doing? Is this some kinda arrest? I swear I didn't do anything wrong this time! I didn't even start any fights!"

"Quiet," one of the beings orders, and two others step forward to grip his upper arms. He thrashes as they start moving and try to drag him along with them.

"Oh, I don't think so! You ain't takin' me anywhere!" Whirl raises his voice, indignant. But they manage to haul him across the warehouse and through one of the many garage-style doors into a smaller room.

The room is wide and very tall, but only a fraction of the main warehouse's size. There's another garage-style door against the far wall to the right, and yet another on the left wall. Crates are stacked in the corners of the room, along with structures that look suspiciously like cages.

But what truly catches his attention are the other handcuffed aliens - big and small, organics, mechanoids, and everything in-between - that huddle in the center of the room. He's shoved forward to join them, and he almost trips in his effort not to squash some of the smaller organic prisoners.

"Oi, watch it!" Whirl growls at the guard (because that's definitely what these guys are, whatever their overall intent). The guard just turns and takes up a position by the door.

As a few more prisoners are brought in, Whirl takes stock of the odds. There are at least two dozen armed guards in the room now, double the number that he just fought. That's only a few more guards than there are prisoners. But seeing as all of said prisoners are handcuffed and most seem considerably frightened, they don't stand much of a chance.

Well scrap.

Guess he's stuck playing the waiting game... again.

It seems the guards have the same idea, because it's a long time before anything else happens.

Whirl tries to make conversation.

“Hey, stupid!”

The guard he’s directing the comment at ignores him.

“Any of you lot gonna explain what’s going on here, or are we supposed to sit here with our claws up our afterburners?”

All the guards are unresponsive.

Whirl rolls his optic. “Not ones for talking, got it.”

He plops on the ground, arranging himself into something somewhat cross-legged (being careful not to crush one of the smaller prisoners of course) and shrugs. “Eh, fine by me. Leaves more room for me to ramble. I tend to prefer action over words, but hey! Rambling’s saved my aft before. Once there was some dude who made me spill my life story, just so he’d spare some scrawny little therapist. ‘Course, that didn’t really do much since the lil guy got his head blown open anyway-”

“Enough!” One of the guards finally seems to break, barely able to keep the groan out of his voice.

Whirl gives a slag-eating grin. “Aw, am I talkin’ too much? Should’ve thought of that sooner. You sure you’re not gonna explain what we’re waiting for, here?”

Nothing. The guards seem to be trying the silent treatment, again. Ha. Like that’ll do anything. 

Naturally, Whirl responds to their silence by talking more.

Unfortunately it doesn't last, since he runs out of things to say and ask (he’s not nearly as good at this as Swerve is), but he feels accomplished when he sees the exasperated expressions on the guards' faces.

Eventually, one of the guards steps away from the wall he was leaning on. He approaches the group and aims his weapon at them. "Line up. Backs against the wall." he says curtly, and gestures towards the back wall of the room.

The group shuffles in place, hesitant, but eventually they comply. Whirl grumbles as he follows them. He hates this, but he's been a prisoner before. He knows how this stuff works. Best thing to do for now is play along until he can finally figure out what these guys' deal is.

The guards take up their positions again, and through the door that's now on Whirl's right comes a tall organic alien. He's at least a mechanometre taller than Whirl, and equally thin. Whirl doesn't exactly know much about the whole galaxy-wide 'clothing' thing, but the robe that hangs off this being's slightly hunched form does not look cheap. The stiff posture and down-his-nose look he's giving the prisoners certainly helps sell the 'Wealthy Ventwipe’ impression.

He is accompanied by a mechanoid assistant that's only half his height and carrying a datapad. The pair begins going down the line of prisoners. They speak casually as they seem to inspect each being, talking about weight, strength, species, and giving each one some kind of rating. Whirl shifts. He's not sure he wants to know what they're rating them on.

When the pair stops in front of Whirl, the tall male's four eyes widen. He turns to his assistant. "This one is a Cybertronian, is it not?"

Whirl narrows his optic. "It has a name."

The tall male seems amused. The mechanoid chitters something in a language Whirl doesn't understand, and the male's eyes glint dangerously. "Is that so?" He looks Whirl up and down. "I'll take this one too."

The two attempt to move on to the next person in line, but Whirl jerks forward aggressively. "Take? The frag are you talking about, 'take'?"

The lanky male looks back at him with a raised eyeridge. "Mouthy," he observes.

"Yeah," Whirl growls, "I'm told I get snarky when stuck-up glitches start talking about me like an object."

The male's expression hardens, and his lip curls. One of the guards moves forward, but halts when the male raises his hand. "He is new." He levels a narrow gaze at Whirl. "He will learn."

Whirl snorts. "Like the pit, I will." He steps forward and brings his face close to the male's. "You better explain exactly what's going on. Or even better, let me go! I promise I might not even kill anyone on the way out."

The tall male doesn't flinch. Instead he tilts his head to address the guards, without breaking eye contact with the mech in front of him. "Have this one put in holding while we wrap this up. I'd rather inspect the rest of the stock without pointless banter and useless threats following after me."

"Stock?"

Two guards approach - derailing the incredulous thought - and Whirl crouches a little, defensively. He flexes his claws behind his back. It'd be reaaaally nice to have use of his arms, right about now.

Still, he resists as much as he can when the guards attempt to yank him away from the wall. It's a fruitless effort, on his part, because they manage to nab him eventually - but it makes him feel a little better. That's always a plus.

They mech-handle him through the door that the alien and his assistant had come through. The ceiling of the wide hallway is much lower, and the space is slightly better-lit. Doors line each wall. Big ones, like the doors of a human garage, except more heavy duty. One of the guards punches something into a keypad beside one of the closest doors, and it retracts into the ceiling.

"In," one of the guards orders him.

Whirl twists in their grip. "Yeah no, I'm good thanks." He'd rather not go into another cell. He's been in plenty of those in his millions of years and he's pretty sure he's had more than his fair share. "How about we try something else? I know a game! It's called 'Let's Let Whirl Go’. To win, you guys let me go, and I-"

"Quiet." The guards shove him harshly, and he could swear something catches his foot because he stumbles and lands flat on his face - or rather, his chin, ‘cause… well.

He hurries to get back on his feet and turns around with a scowl, but the door has already closed.

Great.

"Tripping me? Really?" He asks the closed door with a narrow optic. "That was stupid, childish... and incredibly effective. I should remember to try that sometime."

He glances around the room. It's small, but definitely not enough to be cramped. The ceiling, like all the other rooms, seems to be made of a large sheet of dark metal. The concrete floor and walls are two different shades of grey.

The walls are gouged and cracked in places, probably from whoever or whatever was in this cell before him. Hm. He tilts his head a little. "Wonder if I can break through that..."

He gives the back wall an appraising look, before winding up and lashing out with his foot.

The resulting noise is relatively loud and dust rains from the corner where the wall meets the ceiling, but his foot has left hardly more than a dent.

Well. That was underwhelming. Whoever built this room clearly intended it for someone a lot  stronger than him.

He throws a few more kicks at the walls, especially the places that are visibly weaker, but the damage is all pretty minimal. Guess he's not getting out of here that easily - which is probably just as well, considering he's pretty certain he's underground anyway.

Cool.

... Now what?

[halflingkima]

Did that thing where I felt like I wasn't reading and just accumulated a whole stack of library books. But I do actually wanna read 'em so lets see how we do before I gotta send them back.

May TBR

Dark Tides by Kimberly Vale: Following the events of Crossbones, the squad of teen pirate captains deal with the fallout from the pirate games.

Having been disappointed by the first book and unsure of why this one exists I really shouldn't read it. But if I do I gotta do it soon enough after the first one that I only have to read it once. It seems like they split the party in this one which... makes no sense to me. Also kicks off with a random new guy pov which is why I haven't picked it up in earnest yet.

Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner: A professional women's soccer rivals to lovers romcom. [read ✓]

Genuinely, I checked my library holds one day and said, out loud "I don't remember ordering that" the day before it arrived. I've heard lackluster things about the author and seen absolutely no one talking about this book since its release which is not promising. However, I really love gay sports romances so god i WANT to love this one so bad.

Seek You by Kristen Radtke: a nonfiction piece in sequential art exploring the phenomenon of american loneliness through numerous social lenses.

This is kinda where my extra page shifts at work have been detrimental. Was shelving the graphic novels and saw this one simply languishing there and decided: now's the time. I wouldn't have picked this up if I wasn't feeling particularly lonely but also, i am feeling particularly lonely lately, so i worry it'll make things worse...

Killing Moon by NK Jemisin: In an egypt-inspired society, dream priests harvest the magic in civilians' sleeping hours to heal, harm, and carry out justice.

I must read this this year. The library does not have the audiobook. I'm going a little crazy because I think my eyes are rebelling. I will read this book.

Land of the Sons by Gipi: a post-apocolyptic story of survival in which two illiterate brothers obsess over their father's journaling. [read ✓]

Was feeling slumpy and grabbed this in a panic. It looks like a quick but impactful read and I have heard some good things about it. Hope it doesn't wreck me.

Rusty Brown by Chris Ware: probably the most sincere and/or pretentious attempt at a literary graphic novel to exist?? i guess?? [read ✓]

Also a slump-panic pull. I ordered it from the online catalog and was thrown to find it's funking HUGE. idk how long it'll take to read and it's p mysterious/pretentious, seeing as there's no synopsis or anything. Can't tell yet if it'll be like a neo-meta narrative or just up its own ass but some of the blurbs talk about it as a revolutionary piece of art. so lets see.

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland: a prince takes over an investigation of local guilds to prove his loyalty to his queen

i saw someone rave about this and remembered absolutely none of what they said but was in a bit of a fantasy romance kick after reading The Hidden Paths (absolutely recommend) and snapped it up when i saw it "on shelf" but now it's just sitting there. it's so chonky. send help.