#luci gang catch the tail

[kpoptimeout]

K-Pop Debuts and Comebacks for the Second Week of April (Apr 3-Apr 9 2023)

Apr 3

Kim Woo Seok - DAWN

UP10TION and X1's Kim Woo Seok is back solo in this mesmerising performance!

Apr 4

No releases.

Apr 5

APINK - D N D

Veteran girl group APINK returns with another catchy song!

Heize - Vingle Vingle

Solo queen Heize shows a new side to her sound in this mobile phone-friendly comeback!

Apr 6

Beom Seung Hyeok - Cherry Blossoms Blooming In Yeouido

Singer-songwriter Beom Seung Hyeok sings of cherry blossom season in this sweet acoustic ballad!

Jey - Venus

Soloist Jey is smooth on this sexy RnB track.

Apr 7

Hong Ja - Connori ft. Yoon Jong Shin

Trot singer Hong Ja collabs with her boss, legendary singer-songwriter Yoon Jong Shin in this modern take on the genre!

Apr 8

BIBI - I AM SHAMPOO

Talented RnB soloist BIBI drops another banger - this time for a CF!

Luci Gang - Catch The Tail

Up and coming rap star Luci Gang releases an edgy and lyric focused track!

MARK (NCT) - Golden Hour

NCT's Mark drops a playful diss track on Gordan Ramsey's negative review of his fried eggs.

Apr 9

It's - Love is F**k

Solo singer It's drops a NSFW angsty pop rock track!

What is your favourite release of the week?

[f-ngrl]

Luci Gang - Catch the tail (feat. Ash-B, PAXXWORD, Mckdaddy)

[lilliesofinspirationvalley]

Cunning Hares Headcanons

First of many posts sharing my personal interpretations on ZZZ characters and their dynamics!

Nicole Demara - 27-28, Mexican/Indian, trans woman, sapphic

Anby Demara - 19, Filipino, demigirl (enby Anby rights), aroace spectrum, definitely has autism.

Billy Kid - 27-28 (at least with physical/mental age… there’s a very reasonable chance he’s been active for a long or short period of time), Argentenian (idc if he’s a robot, he’s latino in my heart), bisexual, inherently got some genderqueerness by being a robot but primarily male/masc, and sentience gave him adhd /hj

Nekomata (Nekomiya Mana) - 15, Black/Japanese, sapphic, potentially has adhd and/or autism (she hasn’t really looked into it much)

Billy doesn’t like rock music (that much anymore) because it was all the Sons of Calydon played on the road. All the time. So he (understandably) needs a break from it.

While we’re on the subject, I’m so curious about classical music putting him to sleep. Does he mean standard “lullaby songs” like Clair de Lune or Sugarplum Fairy? Or would this guy conk out to a Dies Irae? Classical/orchestral music has. A very very wide range.

This is technically more related to Sons of Calydon, and we can’t really say who he does/doesn’t know in the gang yet (Caeser for sure, most likely Piper— Burnice and Lighter are kinda up in the air, but they probably know our silly android man too… and I’m betting Lucy is the newest member? There’s a chance they could know each other— like she joined and he left a little after). But!!! He was often sent out to get booze for the gang because everyone mistakes Piper for a high schooler. Even with a proper ID.

So far the only instance of Billy’s guns “talking” a la Liz and Patty Thompson is from his combat promo video and that’s it… I really really hope we get more elaboration on that at some point. But for now! He totally named them: Annie (the more demure personality) and Jane (the less enthused one)

Unless canon reveals something that makes this completely go out the window… Nicole used to be a defense attorney. Because a briefcase as a weapon is a very lawyer coded trait, you need to have a pretty solid understanding of laws to run a business— especially more legally ambiguous ones like an odd job agency, and y’know. Law school debt.

It’s a big part of why she involves herself in representing Canvas Street against Vision as well!! Though she’s not an attorney again by a long shot— for one, she’s on the prosecuting side against Vision, and she lost her attorney license years before starting Gentle House. But the point still stands that Elle Woods, Mia Fey, and Phoenix Wright walked so Nicole Demara could run

Most humanoid/half(?) thirens are born with animal ears and tails— but there are several genetic exceptions to this standard. Nekomata, for example, has cat ears… and cat feet. Without her special boots and mechanical tails to keep her balanced, it’s incredibly difficult for her to even stand up. In other words, she’s a disabled icon.

Understandably, it takes her a long time to feel comfortable/safe enough in places to keep bare feet. Fortunately (or unfortunately, if you’re an embarrassed little teenage thiren), all of the Cunning Hares can pick up Nekomata and carry her around no problem! They’re more than happy to do this (and/or just get stuff for her) if she doesn’t have her boots on at home.

Nekomata gets very snuggly and affectionate when she’s asleep. She likes to lay with all her teammates at different times, but the most frequent victim is Billy. I mean c’mon, he’s a walking heater.

Billy: We had a bonding moment! I cradled you in my arms!

Nekomata: Nope!!! Don’t remember!!! Didn’t happen!!

Anby occasionally gets ptsd nightmares from her days in the defense force. It used to be a lot more severe when she just joined Nicole… and by force of habit, Anby sneaks into her room the most. Billy and Nekomata catch her drinking tea in the middle of the night sometimes though, and promptly set up a pillow fort on the couch for everyone to hang out in so Anby doesn’t feel so alone.

Nicole: What are you guys doing making so much noise????

Billy: Shut your mouth and get in the pillow fort, Boss.

Nekomata has a collection of fidget items. It’s got every thing from puzzle cubes to random pieces of string. Honestly I could see her picking up crochet, kumihimo (cord weaving), and/or other textile hobbies to keep her hands busy.

The other three have all tried the flashlight thing™️ with her. It works a little too well (Like “Duke do you want the ball?” too well— she just flies across the room).

Anby, much like her interest in movies, has a very wide range of music she likes. It’s anybody’s guess as to what she’s listening to at a given time.

Nicole: Wow, Anby’s really focused right now… I wonder what she’s listening to?

Anby’s headphones: 🎶 Life is like a hurricaaaane here in! Duckberg! 🎶

Nicole has so much rabbit themed stuff. Plushies, little figures, definitely some scarves and hats, etc. Most of them are gifts from people she’s known in the past, along with the other CH of course.

Nicole and Nekomata would play Animal Crossing together, Billy would freaking love the Kirby series, and I think Anby would really enjoy Miitopia/Tomodachi Life

Billy’s definitely the most proficient gamer of the team. Fighting games, racing games, what have you… he’s won most matches, sometimes without even meaning to. Nicole and Nekomata argue he’s “cheating” because he’s literally got a computer for a brain… and if Billy responds with something akin to “git gud,” his ass is getting tackled.

We know from when Billy appears at the arcade after you played a little, he supposedly has moments where he’s “cursed” and doesn’t play as well with the CH— I don’t know if performance anxiety has anything to do with it (he’s really not the type)— but given Nicole’s association with divination, Nekomata’s inherent connection to yokai and Japanese supernatural, and the CH’s luck motif in general… it’s very funny to think that they “manifest” periods where they can beat him at games. I think if Billy found out, he’d be a little miffed they were trying to nerf him but… honestly it’s really funny and he’s a good sport. They’ll probably stop once he actually knows, though. Anby has literally no part in this, she just finds it entertaining /hj

Anby has to try a burger from literally every restaurant she goes to if it serves them. Practically a connoisseur at this point, though it’s rare for her to find a burger she doesn’t like (unless it’s like. Raw meat or something).

Forgive me for the Soul Eater coming out again, but I’m so fascinated by Nekomata’s socks saying tsubaki on them. And the flower buttons and stuff in her design in general. The flower in general representing devotion. Red camellias (tsubaki in Japanese) represent being in love, or perishing with grace. Yellow represent longing. White represent waiting. “A flower without fragrance. When the petals fall, it is silent and tragic.” There’s so much we can unpack about all of this with our catgirl.

Anby and Billy do it the most, but they all have silly quips of quoting different movie/tv show/internet media lines. They all kinda learn about different stuff through this osmosis.

Nekomata was the most hesitant to warm up to Billy because he reminds her a lot of Miguel Silver. I know we don’t have much about Silver in canon, but… Very competent and can be genuinely threatening, but also a lot more emotional and sentimental than most people would probably expect. I was surprised and kinda endeared when Silver was introduced sobbing and all dramatic as he spoke lmao.

I don’t think she fears a fallout like RFG happening again (at least, it’s not a major anxiety). The fact the CH committed to helping Canvas Street without a second thought is enough proof to her that they’re really not the types to be morally corrupted and all that. But… running into someone who reminds you of a past relationship— but who’s like. Better morals or more well-adjusted or whatever. That feels. So weird. It makes Nekomata think about what could’ve been. Why did her adoptive father become such a hypocrite— how is a robot more sincere about values than he was?

She definitely warms up to Billy a lot more by Ch 3/Ballet Twins stuff. I think it’d be sweet if she talked about her grief with him— Nicole and Anby too, tbh. Even if she separated herself once things weren’t sitting right with her (which takes so much internal strength), Silver was still her dad. She probably found out about his fate in the news broadcast at the very beginning of the game…

Yeah that's definitely also another reason why she clings to Billy the most in her sleep too. She misses her papa,,, and you tend to go towards the familiar and all that.

Anby keeps a small journal of letters to Soldier 11 (or Eleven, as I like to call her). Movie reviews/analysis, reports on commissions, snippets of her domestic life with the others… it acts more like a diary than actual letters she’ll send out. But Anby truly wishes she can share all of the joy and freedom she’s found with Eleven someday. Both in all the stories and helping her experience it too,

I’m a firm believer Anby and Eleven are twins— Burnice definitely has a connection to them too given her own little pack thing… but she also has more blondish hair and looks/acts a little older than them??? So probably not exact triplets or maybe not even biological sisters. But some sort of Huey, Dewey, and Louie grouping would be hilarious

I feel like Nicole is. Very into astrology, horoscopes, tarot cards... online quizzes. We know from one of Anton's trust events that she dabbles in fortune telling for quick cash, but honestly I feel like the others gotta hold her back from doing that more often because it drives them nuts. She's tried to get them in on it but... they're not very good at it. Anby's descriptions are just movie tropes, Nekomata gets distracted by the cards and other trinkets used, and Billy can't keep all the symbolism straight for the life of him.

Nekomata clearly has some education, likely from the RFG/potentially her orphanage... but given she's a street kid, even now (more lowkey) with the CH, it might be a minute until she gets into high school. I don't know if she'd even be that interested in school... probably curious to try it but she'd get so bored so fast lmao. Regardless, Nicole and the others would probably want to help her enroll.

Nekomata when socializing and learning stuff in class: Ok yeah! I can get used to this! Nekomata when she has to do homework: WTF THIS SUCKS

But she more or less gets straight As like the smart lil kitty she is. She asks the others for help/overview fairly often, though.

“Billyyyyyy” 

“I’m not an generative AI, I can’t do your homework for you. Besides that’ll get you into loads of trouble for. Several reasons.” 

“I’m not asking that!! You know more about Outer Ring than I do— can you check if my research for this project is accurate so far?” 

“… Oh yeah, sure!”

Anby is usually the first person to be ready to leave, while Nicole is… the last. You can tell these two are sisters because they always bicker about it /lhj. (Note to myself to make an animatic of these two to this very fun song)

While the CH all share a tv and gotta chart out times for it, they also have group movie nights! Usually they’ll watch really bad movies they can all laugh at and make fun of together. This is where a good chunk of their inside jokes come from. 

Nicole loves to give Anby and Nekomata manicures! She would give them to Billy too, but whatever polish she tries will come off immediately. Anby and Nekomata tend to have theirs chip off fairly quickly too rip

Nekomata moved into Anby’s room when she joined the CH— they’re the youngest and Anby had the most space. While the two had a lot of tension in Ch 1, and some of that can still carry over sometimes, they’re actually pretty good roommates! 

Her whole scene with Billy in the prologue was her attempt at humor to cope with stress (plus finding Billy probably relieved her a lot)… but she struggles with knowing appropriate times. Given Anby has also joked about becoming a monster and tried to nom Billy’s hand (“Rawwwwr”), I don’t think this is too out there lol.

[khiphop-discussions]

2024 Khiphop-Discussions Awards Nominees

(CLICK HERE FOR FORM. I would recommend watching the live performances ASAP)

Best Live Performance:

1.Skinny Brown ft Kid Wine - Someone On You 2. Changmo - Taeji 3. Nochang, Swings, Damini, Black Nut - No One Likes Us 4. Sik-K - See You in Every Party 5. Ash Island - Paranoid 6. Bobby - Go, YGGR, #hiphop 7. AP Alchemy - I’m Sick

Best Producer:

Lean$moke

Gray

Wayched

Holyday

Cha Cha Malone

Sik-K

Vangdale

GroovyRoom

Smugglers

Freddi Casso

HD

Best Music Video:

LeellaMarz, NSW Yoon, Streetbaby - We Like to Party 

Sik-k, Haon, Blase - Balaclava Babies

 Since - Smash

Skinny Brown - Someone On You

Sik-K - See You in Every Party

Kid Milli - HONDA!

Camo - Six Weeks

Luci Gang - Catch the Tail

Khan - Night in Seoul

Odd95 - Join this Drill

Kuzi - Stick & Poke

E-Sens - Vanilla Sky

Yunhway - Mistakes (Never Looking Back)

Epik High ft Hoshi Seventeen - Screen Time

M1NU - Mia + High risk high return

Best Male Artist:

Kid Milli

Ash Island

Sik-K

Skinny Brown

Be’o

Don Malik

Fleeky Bang

Big Naughty

Best Female Artist:

Since

Bryn

Yunhway

Damini

Rosy Barbie

Mirani

Ash-B

Yuja

Chaeyoung

Song of the Year:

Ash Island - Stay With Me

Skinny Brown - Someone on You

Since - Smash

Bloo - Muse

Giriboy ft Big Naughty - Kiss Me 

Sik-K - See You in Every Party 

Be’o - Mad

Fleeky Bang - Gang Gang Gang

Buck - Coogie

Right Now - Coogie

Dynamic Duo - Smoke

Idol Rapper of the Year:

Hwiyoung (SF9)

Bobby (iKon)

RM (BTS)

I.M. (Monsta X)

Joohoney (Monsta X) Soyeon (G-idle)

Changbin (Stray Kidz)

Album of the Year:

Hyoeun x Don Malik - 49

Uneducated World (5 Year Anniversary Remaster)

YNR vs All

Dirty Play - Polodared

Fleeky Season - Fleeky Bang

Oxytocin - LiTrilla

Beige - Kid Milli

Pop A Lot - Sik-K

Registration - Oxynova

Naive - ourealgoat

Best Diss:

Korean Copycat - Swings to Sik-K

“Money Dance” - Sik-K to Swings

“Take It Flip It” - Sik-K to Swings

“Gang Gang Gang” - No:el to Fleeky Bang

“Smoke No:el” - Fleeky Bang to No:el

Light Adaptation - Yonge Jaundice to Jo Gwangil

Slept On Artist of the Year

LiTrilla

Posadic

M1nu

Chu Seo Jun

Vapo

Nabi99

Achievement Award:

Loco

Gray

Cjamm

Cha Cha Malone

Mithra Jin

Dj Tukutz

Deepflow

YDG

Bizzy

MFBTY

Dok2

Nucksal

Tiger JK

Yoon Mirae

Teddy Park

Company of the Year:

KC Entertainment

Ambition Music

AP Alchemy

AOMG

Daytona Entertainment

AREA

Dirty Play Records

Yng & Rich Records

DPR

Crew of the Year:

DPR

WYBH

Yelows Mob

NavyL1ne

Naughty 4 Life

0wave

Rookies Game

Collaboration of the Year:

Sik-K, Haon, Blase - Balaclava Babies

Wayched & Trade L - CHED&L (Full EP)

Hyouen x Don Malik - 49 (Full EP)

Polodared x Uneducated Kid - Le Petit Prince

Jay Park et al - Blue Check (remix)

Dynamic Duo, Jessi, Zico, Jay Park, B.I., Changmo - Smoke (remix)

No One Likes Us - Nochang, Swings, Damini, Black Nut

Epik High ft Hoshi Seventeen - Screen Time

Best New Artist:

XWally

Viin

Chaeyoung 

Trey B

Up and Coming Artist of the Year:

Oxynova

Ourealgoat

Khan

Jaeha

Kitsyoji

[ao3feed-nalu]

Forgive and Forget

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/LiXmJFp

by Lacuna0323

Lucy can't seem to catch a break, between the recent passing of her mother and an obsessive pink-haired boy plotting to ruin her she's spiraling into insanity.

 or

 Lucy Heartfilia, freshly orphaned, lands a scholarship into her dream school Fairy Tail. Pretty and prestigious it may look, but she quickly learns that the school is nothing as it seems. Who ever thought the filthy rich could be so cruel?

Words: 2179, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Fairy Tail

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage

Categories: F/M

Characters: Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster, Erza Scarlet, Jellal Fernandes, Loke (Fairy Tail), Gajeel Redfox, Cana Alberona, Levy McGarden, Seilah (Fairy Tail)

Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - High School, Bullying, Poverty, Gang Violence, Drug Use, natsu is a pos, lucy did nothing wrong, rich natsu dragneel, Possessive Natsu Dragneel, poor lucy heartfilia

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/LiXmJFp

[omoghouls]

Please do elaborate on Macready omo?? 👀 👀

*rubs my gay lil hands together* you have created this avalanche

•MacCready, mister gun for hire, he's learned how to control his bladder, keep it held in while he lays in the ruble of a building, staring down the scope, waiting for the perfect moment to shoot.

However, there are gigs where he was given an approximate time so, he's basically stuck in his sniper's nest while he waits until the guy rears his head.

And those are the times where his capabilities are tested. Because ofc he doesn't want to get up, it might alert the gang, he might miss the perfect opportunity to shoot, there are just too many negatives that outway the positive of voiding his bladder.

So,,,there has been times where MacCready had involuntary pissed himself while laying down- he couldn't conclude with his bladder screaming at him but, shit- there's the guy- MacCready steadies his rifle and takes the shot, killing the guy in one fatal shot.

Buuut that comes with the recoil of the gun, the after shocks catching his body off guard aaaand MacCready pisses himself while laying on his stomach- basically pissing over his upper body. He can't even bask in the humiliating relief as he's got to high-tail it the hell outta there before goons find out where he's at. (MacCready then takes the quickest dip in some river just so it looks like he's fallen in water rather than,,,wetting himself)

•After the events of Lucy's horrific death, MacCready had surcome to bedwetting. Sure, he's seen some awful shit, done awful shit but, watching your wife, the love of your life and mother to yalls son,,,that's a whole different type of horror.

Of course that's on the nights MacCready is actually sleeping for more than an hour at a time- for the first few months after Lucy's death, MacCready was so scared of something happening to Duncan.

So, MacCready would be staving off sleeping by downing coffee, which just future continues the viscous cycle of bed-wetting

• He's stubborn, dear god is he stubborn. This man will not admit he needs to piss unless it's an emergency and by then, he's already leaking or seconds away from pissing himself.

He's use to wandering the wastelands alone, when he has to go, he'd just, go. But, he's weary of others, as much as he trust Sole and company, MacCready still has horrible trust issues- he doesn't want to be literally stabbed in the back while taking a leak.

But he's also not the best at being subtle about his urgent need to pee- of course he thinks he is but,,,everyone can see him shifting from foot to foot while idle, more snappy in his come backs and, he's whining even though he doesn't realize it-

•This man is hella allergic to dust (he's constantly sneezing the moment he goes anywhere with even a remote amount of dust) so,,,,there have definitely been times where MacCready has had a really bad sneeze attack, causing him to be unable to stem the flow once his bladder gives out while he continues to sneeze 😌

•MacCready totally cries when he wets. He'll never admit to it- he doesn't full out sob, no, it's silent tears that burn his eyes as he tries in vain to blink them away before they have a chance to fall ;0;

•You cannot fuking tell me that while living in Little Lamplight, he was properly potty trained xD So, MacCready probably had to learn some extra stuff after he left lmao

•When he ran with the gunners, they 10000% fucked with him. They say it's initiation into the gunners as they give him some drink- turns out it's just a regular ass drink but, spiked with some very diuretic thing (Probably radaway bc/ that flushes out radiation)

And, he's given night guard duty. By himself. So, a couple hours into his shift, the need to pee hits him VERY hard. But, he has no one to cover him for a quick leak.

So, MacCready is sitting there, one hand shoved between his legs, grinding against his palm as the only means to hold back the flood- and the other gripping his gun as he tries so hard to keep a lookout.

Ofc, the gunners (Probably Winlock and Barnes-) sneak up on him and, quite literally scare the piss out of MacCready👀 And they tease him over it for days, taunts digging under his skin and MacCready just rolls his eyes, telling them to shut up but, internally, he's HELLA embarrassed-

[xfangheartx]

Fang's Fairy Tail Masterlist

To keep things a bit more organized, I decided to make a little masterlist of my Fairy Tail fics. Please note that most of these are just revisions of canon arcs containing OCs while others have the NaLu pairing in them. These are not everyone's cups of tea, but I do hope that if you were to look at these, you'll enjoy them.

So, let's get started!

Canon Arc Retellings and Original Arcs-

The Beast of Fairy Tail- There's another wizard in Fairy Tail... she's a real beast. The introduction story of my OC, Haru Dragneel. Also contains slight NaLu teasing at the start. AO3 | FF

The Stray Beast- Sometime after their job in Aurora Village, Lucy asks Haru how she joined the Fairy Tail guild, leading Haru to regale Lucy of the story of how she met the boy who would become her brother. Takes place before Daybreak Arc. AO3 | FF

Breaking the Ice- While Natsu, Lucy, and Happy are off on a job, Haru decides to join Gray on a mission to stop a smuggling operation, but they might have bitten off more than they could chew. Takes place during Daybreak. AO3 | FF

Deadly Lullaby- Haru joins her brother and friends on a mission to stop the Dark Guild Eisenwald from carrying out a sinister plot! AO3 | FF

The Mother of Fairies- The Mother of Fairies finally returns home. Takes place before Galuna. AO3 | FF

The Fairy Queen and the Beast- With nothing else to do, Haru decides to go on a job with Erza and learns a little more about her while doing so. Takes place before Galuna. AO3 | FF

The Cursed Island- Erza, Haru, and Blue Fang catch up with Natsu and the others on Galuna Island, an island that is said to be cursed. However, not everything is what it seems, as they're soon about to find out. AO3 | FF

Adventure on Dragon Island- When Natsu hears a rumor about dragon sightings on a far-off island, he ropes the others into going along with him in the hopes of finding Igneel there. However, what they don't realize is that they might have fallen into a dangerous trap. AO3 | FF

Fairies vs. Phantoms- Haru takes part in the Fairy Tail/Phantom Lord Guild War, but soon learns of the rival guild's motives. What will Haru do to protect her new best friend? AO3 | FF

A Dragon's Heart- Sometime after the Phantom Lord war, Natsu begins to act strangely around Lucy. Could it be that he's developing a crush? Or will a past relationship prevent him from opening his heart, again? AO3 | FF

The Tower of Heaven- What starts out as a lovely beach vacation turns into a rescue mission when Erza is kidnapped by people who claim to be old friends. As Haru joins in to save the one she calls her older sister, she finally learns of Erza's horrific past. AO3 | FF

Aftermath- After the Battle of Fairy Tail, the rest of the guild tries to cope with the aftermath of Laxus' actions and his expulsion, as well as other moments. Contains hints of NaLu, Gruvia, Gajevy, and Jerza. AO3 | FF

Testing the Waters- When Lucy is upset about a job gone wrong, Natsu, at his sister's urging, decides to take her out on a date. What could possibly go wrong? AO3 | FF

Alliances- When the Dark Guilds begin to join forces, the only way to fight back is for the official guilds to do the same. In doing so, Natsu, Haru, and the gang meet a new friend who might be connected to Natsu's past: Wendy Marvell. AO3 | FF

One-Shots-

First Impressions (NaLu)- Natsu was actually good at reading people... which was why he decided that Lucy would fit right in with the guild. AO3 | FF

When a Dragon Purrs (NaLu)- Lucy discovers something new about Natsu. AO3 | FF

Tummy Troubles (NaLu)- In which Natsu gets sick and the only one he can get comfort from is Lucy. AO3 | FF

Let the Rain Fall (slight Gruvia hint)- In which Haru makes a new friend during a summer rain shower. Takes place before Loke Arc. AO3 | FF

A Sneezy Salamander- There's a reason why Natsu doesn't come to the guild when he has a cold. AO3 | FF

Miscellaneous Stories-

A Fairy Tail Christmas Miracle- Christmas Eve is here... but it's anything but merry when one of Fairy Tail's members has not returned. AO3 | FF

AU Stories-

COMING SOON

[superfreakerz]

TDDUP 32

“Til Death Do Us Part”

Rated M for smut and heavy themes.

Reincarnation/Immortal AU

Summary: There are immortals and there are those who reincarnate, but it’s best to keep these things hidden. Lucy is attending college and meets Natsu, a boy with pink hair, a devilish smile, and a body that never ages.

Chapter 32

The New Semester

Lucy frowned as she got ready for the new semester. The rest of winter break went by in the blink of an eye. She had partied at Fairy Tail during New Years and even called her father to catch up and wish him a happy new year. Every day during the break was spent with Natsu and their friends, which made the new term that much harder.

Last quarter, she had every class with at least someone from their group. Now, she has absolutely none. Disappointed was an understatement when she received her schedule. She was devastated. She hated the thought of not seeing her friends in class, and she hated the thought of starting over even more.

"C'mon, Luce. Cheer up. It's not the end of the world if we don't have classes together," Natsu's voice rang out. He spent nearly every night at her apartment, it was rare when he was at his own place.

"Easy for you to say!" she shot back. "You at least have a friend in every class!"

"Friend? I only have Gray in all my classes. That's not a blessing, that's a curse! That's worse than immortality!"

Lucy only rolled her eyes. "Oh, whatever. Point is, I'm going to be all alone! I'll have to make new friends! And in case you don't remember, I suck at that!"

"What do you mean? You made friends with all of us!"

"That's only because Levy introduced us. And she was the one to come up to me when we first met. I can't make friends on my own! And let's not forget that our first meeting went horribly!"

Natsu smoothed a hand over the back of her head. "Quit worrying so much. You'll be fine, I promise. And even if you don't make friends, I already told you that I'll pick you up from class everyday so we can go to Fairy Tail together and meet up with the rest of the gang. It's not like we're going to stop being friends just because we're in different classes. You're stuck with us now that you know our secret."

Lucy laughed. "Oh, I don't need you to pick me up today. I'm going to meet with Aquarius after my classes. But I guess you're right."

"I always am! Now hurry up and finish getting ready."

Wanting to look nice on her first day of class, Lucy threw on a pair of light jeans and a white sweater. It was still winter, so she couldn't show off her body just yet.

"Alright, I'm heading out now!" she called out.

Natsu gave her a quick kiss, sending her off with a grin. "Have fun!"

Lucy was surprised she was relatively early to her first class, taking a seat in the back. This quarter, all three of her classes were squeezed into the same days, but luckily she only had classes Tuesday and Thursday. That left her with the rest of the week to do whatever she wanted. Her first class was English with a professor named Virgo. According to Makarov, she was also a reincarnation. Lucy hoped she would be able to talk to her about it.

Suddenly, the seat next to her was pulled out. Lucy turned to find a boy with dirty blonde hair sitting next to her, flashing her a dazzling smile. His eyes were dark, his lashes long. If Lucy were single, she was sure she would be swooning over the pretty boy.

"Nice to meet you," the boy said, taking her hand in his. "I'm Hibiki. What might your name be, beautiful?"

Lucy was taken aback by his brazenness, reminded of her first boyfriend. "I'm Lucy."

"Lucy. What a pretty name!"

"Uhh, thanks."

"So, Lucy, what year are you?"

"I'm a freshman."

Hibiki gasped. "Me too! It must be fate that we met today!"

Lucy nearly rolled her eyes. "Fate? This is English 101, everyone here is a freshman."

Before Hibiki could reply, someone cleared their throat at the front of the room, grabbing her attention. It was a woman, relatively short with a pink pixie cut. Her eyes were a jaded blue.

"I'm Virgo, your professor for this quarter."

Lucy leaned forward in her seat, eager to learn more about the fellow reincarnation.

Once class ended, Lucy quickly packed her things before heading to her next class. She wished she could have talked to Virgo about reincarnation, but there were too many people around, not to mention she had limited time to make it to her next class. Not that there was a need to rush. She had all quarter to talk to the fellow reincarnation.

During her walk across campus, Lucy was surprised to find that Hibiki was walking along with her.

"Umm, is there a reason you're going this way?" she asked, starting to get weirded out by the boy.

He arched his brow. "My class is this way."

"Oh, okay."

When Lucy made it to her next class, she stopped outside the door to glare at Hibiki, who had followed her all the way there.

"Okay, you're stalking me," she said, crossing her arms.

Hibiki laughed awkwardly. "I'm not, I swear! I have this class!"

"There's no way we're in the same class! Show me your schedule!" The boy handed her his schedule, which she glossed over quickly. "Wait, we share every class together! How the hell did that happen?"

"I told you it was fate!" Hibiki exclaimed, grabbing Lucy's hand. He went to place a kiss over it, but she snatched it away.

"I can't believe how similar you are to an old friend of mine," she said, rolling her eyes.

"This friend of yours must have been charming!"

She laughed, and in a voice laced with sarcasm she replied, "Big time. Well, if we're going to be in all the same classes together, we might as well be friends. But no funny business, alright? I have a boyfriend."

Hibiki held his chest in mock pain. "I should have known a girl as beautiful as yourself was taken."

The two walked to the back of the classroom, taking their seats.

"So, what are you majoring in?" Lucy asked. She wasn't used to making friends on her own, but with Hibiki's laidback and all too familiar personality, she found it easy to slide into a conversation.

"Computer science. What about you?"

"Creative writing."

Lucy was about to ask the boy where he was from when their professor stepped into the room. He was a tall and lanky man with black hair. Unlike Virgo, he was a bit older, a couple of wrinkles adorning his face around his mouth. He wore a dark green turtleneck and black slacks that accentuated his slender legs.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Sagittarius. I will be your World History professor. I assume everyone came prepared with their textbooks."

Lucy sweat dropped. It was only the first day of the quarter, she didn't have her textbook yet. As if sensing her dilemma, she felt Hibiki nudge her elbow that was resting on the desk before he slid his textbook between the two of them to share. She shot him a quick grin.

"Thanks," she whispered.

He returned the smile. "Don't mention it."

Class seemed to drag on forever, Sagittarius' emotionless voice doing nothing to help as he discussed the contents of the first chapter. While Lucy may not have been an immortal who lived through most of the world's events, she had still been around long enough to have been through a good chunk of them. That, along with taking the same classes every lifetime, made learning relatively easy.

Once class ended, Lucy and Hibiki walked to a small coffee shop that was on campus. They had thirty minutes before their next class, and considering it was the first day, they didn't have too much homework to do yet. Instead, they decided to chat over a cup of coffee, which Lucy insisted on paying for since Hibiki was nice enough to share his textbook and send pictures of the portions she would need for homework later.

Lucy found it strange just how similar Hibiki was to her first boyfriend. She figured that was why it was easy to open up to him. Already familiar with flirty playboys, his personality didn't scare her away. Instead, it made things easier.

"I guess making friends isn't so hard."

The two talked about everything, ranging from where they grew up to what they wanted to do after college. Lucy had to admit, it was fun making new friends.

When they headed to their last class for the day, they took seats in the back yet again. It didn't take long for their professor to stumble in the room. Lucy's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets seeing how absolutely ripped the man was. It looked like his white button-up shirt was going to pop any second with how large his muscles were.

"Yo! I'm Taurus!" the man exclaimed. His eyes filtered around the room, hearts practically shining in them whenever they glazed over a girl. Lucy wondered how he was able to teach given his pervy attitude.

Yet, when he started to go over the math topics they were going to learn over the quarter, all playfulness disappeared from his voice, replaced with seriousness. Unlike with Sagittarius, Taurus was surprisingly good at keeping the class engaged, and despite how hard to believe it was, he managed to make math seem somewhat interesting. Time practically flew by. To make matters even better, Taurus dismissed them without assigning any homework.

Heading out of the classroom, Hibiki invited Lucy to hang out.

"Thanks, but I have an old professor I want to catch up with," Lucy said with a smile. She was proud of herself for having made a friend already, one that even wanted to hang out with her after school.

Hibiki's eyes widened. "Oh, is it your boyfriend? Are you dating your old professor?"

"What? No! My boyfriend goes to this school too, but he's not a professor. Just a student."

"Oh. I'd love to meet the man that stole your heart! He must be quite the specimen!"

Lucy laughed, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure you'll meet him someday considering he plans on picking me up from school everyday. Anyways, I have to go. I'll see you Thursday!"

Waving a quick goodbye to her new friend, Lucy headed towards Aquarius' office. It was clear that Aquarius knew about her reincarnation, so why didn't she ever say anything instead of giving cryptic clues? And how did she even know about it in the first place? Had she slipped up in any way? If that was the case, she needed to know to make sure not to repeat the mistake in the future.

Reaching the cranky professor's office, Lucy peered inside to find the woman glaring at her computer screen. She wasn't surprised that there weren't any students utilizing Aquarius' office hours. After all, she was terrifying.

Feeling irked that Aquarius had kept things hidden from her, Lucy strode inside the office without bothering to knock and planted her hands on her hips with a glare. The older woman glanced up at her, a scowl immediately gracing her face.

"What do you want, brat? I thought I was finally free of you," she remarked.

Lucy closed the door behind her, locking it. "How did you know about me?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do. Makarov already told me about you, along with the others. Why didn't you tell me?"

Aquarius sighed, the scowl on her face finally relenting. When she looked back up at Lucy, her features were softer, a rare expression on the woman's face.

"We wanted you to find out on your own," she finally answered. "I assume Makarov told you about Acnologia and the other immortals?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah. He told me about how we're all being hunted by some psychopath."

"And how did you take it?"

"...Not well, I guess."

"That's why I decided it was best not to tell you."

"But why?" Lucy asked. "Obviously I would have liked to know that there are others like me! What does Acnologia have to do with anything!?"

Because I didn't want you to be paranoid," Aquarius answered. "Do you know how many reincarnations live in fear for the rest of their lives, over and over again all because they found out about Acnologia? We already have enough to worry about, it's better not to have the knowledge of yet another threat to us. Besides, I was also doing it for you and Pinkie."

"You mean Natsu? What does he have to do with it?"

"Well you're dating, aren't you? I didn't want you to get scared of him since he's an immortal and all."

Lucy choked on her saliva. "W-What? How did you know about that?"

Aquarius sighed, tired of having to explain things. "I know about all of the immortals enrolled at this school, even the ones that are in Fairy Tail's basement. Considering the past between reincarnations and immortals, we are given information about each immortal so that we can choose if we want to work here or not."

"So you really knew this whole time? How did you know about me?"

"I actually met you in your first life."

Lucy felt the wind getting knocked out of her with that revelation. Feeling dizzy, she took a seat across from Aquarius, resting her head in her hands.

"I don't remember you," she finally said, meeting the older woman's gaze.

"That's because you were just a baby at the time," Aquarius replied.

"How did you know about me then? You couldn't have possibly recognized me when I was just a baby."

"I was friends with your mom. You're strangely enough the spitting image of her- though you lack all of her grace. When I first saw you, I thought that you were her and that she was a reincarnation as well. Until I found out your name, then I remembered that she named her daughter Lucy. It wasn't too hard to put the pieces together after that, though I did do a bit of research on you as well just to be sure."

Lucy gave a sad smile remembering her first mother. "I can't believe you knew her."

"It was a shock to me too when I first saw you," Aquarius replied, her own lips tugging upwards into a smile. "She was a fine woman, which is why it's so surprising you turned out like that. It must be the fault of the rest of your parents." Lucy shot her a glare before Aquarius continued, "Anyways, it was my idea to keep you from the truth, so don't even think about getting mad at Scorpio and the others."

"Don't worry, I'm not mad anymore. Just a little surprised is all. I still can't believe there are so many others like me, and that there are so many near me too."

"Who are your teachers this quarter?"

"Virgo, Sagittarius, and Taurus."

"Ah. Did you know they're all reincarnations too?"

Lucy grinned cheek to cheek. "Wow! I heard Virgo was, but I didn't know Sagittarius and Taurus were too!"

Aquarius nodded. "If you want, you would probably be allowed to teach here if you wanted. All you have to do is turn in an application to Makarov. You'd be allowed to come here every lifetime if you choose to do so."

Lucy considered the option. Truthfully, she had no idea what the future had in store for her. Still, it was nice to have another option available to her. Especially since this one allowed her to stay near Natsu and the others.

After chatting with Aquarius for another hour, Lucy finally decided to head over to Fairy Tail where her friends were waiting for her. Sure enough, when she strode inside the pub, she found Levy and Natsu hunched over, dejected from the conversation that was taking place around them.

"Why do you two look so upset?" Lucy asked once she approached them.

The two lit up like Christmas trees at the sight of her.

"Finally!" Natsu exclaimed, grabbing her wrist and gesturing for her to sit down. "We've been waiting forever! It sucks not having classes together!"

"Weren't you the one telling me it wasn't a big deal?"

"Well I changed my mind! It sucks!"

Levy nodded with the boy. "I agree! I've been wanting to talk to you all day about your story! I finally finished it!"

"Already!?"

"Yeah! We've gotta talk about it!"

"Shouldn't you guys give her room to breathe?" Gray asked with a chuckle. Natsu and Levy were practically leeching onto the poor blonde. "Anyways, how was talking to Aquarius?"

Lucy smiled. "It was nice. She explained how she knew me and why she didn't tell me about it in the first place. Oh, she also told me that if I wanted to, I could probably teach at the university after graduation."

"Are you going to?" Erza asked.

"I don't know yet. There's a lot to think about. But since I'm still a freshman, I have plenty of time to mull it over."

Natsu stared at the blonde beside him. In truth, her teaching at the university sounded like a dream come true considering it meant she would stay in Magnolia. Then they could stay together forever, even in her next lives. Not wanting to come off too strong or pressure her in any way, the boy decided to keep his thoughts to himself for now.

He didn't know what the future entailed for the two of them. He knew that he wanted to be with Lucy for the rest of his infinite life, but that was a lot to ask of someone. He knew firsthand how long life could be, he didn't know if Lucy would feel tied down. After all, she lived in different countries, had different families, her life was forever changing while his stayed the same. Not to mention most of the time he was kept in the basement. What if she wanted to go on a date? What if she got tired of hanging out in his room? There was nothing he could do about it, and he wasn't sure the girl would want to put up with it. After all, who would?

Swallowing thickly, Natsu pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind. It was like Lucy said, they had plenty of time to figure it out. But no matter how many times he repeated that thought in his head, the worries he had were only swept under a thin veil that threatened to fly away with the slightest gust of wind. And he was sure they were going to come back sooner or later.

[mxvladdy]

True Form- Mammon

The boys are cute in their devil forms I’ll give them that. But I want something more monstrous lol. Here are some headcannons of mine of what the boyos look like outside of their glamours. 

I’m not doing the gang in any particular order, all will be accounted for in due time. Just my favorites come first :p

No, I regret nothing and yes I would still 10000% smooch the monster.

Next up: Asmodeus 

Mammon

- Interestingly enough, his human glamour shows none of the wounds he bears from the celestial war. But his true form? It is a testament to his strength and a stark reminder that he is the second strongest of the cardinal sins. 

- Mammon takes the shape of a great winged beast. The original number of his wings have been lost to time but old records speak of ever shifting numbers. Should he lose one two would grow in it’s place type deal. All that remains of their splendor are three mismatched ones on his back. Since they are not even he is incapable of flying, but he can still glide for quite some distance and with tremendous speed. 

- He resembles a mixture of a crow and Strix. He has four large taloned feet that can carve through rock and slice though even demon flesh with ease. His multitude of eyes are bright and simply mesmerizing. Like the twinkling of stars in the night sky. His eyes are the only physical trait left of him from his time as an angel. 

- Old scars pepper his hide under his oily sheen feathers. When he shifts they flash the briefest hints of silver and faded pink. But, the most noticeable wound on him is his beak. The upper mandible is broken, the front half blasted away leaving behind a jagged mess of bone. The magic used against him makes it impossible for him to regrow it. He remembers clearly the blow that marred him. It is one of his recurring nightmares. 

- He keeps a den, hidden from the other brothers deep in the Devildom forests where he hoards all his most precious items from over the millennia. Whenever things get too much at home he will come here to lay amongst his treasures and reminisce of simpler times. 

Mini fic 

Mammon could feel the need brewing deep within him. The gnawing emptiness slowly eroding at his psyche till it was all-encompassing. His brothers possessions calling to him like a sirens song day in and day out. Goldie simply wasn’t going to be enough this time. He needed his cave, his little sanctuary, carved out in secret so many years ago.  

He sighs lovingly. Just imagining the feel of currencies from empires long since fallen and priceless treasures offered to him in sacrifice under his talons feet was euphoric. His second skin ripples under his glamour in anticipation. Humming under his breath, Mammon takes the steps to the main door two at a time. In his excitement, he almost collides with the latest item of his attention. 

“Oi!” He barks, skidding to a halt in front of you. He makes a grab for your shoulders stopping you before you toppled down the flight of stairs.  He can’t help the smile forming on his lips to match yours. His human looks up from the files overflowing in their arms. The emptiness inside rattles its cage. Add them to the horde. His molars crack under the strain of his clenched jaw.

“Oh! Sorry, Mammon! It’s kinda hard to see around all this.” You smile sheepishly, scooting off to the side for him to pass. “Are you well?” You notice his stiff posture, hands clenching, and unclenching over your school uniform. He hadn’t let you go yet. 

Unsurprising really, he was one of the clingier brothers. Not that you minded. It was nice sometimes to feel so wanted. Though it was different this time. You could feel the ebb and flow of his magic rippling in the close space. Usually, he had the best control suppressing it in your company. It would have been terrifying if it had been another one of the brothers. Last time one of them ‘lost their cool’ had ended badly for you. “Mammon?”

“What?” He twitches, head jerking to an odd angle. His eyes turn sharp as he looks at you appraisingly. Hungrily. “Oh right, sorry.” The demon releases you. “I’m fine, just need to stretch my legs is all.” He pushes past, for once trying not to give into temptation. 

“Can I join? I need a break from all this paperwork. I know I said I’d help Lucifer, but damn.” You laugh placing the stack down on an end table. He chokes on the idea. Yesss~ his inner beast coos in delight. You were making this too easy. He could keep you all to himself, tucked away where no one else could have you. Lucifer would never know.

“I-I don’t want the company.” He grits out, rolling his shoulders in agitation. At himself or you, only the devil would know. “Ain’t a place for little humans.” His response is short and sharp. He could feel his talons growing under his nail beds. Mammon hisses in irritation, he didn’t want to scare you away. Not after everything else you’ve been through. 

“Oh…” It hurts him to hear you so dejected like this. Perhaps- you had handled a lot so far. One more thing won’t kill you. 

“Look-promise not to tell and you can join.” Mammon turns scratching at his neck. "I don't need my brothers knowing where I go. Our little secret?" 

“Our little secret.” You take his hand with a coy grin. 

It wasn’t a long walk. It was pleasant your warm hand wrapped in his. The connection quelled some of the avarice brewing inside. He approaches the edge of the cliff with satisfaction. The precipice looks down into the wilds of the Devildom. It was a beautiful sight really. The heavy gloam of eternal twilight cast a purple haze over the treetops. In the distance, the downtown district twinkle. Mammon exhales happily into the breeze. The wind was picking up. Good. 

Mammon turns to you taking in your apprehension. You lean over the side, looking down into the abyss. "This isn't much of a walk." You chuckle nervously eyeing the deadly drop. A strong gush upsets your balance. Squeaking, you grip onto his sleeve. Your little human nails dig into the leather of his jacket. Cute. 

"Not done yet." He sheds his glasses and coat folding them neatly by the ledge. "It ain't much farther, but it is a ride." He could shred the pants and shirt. Luci owed him a new wardrobe as is. Stretching his arms over his head he grunts. His remaining wings practically vibrate in anticipation. "Promise not to scream?"

"Scream?" Your question is lost in the ruffle of feathers and creak of bone. You gasp back away from the massive beast in front of you. Mammon stood beside you, his body almost blending in with the darkness around you. Dozens of eyes blink owlishly at you, they glimmer like diamonds. They are bright and breathtaking, the depth in them almost sucking you in. He clicks the remnants of his razor-sharp beak expectantly. "Mammon?" You approach, palms outstretched. 

He cocks his head to almost disappearing into the night as he closes all his eyes at your touch. He adjusts himself as you pet down his large head. Overly carful of where your hand was to make sure you are not in danger of cutting yourself with his damaged beak. "How many more layers to you brothers are there?" He laughs in relief, cawing loudly as you bury your hands in his feathers. "Ok. So what's the plan?"

Mammon crouches low bumping his shoulder to you. You take the hint and clamber onto his broad back. Shifting awkwardly he squawks as you pull some feathers. “Sorry! Sorry!” He turns and pecks at your hand gently. Pulling at your sleeves, he makes sure you have a good grip at the base of his neck. Feeling you settle he leaps. 

Bounding for the ledge, his strong wings flex and catch the wind. He glides on the gust with practiced ease. Years of plummeting and failure made this success all the sweeter with you there as he carries them higher. He could feel your laughter through his body. Your shouts of elation get swallowed by the howling around them. Oh, how he revels in it. He wants more of this.

The flight was quick. Before long he descends, unfurling his legs as he lands. Long talons cut into stone as he grasps the side of the cliff. Effortlessly he slinks up the side. The hard coils of muscle on his back and legs bunch and pull under you body. The sinuous roll of it causes you to grip him tighter lest you fall off. He purrs at the feel of you clinging to him. Perhaps he should keep you here, all to himself. Mammon reaches his destination and allows you to slide off of him to look about. 

The mouth of the cave was cast in heavy shadows from surrounding trees. The moon covered by clouds flashing briefs glimpses of deeper in. You follow as the Great Mammon lumbers past you to delve deeper.  Jogging after him, you place a hand on his flank trusting him to guild you. What did he have here? This looks nothing like a place Mammon would go to. He chirps and caws trying to talk though it was impossible to understand as he lead you down deeper. His tail swooshing excitedly behind him. It was sweet, his palpable joy rubbing off on you.

As you reach the inner depth of the cave you left go of him to shield your eyes. The sudden light accosting you. The inner cave was huge, eternal sconces lighting as he entered to reflect off of a dazzling array of items. Mammon crows smugly leaving you to gape at the entrance. 

The demon crawls into a nest made of gold and bolts of expensive fabrics.  Yawning widely, he wiggles himself deeper into the coins. Large crystalline eyes drooping pleasantly at the warmth of his cave. While he dozes you walk around the large treasure trove. You run your hands over no doubt priceless jewels and sets of armor. Clothes and jewelry litter the floor as maps and pieces of art cover most of the walls and ceiling. Their golden frames glowing from the light of the sconces making the space glow richly. He even had some tomes stacked neatly in the corner, each cover embossed with gold and silver. You pick one up intrigued by the design of the cover.

"You sure you were a dragon in a former life? " You ask flipping though a few pages before putting it back. Mammon snorts rolling his eyes. You grin eyeing his bed of treasures. "Can I join you?" It looked rather comfy and he obviously wasn't going to be moving anytime soon. Knowing Mammon there was no way you could leave this place without his help. So might as well get comfortable.

Mammon is silent for a moment before clicking his beak, wings opening to invite you in. You scramble up close grabbing a few stray pillows as you go. Making a mini nest of your own beside him you tuck yourself in. 

If a bird could smile he would be beaming at the feel of your body resting against his feathered side. Draping a wing over you he settles in for a nap.

Yes, you would be the perfect final piece to his collection.

[bansheeoftheforest]

Sorry for sending something again so soon but I’m obsessed with this now.

For the Syndicate AU + Gang leader AU what if Lucy, Jacob and Henry have to do a heist or something together and Rachel happens to be in the area and sees what happened?

I’m sorry again for asking so soon and if I worded things weirdly.

-🦎

(Lizard, Liz, my guy, I have anons that send me asks at 10 asks per minute and I love them with all my heart, there is no such thing as spamming with me with asks or sending them "too soon" <3)

That would be so fucking funny and I'm not even kidding. Like Lucy telling Rachel to stay away from X place bc they are planning to do a heist, an emergency happens and Rachel has to be there anyways for other reasons, she catches the tail end of Lucy, Jacob, and Henry running out of the building ziplining up on a nearby building running like they are straight out of hell???? Can you imagine the confusion?? Or even better. She recognises Jacob and Lucy but Henry, bc he is Dr. Henry Jekyll, wears a mask to cover his face, only for her to find said mask in a chest when she cleans his office (without his permission) the next day?

He would have a lot of explaining to do. So would Lucy. It would be very fun <3

Oh wait oh my god. An assassination mission with them... Jacob has a mission but they need Lucy's help with it and Henry can smuggle them in if it's in a fancy place like a ball or banquet or smt, Rachel seeing how Henry smuggles them in trying to not act suspicious??? Oh fuck yeha.

[madraleen]

Any Way The Wind Blows (Rainbow Rowell) – 4/5 stars. More arbitrary stars under the cut, and jot-it-down-as-it happens commentary.

5 stars for Simon, Baz, and SnowBaz. 5 stars for the Salisburys, would recommend for a long lost family. 4 stars for Penny and Shepard. 3 stars for friendship shenanigans. 2,5 stars for Agatha, my sweet summer child why. 2,5 stars for the non SnowBaz-related conflicts, because huh? 2,5 stars for plot, because how did we get here? ??? stars for pace.

Commentary

-Lady Ruth!! We have an uncle! Simon, let’s find Jamie! -Simon, for fuck’s sake, answer the man’s texts, he deserves that much. Break my heart with unanswered texts, why don’t you. -I know this must happen. I know they must separate and breathe. I know. But it hurts. -Where is Agatha? I need her and her not giving two shits about any of this, I’m overwhelmed. -I don’t want Baz to find Simon. Somehow, I think that’ll be worse. Leaving him with a note is the worst thing (well, second worst next to saying nothing, I guess). -Lmfao, never has art in a book scared me so. A wand? Is it Baz’s? Why is it bent? WhAT DOes It ALL MEaN! -SIMON. I love you so much, Simon, please, use your words, even if it’s to give him closure, a reason, something. It’s hard, but Baz deserves it and you deserve it, please, love. -This is exactly how I’d pictured Baz reacting to Simon breaking up with him. -“Use your words,” he sneers. (That’s right, that’s my boy). SIMON, you’ve just cut out my heart and stomped on it, ey. -I understand Simon, but I also stuttered out cries when he said it’s not working between them because he’s not a magician. Baz, I’m with you, I support you, I love you. -I love that Baz’s brain works sharply even as he is in distress. - I do believe they’re endgame, so I’m super excited to see HOW, after all this. -“I never thought I’d be the first thing you ever gave up on.” Bazzzz, my man, the shade, I love you! -I expected the breakup in the beginning so that we’d have time to build up to being a thing again, but oh man. I understand Simon looking at Baz and only seeing who HE isn’t and what HE lost, but oh man. -Agatha is the best, yes Agatha, bring us relief! -Oomph, I’m so sad. How do we fix this, Baz is completely broken and Simon completely lost and overwhelmed. -Is there an overarching plot? There’s so many things – the goblins, Fiona’s rummaging, the curse, missing Jamie, maybe NowNext. Who’s the main antagonist? -Honestly, I just want to read about fierce Agatha and splendid Shepard rn, everything else hurts. -Please remind me henceforth to refer to vampires as “sexy bedbugs.” Thank you, Baz, I’m with you, I love you. -I absolutely adore Baz’s relationship with Daphne and his siblings. I’ve loved it since the glimpses in Carry On. -I think Fiona is seeing Nicodemus, I’ve believed so even before picking up the book. -Simon Snow is on our door?!?! What’s happening, what is happening! I’m getting whiplash! I was not prepared, wait, help! -“This is our soundtrack now.” Omfg, I love Baz. -But damn, I love Simon, I love his voice. If it all goes well, I can’t wait to reread the book with the necessary peace of mind to soak it all in in its proper context. -Lmfao, Simon says, "I came to tell you something" and I am honestly scared to turn the page and see what it is. This is going splendidly. -Baz slams the door on Simon’s face?! I fucking gasped and clutched my peals!!! Oh M Y GOD. -“I never believed in us”??? I understand what he’s saying, but oh my God, why have you come, Simon, why are you here, this hurts! -The way they CRY differently, Baz more restrained and Simon just letting the tears fall and licking them as needed, I absolutely adore it. -Where is this going, Simon, we’re all crying, are you happy now? (I know you’re not, I’m sorry, I love you, this is just hard). -This part is really just me hitting the book and biting my hand and muttering, “We’re fine, we’re fine, we’re fine,” with the occasional cry of “RAINBOWWWW.” -Simon is saying I love you Simon is saying I love you Simon is saying – AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH. I gasped. So hard. Deep breaths. We’re fine. It’s fine. -I love this “trying” so much. I love my boys so much. -My heart is whole, my crops are watered, flowers are blooming, birds are singing, Simon and Baz are sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. -Simon is relieved that he’s still with Baz, I’m relieved that he still has wings, all is right. -“I just want to be with you,” I say. “And this is where we are now. I’m a broken-down mess, and you’re a rat-drinking monster.” Poetry. POETRY! -Shepard, you’re all I

need, these people are too much for me. -Reading fanfiction of what. Reading fanfiction of what, Penny. -Oh shut up, Shepard saved her chalks. -We should go to the Mage’s estate. -I love Simon. He has this pureness. -“Simon took the napkin, then licked the butter off his arm.” Yes, Simon, I love you. -Catch me at 1am making love oaths to Simon. Really, I can’t blame Baz, it’s just a Simon thing. -Omfg hold me, we’re going to Lady Ruth’s! -Low-key loving that the Salisburys and the Pitches are on good terms already. Love that the boys are hitting it off with Lady Ruth. -Smith-Richards is promising people magic? Oh. Oh, this took a turn. I have zero idea where any of this is going. -Okay, hello, I love Lady Ruth. -Obviously I’m more invested in Baz and Simon than in anyone else, but every time there’s a Baz or Simon chapter, I’m actually petrified at what might come. -Smith is shady, I don’t like him. -Baz really be serving looks in this book. -“I would have liked to have had you for a friend here.” Oh my bb boy Simon, that is so soft. -Oh shut up, Baz left a rose for Lucy. -WILL there be an emergency? Will Baz drink Simon’s blood? Why are we dwelling? -Simon, talk to Penny, my love. I know we’re doing the thing where you’re both recovering from your co-dependency, but seriously, love, talk to her. -Come on, Shep, kiss the girl!! Oomph, they’re so cute. -Oooh, we’re doing the deep cut, we’re doing Philippa, we’re tying off threads, nice! Also ouch. But nice. -NICODEMUS, called it. -Yayyy, the gang is reuniting. But who are we fighting? Who’s the antagonist? Why are the goats leaving? -Baz has a key?! Whoa, Simon! -Well, fuck indeed about your magic, Simon, but did you try calling the sword? -"So no one is cursed…” “Just you, babe.”Ahahahahaha! Sorry. -Will a goblin attack the flat? What was up with the goblin back at the beginning? -“Mmm,” he mmms. POETRY! -I’m sorry, Simon, you have a key to a hidden waterfall?! Care to elaborate? -Baz, my love, let Simon take care of you for once, it’s okay. He wants to do it. He can do it. -“I love you,” he says. “It’s good.” Awww, my bb Simon. -What do you mean immune to magic? What’s happening? -Oh wait, he’s culling the less powerful mages? Is that it? -I see you lying, Simon Snow. -Wait, but why is Simon immune? Is it because he’s a dead spot? -It IS a culling. -��What, that’s it? We’re just arresting Smith on a rooftop? That’s it? -IS Simon a dead spot? And if he is, does that mean that the magic will return? What does it all mean??? -But how did Lucy die??? -“y” S I M O N you’re a texting icon, I love you. -Baz, my man, I’m with you as usual, I don’t want the wings and tail gone either. -I have ten pages left and I’m hysterically hopeful and scared, with the amount of threads that are still loose. -But... a family sword? -Kinda disappointed that Simon didn’t get his magic back, but it’s a bold move, I respect it. -Agatha gets the epilogue?? That’s a choice.

[bohrapbois]

imagine of the borhap boys + lucy in a quarantine zoom call?

Rami and Lucy were lucky enough to get quarantined with each other, so they weren’t overly lonely. The downside was they were in a city, so they were indoors near enough the entire day, every day. So when she suggested a Zoom group with the cast, Rami didn’t see any harm in it. 

God, was he a fool.

The moment it was suggested in the Band Group Chat, it spiralled out of control. Although it would technically be 4am in the morning in the UK, Ben was the first to answer. He started with normal texts but then they started turning weird, with randoms gifs and emojjis popping up halfway through a conversation. This summoned the redhead, and Joe only worsened the madness Ben was suffering from and only keyboard smashes happened for a few minutes. But then when the sleep exhausted Brit dropped off, the group chat fell silent until a few hours later. 

Gwil only put ‘??????????’ and Lucy explained what was going on, Gwil agreed it was a good idea and by the time Ben woke up again, Zoom group was set up, so after he groggily downloaded the app on his phone, they were underway.

Lucy and Rami joined first, both on different devices in different rooms because they wanted the experience of zoom, but Gwil joined in soon and they had brief lovely catchup before both boys of chaos joined at once. 

Ben was laying on his sofa, hood pulled up around his face and it looked like he could drop off to sleep at any moment. Obviously, he was on his phone, whilst it looked like the others were on laptops, but he didn’t care, it just meant they had to see an extreme closeup on their screens. And it had only been a few minutes of mindless chatter before he was swearing. Frankie had decided she wanted to join in, jumping on the sofa and shoving her way between Ben and his phone, making the device fall from his hands. “Ah fucking hell,” they could all hear him cursing as they now looked up at the ceiling, seeing Ben half wrestling his dog as she tried to climb over him, and eventually he was able to grab his phone. Now, the extreme closeup was of Frankie, Ben half obscured in the background. The group went crazy. They all started complimenting her, saying what a good girl she was and how many treats they’d giver her, yes they will, yes they will! She began wagging her tail, wacking Ben in the face and making him splutter before he finally gave up and sat upright, Frankie settling on his lap.

Gwil thought it’d be a good idea to show them his garden, he had been working quite hard on it actually, so off he went, laptop held in his arms as he started the tour. It was going well for a while, and the gang learnt quite a lot about planting times of years and what plants look best where, but soon the internet was getting a bit thin, and they were only catching parts of his sentences, and blurry pixelated images of bright colours and half of Gwils face. They tried to tell him it wasn’t working, go back inside, but obviously, Gwil could hardly hear them with the crackling audio, so he carried on for a bit longer before realising what was going and retreated inside. Lucy asked for more photos of the garden, and that cheered him back up again.

Updating everyone on what was going on in their lives, Lucy and Rami were talking over each other before stopping, starting again and then talking over each other again. Ben groaned, just blanking them both as they tried their hardest to get themselves in order, but it wasn’t working. It wasn’t until Joe shouted at them both to shut up and suggest that Rami tell one story, Lucy tells another that it dawned on them both that that was actually a really good idea. But whenever the other got really excited and spoke over their partner, the gang would glare at them until they shut up. It took a while, but they finally heard the funny anecdote Rami had to say.

After listening to the stories, having a laggy tour of Gwil’s garden and promising Frankie treats, Joe had to excuse himself to get some food. He didn’t want to leave the screen empty but also didn’t want to leave the call, so he reached over and fiddled of screen for a moment before one of the Broccoli Men from his video appeared, facing the camera. The others laughed, said it was like Joe hadn’t even left, and Joe was happy enough that the gang would be happy enough talking between each other as he grabbed food. But as he returned a few minutes later, pot noddle and coffee in hand, he heard shouts coming from his laptop. “The fucker is staring into my soul, I swear!” He heard Ben yell out, Gwil agreeing. “He knows all my secrets!” Lucy complained before Joe managed to get back on screen. They all screamed louder, begging him to get rid of Broccoli Man and as Joe shoved it off-screen, they all cheered. 

Although they were thousands of miles away and in vastly different time zones, it was like they were in the same room together.

Zoom calls became a twice-weekly occurrence, and they had a tally on how many times Ben fell asleep on screen. It was already in double figures. 

I had a lot of fun with this piece!! Hope you guys like it. Also, yes, in my mind Ben still has Frankie so shhhhhh don’t ruin this for me

[f-ngrl]

Luci Gang - 꼬리잡기 (Catch The Tail) MV

[thedevilsnewsky]

A Fairy Tail Rant

Man, for fucks sake, can the anime community just back the fuck off a little.

I mean it’s been years and awhile ago since Fairy Tail ended and beat on it like it’s a joke and call it trash still. I know it’s not a masterpiece and I know and the fandom knows what Mashima writing isn’t the best but, seriously the show has some good aspects to it and to beat on it and say it’s crap it’s a dead horse in itself.

Some things Fairy Tail does do well!

Character design (most of them aren’t boring and bland like the “alike” syndrome a lot of anime characters from another anime. A boy with pink hair who still looks like they could still kick your ass, b*tch what the fuck that’s insane)

Good Female Lead (Lucy Heartfilla is a great Female Lead, and she does her job well of being the sane, grounded, and relatable person of Team Natsu. Plus she never feels overpowered and every win or accomplishment she makes feels like she’s earned it (though I can say there were times where I think she was cheated out of a win, but that’s a later post))

Good Character Development and Relationship Development

Despite Erza being a pretty bland character after Tenrou (At least that’s what I think), she had the one of best Fairy Tail arcs dedicated to her; The Tower of Heaven Arc! That’s not mention the progress that Natsu has made in terms of maturity (in some aspects) or how Lucy has become a much stronger person and character!

Also yeah Relationship Development I’ll make it short

This

Becoming this

This

Becoming this

This

Becoming this

And this

Becoming this

And then this

(Yeah their story is a tad bit complicated but basically there Relationship went from “I hate you-I love you-I hate you again” to “I have a Fiancé” to “This girl is named Wendy she is our daughter now”.)

And alll this ships have gotten approirated good development for their relationships. NaLu has to mature and they did throughout the course of the series, Gruvia had to get over Relationship borders (aka Gray being more opened to Juvia’s warmth and Juvia being less of a crazy “I’ll cut your tit off if you go near him” stalker), Galevy gaining trust within another and Gajeel learning what it means to live for another. Jerza getting over past trama and guilt, and guess what these ships still have room for development and are still developing!

The characters get to chill in the guild

Look how many movies or shows you’ve watched just been “Action, Action, action” well Fairy Tail is one of those rare shows that’s let’s the characters well be characters in a more relaxed environment (aka being at home in magnolia in fairy tail and just chilling) and it happens quite a bit too.

The story sticks to the premise/goal

Listen I got nothing against One Piece, I’m not a fan of it but I made sure to give it a try (I watched like 150 episodes before giving up and deciding I’ll never catch up), but it the goal of the series/ultimate premise point is to find the one piece. 700 episodes later and for some reason Luffy and the Gang are fighting some other pirates and it has nothing to do with the One Piece!? Wait have they been looking for it anyway!? Luffy you said you wanted to be the the pirate king but why you not looking for the one piece and are getting involved with a plot against the world government?! Luffy?!

Anyway Fairy Tails premise is just about a band of misfits and they’re family like guild going around and having adventures and they do that! Not to say there are a few flaws in execution, the main idea is barely twisted and has never been betrayed.

I would say more but in all honesty I would say I named some of Fairy Tail’s strongest postives but if I were to go deeper I would need to split up the anime from the manga and It’s two am so maybe another date.

[what-makes-me-feel-better]

I did a quick fanfic of fairy tail and wanted to share it with you guys 😅.

Its a gang AU with Gajevy but there are other characters as well. I don’t feel good and wanted to see if writing made me feel better. So here it is 😅.

Levy was walking home from her part time job at the bookstore. Her best friend Lucy said that there had been a new gang popping up in town and she had told her to be careful after closing up the shop. She didn't pay much attention to it because it was Lucy being Lucy.

Levy had turned the corner to continue on her way home when she saw a group of people on motorcycles surrounding two guys. She gasped and hid behind the wall again. " lu-Chan was right" she whispered under her breath and looks around the corner again to see what they look like. There were two people off to the side who were just kinda watching it go down. One was a large man who had a scar on his arm and long dark hair. There was a girl who was next to him with bright blue hair in a pony and she was leaning against the wall next to the man and staring very intently at one of the guys they're talking to.

She couldn't stop staring as she saw that there were two gangs there and she knew the two they were surrounding. It was grey and natsu from a group called fairy tail. She knew of them because Lucy and her sometimes go over to hang out with them. She also noticed that the other gang was called phantom lord because they had it on their leather jackets. There was a group against just gray and natsu and she was worried about how they were going to get out of it.

The group inched closer to natsu and gray so she acted out of instinct and threw a rock and hit one of the guys in the back of the head knocking him out. She then gasped as natsu and grey took the chance to start fighting the gang while the guy with long hair flared at her and got on his bike to chance her.

She realized her mistake and looked horrified as she turned to run away back towards the bookstore. Maybe she could get in before he caught up to her. She could hear his motorcycle catching up to her so she turned down an ally and stopped in horrific realization that it wasn't the ally it was a dead end and she was so scared that she realized she turned too late. She looked back to see the guy getting off of his back and she dropped her books and backed up to the wall terrified of what he'd do to her.

The man with dark hair got off of his bike and stormed towards her and then laughed a little seeing how tiny she was.

" how did a shrimp like you knock one of my guys out?" He asked as he got closer to her. She was too scared to say a word so she just stared at him. Her brown eyes brimming with tears about to fall and shaking to death. He laughed again " you're kinda cute" she looked down the only thing she could do in her fear stricken state. " is he going to hurt me? Kill me?" She thought to herself shaking uncontrollably. He lifted her chin up to look him in the eyes and said " I think you owe my gang a favor for interrupting our little fight..." levy had a chill run down her spine when he smiled at her. She was about to speak when another person comes around the corner.

" gajeel! We gotta go leave her alone she's not worth it!" Levy looked and saw the girl from before. The blue hair peaking out from her helmet and an annoyed look on her face. " yeah yeah calm down juvia im coming!" He glared back then looked at levy and let her go backing away slowly. " ima find ya you still owe my gang shrimp" he said as he got back on his bike and followed the girl. She slid down the wall and covered her mouth as tears rolled down her cheeks. "what have I gotten myself into?"

[natsubeatsrock]

“Lisanna meant more dead than alive.”

This statement is one that I've seen pop up very often. This always comes up whenever the discussion comes to her in-series role post-Edolas. As the argument goes, she was important to characters before she was thought to be dead. But when she came back, she had little to do with and was pushed to the sidelines. 

A few years ago, I would have probably made a different post than this. What I would probably have done is defend Lisanna's usefulness in series to characters after her return. I'd maybe even blame the fandom for how things ultimately went down and point out the hypocrisy of this statement.  

However, I've thought about this particular statement more as I think more about changing the series as a whole. One of the tricky things about what I want to do is make stuff that didn't happen in any form of Fairy Tail seem at least plausible. To do anything important, I have to justify my decisions with 

I want to (and plan to) give her more stuff to do, but there's kind of a limit. Like, I could absolutely do stuff like make Lisanna about as important as Lucy to the series if I wanted to. She could be a member of Team Natsu who gets her own major fights and substantial screen time. However, at that point, I feel like I'd go too far past what could have happened. 

And, after the whole thing with Mashima in France, I started to ask myself a different question: Would we, as a fandom, actually want Lisanna to do more in the series after coming back? 

Off the bat, part of me is skeptical of this question because of the reaction to stuff like additions to the anime. Shinji Ishihara and his team added a ton of stuff about Lisanna that wasn't in the original manga. While I think that they're all amazing additions, especially when they deal with her impact on other characters, this isn't the consensus opinion. To many people, this is exactly the kind of thing that drove them to believe that she was going to do more stuff in the future. They wish this kind of stuff wasn't added so they wouldn't get their hopes up for the future. 

But, that might just be me being pessimistic. I mean, after all, that's the anime. Any changes from any manga into anime usually are met with some level of hostility by fans. It would be insane of me to think that they could just add more moments for Lisanna and it not get ripped apart as stuff that didn't happen like most other anime-only moments. 

And, of course, it's not like every addition the anime made was treated well by fans. Some (usually the Nalu-oriented stuff) are well-liked, but fans considered the anime-only arcs to be among the worst, usually citing Daphne arc as the worst arc in the series. (Not for long, though.) And Gruvia fans aren't too happy with how Juvia was treated in some of those arcs.

What about if Mashima himself decided to incorporate more of Lisanna in the manga? That's definitely worth thinking about for a bit.

After all, we apparently almost got a love triangle between her, Natsu, and Lucy. Would we be able to handle the implications of Lisanna getting enough time for fans to genuinely be convinced that she might end up with Natsu? (Not that what we got stopped fans like me, to begin with.) What's more, would this fandom be okay with the possibility of her actually ending up with Natsu? 

And I know some of you may be thinking, "That would be weird, Natsu and Lisanna wouldn't be that popular." What if it were? What if Mashima actually wrote the series so that more people were convinced that Nali was going to happen over Nalu? Heck, what if that wasn't the case and it just happened that Nali ended up actually being the more popular ship? 

Of course, that's only ships. There's plenty of other ways Lisanna could have been more important in the series after her return. For instance, what if she actually did join Team Natsu? Yeah, what if probably of the only things I like about those "Lucy leaves" stories actually end up happening and Lisanna actually gets to work along with Natsu, Lucy and the rest of the main gang? 

What would that be like? How would she stack up against some of the more serious threats in the series? (Hopefully, her Tartaros matchup would be better than Lamy.) 

But that's not the only way she could have become more important. What would it be like if Lisanna were to actually get more important moments as a side character? 

Here's a simple one: What if she were the one to take Wendy's place in the Grand Magic Games, instead of Elfman? That would mean she takes them up to compete in Labyrinth, she's the one who gets to fight Bacchus (for herself and Mira, no less), and she'd still probably end up severely injured after the fact. Is that something that would honestly be seen as okay for Lisanna to do? 

Now, I'm not going to pretend that I absolutely know how the fandom would react to these questions. However, I don't want these to be questions that the fandom as a whole considers. I feel as though you should ask yourself some of these questions. I think it would be irresponsible for me to do this and not give my own opinions on this. 

I'd absolutely love to see more of Lisanna. I'd love to see how a potential romantic relationship, successful or otherwise, would be written between her and Natsu with a love triangle in mind. (Though, I'm absolutely not disappointed that we didn't get a love triangle.) I'd love to see what it would be like if she were an actual member of the strongest team. It would be cool to see how she would act in a fight post-Edolas. I mean, she showed more progress in her magic than Elfman. 

On that note, I don't know that Lisanna going instead of Elfman is that insane an idea. Obviously, it didn't happen, but it's not like it couldn't have happened. Lisanna proved to be better than Elfman at Take-Over magic before going to Edolas. With enough training, she could probably outdo Elfman again in terms of skill. Of course, I say that and I'll probably make it so Elfman goes like in canon proper. 

The one thing I would be worried about is that I'm not sure how getting more of Lisanna would impact her character. As the series went on [insert specific characters here that we all disagree got worse over time] were written as worse than they were introduced to us as. Of course, the rest of the series fell off after [insert point when the series fell off we can't seem to agree on]. However, it especially hurts to see characters act against established motivations of and learned lessons from previous arcs. 

With Lisanna, we didn't have as much time to establish her character as, Juvia or Levy, secondary characters fans argue got worse as the series went on. However, a basic idea for her character was set in the moments we got. I'm afraid that Mashima would either turn away from her gentle side and turn her into just a prankster or turn from her playful side and only make her a sweet character.  

But it's not like I'd expect the majority of the fandom to catch on to that anyway. I don't see a lot of good fan characterizations of Lisanna. That's not just from the perspective of "I can't believe that you idiot Nalu shippers would write Lisanna as even close to how you do when she kicks Lucy off Team Natsu" I took well over a year ago. Like, I can count on one hand the number of writers I've seen give good, canon-based portrayals of Lisanna Strauss in fanfiction. Everyone else usually writes Lisanna as “Diet Mirajane, with a twist of Lucy” or just “Diet Lucy”. Then again, half of the writers who write Lisanna in a way I like ship Nali and agree with a lot of the stuff I've said about it over the years, so take that for what you will. 

And this goes back to the main question at hand: would the fandom actually want more Lisanna Strauss in canon? From what I can tell, most people don't even know that much about Lisanna in the first place. Of course, a good part of that is exactly why the argument for more of her happens at all. However, you're not getting a whole lot of it from the perspective of wanting more of her. You get it from the idea that she shouldn't have been brought back or existed in the first place.

The difference between the two is important. One is seeing how awesome a character could be or already is and wants to see those interesting things brought out more. The other is comes from wondering if something could somehow be made to be more useless than it already seems. One of these mentalities results in a character like Levy getting more screentime than originally intended. The other results in characters taking pot shots when the anime gets abridged.  

There goes me being pessimistic again... 

In Conclusion: 

Regardless of how you feel about Lisanna's handling in canon, it's interesting to think about how she could have gotten more of a chance to shine. Still, I'm doubtful if the fandom wants more or less of her.

Oh, by the way, I participated in r/anime’s 750k writing competition a while back. I wrote in defense of the idea that Fairy Tail is a series that has good ideas with bad execution. If you’re interested, especially if you aren’t following my rewrite series, check it out. Be warned that I was a bit “stuffier” writing that essay than I normally am here and I don’t think it’s some of my best writing (as some people commented).