#mostly crash and burn

[st-guliks-fnord]

Finally onto the brand new 6th Cat’s Eye Chronicles book after doing a full series reread and this is…not what I expected. Ig I shouldn’t be surprised that even 6 years (and books) on Crash & Sora are still doing a “will they won’t they” “this will never work out clearly they don’t have feelings for me & I can’t love them even though they consume my every waking thought” but I am genuinely disappointed that a love triangle appeared, now, in book 6, after how much I praised this series for never doing a love triangle during Peak YA Love Triangle Ubiquity when I was a teenager.*

*(Caprion was never for a moment a love triangle option Shreffler just needs us all to know that every significant male character in these books is Tall, Gorgeous, and Rippling With Muscle because would it even be a fantasy romance otherwise. Sora was the eyes telling us how gorgeous Caprion was but c’mon his only romantic option was always Moss/Krait and he and Sora didn’t have a single romantic moment together for all Caprion and Crash didn’t get along bc of fantasy world racism between the Harpies and Nameless)

Also the sudden demon a/b/o dynamics energy with all of the Sixth Race being able to see that Crash dicked Sora down two years ago and referring to her as his mate when that was never a thing unless you count him telling her once, immediately before the aforementioned sex, that afterwords she would “always be his”. And his weird possessiveness without the sentimentality. He’s always been quiet, and they’ve been apart for two years, but they were only ever more physically intimate after moments of increased emotional intimacy. The intermittent physical heat between them without them breaking communications back open just feels wrong. The idea of Crash’s demon marking her somehow so she’s inherently more…susceptible to him (very a/b/o energy), without her knowing about it, when previously she was in control of whenever their relationship progressed physically also feels wrong and almost certainly will lead to a big fallout between them. Where would their relationship be without the misunderstanding->fight->make up pattern, I suppose. But he’s just Not Talking to her again. How many times have we relearned this exact lesson now, Crash? Every single book so far? Yeah okay.

Also not so much a fan of Sora suddenly constantly collapsing from this magic sickness in her cat’s eye; yes she’s always been a Mary Sue character but she kicked so much ass in books 4 and 5 and this simpering waif collapsing alternately into the arms of Crash or Gracen thing is so much worse. Like she got in the one ass-kicking of Nameless savants and then immediately got spelled, what happened to her cat’s eye protecting her from all magic including the Dark God’s plague this just feels like…a different canon than the previous series. The six year time gap from the publication of book 5 doesn’t help I’m sure, but what the hell.

Plus didn’t Caprion destroy a full-blooded demon in the novella? But now the big “series finale” sacrifice in book 5 just destroyed Cerastes’ mortal body but not his demon?? When everyone stressed so much that the whole reason for a Seraph existing was to destroy demons by sacrificing themselves in a blaze of extremely powerful light? What is the point of killing the mortal vessel if the demon survives anyway?? And is more powerful outside of a body? And apparently more powerful than a Cat’s Eye which previously was simply Not A Thing?

At this point I have to finish it, and I see that there’s supposed to be a 7th book which I assume means that Sora and Crash are not going to smooth out their relationship before the end of this one, but honestly if Sora ends up with Gracen after 6 whole books of this painfully slow slowburn with Crash I’ll be more disappointed than when book 5 ended with them going off to pursue their separate goals with the implication that they’d end up together later after some time to mature on their own, because that just made sense after the tumultuous relationship they’d established. But honestly both of them had emotionally matured so much by book 5 that this 6th book feels like backwards progress. Like this book legit does the exact thing Drew Gooden just called out in his recent Star Wars video, it legit gives Sora PTSD so her character has regressed & needs to redo the development she already had, while also making her physically ill so she’s back to being just as useless as she was in Book 1 before her entire development of becoming strong enough to feel confident in her skills and herself & to meet and converse with Crash as an equal…where is the Sora that impressed Crash with her understanding that he needed time to go back to The Hive and confront his past to truly move forward but trusted him to come back to her, like I’m tired.

[silverskye13]

Had a really bizarre nightmare(?) last night.

[stupidphototricks]

I've watched more of the British Whose Line is it Anyway than the US version, but I think it breaks down approximately like:

Colin on British WLIIA: My goal is to make the other performers look good and have a successful show

Colin on US WLIIA: My goal is to make the other performers (and particularly Ryan) laugh so hard that they can't talk

[justablah56]

hi guys I'm home from camping 👍 I survived mostly 👍

[marklikely]

always remember that you dont have to listen to bad ttrpg podcasts if you don't like them. nobody is holding a gun to your head

[loganslowdown4]

I wrote this a long time ago

After WTIT (can you believe it’s been over 2 yrs already?)😳

Anyway, you know how my brain doesn’t stop?

I think I was in spiral mode back then lol (it’s a bit angsty)

(And this is like worst case, I don’t think it will go down this way anymore) Enjoy!🤪

[rnoonjelly]

My fem!SQQ & fem!LBH sims are available for download Here!

♡ - Includes Tray files and CC for the characters only - no clothes/accessories are in the folder ♡ - Please do not claim the sims as your own creation! ♡ - my photo lighting is Gentle CAS Lighting ♡ - if you use them in your game and post about it, I'd love to see :)

[byberbunk2069]

Updated the "I'm totally normal about them playlist" with three additional tracks and a new playlist cover thing. However if you're in the States you may not be able to listen to Forever by Siouxsie and the Banshees

[skele8rity]

twst has been so funny catching up with. i finished book 3 a couple weeks ago (spoilers ahead) and i was telling my partner (who is caught up relatively) about how it would be sooo funny if leona was Doing All That just to get some sleep and get us out of his fucking hair. like being around us is just that annoying. wouldnt that be hilarious. i could see him doing that. its probably not that but imagine he looks at azul for this and goes "i cant fucking take it anymore."

and my partner bless their heart they had to purse their fucking lips and just nod and mumble "yeah thatd be crazy.... haha..."

[wornkindness]

this is one of those things that deserves a much longer meta because it's been rattling around in my brain for ages. but there's a lot actually about tcw amelia struggles with, pretty much from the start. it only gets worse as the wars going on. she says nothing about it to anyone outside of a very select small group of people. one of them being her father. tbh she spends more time making sure everyone else is taken care of so they don't crumble under the weight of everything before at all looking to herself

[plokoonsdisapprovingeyebrows]

starwars is a pain in the ass to write for sometimes, because i'm a worldbuilding-focused writer, i need my characters to inhabit a world that has detail and logic to it - and starwars sort of has that at the core? in lucas' stuff at least. BUT, at the same time, the characters, their actions, and therefore the story sometimes don't fit very well within the logic of the setting. this is almost definitely bc lucas was essentially writing a fairytale in space; the story has a Message to tell, and so far all of those bad-fit moments that i've noticed fairly obviously tie back to lucas prioritising his Message over granular details.

which doesn't inherently bother me - it was Made For Children, so the background stuff is less important than the coherent message. It does make it a little annoying that if I wanna prioritise the (deeply fascinating and emotionally engaging) worldbuilding, I feel like i have to slather it in so many disclaimers bc usually ppl seem to address this disconnect by prioritising the characters/story. Which is also fair--most ppl get attached to those first lol. It just tends to break what makes the worldbuilding interesting to me lmao. And starwars is one of those fandoms where i'm more interested in side characters, so I kinda don't care if I break the main characters or the story a little bit in the process lol.

[orcelito]

Honestly manga Midvalley and trigun 98 Midvalley are basically two different characters

Yea I wanna punch manga Midvalley constantly, but I also find him interesting & a compelling character. The times I've seen 98 Midvalley he just looks so sleazy lmao it makes me REALLY wanna punch him

Tough choices

[bha3ls]

thinking about how insane rinns pain tolerance must be. like kressa vivisected her whilst she was fully conscious. maybe not in her right mind but conscious! what could really hurt more than that...and how thats changed her attitude towards pain.

[marklikely]

hey what is going on in tech right now that we keep having to do this "new buzzword dominating every conversation you have" thing every year

[honeyncherry]

taste me now - bfb!rafe

summary in which rafe can’t help himself around his little sister’s best friend, especially after what happened last week

content 18+, suggestive

masterlist

Sarah’s laugh rang out across the backyard as the two of you sat by the pool. She was mid-story, something about Kiara’s latest terrible date, or maybe it was JJ’s? You weren’t sure. Her words blurred together, punctuated by exaggerated hand gestures and little bursts of laughter. 

You were doing your best to listen — really, you were.

But you could feel him. 

Rafe was up on the deck, leaning against the railing like he had all the time in the world. A cigarette balanced between his fingers, the faint trail of smoke curled lazily into the air drifting in soft, spiraling ribbons. And while his gaze stayed mostly fixed on the horizon, you knew better.

He wasn’t looking at you, not overtly, at least. But the occasional flick of his gaze in your direction was enough to make your stomach twist.

The memory of that kiss burned hotter than the relentless summer sun. You’d told yourself it was a mistake. An impulsive, heat-of-the-moment lapse in judgment. You were Sarah’s best friend, for goodness’ sake!

There were rules about these things. 

Rules you’d shattered the second his lips touched yours.

And yet, even now, you couldn’t stop thinking about it. About the way his hand had lingered on that sliver of exposed skin between your top and too-short skirt, his touch leaving a trail of warmth that refused to fade. How his other hand settled at the curve of your jaw, his thumb grazing your cheek with a quiet, consuming intensity. As though he were mapping every contour, committing it to memory. And most of all, the way he’d breathed out your name, his voice deep and reverent, like it was something sacred. Something meant to be cherished by him alone.

You shifted in your chair, skin prickling under the weight of your own thoughts. The guilt coiled tight in your chest, its grip almost suffocating. You told yourself again and again that you shouldn’t be looking at him. You shouldn’t even be thinking about him.

But you couldn’t stop.

“Ugh, one sec,” Sarah said suddenly, cutting through the haze in your mind. She glanced at her phone, frowning. “It’s Wheezie. If I don’t answer, she’s gonna call like, five more times.”

She stood, her hair swaying behind her as she made her way toward the house, already pressing the phone to her ear. “I’ll be right back,” she called over her shoulder.

You nodded mutely, not trusting yourself to speak. The moment she disappeared inside the backyard seemed quieter somehow. All sounds around you faded into an oppressive stillness.

You focused in on the pool, trying to steady your breathing while watching the water ripple in the light breeze. Trying to remind yourself that there was nothing to worry about.

But you felt it before you saw him.

A shift in the air. A weight pressing down on your senses. The faint smell of smoke lingering even though the cigarette had been long gone.

His sudden presence made your pulse quicken, and you wondered how he’d gotten so close without you noticing. “Hey baby,” he husked, his voice soft and hurried as he glanced behind him, checking to make sure Sarah wasn’t returning.

“Rafe—” you started, your voice faltering as you looked up. But he didn’t let you finish.

He leaned down abruptly, one hand gripping the armrest of your chair, the other sliding to the back of your head in one swift, almost desperate motion. His fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of your neck without hesitation, and before you could utter another word, he pulled you toward him, his lips crashing into yours.

Once again, you found yourself succumbing to Rafe Cameron far too easily. The kiss was reckless, charged with the heat and tension that had been brewing between you for weeks. Rafe’s teeth teased your lips, his breath warm and beyond intoxicating.

Your hands twitched at your sides, unsure whether to push him away or pull him closer. Instead, they froze, clawing at the fabric of your chair as if anchoring yourself would somehow steady the whirlwind inside you. Your heart clenched, and a shaky exhale escaped against his lips.

Your heart raced, its pounding so fierce it silenced everything else, leaving the world around you a distant blur. Guilt clawed at your mind even as your body betrayed you, leaning ever so slightly into him, just enough to feel his hard chest brushing up against your tits. Rafe groans, pulling away and looking down as they spill out from your bikini top.

He licks his lips, glancing up and shooting you a sleazy grin. He stares just long enough for the both of you to catch a single breath, before muttering two words that would echo in your mind for the next week: “Missed this.”

He kisses you again, lips and tongue all over you. Your mouth, your cheek, your jaw. They move frantically from your ear to your neck. You gasp as a new flood of emotions crashes over you, threatening to pull you under while your hands reach up to grab him. To touch him. To feel him.

“Rafe,” you whispered again, this time more of a plea.

But he’d already pulled back. His movements were measured, almost like he was savoring the moment.

His smirk lingered, curling at the corners of his lips like he knew exactly what chaos he was leaving behind. His gaze flicked to your lips one last time, a shadow of something unreadable crossing his face before he turned his head.

He glanced over his shoulder, pausing for the briefest moment as Sarah’s voice floated faintly from inside the house.

Then, with maddening composure, he straightened. Every movement exuded an infuriating sense of calm, as though nothing just happened.

With his hands slipping casually into his pockets, he turned and headed toward the docks, the sunlight catching the sharp angles of his profile before he disappeared from sight.

You were frozen in place, breath hitched in your throat. Leaning slightly forward, you were still caught in the lingering pull of where he’d held you just seconds ago. Your fingers brushed against your lips, as if needing proof that it had really happened… again.

A weight pressed against your chest, the same dangerous pull from last week, but now it hit harder. It was stronger, deeper, and even more impossible to ignore.

The sound of Sarah’s footsteps jolted you back to reality. Your gaze snapped toward the house just as she stepped outside, phone in hand.

“Ugh, finally,” she groaned, dropping into her chair with a dramatic sigh. The legs scraped faintly against the concrete as she slouched back, completely unaware of the storm still raging inside you. “Wheezie wouldn’t shut up about this jacket she found on sale. I swear, I’m blocking her next time.”

She trailed off, her nose wrinkling as she sniffed the air. Her eyes narrowed, scanning the space around you, “wait. Does it smell like smoke out here?”

No.

Your body went rigid, heart slamming against your ribs like it was trying to break free. “Uh, I don’t think so?” 

Sarah turned sharply, her gaze locking onto you. “Are you sure?” she asked, leaning in closer.

The moment stretched unbearably, your pulse roaring in your ears as you forced a shrug, silently begging her not to see the guilt etched across your face.

“Well, whatever,” she said at last, leaning back in her chair with a dismissive wave. “I swear, Rafe stinks up the whole house when he smokes. So gross.”

You swallowed hard, your tongue brushing over your lips. The faint taste of smoke lingered there, branded on your skin.

You hated how much you liked it.

[past-hale-powiyewe]

More or less a continuation of this or not! You get to decide! 🎊 LMAO but while Tad and Stan are chilling Bill almost electrocutes Ford 😭

Also featuring my sweet sweet Melody 🥳 Melody is gonna be a kick-ass mom with how well she can wrangle his chaotic 1/3 of a tortilla ass 🏋️‍♀️

Hello,

*randomly drops Stadley*

Goodbye

*leaves and refuses to elaborate*

As always Shapes and Pines AU from @void-dude