#my screen time was up 86% this week

[irrelevantlostie]

Some ChatGPT Person of Interest severely out of context ~ Part 1 (??)

Featuring Fusco winning lots of awards and being very confused

[taylorman2274]

We Care About You (Epilogue)

A week after bonding with the Traveler, you log back into Genshin and find that a lot has changed since your last time playing.

Content Warning(s): N/A

Notes: SAGAU; GN!Reader;

Word Count: 1.6k

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Taglist: @silverstarred; @victoria1676; @angelofdarkness2; @areaderspov; @andromeda-gay; @ash1; @mercy-not-merci; @toodledoodl3; @jellyedkazoo; @namine123; @innuwu; @agaygothicmushroom; @tired-of-life-86; @fantasyhopperhea; @sweetsourbxtch; @zenith-of-all-zeniths; @velleunv; @creativecupcake; @obsoletedeviant;

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"Something is wrong..."

Wait. No. That's not the word you should be using.

"Something is different..."

These were the thoughts rummaging through your head as you stared at the door to Teyvat on your computer. Everything up to that point had gone smoothly compared to all the previous times you logged on.

This time, however, you noticed that the time it took the game to get ready was noticeably quicker than usual. Like really quickly. Like almost instantaneous.

Like you didn't even have time to check the notifications on your phone. It was as quick as someone snapping their fingers.

"Not that I'm complaining. All the better!" you happily exclaimed, clicking on the screen and opening the door to Teyvat.

Thinking that this loading screen would last around the same time as before, you looked away from the computer towards your phone with the intent of checking on any new notifications that may have popped up. However, the outdoor ambiance of Teyvat quickly traveled to your ears, signaling that the loading screen came and went just as quickly as the one from earlier.

"Again? How?" you questioned, turning your attention back towards your computer screen. "Why is my computer suddenly able t-"

.

..

...

"...What..."

You could immediately tell that you were in Mondstadt given that you were standing in front of the Barbados statue. But that doesn't make any sense. You logged off at Liyue the last time you played Genshin.

"...The..."

Additionally, the plaza looked much more lively than normal. You've never seen more than ten people occupy the area at one time. But this time, it looked like you were standing in the center of a heavily populated city. People were walking, running, praying, and making conversation. But to top it all off...

...They all looked so real that you almost forgot you were playing a video game.

"...Hell?..."

You moved the camera around to view as much of the plaza as you could, but you quickly came to realize something important.

"Wait... Where's my character?"

Given how much time you've spent playing Genshin, you feel a bit embarrassed that you didn't immediately notice the lack of a player character in the bottom center of your screen.

But now is not the time for such feelings! You've got questions to answer.

You tried looking for them in the crowd but found no sign of them. You turned to the left but yielded the same results. You turned to the left aga-.

"HIYA [Y/N]!!!"

"JESUS!!"

The sudden shout jump scares you so badly that you instinctively lurch backward in your chair. The cord from your headphones was pulled off your head from how far you flung your head back. The cord was also responsible for shifting your computer awry.

You quickly leaned forward and brought a hand to the computer to prevent it from falling off your desk. In doing so, you also got a glimpse of what was shown on your computer screen.

Paimon had both her hands over her mouth, suggesting that she was the one who shouted in your face. Her eyes were dilated, looking frantically all around her. The Traveler was frozen in place behind her, their right arm stretched out towards Paimon.

"Uhhhh, [Y/N]?" Paimon quietly spoke up. "Are you okay?"

Given how clearly you heard Paimon from your headphones on the floor, you figured that part of the reason why you got so scared was because of how loud Paimon was.

Grabbing your headphones, you adjusted the volume before putting them back on.

"I'm alright," you assured her. "I just wasn't expecting that."

Your assurance worked as Paimon began smiling again. "Good! Paimon was worried that she accidentally scared you away again."

You softly chuckled. "Given how much I've been through already, it would take a lot more than that to scare me away."

Paimon happily nodded before flying back over to the Traveler. "Hey, [Y/N]," The Traveler greeted. "It's been a while hasn't it?"

"It has." you agree. "What's going on?"

The Traveler's smile grew. "Straight to the point, I see. In that case, I'll let you in on what Paimon and I have been looking into for the past couple of days."

You leaned back in your chair and propped your elbows on the armrests. You guessed that this was going to take a while to explain.

"Remember what I told you before we sent you back to your world?"

You thought back to that moment.

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

"Do you mind doing a quick favor for me after we send you back to your world?" the Traveler asked.

You nodded. "Sure. What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to not come to Teyvat for a little while."

...

"...Huh?"

"I know it sounds weird but let me explain," the Traveler emphasized with a hand on their chest. "I'm planning on asking Albedo to see if he can strengthen the connection between our two worlds so that we don't have to communicate like this every time. Not only will it be easier, but I don't have to worry about anything going wrong with the summoning ritual."

You crossed your arms. "So why do I not need to log i-... excuse me, not come to Teyvat? That basically goes against the whole reason you summoned me here in the first place."

"I'm worried that any attempt to cross the gap will either damage or destroy the link we have so far. Additionally, Albedo works best when he's not distracted."

You shrugged your shoulders. "Fair enough. But when do you want me to come back?"

The Traveler switched to a thinking pose. "Give me a week at minimum. If nothing comes out of it, I'll summon you here again."

You nodded. "Okay, sounds good. Is that all?"

"That's all. Are you ready to head back now?"

You nodded again. Aether was quick to call Xiao's name and he arrived just a second later.

"Remember. One week from now." The Traveler reminded.

"I know, I know. I won't forget," you assured.

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

"So you got it to work?"

The Traveler nodded. "I did. You should be able to see a noticeable difference from your previous visit."

"So that's what's happening..." you spoke in awe. "Everything looks so much more lively now! I'm even surprised that the computer I'm using can handle all of this."

"...Computer?" Paimon asked, confused.

"Sorry. It's the name of the device I use to get to Teyvat," you explained.

"Oh, THAT'S what's it called!" Paimon exclaimed. "Interesting..."

You chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Yeah. I wish I could show you all how it works."

"Hopefully we'll be able to in the future," The Traveler butted in. "I'm happy with what we've accomplished so far, but I would be even happier if I could have you in Teyvat by my side constantly like Paimon."

You raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't Paimon literally disappear on the regular?"

"HEY! THAT'S NOT TRUE!"

... ... ...

"Oh wait..."

The Traveler laughed. "You know what I mean, [Y/N]."

"Hmph! You guys can make fun of Paimon all you want, but Paimon's been working on something as well!" She floated closer to you and pointed toward the top of your screen. "Go ahead and click on that button for Paimon, [Y/N]."

...

She was pointing at the wish button.

"You can see that?"

"Yep! Now Paimon's able to tell just what exactly you're doing at all times!"

Dear God, that sounds like a nightmare.

You clicked on the wish button. "You better not have done anyth-"

...

"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY PRIMOGEMS?????!!"

"Wait wait wait wait wait, don't panic!" Paimon frantically assured. "Having more is better, right?"

...

...

...

"...[Y/N]?"

"Shut it, Paimon. I'm checking my bank account for any suspicious purchases."

"Paimon did not steal any money from you! Paimon has no way of accessing them anyway!"

"Then why do I have..."

...

"DOES THAT SAY INFINITY????"

The Traveler could only rub the back of their head in embarrassment as their commotion attracted the attention of the majority of people passing by. After all, it wasn't all too common for a Seelie and a fairy to be shouting at each other.

"I don't get it..." you muttered. "There aren't any signs of fraud in my bank account."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Paimon argued. "You should be more grateful. Paimon went through a lot to get those."

You sighed. Truly, Paimon was as unpredictable as ever. "You're right. You're right. Sorry."

"Apology accepted!" Paimon smiled. "Now, using your infinite supply of primogems, make a few wishes on one of the banners."

...How does Paimon understand what all of this is?

Regardless, you went ahead and wished for a ten-pull on the Standard Banner. There wasn't anyone or anything you were really aiming to pull on the character and weapon banners.

The animation played out as usual, the star starting out as blue before slowly turning into gold.

"Oh sweet! Thanks Paimon!"

"Don't thank Paimon just yet! There's plenty more where that came from~!"

The first wish flashed on the screen. "Jean! Finally, I got her!"

The second wish flashed on the screen. "Aquila Favonia?! Two golds back to back?! This is a moment in history! Take a picture!"

The third wish flashed on the screen...

...

...Another gold? That can't be right.

You're not one to judge your luck, but getting three gold items in a row sounds like a load of bull shit to you.

You pressed the skip button to see what the rest of the pulls looked like.

...

They were all gold.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"I know right!" Paimon giggled excitedly. "Just wait until Paimon shows you the other banners!"

...

Paimon is going to get you banned by Hoyoverse, fan-fucking-tastic.

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THE END

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Author's Notes: Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, surprise?

I will be honest, I've had this idea in my head for a while. It honestly could be it's own one-shot if I wanted to, but I felt like it would fit better as an epilogue for my main series.

That being said, if you don’t like this ending or like the previous one better, then go ahead and treat that one as the de facto ending.

Thanks again for all who liked, reblogged, and/or commented on this little series. I appreciate each and every one of you!

More stories to come soon! ...Hopefully.

[loveshotzz]

My name’s Elvira, but you can call me tonight

steve harrington x eddie’sbestfriend!reader

Melt With You

summary: A cancelled movie night, Steve’s first high, and a realization you weren’t expecting.

wc: 2.7k

warnings: my blog is 18+ but this will be pretty safe for work. takes place in 1988 when Elvira Mistress of the Dark came out. post season four but no mention of the upside down, fem!reader, mentions of weed smoking, mentions of being stoned and being high for the first time, mutual pining, cuddling.

A/N: first I want to dedicate this to @bewilderedbunny for pointing out that Steve Harrington is Bob coded which made me fall even more in love with him. You can also thank @dr-aculaaa for putting this brain worm in my head where it spiraled and then she entertained it again and it spiraled some more. p.s. I know her movie macabre was cancelled in 86 but brought back in the 90’s but let’s pretend.

mini series masterlist -> chapter two 🎃

Steve was close. Too close.

His thigh is warm pressed against yours, long legs spread wide taking up most of the room on the couch. The cedar that clings to the threads of his maroon sweater mix with the old spice that he’s almost sprayed too much of, and you’re surprised at how much you actually like it. You blame it on the joint you both shared, and you do it again when his socked foot touches yours from under the blanket draped across your laps and your heart rate kicks up a few beats. This was just Steve, your new friend. Eddie’s new unlikely friend.

The living room in your apartment is dimly lit in a mess of Halloween colored string lights strung up along your walls that Eddie helped you hang up last week on the first official day of fall. They fill the small space in bursts of warm orange pumpkins and tiny purple bats while Elvira Mistress of The Dark glows from the screen of your TV in front of your couch. The couch where Steve is still sitting too close. 

The flicker of your candles dances across your walls and you’re tempted to blow them all out when they keep catching the corner of your eye. Maybe that's why you can't focus on the movie you were so excited about. The movie you raised a big fuss over when the group canceled your weekly night in favor of dates and work. The movie Steve still offered to watch with you saying he had no plans anyway. You really contemplate it when you realize it’s filling your living room with the kind of smell that’s eerily similar to the one embedded in the leather of the BMW you recently started getting more rides in.

When Steve laughs you can smell the berry on his breath from the Red Vines he can’t stop eating, his fingertips glisten from the half finished tub of popcorn on the coffee table. His arm brushes the length of yours when he leans forward to toss the almost empty pack of candy with the rest of the snacks and your stare immediately finds the sliver of tan skin revealed to you when the maroon hem rides up. Stomach flipping when you spot more freckles than the ones that seem to dot the endless expanses of his perpetually sun kissed skin. 

“Wow, she’s funny!” He snickers like he just got a good surprise, leaning back into the cushions. “I didn’t know she was so funny.”

The shift in his weight makes the couch dip, bringing you closer to him. Shoulder to shoulder, thigh to thigh. Why is your chest tight?

Turning your head, you meet his blood shot, heavy lidded gaze and lazy smile that pushes up his pink cheeks. You don’t think you’ve ever seen Steve Harrington so content. So relaxed. It might have something to do with the fact that the joint you both shared was his first.

“Beauty, humor and brains? How could you go wrong?” You grin and it makes the amber in his eyes light up.

“Yeah,” He stares at you for a second longer than he’d have the guts to on a normal day before adding with a sigh “tell me about it.”

There was something different about the way he was looking at you tonight, and it makes your palms sweat. The fly away honey strands that stick out wildly by his ears look softer than normal too. Why do you want to find out? Clearing your throat, he raises his eyebrows up at you in an unphased offering of his attention.

“How are you doing big boy? You coughed quite a bit earlier.” His gaze narrows at the nickname letting you know that Steve was still very much in there.

“I think it’s perfectly normal for someone who hasn’t smoked before to cough when they take an accidental big hit,” he challenges, his sock covered toes finding yours again seemingly on their own, “and to answer your rudely asked question, I’m having a very nice time.”

He tries to keep his face straight but the smile that stretches a mile wide across yours makes him snort, the whites of his perfect teeth blinding in the dark when you wiggle your feet with his. 

“Good, I wouldn’t want Robin to come hunt me down or something.” You giggle leaning back letting your own high relax you into the couch.

Your eyes find Elvira’s generous cleavage on the screen as you try to ignore the feeling of Steve’s hand touching yours when he scratches his thigh and again when he leaves it there. 

“Robin won’t care, it’s Nance you gotta worry about. Worry wart Wheeler.” The nickname rolls off his tongue too easily and makes you both stop, letting the sounds of the towns committee trying to get Elvira out fill the silence before you both fall into a fit of laughter.

It was the kind of laughter that left hot tears streaming down your faces as you leaned even further into each other trying to catch your breath, only for one of you to mutter ‘worry wart wheeler’ when the other would finally be holding it together just to start all over again. By the time it was done, and the last few chuckles subsided, his head had found a new home on your shoulder with his forehead buried in the crook of your neck. 

The smell of his hairspray, and the soft flyaways you’d wondered about tickle your nose with his hair pressed to your cheek. Your socked feet stay tangled together as you try not to think about the size difference and that stupid saying you’d heard in middle school, and you definitely try not to think about how the tip of his pinky bumps into the side of your hand and how you don’t hesitate to hook it with yours.

Cozy. Too Cozy.

There’s a comfortable silence that falls between you both when your attention is finally brought back to the movie and you wonder if he’s having the same existential crisis as you at how good this feels. Eddie would never let you live it down. You and the hair?! Steve’s amused hum breaks you out of your train of thought and you already know you’ll have to watch this again when you aren’t so…distracted. 

Elvira and Bob are fighting with a monster she accidentally concocted inside of a pot instead of the casserole she was trying to make, and his finger tightens around yours when Bob almost loses the fight before he shakes against you with a chuckle. The longer the movie goes on, the more you start noticing Steve’s similarities to the hunk who stole the Mistress of the Dark’s affections, mumbling an ‘oh my god’.

God dammit, you have a crush on Steve Harrington.

The weed makes the realization floor you more than it probably would on a normal day, because you aren’t blind, anyone could tell you how handsome the former king of Hawkins is. But no one could have warned you about how soft he is, especially right now with sleepy eyes and messy hair that smells like pine and too much hair product. They wouldn’t be able to tell you how big of a dweeb he is, or as Robin affectionately calls him a ‘dingus’. They also don’t know how good of a friend he is to anyone who’s lucky to have him, like refusing to let you spend the night alone and watching a movie he knew you were excited about just because he’d actually listened when you talked about it for weeks, even saving you the first copy in Keith’s possession. 

Too bad you’ve barely retained any of it. 

As if he could hear your thoughts, you feel the slight turn of his head and the heavy weight of his stare on the side of your face. You try not to give yourself away and keep your gaze locked on the TV where the town has Elvira ready to be burned at the stake, and Bob has to rescue her. You have to resist the urge to roll your eyes, the universe just rubbing it in now. 

The side of your body he’s been leaning against starts to go numb, and no matter how much you want to stay exactly like this for whatever is left of the night, the need for circulation becomes too much. Your eyes flick down to his that haven’t haven’t wavered and that slow happy smile spreads across his pink lips when they meet. 

“You doing okay, honey.” The nickname he’s called you sarcastically in arguments sounds different when it’s wrapped in affection like this. 

“Not that I’m not enjoying -,” nerves make your throat close up and you have to clear them out before you finish, “not that I’m not enjoying this. My arm is just kind of going numb.”

Heat rises to your cheeks with embarrassment that you know is misplaced, and his eyes go wide when your words click. His reaction is fast despite the smoked joint that's snuffed out in an empty coke can on the table when he pulls away. The warmth of his body that’s invaded what feels like every inch of yours for the last hour is gone and the tightness in your chest worsens now that you miss it. Stupid crush. Stupid blood flow. 

“Oh my god, sorry, sorry, I was just so comfortable I wasn’t even thinking.” There’s stress in his tone that you haven’t heard all night and you decide that you hate it, he’s always stressed.

“Hey,” Your fingers curl around his bicep, and it flexes under the thick material of his sweater when his eyes meet yours, making you forget how to speak for a moment, “if we lay down on our sides we’ll - we’ll be more comfortable?” 

Your heart beats loud in your ears after you throw out your suggestion fully knowing there’s gotta be less than twenty minutes left of the movie at most. 

“Yeah, we can do that, like, big spoon?” He points to himself, with eyes as red as his cheeks before pointing to you with a small grin, “little spoon?”

You bite your bottom lip to contain the smile that threatens to break across your face, and it only makes his grow. 

“Yeah, just like that Harrington.” You giggle and you don’t miss the kind of glint in his eyes that sparkles because of it.

“Harrington? I thought I was big boy?” He mocks with fake offense, clumsily clambering back onto the couch letting himself fully extend.

His socked feet almost hang off the armrest but the problem is quickly solved when he turns onto his side leaving just enough room for you. One of his big hands patting the cushions in an invitation that makes you both laugh. 

“I thought you hated that nickname?” you tease, butterflies that never existed before erupting when he watches you with soft eyes climb into the spot next to him.

Your head lands in the crook of his elbow, amber and spice enveloping you while one of his long fingers curl around your hip not hesitating to pull you flush against his chest like he missed you. Maybe you weren’t the only one with a wandering mind tonight. 

“I don’t,” he agrees, lips coming up right next to your ear and you wonder if he can feel the shiver that runs down your spine, “but I kinda like it when you say it.”

Your body curls into him when you giggle with a throb in your core that makes your thighs press together. Steve chuckles, hooking his chin over your shoulder and his feet find yours at the end of the couch like they did under the blanket. Grabbing the throw off the floor, you drape it back over the two of you when you both finally get situated. 

He feels like he’s everywhere and it’s even harder to concentrate like this, especially when all his fingers are laced with yours now. The pad of his thumb rubs circles on the top of your hand, and you can feel the way his cheeks push up into a grin every time something makes him laugh. You spend the last bit of what’s left of the movie tangled up with him like this, and neither one of you try to move when the credits roll or when the screen goes black. 

The air buzzes with the kind of tension that’s laid dormant until there’s nothing to distract you from it anymore in the new silence. His breath fans hot across your neck while the strokes of his thumb get slower, adding a little more pressure to the muscle there, and feels good enough to have your eyes flutter closed. 

Maybe it’s the darkness of your living room, or the way the tip of his nose starts to trace the shell of your ear but you get the surge of confidence you need to turn around and face him. Steve doesn’t protest at all, letting you move with the kind of ease that makes you wonder if he was waiting for it all along. The small smile on his face tells you he absolutely was.

The new angle has you looking up at him from under your lashes, while his hand that held yours all night covers the middle of your back bringing you to his chest, getting you just as close as before. Your legs slot together while warm lights flicker across his face, they bounce and reflect off the lingering glaze that coats his eyes. Embers burning in a mossy ground. 

It starts to feel like Steve Harrington wants to kiss you, and you’d be lying if your said you didn’t want him too.

“Hi” You whisper, the corners of your lips pulling up because they can’t help it when he looks at you like this.

“Hi” the rich honey of his voice comes out low as he dips his head down to rest on his forearm right above yours.

The tips of your noses are dangerously close to touching, and you swear you hear his breath hitch when your feet find his again. Holding his gaze, you silently dare him to read your mind so you don’t have to say it out loud. You do it first.

“I had a lot of fun tonight.” You try not to think about how it sounds like something you’d say at the end of a date.

“Me too, I’m uh -“ a puff of hot air fans across your face when he laughs, and you notice his first sign of nerves all night, “I’m glad I didn’t make a fool of myself or anything.” 

“I have to say I’m impressed, you handled your first joint like a pro.” Your hands dare to run up his chest, plucking a piece of lint from the threads of his sweater. You feel the way the muscles in his stomach flex for you, and you have to bite back your smirk.

“I had good company is all.” He hums, the blunt ends of his nails scratching along the dip of your back, before whispering “Is this okay?”

Your eyes flutter shut with contentment you haven’t felt in a while, your whole body melting into his with a mumbled ‘mmmhm’

“Does Elvira have any other movies we could watch sometime?” His question makes your eyes pop open, and he tries to look as nonchalant as possible before adding, “you know just me and you.”

“Not a movie, per say but she has a show I like to watch where she does funny commentary on B rated horror films.” Your two feet trap one of his between them playfully to try and ease the nerves he shouldn’t have, earning you that megawatt smile that’s made half the ladies in Hawkins swoon. 

So, Steve Harrington wasn’t a mind reader.

“That sounds like fun,” He lets out a relieved sigh that you didn’t know he was holding, close enough now for your noses to touch.

“Yeah? You wanna come have fun with me?” You tease, but it comes out sounding like a double entendre that makes your skin heat up, especially when Steve closes his eyes and groans. The nails that scratch your back freeze as he tries regaining some semblance of self control. Licking his lips, he exhales a breath out of his nose before he speaks,

“Abso-“

His answer gets cut off by the sound of your front door slamming open, followed by the bellowing voice of the only other person who has keys to your apartment.

“I’ve come for boobies and I brought beer! Better late than never am I ri- Whoa, whoa, WHOA, what is going on here?” Eddie’s shock is quickly replaced by amusement, dimples poking deep holes in his cheeks when he grins wildly as he takes in the two of you on the couch.

What was going on here?

[bitchinbarzal]

Fuck me, I’m Famous | J Hughes

summary: jack has to come clean about who he really is and it’s not received well.

-

“So what do you do for work, Jack?” You ask, swirling your wine in the glass.

You watch his face contort into something resembling a thought as he said “I work in… sports”

You smile “Oh! So you’re like what? A P.E teacher or football coach?”

He swallows thickly “Something like that”

“Oh, that’s so cool! You must have so much fun with the kids” you beamed.

Jack felt bad, you seemed so interested in his fake job.

He diverted the conversation quickly “So what is it you do? Do you work with kids?”

“Oh no! I wish but in New York a teachers salary won’t cut it. I’m a financial advisor and it’s super boring”

He quirks his brow “oh really?”

“Yeah, i actually just started a new job at Prudential? I don’t know if you’ve heard of them-“

“Um Yeah actually maybe I have in passing” he chokes on his water “I think maybe I’ve heard it on the radio or something”

You look at him skeptical look “If you don’t know it’s ok” you laugh “I just moved to the city so I don’t know much about them but I think they sponsor a sports team thats local to jersey? You might know?”

Jack’s face is stuck in his water glass and he shakes his head while making a nuh-uh noise.

Pulling away he says “No, no I don’t think I have”

By the end of the night you’d left Jack with a few stray kisses and promises from him to call you.

He hadn’t called you.

You thought he was ghosting you and had checked every social media platform for a Jack Rowden but you couldn’t find anything.

He really hadn’t called because he’d been on the road for the past two weeks and forgot in the run up to the cup and all the drama surrounding it.

Your boss had invited you out after work with the team, telling you it was a game for the team the organization sponsored.

You’d been given a jersey, the red with the number 86 on the back with the name Hughes written in white.

“So you’ve really never watched Hockey?” Your boss asked, laughing at the way you ogled at the arena below your box.

“No! Never! This looks awesome! And we sponsor this whole thing?”

Your never ending array of questions had to stop the moment the lights switched off and the jumbotron lit up with the teams intro.

You watched like a child at a show, your eyes lit up. Then his face appeared across the screen, your smile dropped and your eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

You watched as Jack’s highlight reel played on the screen then his smiling face came on at the end with his name — HUGHES

Throughout the entirety of the game you had a scowl on your face, truly hurt by his actions.

During the third period during a break in play the jumbotron showed random clips of the crowd. Jack was huffing and puffing on the bench, watching the screen when your face appeared.

Jack’s eyes went wide as he studied your pissed off expression surrounded by your colleagues all waving for the camera.

At the end of the game, Jack changed as quick as possible and ran out to the parking lot he knew the sponsors were able to park.

He ran down, spotting you headed for your car

“Did you know?!” He shouts, his voice bouncing off the walls and echoing.

You turn around, glaring at him “No, I didn’t know! And no thanks to you for lying — I was here for work! I was completely embarrassed!”

Jack shrinks at the tone in her voice “I’m sorry, okay?”

You chuckle and shake your head “It’s a bit late now, Jack Hughes”

He hears the iciness in your words “I’ve told women before about my career and they’ve just used me for fame!”

You were now close enough to touch, he reached out and you recoiled “Does that give you a pass to lie to me? Did I give you that impression?”

“No! No, of course not! Y/N, i’m sorry I should’ve been honest with you from the very beginning” he admits, he feels like he’s loosing you.

For the first time in a long time he actually liked someone and now he’d messed it all up.

Tears began welling in your eyes as it dawned on you “Were you ghosting me? Did you lie to me because you planned to never see again?”

It then dawned on Jack just how long it had been since he had texted you, scrambling to grab his phone out of his pocket and scrolling through your texts.

“No, no! I didn’t-“

You put your hand up to stop him “Forget about it, Jack” and turned to find your car.

“Please, stop!” He begged, running down after you.

“Forget it Jack! Go lie to someone else and leave me alone!” You cried.

“I really like you, Y/N!” He replied, finger hooking under your chin to tilt your gaze to him “I didn’t mean to hurt you, you’re amazing I’m so sorry for what I’ve done to you”

You gaze averted to the floor and you pushed away from him “Yeah I’m sorry too”

And he watched as you climbed into your car and drove away, leaving him standing there silently begging you to turn around.

“Fuck!”

[medicetwork]

Mercs if they had modern day cellphones!

Heavy:

The screen is too small and his fingers are too big.

The screen also tends to hurt his eyes after a while but he absolutely refuses to turn down the brightness, saying it would make it even harder to see than before

His main favorite functions are video calls with Medic or his family and listening to music.

His life is complete when he discovers E-books

He can’t read them on the screen but he loves being able to clean Sasha while having his favorite book read to him

Medic:

Really doesn’t use it for much else than phone calls and the occasional google search at first

When he discovers mobile games that takes his interest though!

He becomes a candy crush mom.

Oh you have a broken arm? Wellll…You can tough it out, champ. He’s on level 7,229 right now.

He would make all the other men get Life360

Scout:

Total social media zombie(I say as if I am not one)

Surprisingly he’s very popular on apps like Twitter and Tik Tok. People think he’s hilarious!

Unfortunately somewhere along the way he says something less than respectful about something and his account gets banned

Eventually he’s on account number 6 and trying to regrow his following

It never recovers

He finds out about NFT’s

Sniper:

Mainly uses it to watch youtube and play music

His phone is always on silent and Do Not Disturb

He loves those videos where those guys go out into the middle of the woods and just start building a fucking house out of clay and sticks.

He prefers texting to calling, finding it much faster(he just like me fr)

Baffled by just how much porn he has access to now….

But he’s not complaining.

Soldier:

He doesn’t use it because he just keeps breaking his phones.

They’ve been dropped, blown up, set ablaze, dropped in water, eaten by a bread-tumor monster, eaten by Soldier(???) and run over.

Even if they didn’t get destroyed within 3 days he still wouldn’t use it for much else besides setting alarms and sending confusing group texts.

However, with each new phone he has gotten he asks Pyro for stickers and sticker bombs his phone just for fun

Has an American flag wallpaper

Pyro:

Watches a lot of Youtube!

They love art tutorials, cooking tutorials and those videos with the guys that put molten hot metal balls into water and those videos of people crushing things in Hydraulic presses

Their search history is so fucking strange:

“my little pony free episode”

“my little pony movie free”

“how to draw clouds”

“gasoline cheap prices”

They follow Scout’s pages and always send him nice comments and like his videos

Engineer:

Loves listening to music and watching movies on his phone

Eventually learns how to code and make his own apps

This is also how he discovered he could jailbreak his phone and turn it into a universal remote for his sentries

Very slow texter

Uses way more emoji’s than needed

“Hello yall 👋🏻 going to the hardware store today 🔨let me know if yall need anything while im out👋🏻🚶🏼”

His most used app is the settings app

Spy:

Of course all of his phones are burners.

He never uses one for more than one week

Loves pirating movies on it and watching them in bed

He has no contacts. No personal information and keeps his location off at all times

Likes to pretend to be different people and play around with Google and Youtube’s targeted ads and algorithms

One day he’s an 86 year old woman that’s recommended nothing but metal bands and funeral home ads

The next week he’s four years old and getting recommended Mario and Minecraft let’s play videos

He uses twitter

He’s doxxed many people on Twitter

Like Scout he has MANY banned accounts and has also hacked and stolen many accounts

…He hacked one of Scout’s accounts and got it permanently banned

Demoman:

Loves watching Top 10 videos

Also loves having so much ease and access talking to his lads

He video calls his mother often even she just nags him the whole time and keeps accidentally hanging up

Is frequently texting the other team’s Soldier and laughing at what he says back

Uses Discord and Reddit and is in many servers and communities that focus on paranormal activity, urban legends and cryptids

Actually makes his own youtube videos searching for said cryptids

Frequently comments “cringe” under Scout’s posts

[fxrmuladaydreams]

hellloo! I'm new to your blog and am in love with your work!! Could I request a smutty Lando x reader with prompts 86 and 144? Like it sounds so Lando coded to me, something cute but hot? Or if you only take 1 prompt per request, I'm happy with just 86. Thanks so much for doing this <3

send me thoughts/blurb requests (sfw & nsfw) for lando weekend

warnings: !!CONTAINS SMUT, MINORS DNI!!, oral (f receiving), face sitting

Lando had been in his gaming chair for a good portion of the day. After being away for a race weekend you thought he’d be eager to spend some time with you. You thought he’d throw his suitcase to the side and he’d have his hands all over you as soon as he walked through the door.

He actually fell asleep almost immediately after coming home, his exhaustion from the weekend catching up to him. It was completely understandable for him to need rest. What was annoying was him waking up the next day and practically ignoring you.

He was testing out a new game, trying to see if it was something they could use for a new Quadrant video.

You’ve tried to pull him away multiple times now. At first it was “C’mon baby, you should rest.” Then it turned into “Let me help you relax.” Nothing seemed to be working.

It didn’t seem your tactic went unnoticed though, as you settled yourself into his lap, trailing kisses up and down his throat.

“Just let me finish this level and I swear I’ll go down on you until you cum at least three times.” He says, his eyes still locked on the screen in front of him. He smirks when he feels you freeze. “That’s what you wanted, isn’t it? Needy girl.”

You feel your face flush as you bury your nose in Lando’s neck, softly biting at his skin.

It takes him a few minutes to finish his game before the tosses his controller to the side and scoops you up, carrying you to his bed. He takes off you clothes, kissing your skin as it’s revealed.

Once he’s rid you of your clothing, he lays with you still fully clothed. He lets you rock your hips against his, the denim of his jeans brushing against you deliciously.

“I want you to sit on my face.” He says as he kisses down your neck.

You make a face, shaking your head. “What? No Lando, I’ll suffocate you or something.”

“That’d be a perfect way to go out, suffocating between your legs.” He smirks.

“Lando…”

“Think of how fun it’ll be. I give you a couple of mind-blowing orgasms, and you let me have my favorite treat.” He gives you a small pout, attempting to break your resolve. “I haven’t gotten to have you for a week, I think I might die if I don’t get to taste you right this minute.”

He senses your hesitation but doesn’t fail to notice the way you grind yourself against him as he talks.

He lays further back so that he’s laying down flat. He softly pushes you up until you’re straddling his chest. “Don’t be shy now, sit on my face.”

You slowly move so that you’re hovering over him, a leg on either side of his head.

“What if I hurt you?” You look down at him between your legs.

“You won’t, I promise.” You don’t look convinced. “If you get uncomfortable at all, just say the word and we’ll stop.”

You nod, and take a deep breath before slowly lowering yourself down onto his face. It feels different, a little odd at first, but as soon as his tongue gets to work all your worries slip from your mind.

Lando wraps his arms around your thighs, keeping you locked against him as you feel yourself ride his face. A hand drops down to tangle itself in his curls, while the other rests against the wall in front of you, keeping you from falling forward.

Lando has gone down on you a lot over the course of your relationship, once even claiming “you were his favorite meal of the day”. But nothing could’ve prepared you for this.

He’s devouring you like a man starved. This new angle causes his nose to bump against your clit repeatedly as his tongue moves in and out of you.

“Lando, I’m gonna cum.” You whine, rocking yourself against him at a steady pace.

His grip on your thighs becomes tighter, as if you’d be sadistic enough to pull off of him.

When you do cum, he takes everything you give him, slurping and licking away all of you that he can. He only lets you lift yourself off of him slightly, just enough to get a good look at him.

His hair is a mess, sticking out in all different directions. The bottom half of his face is slick with remnants of your release. He’s got a proud, lopsided grin on his face.

“Wasn’t that fun?”

“Yeah, yeah it was.” You smile down at him.

He pulls you back down just as you try to get up. “I promised three, didn’t I?” He asks, his voice slightly muffled.

His tongue is back to work before you can even process his question, ready to pull at least two more orgasms out of you.

[rainbow-nerdss]

In the summer of '86, Steve looks around at his friends, his kids, his hometown, all beaten to a pulp and barely recovered.

Nothing is open in Hawkins anymore, so he packs them in between his car and Nancy's and drives them all out to the next town over.

There's a new movie out, called Ferris Bueller's Day Off -- no monsters or demons or anything of the sort, he'd checked. He's going to give them a day of being normal kids for once in their damn lives. He buys the popcorn, Robin and Nancy go halves on the tickets, Eddie gets the drinks while Jonathan and Argyle are treating everyone to pizza afterwards.

The kids make a beeline for the best seats in the back row, while Steve files in next to the older kids about halfway back. He's between Robin and Eddie, Nancy on Robin's other side, Jonathan and Argyle next to Eddie.

The lights dim, the movie starts to play, and Steve feels Eddie's hand slip into his.

This is still new, only a few weeks since Steve had done the same while Eddie was still in hospital, not realising Eddie was awake until he squeezed back.

Steve doesn't know where they stand, but he knows he likes Eddie. He knows he likes this.

The movie is fun for the most part, but when Cameron comes on the screen, Steve feels... A familiarity which isn't exactly comfortable. Something about him digs at a soft patch in Steve's chest that he usually keeps shuttered away.

"The place is like a museum." Ferris says about Cameron's home. "It's very beautiful and very cold and you're not allowed to touch anything. Can you appreciate what it must have been like for Cameron to be in that joint as a baby?"

Steve's brow furrows. It isn't all that bad, is it? It sounds a lot like Steve's house, and Steve is--- well he's not fine, but he always figures the uosode down is the main culprit for that. His folks are dicks, but they haven't had that much of an effect on him, right?

The first tear falls when Cameron looks at that painting in the gallery. The face of the child in the painting grows less and less distinct the longer he looks until it's just a mess of colour, with no substance. The image burns itself onto Steve's retinas and he squeezes Eddie's hand so tight, Eddie looks away from the screen, face falling at the sight of Steve crying silently in the theatre.

"Are you okay?" He leans over and whispers it in Steve's ear so as not to bother anyone. Steve just blinks away the tears and nods. It's a comedy movie. Just a movie.

And Steve enjoys it, he really does. He thinks it might be a new favourite actually, Ferris is funny and kind of an asshole in a lovable way, the way Steve always aimed for in high school but never quite achieved. Ferris hijacks a fucking parade to cheer up his friend, Ferris is what Steve always wanted to be, but Cameron is who he is.

Steve wonders if Eddie would hijack a parade for him. He thinks maybe he would.

Steve watches as Cameron loses it, goes into shock, and later when he kicks his asshole of a dad's car into the trees, Steve feels a sort of secondhand catharsis.

"You gonna tell me what's up?" Eddie asks, idling in the car outside of Steve's house after the kids are all dropped home.

"I think I wanna fuck up my dad's car?" Steve says, aiming a sheepish look over at Eddie.

Eddie grins, leans across the console and kisses Steve for the first time.

"Fuck, yeah. You still got that bat?"

[bronx-bomber87]

Happy Saturday! First off Hallelujah the actors strike is over. Now it’s just semantics and such before we get our ship back on our screens. Just saw the SAG board approved the deal with 86% percent in favor on Friday. All that is left is getting it ratified and an episode order. We’re on the right track I can not wait. Been too damn long since we’ve been excited about some new content.

Till then I shall continue my rewatch. Hoping to line it up ending it whenever a premiere date appears. So fingers crossed on that. Once we do have that might amp it up to 3 reviews a week instead of 2. This one is not a huge content heavy one for them. It's shorter than normal, but it is Lucy’s first ep as his aide. They’re riding back together. I love it so much. Absence makes the heart grow fonder they say. Some good moments peppered in this one. Sassy married moments we all love. Off we go.

4x04 Red Hot

We start off with our lovely duo at the end of roll call. Tim coming in hot and sassy. Calling her Gofer right off the bat. Asking if she’s ready to go? He had to know he was gonna get a sassy reply calling her that first thing. Man knows what he’s doing. Tim loves their little dance and banter. So he lights the fire and waits for the results. (Also good Tall/Smol shots here my fav.)

Lucy matching said sass with some of her own. A little flirting mixed in cause they can't help it. Not showing an ounce of fear with his 'authority' haha Tim picking up on that right away. Flirting right back saying he’s sensing a lack of fear in his authority.

Oh Timothy you lost that long ago my love. You have her utmost respect but the fear? Yeah that went bye bye some time ago heh Some pre-shift foreplay going on here. We know they’re both just excited to be riding together again. It’s all over their body language and this flirty exchange.

Her ‘Yes, sir.’ So cute basically saying for her 'You don’t scare me.' LOL Lucy's body language is everything with that flirty smile. She has no problem roasting him. Tim loves it despite the words coming out of his mouth. Sunshine x Grumpy ride again. I'm so happy for it. Missed it since 3x09 that’s a long time apart for them. We’ve had lovely moments in between but nothing better than them riding together. Plus they needed time to miss one another.

They’re so obvious together. Grey hears their exchange and is holding back a chuckle as he comes up to Tim. Wade knew long before they did...That is a fact. They continuously forget everyone can hear them. It’s so funny. Carrying on like a married couple in front of their colleagues.

Lucy and Tim end up joining Nolan on his missing wife call. (So happy they’re riding together. Making my heart happy) His call has gotten more complicated because well it’s John’s call….Nolan tells them she was drugged and the people claiming to know her we're speaking Russian. So they all go back to the house where the call originated.

No one is there when they arrive. They notice the house seems off... Like it’s staged and no one actually lives there. John noting it feels a lot smaller on the inside. Tim saying it’s like a reverse Tardis...Lucy’s reaction is so damn funny. Props to Melissa for the facial expression here. I’m dying. Tim already sensing her judgement cuts it off. She doesn’t even have to say what she’s thinking. He just knows and defends himself.

S4 is the fruit of all that rapport building. We get to see the end result constantly. Watch how close they are. That silent communication coming through, the comfortability and playfulness. Not even trying to hide it anymore. The amount of sass in Tim's reply. My god she has rubbed off on this man. I love it sfm I can’t stand it. Such flirty dorks in front of Nolan it’s the absolute best. So nice to have them together on cases again. I missed it.

They get a report the car was torched but no sign of the woman over the radio. Nolan opens the cabinet and sees an impressive setup. A panel with cyrilic buttons they can't read. Goes into contractor mode saying they have 500 MCM wires. Running 400 amp service out of this place. Lucy not knowing what that means but wanting to save face says her line above. Also knows Tim may not either so she throws him under the bus LOL

It’s so cute and cheeky. The theme of this episode for them is sass. 100%. The way Tim looks at her plus his little leg stamp. LMAO His reaction saying 'Seriously Lucy?' He’s not even mad about it so much as in awe of her being so damn fresh at this point. Doesn’t even fight her giving him shit anymore. Just accepts it. Smitten man right here. Front and center.

Nolan goes on to say a normal household doesn’t tend to go past 200. Whatever they’re powering is big because just the minimum can power a house and a/c under that. Nolan starts messing around with the panel like an idiot and trips something. Because well it's Nolan. Like an unattended child. It locks down the entire house and they pull their guns in case.

Tim’s reply is the best. ‘I don’t know what it says so I push it?’ LMAO Roasting John like a marshmallow. Sassy Tim has come out to play and I’m dying. A tv turns on showing surveillance of the entire neighborhood. John asks if human traffickers normally are this sophisticated? Tim replies no…It’s a safe house.

Lucy’s interest is piqued of course. Asking if it’s for spies? Tim gives her a small peak into his past. Which you know she will eat up like crazy. Always craving to know about it. Hell me too. Any morsel we can get from Tim’s past I’m all about. Lucy in wifey mode tries to get it out of him. The when and where? You can see the absolute curiosity all over her face. He just drops a bomb like that and expects her not to try and dig a little deeper?

Tim is classic in his reply. Saying it’s classified and that is that for his answer. I'm sure he was wanting to impress her with that reply. When really she's just annoyed at him haha Lucy’s reaction is so damn funny. She is offended he won’t just share his classified past with her in front of Nolan LOL That wifey look in the second gif. Ha. Look at them just flirting away no problem in front of John. That’s not an issue but asking about his past is. These two... Also when they talk in this scene it’s like Nolan isn’t even there. I love this about them. They only pay attention to one another when they get like this. I just love their banter. It’s fantastic.

Nolan discovers a panel after hitting another button. It leads to a whole other hidden part of the house. It’s clearly where they were torturing her. They dig a little deeper and find more surveillance camera's set up. Looks like they tried destroying everything before they took off. There is still some paper work and such lying around. Looks like they didn't get everything. Tim wants them to take pictures of everything before the feds show up. Because they’ll ice them out ASAP. I love when he’s a sexy leader directing everyone. yum. gimme.

This next section when the feds finally show up is primo. Mike Weston introduces himself and Tim knows right away he’s CIA. The feds are with him though. Reason being Weston has to work with them since he isn't allowed to work domestically. Tim has some serious smug husband energy going on in this scene. Watching his girl square off and win with this guy. Lying on his behalf it’s amazing. Lucy handles herself like the bad ass he knows her to be. Coming up with this on the fly. That UC training kicking in right here.

The immense amount of pride on his face is everything. He didn’t even have to tell her to lie she just did for him. Their silent communication once again is out of this world. He just stands there proud af. Like yeah that’s my girl. Doesn’t have to say a damn word. Knows she’s got this covered. Smugly smiling at this guy trying to get them to do their job. Knowing they secured the scene and got all the photos they needed. Part of that smugness is from knowing they’re not sharing. Lucy shutting them down completely and he just stands there happy as a clam while she handles the situation.

Lucy is bummed they’re taking over. Nolan reminds them she touched his hood. Tim says they can get a true ID. Try and solve this thing before the feds and CIA know what hit them. I love this. They get a hit in the database. She’s a Russian citizen here on a NGO visa. Tim saying it’s perfect cover for a Russian agent.

Lucy with her social media skills found her Instagram page. Linking her to an Air Force major named Lyle Marks. Who she was apparently dating. Nolan says she was probably dating him just to get to secret information. Lucy calls him a cynic heh I love it. Then says yeah that’s probably the most likely scenario…

That he works for drone command and hasn’t shown up for work today. Tim says no need to loop in Weston. If they’re onto something good he will find them. They show up to Mark's house and find him tortured and killed. Weston of course shows up right after they find his body. Just like Tim said. He’s so smart. Beauty and Brains.

The fact that a soldier was killed this can’t be contained any longer. Weston realizes he’s going to need their help. Especially since this is on US soil. He brings them back to his fancy spy van. So they can have a private conversation protected. Tim gets right down to business. Asking what they know about Katerina? Mike tells them they believe her to be a FSB case officer. Just like Tim said earlier. Sexy how smart he is. Intelligence is attractive af.

Apparently she went rogue during her mission. She was supposed to be recruiting intelligence assets for Russia. It’s why those two guys came into the country after her. Rather her die than be in the hands of the CIA after she escaped. Tim asks if they knew about the relationship with officer Marks? Weston replies no or they would’ve stepped in weeks ago.

Also let’s note the lack of space with them in this scene. The Grand Canyon between John and Tim. The smallest sliver between Tim and Lucy. Another theme of this season. Personal Space? Never heard of her…

This next part is more of that proud/smug hubby energy from Tim. The way she dismantles Mike is glorious. Trying to say she’s naive and espionage isn’t a romance novel. She crushes him with some solid ass logic. Lucy owns this guy not once but twice in the same day. Lucy came to play and it's so fun to watch her confidence. The way she handles herself now. So self-assured it's just as glorious to watch as Tim's growth.

I love the look on Tim’s face. (also him licking his lips I see that tongue sir. Mmm.) His reaction is 'Wifey is right and you are dead to rights sir.' He couldn’t be prouder of her confidence with this man. Held her own from the jump. The growth here is amazing. Lucy just confidently owning her moments. Tim backing her without a second of hesitation. True partners. Nolan gives a 'Told you so' look too but it’s not as important as Tim’s LOL Weston concedes and says she has a fair point…

That being said Mike said he’s read her file. That isn’t the type of person she is. They ask why she was dating Marks then? Weston says he ran the entire west coast drone command. That he had the keys to the entire program. Tim then poses if she wasn’t stealing secrets or planning to defect then what’s her play? Mike says doesn’t know..and that scares the hell out of him

That’s their last scene together for the ep sadly. We find out with just John and Bailey she killed Marks. He issued a drone strike that killed her brother. The flash drive Nolan finds in his shop is what she wants. She wants to kill everyone else on the list of the mission. Sadly Lucy’s love theory is kaput after that haha That's all she wrote for this one. Short but sweet one for them.

Side notes-non chenford

I love Lucy reaching out to Aaron to be his support through training. He fights her at first then gives in and calls her when he has bad experience with an old friend. Aaron does stick his foot in his mouth about Jackson. Poor Lucy still hurts her talk about him.

Then they bond over it. He talks about Patrick and says it still gets him too. How it sneaks up on you. You could be having normal day and something triggers it. Aaron tells her it’s nice to have someone to talk to. Love this friendship being built.

Thanks as always to those who read these reviews and show your support through likes, comments and reblogs. It’s my fuel haha so thank you. Shall see you all in 4x05

[fagcrisis]

am i fucking tripping or did you not just start one piece a few weeks ago. you're caught up?? isnt it over a thousand chapters?? are you fucking good????

fact 1: i started reading one piece march last year because my sister started buying the omnibuses (one per month, with her scholarship money lol)

fact 2: i liked it a lot, but i cant really read on a screen for a long time, so i was limited to her once per month omnibus buying speed

fact 3: i blackmailed my dad into getting me an ereader for christmas since he "forgot" to pay child support for the past year

fact 4: i then enlisted the help of my wonderful friend lili to download all of one piece and convert it into a pdf so i can port it onto the ereader

fact 5: ive been organizing a protest for palestine for the past month, and bevcause it is technically illegal in hungary, ive been under incredible amounts of stress to keep it legal and keep everyone safe

fact 6: whenever im stressed i go into hyperfocus mode on whatever is easiest at the time

fact 7: one piece is very stupid and has nothing to do with the hungarian legal system so it was very helpful

the combination of these seven facts resulted in me read about 86 volumes of one piece in under two weeks. anyway thank u for asking, im doing well now! the protest went well, nobody got arrested and im no longer a living walking ball of stress. thank u comrade luffy, viva la palestina

[bratshaws]

through the hourglass 125. brb x oc

a/n: are you guys ready for the Nicole content next chapter? Good, so am I . reblogs and comments are super encouraged <3333

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: none.

goodness gracious (pls read this one to know more what this fic is about!!)

chapter

1/

/70/71/72/73/74/75/76/77/78/79/80/81/82/83/84/85/86/87/88

/89/90/91/92/93/94/95/96/97/98/99/100/101/102/103/104/105

/106/107/108/109/110/111/112/113/114/115/116/117/118/119/120/121

/122/123/124

(pls let me know if you want to be added to the taglist! )

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@peachiicherries @mak-32 @lizziespidiepridie @roosterswifey @ollyoxenfrees @piceous21 @sqrlgrl22 @hofficoffi @lexhalstead3 @lorilane33 @legendarydreamersharkparty @luckyladycreator2

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-

They had expected seeing one baby, one baby was the common thought right? Then why were there two?

Beatrice looked at the screen with her eyes wide, Rooster did the same but he was much closer, squinting his eyes, then looking back at her with his mouth wide open, “....th-there’s two of them Bea.” he whispers, “Two.”

‘I-I know.”

“So far they look fine.” the lady says, breaking the absolute surprise that filled the room, ‘They seem to be growing well and there’s nothing out of the ordinary, but it is only one month and twin pregnancies can be a bit more complicated…so I’d like you to return in sixteen weeks for another checkup.”

Beatrice blinked at the woman, snapping out of her shock, “I…o-okay.”

“Good!” she wipes Beatrice’s stomach and then stands up, “I’ll be right back, you can sit up if you want, but don’t leave.”

It’s possible neither of them could move even if they wanted to. 

Nicole babbled happily, oblivious to her parents’ silent surprise and the way they were just gobsmacked by the sudden discovery. Rooster puts a hand on his forehead, blinking hard and then smiling, “Holy shit we are going to have twins!” he laughs, “Twins! Two! Two babies!” 

Nicole squeals happily when her father raises her over his head, bouncing her in his hands and laughing alongside her, “Baby girl you’ll be the old sister to twins! Twins!” he says, but he’s confused when he doesn’t hear Beatrice’s celebration. He looks back to where his wife was, seeing she was staring at her knees,clenching the edge of the bed so hard her knuckles turned white, “Bea?”

No response but he could see her mouth moving and her eyebrows furrowing.

“Gorgeous.” he tries again, this time getting closer to her. He hears her mumbling something, something that weirdly sounded like ‘oh God’ “Bea, look at me.”

It took some time for her to look up, but she looked terrified, “...twins…” she whispers,” How-how did I not notice they’d be twins?”

“What?”

“T-Twins change the mother’s belly, makes it bigger,” she lifts her shirt up and frowns, “How did I not see it? I-I should’ve seen it.”

He is confused because of her reaction, she seemed happy and worried at the same time, “Baby…what’s wrong?”

“I…I should’ve noticed it,so I could,I could prepare!” 

‘What are you talking about?”

“My family has a lot of twins and triplets,I should’ve thought this could happen…and now,now I have twins too and- and I’m scared because…because I don’t know…I don’t know if I’ll do good.”

Bradley huffs a soft laugh,sitting next to Beatrice with Nicole playing with her monkey - even showing it to her mother in hopes it’d cheer her up - “Hey, do you see this one?” he lifts their daughter a bit, that gummy smile melting Beatrice’s heart and making her face relax, “She looks great to me.”

‘I know…”

“Then why are you freaking out?”

Beatrice sighs, dropping her head to look down at her thighs, sliding her hands on top to squeeze them tightly, “I just…I don’t know,Roos. I want to do well,I really do…but I just,I don’t know. What if I mess up, it’s twins. Like…two babies instead of one.”

Bradley furrows his brows, then arches one higher than the other, “Baby, we can manage it.”

“I…I know,I guess I’m overwhelmed right now.I’m really happy,I am Roos.I swear.” he knew she was, but her nerves were acting louder than her happiness was, so it was making Beatrice anxiety act up, “I just…wow…twins. We might uh,we might need to fix one of the guest bedrooms for them.”

“I think so.” he smiles, “Any idea what you’ll paint on the walls?”

She laughs softly, looking up at him, ‘Not yet, give me a few days to think about it…okay?”

“Okay.” he didn’t know what she meant when she said she should’ve known, there was no way she should’ve known before going to the clinic. He knows it was the excitement mixed in with the surprise that made Beatrice act like she was doing right now and he understood that completely, but he didn’t want her to think there was some way  she’d find out she was carrying twins.

…damn,they were going to have twins.

He breathed out a laugh, holding Nicole to his chest and shaking his head, “Fuck,Mav was right.”

“Huh?”

“Remember when I told you, back when we didn’t know Nikki was Nikki, that he thought you’d have twins?”

“Oh…I completely forgot about that.”

“Yep…God he’s going to be so smug when he finds out.”

Beatrice lets out a soft laugh again, this time she feels a bit better. It’s crazy to think that now there are two babies inside of her,growing slowly, one besides the other…she really is going to give birth to twins.

They’ll have three kids before either turn forty.

If her count is right.

“We need to keep it a secret still,Brad.” she says, sighing quietly, “We can’t share this with anyone until I reach the third month mark. For safety…like she said a twins pregnancy is…delicate and I’d need to keep an eye on them until it was time.”

Them.

Beatrice rubs her stomach gently and Nicole notices it, her curious little mind just tells her to repeat the movement, touching her mother’s tummy with a soft gurgle, looking up at her with her eyes shining and a gentle ‘Aaa’ leaving her lips. Beatrice’s hormonal fluctuation was only making her even more emotional, she couldn’t help but sniffle at that gentle touch, touching Nicole’s cheek with her free hand, “Yeah,I know Nikki.”

“Aaa!’

“Hmhm,I know.” and she kisses her forehead. Beatrice sighs again, leaning her head on Rooster’s shoulder and whispering, “We need to go to Mr.Scoops once we get out of here.”

“Deal.”

-

She was so happy to have ice cream in the middle of Winter. Which in San Diego didn’t mean much, honestly she just wanted to relax and have a good time with her family. Nicole still couldn’t have ice cream but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to. She was leaning back against Rooster as her parents ate their respective bowls,”Man…does this bring back memories.” his voice makes Beatrice blink,spoon still in her mouth, savoring the Christmas Cookies flavor spreading on her tongue.

Rooster smirks, looking at Nikki then back at Bea, “Our first date…remember?” he just looks so happy as he says so, “We watched the Alien trilogy then went out for ice cream…and we kissed, for the very first time.” and she blushed just like she was doing now back then, her smile shy and eyes dropping to her bowl. “You know, it was amazing.”

“It was.”

“Not only because I was really into you.” he begins, crunching a piece of hazelnut between his teeth, “But because I had a lot of fun…with you. And you,I don’t know, you just made me fall in love even more.”

“Brad…”

“I guess that was the moment my brain went,” he snaps his fingers mid sentence, the sound making Nicole look up at her father’s hand,”I’m going to marry this woman, for sure, without a single doubt…I just didn’t want to admit it yet.”

“Too soon to think about,huh?”

“Yeah,I hadn’t even met your family either.”

“And then I just…took you to meet everyone.” she laughs nervously, moving the spoon inside the melted part of her ice cream, “God I was so scared.”

“It went well,I mean,look at us now.”

Beatrice smiles back at him, sighing as she leans back against her seat, looking out the window from the second floor, watching the palm trees in the distance move wildly because of the strong wind, “...yeah,” she says, ‘Look at us now. Can you believe it? We’ll have three kids.”

“Before we get to our second anniversary.” he smirks, ‘I mean,I don’t mind it. I love that, I think it’s great.”

“The more the merrier,huh?”

���As long it’s safe for you.” he adds, his eyes softening, “I’d never want you to pop ‘em out so often…which is why we need to take care after the salt and pepper duo is born.” she loved how he was already giving them nicknames before he could even see them straight,”We’ll be okay…I can handle myself.” she chuckles, holding her head up and arching her eyebrow, “Hey,I can.”

“No you can’t.”

“Yes,I can,come on.”

“If you did, would we have gone to have the ultrasound six months after our daughter was born?” his mouth opens, then closes, then opens again only for Nicole to babble happily, focused on the colorful spoon by her side as her father tried to find words, “See?”

“Okay…maybe so.” she arches her brow higher, “Listen…you are beautiful,can you blame me? Can you really?”

“I mean I think you are absolutely handsome and I can control myself a bit more.”

“Not that often.” he smirks, “You know that.”

Beatrice playfully kicks him under the table, making him wince but laugh quietly, with Nicole joining in because why wouldn’t she. The two of them laugh like two teenagers and Beatrice licks her lips, “...well, you know…we are doing good for two people who didn’t have their shit together a few years back.”

“I agree.”

“You did have your shit together,I was talking about me,Roos.”

“Stop.”

She laughs again, sighing as she taps the spoon on the side of her bowl, “...Did you ever think about that,” he hums in question, “That you’d have…three kids so quickly?”

“Honestly,I’ve always wanted a big family, you know that…three kids is more than fine to me.” he smirks, his smirk however slowly disappears, “My mom used to joke about it.”

“Hm?”

‘She used to tease me about kids, when I was younger. Like…around seventeen or something, a few years before she passed. She used to say she wanted to hear the little feet on her floor during the Holidays.” he laughs almost painfully, “She'd go crazy,if she was here.’

Beatrice smiles sweetly, reaching for his hand across the table and bringing it to her lips to kiss his wedding ring,much like he did to her, and placing his palm on her cheek, “She’s watching all this with a smile,I’m sure.”

“I hope so.”

“You’ve been thinking about her,lately?”

He sighs with a grin, dropping his head forward only to lift it up again,”Yeah…I’ve been thinking about both of them,honestly. We’ll be going to Virginia in…a few days and I just want Nicole to have a good first time there,” he smiles down at his daughter,”She’s going to see snow for the first time…wear really thick clothes that make you want to stop walking and just fall flat on the ground because how can anyone move in those.” he kisses her head, “And thinking…about life.”

“What do you mean?”

He chews the corner of his mouth, dropping his hand from Bea’s cheek and then tapping his finger on the table,’I just am thankful.” he whispers, ‘That I can see all this…in my line of work…it’s amazing.” he looks down at Nicole, watching as she noms on her monkey with her eyes turned to the window, “I don’t know,I’m just feeling a lot of things.”

Beatrice smiles,”I know.” she says, holding her chin up by her interlaced hands, “I know you are…and it’s okay. You should allow yourself to feel,Roos.” she blinks, “Oh, before I forget,I need to write some notes down so we can get things before we go home.”

“True, that’s okay.”

He lets Beatrice type away on her phone, his eyes locked on the same direction Nicole was looking at, focusing at the wind and how everything seemed to move in slow motion.

Maybe now the euphoria of being a father again was finally simmering, maybe now he could say that it was real and it was going to happen. He was happy, he was overjoyed…he really was living the life he always wanted, the life his mother envisioned for him when he was younger.

A nice job, even if it’s not the one she desired.

A lovely wife who gets lovelier as the years go by and kids. Three kids now, with the oldest one being the smartest, cutest little girl he had ever met. He smiles down at Nicole, her pigtails moving as she turns her head to follow a bird that flew past the window, all the while chewing her little monkey.

He didn’t want to miss any second of her life, of their lives. He knew that after the holidays…something could happen, he could be called and he had to go…so he was going to enjoy these days the best he could, now even more knowing there are two babies growing inside of Beatrice instead of one.

“There.” she smiles, “Finished,made a little list.”

“That’s good,gorgeous.” he says back, returning to his now melted Cold Cocoa ice cream, being able to save one lone marshmallow and plopping it into his mouth as he adjusts himself on the seat, seeing she was still looking at her phone, “What?’

“Evelyn messaged me, she’s asking me to come over for a bit.”

“Really?”

“She said you can come too, she doesn’t mind.” Bea hesitates, “...I don’t know if I should accept,I mean…we…we just found out we’ll have twins.” she frowns, “But if I say no…she might be suspicious.”

“Or she might understand, Evelyn is like that.”

Beatrice tsks, “I guess…but she said it’s important,Roos.” she looks up at him with her brows low, “Maybe we can stay a little bit.” she shrugs, “Just to see what she wants, right?” 

“Bea…is that a good idea?” he asks with his brows furrowed, “I mean, you just said why it wouldn’t be wise.”

“It’d be just for a little while, just to see what she wants.” Beatrice says, trying to swallow the anxiety, “Then we’ll go home and everything will be great.” she repeats the words in her mind, nodding to herself, “Just great.”

[delicatebluebirdruins]

the Hollow Boy book 3 reactions reading it for the first time

book 1 and 2

finally ready to type this up here we go page numbers are my copies

page 3 "I think it was only at the very end of the Lavender Lodge job, when we were fighting for our lives in that unholy guest house, that I glimpsed Lockwood and Co working together perfectly for the first time" Lmao

page 8 the owners of the Lodge description "If they resembled anything, it was a pair of elderly owls roosting on a branch"

16 we know who you are Lucy

19 "That's real bad. If I were you Lucy I would find a window and jump out." that is not a good thing is it

page 20 "however as the weeks passed and we'd got to know it properly, we'd learned to really despise it too" heartwarming really

Page 27 that is a lot of ghosts (example whatever I'm on this would be great to see this on screen the practicality of it though? nope)

38 "you chucked that bottle like a girl"/ "I am a girl" no comments let it speak for itself

49 "Outside the window a gale was blowing. Portland Row seemed formed of liquid. Trees flexed; rain pattered on the panes. Inside, it was warm; we had the heating on full blast." this is so cosy

57 "so Lockwood's proximity made me happy" 63 Skull being annoying and I love the background on the night taxis

66 insight into the past and the sorry fate of Jessica Lockwood.

72 Poor Lockwood standing there as Lucy and George bickered

74 I love this quote "It was a place of absence, we were in the presence of something that had gone. It was like coming to a valley where someone had once shouted, loud and joyously, and the echo of that shout had resounded between the hills and lasted a long time. But now it had vanished, and you stood on the spot, and it was not the same"

also Lucy thinking about Lockwood opening up to her more is so cute

82 Hi Kipps (lmao this is so funny when you consider how worried Lockwood was at the thought of Lucy leaving for Fittes "Bloody cheek. Lockwood said. He's talking nonsense as usual. Even so, he said little in the taxi, and it was left to me to give renewed directions"

85 "I smiled at him. There was a horror behind that door. I would see it in seconds. Yet my heart sang in my breast, to be standing beside Lockwood in that house. All was as it should be" aw the horrors but united front

86 I wonder why i was thinking of the Woman in Black

91 "My Talent could bypass such anxieties" can it? 100% of the time?

92 the skull is funny but also an jackass

96 testing Lucy's talent time... the skull is so funny

101 "it wasn't the easiest of homecomings" (typing this up I did not notice the Fittes ghost hunting board game which is basically surgery" 105 "I couldn't believe it. They'd actually done it. They'd tidied! they'd tidied up for me" and "Lockwood's favourites - the ones with almond icing that he rarely allowed himself- were on top" and "Portland Row was my home. My real family was here." I need a minute for that last one honestly

118 "her skin looked as smooth and delectable as coffee- coloured marble". interesting word choice (bisexual Lucy)

125 "I'd never thought to sit so close behind Lockwood that I could lean foreward and speak quietly in his ear, or, by virtue of my proximty to the leader, tactily became the second most important person in the room"

133 the tale is so eerie the casual callouseness of Mrs Wintergarden (thought she doesn't mean to be) and the haunting itself 136 "I gulped mine down like an antisocial seabird" also hello lyre brooch

142 Lucy talking and getting cut off by Lockwood.

153 time sickness

162 Ned Shaw dies and it is just go on as usual there'll be time to mourn later. I am really glad we got to see Ned and Lockwood fight together in the show

165 Neighbourhood Protection Leagues. I was hoping for something like this in the world at large

176 Holly wearing Lockwood's old jumper on the one hand makes sense because cold but also was it necessary for Holly to say it still smells like him? like it is really intimate wearing someone else's clothing and smelling them on it and of course the possibilty of her wearing Lucy's spare gloves is so *flails*

186 "there were bloodstained footprints all around my circle" how about? no 188 "or mimicking the sound of breathing" again no

192 "the ghost opened it's mouth. "I need YOU" it said" creepy. three steps at a time is huge (i want a Lockwood POV)

200 "were you feeling particulary abandoned or needy up there?" and Lucy not answering or looking at George. 205 Lockwood and Lucy arguing about Holly (not arguing per say but rumbles of thunder off in the distance)

209 I love this chat with the Skull. 211 "head wounds clearly suit you" the way i sputtered at this

216 I love the vastness of the Chelsea outbreak

219 Bad things happening? let's throw a party! well carnival you get the picture

224 FLO! we're going to see Flo... 228 "Don't worry about Locky. He must like you really. It's been eighteen months and you're still alive" lmao

233 Love Mrs Wintergarden inviting them to the carnival

236 George is protective of Lucy aw

241 hi sir Rupert... 244 they're tossing sources!

247 deadly hair piece NICE ("the band was a crescent- moon- sharp, made of silver. She held it like a knife")

253 "we [Locklyle] were in step together perfectly in sync"

259 I love the pictures of Lockwood in the newspaper

264 "[Luce] You're a star" a bit out of context but who cares? and then she goes into Jessica's room and finds out what she can

266 Lucy finds a necklace "a golden necklace with a dark green stone lay on a sheet of cotton wool" 269 poor little Lockwood

278 world building! finding where things are located! this is cool

281 smarty pants George but also teamwork with Flo

284 "Another point to Lucy. She's good at playing atrocities" now thing of the scene in the show where she and Lockwood roleplay relic men

287 misplaced trust in Barnes

292 Lucy telling Lockwood to join forces with Kipps and I really like the scene

Lucy: "I think we should take Kipps up on his offer. There are people dying out there, Lockwood, and we can't stand back from it. We need to act. We need to engage, even if that does mean making compromises. That department store is massive: even if we're just doing a reconnaissance, we need a proper team. And Kipps's team is good- we know that. If we have faith in George, in all the work he's done, we should do this. We owe it to him. More than that, we owe it to ourselves.

and Lockwood just gazes at her (Lockwood POV) and she gets flustered "I just don't think we have any choice" and I love it so much

and I love the reactions of everyone else

297 FLO! I feel so safe. 299 Flo is plesant to Holly Lucy is annoyed

303 haunting descriptions time "Mornings are all right' the attendant in Meswear said. 'And late afternoons, funnily enough when you get the sunlight streaming through the windows. It's noon I don't like, when the streets outside are bright, and in here it's full of shadow. The air goes thick. Not hot, exactly. Just stuffy."

312 Lucy paired with Holly and neither being very happy about it the skull being funny

317 i like this description from the skull "Because you're [Lucy] unique. You shine like a beacon, attracting the attention of all dark things" 319 "i missed him [Lockwood] at my side"

323 "And i watched that notch of darkness. I watched as something moved into it" how about nope

328 "with a fetch a ghost that makes a psychic bond with the onlooker and takes on the guise on the guise of someone closely connected to them" this would be horrible yeah (I would love to see it in the show)

338 Lucy telling Holly she should have told Lockwood no and Holly goes "like you do?" Lucy yelling at Holly and poor Bobby is injured and having to deal with these two

351 "truth is, it's everywhere. it's right on top of us. It coils around us like a snake. We're all inside it. It's already swallowed us whole." I LOVE THIS LINE

359 why is Lockwood's eyes sparkling at Lucy and then it all goes to shit the chapter ending with "both my mind and body were lost"

365 "rule seven (b), obviously, is to keep your matchbox well stocked."

367 "I looked at it. 'Hello,' I said. 'Sorry' The skeleton said nothing. It couldn't help it's bad manners"

379 Lucy recognising the voice being that of Lockwood. But it not being Lockwood

385 "you know I'd die for you" so Lucy see's the fetch ghost take on Lockwood's form and telling her Lockwod dies for her. Then she hears this from real Lockwood. If it were me the moment i was able i'd sit in the corner and rock. Also this is a crime that we don't get to see this scene and the lead up to it on the screen because Lockwood's actor is great and would knock it out of the park. (also Lockwood pov again)

390 "it's happened to me before. Losing someone dear to me. I can't let it happen again" see above Cameron and Ruby would be stunning.

394 Lockwood's first ghosts were his parents? yikes

413 creepy thought indeed missing mysterious people doing a ritual

417 "take your boyfriend Lockwood" lmao skull

419 and everyone is in shock and the book end.

[celestialcrownsvn]

11/1/23 Update

Hello! Sorry this update is a bit late. Let's dive in!

Backerkit Survey

Still waiting for about half of the backers to complete their Backerkit survey! If you got yours, make sure to fill it out as soon as possible to help me with reward fulfillment.

Join the Discord

We've gotten a lot of new Discord members lately! Come join the fun! See updates before anyone else, participate in polls, and read some fun AU stories!

Sahi's Route

Sahi's route is in beta testing!

Lune's Route

So I've been working through Lune's route, mostly coding in sprites and music, etc. The writing was pretty solid for this one on the first go through, but there are a few things I want to tidy up and add, I believe. I'm actually on the last scene in his route, and then I just have the endings. The endings will take a bit more time because there are a few scenes I tagged that need to be added in or fleshed out, but it shouldn't take me much longer. I anticipate finishing this up mid November.

In the final draft, I'll be adding more branching for personality stats—just small, one or two line changes in dialogue, but combined with a couple of these in every scene, it should make for a fun new experience with each playthrough.

Love Letters

These should be out by the time of my first Kickstarter update, which will be 11/12. All the recordings are in, I just need to put together the final cut and package them nicely. I'll be including a .mov, a .txt, and .wav for all three for all backers in nicely zipped packages.

New Start Screen

I've been working on a new start screen, as the original was always intended as a placeholder. I'd thought about commissioning one but with the final budget decided to draw it myself. I'm happy with how it came out! This has been implemented and will be in the next update.

Skin Tones

I've been slowly working on implementing the new skin tones, thanks to reaching our stretch goal! Right now I've just done masc Terra's darker skin tone. My goal is to do about one a week until completion. I really like how they turned out!

Notice

I will be going to visit family from Mid November to early December, during which I won't have my tablet, so the weekly drawing streams will be canceled during that time. Unfortunately my new tablet is just too big to travel and my license for CSP is only available on one computer at a time, and I can't bring my desktop. I'll be sad but will have to subsist on a sketchbook in the meantime.

Anyway, because I won't be able to draw I'll be focusing on programming and writing.

Conclusion

Things are still going along smoothly! I'm still hoping to finish up the second draft and send all routes to beta testing by the end of the year.

[avidbeader]

I posted 3,202 times in 2022

That's 1,249 more posts than 2021!

86 posts created (3%)

3,116 posts reblogged (97%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@avidbeader

@josilverdragon

@flashedarrow

@story-kat

@tattooedsiren

I tagged 2,948 of my posts in 2022

Only 8% of my posts had no tags

#voltron - 2,222 posts

#sheith - 2,127 posts

#the great sheith reblog - 1,389 posts

#sheithart - 1,303 posts

#sheith meta - 129 posts

#dent-de-leon - 94 posts

#sheith fic - 81 posts

#lightningstrikes-art - 69 posts

#pretty - 63 posts

#avid writes - 59 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#look i'm just saying that in at least three of those languages they chose the most passionate and romantic version of the phrase possible

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Finally upgraded my Google Docs into a nice basic website. Things will be added when I have the opportunity and if you have suggestions/corrections, please let me know through a DM!

47 notes - Posted March 30, 2022

#4

100 followers on Twitter!

30 followers here on Tumblr!

37 fics in the tag where there were 9 two weeks ago!

Hope everyone is thinking about what to write/draw!

49 notes - Posted March 18, 2022

#3

Commission from @Macu_artz on Twitter! This is a scene from my Sheith fairy-tale AU The Six Cursed Heirs. I am so happy to have this.

101 notes - Posted December 4, 2022

#2

Okay, so, about “The Sandman”...

It’s amazing.They pulled off a really elegant adaptation, based on the fact that I cannot point to either the comics or the series and say one was better than the other. Plots were tightened up. Characters got shifted here and there. They did the wise thing, in my opinion, and removed just about every reference to the DC superheroes other than a pair of name-checks. By allowing characters to be played by actors regardless of race or gender, they ended up with a cast that did a stellar job. Where there was classic bloody gore/horror, they surrounded it with intense psychological horror so that even those of us who are the type to look away from the screen got almost the full impact. And they took full advantage of the medium to produce incredibly rich and lush visuals and bring iconic pages in the comics to life.

As I said last night, if you feared what a live-action version would do to a story you treasure, don’t be afraid. And if you’re hesitant to watch a series without having read the source material, don’t hesitate. This feels like the once-in-a-generation event where the adaptation not only lives up to the original, but can stand beside it as an equal.

Spoilery thoughts under the cut for both the series and the comics.

I am still really astonished at just how deft an adaptation the series it. Every time I went, “Wait a minute, I don’t like this change,” by the end of that episode or the next I was sold. For example, I was missing Miranda, Rose’s mother, at the beginning of Episode 7, as the buffer between Rose and Unity and also because we were shown the circumstances of their separation from Jed and not just told. But when Gault took on Miranda’s appearance and then railed against Dream because she didn’t want to be a nightmare anymore, it made perfect sense.

And Gault herself was a revelation. In the comics we have a team called Brute and Glob, a rather dumb pair of nightmares, trying to make their own little Dreaming in Jed’s mind. (And if I remember correctly, they’re a reference to one of DC’s older horror comic titles.) They are the ones who capture Hector Hall at his death and bring Lyta to live with him in their fledgling kingdom, and Hector is the “Sandman” of Jed’s dream world. It works in the comics because the text and art pay homage to an early 20th-century comic strip called “Little Nemo”. But it would have been extremely hard to do that on screen without losing the viewers, so they made Jed the star of his dreams instead and gave him all the hokey superhero trappings. And that works because Jed is a kid, with a kid’s imagination. But it gets even better when we see that Gault’s motivations weren’t about power, but about protecting Jed from his abusers because she had changed and wanted to be free of the limitations of her origins. It hit me a little later--it’s such an elegant metaphor for those who are constricted by society because of their race or sexuality, constantly fighting the huge obstacles wanting to prevent such people from any kind of metamorphosis (I mean, Dream gave her butterfly wings when he recreated her as she wanted to be). Which leads me to the one giant tonal shift that has me curious about future seasons. Dream in the comics is almost completely without humor. He is ultra-serious about his duties and responsibilities and way too proud, unwilling to change as the aeons go by. And his inability to change leads him to his end in a classic literary tragedy - even though he knows change will be necessary, he resists and even plans for his demise by setting up for the possibility with Lyta’s child as his successor. But it’s really hard to get a TV series off the ground when your leading man is not just the aloof emo archetype but stoic and stern to the point of needing to be introduced as a prisoner to garner sympathy for him. My husband and I were genuinely surprised in the first episode when Dream cried over Jessamy’s death, because it signaled a depth of caring that we don’t see until much later in the comics. But the TV Dream does show emotion, albeit mostly quietly and with a lot of amazing face acting by Tom Sturridge, does appreciate humor and irony, and at the end of this season does seem to see the need for change.

So now I’m very curious as to how they will herd Dream to his death. Will there be a back-and-forth because Dream can’t change enough? Or will the undertone about the universe having rules mean that Dream’s arc will be less about tragic choices and more about circumstances, with him having to accept the consequences of spilling family blood when he gives Orpheus the coup?

(Of course this is assuming that Netflix allows the series to be completed instead of cutting it off after 2-3 seasons. Yes, I’m still bitter about Sense8.)

TL;DR - I loved it, I think Neil Gaiman has taken full advantage of his previous TV experiences to find what works and find who will work best with him, and I will re-watch this series many times and keep watching any future seasons.

145 notes - Posted August 10, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

tagged by @josilverdragon

favorite color: royal blue, purple, red and black together

currently reading: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

last song: “Fire and Rain” by Matt Kearney

last movie: I genuinely don’t remember

sweet/savory/spicy: Sweet

currently working on: a major work deadline so I can get back to writing fic

Tagging: @attheendofsummer @goldentruth813 @stlgeekgirl @rangergirl3 and anyone else who would like to play

177 notes - Posted October 28, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[ammenvs3000w23]

Unit 7: Music in Nature And Nature in Music

“Rythm is the center of humanity, one who knows rhythm knows the world” - King Clave 

I saw this quote a bit ago and it reminded me a lot of this week's prompt. To be completely honest, I don’t think I can remember a time in my life when music and nature didn't go hand in hand. For as long as I can remember, summer walks have been associated with whistling, campfires with country music, and playing in the snow with what some would call repetitive Christmas carols. 

Music can be found anywhere in nature. While humans use music to help process feelings, create ambiance, or instill feelings of joy, other species such as birds and whales use music as a form of communication. To further elaborate, whales use their songs to help locate others as well as different food sources (NOAA, 2013). In addition to this, birds utilize their songs to both attract mates and defend territory (Wada, 2010). 

Now to flip the question, nature plays a big role in music. In this week's course notes, when reading about the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and the environment. I was reminded of a song titled Northern Lights by Jerry Cans. In his song, Cans highlights the beauty that exists beyond our screens by paying tribute to the northern lights; an environmental process that carries much importance for this community. For Indigenous Peoples, music is a tool used to help translate ecological and ancestral knowledge (The Conversation, 2021). Through this, an appreciation for their land and what it provides is acknowledged which in turn results in a deeper connection with the space. Music has the power to move which is important in many contexts but especially within that of interpretation. As interpreters, it is our job to teach in a way that allows the audience to feel connected with a space and its history. Considering this, using music to translate such environmental knowledge can be useful in evoking emotions and in turn contribute to greater understanding (Beck et al., 2018). 

Now, as I read the last part of the prompt I would be lying if I told you it took me any time to find what song I was gonna talk about. Picture this with me: it’s about 10 pm on a midsummer night. Those closest to me are all sitting by the campfire in my back yard shuffling through music when all of a sudden American Pie by Don Mclean comes on. Within seconds everyone's faces light up and we begin to sing and laugh as the almost 9-minute song continues to play. The stars, the fresh air, the sounds coming from different life forms in the backfield… it's all perfect. While the song of choice could be seen as questionable - it in itself is a portal to both a natural landscape and one of my fondest memories.

Beck, L., Cable, T.T., & Knudson, D.M (2018). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritagefor a Better World (1st ed). Sagamore Venture.

D, Lepofsky., A, Fernández-Llamazares., & O, Kim Recalma-Clutesi,. (2022, November 11). Indigenous song keepers reveal traditional ecological knowledge in music. The Conversation. Retrieved March 4, 2023, from https://theconversation.com/indigenous-song-keepers-reveal-traditional-ecological-knowledge-in-music-123573#:~:text=For%20Indigenous%20Peoples%20who%20have,deep%20in%20our%20sacred%20memory. 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2013, June 1). Why do whales make sounds? Why Do whales Make Sounds. Retrieved March 4, 2023, from https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/whalesounds.html#:~:text=Whales%20make%20noise%20to%20communicate,and%20socialize%20with%20each%20other. 

Wada, H. (2010) The Development of Birdsong. Nature Education Knowledge 3 (10):86

[tiikerikani]

Four walls

Because there's only... um... myself and Coworker who (still) have office-based work contracts, the company decided to move us into a smaller rental office space in February. We unpacked and worked there for a couple of weeks, until I got a large task which required me to check audio transcripts. I decided to do this from home so I didn't have to spend all day with headphones on. This took a few weeks, after which I went back in for 2 days before it simply became intolerable to sit in there and I've moved my stuff back home again on a semi-permanent basis.

There's 2 main reasons for this:

1. The room is too small for 2 people.

By "too small for 2 people" I don't necessarily mean like Finnish people personal space requirements.

Consider this exhibit of an actual prison cell at Vankila (the prison museum in Hämeenlinna, appropriately named The Prison). It was occupied by one inmate. 

I lived my freshman year in a bedroom about this size, ok a bit wider but about this deep. More window and less security, though. Literally, because the door to my room was kind of broken so it'd lock, but you could open it with a firm shove.

The office space we have now does not feel much bigger than this. I want to say it's at most 8 sqm (86 sqft) but, as I haven't been in there for a few months, this is an estimate based on comparing my memory of it to the length of my bed (2 m). It's probably 2/5 the size of the old room, which had at most 4 people working in it and felt comfortable with 4 people working in it. (For example, there was enough room to put a small armchair in, though we never managed to make this happen. Or to stretch out on the floor without being underneath your desk.)

The new space is the kind of space you can imagine being rented by a sole trader who might get visits from clients (and it certainly seems that way from the windows I've peeped into), not for 2 full-time workers doing things that don't require collaboration or even interaction with each other. 

It's hard to articulate exactly what not having enough personal space feels like, but this is what not having enough personal space feels like.

2. My workload fluctuates unpredictably between long spells of idleness and shorter spurts of I need this done stat!!.

(Yes I'm being paid for this.)

Thus I have a lot of time that can be much better spent on chores or, really, anything else as long as I'm keeping an ear open for the inbox ping. If I spend that time at the office, anxious and restless (because not enough personal space), it's sand through my fingers.

Being in that room might be more tolerable if this were an alternative timeline where any of my hobbies were super portable, for example, knitting. In this timeline though, my fidgeting/stress outlets include working on my miniatures, piano, and dancing and singing along to #theplaylistismymantra, none of which are feasible in that space. (I have a portable painting kit but only one set of paints, and it's a bit of a walk to the nearest sink to clean things in. Boss is remote so it's not like anybody is policing me.)

My table at home has been reclaimed by my painting and modelling stuff, so my work is on the side and thus the ergonomics suck even more than during lockdown when I was busier and thus work was at the centre of the table.

But I will not be convinced to give up the office desk entirely; sometimes I do want to use an extra screen instead of peering at the laptop. Or even just to get a nice big lunch from the cafeteria. I think Coworker needs the office space more than I do, because he lives with other people and I'd understand wanting a place to work without being disturbed by them.

[back-and-totheleft]

Stone's indictment of the majors focuses on two types of crimes, which, to use his terms, might be divided into Thievery and Thuggery, although there seems to be some overlap. In the Thievery category is the formula the studios use to apportion the vast new millions that come from the videocassette market. The dastardly formula which perpetrates the thievery, Stone says, is called the "videocassette override."

"Major, major thievery," he says. "It's $12 million on [my film] Wall Street."

Twelve million dollars is a large sum to have been lost to "theft," even by Hollywood standards. I ask him how he calculated that.

"The majors declare that only 20 percent of a film's videocassette revenues are allocated back to the film's gross."

"I thought gross was gross," I say, relieved to have seen Speed-the-Plow.

Gross isn't gross when it comes to tape revenues because of the override formula, he says. "They keep 80 percent," which means that profit participants on the creative end—like the director and screenwriter, who start collecting only if the gross is massive—can end up shut out of the tape-revenue windfall. "They say they're treating videocassettes as a separate entity. It's been going on for years, but it's a complete misunderstanding of the way that videocassettes were originally supposed to be distributed. Wall Street's video revenues were more than $16 million in sales. They will allocate around $4 million. Ripping off $12 million." (Nick Counter, president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, calls this account "confused." He says that "the formula is an industrywide negotiated figure which is the minimum and can be negotiated higher. The economics of the marketplace—marketing costs and the like— have justified the formula.")

Stone calls the other category of crime committed by the cocksucker vampires at the major studios Thuggery: using monopolistic muscle to strangle the once promising growth of nonmajor independents and boutique studios such as Hemdale (which brought out Salvador and Platoon when no one else would). "It's an incredible struggle that's going on," he says. "It's very subtle. Critics don't pick up on it. In 1985-86, the independent films started to break through. The Salvadors, the Room with a Views, the Platoons."

He contends the majors reacted to this by increasing the quantity of the films they release, which resulted in the independents' being squeezed out, because they're locked out of distribution to movie theaters. "Hemdale, Cannon, Dino [De Laurentiis], all of them have been hurting. They're hurting because they can't get the theater time." (In fact, a recent Variety story confirmed a "screen crunch'' for indies, although collusion is another question.)

-Oliver Stone to Vanity Fair, January 1989 [x]

Commenting on the ongoing 11-week WGA strike, Stone suggested the roots of the current industrial action lie in the deal brokered to end the five-month writers strike in 1988. “There was a basic miscarriage of justice way back when, when Brian Walton was the head of the WGA, when we gave in. I wasn’t on the front line, but I supported that strike,” said Stone. “We gave in to the producers. They got away with murder on one of these deals where all that DVD money was deferred. They claimed they were in the hole, in the red, and that they had to get their money back from DVD. “I forgot what the percentage was, but they took something like the first 75% off the top. The DVD business was huge, especially for my films. So, the gross was never divided fairly.” Stone said this trend had continued with residuals and profits. “Not so much residuals, as profits really. Residuals are important for some of the writers who don’t make as much money. But people who do make money, they don’t touch the profits from the film, the studio does,” he said. “The studio is always telling you that they’re losing money, but they always find a way to make a new level of profit for 10, 15 years. … It’s that perpetual industrial problem with a capitalist group that pays its executives more and more money and screws the average writer.”

-Oliver Stone to Deadline, Jul 14 2023