#once i have them all to look at in person i will sophie's-choice it and be back to buy myself a hoodie for christmas

[neverbelessthan]

omgOHMYGODDDDDD!!!

they are so beautiful! their little fingers! the little basket! my eyes are as big as tiny ed's right now. good thing i'm the only one awake in the house, otherwise i'd have to explain why i'm sobbing on my keyboard.

honestly, i'd had a really rough month and i was like you know what, self? you should go spend a bit of money on something that isn't food or medical bills. and the more of them i put in my basket the happier it made me and then i got the giggles thinking about covering every spare surface i could find in beautiful little tiny eds and stedes, so ... i just kept going. 😅

they really are just the sweetest thing, thank you so much for bringing them into all of our lives ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Not so much an ask as a comment on my general lack of self control. I went to your shop to get one sticker, and got twenty. Honestly not sure how I ever thought I could get away with just one. Their sweet little faces were like 'but ... what about us?' and I was like 'jfc fine get in my basket. everybody get in my basket'. 🥰🥰🥰

omg haha I wondered who had made that big order!! thank you for giving them a good home <3333 hope you enjoy!

[captainsophiestark]

Crib Construction

Cassian x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for my personal fic writing challenge for 2024, Sophie's Year of Fic! Featuring a new fic being posted every Friday, all year long :)

Fandom: ACOTAR

Summary: Cassian and his mate have been tasked with putting together Nyx's crib. Unfortunately, it's a harder task than they thought it would be.

Word Count: 1,282

Category: Fluff, Humor

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"Cass, come here. Does this look right?"

My boyfriend didn't waste a second before joining me on the floor, kneeling behind me and looking over my shoulder. Neither of us spoke for a minute, then I heard a rustling of paper as Cassian sighed.

"Yeah, it looks right. That hasn't stopped it from being wrong before, though."

"Well, let's just hope for the best."

I could feel through the mating bond just how little Cassian wanted to do that, but he knew as well as I did that we didn't have much other choice. I took a deep breath, then gently pressed the two pieces of wood before me together, trying to get them to link like they were supposed to.

Of course, it didn't work. I added slightly more pressure, but still nothing. I put my entire weight and all of my strength into it, and when the damn thing still didn't budge, I let out a scream and shoved both pieces away from me before I could really lose my temper and accidentally break something.

"This is bullshit!" I shouted, whirling around to face Cassian. He had a look of grim resignation, meeting my eyes with sympathy. Our positions had been exactly reversed about ten minutes ago. "Rhys set this up as a way to get back at you for winning the snowball fight last time, and I'm getting caught in the collateral. This sucks."

"Honestly, maybe he did," Cass said, sighing and leaning back on his hands. "Or maybe Az did something to break this one too before he got kicked off the job."

I groaned, flopping over and into Cassian's side to lay against his chest and stare at the ridiculous contraption that had been defeating us all afternoon. Rhys and Feyre had asked us to assemble Nyx's crib, and at first, we'd been honored and happy to help. But hours later, when nothing was going right and none of the pieces were fitting together the way they were supposed to, I was about ready to throw all of it out the window and into the Sidra below.

We'd been given the task in the first place because Az had shattered the same type of crib to pieces after spending a day being stumped by the puzzle. Cassian and I had inherited the task for our ability to keep each other calm, and because we were generally less destructive when continually frustrated by a puzzle. This crib was about to ruin that reputation.

"Okay, maybe we should just start over from the beginning," I said, sitting up and turning to face Cassian after our brief rest. "Like, take everything apart and lay it all out on the floor again, then start back from step one."

Cassian groaned. "Honestly, I hate that idea. But what we're already doing clearing isn't working, so..."

"So let's try it. Deep breaths, and then a total reset. A fresh start."

"...Alright. Let's do it."

With a lot of heavy sighing, Cassian and I took apart what little progress we'd made, separating the crib back into its individual parts, the way it had come. Once we got it all laid out again, I took the instruction manual from Cass and laid that out in front of us, too. With one last deep breath, we started in again at step one on page one.

I wish I could say this attempt went better. But it didn't. Cassian and I almost destroyed the whole thing Az-style in a fit of frustration three times each, one of us barely managing to pull the other back every time. We were just lucky our destructive streaks never lined up, or the pieces of the crib before us would've already become nothing more than a pile of ash.

"Alright, that's it!" Cass finally shouted, standing up abruptly from where we'd been trying to wrestle together the corners of the crib with no luck, despite using both our strength at once. "I'll be right back."

"What?" I flung my arms out to either side of me as Cassian headed for the door. "You're abandoning me? Seriously?"

"Not abandoning! Changing tactics."

Before I could ask for clarification, Cassian was out the door. I stared after him, waiting for him to reappear or say he was kidding or something, but he didn't. I huffed, then shook my head and turned back to the crib, its pieces still mostly laid out on the floor.

I sat there and stared at the pieces for a few long beats, contemplating my next move. Honestly, I'd just about decided to throw them out the window and tell Rhys the thing'd never been here when the door came swinging open again.

I turned to find Cassian striding towards me, the confidence and determination back in his step. I raised an eyebrow at him, but he just grinned.

"I've solved all our problems."

I snorted, but smiled at Cassian all the same as he came to a stop before me. The fact that he'd managed to make me laugh at all in the middle of this nonsense was exactly why we were mates, and it made me love him even more.

"Cass, you know I love you, and you know I trust you, but... I'm having a hard time seeing how that could possibly be true. Unless you convinced Mor to take over for us...?"

"No, but just as good." I raised an eyebrow, and Cassian's grin widened as he dropped down next to me. Slowly, from behind his back, he pulled out a hammer, tape, and a few other supplies.

I just stared at everything for a moment, then snorted and leanded into Cassian. I closed my eyes and shook my head.

"Babe... we can't use that stuff to put this crib together."

"Why not?"

"Because it won't be sturdy enough! We don't want it to give out while the baby's in it. We both know we can't risk that."

Cassian hummed, rocking forward just enough to get a few of the pieces of the crib into his hands. He lined them up like we'd been doing all day, then raised the hammer in his other hand.

"Maybe you're right about the tape," he said. "But all we need to fix this is a little extra power. We can't force it together with our strength alone, so we'll use a hammer."

"Cass-"

Before I could get another word out, Cassian swung the hammer. I could see him putting his full Illyrian strength into it, and sure enough, the pieces whacked together. Unfortunately for us, they also splintered into more pieces than would be fixable, even with tape.

Cassian and I just stared at the wreckage for a moment, neither of us speaking. Cassian was the one to break first.

"Shit."

I laughed, all the stress and ridiculousness of the past few hours disappearing along with our hopes of actually succeeding at our task. I leaned into Cassian, and a moment later, he joined me.

"Well, that didn't go like I was hoping," sighed Cassian. I laughed again.

"Really? That's not what you were going for?"

"Not quite."

We shared a smile, then slumped back together, Cassian's arm around my waist as I leaned into his chest. I sighed, staring at the ruins of the crib before us. Not a single part of me wanted to do something about fixing it.

"So... how about we call Mor and find a way to pass this on to her?"

I laughed, then nodded as I leaned even further into Cassian.

"Baby, I was thinking the same thing. You, me, and Az have had to tear our hair out over this thing already, I think it's her turn."

"And even better, if any of us has to call Amren in, it'll be Mor."

"Exactly."

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989 @space-helen @misshale21

Maasverse Taglist: @lilah-asteria

[isagrimorie]

People give Janeway guff about not giving Kazon replicators and transporters. Still, it's proven repeatedly that giving one Kazon faction an advantage over the other would be mixing it up in an internal war that would LITERALLY shift the balance of power.

Klingons at least know the technology they have engineers, even as it's becoming a dying breed over Warriors.

TLDR in Alliance Chakotay and Tuvok convinces Janeway that making an alliance with a Kazon faction is the way to go.

And so she does finally concede on this little experiment but with a lot of reservations going in: That once they leave the infighting will go on, and might actually have been worse.

Tuvok naively thinks it might help and bring about a Federation.

B'Elanna then pushes forward Harry's sarcastic comment about forming an alliance with Seska and then at the first sign of this, Chakotay balks.

And then Janeway says something that I feel is her guiding principle in dealing with hard decisions:

Janeway: "You can't have it both ways Commander. If you want to get in the mud with the Kazon you can't start complaining that you might get dirty."

Again, this is what I love about Janeway -- she gets flack for it but when Janeway makes a decision no one else wants to make it.

As I've mentioned in another post in tags: #right or wrong#i admire how janeway is always the one#who goes#the buck stops with me#she makes the hard choices on voyager#especially during debates#when the staff just goes around and around in circles#like in memorial where she starts just in the background#listening to the senior staff debate#from how janeway started in episode 2 of season 1#where she's presented with the horrific#sophie's choice of neelix dying because he has no lungs#and then subjecting another person to the same fate#to the (now boring debate about tuvix)#to this moment#to the moment on the memorial episode#she will take on that burden#and she will always stare at the hardest choice unflinchingly#because someone has to#as the 12th doctor once said#sometimes all your choices are bad ones#but you still have to choose#

In this episode, she allowed herself to be persuaded but she's not sold on it. But she's letting her crew run with it -- okay so we do this, but if we do this, we commit to it. And yet, at the first uncomfortable decisions... there's already balking. This was Janeway testing the waters if any other person on her senior staff could carry water about making the hard choices.

So far the ones who have stepped up were B'Elanna, Tom, and Neelix.

Anyway, I wish there was more fallout on the whole Kazon vs Trabe conflict because that was actually interesting.

But also Voyager had a Doctor Who problem -- if they meddle in the affairs of a spatial politik, they don't know the repercussions of their actions and just look at Living Witness and the reputation Voyager gained simply by doing a bit of a trade deal.

Voyager can help when they can, see: helping Brenari refugees escape the Devore. (Counterpoint).

But they can't and shouldn't really interfere with internal politics. They're not like DS9 where they can stay in one place and fix things permanently. They're just passing through.

This is also why I think she wasn't really considering Tuvok and Chakotay's thing during the Void episode where they raid another ship's resources. (Also, because after Ransom and Equinox, she knows what faltering in the Federation principles can do).

Crucially, she's also known both Chakotay and Tuvok enough that while she loves them -- Janeway knows neither men have the stomach for their proposals.

The Alliance episode was one example of that already.

Janeway, though, if she is pushed to make that commitment and there was absolutely NO way they can prevent raiding others-- Janeway would have committed to that action 110%. This is why I feel Janeway would actually come to a similar conclusion as Sisko in In the Pale Moonlight.

Especially, if she gets daily reports of Starfleet casualties. I have a feeling, there would be less kicking and screaming when Garak finally does his reveal.

Janeway has rules for a reason. She is fastidious about it. For a reason. Because once she commits to an action, it will take both hell and high water to take her off that course.

/edited

[sgiandubh]

Last minute Swifties

Contrary to what many thought and some posted, I do think the OL cast's Taylor Swift experience was a last minute promo idea, very much monitored by *** and Tall Ships. I was wrong about minder/security guy (still, eerie...) and I never have a problem publicly admitting it. But quite unlikely I am wrong about this one. And sorry for the length, but you know how I am when I am looking for something, right?

Let's unpack: cast thanked the 'organizers' (and minders, really) in very specific terms, leaving NO much doubt:

Louisa McCulloch. Remember this name, we shall meet her in one hot minute. So thank you Louisa and Maril for organizing this: ask yourselves why did Maril, who (as far as I know) is based in the US, have to come to Edinburgh just for the gig. Damage control, perhaps?

And Sophie S., with a remarkable choice of words:

'Thank you ***, TS and her team for making it happen'. In my book, this means a strong, common effort to secure the box last minute. Because 'making it happen' means exactly that: 'need to do everything you can to facilitate it'.

Clearly Skelton, who is a Swiftie in her own right, was particularly appreciative of the efforts it took to ensure everyone could attend the concert. If that were a long planned event, her enthusiasm would have been more temperate, I think. 'Adding more Swifties to the clan' - LOL, Sophie, you mean S and C had no idea of the lyrics and were unable to sing along with you, John Bell, Izzy and Co (I keep forgetting their names and I like them a lot, in the show)? People of my generation are already too damn old for Taylor S. And this different sort of music might be more of S's real preference: otherwise why post it in his stories, as if to say ' TS is a different thing altogether'?

James. A Manchester rock band, formed in 1982, popular in the Nineties. I see no lies: he was clear 'JAMMF is a Swiftie'. And we are, after all, Children of the Nineties, not TS's crowd. And yes, I knew S was into the same kind of music as I was, in the Nineties (he seems to have stayed put, right there, unlike me, LOL):

Anyways, back to the mysterious woman up and front on three pictures in a row, that got many speculating. Nope, that was not Wendy, the MUA and S's bestie:

Once...

... Twice...

... Three times a lady:

Her name is Louisa McCulloch, née Radcliffe and she is the one S thanked, along with Maril (see above). It was a bit hard finding her, because her IG account is private. But I found her alright on Facebook, and then LinkedIn (of course):

Based in Lockerbie, Scotland. 20 years experience as a media publicist:

Worked with *** and Tall Ships since Season 3, after a short stint as Head of Publicity at the Paramount Pictures London Office. Got promoted from Unit Publicist to Publicist during COVID, for Season 6. So yes, she is the one who made it happen, locally, on what I think was a quite short notice.

Attention successfully diverted. Impeccable timing and giving a younger crowd what it wants. Trying to capitalize on TS's huge Instagram fan base: 283 million followers (wow! I had no fucking idea she was so huge). A win-win situation for just about everyone and an elegant way out from sordid waters:

And it worked. Lost among the hundred of thousands of likes and comments, look who's jumping on the bandwagon:

Sharon Stone. With a Blue Check and her 3.9 million Instagram fanbase. A Nineties deity, need I remind you (this blogger spotted her during the Berlinale 2007, while I was going out for drinks, blissfully unaware we were all staying at The Adlon, LOL)?

They mutually follow each other on Insta, by the way. I wonder why *urv did not pounce on that one. I feel robbed, for once, of a wonderful fanfic.

[Later edit] Several comments take on this person without a proper justification. I am editing this post to remind you she is only responsible for the implementation (in Scotland) of decisions taken elsewhere (in the United States of America). She is NOT a decision maker and as Publicist, was probably responsible for the local implementation of a hasty decision to attend an event (secure VIP box at Murrayfield, sell content to the local press). The direct contact with TS's team was, very likely, Maril and upwards, in the hierarchy. In all fairness, she has nothing to do with a billboard spotted in Los Angeles, USA - nothing of the sort in Europe. I am all for taxing, but let's tax people who are really RESPONSIBLE: she is just a very well paid underling. Thank you all, I am sure you understand fairness can only add to our credibility as a group.

[bearyzdiary]

Hellooo 👋 I know you’re busy with other requests but I can’t help with this idea

With hyperpink girly reader (gender neutral Ofc or your choice) though they may seem mean to others but is really nice to Simon, very affectionate to him (covering his face with pink lip gloss marks) , and protective too. Chase Simon’s bullies away with their neon pink platform heels.

I’ve been obsessing with pink x emo dynamic

Take however long you want!! Thanks for reading this and I hope you’ll have a good day/night ✊

Bubblegum

Simon x reader

This diary entry contains…established relationship | Talk of poor mental health | mentions of bullying | reader is a icon | Simon is just Simon | just the two of you being cuties | slight obsessive behavior

Simon was a loser and you were the popular icon of the college you both went to.Your style was so pretty and colorful,Mostly pink but any color would fit you.

You met Simon on your first day when you needed help finding the girls restroom to re-do your lip combo.He instantly fell in love with you.

He soon enough made a big enough of move to get closer to you and you guys ended up getting close to each other to start dating blah blah blah!

Once you guys got close enough he confessed about how he was struggling with poor mental health and was a main target for bullying.

You never liked them.You use to be a target for bullying until you kinda just snapped and told them off.You were left alone after that and ever since then you been helping people who get bullied.

You sat on his bed as he cleaned up his floor.You had came over to listen to him vent and to help him with some English because he needed an idea of what to write.

“People are so shitty sometimes Simon,but you gotta ignore them and show them you don’t care! They’re just a bunch of self projecting losers”You say while fixing your digital camera.

Simon nodded before shrugging.He didn’t have the confidence like you did.You made yourself known while he kinda just stood on the side lines and supported you.”come here”you say gently as you place your camera on Simon’s windowsill.

Simon got up from his spot on the floor and made his way towards you.he sat next to you before staring into your eyes.You grab the sides of his stubble covered face and plant small kisses all over his face.

You had applied some cute pink lipgloss a couple of minutes earlier so you left sticky lipgloss kiss marks.You giggled at your work before grabbing your camera and snapping a quick photo of Simon.

He started down at your lap before smiling.”You’re so so so so soo handsome babe.Im kinda glad some girls don’t you like you because now I can have you all to myself!”You joke as you place a couple more kisses on his face.

Simon feels his face get red as he hides his face in his hands.Girls never were into him as much as your were.He had Sophie yeah but Sophie only saw him as a friend

You were different.unlike Sophie,you didn’t leave him but you stayed with him and comforted him.When Sophie rejected him and made up the excuse she had to go,You stayed with him the whole entire night listening to him vent.

Simon and Sophie are still I guess you could call them friends but he doesn’t talk with her anymore as much.He has you!When Simon does talk to Sophie he mostly talks about his life and how you made it much better.

People still don’t know how Simon was able to get with someone like you.You were a likeable,bubbly and a talkative person unlike Simon who was like the complete opposite,but they do say opposites attract.

You sometimes would even chase them off,it didn’t matter what type of shoes you were wearing you could run in 6 inch heels and still look flawless spewing out curses word at a bunch of losers who were picking on Simon.

Sometimes Simon would help with picking your outfits!he didn’t have much fashion sense when it came to himself but when he came to you,He knew exactly how to dress you.

“Ok Simon!I have this cute baby pink crop top or should I wear the baby blue one?”You ask while showing your boyfriend the two shirts.Simon did a quick scan off both shirts before looking at the skirt you had picked out.It was a black,pleated skirt with small rhinestones on the belt loops.

“I feel like you should wear the blue one.I think it would go good with the skirt your gonna wear”Simon said while going back to messing with his camera,

You nod as you toss the pink shirt back into the closet before smiling at Simon and thanking him for his help.Not only was he such a cutie but a big help when it came to styling you.

He was the only male you would trust picking out your outfits.Sometimes the two of you would match if you were able to convince him.it would take a couple minutes of begging but sooner or later you would make Simon have matching pink themed outfits!

Even if he found it absolutely ridiculous,As long as you were happy he was even more happy.

[liketwoswansinbalance]

The Stymphs' Symbolism and the Storian's Interference

All right, here's our equivalence:

The Stymphs = Fate

Ok, so, with the girls in book one:

Agatha and Sophie are carried off by a Stymph, and they are thrown into their respective schools. No choice. No say in the matter. They've lost their agency, completely.

They are mastered by a Stymph, by fate. Conquered.

Then, the shift happens. They become the masters of their own fate, in riding the Stymph, in steering on top of the Stymph, into the School Master's Tower.

By TLEA, again, their relationship to the Stymphs changes. They're a little beholden to them and fate, in becoming who they are. Fate and the particular Stymph's original actions, its involvement in their kidnapping, I mean, shaped them both, ultimately. The girls are also beholden to the Stymphs for helping them, by not obeying "Rafal" when they help the archer students and Merlin during the second Great War.

⸻

Then, for the prequels:

Who is master of the Stymphs? Rafal, of course.

Yet, Rhian is the "author of own misfortune," or fate.

Rafal is the original master of the Stymphs. In a way, Rafal was destined to become Fate, to become the Balance, had he managed to live long enough to be the One.

Because, he was about to be named the One True School Master, and through the Schools, he would have been master of the Woods' fate, been able to willfully control (or indirectly influence, through the curriculum, the students' educations, and how prepared they would have been, should their fairy tales begin) the fate of all the Woods, all its possible futurities, in theory, to an extent.

But, really, it's the Pen that is Fate, not Rafal himself, when it really comes down to the truth.

However, Rhian disrupted "fate," or the Storian's plans, by being the cause of his brother's death.

And, when he was left with the Stymphs he "inherited," he probably couldn't quite automatically rein them in. I think he had to tame them, or find a literal spell to mollify them with, to get them under his control. Probably symbolically because he was never meant to be Fate or the One in the first place.

And so, of course, Fate's attendants (the Stymphs) wouldn't have followed him willingly, at least, not right away because the ending simply wasn't meant to be, but just so happened to happen nonetheless. (I know the Stymphs' behavior actually must originate from the fact that Stymphs supposedly only like Evers, but I'm looking at this from an angle that's outside of the narrative, and I don't need to rely on the in-universe reasoning at the moment.)

Was there a line after the climax of Fall about this at all? About the Stymphs being disobedient toward Rhian or outright loud and unmanageable, or am I misremembering?

Anyway, Rhian became master of Fate, of the Woods, in becoming the sole School Master. But that only happened when there was no one else left to assume the role. He was the only option, sort of a second-choice. Or, possibly even third, when we consider Pan as the hypothetical third candidate to be the One. Rhian was the default, sadly enough, the lone, surviving one. He wasn't even meant to be School Master, the rightful One, yet he had to be chosen. The Storian was compelled to because there was no one else.

Thus, the "ownership" of the Stymphs and of Fate was transferred over to Rhian.

And remember, once, Rhian was Fate's personal punching bag. He suffered a lot, for his naivete, and from some external causes, like Hook and Vulcan, sort of, even if he was wrongly influenced by the end of it all. And yes, while many events were partly his fault, they also may not have been. The plot could have been the result of very poor happenstance and intersections of the times the brothers lived in, as, we can observe all the turbulence in Rise, during that one particular school year.

⸻

Oh! And I wonder if the Stymphs forevermore missed Rafal, their original master? Did they show any signs of missing him? I'm not sure.

But, I am sure that they knew Rhian replaced Rafal because they can read souls, tell them apart, they way they seemed to instinctually read Agatha's, Sophie's, and Aladdin's souls, to know which Schools they belonged to.

I don't think there's any direct evidence of the Stymphs' mourning though. Did they ever screech, or cry out, as if in pain, like deprived animals? I suppose I could imagine that plausibly happening, with how they were left behind...

[crescentpaws]

oki :3 ask game

do they have allergies?

how do they cry? heaving? silently? sobbing?

who is the first person they'd call?

what is their biggest mistake? one that they look out to never do again.

yippee!

since most elves don’t really have allergies i’d have to say no… but there are definitely some things that affect him more than other people (for example: bright light. when sophie’s mind was slightly broken in exile, she had severe light sensitivity issues. and ik this was mainly because of how she bonded with the light while almost fading or whatever, but i think just a broken mind in general would be prone to headaches more often. because. duh. and bright lights are one of the most common triggers for headaches. & since fintan’s mind is still not entirely… right.. i’d imagine he’d have the same issues. and he works with fire a lot. which can be very bright. especially everblaze. so i just imagine he has constant headaches (because he is NOT going to stop using his ability for something as trivial as that. with everblaze especially, i think he’d even enjoy the pain a bit) also, the cold. obviously pyrokinetics can do better in the cold than other elves can, but i don’t think that necessarily means they’re comfortable. like how the reason you get chills when you have a fever is because your body temperature is higher than that of the air around you. which is true for pyrokinetics pretty much all the time. they can cope with this by bringing the heat towards them, like how marella explained why she wasn’t shivering in the snow in nightfall, but if there isn’t enough heat in the air to begin with to compensate for their higher body temperature, they’ll be much more miserable than they would have been if they had a normal temperature. if you were trapped in a blizzard with a pyrokinetic, sure, they’d be able to survive while you freeze to death, but they’ll probably feel much colder and more miserable than you)

he definitely isn’t a big crier, or at least he wasn’t before he had his mind forcefully broken. so when he has those emotional breakdown moments (which can come on at any time, thanks to the instability of his mind as well as his powerful overwhelming ability) it’s those full force horrible disgusting choking heaving sobs. (and fire. lots of fire. pyrokinesis seems to be very tied to emotion, so it’d make sense that he’d lose control of his ability during a breakdown too.) letting it all out at once basically. back in his councillor days though, i think he would’ve been more of a silent crier

present day fintan doesn’t rely on anyone but himself, so he definitely wouldn’t call anyone for any kind of support under any circumstances. in the past though, i’d have to imagine that bronte was always the first person he went to (horrible choice, really)

do i even have to say it… (everblaze incident that led to the pyrokinesis ban)

[jinnify]

stray kids as your halloween costume partner 🎃🕯️

disclaimer: the pictures are just meant as a reference ^^ feel free to alter it to your liking~

bang chan: the corpse bride and victor

sauur :( 

you were balls-deep in some Loving Chris Juice when you suggested this

dude had NO IDEA how in love with him u were

so you kinda just

“haha we should dress as the corpse bride…jk…but we should”

Chan didn’t really say anything he just kinda shrugged his shoulders and agreed

you guys ended up going to a party chan had been invited to earlier in the month 

which honestly kinda annoyed you since you had wanted to go trick-or-treating but didn’t say anything

The entire night you kinda just hovered around chan, inwardly crying whenever a person came to flirt with him

“you good?”

“yeah, just kinda bored since I don’t know anyone here”

“wanna go trick-or-treating? instead”

lee minho: gomez and morticia addams

Minho took it seriously when you told him the addams family was your favourite movie

he promptly suggested you guys dress as gomez and morticia

even going as far as dyeing his hair black that night

“babe, c’mon. you know i’d look amazing in a suit,” he winked

there was really no arguing with minho once he had made up his mind about something

plus, he really did look good in a suit

cue you staring at his ass all night

you had both opted for giving out candy the entire night, dramatically opening the door together whenever you got a knock

halloween night was chill for the pair of you

you gave out candy

you made out a bunch

and you were knocked out in bed by 10 pm

seo changbin: rapunzel and flynn rider

LISTEN

you have had a vision since even BEFORE you started dating changbin

Changbin was the absolute embodiment of flynn

The Confidence? Check

The Charms? Check

The Face? Check

The Body? Check

The Absolute Need to be flirting with you? Check

not to mention how much of a softie he truly was

Changbin was absolutely perfect as flynn, you will not be taking any objections

he was absolutely down to wearing matching costumes with you

maybe even more excited than you to be dressed as flynn but anyway

you spent your night with your friends, having fun trick-or-treating and trading candies together

“you already know i hate reeses cups why are you trying to trade them with me!!”

one thing about changbin

he was going to whine about nothing

“Fine! Here! take me snickers!”

hwang hyunjin: howl and sophie

I mean hello

Who are we Fooling here

Hyunjin Is Literally Howl

it was actually hyunjin that came up with the idea to dress as howl and sophie

He had started to grow out his hair the year before when you watched the movie to be able to dress as him

“YOU LOOK SO CUTE DRESSED A SOPHIE”

He wouldn’t stop hugging you

or shaking you by the shoulders

You were a little scared he was going to end up hurting you by accident with how much he was shaking you

“Hyunjin please let go of me”

“BUT YOU LOOK SO CUTE WITH YOUR GREY HAIR”

pls help idk why hyunjin’s is so hard to write for im sorry my hyune likers i tried

han jisung: raven and beast boy

ok look

Jisung is a certified Alt Girl Lover™️

and who is more of an alt girl than the og raven

he couldn’t wait to bring the idea up to you

boy was literally shaking while explaining his idea to you

he was so excited lmao

As his best friend, you had no choice but to follow along

“Only if you go as beast boy”

“bro are you kidding? I’ve had the costume for like a week already?”

“did you buy me mine?”

“uh, no. get your own shit”

You did in fact make him buy you your costume on halloween night

He got it off craigslist and only washed it once :/

You ended up going to a club and getting drunk together

“Haha wouldn’t it be crazy if we kissed?”

“jisung , it this your way of asking to kiss me?”

“maybe”

lee felix: beauty and the beast

“I think felix would look prettier as belle”

seo changbin how could you

of course felix suggested you to be belle but your pride had already been hurt by then

so you just let him go as belle

He really did look prettier 😔

It was actually really fun going out in these costumes

A lot of little girls came up to take a picture with him

It was the cutest thing

He did end up asking you to change into your original belle costume you guys ended up going to later on in the night

“Y’know changbin was wrong, right?”

“Nah, you really are so pretty lix.”

suddenly you guys were all sappy for each other

How could u not when felix was dressed like a literal prince

You left the party early to go home and cuddle <3

kim seungmin: ghostface and michael myers

The only one taking this halloween shit SERIOUSLY

at this point in your guys’ friendship, you knew better than to deny seungmin the pleasure of causing chaos

ofc being seungmin’s best friend meant going along with his shenanigans

No Questions Asked

so when he got to your apartment with a ghostface mask and black robe in hand you already knew what was up

“what are you going to be then?” 

“your mom”

“Do Not speak on my mother you bitch”

anyway he didn’t end up telling you lmao

he waited until halloween to show you instead

“aren’t you a little too short to be michael myers?”

“I’m going to kill you with a rock”

seungmin spent the entire night terrorizing people like the menace he is

“just so you know, if you end up getting jumped I'm not helping your ass”

yang jeongin: papa smurf

“Is this a bad idea?”

“nah”

It Was A Bad Idea

the blue facepaint stained your face

for Three Days

you had to walk around campus with a blue face

because jeongin wanted to dress up as smurfs

You didn’t really think much about it the day of halloween while jeongin was painting your face

But afterward, you tried beating jeongin’s ass

You got made fun of by the rest of your friend group for being dumbasses but beside that you were pretty okay

All you can remember from halloween night is daring jeongin to climb onto the roof of the house you were at and cannonball into their pool

He missed by a few inches and broke his fibula because of how drunk he was

No regrets

[epic-kotlc-crossover]

Mutiny 2.0

mutiny!!! once again :D

@thesfromhms @sombrathedragon @myfairkatiecat @imnotskyguy-remake @bookwormgirl123

@ham-cheese-toastie @justalunaticfangirl

"Tell me you didn't know that would happen," Keefe could feel the guilt pouring off of Fitz, but what scared him most was the resolve hiding underneath. Almost like Fitz didn't regret it.

No one knew what the sirens said to the captain, only that they'd given a route home. If Keefe had known why Fitz had been so secretive...

Maybe his friends wouldn't have died. If he'd asked one more question. If he'd known the monster they'd face. Maybe he could've stopped this.

"Look me in the eyes, Fitz." He wouldn't look away from the ocean, so Keefe stepped forward. "Tell me you didn't just give up six of our friend's lives, Fitz, please."

Fitz gripped onto the side of the balcony tighter. The guilt welled up even higher, taking Keefe's breath away.

"SAY SOMETHING!" He shouted, hating how his voice cracked.

Finally, this seemed to get a reaction from Fitz, who spun around, giving Keefe his first real look at him since Scylla. His hair lay stuck to his face, artfully messy in a way Keefe couldn't help but admire; his eyes were darting everywhere, almost wild-looking, but the teal still took Keefe's breath away.

He was always so effortlessly handsome.

"I CAN'T!" Fitz's scream cut through his thoughts and shattered the silence.

Keefe swallowed, and the lump was almost painful. He drew his sword, determined to protect the last few men he had with him.

"Then you have forced my hand." Fitz seemed to pale, which at any other time Keefe would have found hilarious. The consequences of your actions... He smothered a snort.

"Keefe..." his voice was quiet, nervous, and his emotions radiated it too. "Lower your weapon."

What did Fitz think Keefe was going to do? He'd willingly let six people die. Keefe couldn't let that happen again.

"You miss Sophie so bad you're willing to kill." Keefe spat out Sophie's name like it was poison-she was a great person, sure, but worth sacrificing people? No.

A hot flash of anger erupted from Fitz. Of course.

Fitz drew his own sword. "I don't want to fight you! You would do the same if you were in my position."

Keefe adjusted his grip on his weapon, his palms feeling sweaty. "If you want to make all the choices you get to have all of the blame!" He lunged at Fitz, slashing a cut through his clothes.

How am I supposed to trust you now? Keefe thought as hard as he could, wondering if Fitz's telepathy actually didn't work or he was lying.

The captain seemed to flinch, though that might have been from the cut.

Fitz advanced forward. "Keefe, you need to move because you are not getting in my way." With each flash of their swords Keefe could feel himself get more and more lightheaded as Fitz's guilt seemed to melt away, hiding itself into something smaller. Fury and determination grew in its place.

Keefe lunged forward, and in an attempt to block Fitz's sword, he moved forward too far and it cut through his clothes-and, Keefe realized with growing horror, embedded itself in Fitz. Fitz let out a loud, horrible scream, and staggered back.

A huge wave of pain rushed through Keefe's blood and he immediately kneeled next to him.

"No, no no," Keefe muttered, and yelled behind him. "Do any of you know how to clean a wound?"

No one answered, so he yelled at them to find the nearest island. He needed to help Fitz. He was furious at him, but he was still his friend.

He turned around, trying to ignore Fitz's body, and called for all the crew to dock at the nearest island-they were running low on food.

In a few hours, they'd found one, with hundreds of bright red cows dotting the landscape. When they landed, Keefe told everyone to stay on the ship while he scoped it out.

After a few minutes, he'd decided that it seemed generally safe, though he still couldn't find a single human soul that he could ask to give Fitz come help.

Next to him, a cow mooed.

Keefe could feel his stomach growl.

"Where are we?" asked Fitz, and Keefe jumped, hating himself for letting Fitz sneak up on him. Turning around, Keefe saw that Fitz was being supported by two of the crew members, his dark brown hair frizzy across his face and his signature smile a little wobbly.

Keefe wanted to make a comment about how he shouldn't be standing up but kept his mouth shut.

"We're on an island-the first we found." Keefe turned to him, forcing a grin on his face even when he felt the huge amount of pain Fitz was in.

He kind of deserves it, though. A tiny part of his brain reminded him. Because of him, six people are dead.

Fitz pointed to one of the cows, talking to him almost like Keefe hadn't nearly killed him hours before.

"These are Apollo's cows, you see that statues over there?" Keefe could barely hear him, fingering the grip on his sword. How long could one cow feed the crew?

At least a week, and they'd be actually full for the first time in a while.

A wave of panic coursed through his veins, and he snapped his head over to Fitz.

"Please don't tell me you're doing what I think you're doing." Fitz told him. "These cows-they're sacred. We can't kill them."

Keefe laughed, a sad, quiet laugh. "Fitz, you know as well as I do that we're never going to make it home."

Fitz shook his head quickly, and placed his hand on his sword again. "You don't know that, Keefe." He stepped back, and Keefe quietly missed the proximity. "This is the home of the sun god, do you know what will happen if we kill his cows?"

He ignored Fitz, and quietly unsheathed his sword. "How much longer do we need to suffer, Fitz?" Taking a step forward, He heard Fitz's panicked voice behind him, asking him to stop.

"How much longer until you decide that we're not important enough to go home? How much longer until you decide that you want to see Sophie so badly that all of us have to die?"

Fitz flinched, and Keefe took the opportunity to kill the cow, and Fitz let out a yell.

"What have you done?" Keefe spun his head around at the terror in Fitz's voice and in his veins. "You've doomed us all, Keefe! The cows were immortal-the sun god's friends! Who do you think he'll send now that you've killed one?" Keefe's blood turned to ice.

What had he done?

Fitz staggared up to the ship, but Keefe quickly scooped him up and sprinted onto the ship.

"Everyone, grab an oar and row as fast as you can!" Fitz roared.

The entire crew did as they were told, with punctuated with shouts of "Faster!" coming from Fitz, until a clap of thunder came and pure terror radiated off of him, his face turning deathly pale.

"We're too late."

[thefallenangelsgang]

BALDUR'S GATE 3 x MAMMA MIA! AU

CHARACTERS

[YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO USE MY IDEA FOR ANYTHING YOU WANT, I ONLY ASK YOU CREDIT ME]

(break to save your dash)

Now, not every character is going to fit cleanly into character slots (there are too many characters to fill the main cast) so some of our Baldur's Gate loves will be sharing character traits and plot devices amongst each other.

Let’s start with Donna: She will be played by Tav obviously. I mean there really is no other choice here. We need someone who has gotten romantically entangled with multiple if not all the companions. The one unfortunate snag is that Tav has to carry or otherwise create the child of dubious parentage without the other parent knowing. That does pigeonhole the characterization a bit unless you want to go the magic route with it (which opens a line of ethical questioning beyond not telling the Parent of your child about the existence of said child)

For the purposes of this thought experiment, I'm operating under Tav being AFAB and having a womb to carry the baby. I’m also operating under the idea that all the companions have the reproductive organs of the gender they present as in game. If anyone wants to actually do something with this they are free to do whatever the fuck they want and use whatever headcanons they want. 

Sophie is going to be played by Tav’s kid. This one doesn’t have a hard and fast gender rule (TIL Sophus is the masculine version of Sophie) but they have to want to know who their other sire is and be generally chaotic which is not hard when they’ve grown up with the Tadfools as their role models. It is important that they display mostly Tav’s traits with others that could be any one of their other parent’s. (think Amanda Siefried and Meryl Streep are both blonde and similarly built. Sophie draws like Sam and sings and plays like Harry and has Bill’s adventurous spunk)

For ease of writing Tav’s Kid will be referred to as Soph from here on out.

Speaking of Sires, the Dads:

Sam: I waffled a LOT on who to choose out of the Baldur’s Boys because I wanted to keep it to just the traditional three and to just companions. You can obviously shuffle around people (I'm sure the Rolan girlies (gender neutral) would love putting him in this AU) and expand the possible dad list (though I don’t know how to split the characteristics like the Donna’s Friends). I chose to go with Gale here. I think he fits the very no nonsense and very anxious vibes from Sam in the show/movie. Instead of a business person who “went home to get married” perhaps Gale got called upon by Mystra as her Chosen and left to focus on his Wizardry. He is definitely the kind to break Tav’s heart over duty and be so ashamed he doesn’t really speak to them for 20 years. 

Bill: This one was damn near a no brainer once I was considering it. It’s Halsin. Who better to be the Hippie, fun-loving, sex god and travel writer? He retains all his Baldur’s Gate characteristics. His experience with Tav is truly just a bit of fun before they both go their separate ways. Their relationship is HEAPS less frigid than Gale and Tav’s. 

Now this is where you can go two ways with this. You could give Halsin is canon good ending (Reithwin with the kids) BUT we miss Bill being scared shitless at the prospect of having a child which I always loved as a characterization (Skarsgard plays it like a champ in the film, he looks like he’s gonna have a heart attack lmao). I feel like Clan Dad Halsin after 20 years is way too open to the idea of having something permanent like a kid. Wandering Arch Druid Halsin might be a little more scared shitless at the idea. That one is a personal preference, I think I’d prefer Reithwin Halsin even though I miss the majesty of an internal conflict.

Harry: Now this one also was a no-brainer but needs to be explained with some tact. It’s Astarion. It is not because Astarion is the most effeminate of the group. For those that don’t know, Harry is canonically gay. The companions are all pan. I chose Astarion because there is an opportunity to do something else transformative with Astarion and Tav’s tryst. 

In Mamma Mia, Harry talks about how Donna is the last and only woman he’s loved and their time together helped him accept his sexuality. In the stage show he’s in a committed relationship (his partner's name is fully escaping me atm). It always stuck out to me that Donna changed Harry and that’s why he still loves her after all these years. Sam obviously regrets leaving to do what was expected of him because he didn’t love his first wife. Bill sees the life of adventure and companionship he could have had with Donna but acknowledges that that time is behind them and still loves her anyways. And Harry loves that Donna made him see himself clearly for the first time in his life and loves her for it. You can see why Astarion came to mind I hope. 

Astarion’s night with Tav was him figuring out what intimacy meant to him after finally closing the Cazador Chapter of his life. The encounter was brief but it changed him for the better and allowed him to start healing.

EDIT: I realized I didn’t cover Astarion’s Vampirism at all. For story purposes assume he has some kind of temporary solution to the sun issue because I need his ass to be present when this is set on a fantasy Greek island. The Dhampir issue is… something. I sludged through some further thought experiments. Tav and the kid being Tieflings hides the fang coloration issue. Explaining away that the characteristics haven’t presented yet because the kid is still quite young by nearly all standards (20 is just barely of age for humans, and though they are full grown biologically they are still children in Elven society) and also have been largely sheltered from danger their whole life also works.

But to be honest, despite what the second movie and its director want you to believe, I think Harry is the least likely father of the three. I am comfortable extending this to Astarion. 

Okay now we are into the Dynamos! Fuck yes! Rosie and Tanya are my favorites (it helps that they are PERFECTLY casted in the movie oh my god). I have split their characteristics across the girls. There are some of the companions that are obviously one or the other (Karlach is the most Rosie coded while Minthara SCREAMS Tanya) while others send mixed signals (Shadowheart is the most even, skewing towards Tanya slightly while Lae’zel has Tanya’s bitchy attitude and Rosie’s  “lone wolf” outlook) SO I’m going to make a chart

Like Astarion, for story purposes, assume Karlach’s heart issue has been solved.

Graphic design is my passion

ANYWAYS you may have noticed three of our friends are missing from this line up. Our intrepid Folk Hero Formally Known As The Blade of Frontiers, Wyll, Pack Mother, Jaheria, and her trusty ride or die Rashamen, Minsc (and don’t forget Boo!). 

I had some trouble with these nerds because initially I was playing with making Wyll the second half of Sam, he would have usurped the businessman and maybe the gone home to get married bit while Gale was the heartbreaker and took something from Bill’s characterization, but I was having trouble with losing character motivations. Plus Wyll is canonically not the type for flings. So I am having him be a good family friend invited to the wedding but not involved in the parentage. He essentially is a more involved part of the Greek Chorus. He could take Sam entirely if you are not the type for Gale but you will see why I did this when I get into the songs (yes I am that fucking insane about this.) 

Jaheira does have the countenance to be a Dynamo BUT there is this minor character that I think about way too often that I wanted her to take. She is only mentioned in the first movie and the stage show in one line and seen a little in the second movie (which is a fever dream and convolutes the “lore” but I love it anyways). It’s Bill’s Great Aunt Sophia that left Donna the money to start Villa Donna. OBVIOUSLY she isn’t directly going to be playing Halsin’s Great Aunt or be dead (though she will be ancient by then) but she’s going to fill the mentor role for Tav and help out with Soph. She is the only one who knows that Gale Halsin and Astarion are the possible fathers until the beginning of the shenanigans.

Minsc, like Wyll, doesn’t have a direct parallel. He is also a part of the more involved Greek Chorus. He is Soph’s crazy uncle. He got them into all kinds of trouble and still does to this day. He gives a less emotional and personal version of Sam’s “are you sure you want to do this, you are so young” speech that essentially is offering to run off and be warriors (His plan does not get them away from anyone, he’s unanimously elected that the entire tadfool group is coming with them). But he does it after Gale gives the original speech that severely upsets Soph so it serves as a cheer up speech (“Minsc is unsure if the Wizard should come along seeing as he has upset the little warrior so, but Boo says he is very useful and Minsc agrees. So he can come with, but he does not get to pet Boo’s furry little bottom!”). 

The rest of our Greek Chorus and people like Sky and Sophie’s Friends are filled out by various NPCs. Pepper is played by Mol. Ali and Lisa are open to OCs to be honest but the idea of Yenna and Arabella hearing the saucy details of a story they were partly involved in is really funny to me so they are listed in the song list as the backup singers. Sky is an OC because I wasn’t fully comfortable using any of the child NPCs. He’s referred to as Soph’s partner.

[lemissingmask]

[ID: Dark red sketch of Hardison and Eliot sitting at a table together. Hardison is leaning forward on the table with his arms crossed, looking over at Eliot. Eliot, who had a beer and a whisky in front of him, is sitting back in his chair and looking uneasily back at Hardison. end ID]

-

Not happy with how this turned out, but I wanted some art to accompany a prompt fill ficlet, and had little time to refine either. There, enough making excuses for myself 😂 Ficlet below the cut and on ao3. It's set just after The Big Bang Job before the crew heads back to Boston, but after all their bomb disarming etc. shenanigans are done for the day.

-

Eliot had his back to the wall.

Not right up against it.  Just close enough to make it impossible for anyone to sneak around or behind him, and positioned to give himself an unobstructed view of most of the hotel bar.  And, most importantly, clear sight lines to the elevator and door - the only two ways into the room, and to his crew.  Parker and Hardison were sitting close beside each other at the bar, Nate and Sophie were sitting opposite each other at a smaller table, all four people and the areas around them visible to him.  Damien Moreau might have fled to San Lorenzo, but that didn't mean they were out of danger.  He had reach far beyond what anyone, including Nate, appreciated, and he was far, far more dangerous than the others seemed to comprehend.

Right now, they were all unharmed, and seemed outwardly unaffected by the events of the past few days.

That could very easily not have been the case.

Eliot knew he should have taken his shot at Moreau before Nate got this close. Taken their target out before anyone was in danger.

He could have done it, too.

Today had proved to Eliot that he was still the man he had once been.  Still capable of killing swiftly and efficiently, and without a fraction of a second's hesitation.

The elevator doors opened. Eliot watched intently, ready to move if anything about the occupants seemed threatening.  But it was just a group of tourists, laughing together, pretty drunk already, and without the least hint of danger about them.

But Hardison had stood up almost at the same time. If he was going back up to his room, that would be a problem. Eliot would have to decide where to situate himself, make a calculation regarding the potential dangers. Isolated in a room versus in a public area with witnesses.  One location easier to access but harder to achieve an unseen execution, the other more difficult to reach, but private.

Eliot would wait for privacy or a packed, bustling, environment to carry out a single target hit.  This bar was neither of those things.  Unless you could get poison subtly into a drink, it was a poor choice of location to carry out a hit.  A professional hitter would choose the hotel room or an empty hallway or elevator en route to the room.

Which gave him the decision - if Hardison chose to go up to his room alone, Eliot would follow.  Protect the more likely point of attack.

But Hardison wasn't going back to his room.

He was walking over and taking a seat beside Eliot, and he hadn’t brought his drink with him, so he was coming over to say something specific, not just to sit and talk.

Which was good.

Eliot didn’t feel like talking.

He felt frayed.

The ache in his back, his hands, and his knees that his hasty cold shower on returning had done nothing to soothe.  The much worse pain from all the memories seeing Moreau brought back. Seeing his men, seeing the man who had taken his place as Moreau’s personal lapdog, and feeling an infuriating hostility because some part of his mind still felt that was his position.

Eliot sat back in his chair so he could see Hardison without losing his view of the rest of the room.

He tried to appear unconcerned, indifferent. Hardison didn’t know what he had done, and he wanted it to stay that way.  He didn’t need to know that Eliot could still feel the weight of the guns in his hands, and that he could still smell blood and smoke and fire.

The hacker didn’t say anything for a while. He had come over for a reason, but he was struggling to get to it.

Eliot didn’t push.

He was too tired for that.

“Why’d you take me with you?” Hardison asked at last, “To meet with Moreau. You coulda handled it yourself. Did handle it yourself. And you would’ve been able to keep lying to us about you knowing Moreau.”

That last was said with an anger that was justified and understandable, but that point was one thing Eliot had no apology for.

He didn’t regret not telling them about his connection to Moreau, not one bit. If he had said something to them, Nate would have used it. Would’ve found a way to exploit that connection, go at Moreau more directly, and he would have destroyed them.

But Hardison should be angry. Eliot had put him in danger, done exactly the opposite of his job.  And, worst of all, he had done it for selfish reasons.  For pathetic reasons.  Because he was too afraid to go alone.

“Eliot?”

Hardison’s voice had softened. He sounded concerned, and he was looking intently at Eliot, examining him.

Could he see the smoke still on his skin, gunshot residue on his hands even though he had washed them repeatedly since returning?

“Hey man, look-“

“I shouldn’t have taken you,” Eliot cut him off, “I put you in danger…”

The sentence dissipated, his mind a confusion of what he should say, what he wanted to say, and the truth.

He’d never have let Hardison drown. He’d been counting the seconds, knew how long he had before he would have to save him, but that didn't justify putting him in that situation in the first place.

“So why did you?”

The gentleness of Hardison’s voice was wrong. It would be easier if he was angry.  That was the least Eliot deserved for what he had done.

But even when Eliot failed to answer, his voice was just as trusting, willing to understand, “It would’ve been the same outcome whether or not I was there, so just tell me why.”

“It wouldn’t. Have been the same,” Eliot replied, “If you’d not come.”

Hardison waited, silently asking Eliot to continue.

The hitter looked up, just briefly, met Hardison's gaze, “I'd have killed ‘im.”

“Atherton?”  Hardison shook his head in disbelief or disagreement, but Eliot cut him off before he could conjure some argument that framed Eliot as anything other than the killer he was.

“Moreau.”

The two guards at the elevator first so they couldn't follow and take his back. Eliot had already mapped it out when he approached them that day. How he would snap one’s neck, using him as a shield until he had a chance to get to the other. It would only have taken a couple of seconds.

Then he’d have taken their guns, felt the familiar weight of a weapon he had dismissed so long ago, and gone down to the basement.

The gunfight would have been messy, but he would have the element of surprise and cover from the pillars near the door.

He could do it.  He knew he could.  He’d done it before.

He’d done worse.

But he would have killed Moreau’s men, killed Moreau himself, without any hesitation or conscious thought, acting on training and experience and the instinct to survive.

Maybe he would get shot a couple of times in the process. Maybe he would get killed.  But he would have killed Moreau so he could never get near to, could never hurt, the people he cared about.

“Then I’m glad I did come with you,” Hardison said at last, "Like Sophie said, that's not who you are anymore."

Eliot wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or cry. The blood of fourteen men was still fresh on his hands, the scent of fire and iron still cling to his skin and hair.

He is that man. He always would be. There was no escaping that devil, and it terrified him more than any bad guy, any army, and torture or brutal execution ever could.

“Yeah, I am” Eliot said quietly, speaking into his beer as he raised it to his lips seconds after Hardison had left him, returned to Parker, and said something that had the thief looking briefly, but intently, over towards him.

Of all the crew, she probably already knew, even if she didn't know she knew. She probably saw what Eliot had done in some part of his expression, and she somehow understood that, no matter what the others said, Eliot was still a killer. He was always going to be a killer, and he needed to be that for them.

He had given into his fear of that part of himself, and Hardison had suffered for it.

It was a mistake he would never make again.

[doodle-do-wop]

Stina and Keefe HC inspired by this post!

Buckle in this is gonna be a long one

Stina can't fucking stand his ass

Someone save her he's so annoying

Why in the name of the prime sources does Sophie even like this boy he's so obnoxious

He's not even that funny literally why is she laughing at all his dumb jokes

She's in the trenches

This is her personal Exile

Stina can't fucking draw

Like at all

She can't draw

She can draw a horse! A really good horse!

But nothing else it's indistinguishable unless it's a horse

They're literally the same person in a different font

They're both empaths with self esteem issues, the hair(tm), down bad beyond down bad, extremely corny, actually touch starved as all hell, would crack a hole through the earth to reach their partner, self sacrificial morons, unnecessary sarcastic while bleeding out, sassy, detention occupants so frequently in detention once they both attended when they didn't even have detention

They're two cats in a burlap sack(Keefe's the orange one, Stina is the grumpy black cat that will actually kill him if left alone in a room with him)

The simping, did I mention the simping?

Keefe and Stina DONT get along (mostly just Stina) for bloody ages and Sophie and Dex (yes this is also a CopperMares post) wish for them to just grow up and be able to tolerate each other for more than five minutes (Stina lasted SEVEN minutes thank you very much) and the cousins immediately regretted that wish because they forgot how annoying their partners can be

The empath duo will do anything and everything in their power to flirt with/look hot in front of/tease/taint/smirk/smile/wink etc etc etc at their respective partners and it drives them crazy

Sophie and Dex have not know peace (to be fair look at who they're dating, it's a conscious choice)

Keefe might technically be older but despite his white boy attitude and his looks you'd think Stina was his older sister the way she will fully strangle him within an inch of his life and then yank him out of his shoes to buy him lunch

Empaths by genetics, siblings by torture

She still can't stand his ass but at this point that's just Stina's weird way of saying she cares for you (just look at Marella, Stina literally tackles the shit out of her despite Marella being about as tall as your average stepping stool but Stina would still lay down her life for her)

They hang out in the silliest way possible and it's trashing Cassius' house and getting ice cream (not always in that order)

Once they found one of Gisela's wallet cubes and they went to town buying supplies, food, clothes, random furniture (some of which may or may not have been shipped to the neutral territories, what are you a narc?), got their usual ice cream (Stina makes a face at Keefe's order but he swears when there's just the melted stuff at the bottom of the cup it's flavors mix really well) then they leap off to Candleshade and use some of their supplies to trash the house (again)

Cassius' big ass statue of himself has never seen a good day since the two have gotten along

They haven't hit all the floors yet but they will some day

It's a shame the Sencen's suck because they have pretty great taste in furniture and silverware

Sometimes they spray paint a big ass target and have a contest to see who can throw at Cassius statue on the bullseye and get it to stay on the wall (Ro is winning by a lot but Stina's telekinesis is getting really great)

Not an AU goes by where Stina hasn't somehow been stuck with Keefe and at this point I don't think there is

Keefe pretends like he can translate Stina's Stinaness the way Maruca can (ex. Stina telling Maruca she hates her and hopes she falls on her face and Maruca responding with "I love you too Stina") and he's almost never right

Stina 'commit to the bit' Heks has fruitlessly vetoed every Keefe Idea that's ever been brought to the table but guess who's the first person to jump on the bandwagon the second the plan falls into action

Sophie and Dex swap scoldings with each other before they go yell at their idiots for whatever big stupid thing of the month they've done now because otherwise the said idiots might be able to flirt their way out of most of the scolding part

Top 5 people who would sing Agony the way it was meant to be sang, dramatically, competitively, and over a waterfall on the forest with very dramatic very swoonable action

Keefe is princess coded while Stina is reluctant but roguishly handsome prince coded you cannot change my mind

Both would be Flynn Rider though (Keefe can also be Rapunzel though, Stina on the other hand could not)

There's probably so much more I'm forgetting but this is long enough for now

Anyway thanks for reading this all if you have and have a good one

@myfairkatiecat

[the-way-astray]

hate your lover, love your hater, and be studied by her friend: pt.2

'I don't believe it,' Stria said, for what must have been at least the twenty-seventh time. 'I don't believe he exists. I don't believe any of it exists. But it does, and he does. How did Shannon find out about this? Wouldn't it be a global secret protected by three thousand organizations across the world? It should be on conspiracy theory websites, not in a middle-grade book series!'

She was sitting in a small cafe with Katie now, sipping at a milkshake as though it was the single thread she was holding on by. She may as well have been. Shannon Messenger knew world secrets. The Lost Cities were real. Keefe was real, and could now read about how Shannon had written him—how he was. (At that last thought, Stria brightened. That was a second thread to hold on by.)

'He's just like Shannon described!' replied Katie. 'Or at least, looks like that. I'll text him and let you know more. And he'll probably get back to you about your rant. Tell me everything once he does—his responses will be very enlightening.'

Stria scowled, and muttered, 'I hope that rant incinerates him with the power of my hatred.'

Katie shrugged. 'It might. Or it might inspire him to become a better person. It's possible.'

Stria didn't think it was, but she'd lost faith in the statement 'it's impossible' by now, so she glumly accepted that this was the life she lived, and went home. At least there she had things to do which would stop her from thinking about things like 'how did Shannon find out about their characterization' and 'why do I believe this' and 'why is this believable' and even the inevitable 'am I in a dream or fictional reality'. She really did not have the time for this.

That night, Keefe got back to her. Unfortunately.

Hey, Hater Girl?! he texted at 9:38pm. Even just the nickname was enough to make Stria's blood boil. She couldn't believe he existed. I'm only one heading ('Keeper', whatever that means) into your rant and I'm seriously starting to believe that you're spying on us. How do you know our secrets? Our conversations?! You weren't there for any of them. I thought humans didn't even know that elves existed?

I have my sources, Stria replied. Despite herself, she couldn't help but feel excited about Keefe reading her rant. With luck, her hatred would destroy him on the spot. Or at least confuse him and leave him dissatisfied. And you're one to talk about spying. I know very well how you take the secrets of anyone who's in touching distance—and sometimes not even that.

What do you m— Keefe had to have hit send accidentally, because the message stopped there. This was followed by:

“Keefe nudged Dex’s arm, then grinned at Sophie. ‘Interesting.’ ‘What?’ Dex asked. ‘Which one’s your gift, Dex?’ Sophie interrupted. She didn’t have to be a mind reader to know what Keefe was going to tease Dex about.” Here we mark the start of Keefe using his empathy to learn people’s secrets without their consent. He feels not a hint of remorse for it, and instead uses it as a way to breach people’s boundaries and embarrass them. As a lot of people have already said, Keefe is the primary reason empathy should have similar restrictions on it to telepathy. [keeper]

He was quoting her rant at her.

Stria wasn't sure how to feel about that.

I can't help but feel things? It's my ability, Hater Girl! he said.

Oh, that was rich. You *reached out* to touch him, she typed. That was deliberate, and while Shannon lets you get away with it, I definitely won't, and your legislative system shouldn't either. Then again, if you're real, then I'm not sure about how much choice she has over characterization.

WHO IS SHANNON?!!!! came the response, not a moment later. Why do you know about us? I can tell you're hiding something. okay? And all Empaths do this?! If you know so much about us, you should know that people get officially examined by Empaths just like this.

And who gave you the right?

Keefe didn't respond for a solid minute.

You know, he said at last, no one would tell me things if I didn't act like I could find out. That's how things work here. I don't know how it is with humans, but I *know* no one's going to tell me things otherwise.

He was a numbskull. He really was like this. Shannon had not exaggerated. Stria wanted to strangle him there and then, even though he wasn't even in the room. That's because they don't *want* to tell you those things! Do you realize you don't actually have a right to know all your friends' secrets?! And especially not the right to tease them about it if you can tell it's sensitive?!!! The example after the next one is of you actually being a decent friend, so don't tell me you don't know what you're doing. I haven't even sent you Unlocked yet.

What's Unlocked? Keefe asked. Stria wondered absently whether it had happened for him yet—if he had time to text random humans, and had light-leaped here, then the answer was most likely no. How'd that work, then? Had Shannon had visions of the future? Or maybe time moved differently in the Lost Cities. Stria would be willing to accept the latter.

And anyway, WHO is telling you all of this? This Shannon person? What do you mean by series? And THIS:

“‘Wow—you really sleep with this thing? I thought Fitz was kidding when he gave it to you when you were recovering.’ Sophie snatched Ella away [ . . . ]” Keefe continues to make fun of Sophie for her stuffed animal tendencies. You know, it’s possible to be funny and make jokes without actively tearing people down. But wait, you may say. Keefe shows some development later because he starts to sleep with his own stuffed animal! Doesn’t that mean he learned and grew? No, I would argue back at you. The issue is not actually that Keefe made fun of Sophie’s stuffed animal in particular. The issue is that most of Keefe's jokes actively revolve around making fun of someone and putting them down. And that never changes, even later in the series. This is simply one example. [exile]

I joke because it's hard for me to talk about serious things otherwise! And I find human things funny.

Stria wanted to incinerate him herself. For all Sophie was called oblivious, it was more than clear than Keefe was a far greater offender. Or worse—he knew what he was doing, and regretted nothing. As he'd find out from her rant soon enough. That's the only thing, the ONLY thing she has from her human life which doesn't have some sort of emotionally fraught memory attached to it! Stria told him. She can't sleep without it, and that's fine. It's not funny. Any time you rile people up for fun isn't funny. And that explanation about using jokes to cover things up is EVEN LESS FUNNY. This is one of the main reasons why I hate you to the core of my being and to the core of yours. Keep reading.

I don't think I can do more than the end of this heading, he texted. When Dex told me that he'd found a human 'website' where someone was hating me he didn't tell me how much! Like, wow, you're really making me feel like the Most Horrible Elf Ever. And you don't even know me. You don't even know me. I'm going to make you like me now. It will be Hater Girl and Keefe forever. Actually, what's your name?

You can call me Stria, Stria replied. And you *are* the most horrible elf ever. To me. Hope this helps.

Keestria forever then, he replied, ignoring her second comment. Stria took a minute to imagine hurling Keefe Sencen's blond-haired, blue-eyed, smirking, winking, unfortunately real self into the burning Sun. She imagined throwing Dex in too. If she'd disliked him before, then she hated him now only second to Keefe, for ruining her peace, sanity, and blissful ignorance.

But since she couldn't do that (yet), she decided to haunt Keefe's nightmares instead by typing: And if you want to know about Shannon, then Shannon Messenger is a human author who's passing your entire world off as a work of fiction in this world. As far as most of the world is concerned, you're fictional. I don't know how she has access to you and your secret moments, but that's how I know you. She's even written books from your perspective, so don't think you can hide all those thoughts. In fact, Shannon managed to make his thought processes look unreliable sometimes too, but that was unreliable narrating which Keefe didn't need to know about.

Stria smiled in satisfaction, sent the message, told Katie to meet her the next day to talk the entire matter over, and climbed into bed to fall asleep. As she turned the lights in her room off, she reflected that there was in fact a silver lining to the affair: at least the Keefe lovers on Pinterest hadn't found out about his very real existence yet. There was, after all, only so much she could tolerate.

*

Pt.3 on request (as before). Quotes are from the famous anti-Keefe rant. It's impressively long, and as I read it, more of it might feature in here. If anyone wants to come for my blood for 'Keestria', I'm just continuing Shannon's trend of including ship names in the books which most of the fandom doesn't use.

Also if it isn't too much trouble, I would love to know how you figured out that this was me, so please do tell (no pressure though)!

Non-anonymously but on anon for the bit,

— @worldsunlikemyown/the 'meta anon'

going to do this in backwards order. so there's a couple of things that helped me pin you down when you made part one:

the second i saw the word "meta" i had suspicions. to my knowledge, you're the only person in this entire fandom who uses that word instead of "analysis". i started using the word because of you, honestly. your vocabulary is rubbing off on me . . . also it's nice and short (for ask box title purposes) and sounds official. i like it. but it's a dead giveaway when it comes to you.

you are, in fact, the very first person to ever try to convince me this ship could work, on a substantial level. your reblog to the post that started this all matched up almost perfectly with what you said in the anon ask.

you mentioned my aldella thoughts in the fic, which is like. yeah anyone who sees my posts could know how obsessed i am with them, but there are only a handful of people that i feel consistently reblog my aldella posts and understand my obsession with them. and you definitely fit that. most people in this fandom pretty much only know me for my keefe hatred. i doubt many people are aware of my aldella obsession, relatively speaking.

also you have a vibe. this isn't really the right word, but it feels sort of . . . meek? almost? and polished. like in the post i linked above for example you use the phrase "in my humble opinion", which is common, but i do feel like you are far more scared to offend someone than the average fandom person is. and in the anon ask you used "if i may try to convince you" like you're asking for permission almost, and most of the asks i've gotten are very direct and to the point. also at the end you talking about being small, frail and weak was like. i get it was a joke but it definitely gave off that same vibe. i don't know if you're actually like this, since i have little exposure to your posts in general, but you give off the vibe of someone who's not trying to create ripples. and more so than other people. and you also used the word "humorously", like it feels very formal. if you know what i mean, instead of a word like funny, for example.

also the single quote thing . . . honestly not suspicious to me at all. it was something i noticed, but wasn't really something that made me think it was you. likely because i haven't really read your fics.

interesting that you changed your spelling . . . though it was always more about your word choice than it was about spelling.

the only thing that kinda threw me off was that other than that original post, you didn't seem to be aware of the entire drama at all. so that's why i was only 92% sure lol.

i think the main thing with me is. i look through all. my. notes. even if i don't respond, i guarantee that i've seen your reblog/reply/whatever else it may be. sorry for not responding :( sometimes i feel like i don't have anything interesting to add. but if you reblog consistently from me, i'm going to be very aware of your existence, especially when it comes to what sorts of posts you tend to skew toward.

anyway, now onto thoughts about part two:

"'I don't believe it,' Stria said, for what must have been at least the twenty-seventh time." starting off strong with a shannon messenger-esque line, i see. i don't tend to repeat things over and over out of shock, as shannon loves to make sophie do.

"'It should be on conspiracy theory websites, not in a middle-grade book series!'" so this is more of like. instead of a fourth wall breach, it's like i already live in the same "plane of existence" as the gang. interesting. so shannon is somehow spying on sophie and relating the news back in story form.

"She was sitting in a small cafe with Katie now, sipping at a milkshake as though it was the single thread she was holding on by." oooooh, milkshake. clearly someone's been keeping up with never change.

"(At that last thought, Stria brightened. That was a second thread to hold on by.)" i love this paragraph for some reason. idk the structure calls to me.

"'Or at least, looks like that. I'll text him and let you know more. And he'll probably get back to you about your rant. Tell me everything once he does—his responses will be very enlightening.'" tumblr-accurate katie.

"Stria scowled, and muttered, 'I hope that rant incinerates him with the power of my hatred.' Katie shrugged. 'It might. Or it might inspire him to become a better person. It's possible.'" yes, i want keefe incinerated, but i want it to be painless, as if he'd never existed at all. but this is unfortunately very accurate for katie . . . sigh.

"Hey, Hater Girl?! he texted at 9:38pm. Even just the nickname was enough to make Stria's blood boil." ACCURATE I HATE KEEFE'S DUMBASS NICKNAMES THEY'RE SO CRINGE. not for me . . . spare me . . . and this is so keefe. you captured his cringe perfectly.

"I have my sources, Stria replied. Despite herself, she couldn't help but feel excited about Keefe reading her rant. With luck, her hatred would destroy him on the spot." yeah i'd be kicking and giggling if i got to hand keefe a copy of my rant.

"I can't help but feel things? It's my ability, Hater Girl! he said. Oh, that was rich. You *reached out* to touch him, she typed. That was deliberate, and while Shannon lets you get away with it, I definitely won't, and your legislative system shouldn't either. Then again, if you're real, then I'm not sure about how much choice she has over characterization." YOU CAPTURED OUR DYNAMIC SO WELL I'M SCREAMING. YES. this is literally how he defends himself, by saying "i can't help it :(" and yes that's EXACTLY how my rants are. but yeah, in this universe i suppose shannon wouldn't have much control. so i can hardly be mad at her anymore.

"He was a numbskull. He really was like this. Shannon had not exaggerated. Stria wanted to strangle him there and then, even though he wasn't even in the room. That's because they don't *want* to tell you those things! Do you realize you don't actually have a right to know all your friends' secrets?! And especially not the right to tease them about it if you can tell it's sensitive?!!! The example after the next one is of you actually being a decent friend, so don't tell me you don't know what you're doing. I haven't even sent you Unlocked yet." NUMBSKULL I'M DYING THIS IS SO FUNNY. and yes . . . why is this man like this . . . and i love the implication that i have the entire rant memorized and could easily tell keefe what the example from two examples down is from memory alone . . . that's so goofy. and oh, boy. unlocked . . .

"It's not funny. Any time you rile people up for fun isn't funny. And that explanation about using jokes to cover things up is EVEN LESS FUNNY. This is one of the main reasons why I hate you to the core of my being and to the core of yours. Keep reading." "it's not funny" . . . accurate description of keefe sencen. and YES keep reading. rubbing my hands together in barely contained glee, i am.

"When Dex told me that he'd found a human 'website' where someone was hating me he didn't tell me how much! Like, wow, you're really making me feel like the Most Horrible Elf Ever. And you don't even know me. You don't even know me. I'm going to make you like me now. It will be Hater Girl and Keefe forever. Actually, what's your name?" wait if dex found my tumblr blog, shouldn't keefe already have seen my rant? it's the very first link in my pinned post . . . lol. he's not the most horrible elf ever. however he is the most horrible elf ever proportional to how the narrative treats him. hope this helps. AND NOT HIM FUCKING. JOKE SHIPPING US. ALREADY. AFTER HAVING KNOWN ME FOR LIKE POINT THREE SECONDS. THIS IS UTTERLY IN CHARACTER GOOD JOB, DOE.

"You can call me Stria, Stria replied. And you *are* the most horrible elf ever. To me. Hope this helps." my "hope this helps" . . . you know me so well *sniff* this is perfect.

"Keestria forever then, he replied, ignoring her second comment. Stria took a minute to imagine hurling Keefe Sencen's blond-haired, blue-eyed, smirking, winking, unfortunately real self into the burning Sun. She imagined throwing Dex in too. If she'd disliked him before, then she hated him now only second to Keefe, for ruining her peace, sanity, and blissful ignorance." NOT THE SHIP NAME . . . THIS IS SO KEEFE. THIS IS SO FUCKING KEEFE. OH MY FUCKING GOODNESS. and yeah, i would not be dex's biggest fan after this. i'm not even right now.

"In fact, Shannon managed to make his thought processes look unreliable sometimes too, but that was unreliable narrating which Keefe didn't need to know about." he is unreliable . . . they all are . . .

"Stria smiled in satisfaction, sent the message, told Katie to meet her the next day to talk the entire matter over, and climbed into bed to fall asleep." it's so funny to me how these fics characterize me as someone that would choose to go to katie to talk over all the keefe developments with. realistically speaking, she's about the last person i'd go to. but i get it.

"[ . . . ] at least the Keefe lovers on Pinterest hadn't found out about his very real existence yet." doe. doe. i don't like the way this feels like foreshadowing. will the keefe lovers on pinterest find out. i need to know. for. reasons.

ooooh, you're reading my rant???? totally not giggling and kicking my feet . . .

and yeah, shannon has a tendency to use the worst ship names. sokeefe doesn't make a single appearance in the canon story, instead we get keephie. what the heck. and fitzphie is preferred over sophitz . . . sigh. good on you for that. i still hate keestria, though.

anyway this was fantastic. no strieefe to be seen, and really, really good. you should definitely make a part three. @myfairkatiecat tagging you because you're a character . . .

[helenofjupiter]

assigning taylor swift songs to bridgerton couples (part 1)

with explanations that no one asked for (proceed with caution)

part 2 for e, f, g and h

so i’ve been going kinda crazy about bridgerton the past few weeks, i read (and reread) all eight books and at some point while reading i couldn't stop trying to find taylor songs in my mind which would fit each couple. so i chose two songs for every pair, some of these have actual thought behind them, others are mostly based on vibes. i hope you enjoy this unhinged tangent <3

anthony & kate - i was actually reading gregory’s book when this completely genius thought hit me - treacherous IS the kanthony song. i mean it starts with “put your lips close to mine as long as they don’t touch”. insert a picture of any one of the hundred times they almost kissed in the show. even the build up of the song reminds me so much of the slow burn we had in the series. also lyrics like “i hear the sound of my own voice asking you to stay” (anthony being “what?? no!!! you can’t go back to india. wtf do you mean you’re not staying once edwina marries???”),  “and all we are is skin and bone trained to get along forever going with the flow but you're friction” through the lens of kanthony i see this line as them just constantly aggravating each other.

the second song for them is dancing with our hands tied. i hadn’t thought about this song in a criminally long time. oh boy. (i also just now realised how long this post is gonna be) “i, i loved you in secret, first sight, yeah we love without reason” i’m sorry but these dumb bitches were in love since that first fateful early morning horse ride you can’t convince me otherwise. “people started talking, putting us through our paces // but we were dancing, dancing with our hands tied, hands tied” this screams when they got caught and were forced to marry in the book. their hands were tied - they had no other choice but to marry but they were dancing because they actually did love each other (awww). other than that there are two lines that sort of go hand in hand - “i loved you in spite of deep fears that the world would divide us” and “i'm a mess, but i'm the mess that you wanted” in my head this is from anthony’s perspective. him dealing with his fear of morality and losing kate and while kate does have the eldest daughter syndrome, anthony is the bigger mess of a person in the relationship.

benedict & sophie - enchanted is a no brainer, it needs no explanation. now for their second song i picked the lakes. this resides in the vibes category. listening to this i can’t help but imagine benophie living an artsy quiet life in my cottage. i’m actually interested to see how their living situation will play out in the show because i feel in the books benedict wasn’t as involved in the ton. i guess it’s just a bit hard for me to envision show!ben being so chill about moving to some place in the middle of nowhere. 

colin & penelope - of course, dress. i listened to this on repeat while reading the whole book in one sitting. honestly a marvellous experience, can’t recommend enough . for the second song i had to go looking, had to travel far like colin one might say. and once i arrived in the long forgotten country of taylor’s debut album i found a piece of music so clearly polin coded that it’s baffling this fandom isn’t talking about it. the song in question is  i’m only me when i’m with you. it feels silly to explain this one because being from taylor’s early career the lyrics aren’t terribly clever so let’s focus on the chorus. “i'm only up when you're not down, don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground” some people want colin to be just ken in the show but i actually really liked how they both have a career in writing at the end of the book (penelope better had published the book she started writing). “the other half i'm only trying to let you know that what i feel is true and i'm only me when i'm with you” you can’t tell me this isn’t colin telling penelope she is beautiful over and over again and how much he loves him because he was a fool not to realise it sooner. while in the book penelope feeling like she is truly confident and herself around colin, i think in the show this line works from colin’s side just as well. 

daphne & simon - while most of the fandom has crowned wildest dreams as the saphne anthem (taylor’s version), i just couldn’t get behind it. yes, they used the song in their season but in my mind it just does not embody their relationship. firstly, the great war, i mean the first line “my knuckles were bruised like violets”. simon… boxing… you see the connection, right? okay, i promise it gets (even) better. “and maybe it's the past that's talking, screaming from the crypt. telling me to punish you for things you never did” in case of simon, he was hanging on to his hate towards his father and refusing to have kids with daphne, punishing her while it wasn’t her fault what had happened to him as a child. “somewhere in the haze, got a sense i’d been betrayed” i hate this part of their stroy (i do not condone daphne’s actions) yet i can so clearly picture simon still partly on his high of pleasure but starting to realise what daphne had done to him. i think i like this as their song because well they both were all kinds of wrong in this situation and at the end of the song it’s acknowledged “there's no morning glory, it was war, it wasn't fair” and still it has a happy ending just like saphne. their second song was hard to find and i’m not a hundred percent sure about it but a present to you so it goes…  “all eyes on us, you make everyone disappear” - season 1, episode 1 “stare into my eyes”. i felt i needed to give them a sexy song and i do feel like it matches their sexual tension but this one is definitely up for debate.

[squirrelthewriter]

How I met you again- A PJO and KotLC crossover

Chapter 3: A flashback leading to tears

Sophie's POV

My heart pounded so hard I could feel my ribs moving as all the memories I thought I had lost hit me.

 F L A S H B A C K  

        I exited the door to go skipping into the neighbor hood, the ice blue packaging in my hands.

        Today was the day where I got to I give Annabeth Chase the birthday present I had bought a few months back. The one I had pleaded my Mom to get at the store, because I thought it suited her so well.

        But today was not only Annabeth's birthday, but mine as well. Which meant we would be able to spend the whole day together without our parents coming to annoy us.

        Of course, I had the choice between spending my birthday with my best friend, and my parents alongside Amy. Annabeth was a million times better. And I think Annabeth thought the same thing.

        Other than Annabeth, I didn't have any friends, but she was just enough for me.

        I rubbed my temples, feeling the mental bombardments seemed to attack my brain as people passed by.

'Why do people have to think so horribly loud?', I thought to myself, trying to shield myself from the attacks.

        Annabeth was the only person who’s thoughts didn’t blare into my brain constantly. Her thoughts were quieter, and I didn’t always hear them.

        I still hadn't brought myself to tell her I could hear what people said in their heads.

        What if she called me a freak? What if she wouldn't want to hang out with me if I told her?

        I was interrupted by the sound of a door closing and a blond little seven year-old walking our of it.

        Her eyes were a stormy gray that darted around and looked like they were processing hundreds of things at once.

        Annabeth Chase, my best friend.

        She squealed when she saw me and sprinted to me, with her hair bouncing in the wind behind her.

        I hid the ice blue package I had in my hand behind my back as I greeted her.

“Hey! Happy birthday!!” we exclaimed at the same time, before giggling at our twinness (A/N: Is that even a word?).

        I looked at her hand, which, identically to me, was hidden behind her back.

“Wat'cha hiding?” we asked in unison.

        Annabeth had apparently seen my hand.

“Nothing,” we replied simultaneously.

        I cleared my throat responsively.

“Okay,” I said, “How about you show me what you're hiding, and then I'll show you mine?”

”No, I’ll think I’ll let you go first,” she said, her voice sweet.

I placed my free hand on my hip, replying in that same sugary voice,

“Oh no, darling, I insist! You must!” I told her.

“Truly? Don’t you want to reveal your secret first?” Annabeth teased.

“I-Secret-Uh-No,“ I stuttered, shook for a second. I quickly recovered saying, “Oh, no, you go, you absolutely should show me! I simply cannot wait another minute!”

Annabeth giggled. If she noticed my slip-up, she didn’t say anything about it.

”Ready?” She asked.

        Nodding vigorously, I watched with excitement as Annabeth removed her hand from behind her back. Her hand uncurled to reveal a package carefully wrapped in gorgeous paper, bold brown and gray lines imprinted on it.

“For you!” she exclaimed happily, handing me the gift.

        I gawked at her.

“You didn't have to!” I said, taking it in my free hand.

“I took both our eye color for the wrapping, and I think they go really well together!” Annabeth said proudly. “And of course I had to get you something, you’re my best friend forever!!” She added.

“It looks amazing, thank you so much! I'm actually scared of ripping it!” I laughed.

        She shrugged.

“It doesn't matter if you rip it.” she said smiling.

        I smiled back and thanked her again, before putting my own present at my feet. I unfolded the wrapping paper delicately.

        It revealed the same box as the one in my hands at the present day.

 E N D   O F   F L A S H B​​​​​​ A C K  : 

        I blinked very hard as I took the necklace with my shaky hands. It was as beautiful as it was the day Annabeth had given it to me.

        I slipped it around my neck and continued to rummage in the backpack.

        Where was the friendship bracelet I had given her that same day?

        Did Annabeth still have hers?

        I sighed in relief as I found a small bracelet.

        Looking at the half-heart and the little elves and owls that adorned the jewelry, I smiled at the memories of Annabeth Chase. 

        But where were the other halves?

[ruvviks]

all that's left season one playlist explained under the cut if anyone is interested!

wouldn't it be nice - the beach boys

this song is the opening theme of the show and plays after a short sequence that explains the situation in the world up to the apocalypse; disease and crises plagueing the world to the point humanity has no other choice but to come together and try to make life more livable for everyone. the sequence ends with saying that things are finally starting to look better, and then it instantly cuts to the opening of the show with the cars of the main characters driving through a tunnel in the wasteland of the united states, with this song playing over it and the title appearing in the middle of the screen. it's a very ironic opening theme since things WERE in fact starting to look better, and then the world ended

put your head on my shoulder - paul anka

this song is featured in "opportunity falls" which is exactly what it says. the huge megalopolis suffers from multiple breaches across the entire length of the wall allowing a huge horde of what appears to be mutated ghouls in, and it loses control of the situation to the point it can't be saved anymore. this scene specifically features part of the main characters as they drive away from opportunity, while the wall is blown up by the megalopolis' faulty security system, allowing even more ghouls entry through the rubble. i initially wanted to use "what a wonderful world" by louis armstrong for this scene but the current song fits the rest of the vibes of the playlist better, while having similar energy to the other song

the introvert - st.arnaud

this song is featured in "rendezvous" in which the main characters all travel north to a supposedly abandoned facility once used by matrix corp, to meet up there, since the breach in opportunity caused them to be split up. it plays over a travel sequence for three of the main characters- mac, beau, and vladislav- and essentially emphasizes the similarities between the three of them despite the vastly different backgrounds they come from. i mainly picked the song because it has fun vibes for a travel sequence, but it fits with their personalities as well

dear mccracken - bug hunter

this song is featured in "wasteland blues", a chapter with slower pacing since the main characters find themselves stuck in a settlement that initially seemed friendly but at the same time seems to be holding some sort of secret. it's specifically a song for mac (whose pov is followed most in the story), who is curious about what's going on and decides to investigate; which is a nice parallel to what this song starts with. it basically serves as mac's introduction song, which is strange because the story has already been ongoing for a while at this point. but it lines up perfectly with mac's personal struggles throughout the story- he IS a main character, but would rather not see himself as one, and constantly shoves himself to the sidelines to let others take a place that is rightfully his

achey bones - the happy fits

this song is featured in "something not quite right", which is both a reference to the evil within 2 (one of my favorite games of all time), and in this case it refers to the chapter in which the main characters find themselves traveling through a town where some sort of local militia seems to have taken control- but for some reason something about it doesn't seem right, in ways i won't elaborate on for now. they meet a young girl who was born and raised there and despite her family having been killed, she refuses to leave; the song is a breakup song and in a way parallels her situation with town and having to let go of it in order to get herself to safety. the vibes of the song are very cheery, which is in line with the rest of the playlist, and it contrasts the heaviness of the situation the main characters are in

growing pains - sophie meiers

this song is featured in "houston falls", a painful parallel to earlier in the season with opportunity, and the scene playing out is painfully similar too; houston's wall blowing itself up because of faulty security systems, but rather than leaving the town exposed to ghouls, it opens the way for an enormous horde of ghouls to follow the main characters out of the city back into the wasteland. this song plays over the scene in which all of that happens, causing the urgency and seriousness of the situation to really settle in for both the main characters as well as the viewer

weeds or wildflowers - parsonsfield

this song is featured in "acts of kindness", another slower part of the story in which the main characters have reached a friendly settlement and they decide to stay there for a while to help them setting up defenses for the incoming horde of ghouls. they don't know whether or not it's going to help at all, but do it anyway- which is where the title "acts of kindness" comes from, and it also relates to the song since "weeds or wildflowers" also refers to an unknown outcome. it plays over the sequence in which these defenses for the settlement are built

thick skull - paramore, julien baker

this song is featured in "everybody dies", a bit later in the show when the main characters are just leaving another settlement and they've been violently attacked by a horde of mutated ghouls. they haven't suffered any losses, but they've taken a great hit, and the gravity of the situation is kicking in more and more the closer they get to los angeles. it also seems as if trouble keeps finding them wherever they go, which also lines up with the themes of the song

a teenager in love - dion & the belmonts

this song is featured in "welcome home", which is the last episode of the season. the main characters have managed to safely make their way into well-protected los angeles and the characters who live there return to their families and friends and introduce their new friends to them. it's a light-hearted song playing over a sequence showing a happy ending and new beginnings, but at the same time there's this looming feeling of doom since you can see that there's still 5 whole minutes to the episode so this can't be the end

heaven - partybaby

this song is the closing theme of the first season and it plays while the end credits roll. in the moments before that, the main characters are shown going to bed now that they've settled back in, but suddenly loud sirens start going off in all of los angeles, and it cuts to black, and the credits start rolling. the sirens keep going at the same time though, while the song starts playing too, and the viewer can hear people screaming and crying, cars driving wildly, gunfire, and ghouls. the song references the west coast (where they are right now) and sings about "cause we're all gonna die one day anyway / they say we're all gonna be together in heaven" which is fitting for this moment, since the viewer is essentially listening to people dying horribly to ghouls. it's a horrifying ending to the first season and makes you look forward to season two