#one of my favorite frames in the newest season

[mayexiled]

"From You, 2000 Years Ago."

[universetrash]

And Just Like That - In which the reader is the newest member to join the path of the Trailblaze and quickly finds their place on the Express.

Content warning — Crappy writing; slight mention of injury (Welt); ooc characters; not edited

Notes — A platonic/found family 'fic' with Welt, Himeko, March 7th, Dan Heng, and Stelle (fem Trailblazer); very ooc Welt (I have the hardest time writing for him, istg); gn reader; reader is referred to as Y/N; I have a vision where the reader is from a planet that's mostly covered in water with one or two big land masses and various single islands and archipelagos; kinda goes from the first few weeks from joining to being a well seasoned Trailblazer with the others;

Edit: I forgot the masterlist

— Himeko was one of the first to welcome Y/N when they first boarded the express, seeing as Welt was busy with something else and the other three were off doing their own things.

— Himeko is the unofficial mother of the crew on top of being the navigator. It’s a given with how much she taken into account for the rest of the trailblazers aboard the express.

— Y/N’s first few weeks on the express was just Himeko learning their story and what they gravitate towards. Learning Y/N’s favorites and their mannerisms.

— The first time Himeko showed that she paid this much attention to detail was on Y/N’s first birthday with crew only a month after they joined.

The sound of heels clacking against the tiled floor was muffled behind closed doors, the gentle sound of heals against the tile floor came to a stop in front of the newest member's door. A box wrapped in dark blue paper with stars scattered along it, containing a special gift for the person on the other side of the door. Himeko raised a hand and gave a gentle knock on the door, listening for any movement behind the door. A soft sigh left Himeko's lips, knocking again after a moment of silence from the other side of the door. "Y/N... are you awake?" After Himeko called out, there was some shuffling on the other side of the door. The wait wasn't long as Y/N pulled the door open with one hand pulling on a jacket over their pjs. "Mornin'..." Himeko could tell by the disheveled appearance and the sleepiness behind their voice that Y/N just woke up. Himeko held the neatly wrapped gift in her hands and smiled at the somewhat half-asleep Y/N before holding it out to the newest member. Himeko chuckled at the confused expression that crossed Y/N's face when the box was suddenly placed in their hands. Y/N just blinked as they looked down at the box in their hands before looking back up at Himeko. "What... what's this all about?" "It's a gift for you, it is your birthday after all." "My... birthday?" Y/N paused and glanced over at the digital calendar, eyes focusing on the date before looking back at the redhead that stood in front of the door to their room. "How did you know?" "I remember one of the people from your home planet briefly mentioned it. Once I heard you decided to join the Astral Express... I decided to pick up a little something to remind you of home." Himeko smiled as she spoke, noticing Y/N's tired expression turning from confusion to a more awake smile on their face. Y/N took a peak at the wrapped box in their hands and they were filled with a sense of excitement. If it's something from their home world... the possibilities ran through their head. Maybe it was the newest book from their favorite author? Or maybe some memento to remind them of home? "What are you waiting for... open it?" Y/N glanced up at Himeko for a moment before looking back down at the box in their hands before they backed up into their room, gesturing for the red head to come into their room. As Y/N lightly tossed a few things to the side—shoes and a few other miscellaneous items remaining on the floor—Himeko entered the room and leaned against the frame of the door. Y/N glanced up at Himeko again before they went ahead and started to unwrap the nicely wrapped gift. Y/N's eyes practically lit up the second they finished opening the gift and seeing what it was. They could recognize the design from anywhere. Y/N's hands carefully reached into the box and lifted up the model of the ship they've been tinkering on with their father figure. The slim body of the ship they spent years repairing, tinkering, and sailing. The ship they were sure they wouldn't be seeing in a very long time was now in their hands and fit in the room they were sitting in. It reminded them of home. Himeko noticed the tears brimming at the edges at Y/N's eyes and threatening to spill over. The woman was worried that it hurt the newest member of the express and that it wasn't something they were wanting to be reminded of. She opened her mouth to say something, but Y/N beat her to it. "Thank you, Himeko, I love it."

— Welt was the second person that Y/N officially met as part of the crew after they were pulled in and had that desire to join the path of the Trailblaze.

— Welt, being the old man he is (says Stelle, but Y/N doesn't really see it) is persistent on the safety of the members of the Express. On the first mission with the 'power trio' Y/N was given all the information they needed before the expedition.

— After Y/N comes back wounded from the expedition, and with Himeko (one of the only person Y/N has become comfortable with) busy with other issues, Welt decides to take it into his own hands to step in and help Y/N.

It's been around three months since Y/N joined the Astral Express. The newest trailblazer was out on a expedition to a planet that was a barren desert with one major city that was surrounded by an oasis. Welt and Himeko remained on the ship instead of joining the others on Xylophia-IV. For some unforeseen circumstances, the outcome of the exploration of a planet the Nameless hasn’t stepped foot on went sideways. Nothing major with a stellaron, or a world altering fight, just some issues with evading some hostile entities. 

After the conflict, the four were quick to return and call quits on the mission at hand, deeming it unsafe for them to continue on with the exploration and travel. March and Stelle seemed to be mostly unscathed (other than a few miniscule scrapes that didn’t break the skin), Dan Heng got a few light open cuts and bruises. Y/N on the other hand didn’t have it lucky, being at the brunt of the attack when it happened. Y/N didn’t have any major injuries that need immediate attention, just a small gash on their arm that wouldn’t require any stitches, various bruises… and a sprained ankle. 

Y/N, being the slightly stubborn person they are, were refusing help from the others while they were heading back to the Express. Not necessarily to be toxic towards their self because it’s the first time they’ve gone out with the others, but because they were worried that they’d be ambushed again. Their adrenaline masked the ache in their foot before, but now that Y/N was on the ship… they were starting to feel it. 

Having a chance to actually assess their self, Y/N determined that they didn’t need any help, they just needed to get to their room and hope their ankle doesn’t swell up. Y/N went ahead and dismissed their self from the common area and started to make their way to their room, being grateful they didn’t have to combat stairs in order to get where they needed to go.

Y/N was just a few seconds away from opening the door to their room, ready to just flop on their comfy bed and rest. It's been one hell of a day after all.

"Y/N"

Y/N let out a mix of a frustrated sigh and an exhale, slowly turning around. "Yes, Mr. Yang?"

"I heard from the others that you were injured during the fight. You aren't hiding any other injuries that need to be addressed, correct?" Y/N could almost taste the serious tone that was being used.

"No, other than the obvious, I think I'm fine." Y/N forced a small smile to make their statement more believable.

"Then what about your arm?"

Y/N shot a confused look towards the man in front of them before looking down at their arms, finally spotting the scratch that went from the middle of their forearm to their elbow. "I... missed that one I suppose."

Welt let out a sigh at Y/N's confession and gestured for them to go into their room, stepping away to grab the first aid kit. In less than two minutes, Welt was in Y/N's room and instructing them to sit down on their bed. Welt removed topical antibiotic and a few bandages from the kit and started to treat the cut on Y/N's arm.

Y/N watched as Welt started to put away the supplies that weren't used to patch up their arm before he'd close the lid and walk towards the door.

"Make sure to get some rest, Y/N, I don't think you'd want to miss out on the next adventure."

— March 7th was the easiest for Y/N to grow accustomed to, with her bubbly personality and joyful spirit, who wouldn't?

— Y/N would always end up having pictures that March would take and print physical copies of all over their room.

— March and Y/N would somehow always snap random little photos when someone on the ship wasn't looking. Said photos ranging from low quality to absolute works of art

— For some reason Himeko was really photogenic compared to Stelle and Dan Heng (Dan Heng threatened to use Imbibitor Lunae on the two... Y/N couldn't tell if he was being serious or not-).

— When Y/N sees all the photos March takes at each stop the Express makes, Y/N's curiosity gets the best of them and they ask March about the photos.

Y/N hummed to their self as they walked down the train car, looking at the doors as they passed by. As they passed by March's door, they heard faint rustling indicating that energetic woman was awake. With that knowledge, Y/N decided that they didn't have anything better to do that morning and went to step closer to the door and knocked, following a certain pattern.

The faint rustling on the other side of the door stopped before footsteps approached the door. A few seconds later, the door opened revealing March already dressed and ready to take on the day.

"Can I come in?"

March gave Y/N a closed eye smile as she nodded. "Of course you can! I was just going through all the photos I've taken, do you want to look with me?"

Y/N couldn't help but smile as well, March's smile being contagious, even this early in the morning. "I'd love to. You did promise to show me pictures from previous places you guys went to so... I'll take it!"

March stepped aside to let Y/N walk into the room, they taking the invitation to step in. Y/N walked to March's bed where there was a box containing the photos and a few recent Polaroids sitting on the bed.

March sat down next to Y/N and took out a stack of photos, starting to thumb through the photos and showing Y/N a few. Y/N eventually took their own stack of photos in their hands and started to go through them. A lot were from the views of the massive windows in the main car on the express, a few planets seen in a few. Y/N even saw a few of the photos from their home planet. Y/N swore they could spot their self in the background on one of the beaches before they even met.

As they continued to go through the photos, they stopped at a particular interesting one. "Hey March, what about this photo?" Y/N held up the photo they were talking about. March was the main focus of the selfie, a large moon in the horizon and the sky was a dark shade of blue with stars littering the sky and a snowy background. Y/N could see that Dan Heng and Stelle were in the background, Dan Heng looking at Stelle... while Stelle looked like she was just about to bust her butt on ice.

"Oh, that one! We were going to Belobog to see one of Serval's concerts. We arrived late the night before and the sky was so pretty. I wish you could've seen it in person Y/N, we have to bring you there sometime soon."

"It looks like it's pretty. I think I've seen other photos you've taken from there, along with the Penacony photos you took. They all look amazing. If we ever go to Jarilo-VI again, I want to go with you guys. A little cold won't kill me."

March chuckled and nodded her head at Y/N's enthusiasm. "Yeah, there's a lot of places I want to show you someday." March took a glance at one of the other photos that Y/N was previously looking at. "Wait- is that you in the background?!"

"Yeah! Looks like I was meant to meet you guys and join the express."

— Dan Heng, by far, is the one that intimidated Y/N the most when they first joined, that somewhat cold, 'don't bother me' expression making him seem less approachable.

— After one sleepless night and stumbling into the room that contained the Data Bank, Y/N was quickly proven wrong that Dan Heng wasn't as scary as he seemed.

— Dan Heng and Y/N now formed a little bonding time ritual where if Y/N has a difficult time sleeping and Dan Heng is awake, they'd sit in the room going through the Data Bank and learn new information they can get their hands on.

It's been hours and Y/N still couldn't fall asleep. At this point, Y/N could just get up from their bed and start making an elaborate breakfast for the others. Maybe that's what they'll do.

Y/N grumbled as they rolled out of bed, straightening out their pjs and threw on a pair of slippers Stelle gifted them a few weeks ago. Maybe they could find the ingredients for a local breakfast dish from their home world. Yeah, that'll do... if not, they can make really fancy pancakes... that'll also do.

Once Y/N reached the kitchen, they pulled out their phone and started to look up the recipe so they could make what they had in mind. It took a few hours of preparation anyways so if they wanted to make it, they needed to start now.

"Y/N? What are you doing awake at this hour?"

Y/N glanced up from their phone, squinting their eyes as they looked at Dan Heng. They noticed the steaming cup in his hands and shot a confused look. "I was going to see if we had ingredients for a local dish from home. Can't sleep so I figured I could get started and make breakfast."

Dan Heng let out a small sigh and shook his head. "Y/N... it's one in the morning."

Y/N let out a sigh, setting their phone face down on the counter. "I know... tonight is going to be one of those nights where I can't sleep. So I might as well occupy myself."

Y/N watched as Dan Heng set his cup down on the counter a few feet away from them and turned to grab another cup, opening a tea bag and pouring hot water into the cup. A minute later, Y/N found a steaming cup of tea in their hands and following Dan Heng to the Data Bank.

"What tea is this?" Y/N adjusted their hold on the cup, making sure they weren't going to spill it as they stepped inside and moved to pull out one of the chairs in front of the computer screens.

"It's chamomile tea." Dan Heng followed suite and took the other chair out and sat down, setting his cup to the side and started to pull a few things up. "It's supposed to help with insomnia and stress related problems."

"Ah... thank you." Y/N lifted the cup to their lips and took a sip of the tea. "What planet or star system are you going to tell me about tonight?"

"Actually, I was hoping you could tell me more about Thalasia and it's customs."

Y/N almost choked on the tea once they heard their home planet. They were far from a scholar and was just a simple mechanic back home. They weren't qualified for educating the children, let alone giving information about the planet.

"Well- uh... damn, you really caught me off guard there."

Y/N took a moment to think about what they could talk about. They could tell him about local foods... or traditions. Or maybe about this annual festival that'd be happening around this time of year.

"I can't vouch for any of the other tribes on Thalasia. But around this time, the people of my island and a few other surrounding islands would gather and we'd celebrate our ancestors. We'd light lanterns and release them as tribute to them. There's a bunch of food stalls and activities for children. The atmosphere is always lively and welcoming to locals and tourists alike."

Y/N continued to talk about their home planet and local customs from their tribe. Even though they weren't an expert, they were glad to tell someone about customs and traditions.

— Stelle gives off the vibe of being one of those chaotic gremlin siblings. At a first glance, she may seem a little standoffish, but Y/N would be quick to learn that she's one of the goofiest people out there.

— Y/N and Stelle would participate in harmless, 'mischievous' activities when outside of the Express, nothing to damaging to whatever goal that's in place.

— Despite being followed by a bit of chaos, Stelle always welcomes Y/N with open arms and brings them on adventures. Though she tries to keep it tame compared to the expeditions she and the rest of the crew experienced.

It's officially been a year since Y/N has joined the Express. They have developed their friendships with the rest of the crew and have officially found their new home. It took them some time to become accustomed to the path of the Nameless but they've grown attached to the lifestyle.

Y/N was currently packing a bag, double checking the contents of the small backpack and was making sure they had clothes, sleepwear, and other necessities for this trip Stelle and March clearly seemed excited about. It led to some suspicion but... Y/N wasn't going to question it. They trusted the others and knew they weren't going to drag them into something dangerous.

Just as they were satisfied with the contents of their backpack and that there wasn't anything getting left behind, they heard a knock on the door. "Y/N? Are you ready? We're about to warp to our destination then we're going to head out."

Y/N lifted the backpack from their bed and slung it over their shoulder. "Yeah, I'm ready. I'll meet you out in the main area Stelle, give me two minutes."

Y/N moved to their shelf and looked at the small model of the ship they were working on before they joined. Carefully lifting the model off the self, they moved to put it someplace more secure, fearing that it'd fall off the shelf and break during the jump. Nothing of theirs fell off the shelves before, but they couldn't be too careful. Not with how valuable this was to them. Once it was finally in a secure place, they left their room and headed towards the main compartment of the train.

They sat down on the couch and prepared for the takeoff, chatting with the others and asking about where they were going. Of course, all they received was a vague answer, but they guess that's what they get if it's supposed to be a surprise.

Once the warp was over and they reached their destination, Stelle stood up from her seat and stretched out her arms. "C'mon, let's go."

Y/N followed suit with March right behind them. The three exited the express and stepped foot in the lobby of The Reverie. Y/N looked around in awe as the trio made way to the reception desk.

"Penacony... how did you guys get a reservation here without an invitation? Isn't it... extremely expensive?"

"We may have some connections."

Y/N looked at Stelle with a raised eyebrow before looking over at March, who just shrugged her shoulders. Y/N let out a small sigh and shook their head, they knew better than to question it. So they'd just go ahead and follow the procedure to enter the dreamscape.

The moment they first stepped foot in Golden Hour they were taken away by the sheer size of the place and by how many shops and buildings that surrounded them. It was like they stepped onto one of those planets focused around shopping. Stelle and March were right behind them.

Y/N spent the day with the two girls wandering Penacony and taking in the sights. They've seen photos from March's collection, but it was so much better in person. Their travels eventually leading them to the Radiant Feldspar. Y/N and Stelle going off to 'explore' the ship (it's mainly Y/N exploring with Stelle tagging along.

Eventually stumbling upon the Oragami Birds stationed on the arcade machines.

"Wait... those two look a bit like... you and March? Oh my gosh, those are so cute."

"Wanna play? I'm sure we can make one of your own if you'd like!"

Y/N glanced over at Stelle, shooting her a look like she was crazy for asking them such a question. "Of course! How do I play?"

Y/N and Stelle ended up spending hours playing the game going against each other and making Y/N's own origami bird. March having to come and drag the two off so they could continue to sight see and meet up with friends.

This has been hostage in my drafts since... the middle of June.

I clearly gave up at the end of writing this. Just felt like I've been working on this forever and wanted to finally get it out 🫠

[waffleweirdo]

One of my favorite moments of the newest episode is Kumiko complimenting Reina's role as drum major.

This single moment alone is so good. (The position framing Reina just like the past shots of Asuka is so-)

Asuka is of course the primary person that Kumiko looks up to, so of course this means a lot. But thematically its just so cool.

Although Asuka was the vice-president she left most of the actual club guidance to Haruka and was mostly just interested in getting to play her own instrument. While her skills were spectacular she rarely went beyond that. In contrast to this season three highlights how much Kumiko has grown to be far more active and how she and Reina are working to grow the club as a whole (specifically with the moment leading up to this line showing Reina's guidance and encouragement of the new members), they are surpassing the past!

On top of that the significance of the dynamic between Reina and Asuka as prodigies with deep personal ties to music is definitely relevant. But I think most interesting is their existence as being 'special'. While Asuka is widely regarded as special by the rest of the band that's ultimately a false assumption (see her entire arc in season 2), meanwhile Reina strives to be truly special through her achievement in music (see season 1 episode 8). Reina being the person who surpasses Asuka is her as a character moving towards her dream authentically!

Kumiko being the one to say this to her as well, who knew Asuka's struggles the most, well I think both she and Asuka would be happy to see someone finally surpass Asuka...

[upontherisers]

AAAAND ❛ you’re such a tease. ❜ for dealer’s choice! 😋

a/n: how does post war hazel and jack foreplay sound for everyone? some post war hazel and jack foreplay for the table? content warning for choking. (nsfw under the cut.)

“You’re such a tease,” Jack says, leaning on the doorframe behind Hazel as he does up the cuffs of his shirt. He hasn’t buttoned it yet — thank God — so she can glimpse the flat, lithe plane of his torso under the crisp white cotton. Chicago has put color on him, turning his freckles the same brown eggshell as the tilled fields outside of Akron, and it’ll be a shame to cover up all that good warm skin with three layers that’ll have to come on and off again according to the manners of the evening. Might as well not let him get too dressed up.

Hazel doesn’t respond, only looks at him through the bathroom mirror and leans into her reflection to carefully apply her lipstick. Raven Red is his favorite shade on her — perhaps because it’s all she could find after the first time he’d asked her to dinner in East Anglia and she had to run into town to borrow a smear from a fresh-faced girl of seventeen, who watched, bewildered, as an WAC lieutenant commandeered her lipstick. She can’t put on too much because she intends to eat if he really makes them go to this thing. He could grant her that after he’s run her across the city and back three times now, not to mention the meetings and the lunches and making polite conversation with his secretary because he’s been held up on so-and-so call.

This is about calling his bluff; neither of them want to spend an evening politely clapping at trite speeches celebrating his father’s third promotion in as many years while the newest wife sits on his left and his two children sit in the back because they wouldn’t pay him for the good seats. It’s a matter of which one of them will break first.

Her money’s on Jack.

“Where’d you get those?” he asks.

She turns over her left shoulder so that he gets her good side and the beauty mark on her cheekbone. Her smile is soft, unassuming as she runs a hand over the lustrous black silk at her hip. “Oh, these old things? Found ‘em in my mama's attic. Forgot I even had ‘em.”

Sliding a hand into his pocket, he rests his head on the door frame and gives her a long, hungry look that burns up her ankles, the backs of her thighs, her spine, and across her bare shoulders, heating her skin to a low simmer and kicking up her heart rate. His mouth gives him away with the faintest of half-smiles, that look of amazement he gets right before he finds it in him to be ten minutes late instead of fifteen minutes early.

But she’s not aiming for late, she’s aiming for absent. Now, if she could only get her mascara on and bat her lashes and tell him that her feet hurt oh so terribly from all this walking and Franny probably won’t show either and we still have some cake in the refrigerator.

The custom lingerie is a bit heavy handed, she knows that, but she’s missed him so much and she’s been in town four days already with frighteningly few hickies to show for it. A night in won’t kill him and won’t kill her, more importantly; he’s been showing her around Chicago like he’s about to start selling her real estate, but what she wants more than a home is him and if she has to doll up to remind him that there’s a half-dressed woman in his apartment who’s been aching something awful since they last spent a week together, then so be it. The food is always overcooked and under seasoned at these things anyway, and they’ve got red beans and rice next to the cake.

As she reaches for her mascara, Jack pushes off the door and takes his sweet time getting to her. Arms around her waist first — fingers first actually, eager and strong, then his long palms — followed by his chest against her back, and his skin sears on hers, and finally his chin against her ear and a shiver she can’t hold back as his lips ghost past her earlobe. His cologne, bright and sharp, washes over her and fires her nerves in excitement as her whole being responds to having him so close. It would be so easy to give in now and let him set her on fire until he checks the time and dashes out to get his tie from the bedroom, but she’s keeping her eyes on the prize.

Pushing onto the tips of her toes, she leans forward and brushes her hips into his. He makes a sound between a gasp and a groan, but she presses on and meticulously wands her lashes without regard for the fingers coming to dig into her sides. She’s soft there, with a year of stateside eating in her; let him grab.

He’s hard already — silk lets her feel everything — but that’s no guarantee they’re staying in. She wants it in writing.

One wiggle of her hips, then another, and she’s simply just going about her business getting ready for an event that he insisted on attending when a hand pulls her hips flush to his and runs up over her navel, between her breasts, pans over her sternum before settling under her chin and holding her throat. 

Her eyes flutter shut and it’s hard to think with her pulse thrumming under the heel of his hand. She needs to… she needs… All she knows is the wiry muscle of his forearm holding her to her and the growing need at her core, but it’s no use rubbing her thighs together as her stockings are starting to itch with sweat. The only reason she hasn’t taken them off is because he likes to, undoing her garter clasps with his slow, unique brand of patience that leaves her pawing at him fruitlessly.

He presses a firm kiss to her temple and she lets her head fall back on his shoulder with a sigh. Now was this so hard?

“Haze.”

“Hm?” His fingers are so long that his thumb can rub over the underside of her jaw. She wants it in her mouth.

“Hazel.” He squeezes for a moment and her eyes roll in their sockets. “Look at me, Haze.”

Her lashes are wet already as they part and his green-blue eyes meet hers with concern and authority. “My sister really wanted to see you.”

“I’ll ring her first thing in the morning.” She’ll say anything, anything to get him to sweep her into the bedroom and lay his love down by moonlight as the city races by outside.

“Promise?”

She’s distracted by the thought of him covered in her lipstick, Satsuma plum purple smeared across the freckles of his neck and chest. “Uh-huh.”

He squeezes again and she whines, arching her back and feeling the throbbing length of him pushing against her ass. “Use your words.”

“Yes,” she says, “I will, I will.”

He presses another kiss to her temple — her sign that he’s calling the shots now — and she slumps into him as his free hand wanders under the waistband of her panties.

[laracrofted]

I LIVE for positivity night, so thank you for hosting one 🥹

First and foremost, I am absolutely in love with Baby, I’m High Octane and am so excited for any future updates! It’s phenomenal and I devour every word you give us!

@hangmansgbaby is my platonic soulmate, the sharer of my brain cell, and my very best friend. We’ve been through some shit together 😅 but I couldn’t be more grateful that we’ve stayed as close as we are! I fell in love with her Always, Darling Jake series over a year ago (what?!) and have continually fallen for every single story she writes! Pucking Finally, a Javy x Nat hockey fic, is incredible and I CANNOT WAIT for yall to get to read Royally Pucked (the Jake x OC!!!! next story). It’s amazing. As is You Burn With Us, a Hunger Games x TGM crossover. I don’t have words for how good all of her writing is, but I can absolutely tell you they deserve all the love and praise in the world! Gbaby, I love you with my whole heart! 💕

@sarahsmi13s is another one of my early days babies! I’m so grateful for her friendship and always being happy to have me bounce ideas off of her! She also has SO MANY incredible series that are underrated. We bonded over my love for her Tell Them series and I absolutely latched onto J&S immediately after. I love you, Vin!

@roosterforme has been such a kind, loving, and supportive friend in the whole time I’ve known her! I’m wholeheartedly obsessed with Adult Education and almost had a heart attack when the queen Bradshaw Baddie™️ wrote a Jake fic! She also went and made me fall in love with a Bradley in Old Habits Die Hard. Beer Boy and Sugar FOR LIFE

@thedroneranger has been a sheer force of positivity through so many things! I’m so thankful that I’ve made a friend in Jay and that she loves GP as much as I do 😂. The To-Do List is one of my all time favorite series and was a huge inspiration for how I structured The Honeyverse! Coffin Cuddler™️ till the end of time

@trickphotography2 has been a supporter for quite a while now and I so enjoy all of our conversations! Her D-Day & Tis The Damn Season series have me in absolute chokehold and I pester the hell out of her regularly for little sneak peaks 😉

@callsigncurse is a new friend and I ADORE her! Snow is such a precious nugget and I’m so happy we found each other. Her Evergreen Falls series is absolute magic and yall should keep an eye out for it 😍

@aviatorobsessed ANDY. My sweet lovey! I live for her comments on my fics AND our conversations. I’m so happy we’ve gotten to be better friends and notifications from you make my heart so happy!

@teacupsandtopgun BETHHHHH. Beth is the best with the most thoughtful comments on everything and is honestly such a sweet soul! I’m fully hooked on Jake & Flick and still come back for more pain because it’s SO DAMN GOOD. Also, Beth’s moodboards are STUNNING and I swoon over them every time.

@seresinhangmanjake holy moly, I am so in love with the Oh, Baby! and The One I Want series she has. Her words paint a stunning scene and I always feel like I’m right in the middle of it!

@ohtobeleah is currently murdering my feelings with Was It Over? It’s so raw and real and emotional and my heart breaks more with every chapter. I also adore I.R.I.S and will forever love her badassery! I’m looking forward to getting to know her better in the new year!

@na-ta-sh-aa I honest to God teared up over your sweet submission and want to frame it!

To my newest friends @dizzybee03 @jynxmirage @shanimallina87 @djs8891 @taytaylala12 @capoteera @hookslove1592 :

I could not imagine writing without yall! Your kind words, screeching at me in reblogs or DMs and overall support make me smile so big that my face hurts! I’m so thankful y’all are always happy to let me bounce ideas off of you and encourage me when I’m struggling. I’m sure I’ve missed a few of my nuggets, but I love them all so much 💕

you've been such an incredible supporter of baby, i'm high octane, and i'm so grateful for your feedback and your kind words. happy new year! 🤍

end of the year positivity night 💌

[bloodydeanwinchester]

hi jenna gif questions for u 💜 what's your favorite part of making gifs? what's the most valuable thing/tip/trick you've learned? what's some of your favorite gif sets you've made?

hi ida!!!! sorry i took a couple days to answer this i wanted to wait until i had some time to think about it before i answer! i loooove these questions tho so thank you so much for sending them 💜💜

my favorite part about making gifs is probably coloring and like...that moment when i get the gif to look exactly how i want it to. i like to play around with coloring and try a lot of different things with it and that can be so fun! i think over the last like 6-8 months my coloring has really improved a lot and i've been having a lot of fun learning new ways to do things! but i actually had a really hard time coming up with an answer for this question because i mostly enjoy the entire process! the only part that i don't really enjoy is picking out the frames for each gif. i always start with way too many and then i have to cut stuff out and i hate that part. also it's reaaally hard sometimes to not end up with like 20 gifs cause there's so much i want to include!!!

okay im gonna cheat on this one and give a few things i've learned since i started that have been sooooo valuable to me. first is the importance of having a good quality download to start with. i think my gifs got significantly better when i finally downloaded all of the episodes in 1080p instead of using the screen recording on netflix like i had been before. second sharpening is so important! i did not do any sharpening on my first gifs i made! sharpening makes the gifs loook sooo sharp and crisp and pretty. third and kind of similar to sharpening was learning/figuring out how to use the camera raw filter. there's sooooo much you can do with camera raw filter (coloring sharpening lightening). and finally one thing i learned that i think made my coloring look significantly better was to try not to lighten the gif too much and/or to figure out ways to lighten darker gifs without it messing up the background too much (sometimes when they're lightened too much it will like pixelate the background and it looks awful)

and finally (in order of when they were made from oldest to newest) here are links to some of my favorite gifsets:

Bloody Dean Throughout the Seasons Set - this one actually came out really good considering the fact that it was made only a month after i first started making gifs! if i remember correctly it's the first set that i ever used sharpening on.

6x20 F+TM King Set - this one is a favorite mostly just because i love the song so much and tmwwbk is one of my favorite episodes. i think some of my favorite sets to make are the ones that i add lyrics to.

2022 Nov 5th Set - i was really happy with how this one came out! it's so hard to get gifs from episodes over different seasons to look the same! and this one had gifs from 12 different seasons! also i think this was the first set i ever made that got over 1000 notes which i remember being really excited about!

Laughing Dean Set - this one is a favorite purely based on the content of the set. it feels like injecting serotonin every time i look at it<3

1x12 Faith Set - another one based on the content of the set. i just love this episode so much.

Season 9 Dean Set - i LOVE the coloring in this set! and season 9 dean is so beloved to me. he is just so beautiful and bloody and sad.

2023 Cas Day Set - another f+tm lyric set! i love the space overlay that i added and the blue-pink of the coloring so much!

4x18 Destiel Every Episode Set - i loooove this scene so much! this gif series has by far been more popular than any of the other gifs that i post and this set is definitely the most popular in the series. no other set has ever even come close to getting 4k notes like this one did. also i really like the purple coloring a lot<3

[emmaswanned]

@cleoselene tagged me several days ago to share 9 of my favorite albums! sorry it took me so long to respond but I did still want to make the post!

I've been bad lately about listening to full albums as opposed to individual songs but i'm trying to be better about this because i think listening to full albums is a better way to find new artists. anyway, in no particular order:

matchbox twenty: yourself or someone like you - i think i am perhaps a little young to love matchbox twenty as much as i do (this album came out when i was 4 years old LOL) but they were very much a soundtrack to my growing up. it was actually hard for me to choose between this album and mad season, but ultimately i thought you just can't go wrong with the album that features "real world", "3AM", and "push", just to name a few. (and hey, by the way, not to be that guy, but i loved "push" long before ryan gosling ever touched it!)

taylor swift: red - i chose the original album art to post here rather than the new version because RED has been my favorite album of hers ever since it came out in 2012. i have vivid memories of being a 20-year-old film student listening to the album on the train i took to get to school and thinking wow, this album really tells a story from beginning to end!

sara bareilles: the blessed unrest - this was another hard one because i wanted to choose just one album per artists and it was a tough choice between the blessed unrest and kaleidoscope heart. ultimately went with this one because of songs like "chasing the sun" and "december." sara bareilles has always (at least in her first 3 albums) conveyed a sense of unrest and uncertainty that i've found both relatable and comforting and i think in this album she finds her stability, or at least a hope that she can find it.

maisie peters: the good witch - idk what i can say about this one that others haven't already said - i think it's the newest album on my list, certainly, but it's also just, like, the ultimate breakup album. and the way maisie frames her songwriting as a way for her to take control of her own narrative is very interesting to me and very taylor swiftian.

rob thomas: cradlesong - kind of cheating here to choose a rob thomas album when he's the lead singer of matchbox twenty but i feel i cannot ignore him because he, too, was the soundtrack of my high school years. i had an obsession in 2009 that i cannot explain nor do i apologize for.

halsey: badlands - my least favorite thing about halsey is she put out this, the perfect album, on her first try and everything else has left me disappointed. i'm heading straight for the castle. they wanna make me their queen. it cannot be topped.

fun.: aim and ignite - fun. is just the perfect band for me and every day i am sad that they're not making music anymore

noah kahan: stick season - this album is very sad and heavy, and a lot of the songs sound quite similar, which are two things that are hard for me to get past when listening to music, but ultimately this album is too good to pass up. somehow makes you horribly homesick at the same time it makes you want to run screaming from your hometown and never look back.

of monsters and men: my head is an animal - i think a lot of my taste in music can be traced back to the era of of monsters and men and mumford and sons and the like. it's the thread that leads me to noah kahan now. my head is an animal is almost a no-skip album if we're being honest.

[starswallowingsea]

For the ask game, uhhhhhhhhmmmmmmm hm. HiMERU

ask game

My first impression

haha rinne's acting real gay with this guy i wonder what their deal is (re: mainstory interactions where himeru says the whole convo was a waste of breath and rinne says what you want me to kiss you to give you that air back?)

My impression now

eternal torment nexus for this one. he's everything to me and i want him to be happy but to be happy is first to suffer and be totally bare to your friends and let them into your life. at least tatsumi pretends to do that.

Favorite thing about that character

i think the way we still know almost nothing about oremeru as a person. odd thing to say about a character but we know his motivations for taking over for his brother and can theorize about some aspects of his "true" self but in reality he's still such a mystery and i want to know more about him. i have high hopes for the new event.

Least favorite thing

uhm. nothing because i think his flaws are also funny as fuck

Favorite line/scene

any time he talks about kaname in his head, wondering what kaname would think and how he's holding a space for kaname. just because the world doesn't remember you doesn't mean that i don't. i'm sorry i couldn't tell you i love you soon enough.

Favorite interaction that character has with another

PASTEL B BROTHERS i'm so excited they canonized an in universe name for him and kohaku. they're so cute together and ohhhh kohaku being not a kaname replacement but oremeru being more emotionally aware of what teenagers want/need out of the adults in their lives and trying to do his best but not wanting to give up his act. the way kohaku said that himeru will softly smile as he helps kohaku with stuff in the main story when they think crazyb is going to be disbanded and how they're all family despite only knowing each other for a short time.

A character that I wish that character would interact with more

another madara answer but partially bc i wonder what he really thinks about double face's activities when they were active. we saw niki's perspective on that but given himeru's past. i do wonder how he would treat madara knowing the full extent of those activities.

Another character from another fandom that reminds me of that character

going to just leave this here. contextless 18trip spoilers.

A headcanon about that character

himeru was in his college's drama club to learn more about acting outside of what the priest taught him for impersonation. he was never quite cut out for the lead but uhm. you haven't seen a3 but i think he'd take on roles similar to what homare does.

A song that reminds of that character

i left you a note by chad lawson it was the season 2 theme for unobscured and it's just instrumentals but it fits him i think. at least the more melancholic aspects of him.

An unpopular opinion about that character

this is more about crazyb in general but the fact that there are still people who think all of them need to be "saved" from rinne is insane. all of them have the ability to just fucking leave. himeru had a solo career before this he can find a new unit if he really wanted to. they're there because they want to be. if you like all of a unit but one member and think they suck then you do not understand that unit's dynamics sorry everyone is in their current units for a reason.

Favorite picture

would it be too cheap to say his newest event card unbloomed. the trip album framed in the background. kaname's hand. what would you do in this situation.

also going to include his card from the souma ts2 scout he looks so nice. and and his unbloomed from the last globalstars campaign

he looks nice in sunsets he should have more sunset cards

[rosewood-multifandom-writer]

Street Fighter 6 Story Review:

After this and Akuma’s release, I am going to review World Tour Mode. Spoilers, I’m gonna be pretty harsh with World Tour and the rest of this game. Every character will get a TL:DR breakdown of their storylines because I don’t want this review being longer than it’s already gonna be.

The only stories that I will not be counting are the DLC character stories because as of the date of this review, I only have Ed. If I get the rest of the DLC after Akuma gets released, then they will have their own review post, but for now, it’s just the base game roster. The stories with a heart (❤️) next to it are my favorites.

Luke: Luke’s story begins with him introducing himself and wanting to meet new people during his street fighting journey. He thinks he’s still the same young punk he was before he joined the military briefly. Luke’s story is about him fighting on his own terms.

Jamie: Nothing special, the usual Jamie being the protector of his city, beating up gangs and thugs, and arguing with Luke.

Manon: Hates being called “strong” as it is a trigger for her due to her mother abandoning her and not having friends due to her being amazing at judo. She also does this thing that I also do whenever I am having a bad day where she says she’s “fine” but she’s not. Marisa is the first and only person who genuinely compliments and praises Manon’s strength. ❤️

Kimberly: A young 80’s aesthetic loving ninja who is investigating her uncle’s death. Runs into JP. ❤️

Marisa: We see Manon vs Marisa from Marisa’s perspective as she proudly talks about her history and of course, more lesbian subtext between the two. ❤️

Lily: She is a part of the Thunderfoot tribe and travels a lot as she is the most curious fighter. She runs into Dhalsim.

JP: This villain is so good because there are people that are just like JP in real life. Not to mention that he is the king of gaslighting and manipulation. If there is one symbol that is more fitting for him, it would be a chess piece. ❤️

Juri: She is having trouble moving on and feels like she has no other purpose in life other than her now one-sided rivalry with Chun-Li, and it looks like Chun-Li’s words did have an affect on her at the end of her story. ❤️

Deejay: If you’re looking for the definition of chill, Deejay will be used as an example picture. Kimberly acts as his inspiration for his newest song.

Cammy: She is investigating the reminents of Shadaloo, and runs into JP. JP gets away, and Cammy is more determined than ever to find more information about Shadaloo, because like a cockroach, Shadaloo just won’t die completely. ❤️

Ryu: In the usual Ryu fashion, Ryu seeks more strength and looks to fight other fighters with unique abilities. Luke wanted to get a picture with him, but the closest he got was an awesome shot of Ryu being his usual heroic neutral self walking away from the fight with Luke.

E. Honda (Bear Hugger): E. Honda wants to open up a new sumo themed restaurant, and the Manon boss fight he has is actually a flashback fight of him trying to open up his restaurant in France where the temporary amusement park is, but Manon gives him better advice for his restaurant. Hence why his restaurant is in Urban Park.

Blanka: He becomes great friends with Lily and remains champion of the jungle like the ugly cute creature he is.

Guile: Guile learns that Ken has not been the same since the incident in Nayshall, and in his ending, he tries convincing Ken to go back to his family and if you remember his conversations in World Tour, he doesn’t want Ken to repeat the same mistakes with his family like he did. ❤️

Ken: Ken is framed for being a terrorist and is now in hiding even after his innocence was proven. I know others beat me to it, but I think this is gonna be the start of Violent Ken. Whether he will appear by Capcom pulling a SF5 season 2 and makes SF6 season 2, or we get SF7, we will definitely be getting that dark side of Ken.❤️

Chun-Li: We see Chun-Li living her best life semi-retired, but thanks to Juri Han, she learns that taking down Shadaloo isn’t that easy, as there are still more things going on with Shadaloo, even though M. Bison is dead. ❤️

Zangief: He mistakes Marisa’s want for a romantic partner for a tag team fighting partner, and he clumsily makes an excuse as to why he can’t. Marisa is a graceful person when it comes to losing and being rejected. ❤️

Dhalsim: Dhalsim being the usual freaky yoga contortionist he is gives Lily some enlightenment.

What are the best stories from Arcade Mode?

The top 5:

1. Juri.

2. Ken

3. JP

4. Guile

5. Kimberly

These five are the best stories as it focuses on the aftermath of Shadaloo’s downfall, which is the best storyline of SF4-SF6’s timeline so far.

My least favorite stories are Lily and Jamie because they’re not the most interesting characters in my opinion, nor were their stories interesting to me. Plus, I’m pretty indifferent towards these two.

Is playing Story mode worth your time?

In my opinion, if you haven’t played Street Fighter in a long time (the last time I personally played Street Fighter I only played SFII) or you’re new to the franchise, the story is definitely worth your time.

In my case, I want to analyze characters like the roster in SF6 and I am going to review the rest of this game, so playing Story Mode was definitely worth it for me. Plus, it doesn’t waste my time like what World Tour did.

So if you want to experience/re-experience SF6’s story, play Arcade Mode’s Story.

I will have a lot more to say about World Tour mode, but as of right now, Akuma hasn’t been released yet, so I can’t fully express my opinion on World Tour as a whole yet.

Conclusion:

In short, the story of Street Fighter 6 is an interesting one from what I have seen as someone whose first experience with Street Fighter was Street Fighter II, so I can’t speak for anyone else who played more of the other games.

I will say that the Arcade Mode Story is better than World Tour’s story. Hopefully it gets better in the Turbo/Ultra/Champion/Whatever Edition of SF6.

[connecting-the-stars]

Well the newest season of ‘The Bear’ released! And ofc I’m a fan of the arcs set up for all our characters and seeing them pay off in different positive or negative ways. Tina’s development from last season building into her thriving at culinary school and becoming one of the blocks to hold the restaurant intact. Marcus flying over seas to gain new skills and brainstorm his dessert ideas to return with new confidence and wonderful plates. Ofc, the all star girl, Sydney absolutely killing it this season with taking charge with planning of the menu and keeping things moving in the restaurant’s development. Which flows into her taking on the pressure in the last episode and pushing through an almost disastrous first service. And her relationship with her Dad was so sweet and seeing him try to support her the best he could despite his concerns was wonderful.

Now, with most of the positives laid out… those negatives. Well, I knew from the first instant that it showed Marcus being anxious about leaving his mother to travel, that something utterly sad was gonna happen. His care for her was palpable and his anxiety was very relatable. When everything had picked up in the other plot’s lines and his mother wasn’t mentioned as much, I had nearly forgotten but that last frame of his phone lighting up hurts. I know we are gonna see the heartbreak and grief that comes with his loss, and I’m wondering if Nat or Carmy will be able to support him at least some due to their own recent loss. Next season will most likely have Syd being a pillar of support and relatability for him, due to her grief of her mother. Thus, on to head strong and doubt-filled Sydney, she’s got to be my favorite character from the whole cast that I enjoy. Her Dad being nervous for her throughout the season was almost hard to watch as he attempted to be supportive while also pressing her about her decisions, added on by Syd constantly seeing different restaurants that closed. The intense anxiety and burden of running The Bear as the sou chef really shows in the later half of episode 10. Her mind repeatedly playing the tickets and her stomach upending itself in the alley was gut wrenching as I could feel her panic. Both arcs with Marcus and Sydney were completed so well as they were formed over the season, but damn am I not concerned for both of them in the future. (I want them all to be happy, but I guess this makes fans invested. I am very invested.)

Remember grief repressing and anxiety riddled Carmy from season 1? Well I can’t say he gets a arc I completely enjoyed, but the writers found a way for the audience to get pissed at him for sure. Digging himself into his own downfall was very… I don’t know how to put it… Relatable? Satisfying? Depressing? It made my heart twist when I heard him claim that he doesn’t need amusement, telling the fridge door how he rejects any resemblance of happiness. Despite him neglecting his responsibilities and his commitment to the restaurant and Sydney, I can sympathize with Carmy’s juggling act of being pulled in two directions. That being said, the dialogue and visual reminders for him to call the fridge guy paid off almost hilariously as it blow up in his face. For the first few seconds, I had burst into laughter at the absurdity and suddenness as it cut into the flow of the scene in the fast paced kitchen. But after that, the amusement definitely just nosedived into concern and sadness as Carmy frantically bashed his fists into the door yelling. Ofc, his first relationship, someone from his past that he attached himself to so much, was gonna end in ruins by his own hands. Just like the fridge handle snapping off. From my perspective, the writers set Claire up as a personification of his past. It was brought up repeatedly how she remembered or knew something about the past or his family, being the very loud topic brought up in the flashback episode, one of Carmy’s main scenes. The panic attack weaving images of screaming family members and old pictures of her made it clear that she is associated with his painful and tragic upbringing, surrounded by adults with their own issues that violently conflict and clash with one another. Mikey’s silent suffering after carmy gifted him his sketch of their restaurant made me want to cry.

Mikey is gone, and Carmy forced himself to go back to Chicago to desperately fumble The Beef into a half way functional sandwich shop. Then, right at the end of season 2 second episode, it has Claire appearing as a blast from the past. That fact that it’s brought up how he’s “always” had a crush on her is interesting, other characters tell us this, but when Carmy himself is faced with the choice to invite her into his chaotic life - he chooses to give her a fake number. This being his first real relationship and lacking role models for healthy positive relationships could play into his hesitancy to call her his girlfriend. In the early half of of the last episode, there is a moment where the camera lays out the situation between Claire and calling the fridge guy, appropriate that he doesn’t even have the proper name, and then he chooses to do neither - redirecting to help Marcus with something. During the first service, Richie presses him to go talk to Claire, and in the context of moving forward or returning to someone of the past, Carmy refuses the first time. He focuses all his effort into the restaurant’s success, and denies looking back - visiting a distraction. If Claire is a version of the past, last season Carmy was clinging to the past as his grief ran through his heart and pulled him back to The Beef. Then, the temptation to return to something familiar, to fall into a routine and not move forward is hard for anyone. The Bear is his and the restaurant’s way of moving forward and making something better than it ever was before. But Carmy gets caught on someone of the past, someone who reminds him of a time his brother was still alive. When cooking with his brother was a place to laugh and smile wide as the sun shined on their faces. (S1 flashbacks of Mikey, Richie, and Carmy.) In the end, Carmy is left literally self isolated, his first relationship shoot through, and on horrid terms with Richie, all because he could not delegate time revisiting the past and stepping forward. He fell between the cracks.

I love this show and it’s flawed characters, I loved the arcs for everyone. I haven’t even brought up Richie’s development, my dude whooped that Big Black Dog’s ass this season!

(Depression: 0, Richie: 100)

[katsidhe]

Top 5 Sam flinches.

7) 12.03. Mary hugs Sam and tells her sons she’s leaving. Sam watches her all the way up to the door, but he still flinches resoundingly when it shuts.

6) 12.09. Sam, alone in his cell, as the metal door slams shut on his isolation: iconic. Wonderful. Season 12 gets rights for this, for the horrible nervous tension that Sam carries in confinement. (it occurs to me that I could probably do a top five Door Flinches tbh.)

5) 13.21. AAAAAAH. The only reason I’m ranking this so low is because it doesn’t have a ton of psychological subtlety, especially not compared to the lovely scene that follows, which is relatively flinch-free (Sam is twitchy around Lucifer, as usual, but there aren’t big flinches that stand out). But its purpose isn’t subtlety: it’s a jumpscare, and a fantastic one. It’s made all the better for how intentional Lucifer was with it: the flashlight, the waiting in the dark. And Sam and I both got fucking terrified. 13.21 My Beloved. 

4) 14.18. Dean smashes an entire wooden chair. This has been a quietly building scene--both Sam and Cas have been trying to placate Dean. Then Rowena reveals Mary is gone for good, and I love how deliberate the focus is here on the violence of Deans wrath and grief. There is real fear in Sam’s eyes. It’s not of Dean directly, per se--not that Dean will hit him with a chair, but it is of Dean’s mood, of what violence he will channel his devastation into. Of what shape this newest pain will be. He’s right to be afraid, because that anger will be directed at Jack.

3) 13.18. Another Dean flinch, but this one is anger specifically at Sam. Sam’s just explained that there’s no archangel grace left for another portal, that he used it all to heal Gabriel. He could barely get the words out through the horrible silence--there’s no music, nothing to blunt the tension of Dean’s anger. Dean’s outburst and Sam’s flinch, when they come, are abrupt and deafening. Notice how here, Sam ducks his head down and looks away, how he’s trying to deflect, how he’s trying to breathe deep and not react.

2) 15.20. it’s the Toaster Flinch (tm) of myth and legend. Sam and isolation: the loneliness of him and his toaster and the way every tendon in his neck spasms when it goes off. He’s the only living person for miles and miles, he’s mired in his mind, and he can’t help these nervous, visceral physical reactions. The space here is what gets me: it’s framed so deliberately even though there isn’t a specific narrative reason for Sam to react to a toaster, not like Lucifer or Dean or a threat--just the piled on years and years of reasons, of grief and trauma and his vicious and inescapable hypersensitivity. 

1) 7.01-7.02 are SO FULL of Sam flinches that I couldn’t choose only one. There’s one every few minutes. The mark of an S-tier episode. Actually, Season 7 in general is a treasure trove, and I wanted to add ones from 7.15 and 7.17, but I’m trying to restrain myself at least a little bit here.

I love the way that, fresh out of a hallucination, he reacts to Dean not by pushing or hitting him, but quickly pulling back, hovering one hand over Dean’s arm and pushing his other against the wall for support. Like he’s wary of resisting or fighting even before he’s realized it’s Dean.

This one is just. Really really nice. Similar thing, where he pulls away and quickly stops. He’s hearing Lucifer’s voice and Dean’s.

UGH THIS ONE THOUGH. It’s my favorite. It’s so violent but understated. The way Sam’s eyes flick automatically to his hands, and then the way his face settles into something both hurt and reproachful, how his mouth tightens into this very nearly chastising little line. The way that it’s an intentional and obvious trick, it’s a form of mockery that Sam is very very used to but still can’t help but react to. It’s clearly a sick shared joke. The mutual understanding unspoken here, the history, drives me absolutely bonkers. It’s imprinted on the back of my eyelids.

[putawayurhalo]

Out For Blood | Chapter 11: The Munson Family

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Fem!Munson!Reader ; Eddie Munson x Fem!Henderson!O.C.

Warnings:  Strong language, season 4 vol. 1 (NONE FOR VOL. 2 YET) spoilers, angst, secrets being kept, steve being a dingus, alcohol abuse, parental death *mentioned*, emotional abuse - in the italic backstory part you can skip that if you need to! BARELY EDITTED BECAUSE I GOTTA DRIVE 5 HOURS LMAO BUT I WANTED THIS OUT FOR YOU BABES SO ENJOY

Word Count: 3.4k

Author’s Note: Yeah... this took me longer to write than I wanted but you know life and moving haha... anyways Eddie in the backstory flashback should be like 12-13 and the reader would be like 10-11 - I even at the age of 22 have a favorite stuffed animal that I have to travel with for comfort so shut your mouths.

Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist

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October 1979

“Youuu can’t take my kids from me, Wayne.” Jessica Munson slurred her words as she swayed slightly in the kitchen of the small family home they lived in.

“Jessica, you need help.” Wayne stepped toward and she stepped back raising her right hand, Wayne put his up and stepped back.

“I don’t need any hel-help.” She hiccuped.

“Jessica, the kids have started to notice something is wrong.” Wayne gestured with one of his hands towards Eddie and (Y/N) who sat next to each other at their dining room table, their backpacks laying on the top of the table (Y/N) working on her math assignment and Eddie with headphones on listening to the newest AC/DC album. 

“They probably just miss their worthless daddy.” She grabbed the bottle of whiskey off the counter and took a drink from it, “Piece of shit.”

“Jessica… you don’t mean that.” Wayne tried to ease her.

“Yes I do!” She shouted catching the attention of the youngest child, “Their good for nothing daddy left us.”

“Jessica, he went to prison.” Wayne spoke quietly, not trying to get the kids involved, “Look, Jess… I think it’s best if the kids stay with me, at least for the week, giving you a break and some time to sort things out.”

“No, absolutely not!” She shouted, she swung an arm at Wayne.

“Mom! Stop!” (Y/N) screamed at her. Eddie took his headphones off after hearing his sister scream and looked over at the situation.

“Kids, get a bag packed with your things, you’re staying at mine for the week.” Wayne told them sternly. Eddie nodded and grabbed his sister’s hand dragging her towards their rooms.

“You can’t take them from me Wayne!” Jessica screamed and walked towards the hallway, “Kids! Kids you’re not going anywhere, wouldn’t you rather stay with your mother?” Eddie exited his room first, he got close to her as he passed her to go help his sister, she reeked of alcohol. He shook his head before entering his sister’s room and closing the door.

“KIDS!” She pounded on the door, (Y/N) looked up at her brother with tears in her eyes. Eddie frowned before helping her grab some of her things, including a framed photo of the family together and her favorite stuffed animal. “KIDS!” She kept shouting, (Y/N) continued to pack some of her clothes before zipping the bag shut with the framed photo on top. Eddie hugged her before grabbing her bag for her and handing her her stuffed animal, he opened the door and pushed past their mother.

“(Y/N)...” Jessica pleaded with her daughter and stopped her at the door, “You don’t want to leave your mommy do you?”

(Y/N) just looked up at her mother, clinging onto her stuffed animal for dear life. Her mother reached down and gripped the stuffed animal fighting, “Let go.” She pleaded with her mother but she wouldn’t let go.

“(Y/N/N), just let it go.” Eddie told her but she wouldn’t let go, the two continued to tug at the toy before it eventually ripped at the seam of the neck as (Y/N) fell to the ground. 

“Fuck.” Eddie mumbled and dropped the bags.

“Language.” Wayne told him as he watched Eddie walk over to (Y/N) and help her up. 

Jessica was red in the face as she watched her two children comfort each other, “Fine you ungrateful brats,” She tossed the head of the stuffed animal at them, “Go with your uncle, but don’t fucking come crawling back when you realize how good you had it here.” 

“Okay,” Wayne opened the door to the trailer and let the kids walk in first, “I’ve got to get ready for work… but there’s a bed in the room on the left, and there’s the couch. If anything bad happens Mrs. Jong across the street can help…” He trailed off before walking down the hallway, “There’s some canned food in the cabinet, Eddie you know how to use a stove top right?”

“No shit.” He mumbled, as he set his bag on the couch. He looked over at (Y/N) who was holding both pieces of her stuffed animal in her hands with a frown on her face, “I’ll get it fixed, (Y/N/N), I promise.” Eddie reassured her as he walked into the kitchen opening the cabinet and grabbing a can of spaghettios.

 “Yeah.” Eddie snorted, as he held a can of spaghettios in his hand, “You’ll do.” He closed the cabinet door and grabbed a pot. Last time he had eaten spaghettios was the night him and his sister moved in with their uncle… and that same night their mother had died. 

Eddie looked over to the living room where Jenny was asleep on the couch, he pulled out two bowls and split the spaghettios between the two of them… he had a sense of deja vu as he did but he shook his head and walked over to the walkie Dustin left them.

“Hey, Dustin, this is Eddie the Banished…” He looked over at Jenny again, “and Jenny the Princess… are you there? Dustin, can you hear me? Dustin? Earth to Dustin.”

“Hey, it’s Nancy.” Nancy’s voice rang through the speakers.

“Wheeler! Hey, um, Jenny and I are gonna need a food delivery, like, really soon, unless you want me going out into the world or the jocks following Jenny back here.” Eddie replied as Jenny stirred.

“No. No, no, no. Don’t do that. Just stay where you are, and we’ll be there as soon as we can.” 

“Yeah, yeah, listen um… can you pick me up a six-pack? I know, it’s stupid as shit, drinking right now, but a cold beer would really calm my jangled nerves.” Eddie asked as he watched Jenny who was starting to sit up.

“Uh hey, I’m gonna have to call you back.”

“No, don’t you da- Wheeler? Wheeler?” Eddie shouted, Jenny now fully awake and sitting up. 

“Eddie, what?” Jenny asked.

“Nothing… just asking Wheeler to bring us food… spaghettios?” He held the bowl out to her.

“Sure…” She took the bowl from him and began eating, the two sat in silence and ate together.

“Do you think (Y/N)’s still mad at me?” Jenny asked after a few minutes.

“No, she’s definitely not. A little upset that neither of us told her? Sure, but not mad. She loves you too much.” Eddie shook his head as he continued to eat.

“Munson, it’s the uhhh other Munson, do you copy?” (Y/N)’s voice rang through the Walkie.

“Yes, yes we hear you.” Jenny answered it.

“Hey Jen… we need to borrow you for something.”

The group got out of Nancy’s car, Steve helping Jenny, Dustin, and (Y/N) out of the back. A small “thanks” was muttered by the Henderson siblings, a “thank you, Steve” and a smile was given to him by (Y/N). He smiled back at her before he turned his head toward the house and his smile dropped, “Yeah, that’s not creepy.”

They all walked up to the house, (Y/N) staying back with Jenny as Steve continued up the steps with Nancy, the two started to pry the wood off the door. “I mean, what exactly are we supposed to be looking for in this shithole?” Steve asked.

“We’re not sure. We just know this house is important to Vecna.” Nancy replied to him as she continued working on the door.

“Because Max saw it in Vecna’s red soup mind world?” Steve stopped working.

“Basically.” Nancy didn’t even turn to look at him.

“Great.” Steve sighed and went back to prying the wood off.

“Maybe it holds a clue to where Vecna is. Why he’s back. Why he killed the Creels. And how to stop him before he comes back for Max.” Dustin puts forward.

Lucas looked around before speaking, “We don’t think he’s in here, do we?”

“Guess we’ll find out.” Max shrugged.

“Ready?” Steve asked Nancy as they finished.

“Mm-hmm.” Nancy hummed as they pushed the wood over.

The rest of the group jumped slightly as it fell, “Jesus H. Christ.” (Y/N) muttered as she shuddered.  

“Sorry, (Y/N/N).” Steve half-smiled before he turned toward the door and grabbed the knob, the knob not moving. “It’s locked… should I knock, see if anybody’s home?”

“No need,” Robin spoke, the group turned to see her holding up a brick. “I found a key.” Robin shrugged before passing it to Steve. Steve tossed it slightly in his hand before looking at the door and throwing it through the stained glass. He reached his hand in and opened the door and walked in stepping to the side allowing everyone to pass him, (Y/N) was the last one in and was the only one to thank Steve as he closed the door. 

Lucas tried flipping the light switch, “Looks like someone forgot to pay their electric bill.” He muttered, him and the other’s all pulling out flashlights and switching them on.

“Where’d everyone get those?” Steve asked Dustin.

“Do you need to be told everything?” Dustin looked at Steve like he had just said the dumbest thing he’s ever heard, “You’re not a child.”

“Thank you.” Steve replied sarcastically.

“Huh,” Dustin took his backpack off and handed it to Steve, “back pocket.” 

Steve scoffed, grabbed the flashlight, and dropped the backpack turning toward (Y/N), “Can you believe this kid?”

“I mean…” She trailed off and bit her bottom lip to stifle a giggle from escaping.

“Not you too.” Steve groaned as they started walking around.

“Sorry, Steve, it’s just… even I brought one and I’ve been involved with this whole ‘the upside down’ thing for like two days and you’ve been doing this for four years? Shouldn’t you know what to bring?” She tilted her head to the left as she asked him the question.

“Oh that hurt.” Steve shook his head as he slightly laughed. The duo continued walking around passing by Nancy and Robin.

“They just left everything.” Nancy shined the light around the dining room.

“I guess a triple homicide isn’t good for resale value.” Robin’s quick witted response caused a slight laugh to come out of the girl. 

“Hey, guys? You all see that, right?” Max asked them.

“Yeah.” Both Dustin and Steve said as they looked at the grandfather clock.

“Is this what you saw? In your visions?” Nancy asked her, Max only nodded in response.

“I mean, it’s… just a clock. Right?” Robin asked before walking up to it and cleaning the dust off with her hand. “Like a normal old clock…”

“Why is this wizard obsessed with clocks? Maybe he’s, like, a clock maker or something?” Steve asked out loud, (Y/N) only shook her head.

“I think you cracked the case, Steve.” Jenny replied to him. 

“All I know is the answers are here. Somewhere.” Nancy ignored what was said, “Okay everyone stay in groups of two. Robin, upstairs.” Nancy grabbed Robin’s hand and led her upstairs. 

“Come on. Let’s go.” Max motioned to Lucas and began walking toward the living room.

Jenny looked between her three options before turning to Dustin, “Come on little bro.” Before walking into the dining room area.

(Y/N) looked at Steve and shrugged before nodding her head towards the stairs. She let Steve lead the way up the stairs, almost slipping off of one as she was distracted by one of Steve’s many assets. 

“You good?” Steve asked her as he heard her quiet squeal.

“You know me, always the klutz.” She brushed it off as she hurried up the stairs. The duo walked into a room together shining their flashlights around.

“Hey, uh, y/n…”

“Yeah, Steve?” She turned toward Steve.

“Can you maybe clarify what sort of clues we’re supposed to be looking for here?” Steve asked her as he still looked around.

(Y/N) stopped in her tracks, “How am I supposed to know?”

“I don’t know, isn't this kind of like Clue?” He asked her.

“Steve seriously?” She walked toward the bathroom and Steve followed her. He went to the grate as (Y/N) searched the medicine cabinet. She was reading a name on a prescription bottle when she heard Steve start shouting. 

“Steve what is it?” She asked him.

“SPIDER!”

“SPIDER? STEVE WHAT THE HELL GET AWAY FROM ME WITH THAT!” (Y/N) started freaking out with him keeping a distance as they both ran out of the bathroom.

“Whoa, whoa, what’s wrong?” Nancy asked them both. 

“There was a spider.” (Y/N) mumbled as her hands slightly shake.

“What?” Nancy asked her.

“It’s a black widow.” Steve answered as he closed the door. 

“Okay…” Nancy trailed off.

“Don’t go in there.” Steve turned around to look at (Y/N).

“Oh, oh. Wait, just…” Nancy stopped him as she began to pick spider-webs out of his hair.

“What? Something? Shit.”

 “Wait. Stop moving.” Nancy told Steve as she continued to pluck webs. 

“Okay.” Steve moved slightly.

“Stop. I just… I got it. I got it.”

“Thank you.” (Y/N) rolled her eyes and walked away. 

“If there’s a spider nesting in there, you’re never gonna find it ‘til it lays eggs and the babies spill out.” Robin spoke as she passed by Steve and Nancy.

“What’s wrong with you?” Steve asked her.

Robin chuckled as she walked toward where (Y/N) had gone.

“Robin, seriously… She’s got problems.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.” Nancy replied with a smile.

“It’s cool you two are, like, friends now.” 

“Yeah… friends.” Nancy blushed silently thanking whoever that Steve couldn’t see her face at the moment. 

“Maybe after we find Vecna, kill him, save the world and stuff, maybe we can all go out or something. You know? Me, you, Robin, Y/N, Jonathan, when he’s back, Jenny, maybe even Eddie. It’s not like we’re dating… Me and Robin, that is, we’re dating. Right, she told you? That we’re not?” Steve rambled.

“Yes, she made that very clear, besides Jonathan and I… we broke up.” Nancy softly spoke, “but I don’t want to talk about that…What about you and (Y/N)?”

“I would date her but… I kind of ruined that last summer with the whole getting stuck in a Russian lab thing and not being able to tell her.”

“Right…” 

“I haven’t felt this way about anyone… not since you Nance.” Steve told her.

“She must be very special if she’s got Steve Harrington blushing and twirling his hair, practically giggling like a schoolgirl.” Nancy teased him.

“I’m not…”

“Robin would argue with you on that. She was telling me that you’re like some lovesick puppy when it comes to (Y/N) Munson.” Nancy finished pulling the webs out of his hair.

“Robin?” Steve turned around and raised an eyebrow at her.

“Mm-hmm.” Nancy hummed.

“Why’d you walk away from Steve?” Robin asked (Y/N) as they walked down the stairs.

“Because he was busy… besides how can I compete with someone like Nancy Wheeler?” (Y/N) asked Robin and continued walking. 

“You don’t have to compete with Nancy Wheeler and you know that.” Robin tried to reassure her.

“Have you seen the way he looks at her Robin? The way he’s always looked at her?” (Y/N) stopped walking and turned toward Robin, “He’s still in love with her and it’s obvious.”

“Have you seen the way he looks at you? Because I’ve never seen him look at any girl like that, not even Nancy frickin’ Wheeler.” (Y/N) didn’t respond so Robin continued, “He looks at you like you put the sun, the moon, and the stars in the sky just for him. He worships the ground you walk on, and we know he lacks some serious brain cells but he still put it together that you have the same symptoms as Max, Chrissy, and Fred and grabbed your file from Ms. Kelley’s office.”

“He did what?” (Y/N) asked Robin, Robin immediately stopped her rambling and her eyes widened.

“Shit, I wasn’t supposed to tell you that.” Robin said with an apologetic look on her face. She went to continue as one of the kids called them into the living room. (Y/N) stood there just looking at the wall, as Steve came down the stairs, he went to reach (Y/N) and tapped her shoulder but Robin shook her head at him.

“It’s like the Christmas lights.” Nancy spoke as the group stood in a circle together looking up at the chandelier. 

“The Christmas lights?” Robin leaned in toward Nancy and questioned.

“Yeah, when Will was in the Upside Down, the lights… came to life.” Nancy leaned into Robin as she answered

“Vecna’s here in this house…” Lucas looked over at Max, “just on the other side.” 

The light dimmed out, “I think he just left the room.” Robin spoke.

“Did he hear us?” Max asked, looking around the room at the others.

“Can he see us?” Steve turned toward Max. 

“Headphones.” Lucas told Max, she immediately put them over her ears.

“Wait, wait.” Nancy got everyone’s attention, “Everyone, turn off your flashlights and spread out.” Everyone but Steve followed instructions.

“We’re not gonna be able to see if we turn off our flash… lights… Jesus Christ… (Y/N) wait up.” Steve turned his flashlight off and started to follow her but she picked up her pace, “(Y/N) what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know Steve why don’t you ask my file from Ms. Kelley’s office.” Her snarky reply confused Steve.

“What?” He asked her before his eyes widened slightly, “(Y/N) no it’s not like tha-”

“I GOT HIM! GOT HIM!...” Robin’s shouts interrupted him and the duo ran toward her voice.

“I got him. I… I had him.” Robin looked over her shoulder at the group.

Steve’s flashlight began to glow, “Oh, whoa. Oh, I think he’s moving.” Steve began to walk and then panicked lightly, “He’s moving. He’s moving!” The group followed him up the staircase, “Shit,” Steve’s flashlight had gone out, “I lost him.”

Max pushed past Steve, “No, you didn’t.” She opened the attic door and looked at the group before walking slowly in and going up the stairs.

“It’s an attic. Of course it’s an attic.” Robin muttered before going up the stairs, everyone following behind her besides Dustin and (Y/N). 

“Hold up, guys. What if he’s leading us into a trap?” Dustin asked, (Y/N) sighed before going up the stairs, “(Y/N), seriously you’re the one who watches horror movies all the time you know this is a bad idea… Guys, guys. Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit.” Dustin followed her up the stairs, the group all walking toward the light hanging in the middle of the attic. Dustin’s flashlight began to shine, “Flashlights.”

Everyone pulled their flashlights up and formed a circle, Jenny sticking close to her brother and (Y/N) clinging to her best friend’s side avoiding standing next to Steve. “Okay, what’s happening?” Steve asked as the lights in the circle began to take turns glowing brighter until eventually their flashlights broke and pieces of the bulbs and the reflectors flew all over the place.

“Jesus H. Christ.” (Y/N) mumbled, “Fuck it, I’m done with this.” She quickly walked down the stairs and out of the Creel House. 

“(Y/N)...” Jenny tried to stop her.

“I’ve got it.” Steve told her as he began to follow (Y/N). “(Y/N)... (Y/N)! Slow down!” 

“Why Steve? So you can play the hero?” (Y/N) continued down the steps. 

Steve stopped in his tracks, “Why are you being like this?” He asked with genuine concern.

(Y/N) stopped at the bottom step and turned around to look at Steve and laughed, “Steve, you have my file I’m sure there’s something in there that will explain this.”

“I don’t have your file!” Steve shouted.

“That’s hilarious, Harrington.” She scoffed, “Look lightning tends to strike the Munson family tree every five or so years like clockwork and we were long overdue. That’s the only reason I’m here and we both know it…”

Steve walked toward her but stopped at the top of the three steps. (Y/N) looked up at him, “Why did you take my file?” 

“I only took the page with your symptoms listed… after Max said what hers, Chrissy’s, and Fred’s were, I put two and two together…” Steve trailed off and went down the steps, he grabbed her wrist. “Was I right to be concerned?”

(Y/N) just shook her head and ripped her wrist from his loose grip, “You know what Steve, maybe, this was meant to last forever.”

“What wasn’t meant to last forever?”

Author’s Note: sorry to leave it on a cliffhanger of sorts but I have a plan.

Taglist: @preciousbabypeter​ @honeymunson​ @willgrahampills​ @secretsicanthideanymore​ @tanyaherondale​ @lettyshush​ @kayt-marie​ @live-the-fangirl-life​ @burn1ngw00d​ @alainabooks143​ @kamala-khann​ @dessmxsworld​ @xstormiii​ @guichu​

[justasparkwritings]

The Littlest Dumpling {1}

Pairing: Min Yoongi x OFC

Genre: Non Idol AU / Author AU

Rating: PG 13

Warnings: Swearing!

Word Count: 4.7K

Summary: Yoongi’s ready to shop his newest book idea, what he isn’t ready for is you.

Master List

Tag List: @4ksj, @jagiya, @ot7nem, @knjkitten, @teamtardis-notdead​

Tag List

       A dark sky streaks with lightening, thunder rumbles throughout the land.

       Boulders quake, but our hero stays strong. He pushes his sweatband up and adjusts his hanbok. The sweat still drips down his brow, his scar, long perpendicular to his eye shines in the flash of lightning.

        “I am not my brother,” Lil King Yoongi said, his sword unsheathing itself from underneath his garment. “I am not my father, either.”

        “Then who are you?” The hooded figure asked. His sword was drawn too, ready to strike in attack.

        “I am King Yoongi.”

        Lil King Yoongi Volume 1

April

        “Damn it,” Yoongi throws his pen across his desk, watching as it nails the framed picture of him and his parents, holding his first ever published piece of writing from when he was a teenager. It was small, a local newspaper that held an essay contest. He had written stunning prose about why he loves books, and the local library. His essay had won, beating out all the competition from his 1000 person high school and surrounding areas. The prize was having his essay turned into a column, and getting to shadow the local newspaper staff for a month. He was allowed to create a column and run 4 articles. Naturally, he chose to read and review books.

        Yoongi’s Reading Review became a hit, and after the success of it’s limited run, he was offered a junior staff position. He submitted 1 article a month, full of up to 5 book reviews. He reviewed everything, novels to essay collections, to biographies and new comic book editions. In Summer months, when his classmates were off from school, hanging out at the local pool and the mall, making out on the empty football field and gearing up for football season in the fall, he worked. In the summer they upped his count from one per month to two, and as a rising Junior they upped it again to three. Every dollar he saved went to buying more books, despite what his parents wanted (saving all the money), he couldn’t help but reach for that hardcover fantasy novel. He couldn’t stop himself from indulging in a reissue of a comic he just discovered. Yoongi loved it, exploring new lands and times, sharing what he’d discovered with other people his age. It hadn’t made him popular, perse, but it had ignited a fire within him.

        A degree in creative writing, and MFA and a series that has garnered him a Newberry honor, and he’s sitting at his desk. The desk he started writing on as a boy, refinished and brought to his apartment from his parents house, still had indents from when he would write so hard on loose leaf paper that he permanently changed the make up of the desk. Now he has glass resting on top of it, protecting those early scribbles.

       With his favorite pen now lost behind a table, the words in front of him look like utter shit.

        “Fuck.” He mutters. “Fuck!”

        Yoongi has a meeting with a new publisher, someone his agent set him up with so he could make his first foray into official childrens books. He had the idea, and the concept and what he wanted to say, but he couldn’t well, say it. Nothing came when he thought about his newest project. And what did was complete and utter shit.

        Why had he thought he could do this?

        Easy, he had to. Just like breathing, he had to write.

        The Littlest Dumpling, is a story about a little boy who looks, much like he did and does, like a boiled dumpling. He becomes brave as he goes through school and out into the world. His mom calls him Little Dumpling, affectionately, his brother teasingly, and his father prefers more traditional nicknames for his youngest son.

        It’s meant to be both hopeful and easily identifiable as a story any kid can cling to. But he can’t get started. And that is terrifying.

        Lil King Yoongi had flown out of him. He had written four volumes of it before he got a publishing deal. He knew it inside and out, every aspect of it. His agent had wanted him to make a spin off when the last book came out last year, but he wouldn’t do that. That felt so disingenuous to the characters. There was no prequel, there was no sequel. Lil King Yoongi was complete.

        So he took five years off. Went to Korea with his parents, saw his friends, rested and did a few guest review spots for new books and his local paper that still asked him to. All in the hopes that he could, when he was ready, put pen to paper and write his next great work: The Littlest Dumpling.

        Then the deadline came - his agent, Marc, set up a meeting with a new publisher. And he tried. He really really tried. But now, sitting in the waiting room, bouncing his leg and trying not to crack his knuckles, he’s going into this meeting with an idea and no pages to show.

        “Mr. Min?” Alexis, the assistant asks. “She’s ready for you now.”

        Alexis guides him to the office, through a hallway of framed book covers, pictures with authors holding their books and quotes pulled from said books. It’s a gallery wall to end all gallery walls, and Yoongi kind of wishes he was a part of.

       Inside the office, which seems more like a fort than a functioning structure, you are standing behind a desk, waiting.

       “Mr. Min, welcome to Serendipity Publishing, where we believe every book we create is meant to be. Have a seat. Alexis will you bring some coffee?” You rattle off in quick succession, no hint of annoyance in your voice, but a little sparkle of fire in your eyes.

        “Sure thing,” Alexis smiles.

        “I’m Y/N,” You extend your hand to him, and he takes it cautiously. ”And I get paid to say that phrase, though I’d much rather not.”

        “Oh,” Yoongi’s taken aback. “Okay, then please call me Yoongi.”

        “Okay Yoongi. Welcome. I’m so excited to meet you and discuss your work.”

        “That won’t last long,” Yoongi mutters.

        “What?”  

        “Nothing - just, don’t get your hopes up. I don’t know if I have anything, good.”

        You’re caught off guard by his deprivation, tipping your head to the side and staring at him quizzically. “That seems unlikely given the success with your graphic novels. But note taken. I am ready to be pleasantly disappointed.”

        “So, I have this idea -

        “Wait,” You hold up a hand and stare at Alexis who has just entered the room. “Do you want cream or sugar?”

        “Black, just black,” Yoongi says.

        “Great.”

        Alexis, hot pink curls bouncing, sets two cups of coffee down and walks out, shutting your office door behind her. Yoongi takes the opportunity to glance around. It’s an office carved out of book shelves. There’s a window, a window seat and your desk in the middle. Every single wall is covered in what appears to be clear floating shelves filled with books.

        “Have you edited or published all of these?” He asks.

        “The company has, but if you keep looking you’ll find a few that aren’t our label. I snuck them in,” You say.

        “Aren’t you going to get caught?”

        “And what, fired? I’d love to see them try.”

        He nods approvingly. “So you’ve been here long?”

        “Yeah, straight out of college, started reading the reject pile, found a few gems, got moved up and eventually here I sit: Head of New Acquisitions, Young Adult and Children’s Lit.”

        “That’s a fancy title,” He says.

        “Better be, Vassar wasn’t cheap,” You crack a smile, and his shoulders relax.  

        “Ah you’re a Vassar grad?”

        You shrug. “That’s what my diploma says.”

        “Interesting,”

        “Not up to snuff?”

        “I expected a Sarah Lawrence or like, Whitman.”

        “Small college in Eastern Washington. Wow!” You laugh. “That’s not where you went, is it?”

        “Nope,”

        “Berkeley?” You already know.

        “Yep.”

        “How’d you like the rain?”

        He shakes his head and offers a gentle smile. “About as much as you want to drink black coffee.”

        “Ah, you noticed?”

        “Yeah, I assume you brought yours from home?”

        “Of course.”

        Yoongi reaches for his mug, with the company logo in gold and rainbow across the front, and takes a sip.

        “It’s hot!” You say quickly, watching as he winces.

        “Fucking fuck,” Yoongi mutters. “Thanks for the warning.”

        “Who takes a sip of coffee like it’s ice water?” You ask, your mind racing to decide if a lawsuit is possible from too hot coffee. How embarrassing, going down for serving an author coffee that was scalding.

        “Valid,” He accepts your sympathy easily.

        You let the moment pass, then start again. “So you wrote a book.”

        “The new one, or the old ones?”

        “The new one, and your agent wants you to what, shop it around? We’re willing to make you a deal today, Yoongi.”

        “What if my idea is shit?” Yoongi’s earnest gaze is a little concerned, vulnerability and weakness showing through.

        “You wrote a five part saga about a lil king that has sold millions. It’s one of the most popular graphic novels in the history of graphic novels. You could go anywhere, do anything,” You lean forward, your voice just above a whisper. “But you’re here.”

        “How serendipitous,” he jokes.

        “Precisely. So tell me, Mr. Min, Yoongi, what is this new project?”

        He takes a deep breath, wishing he had water instead of this coffee.

        “Our parents all give us nicknames as kids, whether or not we want them. We either grow into them, or out of them. My new project takes shape with a little boy who affectionately is called, Little Dumpling.”

        “Oh my god,” You mutter. “I’m already hooked.”

        “The Littlest Dumpling is about this boy. I want the first book to be about his nickname, how he got it, what it means. Then the next to be about adventures he has as his alter ego, Littlest Dumpling, and as himself.”

        “Let me guess,” Your elbows prop, chin resting in hands. “You can’t fucking write, can you?”

        Yoongi stares at you, unsure how you could possibly know he’s had writers block for a year.

        “I - I currently have writers block. But, at present, I have outlined the first three installments.”

        “What’s book 1?”

        “His classmates find out his nickname.”

        You take out a piece of paper that has his name written across the top in very curvy lettering. “And two?”

        “His bully picks on him for the lunches he eats.”

        “Traditional Korean?”

        “Yes,” He agrees.

        “I’m in. I love it.”

        “But, I don’t have anything written.”

        You wave your hand through the air, dismissing his objection. “That’s okay, I’ve signed deals with people who had far less than you do.”

        Yoongi isn’t sure if this is comforting or concerning.

        “I see that look - but think about it, look at where I am. I know what I’m talking about.”

        “I don’t doubt that you do, but I’ve never gone to a publisher with an idea and no pages. It’s like streaking across the football field at halftime.”

        “I get it, and i know we’ve only been talking for twenty minutes, but trust me, Yoongi. You can do this.”

        He inhales through his teeth, sucking in air loudly before exhaling and doing it again.

        “I’m going to be incredibly difficult about the illustration, it has to be perfect.”

        “Understood, and editing too, I’m assuming?” You ask, jotting his answers down.

        “Yes.”

        “I have an editor and illustrator in mind for you, both have done work with our authors before to great success. I’ll get the contract sent to your agent and legal team today for them to go over and discuss. What we’re paying you will be included and competitive.” You switch to your computer, drafting an email to legal. That’s what it looks like to Yoongi, but really you’re typing send the contract ASAP.

        “That’s fast.”

        “Look, you’re Yoongi Min. I can tell you right now there’s at least five other agencies and publishing houses who want you to sign with them. Your current agencies is shitting themselves over losing you and your future projects. The sheer fact that you’re leaving your primary publishing house is, the most exciting get anyone could imagine right now. I know that’s pressure, I know that that means that you are having writers block. But Yoongi, I’m telling you, and I will keep telling you, we are your best option. You can pick who you want. You can go anywhere, truly, but we are dedicated to children’s literature. We are dedicated to the highest quality illustrations and collaboration amongst all our artists. We aren’t some big magnate, or conglomerate. We aren’t going to license your work without you knowing, and we aren’t going to publish something you aren’t 100% proud of. I promise you that.”

        “Okay.”

        “So, once I send the deal over, please take your time to look it over and understand it all. I will give you a list of editors with a single name starred for who I think you should work with, same for illustrators. But it’s up to you. Serendipity is a fabulous publishing house, and I can guarantee you will not regret signing with us or working with me.”

        “You’re incredibly convincing.” He says.

        “Like I said, Vassar. Business and creative writing degrees.”

        Why are you so hellbent on impressing him?

       “Double major, damn.”

        “I’m incredibly impressive, Yoongi. And I won’t hide it.”

        Yoongi wants to smirk, to keep calm, to remain somewhat nonplussed. But he can’t, not when you are looking at him like he’s the hope diamond and you haven’t yet realized he’s cursed.

        He can’t look away, so he whispers instead. “You shouldn’t.”    

“So, like I said. I’ll send it over and we can meet next week to sign or you can come by for more hot coffee and turn me down. Either way, we should talk again.”

        “Yes, okay, sounds good.” He agrees.  

        “Great. Do you have any questions for me?”

        Yoongi does. “What’s your favorite children’s book?”

        You smile, not waiting a moment to respond. “Harriet the Spy for classic literature. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library for contemporary. Oh and The Westing Game.”

        Yoongi beams, he hadn’t been expecting that. Not one book, but four?

        “Okay, okay, I haven’t read three of those.”

        “You should. You can borrow my copies,” You stand and move to a specific corner of your book shelves, taking down all four and handing them to Yoongi. “Then you have to come back and see me.”

        “Okay, sounds like a deal.”

        “If you bend pages or damage them in any way I will take it out of my offer.” You warn him, finger pointing accusingly at the middle of his chest. He’s standing a little too close, he realizes that as he backs away.

        He picks up his coat and mutters, much louder than he intended. “You’re feisty.”

        “Thank you. It’s one of my winning qualities.”

        Yoongi has met with a few publishers in his day, and at the behest of Hoseok’s girlfriend, sat through many episodes of Younger starring Sutton Foster and Hilary Duff. But his meetings were never quite like the TV shows, or films, that glamorized publishing houses. No one was itching to sleep with each other, or fuck him while editing his books. But then again, he was in children’s publishing. Perhaps if he wrote a book geared towards adults, he’d have a similar sexy experience. But he hasn’t. Instead he’s just… Yoongi.

        The littlest dumpling that ever lived, slinking into his agent’s office to discuss the deal. Or, if his agent has anything to say about it, you.

        “She’s the hottest new publisher in the game, Yoongi’s,” Jane Huang says. Her quaffed hair is the color of flames, reds and yellows blurring into orange and curled atop her head. The sides are delicately shaved and bleached blonde. He always gets distracted by the ancient Chinese symbols dancing up her forearm, giving way to rich greens and emeralds that make up the bonsai she has stained into her skin. Jane, or Janie as Yoongi calls her, stares at him from her place behind her desk. Her office far less occupied than yours. “She’s promising you the world. Or at least, what sliver of it she can.”

       “It’s all great - but how does the contract look?” Yoongi asks.

       “She’s offering more than the others.”

       Ah yes, the others. All the notable publishing houses, the few that still cared about his work after his brief hiatus. All offering far less than Serendipity, with a publisher far less enthused than you.

       “The contract is clear, you aren’t going to get a better deal for the amount of work you’ve put in,” Jane says.

       “I’ve put in a lot of work! There’s a concept, I have outlines!”

       “But you haven’t written shit, don’t try to bullshit me, Yoongi.” Her tone is reminiscent of a scolding from his mother - which he knows if he points out, she will absolutely ream him for it.

       “Noona, I know. But there will be,” Yoongi waits for her to erupt, hoping for sparks ready to ignite.

       Instead she gently rolls her eyes. “I hate it when you call me noona. I’m not even that much older than you, and you have known me for long enough to know that.”

       “Sorry, Janie.”

       “Thank you. I’m glad you’re feeling confident. I was beginning to think you lost your nerve, and how embarrassing would that be for either of us? Humiliating.”

       He scoffs. “I haven’t lost my confidence, mostly. I mean a little. Most of it is totally gone and tied up with my writing ability which, now that it’s lost and probably never coming back, seems like a great time to sign a new contract with a new publisher who -

       “Yoongi!” Jane interrupts. “Stop spiraling. You’re fucking fine.”

       “Sorry,” He says sinking deeper into his chair.

       “She wants to meet with you again?” Jane asks. She finishes putting stickie notes where Yoongi needs to sign the elaborate and thorough contract.

       “Yes, to officially sign the contract.”

       “Isn’t that why Doc-U-Sign was invented?”

       “Yes, she also lent me a few books so i have to give those back too.”

       “I’m sorry, she did what?” Jane asks. She keens at him, elbows on her desk, body moving towards him as if she’s about to pounce. “She did what?”

       “She lent me a few books -

       “Books she’s published?”

       “No,” He’s desperately trying not to blush.

       “So, social books? Books about writing children’s books?”

       “No,” Deeper red, the colors of hell.

       “Yoongi,” Jane’s voice rises an octave, screeching in his ears.

       “Well if you’d let me get out more than a word I’d tell you that i asked her what her favorite children’s books are, and she let me borrow the ones I hadn’t read.”

       “And have you read them?” She asks.        

       “Of course,” He rolls his eyes.

       “She’s flirting.”

       “She is not.”

       “Yoongi, you’re dense but not stupid.”

       “She lent them to me, I read them. I’ll give them back when I sign the contract. That’s it.”

       Jane is still smiling, more like smirking and only a little green with envy. “Good, because no matter how hot and talented she is, you can’t fuck your publisher.”

       “Who says I want to?” Yoongi feigns ignorance, of course he wants to. He has eyes and ears that heard you spill genius to him.

       “The glimmer in your eyes, Yoongi. That’s who.”

       “Come on, you’re fucking some younger guy, why can’t I do something a little reckless?”

       “And jeopardize your career?”

       “I wouldn’t, she wouldn’t.” Though Yoongi has no idea what you would and wouldn’t do, with him. Or anyone that works for you.

       “You’re an idiot if you think sleeping with your publisher won’t absolutely tank your reputation and career,” Jane says.

       “It’s a hypothetical. I didn’t even know she was flirting with me until two minutes ago!”

       “You definitely knew she was flirting, because you were flirting too,” Jane teases. “Of course you were. Have you seen her?”

       “Have you seen the guy you’re sleeping with?” He tries desperately to pivot.

       “Uh, yes?”

       “Great because I haven’t, so tell me who he is.”

       “Yoongi!” Jane tips her head back in exasperation.

       “And not that we’re coworkers not friends shit, because you have been my agent for five years and we are more than just coworkers.”

       “Work friends is better than coworkers,” Jane reminds him.

       “You’ve told me about every exploit you’ve had over the last five years, and yet for some unknown reason you won’t tell me about this new person. Is it someone I know?”

       Yoongi and Jane met when he won a collegiate award for an initial draft of, what would become the first draft of Lil King Yoongi. He had busied himself turning his Yoongi’s Reading Review into a city wide column, and then in college leading his collegiate paper and winning writing scholarships. She’d been following his career as they both experienced tangential success. Jane had won some of the same prizes years before him. That’s how she got her start, and how she stumbled upon him. Reading his work in a contest for a 5K scholarship.

       To say in the last few years they’d become best friends would be a stretch, but Yoongi is right. They’re more than coworkers.

       “You know they’re younger than me, what more do you want?” She asks.

       “You’re being shady,” Yoongi accuses.

       “You’re being nosy.”

       ”Ms. Huang, I believe I am just trying to be your friend,” Yoongi says.

       “He isn’t in publishing if that helps,” Jane concedes. “And he’s around your age. And incredibly hot.”

       “That’s more information than I had… so I’ll take it.”

       Jane lets a beat pass. “But he isn’t as hot as Y/N.”

       “I didn’t even -

       “You have eyes, idiot. You know she’s a stunner.”

       ”Fine - she’s beautiful,” It’s his turn to concede.

       “Thank you!”

       “But I’m not, she isn’t interested in me. She wants my book, she wants my story. That’s it. That’s all.” He says.

       Jane shakes her head. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

       “I do.”

       “No, you don’t Yoongs,” She leans forward again, staring intently at him.

       He’s uncomfortable under her gaze. “How do you know?”

       “Your eyes, Yoongi. Your eyes.”

       “You’re back!” You say, smiling widely at Yoongi as Alexis brings him into your office. “Oo with presents?”

       “Just your books,” Yoongi hands the bag to you. “I liked them. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon was my favorite.”

       “I’m glad! So, tell me, good news or bad news?”

       “Uh, depends?”

       “On?”

       “I’m ready to sign my contract.”        

       “Oh shit! Yes! Great news!”

       “What would’ve been bad?”

       “If you didn’t want to sign it, if you decided you didn’t want to write The Littlest Dumpling. If your old publishing house offered you more money to write more Lil King Yoongi’s. There are a lot of possibilities, Yoongi.”

       “Clearly you’ve thought of all of them.”

       “Isn’t that my job?”

       “That’s fair.”

       “Well, while the contract is printed, let me show you the list of illustrators and editors. I’ve already starred the ones that I think would be great for this project.”

       You open a folder with his name neatly printed and take out a piece of paper with two columns. Passing it over to him, Yoongi doesn’t take long to skim it and choke on his own spit.

        “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” He says, looking across the top of paper to you.

        “What?”

        He’s quick on his feet. “I will sign the contract, but I have one stipulation.”

        “Oh?” You ask, surprised he doesn’t have more. A lot more. He could ask for almost anything and you’d oblige. You need this win.

        “Yes, I will not, under any circumstance, work with him,” Yoongi hands over the list and watches as your eyes linger on the name you had starred.

        “Okay, why not?” You ask.

        “He’s an asshole.”

        “Okay, but what about his work?”

        “Who cares?” Yoongi snaps.

        You clear your throat, trying a different approach. “Did he wrong you in your past? Is that what it is?”

        “Maybe.”

        You nod, understanding. “So you won’t work with him because he was a dick in college?”

        “High school. And we were childhood friends before that. Our parents are still best friends,” Yoongi rushes through it. A sordid past told in a quick breath.  

        “Oh my god! Yoongi! That’s even more pathetic.”

        “Is it?”

        “Yes, it is. Your parents like him, why can’t you?”

        Yoongi shakes his head, because really it’s more complicated than a petty disagreement or squabble in high school. It goes back years, decades really, and has hurt Yoongi the entire time. It’s so much more than his parents liking Seokjin, actually his parents liking Seokjin is part of the problem.

       “I will never, ever work with that man,” Yoongi says softly, his eyes hard and his jaw set.

       “So you’re telling me you won’t sign the contract if I make you work with him?”

       “Correct.”

       “Okay,” You nod and lean back in your chair, watching him. “So you have two options: One, walk away from Serendipity. Or, two, which I definitely think you should consider: get over it and push your feelings aside to create a great piece of work. Jin would be a perfect editor. He is incredible and has edited several best sellers. He is the best, and it would shock you to know how much we pay him to keep him here instead of going to Penguin or Random House or another boutique publishing house. Insane.”

        “I - that’s it?”

        “What, I’m not entertaining your teenage angst? Nah, I’m not doing that. I run a business, and if your ego is so fragile you can’t grow up, fine. But that’s who you’re going to work with.” You tell him.

        Yoongi exhales. His agent had prepared him for this, well not the Jin of it all, but the potential that his pettiness would be overruled and ignored. He would have to work with people he didn’t like, or who didn’t like him, no matter what field he was in. But this?

Maybe he should grow up and move on. Though Seokjin is the last person he wants touching whatever masterpiece you think he’s capable of writing. But- again - maybe you’re right. Maybe Jin is the best option, and he is finally ready to move past it.

        Yoongi inhales deeply through his teeth. “Fine.”

        “Fine?” You ask.

        “Fine - I’ll,” He exhales sharply, “I’ll bitch about it the entire time.”

        “I don’t care.”

        “You’re going to be the one who hears about it.”

        You smile, already looking forward to it.

        “That’s my job. Now tell me, what did you think of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library?”

        Having signed his contract and returned home with another two books that Serendipity had in fact published, Yoongi felt ready to finally put pen to paper. Though the physical demand of crawling on the floor to dig his pen out from behind the table seemed beyond reproach. But, he finally, truly wants to start writing this new piece.

        That is, until his phone buzzes, and a new email has arrived.

Subject: Untitled YM Project: Editing

From: Seokjin Kim

        Yoongi -

        Wow! It’s been a long time. What a weird coincidence you’d stumble into Serendipity Publishing. I am excited to work with you on this next project, Dumpling.

        Let’s get coffee and discuss your plans soon. I am eager to figure out a schedule and start working!

                           Seokjin

PS - I know you’re probably going to request I be taken off this project, and I’d love to tell you there’s a solution besides sucking it up and dealing with me… but unlucky for you, there isn’t. Lucky for me, I get to helm the latest project from Yoongi Min. What a partnership we will be.

        Yoongi throws his phone at the wall.

        Fucking pompous asshole who thinks he’s god’s gift to literature. What an asshat. Who emails like that? Who says that shit? Who flaunts their status and power in front of someone they have to work with?

        Fuck.

        Seokjin.

        Fucking.

         Kim.

        Yoongi’s fucked - because of course Seokjin is right. You were right when you said it earlier. There is no one better than Seokjin Kim. And Yoongi, despite his protesting and frustration and youthful hatred, absolutely has to work with him.

Next: The Littlest Dumpling {2}

[halliescomut]

KinnPorsche Week 2022-Day 6: Favorite Location

So, my choice for favorite location is the Kittisawat home (pic from @colourme-feral ; link):

And now in a shocking twist here is my rambling discourse about why this is my favorite location.

So, as mentioned before, I was not raised in a well-to-do household, the reality is that my family was never even considered middle class during my childhood (This is specific to America, so there's probably going to be some differences for non-American readers). But the general idea is that we lived in a nice house, but it was never renovated or updated, it still has the original 1964 teal bathroom even (because it still worked so why would we change it?). But anyway, because of my own life experience, I kind of can't relate to many of the other locations in the show. The safe house and minor family residence get closer, because they're far more personal, and I've been to a bar that has a similar vibe to Yok's, but outside of that there's not much for me to personally connect to. The major family compound is a mix of a residence and a business, decorated/furnished practically, but not with a great deal of personality (outside of Tankhun's room).

Returning to my original point, the Kittisawat home has far more personality than many of the other locations. It's warm, and vaguely shabby, and reflects the life of Porsche and Porchay , at least to me, but y'all know how I like to over analyze. I wasn't sure how I was going to structure this, but I think I'll focus on the main sections of the house we see, and we'll start with the exterior.

So the house itself is lovely, and clearly would be out of reach as a residence for Porsche and Porchay if it wasn't their family home. The set decoration of the home exterior is simple, with furniture that's practical as well as worn down. Pieces bought many years ago, and just due to their quality are still in good usable condition. I like that they've set multiple seating areas on the exterior, having a dining table outside of the patio door, the concrete table in the yard, and then the swing as well. For night shots, the inclusion of the string lights gives lovely atmosphere while also being something that would be fairly cheap, since the expectation is for us to believe that Porsche and Chay hung them up. From what you see the yard is vaguely unkempt, certainly not left to grow wild, but it gives the impression that it's something Porsche might forget to do until it starts to get a little crazy, because really why would that be at the top of his list.

Moving inside we have the Living Room

Again we've got nice, fairly basic, and sturdy furniture. The space isn't overly styled, and through the season you see different furniture pieces moved around inside the space, which I find very nice. There is always a concern of continuity from take to take, but I always find it a bit strange if nothing ever moves in a show. As for decor/clutter, there are pieces from their parents, and match what we see during the finale flashback scenes, and some other decor from those scenes is gone in the present. But that gives an amount of believeable continuity to the story of the series. Over the past 10-15 years some stuff would have been packed away, moved to other spaces, broken, possibly sold since we know there's financial stress. Homes that are lived in don't stay the same, so it would be far more odd to see the house still exactly matching the past. One sweet touch you see in the space is a framed photo of Porsche and Porchay, that you actually see Apo and Barcode take in one of the behind the scenes videos (episode 12).

Next location is the Kitchen:

A lot of the same themes from the rest of the house repeat here. Simple, good quality, but a slightly outdated feel, and the kitchen is no different. The newest things we see in the house are probably the fridge (and the flat screen tv in the living room), but other than that the whole kitchen looks like it could be 30 years old. It's serviceable, fairly clean, and gives a lived in feel. The set design with the condiments and spices just grouped on the counter next to the stove, the dishes still in the drying rack, they give more of that lived-in homey feel that we don't see a lot in the other residences.

Now on to our last location, Chay's room:

Chay's room is one of the most interesting, but sadly we don't get a whole lot of time there. I love the behind the scenes stuff for the show, but I would love entire eps with the set designer and the costume designer. Like I just love that shit. Back to my point. This is the only personal space we see in their home, everywhere else is communal space. Yes there are personal items, but not to the extent we see in Chay's room. Again, the designer's done a great job fitting the space to the occupant, there's posters hanging, but they're hung with tape, we have the string lights. There's the oddly placed bookshelf in the doorway, which appears weird, there's no where else to put it. It would block the light switch and crowd the bed if you had it on the wall to the right, and it's exactly the type of shit a 17/18 year old would do. I imagine Porsche picked it up wanting to have somewhere for Chay to put his awards and stuff, but wasn't considering whether it would fit in the space, and they just made it work. There's also a nice passage of time-continuity to the space, with some toys, the stack of cds, the sort of layering the bookshelves, that indicate that as things become less used, other things get placed in front of them. This again brings more realism to the space, and makes it feel familiar to the viewer. Like, we don't have the stories behind each item, but the characters are presented in a way where we could guess. Additionally with the layering, on the WiK wall we see pictures layered over each other, which for me really sells it. Technically we know that the set designer and dresser would have been handed a bunch of these pictures to put up, and our instinct would be to put them up in a more ordered manner, but they're meant to have been added over a couple of years. Chay would have gotten them from magazines, or printed them out and stuck them up kind of wherever they fit. I also love that there's not just WiK, but other music-based pictures and art.

My closing statements---the lighting and cinematography!

I've talked in previous posts about how beautiful the cinematography of the series is, and it's truly gorgeous. In relation to the Kittisawat home, it's always presented in a warm golden light. Every other location we visit more than once is colorgraded differently based on the emotion of the scene. But even in the flashback scenes of the death of Porsche and Chay's father, when told from each perspective, that warm golden tone is still there. By choosing to light the space the way they have they're adding onto that feeling of homey-ness and comfort. They've built this space where essentially everyone who steps into feels that warm comfort, and they've made it look incredibly simple, but I am CERTAIN that it was a lot of work. Especially for a space where they spend relatively little time over the course of the season.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my thoughts about this topic. 1,300 words and about 3 hours worth of screen-capping and writing. Definitely worth it. Hmm....what should your reward gif be today??? How about...

[cloveroctobers]

Can I request for Asher Adams or Olivia Baker or Spencer James with a biracial reader

October prompts — 10. Spencer James ; All American

Prompt: don’t tell me you’re afraid of the dark. ❜

A/N: yeah this was supposed to be out yesterday but living life was more important in the moment lol. Hope you’re all enjoying this spooky season if it’s your thing? If not…I still hope you’re enjoying this fall season then. This is a short one since I still have 2 (maybe I’ll do a bonus one to make unlucky 13 but we’ll see) more prompts I think left in my drafts that I want to get out before I take a break from writing or until inspiration flows again for me!

This was originally a prompt for Olivia but I decided to switch to spencer because he needs more love…after all is he not the main character? 😂 also this is a fuck Billy baker account—OFFICIALLY! + I watched the newest paranormal activity last night so you may see a touch of inspiration from that in here.

•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*

You were being fake.

Faker than hell, except hell was not fake. (Depending on who you asked but whatever) You were positive about that since you’ve seen some things…back when you would spend time with your grandparents in Pennsylvania. Long story short about that? You always thought Pennsylvania was eerie whenever you visited and that didn’t help your suspicions since your grandparents lived close by a Amish community.

You meant no harm on your judgments about the community but one tale about a family in particular didn’t sit right with you.

Let’s just say that.

See, your friends had set favorite holidays: Layla and Simone loved Valentine’s Day, Jordan and JJ both loved April Fool’s day, Kia loved black history month, Coop and Patience loved Thanksgiving, You and Olivia shared the same love for Christmas, Darnell always boasted about news year eve, and lastly and surprisingly Spencer, Asher, and Chris all shared the same love for Halloween.

It was their fault this whole halloweekend trip was a disaster…at least in your eyes. Spencer brought up the idea to you first and you tried to play it off that you were listening while you actually Dissociated from the conversation once: touring a haunted place was brought to the table! Spencer picked up on the vague responses almost immediately but waited to address that.

“Black people don’t be doing this shit and it’s safe to say we’ve done had enough fear in our lives,” Patience started with her arms crossed, “but…it is spooky season and we deserve some fun.”

And here you thought the curly headed girl would be on your side. Or at least Simone and Kia but nooo with very little persuasion they were on board too! Layla was already looking up places and writing down suggestions that Asher already began researching but Chris kept shutting everyone of them down.

“Why not just go to Hollywood Horror nights for a night?” You spoke up while your group of friends fell into easy conversations of excitement.

Olivia hummed, “We did that last year, y/n.”

Shit you did? You must have been so triggered from the last experience that you forgot all about that.

Spencer wrapped an arm around your waist bringing your frame close to his, ready to question what was up but Layla suddenly stood up with a grin and a notepad?

“I’ve got it, I know this perfect place where we don’t even have to leave the state. I can’t believe I forgot!” She bounced on her toes.

Chris waved his hands around, “well spit it out girl, what is it?”

Which made Olivia flick her boyfriend’s ear who failed to dodge her attack and complained at her action.

“It’s this haunted hotel in the outskirts of California. Its definitely driving distance, a good hour or two tops. My dad knows the owner of the place quite well so I’m sure he’ll give us a nice discount to stay for a night or two or however long we want.” Layla informed.

Darnell shrugged, “I’m with anything if there’s a good bargain price.”

Chris gave the boy some dap in agreement while Coop should her head at them, a laugh flying past her lips as she mumbled up to Patience, “broke boys United.”

“Yo, whatcha one hit wonder ass say?” Chris was on her ass and before any bickering could start, Spencer let out a whistle to shut everybody up.

The group turned to Spencer who moved his arm from across your waist to lean against his knees, “Layla, thanks for the recommendation. Let’s make it happen, we’re three days away from the weekend and I know this is probably pushing it since places get booked fast.”

Layla fanned her hand as she reached into her back pocket to grab her phone, “oh please, Bram loves me, he’s never too busy.”

“Did you say bram as in the same name as that doll movie,” Jordan asked just before he tossed some m&m’s into his mouth.

Layla already stepped away, phone pressed to her ear, with her business woman voice on as everyone fell into chatter again.

“Are you good?” Spencer nudged your shoulder to get your attention.

You immediately nodded, “yeah, great. Never better!”

That was a lie.

Which is why it’s always important to be honest even if the truth hurts or someone can’t handle the truth. Maybe if you were honest, you currently wouldn’t be losing your mind right now in this hotel room with Spencer.

You had your arms and legs attached to his back, clinging to him the minute the room went completely dark. This blackout made you feel as if your heart was trapped in your throat instead of your chest.

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of the dark?” You could feel the smirk in Spencer’s voice, as he held onto you with ease.

You huffed squeezing your arms tighter around his throat, “shut up, you. What the hell is happening?”

“It’s probably part of the haunt experience? They did give us walkies and night vision goggles.” Spencer said just as the hotel door slowly creaked open.

In that moment you almost forgot how to breathe.

When you first settled into your room for the evening, after having a welcome dinner in this large ballroom-like area, each guest would be locked into their rooms until the big event occurred.

“Guess that means it’s show time,” Spencer moved his hands from underneath your thighs to rub his hands together.

You hopped down from his frame as Spencer moved around the room grabbing the correct equipment. While you stayed close to the window just in case you suddenly have to turn into catwoman and leap from the room, with or without Spencer at this point.

He did the honors of slipping the goggles against your forehead, leaving you to slip them on if you chose and handing you a walkie. He then moved his fingers through the dark in search of your face, “you know I gotchu right? Nothing bad will happen to you as long as you stick by me.”

“What if that’s what this place wants you to think? What if they purposely try to separate us then what? This could all go wrong like those horror movies I desperately hate.” You sighed as you felt Spencer place his forehead against yours, followed by a caress to your cheek.

He said next, “then I guess it was fun while it lasted then, hm?”

And that’s when you shoved him as he let out a laugh.

“I’m just playin’, damn, if you were this scared then you should of said something. I had a feeling you weren’t really vibing with this too.”

You scowled, “and be the only loser left out on this? I don’t think so.”

“I mean…I don’t think anybody would have clowned you that hard if you wanted to sit this one out. At least, I wouldn’t let them to do that to you, baby.” Spencer gripped your forearms, rubbing them gently.

You took a deep breath before listening to light patter of footsteps in the hallway followed by some familiar voices that most likely belonged to your friends.

“If I die tonight—

“You’re not gonna die, y/n.” Spencer interrupted you.

You continued as if you didn’t even hear him, “my soul shall forever haunt this place, you, and each of our crazy ass friends.”

“I see vengeance is one your…traits.” Spencer chose his words carefully.

You smiled in the dark, “you got it! so don’t ever think about breaking my heart.”

Walking forward you could tell Spencer was watching as he slipped on his goggles, his vision illuminated in pale green. He wouldn’t dream of it and before he could tell you that, a knock on the side of the wall sent you falling onto the floor, right on your ass along with a scream ripping past your lips.

Spencer balled up his fist to cover his laughs as he went over to help you up.

“Damn y/n, it’s just me.” Simone commented with her own goggles on, “I was just coming to get you guys so we can all stay together while we walk through each floor.”

Now that plan? Made perfect sense.

•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•**••*•*•*•

Continue along with my anthology October prompts here

[ot3]

hey, i know you've talked about how part of the unique way QM is constructed comes from you not liking comics much but seeing it as a way to convey stories through illustration before, but as someone who relates to that, i'd like to ask if there's any piece of media (in comic form or any other medium, really) that breaks up the standard format of its respective art medium you enjoy/draw inspiration from when designing visual elements/composition? (its cool if there are none/you just don't feel like answering it btw i don't wanna bother)

i'm an animation enthusiast first and a human being second, and i was actually studying to eventually go into animation before i got too sick to stay in school, so most of my inspiration comes from there. probably only a couple surprises in this list but nonetheless ill go over my main inspirations

obviously into the spiderverse is the first and immediate thing i'd list for stuff i find inspiringly format-breaking of it's medium. in a way, what they're doing there is the exact opposite of what i'm doing - they wanted to make a movie that invokes reading a comic book, but i'm trying to draw a comic that feels like my favorite animated media.

the compositions and color design in spiderverse is the best in the game with almost no competition but i like the way they invoke paneling at key moments to show multiple things concurrently on the same larger frame and that's definitely part of what i've invoked

ethe revues in revue starlight are also some of my favorite bits of compositional work. they have these fantastic setpieces that they user to frame the fights and theyre all chock full of meaning and characterization, with the bonus being that since fight scenes happen rather fast the comps all have to have a very strong initial read.

like wow!!! just look at these!!! such beautiful stuff! i'll never get sick of watching them

and even if the show itself has no interest to you i really think everyone should watch the revues theyre sick as hell.

stole these screenshots from a medium article because i could so easily get distracted combing mob psycho for screenshots right now but mob psycho has a ton of fantastic compositions, a really fun blending of art styles, and a willingness to warp physical space for more interesting shots that make it one of the best looking animes of all time. 

cartoon saloon’s films (secret of kells, song of the sea, etc) are also a master class in shape language and geometric compositions. they’re unparalleled when it comes to heavy shape language over realistic perspective in animation. also the most effective use of intentional tangents in character design i’ve ever seen.

samurai jack was also DEEPLY formative for me in childhood. most of the screencaps i can easily find are from the newest season which i never actually saw, but the show has always had strong shapes, strong colors, and strong comps.

there’s also books my parents read to us as really young children that ABSOLUTELY left an imprint on my psyche

graeme base’s eleventh hour was one of my favorites because the whole book was this mystery about who ruined this fancy animal party and there were coded clues hidden in the book in the illustrations or their decorative frames. just really fun, whimsical, and detailed drawings

jan brett’s childrens books were always really cool as well, with their decorative borders that had other story elements happening in them alongside the main illustration. 

i spent a lot of time poring over these as a kid

then something i’m realizing now as i write this post is that my love of just drawing a ton of objects cluttering a drawing as a means of storytelling definitely stems from the i spy books. 

like these are all just DELIGHTFUL! theyre so much fun to look at and theyre literally designed to have you pore over everything. they’re devoid of life and motion, completely static, but still so alive and vibrant and dreamlike despite that. they absolutely beg your imagination to run wild thinking of where these objects might be and what they might be doing together and what it says about the imaginary person who owns them. i really just think theyre fantastic. maybe i should go buy some i spy books... im honestly kind of feeling it rn... id hang these up as prints i love them so much.

this one’s a bit of a pull but i really enjoy the illustrations from the card game dixit for similar reason. dixit is one of my favorite games, and the way it plays is you have to describe, narrate, or caption these abstract illustrations in a way that gets some, but not all of your fellows players to accurately guess what card you’ve played. all of the illustrations are rather simple with only a couple of main visual elements happening every time but once again, the elements are whimsical and dreamlike and offer a ton of depth in the story you can imagine around them. 

overall i think all of these things combined do a decent job of building up the underlying philosophy that dictates the way i draw, which is that everything should read very clearly immediately, but have enough detail, intrigue, or elements less grounded in reality that it invites a lot of speculation about the supposed narrative you’re being presented, or the artist’s intent. all of the stuff i’ve linked here you can tell what’s generally going on very quickly because the visuals are very well constructed and pleasing, but then there’s a ton to unpack in these clean visuals once you get down into the detail or concepts.

this definitely got long and self indulgent but i hope it gave you something to think about!