#overall...hmm...6/10

[therandompup]

So eenie meanie...gotta say, not hongjoong's best work 😕

[stuniolvs]

sing to me?

christopher sturniolo

summary.) you have a bad day at work and you want chris to sing to you

warnings.) annoying people, description of tangled hair, and use of y/n (once).

you sighed glancing up at the clock of the office that you worked at realizing you still had an hour and a half left of work.

your boyfriend, chris, had suggested that you came over after work and of course you agreed, but now you felt like you didn’t even have enough energy to walk to your car.

it was one of those days where everything sucked.

your head was pounding, your boss had yelled at you, your hair was tangled, and you just overall felt like shit.

and of course on the day you felt like shit you had work and your boyfriend had left early in the morning meaning you never saw him today.

“y/n” your boss kelly yelled “what’s up kelly?” you asked giving her your best fake smile. “you need to stay late, amanda has to leave early” she said then quickly turned around back to her office.

of course she let her favorite leave early and not me who has been here for almost 10 hours.

sorry gotta stay late 6:45 pm

you texted chris quickly so kelly didn’t yell at you again.

once 8:30 pm rolled around you were finally free. you stood up and almost fell over but luckily you made it to your car.

on the drive home you drove in silence and at the first red light everything came crashing down. tears started streaming down your face as you tried to pull a hair tie out of your tangled hair.

you sigh and decide to just give it up to the tangles and drive back to chris’.

as you enter through the door chris tackles you in a hug. as he does so he immediately notices the wet feeling on his chest. he pulls you back. “woah, ma. what’s wrong?” he asks kindly.

“m-my day was so bad. my boss yelled at me and then i had to stay late, i didn’t see you all day, and this fucking hair tie won’t come out of my tangled ass hair!” you sob.

“i’m so sorry baby. do you wanna take a shower and then we can cuddle?” he whispers kissing your nose.

“sure” you sigh.

he places a soft kiss on you lips you quickly kiss back softly moving your lips in sync. you pull back “i love you ma.” “i love you chris.”

after your shower you step out wearing chris’ tshirt and your sweat pants.

as you look up at chris you find him laying on the bed, with soft music playing in the background, holding your hair brush.

“c’mere” he whispers. you smile and plop down in between his legs. “okay im gonna try to be carful but this might hurt.”

“chris, i can do it myself. you don’t half to-“

he cuts you off “ i know honey, i want to do it, just relax,” he speaks.

you lean back into his chest as he smoothly brushes your hair.

the music in he background makes you have an idea. “chris?” you ask “hmm?” he replies

“can you sing to me?”

”whatever you want ma” he whispers.

he starts softly singing as he finishes up brushing your hair. you turn around and stuff your face into his chest as he continues to sing.

“you have a beautiful voice chris” you whisper lightly. “thank you baby so do you.” he says smiling.

chris keeps singing untill you fall asleep, “love you ma.” he sighs into your hair.

bad days are always that, bad. but a bad day can turn into a good one if you want it to. and chris just happens to love helping you repair your bad days and your always very grateful for that.

[harrowharr0w]

rating the milgram collab outfits

7/10 i like his gigantic sword, reminds me of a wizard. -3 points because what are those gokuluck shoes

10/10 okay hatsune miku she’s so pretty yuno my queen <3 the only one with decent shoes here

8/10, would have been a 6 but i bumped it up because i feel like i would wear that and also i like fuuta. bros finally wearing something decent for once, god bless

4/10 hmm… i do like the queen bee thing, i think the crown is very nice, i just think the jacket looks a bit off. also, her shoes look a bit strange, i feel like they could have been smaller (?) or like tighter? idk

8/10 surprisingly he actually looks decent good job shidou. 2 points off for the gokuluck ahh shoes (again)

9/10 megurine luka jkjk i like her headband it’s very cute. she also has good shoes

oh…/10

20/10 she’s so cute. oh my god. i love amane. she even has normal shoes. the little wings.

8/10, it’s nice but kind of basic. added a point for au ideas because of the skateboard

9/10 idk ik people dont like it but like i kinda vibe w it

solid 6/10, it’s cute but that’s kind of it

overall 271963/10 would have been a 7/10 or something but i am starving for milgram content so i added 271956 points

[callmehere-iwillappear]

20 Questions For Fic Writers

this has been sitting in my drafts for probably months and i actually don't remember who tagged me at this point sorry </3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

26

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

168,724

3. What fandoms do you write for?

currently just rise but i've had some other fandoms i've written for in the past

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

call me here (i will appear) Use Only For Intended Purpose The Idiot's Guide to Blindfold Chess new phone who dis because i fear i'm lost (and i cannot be found again) wow big surprise(/s) all of these are rise al;jfldksjfkd

5. Do you respond to comments?

i try to but uh </3 i am not very good at it

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

ummm. probably waiting for answers, wasting time bc even if u know the comfort and healing comes there very much isn't any in the fic itself so whoops </3 i am not good at hurt/no comfort so i don't. have a lot of fics that would really qualify

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

uuhhhhh ig fibonacci? most of my fics have relatively happy endings and. this is the one with the least angst overall so

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not yet thank god

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i do not alfjdlkjfkdls

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

imma keep it real with you chief most of the crossovers that i've written are with other people's aus and idk if that counts

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of fingers crossed

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

yeesssss? sorta? it's not like, on ao3 but i've done some collab crossover stuff with friends (see aforementioned crossover question)

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

god idk. i don't do a lot of shipping these days sorry </3 i have some ships i think are cute but i'm not like, into them enough to say they really qualify

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

i want to finish idiot's guide and cmh very very badly and i refuse to jinx it. idk abt npwd solely because of like the type of fic it is, idk if it'll ever be finished finished yk. like there'll always be more little scenes i can do

16. What are your writing strengths?

um. i've been told i'm good at character voice

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

sweats nervously

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i don't really do it? i probably wouldn't unless it was like, just a couple words - i don't mind too much when other ppl do it bc i have a translation extension on my laptop but i don't have many options when i'm on my phone

19. First fandom you wrote for?

doctor who........ i was like. god idek. fifteen? maybe younger i straight up don't remember <- also none of this is on ao3 this was like, back in my ff.net days and i don't think i even remember my login lmao

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

hmm hm hm. okay. probably because i fear i'm lost. just bc like... idk i'm proud of how it turned out and i'm really . idk. happy with the reception it got. i'm happy it reached people who can relate to it. and it's short enough that there's not like, enough space for there to be parts where i just have to force myself to write stuff i'm not 100% happy with to fill in the gaps. if that makes sense

tagging: You

[boring-horror-enjoyer]

Longlegs: Hmm.... *SPOILERS*

PLEASE DON'T READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE! Don't let me ruin it for you!

Tbh I found out I might lose my job today so that may have affected my ability to watch this movie and think critically. There is a LOT of thinking involved this movie. Overall, I'd say most people would have to watch this twice to fully understand (I will certainly watch again). I liked what I understood, but I would not go as far as to say "Movie of the Year" like some. Why are people NOT saying that this movie is so similar in tone and (sort of) plot to Sinister? It's like, religious Sinister. And I fucking LOVE Sinister.

Cinematically? Chef's kiss. Score? Chef's fucking kiss. Smooch, even. The use of aspect ratio made it far more understandable and I appreciate that. The mood of the cinematography was clear and consistent. The score ties you down to your seat. I was definitely immersed.

Nicolas Cage's appearance: Meh. I HATE that it is meh. He played a creepy guy very well, and I suppose they had to make him look like a regular guy plot-wise. I knew the "Maika Monroe's heartbeat when she saw Cage in costume for the first time!" was gimmicky, and I played in anyway. Ugh. It was serving Jeff the Killer. He felt a little corny, especially in the polaroid scene.

There are a lot of "HOLY SHIT what was that???" moments. The background is just as important as the foreground in a lot of scenes, which is.... disorienting, I guess. I found it hard to get the full picture of what's happening because these ambiguous shapes and silhouettes are taking away from like, what I thought were significant plot points. Throwing in a few, absolutely. But this felt like there were maybe 10+ moments like that.

All in all: This movie keeps your attention the whole time. The opening scene is fucking electric. Solid 7 out of 10, it could be a 9 out of 10 if I understood the missing pieces. Minus 1 point for multiple distracting foreground/background scenes.

Questions I still have:

Carrie Anne: Why was her family's execution so fucked up? Why would they go through with it if she was not there? This is somewhere I may have missed something.

Why on earth would the FBI give Lee a psychic test? Do they actually do that? I mean, for being psychic, nobody fucking listened to her.

What is the significance of the number 6 on the clock in Lee's home in that whole scene where her doll gets shot? If it's just a simple like "ooooh devil 666" that's a little annoying.

Where the fuck are the other dolls from the other murder scenes? What usually happens to them?

Did Agent Carter know he was the next family? Is that why he had such a visceral reaction to Lee's suggestion of an accomplice?

What the fuck happened to her when her doll got shot? Did she lose her "psychic" ability?

Sorry if you read all of this, it's a lot. I'm using this as an excuse to not think about how I might lose my job :) The mega plus is that it was a very fun date night with my husband <3

[missrekie]

random splatoon lore shit 2(?)

so it has come to attention that a lot of people don't know about the deepcut news dialogues because they were only added in like a year ago 😭. poor deepcut man so I'm gonna highlight some of my favourites and rank em

1. lemuria hub

I find these quotes so funny because it really brings into perspective that turf wars happen in random ass real places 😭 like imagine if you were walking though a peaceful plaza and suddenly 8 footballers appear violently play for 3 mins and then leave without saying a word. it really brings together the fact that the splatoon world is real and functional and people live there (✨worldbuilding✨)

here's another one about this

I may be dumb interpreting this one but this adds onto my metaphor and makes it even funnier 😭 if I'm reading it right (correct me if I'm not) people are literally missing their trains because the allure to throw hands in a public space is just too high. now imagine my previous metaphor but instead of footballers a bunch of random ass guys who were sitting down exhausted spring to live and violently play their hearts out, only to realise they missed the train home. hmm I got sidetracked

overall: 7/10 quotes - funny in verse but I'm biased and lemuria smells

2. makomart

frye on team sweet has been really consistent characterisation for our favourite rotten tooth goblin . girl doesn't have a sweet tooth I'm starting to think it's some sort of addiction 😭. "oh guys I'm sorry the food just happened to fly out of my hands and I added 9 sugars whoopsies silly me". also the more I read the more I realise big man is the tired dad of deepcut with 2 rabid kids.

overall: 6/10 - someone fix Frye's taste buds

bonus: bag chaser shiver

shiver is actually so funny with the ads like I cannot 😭 girl wants a sponsor so bad she be dropping plugs on basically all of the stages it's acc crazy

HELP WHY IS SHE A PR MACHINE THEYRE NOT EVEN GETTING PAID 😭😭😭😭

I found another bonus for shipshape but that one has a few others I wanna talk about so I'll mention that next time

[theblueeyedfirebender]

20 questions for writers

Tagging myself into this because I’m a giant loser and I think it’ll be fun!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Twelve!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

34,421

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Of my twelve fics, there are eleven for Fullmetal Alchemist and one for Avatar: The Last Airbender. And I am strongly considering dipping my toes into the world of Spy x Family as well (just as soon as I finish Code White).

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. Uncle Zuko (Avatar: The Last Airbender, Zutara)

2. The Counteroffer (Fullmetal Alchemist, Royai)

3. The Art of Living On (Fullmetal Alchemist, Royai)

4. The Flame Alchemist's Daughter (Fullmetal Alchemist, Royai)

5. Checkmate (Fullmetal Alchemist, Royai)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes! When people take the time to share their thoughts on my work, it means the world to me.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hmm, it's a tie between As You Were and The Flame Alchemist's Daughter.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably Death and Taxes, in spite of its bleak title!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Thankfully, no.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nah. I can’t even write a smooch scene without blushing and looking over my shoulder.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I haven't, but I'm not opposed to the idea if the right concept were to come to me. Closest thing I have to a crossover now is my latest fic, Mrs. Mustang, which is inspired by a scene from Pride and Prejudice.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of. There's a special place in fandom hell for people who do that shit.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but that would be cool!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Also no, also would be cool!

14. What is your all-time favorite ship?

Ah man, I have to say Zutara (Zuko x Katara, Avatar: The Last Airbender). I've shipped them since I was a kid watching Sozin's Comet in my parent's basement in 2008. They're the ship that got me into writing fanfiction. Even though they aren't canon (*sob*) and I don't write them much anymore, they'll always be my OTP.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Ahhhh don't kill me but The Bookshelf has been giving me trouble. I have a lot of Part 2 written but it just doesn't feel right, yaknow?

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'm clear and concise. I think I'm pretty good at tension, particularly romantic tension, and angst. I pay very close attention to characterization, and pride myself in accurate portrayals of the characters in my fanfics.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm slow. My word counts tend to be low - side effect of being concise. I gloss over descriptions that I should probably spend more time on. I'm good at writing romantic tension, but when that tension culminates, I feel like it just gets awkward and then I cut things short when I really should draw them out. Humor and true fluff pieces do not come naturally to me, though I'm trying to stretch myself by writing more of those.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I have never done this, so no thoughts except for it sounds difficult!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Avatar: The Last Airbender

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

This is hard, but has to be The Counteroffer, my first and most-loved Fullmetal Alchemist piece. In a creative sense, writing this story opened the gateway (lol) to so much more for me, and I'm eternally thankful that my little debut to this fandom (and return to writing overall) was so well received.

Death and Taxes and Hourglass are also close to my heart.

Tagging in @starwritingbri, @they-lived, @musing-and-music, @fullmetalscullyy, @writing-royza, and YOU if you want to join in!

[racingliners]

Livery Watch 2024: Special Editions

Breaking News: Local woman still isn't done yelling about car liveries.

idk how many one-off liveries the teams are going to do this year, but in any case I love McLaren's livery for Japan, so if there's any more across this season I'll be updating this post as they appear throughout the year!

McLaren - Japanese GP Vuse "Driven by Change" livery

I LOVED this when the promo images dropped at the start of the week. The livery was designed by Japanese artist MILTZ and is inspired by Edomoji (a style of Japanese calligraphy), the design reminds me a lot of The Great Wave off Kanagawa but I'm pretty sure because they both have a wave motif.

I absolutely love the splashes of blue and white, I wish they were on the black portion of the car instead because the livery would look so much brighter, but I still love how it looks on the car regardless.

9/10

Ferrari - Miami GP Blue livery

Adding list to the very long list of the ways that Ferrari have disappointed me, and ngl I'm so tempted to put it right at the top.

After all the hype Ferrari had been putting out on socials I was expecting the car to be all blue (which, is in recognition of the 70th anniversary of Ferrari selling cars in the USA) and instead we have... this.

Like, no one would have forgotten that Ferrari's are meant to be red just bc the car went all blue for one race, especially because the team kit and overalls are all-over blue for this week (I am extra mad bc the shades of blue that's on the car are so stunning and would definitely have stood out compared to the other blue livery cars).

Also don't get me started on the silly amount of HP logos on the car, if I was a tifosi I would be beyond embarrassed rn

2/10 and that's me being nice.

Racing Bulls - Miami GP livery

Ahhhh. That's better.

I LOVE the multi-colour gradient (even if it does slightly resemble the instagram logo). I would have loved to see it all over the car because the chrome silver bull would look so nice against it.

But apart from that it's so bright and fun and it's going to look fantastic on track this weekend. I'm not even mad that it's matte.

9/10

McLaren - Monaco GP Senna livery

*shouting in the general direction of Maranello* You see this Ferrari? THAT'S how you do a special livery!

Yes, it's incredibly yellow (to the point it looks like a Benson & Hedges sponsored Jordan if you squint) but that's the whole point. (Also bonus points for the car pretty much being completely painted!!!)

As an ode to Ayrton Senna, it's pretty much spot on. For me the first thing that always sprang to mind when Senna is mentioned is his helmet design featuring the colours of the Brazilian flag. I also love the diagonal lines as a nod to the Marlboro McLaren livery.

Oh and did I forget to mention that IT'S NOT MATTE!!!

10/10

Red Bull - British GP "REBL CUSTMS - Stallion Red" livery

Like last season, we're getting three fan-designed RBR liveries this year in honour of the team's 20th anniversary and this is the first!

And god, I wish it was the main livery. The brushes of neon red are so bright and actually look interesting instead of the super corporate unchanged livery we've seen since 2016.

Usual 'I hate that it's matte complaints' but spart of that, it really looks great.

8/10

Williams - British GP livery

So in the design stakes, I definitely prefer last year's white accents design. However, on the sentimentality stakes (of which I will never be immune to), I love it so so much.

As it's been mentioned a lot in commentary already this week, the car features the names of all 1005 Williams team members - and founder Sir Frank Williams, which is just so so lovely.

6/10 for design, 10/10 for the sentiment behind it.

Alpine - Belgian GP "Deadpool & Wolverine" livery

ngl friends I have spent the whole time since this dropped staring at this going 'hmm'.

I definitely don't hate it, I think I once again find all the exposed carbon very off-putting, but at least there is more paint on the car this time compared with their core blue and pink liveries. (And, tbf, given how Deadpool's colour scheme is red and black, it does make sense from that pov)

The concept behind this is very fun, I genuinely cannot remember the last time we had a full promotional livery for something (Aston Martin did run the James Bond logo on their cars when No Time to Die came out, but that was it).

I think it would have been nice if there was more yellow (as cool as the Wolverine claw marks are), but overall it's definitely very fun. I really want to see how it's going to look on track.

7.5/10

Mercedes - Singapore GP "Petronas 50th Anniversary" livery

Not gonna lie, after the well documented events of the 2019 German Grand Prix, I honestly never thought we'd see Mercedes run a one-off livery ever again, so seeing this upon opening Instagram this morning was a nice surprise!

Might be worth saying that this livery is in honour of Petronas' 50th anniversary as a company (their title sponsorship with Mercedes only dates back to 2010), and the choice of debuting this livery at Singapore is that it's the race closest to Petronas' HQ in Malaysia.

(Powers that be pleeeeeeeeease bring back the Malaysian GP in Sepang!!!!!!!)

So, all that aside, I do very much like this livery. The Merc colour scheme of black, silver and teal is super iconic and works in pretty much any iteration. Design wise though I wish there had been a tiny bit of effort put in because they've literally just swapped round where the silver and teal is on their core livery.

I do think the car will stand out on track really well against the dark tarmac of the circuit, and the fact that from this picture at least the teal portion of the car looks glossy so it should look stunning under the floodlights at night.

8/10

Racing Bulls - Singapore GP "Hugo Boss Denim" livery

I want to get on board with this, I really really reaaaaaaaally do.

I just can't because they didn't properly commit to the bit and do the whole car in denim.

Unlike RBs Miami GP livery in which they got away with keeping the dark blue engine cover and halo because across the whole car the colour scheme still felt cohesive, on this livery (or, as we're all calling it, jivery) the saturated blue does not feel very put together with the rest of the denim. And I am a little bit mad about it bc if the denim had been all over the car I think it would have looked both amazing and really different on track. And for once, I don't mind the matte finish bc as we all know denim is not ultra-glossy - another reason why keeping the dark blue engine cover from the core livery just makes the whole thing look odd.

Love the concept, really not on board with the execution - 6/10 overall.

McLaren - Singapore GP "OKX Legend Reborn" livery

oh this FUCKS.

It's somewhat turned into a tradition of McLaren debuting a one-off livery in Singapore. In 2022 the sky blue accents on the core livery were swapped out for a stunning hot pink, and last year we had the mostly carbon stealth livery (you can find my thoughts on that in my Livery Watch 2023 tag).

And this year, as the name suggests, McLaren are running a livery inspired by the iconic Marlboro McLaren livery of the 1980s, with papaya orange in place of Marlboro red.

and to repeat myself, it FUCKS.

I love the stripe of white down the middle of the car, it really stands out compared to the slash of exposed carbon on the core livery and combined with the orange the car just looks so much brighter and is really going to stand out on track.

Is it a little bit Finding Nemo? Yes. Do I care? No.

For the tiny bit of exposed carbon it loses a point so - 9/10

Red Bull - Singapore GP "REBL CUSTUMS - Camo Bull" livery

I will update if I find a better picture, the RBR website is silly.

The funny thing about updating this post as the year goes on instead of doing a reblog for each new livery is that all the various off-track (ie. Red Bull scrapping their two remaining fan designed liveries because the paint they were going to use made the car too heavy) happenings do get a bit lost within the passing of time.

But, as this is my house and I can do what I want on Livery Watch, I'm gonna yell about what would have been RBR's Singapore GP livery anyway, as it has thankfully been put onto Hamda Al Quibaisi's F1 Academy car (plus matching overalls!!!) for this weekend.

And as I said on a post earlier today (as I write this) I am mad that RBR chickened out bc this is SUCH a sexy livery. It pays tribute to the og Camo Bull livery from 2015 pre-season testing so well and it's just DIFFERENT and FUN and is gonna look SO good on the circuit and the pops of neon red are just stunning. I love it.

10/10. no notes.

Haas - United States GP livery

Not only are Haas going to be arriving at the Circuit of the Americas with Toyota Gazoo Racing logos on the car after the announcement of their new technical partnership with Toyota, they are also as seems to be turning into a tradition running a stars and stripes inspired livery for what is 'officially' the team's home race.

(I say officially as while the F1 calendar does have 3 US races, the race in Austin is the only one branded as the United States GP).

I do very much prefer this livery compared to the one they ran last year. The brighter, more saturated colours, work well against the predominantly black base, though I find the red driver numbers a bit hard to read as the white outline is a bit too thin. But I love the scattered star motif on the front wing and sidepods - I think it's very fun!

While I do get why the main emblem on the car is a hybrid of a lone star (bc Texas is the lone star state) and the head of an eagle (ca-caw, wtf is a kilometre) it does slightly give off 'concept art for an NFL team logo' vibes, and I think running with just the star motif would have gotten the same message across just as well.

(I will say though, I think the eagle art itself is pretty good! It just feels ever so slightly too much.)

7/10

Alpine - United States GP "Indiana Jones and the Great Circle" livery

As the semi-official Livery Watch reporter for f1blr news, I do feel it's my journalistic duty to point out that Disney have not managed to pay Harrison Ford even more money to come back for another film, but that this livery is actually promotion for the upcoming video game of the same title.

My second thought upon seeing this livery (my first, like everyone else, was that it looks like a McLaren cosplay) was that I felt quite mad Alpine have painted more of the car for this one-off livery than they have done for their pink and blue core liveries, and I'm once again mad at the missed potential for what we could have had.

(My thoughts on the Alpine core livery can be found in my Livery Watch 2024 tag).

I did have to do some digging, and thanks to this video posted on Alpine's twitter feed and this post by one of Alpine's graphic designers, I am fairly confident in saying that the car is not in fact all over orange, and like the Indiana Jones logo is more of a yellow to orange ombré with a really cool looking treasure map motif on top.

I think the concept is fun (despite the promo images making the car look more orange than what it seemingly is) and it's been executed fairly well, but I may need to wait to see it in daylight before properly deciding if I like it or not.

7/10

McLaren - United States GP Chrome livery

As first ran at the British GP last year, McLaren have once again brought back their chrome silver livery of the late-00s and 2010s, in partnership with one of their main sponsors Google.

And, before I go in detail, I want to show my initial reaction via the tags on a post of this livery I reblogged earlier today because I think it sums up my feelings very well.

I cannot begin to express how delighted I am that McLaren have given this livery a second attempt, because the first version they ran last year was quite a big miss.

This version feels so much more thought out in terms of where the chrome silver paint will actually go and what this livery and the original Vodafone McLaren chrome livery do well is having a really bright pop of colour against the silver so the car doesn't look too bland (unlike the team's 2014 chrome and black livery).

Honestly? This is yet another banger of a McLaren one-off livery. It's silver chrome done stunningly well. 10/10.

Williams - Mexico City GP & Sao Paulo GP altered Core livery

The delay in the latest addition to Livery Watch is partially due to life stuff, and also due to me contemplating whether or not it actually counted since it's a sponsor driven change as opposed to a "let's do this for funsies!" change. BUT we have seen sponsor driven liveries this year so I have finally decided that it counts, so onwards!

The addition of the Mercado Libre logo and yellow colour splash for the two Latin American races of the year is definitely fun (it stands out on the car from a mile away) and either intentionally or otherwise evokes the classic blue, white and yellow Williams liveries of the 80s and 90s.

Obviously there would have been a limitation on what shade of yellow they could put on the car, and I am somewhat bummed that it covers the original Frank Williams Racing logo, but a lot of what I love about the 2024 core livery remains.

Solid 6/10

Sauber - Las Vegas GP Flame livery

I want to like this. However, I don't think I do.

My favourite part of this livery is the nose cone, I think the white to neon green gradient is actually quite nice and had it been done all over the car would have looked very striking on track (especially in contrast to the exposed carbon areas of the car).

I'm just... really not a fan of the flame motif. It looks fine on the front end of the car, but on the engine cover where it's just a flat line before the rest of the flames just makes it look so harsh and for me anyway it's the first thing my eyes are drawn to because it look so slapped on and out of place.

5/10 (mainly for the nose cone)

Alpine - Las Vegas GP, Qatar GP & Abu Dhabi GP 'Al-Pink' livery

When I tell you that upon opening my instagram and saw this I literally threw my hands into the air as if I myself had just won a Grand Prix (please also refer to my all caps post from earlier as an additional first reaction that sums up my general feelings nicely).

oh BWT, I could literally kiss you on the mouth for this. I genuinely have never been happier for a sponsor requiring that a team run a specific livery for a set number of races per season. Pink Alpine they could NEVER make me hate you.

And I am so utterly thrilled and delighted to say that thanks to one of the Alpine livery/graphic designers confirming in this post, IT'S A GLOSSY PINK 😭🙌

Previous BWT-pink liveries have been a much softer pink, but I just love the brighter in your face almost Barbie pink. I think they've gone in this direction since all the races this livery will be ran at are night races, so the slightly darker and brighter pink will definitely stand out against the dark circuit under the floodlights.

Yes, there is sadly more exposed carbon than I would like. But I honestly don't care. IT'S A SHINY PINK F1 CAR!!!!!!

10/10

Racing Bulls - Las Vegas GP "Glitter" livery

Gonna keep it short and sweet, and share my initial reaction to the livery via the medium of a screenshot of Discord DMs.

We could have had it all... truly. Racing Bulls were literally stood in front of an open goal and instead kicked the ball outside the stadium. My disappointment is beyond immeasurable rn.

3.5/10 - for the cohesive colour palette at least.

[sleepy-little--pup]

here are my 20 agere questions!! :D

1. i'm pretty sure it was through tiktok or discord servers!

2. i've been regressing involuntarily and unknowingly for many years but ive been doing it voluntarily for about 2, maybe 2 and a half years!

3. prince, puppy, little one, silly boy, etc!

4. it depends but mostly yeah! i;m a baby regressor and i'm usually eepy so i just listen to calming music

5. definitely Socks from Bluey! besides that, i'm a very big Ciel Phantomhive kin overall and when i'm regressed (esp. impurely) i feel like Ciel after having a nightmare etc

6. mostly involuntarily (whether through bad triggers or good ones)

7. good triggers: baby stuff (clothes, toys, pacis), cartoons, my boyfriend calling me his "cute little baby", bad triggers: ovestimmulation, loud noises, thunderstorms, mean/yelling people

8. i'd love to have one! but i'm very shy overall, espeeecially when regressed! and i asked my boyfriend would he like to be one and he said "yeah sure", it wasnt too convincing so i never really brought it up again but he knew i was a regressor for a while

9. i'm lgbtq+ and neurodivergent! i think the only way it impacts my regression is my neurodivergity making me more sensitive to everything, such as textures, sounds, etc!

10. kinda! not towards my family but towards friends, sure!

11. my boyfriend's house kinda, i feel really safe there and his family loves me :'3, but besides that, my bed!!

12. i don't baby talk and i never liked the idea of onesies. i think they're adorable but not really for me!

13. when i was a kid i was forced to grow up quickly, never really was able act like an actual kid, now it's like i'm trying to regain that!

14. yeah! i prefer the name Theo when i'm little, even though i don't go by it besides my regression accounts!

15. either tumblr or pinterest! sometimes also tiktok and i follow some agere accounts on instagram like deco pacis etc!

16. hmm maybe Hades? (the game) and can you count witchcraft? i've been a practicing witch for years and i've been starting work with deities recently and i really feel safe and connected when i do anything with that, i feel like the Gods are very supportive of me trying to heal my inner child!

17. i don't have only one fav colour… baby blue (deco pacis :P), deep purple halloween stuff), black (my cat!! not really a thing though…)

18. Hypnos (Hades), Ciel (Kuroshitsuji)

19. Neuvillette (Genshin Impact), Sundrop & Moondrop (FNAF), Astarion (BG3), Aziraphale (Good Omens), Bucky (Marvel), Deadpool (Marvel), Colossus (Marvel, heavy on this one!!) , Loki (Marvel), Viktor (Arcane), Aizawa (BNHA)

20. there's no criteria! you dont have to wear/love pink and overall pastel colours, you can still have your style (like goth, vkei etc!) when regressed!!

[yaksha-lover]

Hi hi! I was wondering! Since I have an OC who's a single dad - how would some of the guys act around a single parent? Like, I can see Lilia wanting to hold the baby and trying to feed them 'food' before being lectured about how they're only big enough for formula. Or Jack high-key avoiding the pair of humans

Sorry if it's an odd ask - I hope you have a great day!

Not an odd ask, I’m happy to answer! Sorry this kind of turned into how they would act around the kid, hopefully thats’s ok. Lmk if you wanted something different.

Hmm I’m actually not sure about Lilia. I feel like considering he’s raised Malleus and Silver, he’s learned most of the parenting faux pas by now. Most of the time, I feel like he’d be pretty good help and it would make him happy to be around a young child again, since it reminds him of when Mal and Silver were young. Then, while holding the baby, he’d saying something completely unhinged that reminds everyone it’s still Lilia. Overall 8/10 wants to help and is pretty good at it but occasionally may make slightly ominous comments which force you to remind him that babies can’t wield a spear.

The others I’ll split into general categories for simplicity.

Happy to help with the baby, pretty good with kids.

Trey - 9/10, took care of his siblings, can cook and clean, very helpful and responsible

Ruggie - 7/10, I feel like he helps take care of the kids in his neighbourhood, can be trusted but may ask for financial compensation

Jade - 7/10, same as Vil, slightly less trustworthy

Jamil - 8/10, has been taking care of Kalim and others his entire life (rip), responsible and trustworthy

Vil - 8/10, not as experienced as the others but is mature and intelligent, can figure things out and is trustworthy

Rook - 8/10, more domestic than you would think, I bc he took care of his younger siblings and is very caring/attentive when he needs to be

Silver - 7/10, pretty much same as Vil but may fall asleep on the job

Happy to help but is not experienced in childcare. Slightly awkward and will need help initially but learns quickly.

Riddle - 7/10, inexperienced but responsible and good at managing others

Deuce - 6/10, A for effort but he needs a little help learning the right things to do

Jack - 7/10, also inexperienced but a dedicated learner, very attentive and protective

Azul - 7/10, same as Riddle, takes things seriously and will do proper research

Epel - 6/10, he might be awkward if he’s still going through his phase of trying to seem tough, but will soften up and take things seriously

Malleus - 7/10, definitely has zero experience but would take the task of babysitting so seriously, very happy he’s been entrusted with this responsibility but needs guidance

Good at entertaining children, not good at taking proper care of them.

Cater - 5/10, spends time taking selfies with the child and then will get bored

Floyd - 3/10, ngl this is definitely a safety concern, he does not know anything about babies but he will play peekaboo with them until he gets bored

Kalim - 5/10, has many younger siblings that he loves but probably only ever played with them since they have servants to properly care for them, can be innocently careless so it’s best you keep an eye on them

Ace - 4/10, can be around older kids but gets bored around babies, doesn’t really care for them

Does not get along with children.

Leona - 2/10, self-explanatory

Sebek - 1/10, bro is the youngest in his family with a worse temper than any child, please do not ask him to watch any kids, unironically beefs with 12 year olds on the internet

[cuephrase]

20 questions for writers

tysm for the tag @crows-murder!!

1. how many works do you have on AO3?

seven, but two of those are site skins

2. what's your total AO3 word count?

51,455, which is. so little. omg

3. what fandoms do you write for?

rn, exclusively batfam. i've also posted fic for bnha, and while i do think there's a solid chance i'll post more my hero fic in the future, idk when. i've also written for tmnt, voltron, and spn, but most of those never left my notebooks lmao

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

penance - ghost!robins au where tim dies + meets ghost!jason, and metric tons of emotional devastation ensue. MCD tagged bc yk. tim wakes up dead.

adds up to less - my sole bnha fic, platonic bakudeku that spans from childhood to after their fight post-all might vs. afo, centered around the fact that izuku knows katsuki's mom is abusive

despite all his efforts - whumptober fill for solitary confinement, dami and dick!bats and pain

bile is sweeter - whumptober fill for safety net, dick & tim where tim gets seriously injured on patrol. ambiguous ending as a standalone, but also ended up becoming the prelude to penance.

i know (do you know?) - whumptober fill for delirium, jason & dick, jason & bruce, bruce & dick sick!fic where jason is sick and bruce and dick are at odds but trying not to be.

5. do you respond to comments?

yes!! i love responding to comments. i am really behind atm, bc 1) penance got way more attention than i expected and 2) the comments are so frickin kind and like i short-circuit.

planning on responding to some more tonight, i want to try and wrestle my inbox away from hitting a like critical mass point

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

hmmm. i think it depends, especially on how you interpret the end of 'bile is sweeter', but my gut instinct is 'despite all of his efforts'.

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

mmmm. none of them? jk jk, kind of. i think they're all bittersweet is the thing. maybe 'penance'? or ik(dyk)? actually no, it's def 'penance'. neither of them end super fluffy, (or fluffy at all? fuzzy at best), but like i personally think, as hard won as it is, 'penance' has a happy ending.

8. do you get hate on fics?

i have not yet!! shockingly.

9. do you write smut? If so, what kind?

cuephrase on ao3 does not have any smut posted

10. do you write crossovers?

no, at least not yet. i don't think i will?

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of 🤞

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope!! i don't think i've written anything popular enough to warrant a translation haha

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

not yet!! i think it would be super fun tho

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

uh. hmm. i don't know if i have one?? ships rank pretty low on my overall interest, relationships that stick with me forever and a day are siblings lmao. but okay.

overall, like regardless of fandom it's probs a tie between kyo/tohru from fruits basket and kabakura/koyanagi from wotakoi.

rn my top ship is timkon, no contest. love those two very much. platonic or romantic i am sat.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

any of them? all of them? i have one fic with like actual words written, everything else is percolating in my mind. i have a decent track record of finishing stuff i start...but starting is difficult. i'm trying to work on that tho!! i really love writing and every time i sweet talk myself into it i'm like omg why don't we do this more often. baby cue would be horrified at how little i write.

16. What are your writing strengths?

making people cry. at the ripe-old age of 7 i decided the best writing was the kind that elicited a physical reaction, which to me was either tears or laughter and i don't think i'm funny. so bringing the pain it was.

and dialogue. i'm super picky about my dialogue and i act out convos + read exchanges out loud. i worry sometimes that i like have too many "blah blah bla-" type lines, but like when people are arguing, nobody is getting out full sentences lmao. there's a balance to it, for sure tho

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

setting/description. i have the worst White Room Syndrome ever i fear. like, okay, so writing for me typically feels like i'm watching something play out and just recording what i see, and uh what i see is usually characters interacting. sometimes they're interacting with their environment but ehhhhh. so i have to make a conscious effort to have my writing not be talking heads interspersed with chekhov's guns

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i don't do it. too paranoid about it being wrong. i don't mind it when someone else does it, but if i was going to do it foreign language dialogue would probably be written like "<This is not English>." with a note at the beginning that dialogue in <> is X language.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

i was going to say tmnt, but then i remembered i wrote warrior cats fic way before i knew what fic was omg. stopppppp. i was like eight, i think? but like. consciously knew that i was writing fanfic? tmnt.

20. Favourite fic you've written?

hmmmm. this is probs a tie between 'penance' and 'ik(dyk)' rn, the former was just so much fun to write and the latter features robin!jason and dick bonding which i'm particularly fond of rn hehe this was sm fun!! no pressure tagging @androxys @librarylexicon @tevyaa, @coyote-nebula, @motleyfam and anyone else who sees this and wants to play!!

[pluppsauthor]

Tag Game: OC Questionnaire!

BIG post, a compilation of every time I have been tagged for this (that I can find) and haven't already answered (I think)

Thanks to taggers at the bottom this time so I can jump right into it! (I'm doing each set of three with a different character from Frequency: Forsaken, since it lines up perfectly)

- - - - - - - [In order of appearance: Zenith, Kyr, Reven, Ino, Dawn, Dusk]

1. What genre of story would you rather be in? (as opposed to the one they are currently in)

*light laughter* "You're implying I'm in a story, one whose genre I'm not entirely sure of. But, knowing me, thinking of myself as being in a "story" is not a foreign thought to me." "As for what genre I'd like to be in. Something calm and nice, like a gentle romance or fairytale of knights and princesses."

2. Do you think you'd survive the movie A Quiet Place? (must stay as silent as possible or alien creatures hunt you down)

"I would need to stay silent? Hmm, I think I would do fine. I can't see, and despite having another form of perception, there are some things still out of my world. I could very well accidentally make a sound without knowing what caused it. My power is also silent so... that would help I think. Overall, I think I would do fine."

3. What's your idea of a quiet get-together with a close friend?

*light chuckle* "I've spent a lot of time with the friends I've made, but I think my favourite has to be sitting quietly by a calm river. The subtle sound and warm silence is really comforting to me. So anything like that would suffice."

4. How do you do on roadtrips?

"Roadtrips? Those aren't really a thing. But if we're talking about long journeys, just give me something to eat and someone to talk to and I'll be fine."

5. Do you have any rituals you stick to in daily life?

"Eating, sleeping, normal stuff. I don't really have "rituals" I do, I just coast, see what happens and go along with it."

6. What would your Halloween costume be?

*laughter* "Well I want to say a dragon, but that would be too obvious." *silent thinking* "OH! What if I was a knight! I can transform into a dragon, then I would be the princess, the knight, AND the dragon, just like those old fairytales. That would be good!"

7. How do you make decisions? Long deliberation, or impulse? Logic or emotions?

"I think things through. As much as I hate it, the amount of times I've given into my emotions is... staggering. I think fast, and act faster, no time for emotions to get in the way."

8. What is the best thing that could happen within five minutes after waking up? Does it signal that the entire day will be good?

"Not bleeding out or missing any limbs. So long as I'm in one piece and not dying, that's enough. And, no. No day has ever - Or will ever - be a good day unless Dusk is dead."

9. Is there anything that you find difficult that you feel should be easy?

"Dying."

10. Who's your favourite person?

"I've lived a long and storied life. To choose only one being who has impacted me the most is... cruel. Most of those I remember being fond of are gone, and I have long since forgotten their names. But they were, friends, of mine once, yes. Now, however... I suppose Dusk is most similar to those I remember remembering."

11. What food can you not stand?

"I don't need to eat, but I can. There was a time, once, where I did need to eat. That time was when I truly enjoyed food. I think my least favourite was something bland, I think it was nothing but basic grains and uncooked plants. It was terrible, so much so that I still remember it today."

12. Do you have any pets?

"I've had a few over my life, none currently however. They live such short lives, it makes me sad to grow close to them."

13. What's your favourite book?

"I haven't read much, on account of being raised outside of the system and being a wanted criminal for the majority of the rest of my life. I read one, once, it was some fictional book about some myth or legend. I think it involved a snake that ate itself or something."

14. Do you like your job?

"Job? That's a funny way of putting it. If you mean being a part of the New Season, then no. I don't like it, but it is a necessity, something that needs to be done."

15. Who would you kill for?

"I'm not one for revenge, mostly. I think if anyone else here in the New Season died. Dusk, Zenith, Kyr, even Ino. I think if they died, I might track down and kill whoever killed them. But if someone threatened ME, I wouldn't hesitate to kill them first."

16. What is your favourite thing to eat?

"Favourite things are for the rich and the comfortable. I will take any food that is edible, regardless of taste. I suppose my "favourite" would be any cooked meat. It really doesn't matter to me."

17. What is one of your lifelong goals?

"Well... that's a tough question. I don't think I have one. I want to help the New Season, seeing as I'm one of the people who founded it. But... that isn't really what I want to do." "I guess I want to tear down the Everden family, seeing how they are the reason my life ended up like this. But I'm not sure what comes after that, if anything."

18. Do you have any fears?

"After... I don't even want to talk about it... but, after that, I REALLY don't like jellyfish. I'm also afraid of forgetting, I don't want to lose my memories again."

- - - - - - -

Thanks to (inhale) @tildeathiwillwrite (here), @illarian-rambling (here), @kaylinalexanderbooks (here), @sunglasses-in-the-bentley (here, here, and here)! Love you all! ❤

As for who I will tag, no pressure as always, I will tag: @mk-writes-stuff, @phoenixradiant, @diabolical-blue, @somethingclevermahogony, and open tag. ❤

I'm back now from vacation btw, was out for the last week or so. Now that I'm back I intend to do some old cobwebs (tags) I've been tagged in.

[darbyoakana]

An Overlord's Tail - Chapter 4

An Overlords Tail Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10

Summary: You strike a deal with Alastor, giving you the upper hand. Or so you think.

Warnings: Canibalisim, self-mutilation. This story is 18+, minors can fuck right off.

Other Notes: none

Darby Link Tree

Chapter 4: The Deal

You slid your hand into his and a bright green burst of light soaked into the floor. 

“What the fuck was that?” Angel called out from the bar.

“Nothing to worry about,” you called out. 

“Yeah….” Angel turned to Husk. “I’m gonna be real with you, I don’t like whatever is going on between them. It’s weirding me out.”

“Oh, you? Uncomfortable? That’s a first.” Husk thought for a moment. “But also a worrisome fact. He’s been too focused on her, I don’t like it.” 

____________________________________________

It had been about six weeks now. Charlie was thrilled with the breakfast and catering setup, it made more people available for bonding activities. Lucifer helped install a laundry room just for the guests. The most issues you had to deal with were residents and their petty nonsense. Which overall wasn’t that difficult. You felt that your relationship with Alastor leveled out, mostly playful banter. You’d assumed he had given up trying to aggravate you, in truth your lack of reaction to his antics itched inside his brain. He started to observe anything and everything he could about you, trying to find some way in. 

You were sitting at your desk, finishing up a report for the end of the day when Alastor approached you. 

“I’ve made some Jambalaya, would you care for some?” He offered a bowl to you.

“Oh, thanks Alastor.” 

You took the bowl from him. Initially, it wasn’t suspicious, Alastor had made dinner for the hotel before and you’ve expressed that you enjoy his cooking. But when lifting up the fork with a piece of meat on it, you couldn’t help wondering what kind of meat he used. You glanced around the hotel, no one else was eating. Meaning he made this just for you. 

“Alastor…”

“Hmm?” 

“Now I don’t want to sound ungrateful, the furthest thing from it. But uh…. “ you inspected the fork. “This wouldn’t be human meat would it?” 

“Pardon?” Alastor tried to keep composure. “Don’t be silly.” 

“Alastor….”

“Oh alright,” he laughed, trying to play it off as casual. “You got me! But I’m sure you’d enjoy it. Just try a bite!” 

Was he that transparent, he thought, how do you seem to always see through his nonsense? If he couldn’t trick you into it, maybe he could convince you. Just a small step away from Heaven and one step towards him. All he wanted was one small win. 

“Uh huh…” You stared at him for a long moment.

“Oh, one bite won’t hurt!” 

You knew you’d end up making some small sacrifices in this bizarre battle between you and him. Would it be that big of a deal? It wasn’t an ideal situation, but you could definitely use it to your advantage. It’s not like you’d suddenly crave human flesh from here on out. You mulled it over in your mind and determined that it didn’t bother you that much. 

 “Well, if this is something you want. I suppose you wouldn’t mind making a deal then?” 

“A deal?” Alastor’s ears perked up. “I’m listening.”

“I will try this. Chew, taste, and swallow. But, in return…” You tried not to laugh. “I get to see your tail.” 

“YOU WHAT NOW?!” He hissed through his teeth. His ears bent back, a deep growl came from his chest as his antlers started to expand outward. “What makes you think…” 

“Oh knock it off. My end of the deal is fair. You were dishonest with your initial approach and I’m not asking to touch it, just see it.” You gloated “Or I guess I could let Charlie know that you are being a bad influence. After all, I don’t think cannibalism is on the path to redemption.” You grinned. 

Was it worth it, to suffer that loss for such a small win? Alastor had been trying for over a month to find his way into you. But his tail? He hated the damn thing. He saw the soft cute mound as a bodily betrayal. Powerful overlords don’t strike fear into the hearts of their enemies with adorable fluff. Furthermore, it often reacted without his consent. He hated how it wagged with glee, so much so he had tried to cut it off several times but it just kept growing back. A light bulb clicked on in his head. That’s it, he thought. 

“Hmmm. I have considered your atrocious offer.” He rolled his eyes. “And I accept.” He held out his hand. 

You slid your hand into his and a bright green burst of light soaked into the floor. 

“What the fuck was that?” Angel called out from the bar.

“Nothing to worry about,” you called out. 

“Yeah….” Angel turned to Husk. “I’m gonna be real with you, I don’t like whatever is going on between them. It’s weirding me out.”

“Oh, you? Uncomfortable? That’s a first.” Husk thought for a moment. “But also a worrisome fact. He’s been too focused on her, I don’t like it.” 

Alastor tilted his head in an unnatural direction, waiting for you. You lifted the fork to your mouth, making a show of it before you took a slow bite. The chunk of flesh rolled around on your tongue before you sank your teeth into it. The texture wasn’t quite pork but not quite beef either. The flavor was delicious, but that was more the Jambalaya than the flesh. You swallowed. 

“Well…?” Alastor asked, please with himself. 

“Honestly, not terrible,” you said as you took a second bite.

Alastor felt like the aggressive grin on his face was going to rip his cheeks. He expected blood to drip from the cracked corners of his mouth. It was a small victory, but a victory nevertheless. He was thrilled. You willingly ate it AND liked it.  

“Are you going to just stand there and grin at me for the rest of the day?” You waved your hand in front of his face. “Hellllooooooo? Come on Bambi, it’s your turn.” 

“I am not doing it here, in front of everyone,” he hissed. 

“Okay, prude. Come find me later or whatever.” 

You laughed as you put your things away and headed up to your room. You felt a bit of pride knowing you made him more uncomfortable than he made you, this was becoming a dangerous competition, one that you were determined to win. 

You took a long bath to relax. Baggy shirts and boxers were your go-to pajamas. You were hanging your head upside down, drying your hair with a towel when there was a knock at the door. 

“Good evening my dear. I am here to fulfill my end of our deal.” 

“I was starting to think you wouldn’t show. Come on in.” 

“I always hold up my end of a bargain.” He handed you a small black box with a red ribbon tied around it in a bow. “For you, pet.”

The bottom of the box stuck to your palm; wet and soggy. You looked at Alastor, skeptical as always. He seemed to be very proud of himself. He nodded, encouraging you to open it. You slowly pulled the end of the slinky ribbon; falling around your hand like rose petals. You opened the box top. Reaching into the box you pulled out a soft fluffy object. Alastor’s tail. He had cut it off and gifted it to you. A bit of flesh was still attached and dripping blood. 

He waited, diligently, for your facial expression to turn. Shock, horror, a scream. Then anticipation ate away what little sanity he had. These few seconds felt like a millennium. Then, finally, there in the corner of your mouth. Your lips parted and your jaw opened. Was it shock? Would you throw it back at him and feel disgusted? He stared at you relentlessly, soaking up any indication. Your eyes widened, yes, it was surprise. But wait- no. Your mouth twisted into a gaze of amazement. You met his leering eyes with a smile that would have melted his heart if he wasn’t so crestfallen. 

“Aw, Alastor! How Van Gogh of you!” You exclaimed. You brought the tail to your face, feeling how soft it was, ignoring the blood dripping into your palm. “This is so thoughtful!”

“Glad you like it, darling.” He gritted his teeth. 

“Though I am bewildered why you’d put yourself in such a vulnerable position.” 

“Whatever do you mean?”

 “Well,” you leaned in and whispered, “Now I’m going to wear it.”

“Uh, what now?!” His heart beat so hard he could hear his pulse in his ears. He must have misheard you.

“Yeah! I can pin it on, it would look SO cute” 

You knew he didn’t want anyone to see it. The thought of you wearing it around the hotel would rile him up. You were more than willing to play this ridiculous game of his. His face went pale. How had he once again miscalculated so badly? You were going to drive him absolutely mad. Alastor’s ears swept back, his eye was twitching. He was doing everything in his power to control his reaction. You devoured the panic in his eyes. How you reduced one of the most powerful overlords in the Pride ring to this, you had no idea, but you loved it. 

“Oh calm down. I won’t let anyone see it, I promise.” You placed the tailback in the box and gave him a gentle and reassuring smile. “Thank you for the gift.” You licked the droplet of blood off your palm. “Have a good night.” And closed the door. Alastor just stood there.

“What just happened?” His shadow cackled. “Oh shut up you.” 

Alastor avoided you for a few days before approaching you again. He spent that time frustrated that you somehow got the upper hand in the situation and was determined to tip the scales. He was clearly missing something and felt that this was out of his area of expertise. 

“Good afternoon dear, do you by chance have any plans for lunch?” He asked

“Not really, I typically eat at my desk and work through lunch.” 

“Your dedication to your position continues to impress. But you did mention you put too much of your time into your job, did you not? I’d like you to accompany me to my lunch date with Rosie.”

“Okay, that sounds fun. I’ve never been to Cannibal Town before.” 

“Well, my dear I think it is about time you did, seeing how you technically are one now.” 

“That’s a bit of a stretch, I don’t plan to partake in cannibalism regularly.” 

“That’s a pity. But either way, we will have a lovely time, Rosie is a splendid host.” 

Canibal Town was indeed wonderful. It carried the charm of mass murder on the main street of Disneyland. You looked at the many puddles of blood and wondered how long it would be before your shoes were once more filled; squishing with coagulation. You walked with hesitation. Rosie was incredibly friendly and welcoming. You didn’t expect a leader of a mass of cannibals to be such a sweetheart. She served a decadent lunch and was considerate enough to have non-cannibal food for you. Alastor left you with Rossie “run an errand”. 

“So dawling, hows workin’ at the Hotel? Alastor’s not overworking you I hope” 

“Not anymore, he tried to overwhelm me to drive me out but it seems like he’s given up on that front.”

“He’s quite a character that one.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I get the suspicion that he wants you to size me up.”

“Well, he’s very smart, but there are some strong blind spots he’s got goin’ on there. I think he’s having a hard time understanding you. Everyone has their motivations. And in Hell, it's usually one or more of the sins. You can manipulate people based on their desires.”

“Well, that makes a lot of sense then. Because what I want is right in the middle of his blind spot. But you already knew that.” 

“Oh, that I do. Us hopeless romantics, we sense our own. You just want to be loved. And Alastor, he doesn’t know much about that, unfortunately. The few experiences he’s had soured it for him. So his limited knowledge of the topic is a litttttle bleak.” 

“And to be clear, I’m not romantically interested in him. I just think he doesn’t know how to manipulate me and it’s throwing him off.” 

“You so sure about that?”

“Yes.” You said matter-of-factly. 

“So you aren’t wearing anything soft and fluffy pinned under your skirt?” You were caught off guard and blushed. “Uh-huh. That’s what I thought.” 

“It’s just to fuck with him”

“Oh, and it is. You have him all twisted up in knots girlie, it is hilarious.” She giggled. “Good for you, sweetheart. But you are enjoying it, yah?” 

“I have to admit, it is really entertaining.” 

“I’m just saying, it might not be true love but maybe there's a little somethin’ there?” 

“I haven’t really thought about it that way. But that seems like it would be a bit of a silly endeavor, given his blindspots.”

“A love well earned tastes the sweetest.” 

“Love requires vulnerability and sacrifice, I don’t see that as something he’s just giving out.”

“He’s selfish, sure. We all have our faults. His might be a bit more aggressive, perhaps. But it all comes from the same place, the roots of insecurity wield the fruit of imperfection.” She laughs. “But what do I know, I’ve lost count of what number of husbands I’m on!” 

You both laughed. Rosie proceeded to tell you about all her husbands, she wasn’t exaggerating, the list was long. You told her about your lamented relationship with Vox and how you ended up at the hotel. She was a joy to be around. 

“Hello again.” Alastor had returned from his errand. “You ladies had a good chit-chat, I trust?” 

“Oh yes, you should bring her around more often, she’s just a doll. You are welcome here anytime dear.” 

“Thank you Rosie, it’s been a pleasure.” 

You and Alastor made your way back to the hotel. Passing several stores on your way. You couldn’t help noticing how many sinners crossed the street or hid when they sighted Alastor. It felt bizarre, you knew he could be terrifying, but you didn’t really see him that way and the experience was surreal.  

Up ahead, you spotted one store in particular that had a window full of TV screens. Walking by you picked up your pace, hoping he wouldn’t. Please please please you thought. But of course, he did. 

“Alastor, you sniving prick. Having a good time with my girl?” Vox called out, every screen his face. 

“Vox, please don’t.” You groaned loudly. 

“Come on babe, you can do better, don’t you think?” 

“Now now Vox, is that jealousy I hear?” Alastor asked.

“I’m surprised Alastor, you’ve never struck me as someone willing to indulge in sloppy seconds.” 

You snarled, holding back tears. Vox’s expression changed for just a moment. Realizing his words hurt you. It wasn’t his intent, he was trying to get a rise out of Alastor. But that was always the problem, wasn’t it? Your feelings were constantly in the crossfire of other endeavors, you were never considered first and it spoke volumes.  

And there it was again, Vox eliciting a response from you. It irritated Alastor. But the way Vox referred to you, so crudely and disrespectfully, that pissed Alastor off more than anything. He didn’t understand why. Which in turn further fueled his anger.

“Oh it’s alright dear, let’s give poor Voxxie a break. He’s just upset you got further than he did.” Alastor slid his arm around your waist, pulling your back into him. His other arm wrapped around your shoulders, across your chest. His face nuzzled into your hair. His lips grazed the side of your face. “Isn’t that right, old pal?” 

“Oh fuck you!” Vox yelled. “You fucking asshole.”

The action sent a chill up your spine. Why did this fluster you? He got into your personal space all the time. Damn Rosie for putting the idea into your head, you hadn’t thought about him that way at all until she put that little worm in your brain. 

“Let’s be going my love, wouldn’t want to stress our friend any further, it would be rude” He put his hand in yours and led the way. 

“Go degaus yourself, fuckwad!” you flipped Vox off. His voice, spewing profanities, became smaller and smaller until the TV’s were out of site. 

Alastor dropped your hand. 

“My sincerest apologies for touching you in such a provocative manner.”

“I appreciate your apology, but it’s not necessary.” Your cheeks still felt warm. “Plus, did you see how pissed off he was? It was brilliant.” You laughed. “He’s probably crying, holding his waifu pillow.” 

“I do not know what that is, but I assume it is pathetic.” 

“That is Vox’s modus operandi, after all.”    

You both laughed the rest of the way to the hotel, making fun of Vox. You both had a detailed insight into who he was as a person that made you an excellent team; one capable of destroying Vox’s confidence. You didn’t feel bad about it either. Not after the way he just spoke about you. And the fact that Alastor had come to your defense, in a way, made you feel cared for. 

You wanted to strangle Rosie. 

The rest of the evening was uneventful. You finished your work and took a long bath. You wanted to hang out with Angel but he was at the studio. You were avoiding Charlie, you didn’t have the energy to do a bonding activity right now. Husk was stuck at the bar. You decided on a night in. You put your bathrobe on over your boxers and shirt. Bunny slippers on, you snuck down to the kitchen to make some popcorn. You were sitting on the counter, scrolling on Sinstagram, when you heard a clatter of noise. 

“Okay, little penumbra, what do you want?” 

The shadow swirled at your feet, grabbing the edge of the counter with its claws, and looked up at you with big eyes. A small whine echoed from its being. It looked like a timid child.

“What. Do. You. Want?” you repeated. It shifted closer to you. 

You knew it could take a corporeal form to some degree. It wouldn’t be able to annoy you with its little pranks if it couldn’t touch things. Which, in theory, answered Angel’s previous question. It nestled its face into your thigh. 

“Uh.. okay.” You reached out hesitant to pet it. It was cool to the touch, wispy in feeling. It purred and pushed its head harder into your hand. “Oh, so we are affectionate now? Did you get bored bullying me?” It looked up at you with pathetic puppy dog eyes. It whimpered and hugged your leg. You rolled your eyes. “Okay okay, whatever, you are forgiven. Just… stop acting like a baby.” 

The kitchen door burst open. The shadow hid behind your legs, its shoulders under your calves, and pulled your legs together to shield it from view. 

“That is quite enough. Over here. NOW.” Alastor snarled. 

The shadow slumped like a scolded dog. It slinked back to Alastor’s feet, writhing up his back and latching to his shoulders. 

“My apologies.” He darted a glare at his shadow. 

“You two are the yin and yang of weird.” The microwave dinged and you hopped up to retrieve your snack. 

“Another staff movie night?” He asked. 

“Actually no, just me tonight. Everyone else is busy.” You headed towards the door, passing him. “You are welcome to join me,” you called back to him. “I promise I won’t tell anyone that the great Radio Demon looked at a TV screen,” you joked as you walked away.

You assumed he wouldn’t take you up on the offer as you closed the elevator doors. You reached your floor, the doors creaked open. There was Alastor, standing in front of the elevator, it startled you slightly. 

“Gah!” you scowled at him. “We need to put a fricken’ bell on you. Jeez.” 

“I have considered your offer and I suppose I could... “ He waved his hand around flamboyantly. “...tolerate… one film.”  

“Well, I’ll be damned. Would you like to pick the movie?” 

“That would be pleasing, yes.” 

You sat on the bed watching Alastor sitting in a pile of VHS, reading the back of each and every one of them before making a decision. It was bizarre to watch but you realized this was a new experience for him. Picking a movie didn’t mean the same thing to him as it did to you.

“Do you need help?” you asked. 

“That might be best, the selection is... Overwhelming. Perhaps the one you recommended previously?” 

Alastor took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves. He lay on the bed like a teenage girl, on his stomach, feet in the air. You internally laughed, did he also want to braid your hair and paint each other’s nails? You popped the VHS into the slot and took a seat next to him, popcorn in your lap. You answered a few questions here and there, mostly about the advancements made in the forensic science department since he had died. In Hell, there was no reason to hide any of his actions and DNA was introduced a good fifty-plus years after he died. He seemed amused by the movie, making little “oh”s and “hm”s. Credits rolled. 

“What did you think?” you asked.

“That was surprisingly enjoyable. I greatly liked the scene where he wore the man's face. A genius escape.” 

“I’m glad you liked it.” 

“Which will we watch next?”

“...You want to watch another one? Like.. Right now?” 

You were shocked that he wanted to watch more films and didn’t want to discourage it. By the time you were on the third movie, your eyes were getting heavy, and not being able to go on, you fell asleep. 

Alastor turned to you to ask a question, seeing you were passed out. Your bathrobe had shifted, revealing his tail attached to your boxers. He didn’t understand why, but his feelings about it had changed. Before it was embarrassing, you were trying to humiliate him. But now, he was starting to find it endearing. Maybe he did have more influence over you than he thought. You kept a piece of him wherever you went. It was a visible marker that you, in some way, belonged to him. And you chose it. He didn’t manipulate you into it. You weren’t some desperate sinner offering your soul. You were willing. And that pleased him. When was the last time anyone chose him with no other extenuating circumstances influencing that decision? He couldn’t recall.

[noname-nonartist]

Thank you @olasketches for the Tag! ^w^/

1. are you named after anyone?

Pretty sure I’m not.

2. when was the last time you cried?

Hmm… I suppose when I accidentally ate my food when it was still too hot so I burned my tongue and my eyes was tearing up from the pain lol~

3. do you have kids?

Ha! No~

4. what sports do you play/have you played?

I mean… technically I did play a few sports for P.E class when I was in Middle/High school… um. But outside of that. Nahhhhh.

5. do you use sarcasm?

I would say sometimes if I wanna try to be funny =v=;

6. what's the first thing you notice abt someone?

Like in person? Umm… I guess their facial expression? I dunno. ¯\_(•-•)_/¯

7. eye color?

They are a really dark brown. Like a looks-black-at-first-until-the-sunlight-hits-and-ya-see-the-brown type of dark brown.

8. scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings. I’m a total wuss when it comes to horror movies O~O;

9. any talents?

Umm… I suppose I’m pretty decent at drawing? Oh. I’m pretty decent at rhythm games too I guess :oc

10. where were you born?

The Pacific Northwest of the… United States. :’)

11. hobbies?

I draw. I sometimes play video games. Umm… that’s it I think? •3•;

12. any pets?

I have two cats! :Dc

13. height?

5’1” or like… around 155 cm… =3=;

14. favorite school subject?

I would probably go with Arts. Since the other subjects didn’t really interest me, with the occasional interesting topics within it, but overall. I was meh with them. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

15. dream job?

“I have no dream job, I do not dream of labour.” —James Baldwin

That was fun! Thanks again for tagging me! Now it’s time for me to tag others!

Again, no pressure if ya don’t wanna do it! ^w^/

@himi-wiz, @melodiclune, @wrathofnature, @sabrondabrainrot, @bewwy, @tinyballerinadancer1, @hxhhasmysoul, @mentallyillcaterpillar, @thedemonreblogs, @blizzardream, @wassup-zdravey, @charcoalson

[lullabyalikpoptarot]

Enhypen Dynamics (Heeseung's Perspective)

Okay, so how this works is I will do each members perspective on each member. I will start with the oldest, which is Heeseung, so here we go.

Jay (Fire/King of Wands)-A whole lot of fire energy between the two. Dominating energy here. They both can be pretty competitive with one another, but they also inspire each other a lot. Heeseung sees Jay as a very creative and a talented person. It is like they both have a passion for the arts. I wonder if they kind of like to one up another a bit. I mean KOW does not like to be overshined, so they might have a bit of that energy. But overall good energy here.

Jake (Leo/6 of Wands)-Oh, lots of ego and pride with these two cards here, once again, competitive energy, but playful. They both like the attention and recognition they get. They may push each other, or compliment each other on what they achieved. They may also help build each other's confidence. I just see these two complimenting the other a lot and cheering them on, this is kind of cute.

Sunghoon (House 2/Strength)-Hmm, interesting cards. House 2 energy doesn't show me much of a bond right now. It does indicate that they may both value the same things. Money may be of interest of the two. I wonder if they are discussing things about money. They are both strong individuals. The strength card gives me they might help calm each other down if they are upset, maybe Heeseung feels he does that well, or that he is good at taming his anger or frustration as well. Heeseung might see him as a strong pillar to the group as well with this strength card. He may also see him as a bit stubborn with this energy. Doesn't budge much.

Sunoo (House 10/The Devil)- Okay, let me try to decipher what the heck this means, like why the devil card here *sighs* So with the House 10 card, they both are working towards their goals and achievements, I mean with the Devil card it could indicate they are both hard-working, heavily focused on work. There is also a sense of structure, discipline and limitations to this bond. The Devil card also gives me a strong pull and attachment with these two. I mean you got two people chained together here. It could also indicate restraints and limitations as well. I don't know their dynamic is weird and might be slightly toxic with this energy. I would love to see Sunoo's perspective on this. Anyway, at the end of the day, I don't know their relationships, but the energy is something here.

Jungwon (Air/2 of Cups)- This seems to be his closest connection right now. I like this energy. The air energy makes sense, since they are both air signs. I can see them bouncing ideas of each other. They are both pretty rational and logical. This dynamic seems to come easy for Heeseung. Now you got the 2 of cups, the best card for a dynamic reading. They got a strong connection here, very loving. It just seems from Heeseung's perspective, they just get each other. I just get a sense of comfort around him. Aww, as he is my bias, I totally get Heeseung.

Ni-Ki (Saturn/The World)-This dynamic can be a bit difficult for Heeseung with this Saturn energy, a struggle. It does indicate they are both hard-working individuals. And understand the struggle of being an idol. I feel they are both happy with the work they have achieved and accomplished. It seems they both want to travel around the world, and they enjoy the world tours they go on. I don't know this doesn't give me much of relationship between the two. I am not really getting that. I don't think I really ever get close bond energy when I read their dynamics, mostly a respect for one another, which is interesting.

Okay, this was fun, excited for the rest of the members. I plan to do some of the members, mostly Hyung line this weekend, and do the maknaes next weekend, since this take a bit of time to do.

[leahnardo-da-veggie]

OC Most Likely To Tag!!

Thanks @oliolioxenfreewrites, @fortunatetragedy and @gioiaalbanoart !

Most likely to get lost in their hometown

I'd say Luna would, simply because she got exiled as a little kid. She isn't gonna remember how to move around a city she last saw 10 years ago.

2. Most likely to forget their own birthday

Dave. He doesn't celebrate it, not after he died, and he doesn't really pay attention to time's passing, either.

3. Most likely to stay calm during a crisis

Hans-el, I guess? Or at least he wouldn't have a psychotic breakdown like Iraela.

4. Most likely to commit war crimes to get their favorite villager in Animal Crossing

Hmm... I don't think most of my characters would be interested in playing Animal Crossing in the first place. But Katherine would, if she ever got her hands on a game console.

5. Most likely to fistfight a god and win

Katherine. It's basically canon tbf. Though Hans-el would have a good go at it too.

6. Most likely to be voted ‘Most likely to become a rock star’ in their high school senior year book

Hash. He has just the right amount of charm and skill to do that, if he ever wanted to.

7. Most likely to know what time it is without a clock.

Dave. He's got the vampire counting-compulsion and way too much time trapped in a convenience store.

8. Mostly likely to go on a dungeon crawl.

Hmm... A younger Hans-el would probably delight in it, as would a young Hash. But I think the overall most likely would be Aida, because she's got no sense of self-preservation.

9. Most likely to complain the entire time.

Luna. I love her dearly but she's a whiny little bitch.

Tagging @wyked-ao3, @wylloblr, @whatwewrotepodcast, @willtheweaver and open tag! Pick any 3 that I did above, and have fun!