#rabbits have been slow lately cos it's getting to the time of year when they don't breed

[tetedurfarm]

i keep looking at this litter of ten hotots that i need to start training and getting tired before i even do anything because hrrguh it's such an Event to carry kits back and forth 😩 i love my big rabbits that have big litters but also trying to do evals on big litters takes sooooo longgggggg

they need vaccinating though. i think i'm going to start doing it before i wean them just to get on top of situations like what happened with 480p's litter where they started dropping at like four weeks old. i may also need to vaccinate the does once a year or something too, but i'm hoping just poking kits will get the job done.

[rosy-wooyoung]

unconditional love | j. wooyoung

pairing : wooyoung x fem!reader word count: 3.6k synopsis: a romantic evening with your boyfriend. A/N: I know it’s cliché, I know, but it’s Valentine’s day, okay?? Special thanks to @seoultraveller​ for giving me this idea, i hope it’s good! <3 Happy Valentine’s day to everyone and remember to take care of yourselves 💐💕

“Woo! Why don’t you tell me anything about Valentine’s day? I don’t even know what to wear!” you exclaimed as Wooyoung was about to leave for work. He walked to peck your lips, but you caught his forearms to prevent him from moving.  “I can’t tell you, babe, it’d ruin the surprise,” he said with his sweetest voice, but you didn’t let go. “At least give me a hint,” you were almost begging at this point. You had never really been fond of surprises. They always made you nervous, and knowing that your boyfriend prepared everything behind your back had a knack for annoying you.

“Okay, then. Meet me at the restaurant at 7:30 tonight. And for the clothes… I don’t know, you’ll look pretty anyway, so wear what you want!” he exclaimed as he finally gets to kiss you on the lips and hurried to the hall. “Wooyoung!” “Love you, darling!” he said as he locked the front door, making you huff at his stubbornness, mumbling a 'love you too'. Where are you even going? Do you have to dress fancy or just your office clothes? No, they’re plain, plus he sees you in them every single day.  “Argh, he annoys me,” you said through gritted teeth as you ditched your now empty cup of coffee in the dishwasher before starting it. 

- ♥ -

You had known Wooyoung for years now. When you first met, he was just a manager at the restaurant a few meters away from where you worked, and your colleagues were among his regular customers. When you started to work at this company, you were the newbie, so you had never been there before, and the young man started crushing on you as soon as you walked through the door. Your clothes and beautiful facial expressions were enough to make his heart hammer in his chest, not even paying attention to the customers or his co-workers. When you were in the restaurant, he had eyes for you and you only. 

The other managers, - who were still his current friends -, noticed how his attention would shift when the clock struck midday, the time you usually came with your colleagues. They would tease and annoy him because you were around, and he was always ready to slap them with whatever landed in his hands. 

Something that he didn’t know at that time was that he had also caught your eye. He looked good in his working uniform, and you always found kindness in his eyes when he was talking to you. One day, in the middle of winter, you accidentally slipped on a patch of ice, right in front of his restaurant. Him and Yunho, one of the other managers, rushed over and helped you back up. You were super embarrassed, to say the least, because it’s never flattering when you fall in public, but Wooyoung didn’t even notice your distress. He was too busy checking that you weren’t hurt anywhere and warm enough to go back outside.

When you came back around that day at lunch, he made sure that you were okay, not caring if it poked up some envy or jealousy among your female co-workers. It’s with a downward gaze that you thanked him for his concern, and Wooyoung never felt so proud. In one day, he had gotten to know your name, take care of you and hold you, – yes, because he pushed Yunho to the side to be the one to help you back up on your feet –, he had never been this happy.

And, from day to day, you started talking more informally, to the point of visiting the restaurant, even if you weren’t working. You got to speak with him while he worked and complimenting him on the management of the team, as well as the food. Soon becoming friends, then best friends, until Wooyoung confessed to you. He loves to brag about that day, but you always let him because you found it adorable. 

You also remember it like it was yesterday. It was on Valentine’s day, - just like today -, and you came to the restaurant, dozens of minutes before it was closing. You looked down and cold, the sheer top and skirt you were wearing didn’t help to warm you up. Wooyoung found you gorgeous in those clothes, but he was curious to know the reason for your frown. His heart shattered when you started crying, admitting that you had confessed your love to one of your colleagues, who didn’t reciprocate your feelings. Wooyoung felt sick to know that you were crushing on someone else but didn’t dare to say anything. He offered you a glass of water that you downed in a few seconds, under his impressed eyes. You kept on crying, but you soon admitted that you felt more embarrassed than heartbroken. 

“I feel like disappearing in a rabbit hole,” you mumbled and Wooyoung shook his head. “He’s not worth your tears, nor your time if he rejected you. It’s not the end of the world, there are still plenty of guys on the planet.” “That will love me? I highly doubt that,” you said as you wiped your tears and Wooyoung scoffed.

“That will love a wonderful, sweet, amazing soul like yours? Girls like you are rare, you just need to find the man you deserve,” he said as he washed your glass, drying it with a piece of cloth. His words surprised you, and you blinked a few times when you noticed the tip of his ears becoming bright red. 

Was he hinting at something?

“Oh yeah? And where can I find someone like that, uh? It’s pretty thin on the ground, and it's not on Tinder that I'll find them," you stated, crossing your arms on your chest.  “You have one in front of you, dear,” he said as he placed the glass back on the cupboard, clearing the bottles of alcohol. Your eyes widened before you laid back on your chair, considering his words. Wooyoung kept his back to you, trying to find a way to come back to you in case your answer was negative. When he finally found the courage to look back at you, you were gone. He blinked a few times before he felt someone grabbing his face and kiss him on the lips. 

You had just walked around the counter to come to him. Wooyoung threw the piece of cloth on the bar and deepened the kiss, grabbing your face while asking for entrance with his tongue. Thankfully, his colleagues were leaving by the backdoor, leaving you all the freedom in the world to make out. 

- ♥ -

That night happened 4 years ago, and since when, you both progressed in your respective workplaces. You’ve gotten to a heavily responsible job, and Wooyoung became the owner of the restaurant he worked at, making you both quite successful and proud of the other. And, to kind of commemorate this special night, on every single Valentine’s day, you celebrated in a special way, Wooyoung always going extra just to see you smile. But tonight, you had no idea what he was going to do. You left work a tad bit earlier than usual to go home and get ready. You had tried to guess your surprise all day, even begging for hints through messages to your lover, but you couldn’t get anything from him. 

You locked the door once you were ready, straightening the edges of your black dress. You felt pretty tonight, thanks to your hairstyle and your makeup skills, you knew that Wooyoung would love that look. It’s not that you doubted his love, he had said by the past that you were pretty in the weirdest situations, - you could have just woken up, wipe the counter or just breathing, he’d find you pretty – but tonight, you knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands to himself when he’ll see you. 

“Thank you,” you said to the taxi driver as gave you back your credit card, getting out of the vehicle. To be on a holiday night, you found the restaurant quite empty, if not desert. You could barely see the kitchens light in your lover's restaurant, but you neared the entrance and gently knocked on the glass door.

Your boyfriend emerged suddenly from the back-office, clad in a black shirt and some office pants. His hair was neatly styled, forehead on display, eyes shining with love when he saw you on the other side of the window.

“I’m two minutes late,” you said and he gently shook his head, his arm sneaking under your coat to wrap itself around your waist, drawing you towards him. He lost himself a few seconds in your eyes before landing on your lips. You smiled as he was getting distracted, happy that you still had this effect on him after all those years of common life.  “It’s alright, love,” he whispered, eyes darting to your bare shoulder as your faux-fur coat slid from your body. His eyes fluttered as they came back to yours, his face slowly approaching yours before capturing your lips in a slow, yet feverish kiss. 

You pulled away for oxygen, smiling as you wiped his bottom lip with your thumb, getting rid of the red lipstick you smeared while kissing him. 

“So, where are we going, Woo?” you sweetly asked, straightening the collar of his shirt. He looked like he snapped back to reality and cleared his throat, smirking at you. “Nowhere, Y/N. If you may follow me,” he said, extending his elbow for you to hold, thanking him as he walked you to a table in the middle of the restaurant hall. Lights dimmed, all the other tables and chairs pushed to the side, everything made you realise how spacious the restaurant was. It almost looked like a dance hall.

A bouquet of red roses, twelve to be precise, was placed on your plate, the attention making you smile as you saw a handwritten note attached to the bouquet. Softly introducing your fingers between the paper, you opened it and recognised the handwriting of your loved one. 

They say you only fall in love once, but every time I look at you, I fall all over again. Happy Valentine’s day, love. ♥

So cliché, but so worth it. You smiled as you looked at Wooyoung, resisting the urge to jump into his arms. You simply kissed him on the lips another time before he grabbed your hands, guiding you to the chair. He pulled it out for you, inviting you to sit down. 

“You went all out tonight,” you joked, and he giggled, pushing you closer to the table. “I’d do it every single day if I had the time,” he kissed your temple before going back to the kitchen, leaving you time to admire the roses. They were so red and smelled heavenly, they’re going to look extremely pretty on the kitchen counter. Once he came back with balancing two plates on one hand, a vase in the other, your mouth started salivating at the sight of the food in front of you. He took the roses and placed them in the perfectly fitting vase, resting it on the table. “Are you going to do everything by yourself?” you asked as he sat down, resting a napkin on his laps.  “I wanted to make this moment special and private. I didn’t want to have San or Yunho underfoot. And it’s our moment, not theirs,” he said, and you smiled, pursing your lips as you stared at your boyfriend. “You are amazing,” you mumbled and he raised his eyebrows. “And you are the one saying this,” he teased back, making you roll your eyes and started eating. Everything melted in your mouth, awakening your taste buds. You knew that your boyfriend was an excellent chef, but at this point, it was just astonishing. 

“You never fail to amaze me,” you said, done with your first course, feeling almost full. Wooyoung knew your eating habits, and he always managed to make everything balance for your stomach.  “And you haven't seen everything yet, love,” he winked as he took your plate, walking back to the kitchen. You were truly lucky to have him in your life, you don’t know where you would be without him. He brought out the best of you, always pushing you to do your best and he was your number one supporter, no matter the size of your victories. 

Hand supporting your chin, you observed with a smile your lover actively around the kitchens, roasting something in the pan due to the flames coming out of it. The gesture was under control, your boyfriend stirring the pan continuously as the flames kept on going. It was rather impressive, – almost sexy – but you had forbidden him to try this at home. No matter how good he was at doing this, you didn’t want to end with a kitchen on fire. Wooyoung knew you were watching him, and that pushed him to show off even more. He knew that he didn’t have to do it, yet he couldn’t help but put on an act. 

The main course arrived a few minutes later, and you were pleased to see your favourite dish in front of your eyes. 

“I don’t even know what to say,” you mumbled with a shy smile, grabbing your fork and knife, “it smells so fucking good, you went all out just for me, you don't know how grateful I am.” “I love you too baby, but eat now. It won’t be the same if it’s cold,” you giggled and grabbed his free hand with yours, his thumb instantly caressing your knuckles. He observed you take the first bite, and a proud smile decorated his lips when you closed your eyes to enjoy the piece of meat you were chewing on. It was a dish that your mother used to do on your birthday since you loved it so much, but you had to say that Wooyoung brought something special to it. 

“I don’t even have to say anything, you know it’s good,” you said after swallowing, immediately stabbing your fork in another piece. “It’s always nice to hear it from you,” he said, and you stood up, giggling. You had never been great with words, so you just grabbed his face and placed your lips against his, trying to show him how much you loved him through a kiss.  “Thank you,” you whispered, and he gave you a gentle slap on the ass. “There is still the dessert left,” he said, and you groaned, clutching your stomach before taking another bite.

“You’re trying to make me fat, aren’t you?” you giggled, and he shook his head, taking a sip of wine.  “Come on, it’s only once a year,” he said, and you laughed, scoffing. “Liar! You know you cook well, plus you cook on my birthday, on Easter, Christmas’ Eve and New Year’s Eve. So no baby, it’s not once a year.” Wooyoung simply smirked, gaze falling on your stomach. If food wasn’t enough to make you gain some weight, he knows another way to make your stomach all pretty and round. 

But he would never say that aloud. At least not now, he’ll save it for later. Maybe in one or two years or so. 

He chuckled to himself as he looked back at you. You talked about everything and nothing during the rest of dinner, hands linked and sometimes pressing soft kisses on each other’s skin, as it both was your way to show affection.

“Are you ready for the dessert?” he asked, and you nodded as he took your plate, making his way to the kitchens, again.  “I’m excited to see what you prepared,” you said, and he turned around, biting his lower lip as he grinned. “You’ll have to be a bit patient for this one, love,” he said, checking his watch before disappearing into the kitchen. He certainly loved leaving you in the lurch, hanging onto his every word.

Once he reappeared, you were surprised to see him empty-handed, only carrying his coat and keys.

“Dessert’s actually served at home, Y/N,” your eyes widened as you took the hand he was holding out. He helped you put your coat back on and blew the candles away. You were about to take the roses, but he stopped you, kissing you on the back of your hand instead. “You’ll come and get them tomorrow, baby,” he winked, and you chuckled, biting your lower lip as you looked at him. You knew him so well. He wanted you to drop by so he could give you the flowers in the middle of the restaurant, showing all the people there and your colleagues that you are his and his only. 

While driving, Wooyoung’s hand wouldn’t leave your thigh, hand or forearm, always feeling the soft, plush skin under his touch. You let him, feeling goosebumps travelling in your body as his warm hand contrasted with your cold skin. The car was filled in a comfortable silence between the two of you, only the melody coming out of the radio and the motor roaring under you filling it in. Eyeing your boyfriend from the corner of your eye, you admired his side profile and his dexterity in shifting gears, finding the gesture ridiculously hot. You were at ease, yet excited to discover the dessert. 

Twisting your key in the slit, a sweet smell invaded your nostrils, making you instinctively frown. Where did it come from?

“Okay, I have to admit. On this one, I might have given orders,” your boyfriend explained in your back, and it reassured you on the current smell in your apartment.  “I thought I had forgotten something on the stove,” you joked and took off your coat, Wooyoung imitating you. 

“You know about the Wonderland bakery, right?” he started, and you gave him a light shrug. “Who wouldn’t? It’s the best bakery in the entire neighbourhood,” you answered, and your boyfriend smiled. “Well, the owner is Hongjoong, my good friend from high school. I think he’ll be happy you like his baby this much. But anyway, I asked him if he could prepare something sweet while we were having dinner together,” he said as you let him walk you to the kitchen. “And he was free on Valentine’s day?” you asked, quite dumbfounded. “His lover is on the other side of the world for her job, he was happy to help and make a couple happy,” Wooyoung said and you hugged him from the side. 

“I love you, you know that?” you said and he chuckled, hand going at the back of your neck. “Hmm, I know, but I think I love you more,” he agreed and he took out the aluminium foil off a plate that rested on the cleaned stove, placing some toffee apples and chocolate strawberries under your nose, your two weaknesses when it came to desserts. You delicately took one strawberry between your fingers and aimed for your lover’s lips, who purposefully made a mess while eating it. 

“If you wanted a kiss, you could have just asked for it,” you said as you grabbed his face, pressing your mouth against his as you cleaned the smeared chocolate from his lips.  “It’s funnier that way,” he teased and you gently shoved him, taking another strawberry. This time, you were going to eat it, but Wooyoung sneaked in and bit it, barely missing your fingers. You gave him a disapproving look and he giggled before kissing your cheek, feeling some of the chocolate lingering on your skin. 

Wooyoung seized a toffee apple and forced it against your lips, obliging you to bit it. His other hand resting under your chin, ready to collect the falling pieces, you sweetly munched on the sugar-coated fruit as Wooyoung licked his fingers clean from anything that you missed. You finished the apple while looking at your boyfriend, sometimes teasingly pushing the sugar off your lips, back in your mouth. You knew that you were driving him crazy, especially in that dress, but it was so entertaining to watch him not trying to lose his composure and jump on you. His eyes never missed your reddened lips, the apple nor your lipstick helping the poor man and his loving pulsations.

Taking out the stick and the stem of the last strawberry, he placed it in his mouth, motioning you to come closer. You teasingly bit it until your mouth touched, passionately kissing as the fruit and the chocolate mixed in your mouth. Pulling away, you swallowed your bite and sat back on the couch, but it was only for a quick second. 

Wooyoung got up and lifted you from your position, earning a yelp from you. He carried you like a bride, giving you all the time in the world to observe him until you reached the bedroom. 

“Thank you for everything, Woo,” you whispered against his chest, and he slowly placed you down on the bed. Knees on either side of your waist, he hovered above you, lips ghosting on the skin of your neck. 

“You’ll thank me later, love. Valentine’s day isn’t over yet,” he whispered as he started pressing a feverish kiss on your burning skin, loving every single sound coming out of your mouth. He was right, the night was still young, and you weren’t ready for all the other things Wooyoung had prepared for you. And you're totally right, it wasn’t more food. 

[sinceileftyoublog]

30 (Technically 34) Albums We Loved That Happened To Come Out in 2020

So much has already been said and written about this cursed past year, but a few good things came out of it, including the music. Album-wise, like many before it and many to come, it was an embarrassment of riches. But even with so much time on our hands to devour new tunes, it was often old favorites, songs of comfort or familiarity that garnered the heaviest rotation. For many artists, too, it was a year ripe for revisiting or reissues of old material, looking at existing songs with fresh and new perspectives. Simply put, with so much to listen to, new and old, the prospect of ranking a finite number of albums felt not only daunting, but frankly a bit stupid. Maybe we were late to the game, but 2020 taught us that music should and can be appreciated in multiple contexts, not limited to but including when it first came out and when it was heard again and again, even if years later. The records below--listed in alphabetical order--happened to be released in some form in 2020, whether never-before-heard or heard before but in a different format. And the only thing I know is that we’ll be listening to them in 2021 and beyond.

Autechre - SIGN & PLUS (Warp)

The legendary British electronic music duo surprise released SIGN a mere month and a half after its announcement and then PLUS 12 days later. The former was a beatific collection of soundscapes that belied the band’s usual harsh noise, while PLUS embraced that noise right back, drawing you in with the clattering chaotic burbles of opener “DekDre Scap B” and lurching forward. -Jordan Mainzer

Against All Logic - 2017-2019 (Other People)

The perennially chill ambient house artist Nicolas Jaar had a busy 2020, as usual, releasing two albums under his name, Cenizas and Telas. But it was 2017-2019, the follow-up to the debut album from his Against All Logic moniker, that came first and throughout the year helped to illustrate Jaar’s penchant for combining inspired samples with club beats and tape hiss. Take the way the lovelorn vocals of “Fantasy” or soulful coos of “If Loving You Is Wrong” war skittering, scratchy percussion and cool arpeggios, respectively: Jaar is coming into his own as a masterful producer almost a decade after he released his first full-length. Oh, and bonus points for including none other than Lydia Lunch on a banger so blunt it would make Death Grips blush. - JM

Bartees Strange - Live Forever (Memory Music)

Like many, my introduction to Bartees Strange was through Say Goodbye to Pretty Boy, his EP of The National covers. Creativity and shifting perspectives shine through each song’s reimaging, like flipping the coarse, almost manic “Mr. November” into something softer, more meditative. It felt like a mere peek into what was to come on Live Forever. Bartees Strange is a world-builder. Each track on his debut unfolds and welcomes you to a wildly engaging tableau, a fully constructed vision. “Jealousy” opens with soft vocals and birdsong. “In a Cab” is the slick soundtrack to racing through a cityscape in the rain, seeing the blurred lights of the high-rises above as you pass by. “Kelly Rowland” warps wistful pop song feelings. “Flagey God” takes you into a dark, pulsing club while only a few songs later, “Fallen For You” wraps you in echoed vocals and romantic, raw acoustic guitar.

It’s an accomplishment to craft an album of individual songs that stand strongly on their own but still feel cohesive. 2020 wasn’t all bad. It gave us Live Forever, a declaration of an artist’s arrival. - Lauren Lederman

Charli XCX - how i’m feeling now (Atlantic)

Back in the spring, many of us wondered who would put out something great in 2020’s quarantine. It was hard to imagine that the intensity of a global pandemic would really allow for artists to embrace creativity. That thought carries the same eye-roll inducing feeling of “We’ll get some great punk music out of a Trump presidency,” but of course, Charli XCX delivered. Through live workshops with fans and longstanding collaborators, she delivered songs to dance alone to in your bubble. Charli embraces the unknown of the moment but clutches onto what’s familiar. Under the glitch-pop veneer of the album, she digs into the anxieties of not just this moment of time but of the bigger questions we all confront: trajectories of relationships with friends, romantic partners, ourselves. Album standouts “forever” and “i finally understand” embrace that feeling of both looking for control and accepting the lack of it. Charli is a master at balancing this. - LL

Christine and the Queens - La Vita Nuova (Because Music)

Named after a Latin text by Dante Alighieri about missing a woman who has died, Chris’ La Vita Nuova is not about mourning a death but instead about loneliness and isolation, post-relationship or otherwise. It doesn’t bang quite like her previous two albums, but it hits harder than ever.

Read our full review here.

Dogleg - Melee (Triple Crown)

Released on March 13th, right as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Melee was supposed to be supported by three cancelled tours–SXSW, an opening slot for Microwave, and an opening slot for Joyce Manor–and an appearance at this year’s cancelled Pitchfork Music Festival. Listening to the songs on the record, you can only imagine how they translate: the jerky momentum of “Bueno”, build-up of “Prom Hell”, gang vocals of “Fox”, clear-vocal anthem of “Wrist”, and odd groove of “Ender”.

Read “Buckle Up, Motherfucker”, our interview with Dogleg.

Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia & Dua Lipa/The Blessed Madonna: Club Future Nostalgia (Warner)

Where Dua Lipa’s much-anticipated second album Future Nostalgia succeeded was in its disco anthems and retro, club-ready beats, so who better to bring out the best of the record than The Blessed Madonna? The turntablist masterfully curates a mix of heavy hitters of the charts and the underground that not only offers an essential complement to Future Nostalgia but transcends it. Sending the tracks out to various producers and singers for features and then adding her own samples on top, she invites you to peel back the layers, enter a YouTube rabbit hole of sample searching as much as bopping along.

Read our full review here.

Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou - May Our Chambers Be Full (Sacred Bones)

Roadburn Festival has long been on my bucket list, and since the pandemic showed me how much live music can be taken away in a flash, when it’s safe again to travel and go to a festival, I may just pull the trigger and go--especially considering it’s the springboard for such fruitful and inspired collaborations as the one between Louisville singer-songwriter Emma Ruth Rundle and Baton Rouge sludge dwellers Thou. Rundle embraces the heavier opportunities on the follow-up to her incredible 2018 record On Dark Horses with the ever-flexible Thou backing her up vocally and instrumentally. Slow-burning opener “Killing Floor” offers a familiar introduction to fans of both--sort of what a Rundle/Thou song would sound like--before grunge chugger “Monolith” introduces huge, catchy riffs and “Out of Existence” a True Widow-esque dirge, newfound inspirations for both artists bringing the best out of each other. - JM

Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters (Epic)

What makes Fetch the Bolt Cutters stand out among Apple’s catalog and music in general is the clarity with which Apple seethes at those who have wronged her, whether ex-boyfriends or patriarchal oppressors, and looks to her relationships with other women for peace of mind.

Read our full review here.

HAIM - Women in Music Pt. III (Columbia)

For HAIM, the title Women in Music Pt. III is suggestive that, more than their previous two records, their third centers around the experiences of being an all-female band in a historically white cis male-dominated scene, at least one that wouldn’t call catchy riffs written by a man “simple” or call attention to the faces a man makes while playing. What it doesn’t let on to is how deeply personal the record is, how, by unabashedly embracing genres and styles of music that they love, HAIM have made far and away their best album. Co-produced by the usual suspects, Danielle Haim, Ariel Rechtshaid, and ex-Vampire Weekender Rostam Batmanglij, it’s instrumentally and aesthetically dynamic and diverse, consistently earnest without devolving into cheese.

Read our full review here.

Irreversible Entanglements - Who Sent You? (International Anthem)

I’ve been captivated by Irreversible Entanglements ever since I first saw them at Pitchfork Music Festival 2018. The radical poetry of Camae Ayewa (aka Moor Mother) is the perfect front for a ramshackle mix of Luke Stewart’s spidery bass, Tcheser Holmes’ weighty drums, and a horn section that concocts tones that range from hopeful to desperate. At their best, Who Sent You? is a shining example of celebratory Afrofuturism and metaphysics that makes the urgency of Ayewa’s more concrete and political words all the more necessary. “No Más”, composed by Panamanian-born trumpeter Aquiles Navarro, is a declaration against imperialist oppression, while the stunning title track flips the switch like a Kara Walker painting, as Ayewa’s the one interrogating the police officer terrorizing her community. “Who sent you?” she repeats, never spiraling, grabbing a hold of the power and never letting go. - JM

Jeff Parker - Suite for Max Brown (International Anthem/Nonesuch)

It’s Jeff Parker’s mom’s turn. After 2016′s The New Breed ended up being a tribute to the guitarist’s father, who passed away during the making of it, Parker decided to pay tribute to Maxine while she was still alive. Suite for Max Brown (Brown is his mother’s maiden name; Max is what people call her) is a genre-bending collection of tracks inspired by Parker’s DJing, juxtapositions of sequenced beats with improvisation that certainly sound like the brainchild of one individual. Indeed, Parker plays the majority of the instruments on it and engineered most of it at home or during his 2018 Headlands Center residency in Sausalito, CA; though all of the players and the vocalist (Jeff’s daughter Ruby Parker) on The New Breed show up, plus a couple trumpeters (piccolo player Rob Mazurek and Nate Walcott of Bright Eyes) and cellist Katinka Kleijn, Suite for Max Brown is a distinctly Jeff Parker record.

Read our preview of Jeff Parker & The New Breed’s set at Dorian’s last year.

Jeff Rosenstock - NO DREAM (Polyvinyl)

Jeff Rosenstock throws us right into the spinning, manic energy of NO DREAM, his latest release from a seemingly endless well of music that never lacks urgency. It’s a reminder that though it’s been a strange year, the issues Rosenstock tackles here aren’t new. There’s no interest in making you feel comfortable here. On the album’s title track, Rosenstock sings, lulling you into a false sense of security, “They were separating families carelessly / Under the guise of protecting you and me.” But reality sets in, and the hazy guitars spin out as he spits, “It’s not a dream!” and, “Fuck violence!”

My image of Jeff Rosenstock in the year 2020 is masked up with “Black Lives Matter” scrawled across the fabric of his mask in Sharpie, performing album highlight “Scram!” on Late Night with Seth Meyers as high energy as ever. It felt like watching someone send out a beacon, both a distress signal and a call to arms. - LL

Jessie Ware - What’s Your Pleasure? (PMR/Friends Keep Secrets/Interscope)

I am not someone who goes to clubs. I don’t “go out dancing,” preferring to let loose in the privacy of my own home or a trusted friend’s house party. But Jessie Ware’s What’s Your Pleasure? makes me think I could embrace a night out like that, once the world opens up again, of course. The album is filled with syncopated disco beats that feel fresh and classic all at once. The abundant horns and strings on “Step Into My Life” are decadent, like light bouncing off sequins in a dark room. Ware’s voice is slinky and velvety one moment, windswept like her album cover the next. It’s songs like “Save a Kiss” that embrace both, allowing her to show off her range. - LL

Laura Marling - Song for Our Daughter (Partisan)

With sparse production, mostly from her but with additions from Ethan Johns and Dom Monks, Marling foregoes the comparative maximalism of the Blake Mills-produced Semper Femina, her last proper full-length, and 2018′s LUMP collaboration. The songs aren’t simple, but they’re succinct, and every element, from Marling’s finger-picked guitars, the occasional slide guitar, and that unmistakably calm voice, sometimes alone and sometimes layered, fits. It’s her most universal set of songs yet, centering around the times when we’re apart from one another but reflecting on when we were together and when we might be together again, with no guarantees.

Read the rest of our review here.

Les Amazones d’Afrique - Amazones Power (Real World Records)

The groovy pan-African collective expands upon their debut Republique Amazone and then some with Amazones Power, a tour-de-force statement of female empowerment in the face of oppression against women throughout the African diaspora. Indeed, the album is more than just songs boldly decrying FGM, though those demands ring heavily. Instead, the group goes further, delving into gender power structures in marriage on “Queens” and selectively finding strength in tradition on “Dreams”. And this time, they include men to stand alongside with them. “Together we must stand / Together we must end this,” sings Guinean musician/dancer/artist Niariu on opener “Heavy” in solidarity with features Douranne (Boy) Fall and Magueye Diouk (Jon Grace) of Paris band Nyoko Bokbae. But perhaps it’s her kiss-off on “Smile” that hits hardest: “I shut up for no one.” - JM

Lianne La Havas - Lianne La Havas (Nonesuch)

The British singer-songwriter’s much anticipated follow-up to 2015′s Blood was better than I could have ever imagined. A song cycle about life cycles--of nature, of lives, of a relationship--inspired by an actual breakup, Lianne La Havas is a contemporary neo soul masterpiece. Overview opener “Bittersweet” is an instant earworm, La Havas’ coo-turned-belt filling the space between classic and increasingly emotive slabs of piano and guitar. Funky, lovestruck strut “Read My Mind” is the soundtrack for the unbridled confidence of finding new love. Yes, the doubts begin to sow on the fingerpicked melancholy of “Green Papaya” and “Can’t Fight”, and where the album goes from a simple narrative perspective may be predictable: They break up, they don’t get back together, La Havas enjoys her independence. But the depth of the arrangements and assuredness of La Havas’ singing is a product of an artist starting to really show us what she can do. And how many people can pull off a Radiohead cover like that? - JM

Lomelda - Hannah (Double Double Whammy)

What does it mean to title an album after yourself? Lomelda’s latest album is centered around discovering more about yourself while not always having the answers. Despite the lyrical content, the album is self-assured. Hannah Read’s voice feels as steady as ever as it navigates these twisting questions, like the way the world can shift after a kiss. She finds power in softness and reflection throughout the album, like when she explores the mantra-like words of “Wonder” or through a reminder to do no harm in “Hannah Sun”. In a year that allowed for perhaps more reflection than usual, Hannah makes space for the questions that arise out of figuring yourself out, of making sense of the messiness of it all, wrapped in warm guitar, balanced vocals, and steady drums. - LL

Moses Sumney - Grae (Jagjaguwar)

“Am I vital / If my heart is idle? / Am I doomed?” Moses Sumney famously sang on his stunning 2017 debut Aromanticism, an album that saw him developing his acceptance of being alone. grae, his two-part 2nd full-length, and his first since officially moving from L.A. to the Appalachian Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, doubles down on themes of heartbreak, but instead of being sure in his seclusion, he embraces the unknown. The album teeters between interludes of platitudes about isolation and ruminations on failed human connection, and maximally arranged clutches of uncertainty. “When my mind’s clouded and filled with doubt / That’s when I feel the most alive,” Sumney coos over horns and piano on slinky soul song “Cut Me”; it’s an effective mantra for the album.

Read the rest of our review here.

Norah Jones - Pick Me Up Off The Floor (Blue Note)

At the time we previewed Norah Jones’ 7th studio album, she had only released a few tracks from it. Turns out the rest was just as powerful. From the blues stomp of “Flame Twin” to the rolling piano stylings of “Hurts to Be Alone”, Pick Me Up Off The Floor is an album full of jazzy orchestrations and soul and gospel-indebted arrangements, Jones’ silky, yearning voice tying together the simple, yet lush and deep instrumentation. And that other Tweedy feature, that closes the album? It’s a heartbreaking portrait of loneliness, one of many on a record that still manages to celebrate being alive all the while. - JM

Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher (Dead Oceans)

Phoebe Bridgers is a master of details. Her lyrics shine when they get specific. They range from the mundane to morbid: A superfan’s ghost-like wandering under a drugstore’s fluorescent lights, a skinhead likely buried under a blooming garden, reckoning with the you in “Moon Song”’s lines, “You are sick, and you’re married / And you might be dying.” Bridgers has always been able to set a scene meticulously, and Punisher arrived with 11 songs that expanded that skill, both lyrically and musically, with her dark humor intact and a fuller sound that includes her boygenuis collaborators’ harmonies. - LL

PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love: The Demos & Dry - The Demos (Island)

Yes, revisiting Dry’s demos as a separate entity is still worthwhile. Harvey’s powerhouse vocal performance carries the acoustic strummed “Oh My Lover”, while the comparatively minimal arrangement of “Victory” highlights bluesy riffing, call-and-response harmonies, and layered guitar and vocals. The singles, the slinky and sharp “Dress” and propulsive anthem “Sheela-Na-Gig”, hold up to their ultimate studio versions, too. But it’s the To Bring You My Love material that provides novelty because it’s never been released and more so because it encompasses the greatest aesthetic contrast from the album. From the warbling hues and guitar lines of the title track to the tremolo haze of “Teclo” to the crisp snares of “Working With The Man”, the demos show a continuity and level of cohesiveness with the diversity of Dry and Rid of Me not shown on the studio version of Harvey’s more accessible commercial breakout. (Predictably, the album’s most well-known song, “Down by the Water”, is the closest to its eventual version.) “Long Snake Moan” is simultaneously more spacious and more noisy, its garage blues a total contrast to the lurking “I Think I’m A Mother” and swaying shanty “Send His Love To Me”. And “The Dancer” fully embraces its flamenco influences, hand claps and all.

Porridge Radio - Every Bad (Secretly Canadian)

Is there a better opening line than “I’m bored to death, let’s argue”? That kind of duality is found across all of Every Bad as it grapples with the frustrations and anxiety of trying to figure it all out, whatever that might mean for you. “Maybe I was born confused, but I’m not,” vocalist Dana Margolin repeats throughout the opening track, roping in listeners with the dizzying feeling of trying to make sense of yourself. The band’s guitar and synth sound coupled with Margolin’s howl makes for a dance party filled with dread, rendering Margolin’s already strong, repetitive lyrics even more spiraling. And yet, by the time we get to “Lilacs”, a glimmer of something else shines through as the music gets more manic and Margolin’s voice begins to soar: “I don’t want to get bitter / I want us to get better / I want us to be kinder / To ourselves and to each other.” - LL

Sault - Untitled (Rise) & Untitled (Black Is) (Forever Living Originals)

Yes, Black Is still pulls plenty of devastating punches. “Eternal Life”, a segue from the gospel boost of “US”, juxtaposes a deliberate drum beat with zooming synths, both ascending like a chorus of angels, as they sing, “I see sadness in your eye / ‘Cause I know you don’t wanna die,” presenting the oppression of Black life at the hands of white supremacy in inarguable terms. Ultimately, though, it’s the anthemic nature of the songs, resistant of platitudes, that shines through. “Nobody cared / This generation cares,” says Laurette Josiah on “This Generation”. Whether she’s talking about young people in general or the latest generation of young Black leaders, the sentiment is reflected on songs like “Black”, wherein over dynamic, sinewy instrumentation, the singers alternate between encouragement, support, and love of the self and others.

Read our full review here.

Shamir - Shamir (self-released)

Shamir’s voice is a bright beacon in a sea of conventional singers. Shamir captures the effervescence of pop music and weaves it together with elements of country, alt rock, and diary confessional lyrics all supported by the emotion and range of his vocals. There’s something for everyone across the album’s 11 shimmering tracks. Lead single and opener “On My Own” feels like a declaration of self and self-sufficiency, an anthem of a breakup song. The almost pop-punk bounce of “Pretty When I’m Sad”, paired perfectly with lines like the angst-ridden, “Let’s fuck around inside each other’s heads,” feels impossible to not bop along to. The twang of “Other Side” would put a country crooner to shame. That’s the power of Shamir. His voice has the ability to smoothly convey joy, resilience, and humor. He uses elements of several genres, not just the dance-pop of his debut, to build a unique album that gives listeners so much to sift through and, of course, dance to. - LL

Songhoy Blues - Optimisme (Fat Possum)

If Songhoy Blues’ second album Resistance lacked “the grit of its predecessor,” it’s clear from the hard rock stomp of the opening track of Malian band’s third album Optimisme that they rediscovered their mojo. More importantly, they couple this maximal brashness with tributes to those who make their world a better place: fighters for freedom, women, the young. It’s perhaps the first Songhoy Blues record to truly combine the celebratory nature of their desert blues with a balanced mixture of idealism and vigor. - JM

Spanish Love Songs - Brave Faces Everyone (Pure Noise)  

How can you find hope in hopelessness, or optimism when every news story points to cruelty? Is it naïve to keep searching for light in the dark? I don’t think so, and I don’t think Spanish Love Songs does, either. I’d like to think we both believe that’s not naivety, but power. It’s the embers you need to really ignite a flame. After all, this is the band with a song titled “Optimism (As a Radical Life Choice)”. It’s a band whose crunching guitars and earnestness insist that despite death and depression and addiction, the instinct to survive shines brightly above all. That relentless hope resurfaces across Brave Faces Everyone’s 10 tracks even as it works through the bleakness of everyday life. - LL

Tashi Dorji - Stateless (Drag City)

The magnum opus from the Asheville-based picker is a group of evocatively titled, disorderly songs about the desolate hellscape of America for outsiders and immigrants. Enigmatic in its nature, not exactly narrative, Stateless combines Dorji’s urgent strumming with moody motifs, captured beautifully in a studio setting for maximum emotional wallop. - JM

Touche Amore - Lament (Epitaph)

Is this what an almost uplifting Touche Amore album sounds like? It’s cathartic in a newer way for the band, especially after the beautifully rendered grief of Stage Four. Lament loses none of the band’s aggression or urgency. “Come Heroine” thrusts listeners into that urgency and introduces a moment of warmth, Jeremy Bolm’s vocals still rasping and insistent: “You brought me in / You took to me / And reversed the atrophy.” The bounciness of “Reminders” may seem close to optimism, but a sharper look at the lyrics uncovers more than blindly looking to the things that bring joy. “I’ll Be Your Host” is reflective, a few years removed from Touche Amore’s previous album and the immediacy of loss, self-aware and growing, but still raw. The album closer, “A Forecast”, takes a turn, a lone voice and piano acting as a confessional before giving way to thrashing guitars and the realization that growth and reckoning with trauma doesn’t mean minimizing it. It means learning to keep moving forward and to stop for help when you may need it. - LL

Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud (Merge)

The best album yet from Katie Crutchfield is inspired by positive personal change (getting sober, dealing with codependency issues, her blossoming love with singer-songwriter Kevin Morby) and reflections on family and friends. Named after the suburb of Orlando where her father’s from, Saint Cloud is a genre-hopping collection of stories and feelings that doesn’t necessarily follow any semblance of narrative. On opener “Oxbow” and country-tinged ditty “Can’t Do Much”, Crutchfield’s increasingly aware of the need to pick your side and your battles, whether in the relationship between two people or between the allure of the bottle and the next-day hangover. Some of the best songs on the album see her finding commonalities with others as a means towards self-love. Gentle strummer “The Eye” refers to her natural creative relationships with Morby and her sister Allison. “War” she wrote for herself and best friend, who is also sober, the title a metaphor for one’s fight to remain substance-free. “Witches” is an ode to her best friends, including Allison and Snail Mail’s Lindsey Jordan, all equally frustrated by the toxic nature of the music industry and the world at large, ultimately lifting each other up because they simply have each other.

Read our full review here.

[riotfuckery]

Shark bites

Kirishima x f!reader

A/N: Hello beautiful readers! I’m here to drop off your fluffy/spicy dose of Kirishima love! This is a request from none other than my senpai and wonderful friend @queensynderella! Thank you for sending in and I kinda struggled to write it bc of being the big sad™️. I’m really not too happy with it but I hope y’all enjoy it! 💖

Warnings: sexy descriptions, implied sexy time, a badly described make out, and kinda awful writing.

Tags: @thedreadthreadanomaly @trafalgar-temptress @lovelustdollsworld @obsessedchildsworld @kingtamakimurder @birds-have-teeth thank you for all the love and support, I appreciate everyone of y’all 💖🥺💖

»»————-　♡　————-««

The ‘almost official’ stage of dating was the most fluffy part of dating. Sneak peeks of being in a relationship with the person you were interested in just forced your brain to daydream of what life you could live together. It was close yet so far away.

When your long time crush Kirishima Eijirou asked you on a date for the first time, you were over the moon with excitement.

As he stood there with cheeks matching his long mane of fire red hair, holding slightly crumped wildflowers, and stuttering out it he wanted to take you out on that Friday, you melted. You were so happy that you launched yourself into his arms while giggling out a “yes!”.

He took you out that Friday for coffee. Dressed in a oversized (f/c) sweater, black jeans, and a comfortable pair of boots, you walked hand in hand with him as he fed you cheesy pickup lines on your way to the cute coffee shop.

When the two of you got there, he refused to let you pay. Saying “it wasn’t manly to let a lady pay on the first date.”. He was a real gentleman, helping you on and off the tall coffee shop seats and holding doors open for you. He swept you off your feet.

You walked hand in hand with him again on your way home. Warm smiles shared as you soaked in each other’s company, the air was filled with new love as you laughed and playfully danced your way back to the dorms.

Ever the manly man he was, he walked you right to your door. You of course told him he didn’t have to and that you live in the dorms with him but he silenced your protests with a “A gentlemen has to make sure a lovely lady like you gets home safe” accompanied by a playful wink.

As you arrived at your door, a slight sadness bloomed in your chest. You didn’t want to leave to his side so soon and he pulled you into a bear hug as soon as he noticed your crestfallen face.

“So if you’d like, how about we do this again next week?” He akwardly asked, cheeks hinted pink and warm red eyes filled with hope.

“Of course Kiri! I would love that!” You smiled happily up at him. He grew a lot since your first year, now quiet a bit taller than you.

Standing up on your tippy toes, you gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek before entering your room then closing the door.

Kirishima was floored by the sweet kiss you gave him. His large hand held on the place you pecked as his heart beat wildly in his chest. If he could get anymore love struck, he’d think he went insane.

Pressing you ear against the door, you waited until you heard his heavy footsteps walk away to jump on your bed and let out an excited squeal into your pillow.

Lingering glimpses at one another were happening often during that week until Friday came around again. The sickeningly sweet air of young love floated over the two of you like a cloud at all times, making everyone in the general vicinity roll their eyes in annoyance.

Neither of you could care less because you were head over heels for one another. Heads filled with daydreams until you could see each other again.

You were practically glittering with excitement when Friday finally arrived. Tearing up your closet to find the perfect outfit as you fussed over your hair, you couldn’t help the rapid thumping in your chest as you finished your look.

Giving yourself a twirl in the mirror, smiling proudly at the outfit you picked out with the approval of your friends via text. You were a bit nervous but the ever so present excitement overshadowed it.

He knocked on your door swiftly, catching your attention as you grabbed your phone and rushed to the door. You quickly opened the piece of wood only to be met with the handsomest man you’ve ever seen.

He looked stunning. A black floral button up shirt framed his solid build nicely, dark jeans hugged his muscular legs in all the right ways, and of course, his signature pair of red crocs.

He didn’t tell you what you were doing on this outing, only a hint to dress nice but casual. Walking with him hand in hand once more as his tall stature led you through the dorms, through the backyard, and into a small spot in the woods where you found a picnic set out.

A red checkered blanket laid on the top of a small hill, overlooking the city and a delicious set of bento boxes were sitting on top. Your heart raced again, thumping like a happy bunny rabbit as you sat down on the blanket.

Eating your food happily and teasing each other playfully, your heart felt warm when the sun set. Hazy oranges, pinks, and purples filled the sky when you rested your head on his shoulder.

He wrapped an arm around you, pulling you closer as he placed a sweet kiss on the top of your head. Your cheeks heated up at the small act of affection from him, making you snuggle yourself closer to the redhead as the both of you watched the sunset.

He walked you to your room again much to your protests, gently tugging you along the forest path and dorms with the picnic basket in his large hand. The world felt so much brighter, so much more fun when he was around that the slight sadness hit your chest again as you arrived at your door.

“I had a really good time today, (y/n) and I know we literally just went out but would you like to hang out with me tomorrow? We could watch a movie in my dorm in our pjs.” He suggested sheepishly, thinking that it was way to be good to be true that you would want hang out with him 2 days in a row.

“That sounds wonderful Eijirou, what time should I come by?” You asked happily.

His cheeks flared red from the casual use of his given name, heart racing at the way it rolled of your tongue.

“U-uh how does 5 sound?” He stuttered out, a little embarrassed at how flustered he was by the simple act of calling him his name.

“Perfect, I’ll see you then!” You smiled brightly, the idea of cuddling up with him in your pjs sounding like heaven.

He summoned all the courage in his body as he gently placed the basket down, red eyes looked softly at your smaller form when he held a large hand out and softly cupped your cheek. Holding it almost protectively when he placed another sweet kiss on your forehead before picking up the basket and walking back to his room, just like you did.

You stood frozen in the hall for a second, cheeks aflame as you felt you entire body turn into a pile of goo. Quickly making your way way inside your room, you unleashed a smile that threatened to stay there the rest of the week.

Tomorrow couldn’t come by any slower, excitement buzzing in your veins as you desperately tried to make yourself sleep. The digits on your clock seemed to go in slow motion as they changed and you let out a groan in defeat.

Staring up at your ceiling you couldn’t help but think of the faux redhead. He was as adorable as a puppy, sweeter then sugar cubes, so friendly that he even tamed the blonde time bomb, and so in touch with his feelings that he made you swoon.

What plagued your mind most was how goddamn handsome he was. He caught your eye during first year, a bright sharp toothed smile sent your way as he gave you a big bear hug when he introduced himself made your heart beat wildly in joy.

Warm red eyes soft and sweet like red velvet cake as he always cheered you on the sidelines. A jawline sharper than a razor combined with his well defined cheekbones made him look cute and hot. Which never failed to make your cheeks feel warm.

Well defined full plush lips with a sharp cupid’s bow was something you thought of often, wondering during late nights if they were as kissable as they looked. Brawny arms that made you feel safe whenever he got the chance to give you a hug.

You took special notice of how tall and muscular he was now. Six feet tall and absolutely shredded, solid like a mountain with not an ounce of fat on him. He towered over your small form, forcing your heart thrash wildly in your chest. But he never made you feel intimidated, always safe and secure when you were with him. That fact alone just made you melt.

His hero costume didn’t help your fantasy about him one bit. A six pack and body carved by Greek gods as you sneeked peeks at him during hero training. He was golden tan and littered with various scars, thanks to internships, the color of his skin just accentuating his well defined six pack and rippling muscles.

It might have been the fact that everyone was asleep or that you only got a few innocent little kisses from him but thinking about this 6ft tall, absolutely shredded, and adorable man just set your lower belly on fire.

Sleep finally came to you before you could get too worked up, finally getting a few good hours of sleep before you had to get up and go about your day.

»»————-　♡　————-««

The bright rays of the sun woke you up the next morning, regretfully untangling yourself from your sheets as you got up to get ready for your day. Today was cleaning day.

Throwing on a pair of black leggings and an old shirt, you got to cleaning your room. Putting on (f/b) you not so harmoniously sang your way through laundry and organizing various things.

When you finished everything on your checklist , the room was sparkling clean. Taking a peek at the clock, it read as 3pm. Just enough time to eat and get ready.

Quickly making your way to the kitchen downstairs, you grabbed a few of (f/s) and headed to the common room only to see a few of your girlfriends chatting away on the couch.

“Hey cutie pie! Come and join us!” Mina happily waved as she saw you approaching the couch.

“Hi darlings! What’s up?” You greeted as you plopped yourself down in the seat next to cute pink girl, quickly eating your snacks.

“We were actually just talking about you!” She snickered.

“Cmon! Tell us how your last date with Kirishima went!” she enthusiastically demanded, playfully nudging your side with her elbow.

Momo, Uraraka, and Tsuyu all gave you an expecting look, nearly wiggling in their seats from the tension of your small silence.

“It went really well actually! He took me out of a picnic and we watched the sunset together. It was pretty romantic.” You admitted, a tiny bit embarrassed from all the attention on you.

“Oh wow that is romantic~! Who knew Kirishima was such a softie!” Mina gushed dramatically.

“That’s actually really cute. Ribbit.” Tsuyu commented.

“It’s simple and sweet, very much like him.” Momo analyzed thoughtfully.

“But did you guys get all hot and steamy under the sunset~” Mina asked, wiggling her eyebrows for dramatic effect.

“No pinky pie.” you playfully rolled your eyes.

“We didn’t, just a few sweet kisses on the cheek and forehead.” You sheepishly admitted.

Various cooing and gushing came from all girls except Mina, who knew this is how it would play out. In the midst of various chatter, you managed to get a small glance at the clock and saw it was 3:30. Saying a cheerful goodbye, you padded your way back to your room to get ready for your date.

Date. The word still making your heart flutter as you thought of your last two experiences. He was sweet, gentlemanly, and so adorable that you couldn’t help but gush about him internally.

Rummaging through your drawers to find the perfect pair of pjs, you pulled out one old band shirt after another before finding what you were looking for. A matching set of burgundy silk shorts and top with black lace trim.

It was something you bought on a whim after trying it on, loving the way the it made all the features you liked about yourself stand out. A perfect little tease to test his patience.

After pulling out a large hoodie to cover yourself up with, you grabbed your shower caddy and made your way to the showers. You made quick work of getting clean, the whole stall smelling like (f/s) as you scrubbed away all of today’s dust and dirt.

The hot water combined with the steam made your skin feel soft, reveling in the way your confidence soared after doing something so simple. (Self care is important y’all.)

Quickly finishing up what you needed to do, you stepped out of the shower and wrapped yourself in a fluffy towel. Confidence still sky high as you brushed and blow dried your hair also applying a little skincare along with it.

As you slid on your sexy little set, you couldn’t help but feel like it when you glanced in the mirror. After a swipe of deodorant and a spritz of perfume, you pulled on your hoodie and happily padded your way to your room to put your stuff away.

Successfully putting away all your things, you checked the clock once again. It read as 4:30pm so you still had half an hour. Deciding to laze around a bit, you checked through your socials and played a game for a bit before heading over.

When you finally looked up from your game, it finally hit 5. You scrambled to put on some chapstick before grabbing your favorite blanket and slipping on your slippers before heading out the door.

You skipped your way to Kirishima’s dorm, heart thumping in excitement about seeing him again. Stopping at his door, you knocked swiftly 3 times and waited patiently.

“Coming!” Kiri shouted casually.

When he did open the door, he didn’t expect his brain to turn into scrambled eggs. You stood there so adorably, eyes sparkling up at him, in a hoodie that nearly drowned you and he was speechless.

“Hey Eiji!” You smiled at him, temporarily putting a halt to his internal gushing.

“Hey (y/n)-chan, come in and get comfy!” He managed to say cheerfully as he stepped aside to let you into his room.

Embarrassingly, you forgot what his room looked like but when you did look at the surprisingly tidy room with workout gear in the corner and ‘manly’ decorations, you internally giggled as you made a beeline for his bed plopped onto it with light bounce. Deciding to lay up against his pillows as you made yourself comfy.

He managed to turn off his internal panicking as he sat down next to you. His warm body next to yours as he pulled out his laptop and pulled up Netflix. After debating for a bit, you both agreed on a random action movie that looked interesting. He carefully placed it on the opposite end of the bed as he got himself comfortable next to you.

As the movie started, your attention instantly wandered off of whatever was on the small screen. Instead focusing on how nice he felt next to you. He was warm that you wanted to cuddle up to him, the shorts you wore not helping you retain heat at all.

Carefully, you grabbed his hand and interlaced your fingers with his. Smiling softly as you laid your head on his shoulder as you vaguely payed attention to the movie. He smelt nice too, like sandalwood and citrus. Bright and masculine, just like him.

Kiri had a plan before you arrived and now that you were so cutely cuddled up to him, he couldn’t even form a coherent thought much less breathe normally.

He wanted to ask you to be his girlfriend officially. The cute dates you went on just put the final nail in the coffin for him as you playfully giggled at his jokes and looked at him so cutely. He was freaking out.

With a deep breath, he shoved off all incoming self doubt and popped the question.

“(Y/n)-chan?” He asked nervously, heart racing in fear that you would up and leave if he asked you too early.

“Yes Eiji?” You sweetly replied, just being so close to him was making you feel fuzzy inside.

“Youre so cute and sweet and I like you so much and I was wondering if you would wanna be my girlfriend?” He rambled nervously, his large body tensing in false preparation.

You looked at him in shock for a moment while you processed what he said before a soft smile took over your face. Giving his large hand a squeeze, he cautiously met your gaze.

He saw no anger, no hatred, just soft (e/c) eyes filled affection. He gave you a small shaky smile still a bit nervous from your lack words.

“I would want nothing more Eijirou.” You softly spoke as you admired his face. He was handsome and the little scar on his eye just adding onto to the cute look he had on right now.

He visibly relaxed as he felt himself lean closer to your face, red eyes briefly glancing at your soft lips. Ever the gentleman he was, he needed to ask before making his move.

“Can I kiss you?” He breathlessly asked, still slowly inching closer.

Your eyes briefly glanced at his lips, slightly chapped but still full and plush as you felt yourself lean closer as well.

“Please do” you replied just as breathlessly.

When his lips met yours, it was everything you dreamed of and better. His lips were warm and tasted of cinnamon as they moulded against yours perfectly.

The warm and fuzzy feeling in your body turned into a fire as you used your free hand to cup his cheek and pull him closer to you. You wanted to be closer to him, fuck you needed to be.

It quickly became heated between the both of you, his warm tongue gently swiping over yours in a silent pleas to let him in. When you gently parted your mouth to let him in, he took it to his full advantage, eagerly exploring and dominating your wet cavern with a low groan.

You let out a small moan in response, using the hand that was on his cheek to tangle in his red hair and gave it a light tug. He let out a low growl and without breaking the kiss, he moved his muscular form to hover above you as he pinned your joined hands on the mattress.

When he pulled away, you were both panting and blushing. Red eyes burning with desire as he hungrily looked down at your smaller form beneath him.

“So I’ll take that as a yes?” He cheekily asked with a sharp toothed impish grin.

“Of course, Red Riot~” your saccharine voice answered as you wrapped your legs around his narrow yet muscular waist and brought him closer to you.

His cheeky smile turned into a warning glare as he let another low growl, you were testing his patience and he wasn’t having any of it.

“Careful little one. Don’t get me too excited, you wouldn’t want to this shark to bite, now would you?” He warned you with smoldering eyes half lidded in lust, making the fire in your veins turn into a raging inferno.

“Oh I’m sure I won’t regret it. Now show me how hard this shark can bite.” You challenged, the raging fire in your blood reflecting in your own half lidded hazy eyes. The cute set you had on definitely came in handy later.

»»————-　♡　————-««

[vespertineflora]

WangXian Fics

Ongoing:

as the sun will rise E, Fairy Tale AU, Slow Romance/Happy Ending, 50k+ For centuries, the villagers surrounding the Qianlian Forest have been beholden to a fearsome creature. A once loved Prince was long ago cursed into a monstrous form, and ever since has required the sacrifice of maidens to ensure the safety of the forest and the people living around it. This forlorn tradition might have continued for centuries longer... but when it comes time for Lotus Pier to send a maiden as tribute, Jiang Yanli is chosen, and Wei Wuxian won't stand for it. His plan is simple; he'll send Jiang Yanli off to live the long life she deserves with her fiancé, and offer himself as a sacrifice to the Prince instead.

Completed:

at night your body is a symphony E, Post-Canon, Established Relationship, 7k Two weeks ago, mere days after Wei Wuxian’s confession and their first shared kiss, Lan Wangji had been a semi-clueless virgin. Now, Lan Wangji had seemingly unlocked whatever secret code was required to reduce Wei Wuxian to a quivering mess in just a few sparse minutes, playing him as expertly as he played his guqin. Wei Wuxian was half-convinced he'd been seduced by a demon.

do you know who tells the truth? E, Post-Canon, Confessions, 21k Wei Wuxian has been wallowing in feelings for Lan Wangji that he's had a hard time accepting and sometimes, when you need a healthy heaping of the truth, the best place to get it is from drunks and children. (the one in which a short-tempered Jin Ling and a drunk Lan Xichen open Wei Wuxian's eyes to some very convenient truths)

a call to motion E, Post-Canon, Confessions, 14.6k Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji take the junior disciples out on what they expect to be a standard night-hunt, but when Wei Wuxian is targeted with an odd talisman, they end up with a much stranger problem than any of them could have anticipated.

i'd like to drown with you E, Post-Canon, Hot Springs Sex, 7k As soon as Wei Wuxian learns the Cloud Recesses has hot springs, he insists his husband take him, but knowing Wei Wuxian, his intentions go far beyond just taking a relaxing soak.

so full of love E, Post-Canon, Co/ckwarming, 5.1k Wei Wuxian’s head lolled back against Lan Wangji’s shoulder behind him as he let out a faint and content sigh. It was late, well past when Lan Wangji would normally have headed to bed. The only light in the room was the warm glow of the lantern on the desk in front of them, illuminating the hunt notes that Lan Wangji would have graded earlier if Wei Wuxian hadn’t seduced him into bed immediately after their return from dinner. It was a chilly autumn night, and Wei Wuxian was naked, but he had found the warmest seat possible in Lan Wangji’s lap.

oh but you're good to me E, Canon Divergent, Omegaverse, 10k Wei Wuxian had never been good at keeping track of his heats, even though he'd been dealing with them for years. It was one of the many ways Jiang Yanli spoiled him too much, always warning him a couple of days ahead of time so that he'd be prepared... But he and Jiang Cheng had been in Wen territory for weeks now, and after accidentally leading a coup against Wen Chao and being left behind in a cave with Lan Wangji and the terrifying demi-xuanwu, the last thing Wei Wuxian expected was for his heat to sneak up on him now. (basically, an aboverse au where poor omega Wei Wuxian goes into heat while he and an alpha Lan Wangji are waiting for rescue in the cave.)

The Beauty of Love As It Was Made To Be (series, complete) love; it will not betray you E, Canon Divergent, Omegaverse, 17.9k (pt 1) When Wei Wuxian realizes how strange it is that Lan Wangji is the only disciple from his sect at the Wen Sect's indoctrination, he puts together a haphazard plan to get punished with him and get some time alone to talk to him--only to get punished again when Wen Chao catches him mid-conversation attempt. At first, Wei Wuxian laughs off getting shoved into the empty dungeon, but he soon notices that some strange scent in the room is making him go into heat, which is a twist that Wei Wuxian doesn't understand. It's only when a rutting Lan Wangji gets shoved into the room with him that Wei Wuxian realizes Wen Chao's idea for punishing him is far more demented than he could have imagined. (canon divergent from The Untamed, episode 12)

love; it will set you free E, Canon Divergent, Omegaverse, 25.5k (pt 2) Lan Wangji hadn't been prepared for the punishment Wen Chao had had in mind--and he certainly hadn't been prepared for how it would play out, from Wei Wuxian's suggested solution, to the claiming bite and resulting bond that revealed deeper emotions than Lan Wangji could ever have anticipated from Wei Wuxian. Surviving the indoctrination camp is only the first step down a long road towards the life he's desperate to have with his new mate.

imagine being loved by me E, Post-Canon, Rope Bondage, 11.2k After a year together, Wei Wuxian has been tied up with his husband's forehead ribbon enough times to get an idea of what he likes, and decides to get him a present to make things a little more fun for both of them. But as usual, when Wei Wuxian asks for trouble, he always gets a little more of it back than he's expecting.

the best of you (belongs to me) E, Modern AU, Bondage & Sensory Deprivation, 7.4k Having received no reaction from Lan Zhan, Wei Ying couldn’t help himself; he rubbed his hips more pointedly against Lan Zhan, moaning faintly at the fiction he’d generated as he inhaled slowly, the scent Lan Zhan was wearing filling his nose and making his head buzz with memories of Lan Zhan pinning him to the bathroom wall, taking him forcefully as he covered his mouth with his hand to keep him quiet...

The chopping of vegetables stopped. “Wei Ying, I started cooking because you said you were hungry,” Lan Zhan said, trying to sound patient, though his tone was faintly vexed. “Do you want dinner or do you want sex?”

Wei Ying huffed softly, pouting at his own inner turmoil, before replying, “...yes.”

the heart is hard to translate E, Post-Canon, Consensual Non-Consent, 10.8k For months, Wei Wuxian had been haunted by the most enticing fantasies of Lan Wangji kissing him on Phoenix Mountain turning into something quite a bit more explicit--which was nothing new for him, really. He'd been babbling about fantasies of Lan Wangji overpowering and ravishing his younger self ever since their very first time together, and it wasn't as if those fantasies had gone away over time. If anything, they'd just grown more diverse, more... creative. The moment comes almost out of the blue when, one relaxed spring afternoon, Lan Wangji decides that he's ready to offer Wei Wuxian an opportunity to play out that very delicious fantasy about their stolen first kiss.

and i'll get you lost E, Post-Canon, Fem!Wangxian, 8.4k After a year of marriage to her wonderful wife, Wei Ying's sex life is anything but stale--but she's nothing if not always eager to try something new. The minute Lan Zhan tells her she has a surprise for them, Wei Ying can hardly wait to find out what it is. (a canon-compliant, post-series AU where Wei Ying and Lan Zhan are both ladies)

these words are knives that often leave scars T, Post-Canon, Hurt/Comfort, 6.5k Wei Wuxian hadn’t been lying the night he’d told Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji that he didn’t remember the days after the massacre at Nightless City, but his memory had always been awful, so he hadn't given much thought to just how many pieces of his memory were missing. Since his reincarnation, memories from his past life have been coming back to him bit by bit, and he doesn't seem to have much control over it--but if he did, he would have chosen to never remember what happened those days in that cave in Yiling.

one last drink T, During Canon, Grief/Mourning, 1.1k Wei Wuxian had always said that the Emperor's Smile in Gusu was the best liquor he'd ever had. He'd never have a chance to drink it again now, so the least Lan Wangji could do was have a drink in his memory. (WangXian Week 2020 Prompt: Emperor's Smile)

how it was to feel alive T, During Canon, Grief & Hurt/Comfort, 4k On Lan Wangji's first day out of the Jingshi in the months since his severe punishment, he takes Lan Yuan to go visit his rabbits. The trip doesn't go according to plan, but it ends up being the push Lan Wangji needs to move forward. (An au where everything is the same, EXCEPT Lan Wangji's rabbits are Flemish Giants). Written for Untamed FallFest 2020: Remains.

r/relationships T, Modern AU, Pining & Confessions, 10.6k Lan Zhan has been in love with his best friend for nearly a decade and despite his attempts, has never managed to confess. Now that Wei Ying's lease is almost up, there's a chance he'll be moving in with him soon, and Lan Zhan isn't sure that's something he'll survive... The impending stress leads to a drink, which in turn leads to a desperate Reddit post that goes viral and attracts attention and advice from... well, none other than Wei Ying, resulting in a series of failed attempts at getting Wei Ying to realize just how Lan Zhan feels about him.

surely to the sea T, Modern AU, Hair Washing/Non-Sexual Intimacy, 2.1k Lan Zhan has had a rough week at work, so Wei Ying decides to do something very sweet for him.

[rabbiitholes]

“ He preys on fear, anger, regret. And if he gets in your mind... you're doomed.”

*some slight changes made to canon, mostly certain implications made in canon because... let’s not go there.

Biography 

From a very young age, Jervis Tetch was obsessed with the works of Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, especially the Mad Tea Party chapter that portrayed the Mad Hatter. Growing up wasn’t entirely the easiest for him, though he always had the support of his beloved sister, Alice Tetch, who was only just two years younger than him. Despite the minor age difference between the siblings, Jervis took on more of a caretaker role as their parents often worked long, late hours and let the two to their own devices. Over the years, the Tetch siblings grew incredibly close to the point to point where people found it to be rather odd. Their relationship tended to differ from the more normal brother-sister bond others had, finding themselves to be rather co-dependent on one another to an unhealthy degree.  

It was the norm for them, though, when their parents had more important things to take care of. Jervis would always walk her to school, drop her off and head off to his own classes. Just like clockwork, he’d pick her up after the school day and it became a cycle for the two. The siblings tended to be quieter than their other peers, though where Alice’s quietness would bring curiosity and intrigue, his would bring bullies to torment him. It didn’t help that Jervis, early on, figured out that he was gay, and it felt like things only worsened at that point. Despite the bullying, he would always keep his sister far away from it all and pretend that nothing was wrong if only to ensure she didn’t have to be bothered by it all. Reading Lewis Carroll’s work, watching the Disney version of the Alice in Wonderland movie, and having tea parties were just the activities that became their very own. It was easier to be in their own world together.

Then came the day that both of their parents were found dead after a fatal car accident and Jervis became the legal guardian for Alice through exhaustive hours dealing with the justice system and the fact that they had no other family members who could take them in. Things were fine for a while; Jervis began to work full time while he finished high school and they eased into their new lives together. At eighteen, that was when things began to take a slight turn and the first incident with Alice’s blood occurred. It was an accident, of course – but it showed the two that her blood was poisoned, could drive a person into a monstrous version of themselves, and Jervis seemed to be the only one immune to it. They kept it hidden, with no one to trust, and ensured there were precautions in place for it to never happen again.

Life went on as it did, Jervis attending the local state university in neural science and taking hypnosis classes on the side as it had caught his interest through his schooling. Eventually the time came when Alice turned eighteen and graduated from high school, ready to start her own life with a fresh start. It was during this time that Jervis, now twenty, began to experience the initial onslaught of symptoms from his Schizophrenia and began to spiral into a psychotic episode. Things started off slow, the hallucinations and delusions starting off small until something inside of completely snapped at the idea of his beloved sister leaving him after all these years together. So he did what he had to, of course. Using the hypnosis skills that he had picked up over the years, he forced Alice to stay by his side, refusing to let her go.

That only lasted so long, unfortunately. She eventually broke free of it, terrified of what her brother had done to her and what else he could be capable of, so she ran away, and Jervis was left alone in the wake of what he had done. Now completely alone for the first time in his life, he began to spiral further down until he finally sought out help to get his life back on track in an effort to get Alice back in his life. Seeking out a therapist, Jervis was officially diagnosed with Schizophrenia and was put onto antipsychotic meds to help reduce the intensity of the psychotic symptoms he suffered from, continued with intensive therapy and began to find himself on the right track. He graduated with his degree in neuroscience, found a job as a neuroscientist at Wayne Enterprises and felt firmly grounded in reality for the first time since Alice had left.  

It wasn’t meant to last, unfortunately. Gotham was where his sister had wound up, and the sight of her in the city sent him reeling. Jervis began to fall apart all over again, stopped going to therapy and taking his meds and instead started his search for Alice. It was around this time that he had begun to invent circuitry that could control minds and was eventually fired from Wayne Enterprises when they found out what he was doing. No matter, though, his focus was on his own work and his sister and it wasn’t long before he was able to track her down. That possessive and obsessive nature he had tried to keep down for so long only reared its ugly head as he kidnapped her, set a plan in motion to use her poisoned blood (the Tetch virus) to infect the entire city that had stolen her away. Jim Gordon and the GCPD interfered, and in the struggle, Alice ripped herself away from Jervis in an effort to get away and ultimately fell from the second story of the warehouse and was effectively impaled through and died. 

Losing his sister was the last straw, and his entire world shattered. Before, Jervis had been able to carefully conceal his madness and could integrate himself properly into society without an issue. Alice’s death shattered his reality, and he was forever plunged down the rabbit hole, lost in the Wonderland of his own making. Over the years, Jervis became a well-known villain to Batman as The Mad Hatter, joining the infamous gallery of the rogues. He yearned for chaos, wanted to watch Gotham be driven into madness after they tore his dearest sister away from his loving arms.  

With current events happening in Gotham at the moment, Jervis would be considered more of a wild card than anything else. While he does side with the defiance, he has no actual loyalties or allegiance to anyone else on that side or any thought out plans for himself. Mostly, he’s just happy to add to the chaos and mayhem occurring, content to help the city destroy itself.

Abilities 

Hypnotism: Jervis's main attribute is his sheer mastery over mesmerism and hypnotism. He is capable of using his hypnotic abilities on individuals without any difficulty and by using a stopwatch. His power of hypnotism has improved to the point where he can get others to do whatever he wants them to do simply by having them hear his voice.

Brainwashing: By using his hypnotic power of suggestion and a ticking stopwatch, Jervis can tap into a person's darkest side so as to implant a hidden impulse in them. 

Genius level intellect 

Expert tactician 

Skilled marksman 

Uncanny ability to understand the human mind: no one really knows, including jervis, if he was born with this ability or if he is just that skilled at reading people. sometimes hypnotism isn’t useful just on its own, and this ability gives him the capabilities to know a person’s deepest darkest desires and secrets, enabling him implant the suggestions he wishes to in a person’s mind

of course none of the hypnosis abilities will be used on anyone unless it has been plotted out ahead of time and i have been given the consent from the mun

Wanted Connections 

friends: of course people that he is close to and gets along with very well. likely to have wonderland characters assigned to them

enemies: self-explanatory, but it would be fun to have some enemies for jervis and some tensions arising from that for him.

allegiance: considering he’s a bit of a wild card currerntly and doesn’t have any loyalties to anyone but himself, i think it would be fun for someone to try and get him on their side, working for them. his abilities would be very useful to have working for someone rather than against.

karma is a bitch: honestly i don’t know what else to name it, but the idea of someone kind of messing with jervis the way he does with people would be great, honestly. bit of karma for taking control of people and fucking them up. basically this would be someone playing with his heart, which he’s kept closed ever since alice’s death, and making him believe they have feelings for him when it’s just a ruse to get back at him for the things he does. a bit of a taste of his own medicine. angst and suffering

i’d very much love to have alice here too so that’s always open if anyone was interested. could be fun, and not everyone stays dead sooooo

[maple-writes]

WHG 13: Post Games 4

tagging @concealeddarkness13 @ratracechronicler @onmywaytobe and @nightskywriter

Skyler kept a pace behind Indigo, eyes burning a hole into the back of her head as she brought him into the hanger. He hadn’t wanted to go with her alone, but she’d insisted that too many of them ran the chance of drawing too much attention. At least she hadn’t tried to talk to him on the ride over, content to let him glare out the window and pretend he was anywhere else.

When they were both inside though, she turned to him and gestured to the hovercrafts parked inside. “I’ll let you go ahead, take a look around.”

Skyler walked past her, footsteps echoing hollow in the empty hanger. He looked up at the crafts as he passed them. Most seemed to be only slight variations on the same models, and all of them were years newer than anything Volt had back at home. Judging by their engines, probably faster too. Much faster. Shinier too.  He slowed, craning his neck to look up at his reflection in the metal siding.

Was that really him? He looked… Small. He looked tired, wary, like a rabbit pressing itself into the grass ready to bolt at the slightest hint of danger.

“So, what do you think?”

He turned at Indigo’s voice, thankful she kept her distance. “If they work, any one of them will do fine.”

She hmmed, not bothering with her usual smile, it wouldn’t do anything to fool him anyway. “Alright, I’ll see what I can do then.” Indigo glanced up at the hovercraft a moment before resting her eyes back on Skyler. “You said Volt taught you how to operate it, right?”

He nodded, slowly crossing his arms.

“Alright.” She paused again. “How much solo experience do you have? I can get you a craft, but a co-pilot’s a whole other story.”

Skyler clenched his jaw. He didn’t have a lot of time under his belt as the sole pilot, any time he’d been out it was always with Volt, and more often than not she was the one in charge of the controls. He’d only started branching out to flying himself in the last year, and only had the chance to over solo landing a handful of times.

Indigo gestured towards the craft above them. “I’ve been told they have fairly comprehensive automation systems, and it’s not out of the question to fly them with only one pilot, but for your purposes I’d recommend relying on them as little as possible. Less chance for the ship to be traced.” She met his stare. “Be honest with me, how confident are you that you can pilot this thing?”

“Enough.” He spat the word, but doubt lingered in the back of his mind. He’d only made a few successful landings without Volt stepping in and taking control. “It depends if you want it back in one piece.”

Indigo blinked, raising her eyebrows. “That doesn’t sound good. A smoking wreck is good as a beacon telling everyone where you went.”

Skyler shrugged. “If conditions aren’t ideal, I can put it down slow enough to keep everyone alive long enough to evacuate.”

“Or,” Indigo raised a single finger. “You spend the rest of the afternoon in the simulator until you can land it in one piece.” She pointed towards the far end of the hanger. “What do you think?”

Despite the way his skin crawled at every syllable out of her mouth, curiosity made him lean forward, peering down to the end of the hanger. Volt didn’t have a simulator, and he didn’t know anyone else back home that did. He’d always wondered what they were like. There was no way he’d be an expert when he was done, but it might just be enough.

“Fine,” he straightened his back. “But you can’t come in with me.”

Indigo smiled, turning towards the far end of the hanger. “Trust me Bluebird, I—”

“Skyler.”

“—I’m not keen on being in there with you either.” She glanced back, making sure he followed. “I have some phone calls I have to make anyway.”

Good. Skyler quickened his pace, walking beside her save for about a meter between their shoulders. Their asynchronous footsteps bounced off the walls, until suddenly there were three.

“Ah, Dr. Carmine!”

The two of them froze, and Skyler’s heart leapt to his throat as a swift set of footsteps approached them from behind. They were supposed to be alone.

“You’re an avox.” Indigo hissed before turning around, a polite smile on her face. “Yes?”

A well dressed man stopped in front of them, clasping his hands in front of him. “Thought I’d find you here.” He glanced at Skyler, furrowing his eyebrows. “Who’s this?”

Skyler kept his head down, staring at his feet and trying not to be obvious about his breathing. He wanted to run, but he couldn’t. He had to stand still. Stay quiet. Don’t do anything.

“Him?” Indigo looked down at him, as if just realizing he was there. “A new avox I’m working on.”

The man frowned. “He’s got an odd look for an avox.”

Skyler swallowed, barely supressing a shiver. He didn’t look anything like an avox. His hair, his clothes, hell, even the way he’d been walking side by side with Indigo before this man called out to them. Not to mention his face had been on every screen in the capitol. It wasn’t like he had a look that helped blend in very much, at least back home. He’d always stood out, to the point where he was sure enough everyone at home already suspected he wasn’t from there before he let it slip at the interview.

“Odd?” Indigo didn’t seem nearly as concerned.

“Yeah, there’s something about him..”

The man reached for Skyler’s face, forcing his head up by his chin. Panic shot through him. He wrenched backwards and took a breath to swear, but the next second Indigo shoved the man back and stepped between them.

She squared her shoulders, voice dropping low. “Don’t touch him if you want to keep that hand.”

Skyler stared at her back, hands shaky and hovering over the pocket where he kept his multi-tool, ready to drive the knife as far into that man as he could. But he forced himself to hold still and bite the tongue he had to pretend he didn’t have. His heart raced almost as fast as his thoughts. He just wanted to run, get away, before whoever that was tried to grab him again.

“I’m testing a few things out on him, and I would appreciate it if you didn’t ruin everything,” Indigo did not sound happy. “The neural implants weren’t easy to get my hands on, and it’ll probably be another day before the pathways adjust for it. I don’t want to have to start over.”  She crossed her arms and took a deep breath. “What is it that you want to talk to me about?”

Skyler didn’t pay much attention to their conversation after that, something about Indigo’s work that went over his head. He kept his head down, silently wishing they would be done soon.

Eventually, the man left, and Indigo turned to face him again. Neither of them dared say anything until they were in the simulator room and the door closed behind them.

Skyler crossed the room, pacing back and forth along the wall opposite from Indigo. Every muscle tensed and his dug his fingernails into the palms of his hands as he tried to get his breathing back under control. His thoughts went fast, his legs shook too much. Damn it. He clenched his jaw. His throat hurt and he felt like he was going to cry, but he couldn’t. Not now, not in front of Indigo. She couldn’t know.

“Bastard.” Indigo spat the word like venom from a cobra. “Thinks that just because Snow sent him he can do whatever he wants. I don’t need his lackeys breathing down my neck, I…”

She trailed off when she noticed Skyler sink to the floor. He gave up trying to hold back as his breath hitched and he hid his face under an arm folded over his bent knee. He teared up, wet and sniveling. Pathetic. He should have been able to hold it together, at least until he was alone. But it was too late, and of course to top it all off, every gasp only made his back hurt again.

“Hey, Skyler.” Indigo softened her voice and crouched in front of him. “Sorry about him, I thought we’d be alone.” She sighed. “I should have been more careful.”

“Leave me alone!” He snarled, lunging to swipe at her.

She stood, quickly doubling back out of his reach. For a moment, she didn’t seem to know exactly what to say, looking down at him as he glared through teary eyes. Then she looked away, glancing out the window leading back to the hanger.

“If I was nervous back there, I can only imagine how scared you must have been.” She spoke quietly, almost like she at all cared about how he felt. “I’ll be in the other room. Come get me when you’re ready.”

Skyler kept his head down until the door clicked shut behind her and he sat alone next to the flight simulator. Tears ran hot and wet down his cheek, pushed out as he closed his stinging eyes. Everything felt too heavy and too warm, but at least the floor was cold.

He wanted to go home. He wanted to wake up in his bedroom to Volt calling him downstairs like none of this ever happened. Hell, he even wanted to have another awkward conversation with Warren where neither of them really knew how to talk to each other. But that wasn’t an option. Not anymore. Not until they got out of here, and he needed to be able to get them out in one piece. They were counting on him, they all were.

Would they have so much faith in him if they knew how scared he really was? Then again, they were probably all scared in one way or another. He glanced towards the door Indigo had disappeared through, then sighed. Not yet. He’d get her later, get her to turn on the damned simulator, and he wouldn’t come back out until he was damned sure he could get everyone home safe.

[sentfromwolves]

"Being unreasonable is exciting" for Grey and Laurent? Or anyone you want (I can only remember Grey, Evie and Laurent from the pirates sorry)

as though I would write something serious when you give me such a line

( Being unreasonable is exciting / grey & co )

Eugene hasn’t been around Grey in a fight since his boyhood, and he forgets what an adrenaline rush it is. 

Blood scatters across the ground in front of him, and Eugene slams to a halt as a body crashes to the floor, another man stumbling dumb witted over his cohorts dead body just as something launches at him, teeth bared. Sometimes Eugene thinks that human isn’t quite the right word for Grey. He’s not sure what is, but as soon as Grey catches the fringes of a mans shirt and hurls him hard into a near wall, Eugene knows it’s nothing he should ever want to poke with a stick.

It’s too bad, he thinks distantly, that he’s several years too late to that revolution, and he never learned better than to put his hand in Grey’s mouth and ask him to bite.

“Is that the last of them?” he asks, his breath hitching in his throat as Grey rises, blood dripping from the matted hair of his skull, his scarred throat glistening with sweat and gore. “Grey - “ 

Grey snaps his head up and before Eugene can say anything, he’s hauled to the side, and he can only hear the impression of a knife through some poor souls face, but he never sees their face before they fall. 

“Were you always this slow?” Grey sneers at him. “Pay attention.”

“Don’t fault me for enjoying the view,” Eugene says, and smirks at him to hide his rabbit heart. “Anyways, how better to make sure you’re going to have my back then leaving it open for you to guard?” 

Grey’s eyes crease once, that dog squint making Eugene desperate for contact. To reach out, touch him, wash the blood from his hair. He bites down on the desire. Grey stands at his full height, a towering wolf of a man, and immediately snarls, pressing his hand to his side. Eugene feels his body chill when Grey pulls his hand away from his side, sticky and dark with blood. His eyes track to the body on the floor - the assailants hands are limp around a knife, crimson up to the hilt.

“Shit,” Eugene says. “What did you do?”

“What did I do?” Grey spits, his breath laboring hard in his throat. “You’re the one that let your guard down.”

“You weren’t supposed to get stabbed!” Eugene snaps, rushing over, nearly tripping on his legs. 

He catches Grey just as the taller man stumbles to the side, and realizes that he’s far worse for wear than he’s been letting on this entire time. His hands come down on Grey’s arm and back, and the man sneers, a dog bite noise that bursts from his throat. Eugene can feel hot wet warmth against his fingers - Grey’s bleeding out from more places than one. Sheer stupidity must have kept him going this long - after all, a rebellion turned dashing and daring escape isn’t exactly easy on the body, especially when it’s two dumb men against a fort full of enemies. 

“Now where’s the fun in that?” Grey says, his breath dragging. “Weren’t you the one that always told me being unreasonable is exciting?”

“Only when it’s me,” Eugene stresses, straining to keep Grey’s weight from listing too far to one side and falling over. “At least when I’m unreasonable, it’s only about things that aren’t a key instrument in my inevitable demise. You on the other hand - “

“You’re worried.” Grey’s voice tears through him. The man laughs, a wet, pained noise. It’s delirious. “Eugene, weren’t you the one that said never to pity the dog at the end of its chain?” 

“Shut up,” Eugene says. “And walk with me. We’re getting out of here alive if I have to drag you.”

Grey makes a keening, wolf noise in the dark of his throat. 

“Now,” he said, “who’s the one being unreasonable here?”

[bee-kathony]

The Oath | Ch. 2 “Strange Whisky Man”

a/n: thank you SO much to everyone who read and left comments on the first chapter! It means everything to me when I read that you liked this story. I hope you enjoy this chapter <3

Ch. 1 

January 21, 2019

When Claire opened her eyes to the sun streaming through the window over the white linen sheets, her mind was blank. For a few brief, quiet moments, she forgot the events of the past twelve hours. But then as she turned to her side and realized she wasn’t in her own bed, she remembered why and fear crept in.

What the bloody hell was she going to do?

She moved in with Frank three years ago when they came to Edinburgh after she graduated from university. Their home was her home. A place where they had both created memories, shared Christmases and even talked about getting married.

As she sat up, her hands moved to her forehead, pressing against the temples to ease the throbbing ache. She was going to take things one day at a time. And after all… Geillis had said she could stay as long as she needed to, thank God she had a spare room.

Feeling a bit lost without her phone, Claire sighed as she put one foot after the other on the carpeted floor and stood. Her joints popped as she stretched her hands high above her head.

“You can do this, Beauchamp.” Claire took a deep breath and steeled herself for the day, ready to face whatever new challenges came at her.

When she walked out into Geillis’ living room, she was surprised to see boxes of her stuff sitting on the floor.

“Geillis?” She called out, walking through the house to find her friend.

“In the kitchen!”

The red headed woman was standing in front of the stove, spatula in hand, flipping bloody pancakes. Claire felt overwhelmed by so many different emotions and walked over to Geillis and wrapped her arms around her.

“Oh, Claire.” Geillis smiled and wrapped one arm around her waist. “Ye alright, lass?”

“I will be,” Claire smiled as best she could. “I just… love you a lot. You’ve picked up my stuff from my shitty ex and now you’re making pancakes.”

“Aye,” Geillis grinned and then turned back to the stove. “I’m just doin’ all these nice things for ye so someday when I need a favor, ye have no choice but to help.”

Claire scoffed, “I don’t think I have a choice whether I help you or not. Geillis Duncan does not simply ask, she demands.” They both laughed at the truth of the statement. When Claire had first moved to Edinburgh, she had been quite reserved and was slow to make friends. Geillis had spoken to her on her first day of work and Claire knew they would hit it off.

Her friend was also usually right about everything. Last night, Geillis had mentioned how she never felt right around Frank and now there was a reason why. He was a cheater, a liar and a manipulative bastard.

Biting the inside of her cheek to keep the tears at bay, Claire walked over to the cabinet, grabbing a glass for water.

“Did you get my phone by chance? I hope I don’t have too many missed messages.”

“Och, aye I did. I plugged it in on my charger in my room, ye can go and get it.”

“Thank you again,” Claire smiled and went to fetch her phone. When she unlocked it, she had only one message from a colleague updating her about a patient who was in critical care. Thankfully all was well, but Claire felt a little depressed that she only had one missed message. She really needed to get out more.

Claire joined Geillis back in the kitchen and hopped up on the counter.

“So, what’s this distillery thing again?” She swung her crossed ankles back and forth in the air, trying for any conversation that would distract her from thinking about Frank.

“Tis a company called ‘Fraser & Co.’, a family business I think. Anyways, my friends Rupert and Angus ken the owners and asked if I wanted to tag along,” she smiled, waving the spatula in the air as she talked. “There’ll be free whisky all night long, a good reason to get sloshed eh?”

“Right. Sloshed,” Claire sighed. She hoped with time that she would regain some feeling, some sense of humanness but currently all emotion had simply been drained out of her.

“It is okay for ye to try and have fun tonight, Claire.” Geillis flipped the last pancake and then turned to face her. “I ken it’s been no even twenty-four hours and ye’ve every right to be heartbroken, but sometimes a girl just needs a few stiff drinks and one night to pretend she hasna been hurt.”

Geillis was right. Again. What Claire didn’t need to do was wallow in self pity, that would only get her nowhere. And besides, she didn’t exactly want to keep crying over Frank fucking Randall — he didn’t deserve her tears.

“I’ll try my best,” she offered a warm smile and satisfied with her answer, Geillis turned back to the pancakes.

“Good. I’ll be by yer side the entire night and if ye ever want to ditch, just let me know,” the red haired woman drizzled warm syrup over the fluffy pancakes and just as she passed the plate into Claire’s hands, her stomach growled.

“Christ, I’m starving!” She laughed, took the fork offered to her and dove in. “Haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday, I’ve no idea what got in the way of dinner last night,” she said sarcastically.

Kicking her in the shin lightly, Geillis laughed. “Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp isna lost to the world after all.”

++++++

It took Claire a bit longer than she expected to find something to wear tonight and no surprise there since all of her stuff had been quickly packed into boxes. In reality, she didn’t own a lot of clothes or personal items.

Perhaps it was because when her parents died, she had moved around a lot with Lamb. He was an archaeologist and so every few months, they traveled to a different country which meant hoarding things like band t-shirts, books and any other normal teenage girl items were out of the question.

Once on her way home from work, Claire had passed by a store with a lovely display of vases and almost purchased one. She wasn’t exactly sure why she didn’t buy it — after all, she had a home with Frank and a table or mantle to place it on. She had stability.

Had.

Muttering things to herself like, “foolish woman, should have noticed,” Claire took her time getting ready. Opting for simple black fitted jeans and a cozy sweater, her next task was to tame her curls.

Growing up, she hated having curly hair and had always wished for straight hair like her mother. But Julia Beauchamp had insisted that Claire learn to love her curls and also how to properly take care of them.

Proper care was thrown out the window when she traveled around with Lamb and since then, she hadn’t taken up putting in the effort again. It wasn’t that her hair was unkempt, but it often resembled a bird’s nest… an inviting one nonetheless.

Forcing herself to wear a little bit of foundation and mascara, Claire put the brush down and looked at herself in the mirror.

“Not bad, Beauchamp.”

When she walked out to where Geillis was waiting, she stopped and stared at her friend. She was wearing a short black dress with a deep v-cut and thigh high boots. It was January… in Scotland.

“What? Too slutty ye think?” Geillis followed Claire’s gaze and looked down at herself.

“No, no not at all,” Claire whistled, her eyes wide and then laughed. “You look great actually, but now I feel rather frumpy.”

Giving her a once over, Geillis screwed up her face, “Aye, ye do, but ye have an excuse. It’s no like yer goin’ to be keen on talkin’ to any men. So this way they’ll be sure to stay away!”

“Geillis!” Claire gasped, feigning shock and hit her playfully on the arm. “Okay, now you look like a slut.”

“Grandma,” Geillis retorted and then grabbed her car keys.

++++++

The grand opening party for Fraser & Co. was being held at the owner’s estate according to Geillis’ friend Rupert. The two women had picked up their two companions, also Scots of course and made the short journey to Lallybroch. From the little Claire knew of Gaelic, the word ‘Lallybroch’ meant something like ‘lazy tower’ and she very was interested to see if such a tower existed.

“So, Claire,” Angus leaned forward from the backseat, his face a bit too close to Claire’s to be completely comfortable, “How long have ye known our lass, Geillis?”

Avoiding unnecessary contact, Claire leaned forward so that her back was at an awkward angle and turned her head towards Angus. “Almost three years, feels like ages though.”

“How come we’ve ne’vr met ye then?”

“Claire doesna get out much, ye ken,” Geillis chimed in. “She’s a big boss lady and doesna have time to hang out wi’ the lower class.”

Claire nudged her friend in the side, rolling her eyes. “You know that’s not true. It was Frank who insisted on spending all of my free time with him.”

“Who’s Frank?” Rupert, the burlier of the two men asked.

“No one important anymore,” Claire said and put an end quickly to that rabbit hole.

A short time later, they arrived at their destination. It wasn’t very late in the day, 7pm to be exact, but the sun had set a long time ago and so the only lights on the estate were hundreds of twinkling fairy lights hung all around. The home looked absolutely magical and Claire decided that this is what all typical Scottish fairytale homes looked like.

They had arrived a bit later than expected due to getting lost in the dark and therefore had missed the opening speech from the owners welcoming them to the launch. The four of them quickly found the open bar, however, and Claire was now onto her second whisky of the night.

Rupert had just told a joke that had made the entire crowd around them laugh in hysterics, but not Claire. While she enjoyed the company, her heart wasn’t in it to be surrounded by so many people.

“I’m just going to take a walk around, I’ll be fine,” She said to Geillis, giving her a cheerful smile as she slowly wormed her way out of the crowd.

As she stepped out of the house to get some fresh air and enjoy the pretty lights, Claire was thankful she had worn a comfy sweater instead of trying to give off the impression that she wasn’t absolutely freezing. Even with her hands tucked under the material of her sleeves, however, she still shivered.

“Yer shaking so hard, yer makin’ my teeth rattle just at the sight of ye.”

Jumping a little at the unexpected company, Claire looked over to her right and saw a very tall, broad, red haired man leaning against the wall.

“Do ye want a plaid or maybe a coat?” He asked her kindly and then approached her. She knew the man was waiting for an answer to his question, but when he came closer and she looked into his blue eyes, she forgot any language that made sense.

The man gave her an odd look and then reached out, waving his hand in front of her face and finally she shook her head, and her speech was restored.

“No, thank you. I’ll be just fine,” she smiled and then turned to head back inside the house. Claire had come outside to get away from people, and this man who made her incapable of coherent thought was getting in the way of that.

“Ye dinna seem like ye want to be around people,” He said just as her foot hit the first step.

“Your point is?” She gazed over at him, noticing the subtle quirk of his mouth, and the deep auburn shine to his curly hair.

“I ken of a place wi’ a few less people is all,” he smiled and before she could tell herself no and to go find Geillis and ask to go home, Claire retraced her steps and came to stand in front of the man once again.

“Show me, then.”

Observing that she had come outside for to find quiet, the man didn’t speak as he lead them around the estate and to a large stable. Only when he disappeared inside an office looking room and returned with a plaid, did Claire speak.

“Thank you,” she smiled, accepting his kind gesture to keep her warm.

“Dinna fash. Canna have ye freezin’ to death!” He laughed — a deep laugh that made Claire want to tell a joke just so she could hear it again.

“So why did you bring me to the stables?” She asked and took a few steps in, looking around at the horses that were in their stalls.

“Och, I always find the company of a horse to be more favorable than people,” the man said and walked up next to her, his hands down at his sides.

“I’ve never ridden a horse before,” Claire mused out loud and came to stand in front of a stall with a beautiful black horse. “Don’t know anything about them really.”

For whatever reason, Claire felt comfortable in this stranger’s presence. Perhaps it was being around the horses, but as he stood next to her, she suddenly longed to know everything about him.

“Ye are a Sassenach,” the man chortled, “That doesna exactly surprise me.”

Claire looked up at him and was once again struck by the blueness of his eyes. “A Sassenach?” She pronounced the word slowly, trying to mimic his accent.

His eyebrows shot up and an amused look crossed his face, “I only mean English, tis another term for ye… an outlander.”

“Hmmm, I hope it’s used affectionately,” she snorted a bit and then covered her mouth with her hand. Only did she snort when she felt totally relaxed and right now she blamed the alcohol.

The man only laughed and then suddenly disappeared back into the office. Claire mentally shrugged and wrapped the plaid tighter around her body, returning her attention back to the horse in front of her.

“Would ye like a dram?” The man said from behind her and she turned to see him holding two glasses of whisky.

“What do you own the place or something?” She laughed, remarking at his ability to produce items from seemingly out of nowhere but took the glass he offered her.

The scot stiffened beside her, his left hand tapping twitchy fingers along his thigh. “Och, I ken the owner a wee bit.”

“I see. And he has no problem with you showing random strangers his stable and drinking his hidden whisky?”

The man grinned over his glass, “None at all.”

Claire wondered exactly who he was, but decided not to push further. She took a sip, letting it burn her throat and then took a seat on the bench near the entrance. The man awkwardly stood frozen in place, unsure of what to do but ultimately took a seat beside her.

“What do ye think of the whisky?”

He was sitting very close to her and she could smell his aftershave — minty with a hint of spice that lingered in her nostrils. The man also radiated heat and she no longer felt the need of the plaid, letting it fall off one shoulder.

“It’s very good,” she smiled and remembering the glass in her hand took another sip.

“I’ll be sure to let the owner know that a beautiful Sassenach who’s never ridden a horse in her life enjoys his whisky,” the man said with a cheeky grin and Claire had the sudden urge to poke him in the stomach. So she did.

“Och! What was that for?” He laughed, rubbing at the spot she had poked him.

“Sorry,” she bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing but ultimately burst into a fit of giggles, one so strong that tears filled her eyes.

“Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ,” she sighed as her laugh began to wind down. The man stared at her, clearly amused, but also maybe a bit frightened at this hysterical woman he had engaged in polite conversation with.

“Are ye alright, Sassenach?” He asked and she thought that he genuinely cared to know the answer.

The simple answer was yes, she was just a bit tipsy, but the real answer was far more complicated.

“I’m not really sure,” she said truthfully, earning her a distinctly Scottish noise from beside her.

“I didna expect such an honest answer,” the man grinned, his eyes full of sympathy.

“I’m not usually one to pour my heart out to a complete stranger,” Claire took another sip of whisky. “But you make me comfortable strange whisky man.”

“Strange whisky man? Yeesh,” the man chuckled and then offered his hand out to her. “Jamie, madam. Pleasure to meet ye.”

It took her a moment to move her own hand into his, but when her skin made contact with his, a bolt of electricity shot up her arm and she dropped the nearly empty glass onto the ground, making them both jump. Glass shattered at their feet, and Claire cursed herself for being so clumsy.

“Dinna move, Sassenach. I dinna want yer wee feet getting hurt,” Jamie stood and carefully avoided the glass. He went into the small office and came back with a small broom and dustpan. That room really did have a bit of everything.

“I’m so sorry,” Claire said. “I’ll buy the owner another glass. Christ, Beauchamp!”

“Dinna fash, Sassenach. Tis alright, I ken he willna mind, besides ’twas an accident,” he brushed up the remaining bits of glass and dumped it in a waste bin. With a final check to the area, Jamie offered both his hands to Claire and she took them, once again feeling that same buzz on her skin.

“Thank you,” she said quietly.

“For what?” Jamie hadn’t let go of her hands and she was fine if he never did.

“For cleaning up my mess.”

“I think I’d do anythin’ for ye, Sassenach.”

The air between them was so charged, so electric that Claire was sure if a match was struck, they’d both burst into flames on the spot.

Jamie’s hand moved from hers and slipped around her waist, holding her close to his body and she felt the heat of him against her skin. There was nothing else that mattered in this moment other than the thought of what his lips would taste like on hers.

She didn’t have to wait long to find out.

“Sassenach,” Jamie whispered and she stood on her toes and paused, her lips a breath away from his.

“Kiss me.” And he did.

Chapter 3: “Nooks & Books” 

[bluewithpurplepolkadots]

I’ve been trying to write an hp fanfic which is very OC heavy lately. This is a piece I don’t completely hate but I need to work on it.

Basically involves Slytherin and is set during COS. Will have a lot of head canons about half bloods and muggleborns in Slytherin if I ever finish it!

--

She fixed the straps on her bag but her ears pricked as she heard the voices down the stairs into the Slytherin common room. Stepping down slowly she raised an eyebrow, unimpressed at the scene before her.

“Seriously?” she said flatly.

There was her former roommate Janice Warrington, prefect of her year seemingly staring down at two first years who seemed to be doing a rather good impression of scared rabbits rather than the snakes they actually were. The boy, a small little pale creature with askew glasses and messy hair looked like he was about to cry while the taller girl with dark skin and dark curly hair in pigtails was trying her best to out stare the older girl, the effect unfortunately ruined by how she trembled like a leaf.

This would have been almost impressive, and she’d have moved on without another thought to it if it hadn’t been for the fact they were in the way of the exit.

Iha sighed, taking stock.

She could have just pushed her way past, dealing with whatever repercussions for her small amount of rudeness came later from her ‘betters’.

She could have.

“Hey: you’re blocking the way.” 

The other girl froze and turned around, seemingly annoyed at whatever mouthy tirade she’d been giving having been interrupted. She opened her mouth again: but Iha spoke first:

“It’s too early in the year not to mention the day to deal with your bullshit Warrington. Keep it down before someone else has a conniption over your big mouth at six am and get the hell out of my way.”

The younger students froze, suddenly gawking at her.

“Buzz off Jones.” The prefect said her green eyes flashing in annoyance.

But then she titled her head as if she had just come across the most fantastic idea. 

She grabbed the front of Iha’s robe pushing and pulling her between her and the two younger students causing her to stumble for a moment. “Maybe you’ll be able to sniff it out for me.”

Iha straightened her robe with a backwards glare towards Warrington. She glanced at the two first years who also looked bewildered.

“Excuse me?” 

“They say they’re half bloods.” Warrington rolled her eyes, flicking her red hair in annoyance. “And well, you’re half muggle: perhaps you should be able to tell the stink of your own kind.”

She showed all her pearly white teeth like a shark. At one time in her life Iha had once thought her pretty, she dimly remembered.

She glanced at the two students curiously who blinked up at her, the boy fearfully, the girl with more suspicion. 

She, to the surprise of everyone starting laughing putting a hand to her head. 

“So half bloods huh? Well, welcome to Slytherin then.” she snorted. “Want some advice?”

They glanced at each other before nodding slowly, as if unsure. She couldn’t blame them.

“Being a first year half blood or really anything other than pureblood in Slytherin? I’ve been there and it’s hard.” She paused.

 “But you just have to learn not to care about that kind of crap anymore than you need to. “ she shrugged.

“You’ll be pushed into a corner at times and feel like you have nothing to lose, but that’s the thing: it’s also kind of a type of freedom.” she smirked and jammed a thumb behind her. 

“Little prissy princesses like this think they know it all, but the idea they could lose anything makes them soil their knickers for some reason. They’ve never had to work a day in their lives so it probably has to do with some ‘fear of the unknown’ bullshit but... not the point.” she waved a hand and then looked at her nails. The looks the kids were giving her were distracting. “It’s something to use against them when you get the chance” She stopped and shrugged.

 “Until then: Just study hard and guard your homework and things like you’re in a den of thieves: because frankly you are. Shielding Charms are always useful, sucking up to professors is never a bad plan, keep your head down except in class and you’ll make it to see your underclassmen get sorted. Okay? Okay. Great pep talk.” She placed her hands together with the fakest smile she could manage.

They both blinked. To be fair it was probably a lot to take in. They however slowly nodded.

“Greeeeaaaat.” she said rolling her eyes.

She glanced at Warrington with a slow smile who was silently seething. “Will that do?”

She was probably going to pay for this in some way. But it was almost worth it. Iha Jones didn’t consider herself a nice person. She wasn’t doing this out of the goodness of her own heart; Warrington just needed knocking down a peg for the crap she’d pulled on the train yesterday.

The Warrington family ran greenhouses supplying major potion companies and yet she’d been begging her sweetly for potions and herbology help in class since first year given her inability to do anything which was mildly offensive to her hands. One bad squirt from a plant and she went to pieces. Something she was pretty sure Daddy Warrington would not be pleased by. Her OWLs this year, not to mention any NEWT results later would be looked at very closely. And Janice thought she held all the cards?

Please.

[snowpatrolfanclubbrazil]

Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody: ‘I wrote it to save myself from my depression’

Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody talks about his struggle with alcohol and mental health, and the band’s first album in seven years

Gary Lightbody’s mood of late has been reflective. A raft of publicity interviews surrounding Snow Patrol’s return after a seven-year hiatus has dragged up a lot in terms of emotional baggage. Headlines about the battle with alcohol and struggles with mental health that plagued Lightbody when the band wound down for a number of years have been plentiful. Honesty, Lightbody says, was always going to be the policy this time around. He warned his nearest and dearest that what he was about to discuss wasn’t going to be pretty.

“I made the decision that there was no question that I wasn’t going to answer,” says Lightbody. “I said to myself and anyone else that I needed [to], ‘I’m going to say everything, I’m never going to not answer a question when we are doing this.’ I needed everybody to know that.”

True to his word, Lightbody has been open and frank while discussing the depths he sank to before making the decision to give up alcohol completely. Finding himself drinking alone in numerous establishments was a warning sign, as were the shadows cast on his mental health due to daily boozing sessions. Suicide was something that crossed his mind, he has said.

Today, two years since he had his last drink just before his 40th birthday, he has no regrets. Opening up about his problems has, he says, saved him.

“I opened the place in myself, the door that I was always too afraid to open. Now that it’s open, I have to keep it open and it’s the only way to protect myself from it happening again,” he says.

Lightbody drew on his personal experiences while writing songs for Wildness, the band’s latest album. Although singles such as Don’t Give In provide a clear link to his struggles, Lightbody says it was never his intention to write the album to help others.

“There’s very little nobility to songwriting — if other people relate to it, that’s amazing. I don’t think trying to guess what people want you to say is valuable. If it has the secondary effect of helping people in their own lives in a small way, then that’s great. But I have to be honest, it wasn’t intentional. I wrote this album for myself and I always do.”

Wildness topped the charts in Ireland, but was held off from the top post in the UK by the soundtrack from The Greatest Showman. Chart positions were not, Lightbody insists, high on the agenda of the group, which was formed at the University of Dundee in 1994. He praises the patience of bandmates Johnny McDaid, Jonny Quinn, Nathan Connolly and Paul Wilson for the time it took to finish the new record. Despite some songs taking two years for him to finish, he says the band never pushed him.

To be welcomed back with such open arms has been a bonus, he says, seeming genuinely surprised at the reception of the record.

“We really weren’t expecting anything — we’ve been away for such a long time. The real triumph and the real joy was just in getting the album out, full stop, you know? There were times when we were making it that I thought, ‘I’m never going to get this done.’ So to actually release it was a hell of a thing.”

Wildness has been lauded by fans and critics as worth the wait, particularly against the backdrop of the struggles Lightbody overcame to write each track. The band’s first release since Fallen Empires in 2011, Wildness journeys from Lightbody’s struggles and his beloved father Jack’s battle with dementia on Soon, through to more uplifting, hopeful tones in Heal Me and Life on Earth.

“The lyrics took a long time to finish,” he admits. “The music was done and they were waiting for me to sing the last words, and I was still writing the last words. It was Heal Me that we finished last, and when I finished and wrote the last line . . . I thought that I was going to feel this real sense of release and joy and accomplishment — anything. I felt bereavement — a deep, deep loss, like something terrible happened and I couldn’t figure out why.”

The other glaringly obvious problem, Lightbody says, was that since he had stopped drinking he struggled with grasping how he was supposed to celebrate signing off the record. Similar feats with albums including Final Straw (2003) and Eyes Open (2006) resulted in banging nights out and banging headaches, mustered with a sense of achievement and accomplishment. Without alcohol, would any celebration feel worthy of sending Wildness to the presses?

“I went home that night and was sitting on my own and thinking, ‘This feels very strange.’ It took two weeks before the feeling that I was hoping for sank in and I started to feel this feeling of accomplishment. It was very weird, a slow release, and I guess that’s probably the way of things from now on. There isn’t that full-stop. Well, unless I start drinking again, which I hope to hell I don’t,” he says with a laugh. “I’m not going to start drinking again, that’s for sure. I certainly knew how to celebrate the end of things.”

There’s a slight element of “ah, I wasn’t that bad” when Lightbody discusses his drinking, but clearly things must have been. He says he was a nice drunk, that friends would say he was a funny one and “at least not a pain in the arse”, but it was eventually under a doctor’s orders that he had to bring it to a complete halt.

“I was about to fly to France to see Northern Ireland play in the Euros in 2016,” Lightbody says of the week everything changed.

“The doctor said, ‘You can’t fly, you’re a mess.’ But I still thought about flying . . . like a moron. About a month later I stayed off it. It was June 3, 2016. And I’ve stayed off it since then.”

Not that Lightbody is preachy. Abstaining from alcohol as a rock star has to come with frequent temptations. Maintaining his new lifestyle is a daily battle, one he starts each morning with yoga and meditation. He counts an acupuncturist friend, Gabrielle, “a Jedi”, as his saviour. Heal Me is dedicated to his pal, who he says cured him of many ailments. Like many people who suffer with mental health issues, if he doesn’t keep on top of things, shadows can re-emerge.

During time away from the band, Lightbody and McDaid began some high-profile co-writing and producing relationships with other stars. They have worked extensively with Ed Sheeran, and Lightbody is astonished at Sheeran’s ability to maintain his levels of normality with the height of fame he has reached. Having known Sheeran since the singer was 19, Snow Patrol are part of a tight-knit group that Sheeran trusts and keeps at his side. For the singer, who recently played a series of gigs to more than 400,000 Irish fans, to not have turned into some sort of monstrous diva is, Lightbody reckons, pretty remarkable.

“We are not even [in] the same universe as what Ed is living in terms of fame, but he deals with it very well and very smartly, and protects himself when he needs to be protected,” says Lightbody.

“He’s not really been affected and there’s not even an atom’s worth of diva in him. It’s an extraordinary thing to have that level of fame and not to be affected by it.”

Sheeran’s tendency to collaborate with songwriters such as Lightbody is not because of any inability to write his own music, but because of the sense of camaraderie that comes with it.

“His writing is extraordinary, great songs just pour out of him,” says Lightbody.

“I’ve been in the room many times writing with him and it just flows. The great solo artist really just needs people to bounce ideas off. It’s not a matter of not being able to write songs themselves. Ed could write them all on his own.”

Snow Patrol, meanwhile, are due to play a number of European tour dates after memorable comeback performances in Derry, Belfast, Dublin, Cork and Killarney last month. The performance in Derry was particularly poignant for the band, because the guest list consisted of 100 members of their family and friends. Emotions were also heightened because Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit had just died. In a social media post, Lightbody hailed Hutchinson as “one of Scotland’s most extraordinary songwriters. He wrote with such profound insight into loss and longing and listening to his words always made me feel this heady mix of wonder, elation and pain. I just wish he knew what he meant to so many”. Snow Patrol’s warm welcome back from their fans should, equally, go some way towards showing Lightbody what his songwriting has meant to so many.

“Everything seemed to mean more that night,” says Lightbody of the Derry performance.

“I had gone through my own mental health problems, I’m singing Don’t Give In and I’m thinking about my family, and I’m thinking about Scott and the people that he left behind. It took on a deeper meaning and I guess that’s the power of music, really, it can hit you in ways that you can’t even imagine.”

Having made the decision to move home from LA in recent years, the singer seems at peace at home in Northern Ireland. His family live with him and, as well as getting to spend time with his father, he says he is enjoying watching his 11-year-old niece growing up.

“I think I just finally realised what’s truly important”. Wildness is out now. Snow Patrol play the 3Arena, Dublin, on December 11

[crimsondustofficial]

Failed Ambush (Part 1)

(The scene that has to do with Damien, it'll happen after an event surrounding Anex and Ruby. Also, this chapter is gonna be in two parts.)

"This is unexpected, Anex."

Standing in the lobby area of the hotel with a bag full of necessities to last him just a few days was Anex. Hunched over, resting his arms on the bar while staring him down was Husk, his long brown, dipped bright red, inky black and normal white tail swishing back and forth in a slow waltz.

"Yeah. . .Sorry to drop in at an unexpected time. But Damien should be here soon. He's just grabbing a few things from home. We're on the verge of losing our place, so we'll just be crashing here for a little bit is all."

That was probably the biggest lie that Anex had ever told. He couldn't risk telling anybody about why he and Damien were gonna be at the Hotel for a little bit. He hated lying but...it was a necessary evil.

A soft yet guttural hum fled out of Husk's mouth as his ears perked up when hearing feet that sounded. . . like running shoes. Looking over his shoulder, he caught a glimpse of young Ruby, wearing her trademark hot pink and white dress.

"Anex!" A warm smile pranced its way onto the fallen angel as he bent down and was careful not to fall back when Ruby had knocked into him, her arms wrapping around his neck. Tousling her hair a little bit, Ruby took in the calming scent of cinnamon and sugar.

"Good to see you too, Princess."

The buzzing of quiet static could be heard and Anex's ears perked up when the sound came into the room. As Ruby looked over her shoulder and Anex passed her, the Radio Demon came into view from a cloud of smoke.

"I thought I heard some commotion down here. Ruby, my little trinket, would you kindly introduce your friend here?"

The sound of clicking and clacking of high heel boots followed by a flurry of light footsteps could be heard from the kitchen. Niffty and Angel emerged into the room but then stopped when seeing Anex and Ruby with Alastor.

"We ain't interruptin', are we?"

All three of them glanced at each other before giving a simultaneous 'No.' Forgetting that Anex was behind her, Ruby was about to start but saw no sign of Charlie or Vaggie.

"Has anybody seen Charlie or Vaggie?" Clueless expressions fell upon the Spider Film Star, The Cyclops Clean Freak and the Grinning Eerily Radio Demon before the bartender and front desk clerk spoke up.

"Had some business to do. Both ladies stepped out right before Anex came over."

Husk's expression was blank, not really paying attention to the looks he was getting. Angel had been gawking at Husk for possibly a good minute before a teasing little smirk stretched onto his face.

"When were you gonna tell us about your cute little mystery friend, Kitty?"

Angel teased in a joking manner, obviously just poking fun at the Cat Demon. Husk halted his hand movements before letting out a gruff sigh. A soft, pink flush painted Anex's cheeks.

"I met them when I found the Kid. Plus, I saw them at the bar. That a problem, Legs?"

An amused little chuckle escaping the Spider Demon, holding his hands up in defense. It was just a little bit of harmless fun that Angel was having. Nothing more, nothing less.

"No need to get your tail in a twist, Kitten Whiskers. Just some harmless fun is all I'm having." A bit of an annoyed growl huffed its way out of Husk's throat before his hands continued cleaning the glass. Ruby was kind of glad that Husk didn't get angry at Angel. She really didn't wanna deal with a fight breaking out in the hotel. Brushing a few strands of her honey blonde hair out of her sky baby blue eyes, Ruby quietly cleared her throat.

"Anyway. This is Anex. He and Damien were the ones who rescued me from the Demons in the alleyway."

Anex rubbed the back of his neck, a bit of a bashful smile on his face. Well, really it was his good friend who saved Ruby from the Demons. Anex didn't really do much but he stayed by her side when she was unconscious.

"Well, if anything, Damien deserves all the credit, Princess. I was there to make sure you were okay."

The memories of that day began to brightly burn back into her mind. However, Ruby must've passed out from the initial shock and fear of the Demons that loomed over her like monsters. Last thing she remembered was waking up in that old apartment with Anex and Daisy by her side.

"It was because of both of you that I managed to get back here safely. So, I have to thank you for that."

A sweet, innocent smile printed onto Ruby's face. If you took a picture of that heart warming smile, it was something that would be held dear over the years to come.

"Well, at the moment, the owner and the co-owner of the Hotel are currently out. But let me introduce everybody."

Ruby decided to start going down the line, going Niffty down. She figured that Niffty wouldn't mind since when Ruby first met her, she was such a little ball of energy. And to this day, she still is. But along with Angel Dust and Alastor, Niffty is the one who's there to help Ruby with any bad dreams or any rainy days the child may have. She comes around if Angel or Alastor are not around. Or. . .if anybody isn't around. "Anex, this is Niffty. She takes care of the Hotel, keeping it nice and clean. Alastor was the one who introduced Niffty to me."

A sweet 'Hi' as well as a wave was given to Anex from Niffty. Anex gave a gentle wave. But when Anex heard the name 'Alastor', she had to imagine that the tall deer Demon was the owner of that name. The way his permanent grin stuck out the most unnerved him a little bit. He wasn't as tall as Damien but Alastor did succeed in unnerving him a bit.

"Alastor! Pleasure to meet you, my dear. I do have to thank you for taking care of little Ruby."

His old fashioned, radio announcer voice rang loud and clear in the air. His general mannerisms and aura that radiated off of him gave Anex a bit of an intrigued feeling. However, the gruesome tales surrounding the Radio Demon didn't seem to click.

Ruby then went and hugged the boots of Angel Dust, who bent down and scooped her up, hugging her close with a content smile on his face, similar to how he would hug Fat Nugget. Rue could feel a very strong bond with Ruby and Angel.

"And last, but definitely not least, this is Angel Dust. He's the first patient of the Hotel. He was with Charlie and Vaggie when they found me."

The memory of that day shone brightly into Ruby's mind. Of course, it was in bits and pieces but what Ruby could remember was the comfort of the fluff from Angel Dust brushing against her body and the gentle strokes of his hands running through her honey, blonde strands of hair.

"I have to agree with Smiles. Thanks for looking after the poor kid, Sweetheart."

An elbow into the ribs was his reward from Alastor, who Angel shot a dirty glare at before setting Ruby down on her feet once again. The sight made Anex quietly chuckle to himself. "Well, it's nice to meet all of you. I have to thank you for letting Damien and I stay here for a couple of days."

"Hate to be a bit of a buzzkill but I gotta get on the road. Otherwise, my boss is gonna have my head on a silver platter if I'm late. See you in a little bit, Precious."

Giving Ruby another hug and wave to everybody else, Angel soon disappeared from the lobby and out the door of the Hotel. Ruby turned back around to see that Alastor disappeared into a puff of dark smoke and Niffty had scurried off upstairs.

"Alastor has a Radio Broadcast that he leaves for and Angel works in a studio. Um. . . Husk, can I go outside for a while?"

Seeing Ruby pull the puppy dog eyes on him, Husk gave Anex a look that was asking him 'Can you keep an eye on her?' "As long as Anex goes with you. I'll let Charlie know when she and Vaggie get back."

What Husk doesn't realize is he basically just let those two fall into a trap when Ruby cheered and went outside with Anex to play a bit. It all happened so fast. . . Not even ten minutes had passed and the muffled sound of a scream alerted Husk.

Dashing out the door, the Anthropomorphic Cat Demon was too late as a car began speeding off with Ruby in the back, looking absolutely terrified and calling for him to help them while Anex was in the backseat with her, knocked unconscious. Something caught Husk's eye while the car disappeared. His shadow cast over a dropped phone before he picked it up and looked in the direction that the car went.

"Shit. . ." Damien pushed open the door to his shared apartment, and immediately paused in the middle of the doorway. A second or two passes before he trudged inside, the fur on the back of his neck standing up. Something was wrong and he could feel it. He stayed calm though, and bent down to get into the house and went over to Daisy. It was when he was petting Daisy and she started growling that it happened.

The fallen angel whipped around, grabbed the arm of a large Demon, and threw him over his shoulder with ease, as if this guy was made of paper. When he noticed the bull was wearing Valentino's colors, was when two other demons leaped out of nowhere and tried to grab him.

He wasn't having it, and punched them both off. The other one faltered at the sight of his partners getting winded easily from a single punch, literally, and Damien took this chance to grab his head and start squeezing it. Once the third demon, a rabbit, tried jumping on his back, Damien threw him through the wall before taking the Bull Demon and slamming him into the wall.

"How did you find me?"

He growls as he glares down at the demon. The Bull doesn't say anything, which prompts Damien to start snapping the bones in his arm like they were pencils, making him scream in pain. When that didn't work, the tall African male decided to squeezing even tighter and tighter, the Bull trying his hardest to make him stop.

"Valentino told us to follow you and keep an eye on you! He told us to find your weaknesses and to nab that little angel buddy of yours and the girl!"

The Bull finally blurts out as he cries in pain. Damien freezes and stares at the Bull, an icy cold fear gripping at his heart. It had to be him... it had to be Vox. Oh God, he needed to call Anex!

Before the African male could make a move though, the Bull broke free and knocked Damien's stomach hard with his horns. He stumbles forward, losing his grip on the Demon as he holds his stomach, gently grunting in pain.

That was it. That was what pissed him off. A thunderous look in Damien's almost completely dark eyes trembled as he had nothing but murderous rage boiling through him. The Bull then realized he made a mistake.

A broad hand gripped the throat of the Bull, holding him up. Daisy barking and growling before chomping down hard on the Demon's legs, making him cry out in more pain and agony. Warm, dark blood began dripping onto the floor before Damien snapped his neck and threw his lifeless body onto the floor. Damien stands up, grunting in pain still and looks around for anymore demons, only to find that there weren't anymore. Those bastards really did put up a good fight. Considering the fact that there were four or five of them compared to a big, strong guy like Damien, none of them stood a chance really. They were all pathetic, small fries, trying to take on the big dog. But failed. Daisy panted quietly, looking up at her owner with her long, pink tongue out. Kneeling down, Damien gently rubbed her head before attaching her leash onto her collar. Grabbing his duffel bag full of necessities, Damien also grabbed his phone and began heading out.

The bad feeling kept eating away at his soul. Finally, he dialed Anex's number. No answer. His heart dropped and that icy cold returned as he hurried off with Daisy to the Hotel to talk to the one person they met that day.

Husk.

[desolateice]

Fic Questionnaire

Tagged by @usaonetwothree

How many works do you have on Ao3?

5

What's your total AO3 word count?

362,752 

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they? 

I’ll just do the ones on AO3

Karate Kid (current WIP)

Marvel Cinematic Universe/Captain America

Hannibal

Free! 

Sailor Moon

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? 

I only have 5 on Ao3...so err...I’m going to do the top 2

Not Enough Scotch for this Matchmaking Scheme- 499

Root Beer Floats and Green Tea- 338

Do you respond to comments, why or why not? 

It depends.

If people have questions I always try and answer them. (Depending on the question, some feel like they’re rhetorical or might lead to me spoiling something so I don’t answer those.)

Like I was asked for the smoothie recipe from Not Enough Scotch so I answered that. I do research so I’m always down for sharing the research. 

But I get a little overwhelmed. I don’t know what to say usually in response.

Comments always delight me and brighten my day. I like to talk about the story but I just don’t know how to go about it.

However, I want to with my current WIP, the problem is time. For my last two fics I challenged myself to a very intense writing/posting schedule. So right now it’s: do I keep up the chapter a day or do I respond to comments the way I want to?

I’ve picked writing at the moment. But I do want to respond to the comments I’ve gotten on this one. Everyone’s been very sweet. So I'm hoping to when I finish writing.

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending? 

I tend to promise happy endings because I can’t handle angsty endings. Now the beginning and middle? All the angst. Also a sprinkle of horror sometimes. With the current fic that would probably be the nightmares. 

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not that I can think of.

Do you write smut? 

For fic, not yet? For original works, I have but not all that often.

My current WIP is rated M, I don’t understand what the difference really is or where the line is between M and E, but we’re a long way off (maybe?) before I decide where I’m going with that.

We’ll see how it goes. Because I’ve never written a fic with an above T rating before. 

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of. But who knows what’s happened to those old fics I haven’t gone back and checked on.

Have you ever had a fic translated? 

Not that I’m aware of. Again I have some that I’ve stopped paying attention to. 

Have you ever co-written a fic before? 

No. I used to try and co-write original works as like a fun challenge but I learned that it can be really difficult. Kudos to those who can and do.

What's your all time favorite ship?

You can’t beat a classic schooner or Junk. I think if I could buy one/afford one I’d go for a kayak. 🛶 (ha, actual boat jokes, sorry.)

Honestly too many.

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

I always finish my fics. If I’m going to share it it’s either going to be a one shot or I’m going to put in the work to complete it. Which is why it completely derails the rest of my life. (Read: currently have no free time thus answering this has taken me like all week and why I haven't responded to comments for the most part.)

I get so crushed when I read something and it’s indefinitely unfinished. No one owes me a finished fic and every writer is different. I just get a little bummed, so when I started writing fic I promised myself I’d always finish what I started. 

Now original works...yeah that’s like all of them. I was in the middle of writing a novel when I started watching Cobra Kai and then fell down a rabbit hole and this fic happened. But if other people are actively reading something I make sure to finish it. All my original wips don’t have active readers just very busy friends reading at the pace of a sloth (I say this affectionately because I know they’re busy) so they tend to fall off the wayside. 

What are your writing strengths? 

Food? Does food count? I grew up reading a lot of fics with those elaborated food scenes (Redwall and like a bazillion others). So almost all my fics have food or drink in the titles and then usually some food in it. (Which I noticed only recently the correlation between what I grew up reading and how it’s influenced my work)

Right now I’m challenging myself to the slowest most molasse slow burn I’ve ever written. I think it’s going well. 

A balance between sweet and scary?

Evoking emotion I think is what I’m looking for. I’ve been crying a lot with the current fic and based of the comments, readers have been too. 

What are your writing weaknesses? 

Staying in the right tense. The amount of times I go back and find I’ve switched tense is really frustrating. It’s usually because I was writing at different times. I also should read it out loud to catch grammar and spelling but I don’t. So...sorry in advance.

You would not believe the amount of times I find “teh” instead of “the”. 

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?  Context: I don’t mind reading fics with dialogue in another language if it’s minor, very easily understood from context, or it’s translated right after. But if I have to scroll down to the bottom to read the translations then somehow scroll back to where I was without reading anything spoilery in the process, I’m not gonna be happy.

I’ve had more of that in this current WIP and I’m trying to find a balance. I’m trying to keep it all very minor. We’ll see how it goes. I don't mind.

What was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

I don’t remember. Again there’s some on some other site I haven’t touched in years.

Although...I was given an assignment at school to continue a book in our English class so it might actually have been “the Outsiders”, just no one except my English teacher read that one. (I got an A :P)

What's your favorite fic you've ever written? 

I’ve been trying to do different things lately. To challenge myself. Originally I’d write fic because I got miffed at the story and needed to “fix it”. But these last two have been more fun? So Not Enough Scotch I wanted to try and cram as many romantic/rom com tropes into a fic as possible. And it was really fun to like take a different chapter and try and test it out. 

But honestly I’m having a ton of fun with my current fic. I like traveling so fitting travel and research in and then food that’s special to those places and cooking is just nice. Plus I’m usually impatient so it’s like a good challenge for myself to slow down and enjoy the scenic route instead of running head first into...well in this case the ship getting together.

Plus I’m not suffering alone. It’s shared. Which, aren’t some of the best journeys shared?

Tagging: If you write fic and you see this and haven’t done it consider yourself tagged. 😊

[aion-rsa]

The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 19 Review: Panic on the Streets of Springfield

https://ift.tt/3mXleic

This The Simpsons review contains spoilers.

The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 19

The Simpsons Season 32, episode 19, ” Panic on the Streets of Springfield,” is one of the most pointed parodies the series has crafted in a while. It takes on pre-teen angst with the dry iced wit of an 80s anti-Brit-pop band. But it also follows a slow, sad slide into anguished irony.

I was looking for a laugh, then I found a laugh, and heaven knows I’m miserable now. My head hangs heavy with the pain of laughter. Not only does the episode strip Lisa of what appears to be perfectly suitable accompaniment for a life of lonely elitism, it also makes us all rethink Slapify. It may offer Millennial rock at Baby Boomer prices, but it teaches Lisa good taste is a curse.

The spiky haired, middle child is very picky about her music. After hating everything she hears, Slapify suggests music for people who hate everything, and the top artist is Quilloughby and his band The Snuffs. This is a stand-in for Morrissey, lead vocalist and lyricist for the Smiths, very thinly veiled behind a shroud of the Cure and Joy Division. The Snuffs’ shows have been called “A three-hour dance party in a freshly dug grave.” They made depression hummable for alienated teenagers in the 1980s. With hits like “How Late Is Then,” “What Difference Do I Make?” “Simon has a birthmark,” and “Everyone is horrid except me and possibly you,” they made parents wonder if their kids would ever get out of therapy.

The band’s sardonic brand of radical vegetarianism turned “The flesh that comes with cheese is proof of your moral disease” into an anthem. Lisa falls in love with “Hamburger Homicide,” and her descent is expertly choreographed. The lyrics are inspired sub-genre satire. “Every day I draw my bath and pray I will drown,” Quilloughby sings, and the audience gleefully wishes him the utmost success. The songs were co-written by the episode’s writer Tim Long, and Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords.

Benedict Cumberbatch is sublime as Quilloughby. He brings out the true ennui behind the lyrical content. He sees Springfield as very much like his own town, “dismal, and nothing good will ever come from it.” Cumberbatch and Yeardley Smith deliver devious comic chemistry. Ralph establishes the innate self-involved, exclusivity in the brightest kid in his class. “Lisa doesn’t like it when other people talk,” he notes. So, when Quilloughby dropkicks Ned Flanders’ pileous affectations into the pews with “facial hair is not a substitute for personality,” they bond like two Sideshow Bobs.

Lisa’s lines take on the bite of an eight-year-old, “Every day you wave your wand, but nothing magical happens,” she tells the Springfield Elementary School band conductor. This pleases the nihilistic phantasm, “I enjoyed that and I enjoy nothing,” but doesn’t play well with the administration. Skinner calls in Homer and Marge over concerns Lisa has become “poetically world-weary.” This is a very Simpsons kind of observation. It cuts to the quick with a finely skewered edge of self-awareness.

The principal’s seen this before, which means he’s had an opportunity to misjudge it in the past. Skinner recognizes Lisa’s black booties as an emo cry, which he blames the current popularity of music of the past. Music is an easy scapegoat on The Simpsons. “Making teenagers depressed is like shooting fish in a barrel,” Bart observed in the “Homerpalooza” episode from 1996.

Bart is having his own problems with Lisa’s new friend, though he is clueless, a perennial problem he usually skateboards around. Bart believes he’s “the drumstick in the chicken bucket” he calls his friends and therein lies his destruction. Nelson plays right into it: of course he stays up night thinking of how fresh Bart keeps those old tired pranks.

Read more

TV

The Simpsons Acknowledges Continuity Watchdogs with an Online Easter Egg

By Tony Sokol

The school bully gets in quite a few good lines, which push the narrative. He dismisses the lunch special tacos’ meatless replacement because “mushrooms are chairs for frogs.” When he hears there are little pieces of bacon between the Shiitake, he almost tearfully exclaims “this taco had a mom.” This perfectly encapsulates Lisa’s dilemma. The entire school laughs as Lisa, even Miss Hoover, who has probably been waiting for this moment.

Dr. Hibbert is now voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson, who has been playing smaller roles since 2009. Tonight, the affable physician ladles out bad news to Homer. His sugar is up, and his testosterone is down. Homer now has to face harsh realities. Something he has historically run away from, usually shrieking. He will never get to be an NFL quarterback who is really an international superspy. Hibbert prescribes a drug, but Homer gets hooked on the commercial he has to sit through before listening to instructions. There are only two things the real men of Springfield believe can boost manliness: weapons and trucks, and guns don’t come with ultimate torque. The triple XL 550 won’t be found in any medical journals, but reading journals is one of the leading causes of lowered testosterone.

Marge is a different person this episode. She’s not out of character, and reacts wholly within the defined role, but she is uncharacteristically hard-lined. This is the first time she is not an enabler. She has zero tolerance for the triple XL 550. One of best visual sequences is when we see Marge banging her head against the wall in its infrared. Not only does she force Homer to accept she’s more a truck guy than he’ll ever be, spouting the definition of torque, but tells him she’s “dealing with an actual problem.” Marge also makes Lisa swallow her bitter pill in a very familiar way. One of the earliest episodes dealt with sadness and music, and the saddest kid in grade two fought for her right to sorrow then too.  

Though Quilloughby is credited as the product of Lisa’s fractured psyche, he’s really more like Jojo Rabbit’s imaginary friend slumming on Evergreen Terrace. In his lifelong quest to disconnect with society, Morrissey went from the Socialist Red Wedge to the Great Replacement Theory. Watching Lisa lose her idealized relationship slowly dissemble actually softens the blow we should get from the reveal. She’d already begged Quilloughby “don’t ruin it,” so I won’t spoil the ending, but it would have been more devastating to have Winston Churchill surrender without warning.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

I know there is nothing more tiresome than gratitude, but “Panic on the Streets of Springfield” appreciably defies expectations. The Simpsons is on a roll this season, mixing light comedy with deeper character developments. Arcs have sunk into darker areas, and the conclusions consistently temper the sweetness with subversive ambiguity. Tonight, Lisa learns she should listen to people, one out of five times, and her mother will always be waiting on the other end of her slammed door. Marge lets Homer keep truckin’. The episode is surprisingly warm, and almost depressingly funny.

The post The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 19 Review: Panic on the Streets of Springfield appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3sCBTsI

[takinginair]

Finding Life Underground

A miraculous cave, said to have been made by the spiritual entity, Naka, the highly regarded snake of love and fortune. Nong Khai, Thailand

Thai culture is imprinted with symbols of luck, fortune, health and love. In addition to their Buddhist practices, they honor spirits and ancient mythological deities - deities like Naka. 

Naka is a snake which many, many moons ago came to the city of Nong Khai to spread her luck and love to the local Siam town. Legend says she made her way through the ground creating a complicated cave full of worm holes that many seek as a refuge for healing. Some search to see her in physical form, others go to feel her essence through the sandstone walls. 

Maybe it’s fate, or maybe it was the calling of Naka, but somehow I landed at the mouth of Naka’s cave on this last Teacher’s Retreat Weekend. Of course, my Thai coworkers only went to take pictures, as anything like cave diving or even swimming in a lake are considered extreme sports.

Personally, I couldn’t fake another smile, so I tried to wander off. Then I saw a small sign that said Enter the Cave. It was in English, how much more of a sign did I need? I started to walk down the jagged steps that led to an unknown darkness. I was almost at the bottom when a teacher saw me, “No, Teacher Rose! Don’t go down there, it’s too dangerous.” 

I always listen to my co-workers as they have done a very good job of keeping me alive in this foreign country I call home, but I really wanted to be alone and I felt something( or someone) pushing me down the stairs tot he unknown world below. So I contested, “Can I take just one picture, please?” Thai’s have a soft spot for things that make people happy, and photos. She nodded but said sternly, “Only one, then come back up. Don’t go all the way.” I nodded and hurried down the stairs. 

What happened after that is exactly what happened to Alice when she walked through the looking glass or Dorothy when she followed the yellow brick road. I can’t tell you how long I was gone for, or prove what I experienced; but I promise you, it happened. 

The bottom of the stairs took me to a large rock with an entrance for little people. I could see a blue light coming through it. Hesitantly, I shimmied my way through the small opening. I landed in water about ankle deep and could hear more water rushing through the cave. A beautiful Asian nun, with a shaved head, wearing all white was at the other end of the pool of water. She welcomed me with a smile and a nod to join her, as she clearly didn’t speak Thai or English. None-the-less I felt safe in her presence and the security added to my curiosity of the cave. 

Together, we went past huge vaulted sand stone ceilings down stone corridors so tight I could barely fit through side ways. I heard my name being called behind me, “Teacher Rose, Teacher Rose, Are you Ok?” I yelled back in Thai that I was ok, never slowing my stride further from the voice. 

We reached a Spirit House with an old woman kneeling in prayer in the shallow river. She had to be in her late 70′s. Well, actually, she looked to be in her 70′s. so she was probably 128 or so. She greeted us and told us we were now entering all the worm holes that Naka herself made. Her spirit was all around and anything we wanted would be granted. I couldn’t think of anything I wanted but I felt hope with the woman’s addition to our path. Then we followed her as we crawled on our hands and knees through the next layer of crevices.

At many points the three of us were suspending ourselves against rocks to avoid pools of water so deep we wouldn’t be able to touch the bottom if we fell in. I have been in a lot of caves, but nothing as tight and confined as Naka’s Cave.  

At one point  I was pinned to the ground with barely enough space to wiggle through the water and the rocks above. Yet,  I smiled really big and had forgotten that I used to do that regularly, before Diogo’s death. I felt light and full of breath in the river underground. 

After some time, we made our way to a point where we could stand up straight. A young man stood under a green light and congratulated us in Thai. I told the man that I had to go back and that I had friends waiting for me. He responded in Thai, “I am your friend and I will help you through the cave. But it has started to rain and thus this cave will be flooded soon, so there is no going back, stay close and come along, Naka will protect us.” The women bowed at the hearing of Naka’s name and we walked on.  I breathed with ease as I thought that this guide was sent to be my friend. I knew Diogo must be watching me through this rabbit-hole journey, he would have loved to hear about it, or better yet, be holding my hand through it. When we were together, he was never, ever not holding my hand. 

The four of us made our way through more crevices and past more monuments dedicated to Buddha, Naka and other spiritual leaders. The air was so crip and the environment, while claustrophobic, felt fresh and spacious. 

Then we came to a hill we had to climb, it had a rope and the guide led us up the rope as the eldest women took the second spot behind him. She was strong, no matter how many years she spent on this Earth, or how many situations didn’t go her way, she was able, independent and still trekking. I envied her. Maybe when I’m 144 years old,  I too will look 70 and be hiking through a cave. 

After some time and much labor, we all reached the top, where a ladder that had light shinning down from it was our final steps out of the cave. The two women climbed out ahead of me, with ease. And when I looked up, I could only see rain falling into my eyes. It was the most real I have felt in weeks. I felt like me, only me. Not consumed with Diogo, his sorrow or my sorrow for him. I was alone in my head. 

The rain continued to soak me as I stepped from underground, back to reality. I looked down after the man, but he was not behind me. I looked ahead of me and the two women were also gone. In face, as I looked around, I was all alone next to a large green Naka statue, only 50 yards away from the entrance of the cave. 

Immediately my teacher friends ran over to me. “Teacher Rose, are you Ok? We’ve been looking for you.” I assured them I was fine as they ushered me towards the bus while putting jackets over me to protect me from getting soaked in the rain. Which made no difference, I was soaked from crawling through rivers. 

Yogi slowly walked up behind them and  rolled his eyes at me, “Well, foreigner, you really caused a stir.” I ignored him and told him excitedly everything that happened. “Yogi, I met a nun, who made me feel secure and told me to follow her. Then I met an old woman that told me Naka would grant my wishes and gave me hope. Then I met a man, who was my guide and helped me out. I felt so alive down there. I didn’t mean to scare but I felt like someone was pushing me to go through the cave, I feel refreshed.” 

His eyes lit up and he gave me a big hug. “I’m so happy to see you happy today. Maybe Naka did cure you, I haven’t seen you like this in weeks. But Brittany, we were calling for you. They sent me to look for you but I didn’t fit through the hole.” I laughed at that. “Brittany, we didn’t think you made it.” We sent a search crew for you? You were gone awhile and we assumed you were hurt down there.” 

I told him how clean the air was down there and how I never felt so safe in my life. He shook his head, “They stopped letting people go down the cave because there wasn’t enough air for the crew and you. There wasn’t anyone else there. And there’s only one way out. It’s not a canal, it’s a cave.  How did you get out when we were blocking the entrance?”

“I came out the ladder, by Naka’s statue,” I explained. He put his arm around me as we boarded the bus. The teachers on the bus called me “Naughty girl” and demanded I get on the bus. But before I boarded that Karaoke Box of Terror, I looked up into the sky and felt the rain on my face again. Naka may be the miracle that most people search for, but someone else pushed me down that hole in the ground...and I know who it was. 

Rain soaked Teacher Rose, with a poorly placed pouch...and Naka. 

[rumaan]

Hey could you write yousana with number 17?

“Looks like we’ll be trapped for a while…”

Set on Friday of 4.06 cos lbr this is what should have happened!

Also on AO3

“Looks like we could be trapped for a while…” Yousef saidphilosophically once Sana had stopped banging violently on the door, hoping oneof her friends would change their mind and let her out.

She sighed, leaned back against the door and closed hereyes. This wasn’t meant to be happening to her. When Noora had invited heraround with the other girls, she had debated about whether or not to go. Shehadn’t been in the best frame of mind lately. The night out at Syng haddestroyed her in more ways than one and being forced to remain in a room withone of those ways wasn’t putting her in the best of places.

Grabbing her phone out her pocket and sliding down the door,Sana angrily tapped out a message to the group chat

Sana: LET ME OUTOF HERE NOW!!

Noora: Have youand Yousef talked yet?

Sana: NOORA!

Noora: It’s foryour own good. The pair of you need to talk.

Sana: Girls –other than Noora – come and let me out.

Eva: No

Chris: Girl, youknow you need to talk.

Vilde: Or otherthings ;)

With a roll of her eyes at how inappropriate Vilde was talkingabout her and Noora’s boyfriend like that, Sana stuffed her phone back in herpocket and huffed out a sigh.

“They coming to open the door?” Yousef asked.

“No,” she replied, refusing to look at him.

She couldn’t yet. Not after the other Friday. Perhaps she’dbeen foolish in getting her hopes up. In thinking that anything could happenbetween them. Yet she had. She’d told Elias to bring him to Syng because she’dhoped they would have the opportunity to talk and maybe, just maybe, somethingcould come out of it. But once again, life had shown her how wrong she was toever lower her walls. Bad things happened when you were open and vulnerable.People took advantage of it and hurt you.

Anger bubbling hotly in her stomach, she finally turned her eyestowards Yousef. “If you ask Noora then she’d probably let us out.”

Sana wasn’t even sure why Noora had locked them in here inthe first place. Maybe after dating William, she wanted the girls to like herboyfriend this time round and had sensed that there was some animosity betweenSana and Yousef. Sana wasn’t sure how. It wasn’t like they’d been around eachother a lot in front of Noora. Then again, when Noora had shown her interest inhim earlier, Sana had been dismissive.

Because you wanted tokeep him to yourself, a voice in the back of her mind said.

She couldn’t deny the truth of the words. She had. There wasa reason why she’d always maintained a strict boundary between her home andschool life and ever since the time in the gym, the two worlds had collidedmore and more. And look at the consequences; her heart had been trampled on andnow she was stuck Noora’s bedroom with Yousef.

Oh God, had they had sex in here?

Cursing her mind for going down that route, Sana looked downat where her hands curled tensely into the fabric of her tunic.

“Why would Noora let us out if I asked?” Yousef asked,confused.

Sana looked at him like he was stupid. “Because you’redating.”

Blinking rapidly for a brief moment, Yousef said, “I’msorry, what?!”

“You and Noora – you’re together. I saw you hooking atSyng.”

Comprehension dawned on his face and then gave way tohorror. “You saw that?”

“Yeah.”

He sat up straight then, leaning towards her with an almostdesperate look on his face. “It’s not what you think. Noora and I – we’re notan item.”

Frowning, she eloquently said, “Huh?!”

“Oh God,” Yousef said, jumping up from where he was sat atthe desk and starting to pace around the room. He ran an unsteady hand throughhis hair. “It’s not what you think. That kiss. It was a mistake. A huge hugemistake.”

“A mistake?” she asked sceptically. In her experience boysdidn’t kiss girls like Noora by mistake.

“Yeah,” he said, coming to a standstill right in front ofher. He squatted down, his eyes locked intensely on hers. “I don’t like Nooraand she has no feelings for me either. I-,” he said before breaking off andtaking a gulp of air. “I like you.”

Everything slowed and stopped and silence clouded her ears.She couldn’t think beyond his words, which echoed around her headincomprehensively. She wasn’t sure how long she sat like that, still and quiet.It felt like a hundred years but probably nothing more than a few seconds hadpassed.

“You like me?” sheasked, hesitantly. Her voice coming out shakier than she would’ve liked.

“Yeah,” he replied nervously before adding in a rush. “Idon’t want you to feel pressured by that. It’s okay if you don’t like me. Iwould never want you to feel obliged to return my feelings. And if it makes youuncomfortable knowing this then I could stop coming by the house. You know,make Elias come to me for once.”

She couldn’t stop the grin that broke out on her face.“You’d stop coming by the house?” she teased.

“Well, yeah. I wouldn’t want you to feel uncomfortable inyour own home.”

“Yousef,” she said with a laugh. “You’ve been part of thefurniture in my house since you were eight years old.”

He looked down at his feet for a moment and then back up ather with a sheepish smile. “I wouldn’t want to be there if it made thingsawkward for you.”

“Good job I like you too then.”

It was his turn to stop and she couldn’t do anything otherthan grin at him as he stared at her like a rabbit in the headlights. “You do?”he asked in awe.

“Yep. Who else teaches me to peel carrots the correct way?”

“Someone has to. It was tragic how you were mutilating thosepoor vegetables.”

There was a whoop beyond the door and Eskild’s voice calledout, “NOORA! IT WORKED! I TOLD YOU IT WOULD WORK!”

“Eskild!” Noora called back in frustration. “You’re notmeant to be listening at the door!”

“And miss out on all the drama? It’s better than thoseTurkish soap operas Lito got me addicted to.”

Sana rolled her eyes in exasperation this time as they heardthe key in the lock turning. “You prepared for smug Eskild?” she asked him.

“Elias has told me stories.”

“Brace yourself,” she warned.

Standing once more, Yousef leaned down and offered her hishand. Placing hers in his, she allowed him to tug her up from the floor anddidn’t pull her hand away once she was standing. She could face an army ofEskild, she realised, if she had Yousef at her side.