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iamadequate1717 · 1 year ago

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Stede in Season 1

After seeing some rather awful bad faith takes flying around after 2x7, I'm throwing out a beginning defense of Stede Bonnet (loml). It seems insulting Ed's fish is the worst thing that anyone has ever seen, and it really seems to be a continuation of anti-Stede sentiments within the fandom and viewing him as a prop for Ed (and sometimes Izzy) rather than his own character. Fanon Stede is ever patient, ever kind, ever devoted to his partner, and I'm seeing a lot of shock that Stede is a flawed, imperfect person with his own needs, that he says things in the heat of the moment, that people are seeing a less interesting character than what DJenks and friends have created. Stede's a fucking lunatic and I like it.

I'm going to break this into a few posts as I ramble on to the end of 2x7. I have big thoughts on the ending, but I need to lead up to it! I am going to try to be as brief as I can up to the lead up, but I'm not happy with certain parts of the fandom right now (it's just a spat, love you all).

(If you haven't seen the "I hate Stede!" and "I'm so mad at Stede!" posts after 2x7, I am so, so jealous of how you have curated your social media experience.)

Part 1: Season 1

I'm going to note first that this is really a more rambly companion piece of this:

In time budgeting, most of Stede's character introduction and motivations are built into 1x1 through 1x3, but you all know it is a common refrain of these episodes: "Just wait for episode 4!" (OK for newbies, but huge side eye from me with people who have watched multiple times.) Episode 4 is when Act 2 of 3 of Season 1 begins. The foundations of the story have been laid, the cast has been fully assembled, and we enter the rising action (i.e., the meat) of the story in 1x4. It is not that Blackbeard alone improved everything: it was the story structure itself that shifted.

Preferring Act 2 (ep 4 to mid ep 8) and saying Act 1 was bad and "boring" is a disservice to the story and really robs yourself of the payoff action in Act 3 of Season 1 (and now Season 2), in particular with regards to Stede's character. It's a TV show, so you don't have to like all parts or watch it equally, but if you're going to criticize Stede and what he does, you can't ignore the part of the story that tells you the why of everything.

For example, we see people saying Prince Ricky is "exactly how Stede used to be!". Episode 3 disagrees.

Ricky is some Evil Star Trek Mirror Universe version of Stede, and they have fundamental differences in their view of piracy, which feeds into the action of the tail end of Season 2: Stede wants to be part of the piracy world, but Ricky thinks he's above it. The few hours in 2x7 that Stede spends enjoying being cool in the Republic of Pirates is overall sweet (sliding past the murder, lol), not a relationship red flag or Stede being a dick. If you tried to join a group and they finally embraced you, how would you initially act? Being excited for a few hours does not mean Stede has made a forever commitment to piracy and not Ed.

But, I digress. To me, Episode 2 (along with 6, 9, and 10) is far and away the peak of Season 1. We see the crew bonding (and those unique interactions are missing in Season 2's truncated runtime), and we get a deeper look into Stede's head: his initial naivety toward violence, his insecurities, his unique captaincy style and problem solving. If I look at just his insecurities, Badminton's Ghost is Stede talking to himself (like Hornigold was vocalizing Ed's feelings in 2x3). Stede is harsh with himself about his abilities and maturity, and we even see that he took Badminton's petty body shaming in 1x1 to heart.

(Oh, I have thoughts on Stede finally being told he's pretty and then instantly dumped!)

But he continues to degrade himself.

"You're a child with a toy" Stede says to himself. Compare this to Ned Low calling him a "bumbling amateur" in 2x6. Real people voicing these thoughts (like Chauncey in 1x9) messes Stede up.

The local therapist clearly lays out the motivation behind 1x9&10, and Stede still continues with the negative self talk.

And then we get the best mantra!

Yes, baby! You can only be as good as you can be, and you deserve the world.

Stede does not banish his guilt that is haunting him, but Ed comes in at Episode 4, and any more serious feelings is all about Ed.

(Second GIF is a joke. I know it's important to Ed's character. Plz, don't be mad.)

Ed is the deuteragonist, and the story now needs to spend time establishing Ed's character and motivations. This doesn't make Stede's go away, but if you only watch Episode 4 and on, that's what it looks like. There are brief moments of Stede's vulnerability and guilt from then, but not much.

(Side note from a Midwesterner: I've spent too much time finding out if "grain tower" is colloquial for "grain silo" somewhere, and I still don't know.)

Ed and Stede just met here. Ed isn't absorbing much of Stede's comments (Stede also feels trapped, Stede has family guilt, etc), but it goes the other way, too, doesn't it? Stede is recovering from his gut-stab, they're still in a life-or-death situation, and Stede is still feeling his guilt (and just saw more guilt ghost hallucinations). Registering and internalizing what Ed is saying doesn't take priority.

And they enter their cute early relationship phase: They have fun together! They can easily talk to one another! Stede easily forgives Ed wanting to kill him!

Again: in between all the cute and fun, all the heavy stuff is about Ed. Stede deals with the aristocrats who mocks Ed. Stede is gentle with Ed's red fabric. Stede listens to Ed's past without judgment. Stede openly accepts Ed as a friend. We don't see Ed engaging with Stede in a reciprocal manner.

(I was so delighted when Stede called some of this out in 2x4.)

Stede is a few steps behind in their relationship: He doesn't know it's a romance. He doesn't know he was flirting with Ed. He's not immediately understanding what the Act of Grace was to Ed (hubby commitment!) as he's having his Nigel guilt, family guilt, and being seconds away from death swamping him all at once.

In the academy, Ed isn't even listening to Stede. He's moved onto his domestic marriage role while Stede is dealing with his demons.

With 2x7, I see people saying, "Ed was very clear in wanting to leave piracy!" If he was speaking to someone fully engaged with him, I would agree. (That also doesn't make Stede having a few hours' fun the worst thing ever.)

(Aside of what I see below: In Season 2, I see overwhelming praise of Ed and Izzy's performances and very little on Stede. This is not to disparage TW or CO, but Ed and Izzy are more in-your-face and obvious with what is going on internally in their scenes and they are nailing the drama scenes. However, Stede becomes quieter, shutting down into himself, when having high feelings, and RD's acting is very subtle and very beautiful in these moments.)

In The (First) Kiss scene, Ed is clear! He just wants to be Ed, and Ed is happy just being with Stede.

But look what Ed walked in on:

Ed is saying things, but Stede is trying to process big feelings of his own at the same time. Stede is there self soothing, still thinking about what Ed ignored him about in the bunks. "How are you handling things so well?" means Stede isn't handling it well. Ed is excited, but he (and apparently some of the audience!) is brushing off all of what Stede is saying while expecting Stede to take to heart everything that Ed is saying. (I mean, the beginning of S2 shows why Ed is so excited for this life change, but it is frustrating!)

If you only feel bad for Ed at the end of 1x9, please try to imagine Stede's perspective: suppose you have low self worth and are consumed with guilt about people you've hurt and then are seconds away from death twice, are you going to be thinking clearly and prioritizing (and recognizing) the feelings of a guy you've known for a few weeks and didn't know you were dating?

Stede has drawn inward this whole conversation. His answers turn monosyllabic, and his body language turns more and more panicy as the heavy reality of everything sets in.

Stede enjoyed The Kiss, but was this the appropriate time for him? (Like Ed enjoyed The Sex, but was that the appropriate time for him?) They aren't in sync yet, but that doesn't make one party's feelings more valid than the other's or one party evil for being a bit ahead.

With 2x7, I don't know why people thought Stede should be a mind reader and be able to quickly piece together a few statements Ed made while Stede was mentally drowning.

I think it should be noted that as of the end of 2x7, Stede is the only crew member who hasn't had mental reflection and/or therapy in Season 2. He realized Mary, Alma, and Louis didn't need him and he was in love with Ed in 1x10, but the voice calling him a child with a toy, an idiot, weak, and ugly is still there.

Continued in Part 2! (Still to come...)

#stede bonnet #stede did nothing wrong #our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd s2 #ofmd 2x07 #ofmd s2e7 #blackbonnet #gentlebeard #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd spoilers #rhys darby #Baby's first attempt at GIFs #ofmd meta

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heeheesang · 6 months ago

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ɾiȥȥɱαƚch | midnight cafe.

(pretty lengthy!! sorry for the long chapter)

"the purpose of intravenous therapy is to replace fluid and electrolyte balance..." i repeated in my head as i let out one big sigh and sat on the bench at the park.

it was pretty dark, the stars were lit almost perfectly in a shape of a heart. i felt alone with my phone in my hand, studying for tomorrow's test, the test i should've prepared for months ago.

why did i even pick nursing as a major? i picked it so ricky wouldn't be alone but look at how i'm struggling now. i could never be a nurse, at least not with the mindset i have.

i let out another sigh as i sat back on the chair and soon felt a presence next to me, "what's this young pretty lady doing out here at almost midnight?" i turned my head to see an old lady with glasses hanging from her neck.

"studying for a stupid test... if i don't pass this test, i won't be able to go for internship..." i replied as i sat up and asked, "what are you doing here at almost midnight?"

"i just love watching the stars and the scenary at night, not something you can see everyday when your bones are getting fragile!" the granny laughed as i laughed along with her.

"what test are you studying for?" she asked as i sighed, "healthcare... nursing, gosh i don't even know why i'm trying to become a nurse!"

"well baby, whatever it is, i'm sure you'll get to pass alright? i wish you the best on your future endeavours. who knows, you may just be nursing me one day haha!" before i could thank her, she walked away and i was left alone yet again.

well, before my phone dinged of course.

riki: pretty? are you at the park? i see someone that looks like you, i just didn't wanna approach because it might be a ghost...

yn: do i look like a ghost... gosh i'm a mess sorry riks

riki: i'm coming to you rn hold on

"hey pretty," i smiled at the boy who sat beside me, "why do you look so upset?"

"just stressed, riks. sorry.." i could feel my visoon blurring up as my eyes clouded slowly, i looked away and quickly wiped my eyes, pretending that my eyes were itchy.

"yn, don't be sorry.. what's wrong? c'mon tell me," riki said as he went infront of my face and saw tears running down.

"it's just a test... i just feel like i won't pass you know? and if i don't pass, i won't get to progress to internship..." he sighed and hugged me tightly, "princess, you'll do well okay? don't worry about it, you've been in the major for like what almost a year? you can definitely do it okay?"

"let's go get some ice cream to cheer you up okay?" i nodded with a huge smile as he hugs me once more.

masterlist | back | next

taglist— @illvding @mxxnintheskyreblogs @whoiss4m @yoonzns @lukesboo @shewoop @yourgirlzeyy @yourssincerely-mimi @wonkixo @sol3chu @n1k1mura @nctsshoes2 @dimplewonie @kookify @rikisgeef @ilovejeongin007 @nan-lzzn @speedymiraclecloud @pkjay @wk20 @soobs-things

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autumnalwalker · 2 years ago

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Themes Tag Game

Thank you for the tag, @druidx. Always fun to do a new game (even if it took me over a month to get around to it).

Rules: Bold the themes that appear in your WIP (& italicize those that are loosely covered) then tag 10 people.

Doing this for The Archivist's Journal. It's long enough that it touches on a lot of things tangentially

Passing the tag to @rickie-the-storyteller, @writernopal, @writingpotato07, @ceph-the-ghost-writer, @papercutsunset, @sarahlizziewrites, @cljordan-imperium, @nightshadetheghost, @kahvilahuhut, @void-botanist, and an open tag for anyone else who wants to do this.

#“relationships” isn't intended as the romantic sort in this case #“knowledge vs. ignorance” isn't quite right but it's the closest thing on the list to “making peace with the unknowable”#tag game #writing tag games #themes tag

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tarditardi · 10 months ago

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Bortolotti: 4 artisti a Sanremo e su UMM ecco 4 remix di "Born Again", l'inno Babylonia

Durante il mese di febbraio 2024, il ritmo della musica prodotta o lanciata da Gianfranco Bortolotti, produttore musicale bresciano protagonista della scena mondiale da decenni, cresce ancora.

Prima di tutto, c'è Sanremo. Ben quattro artisti legati a Bortolotti vanno sul palco della celeberrima kermesse televisiva e musicale: Bortolotti ha infatti lanciato come artista di livello internazionale Gigi D'Agostino, portandolo al successo assoluto con l'indimenticabile "L'Amour toujours". D'Agostino sarà sul palco della Costa Smeralda, con un altro top dj, il francese Bob Sinclar. Bortolotti è legato anche a Christophe Le Friant, questo il vero nome dell'artista transalpino, visto che ha creduto fin da subito nella sua musica, pubblicando in Italia le sue prime produzioni.

Tutto questo è noto, nell'ambiente della dance e non solo, mentre non tutti sanno che Bortolotti da tempo si occupa anche di trap e di altre sonorità. Ha infatti lanciato due degli artisti sul palco dell'Ariston: il trapper Il Tre e pure il bresciano Mr. Rain. Entrambi gli artisti sono in gara al 74esimo Festival di Sanremo, che si svolgerà al Teatro Ariston dal 6 al 10 febbraio 2024.

Nella sua lunga carriera, in cui ha creato Media Records, un vero colosso internazionale tra le label indipendenti, la techno label BXR, il progetto Cappella, i 49ers, più recentemente un rapper come il Ghost, Bortolotti ha dimostrato di essere prima di tutto un talent scout naturale: ha scoperto infatti, tra gli altri, Fabio Volo e sponsorizzato Valentino Rossi quando era solo un giovane pilota di 125, portandolo fino al titolo in 250...

Sempre a febbraio 2024, continua il rilancio di UMM, storica label house italiana che da sempre fa ballare il mondo, anche grazie al notevole contributo di Gianluca Motta. Il 16 febbraio '24 escono infatti 4 nuovi remix di un vero inno dance: "Born Again" di Ricky L Feat. Mick. Per tutti gli appassionati di house e per tutti coloro che amano ballare, il brano viene spesso chiamato semplicemente "Babylonia", visto che il potente testo ripetuto da Mick si conclude citando gli abitanti della mitica città...

"I was born in a system,

That doesn't give a fuck about you, nor me, nor the life

Don't be a victim of things I do to survive

Because I won't wish you any good, you Babylonians…"

"Born Again" / Babylonia torna in 4 potenti versioni, tutte molto diverse tra loro, alcune delle quali disponibili in anteprima sul profilo Instagram di UMM (Instagram.com/umm_mediarecords). Eccole: House Device & Gianluca Motta remix; Dr. Space, Dader remix, Little Nancy Remix, Visnadi Remix.

Se oggi Bortolotti torna ad occuparsi, oltre che di trap e rap, anche di house, vuol dire che il 2024 sarà decisamente house. Come uno dei più recenti successi del nuovo corso UMM, la cover di "Mas Que Nada" firmata da Samuele Sartini ed Oki Doro.

///

Il mondo Media Records / UMM è in ebollizione per cui chi ama la musica dance può aspettarsi bella novità, in ambito discografico e non solo. UMM è una delle più storiche label italiane. UMM sta per Underground Music Movement. Fondata originariamente a Napoli da Flying Records nel 1991, è stata una delle prime label italiane a pubblicare musica house e progressive. Nel 1997 UMM entrò nell'universo Media Records, dov'è tutt'ora, grazie al rilancio 2023-2024 firmato Gianfranco Bortolotti, il creatore di Media Records e Gianluca Motta dj producer con all'attivo tante hit e mille serate, nel ruolo di label manager e coordinatore artistico del progetto.

Tra i classici del catalogo UMM ci sono quelli firmati da miti come i Daft Punk. Nel 1994 UMM pubblicò infatti in Italia un vinile che conteneva due diverse versioni di "The New Wave" e due di "Assault". Tra i primi successi del nuovo corso, ecco la versione di "Mas Que Nada" firmata da Samuele Sartini, supportata da top dj come Fisher e James Hype.

Gianfranco Bortolotti, da sempre GFB, negli anni '90 ha portato al successo suoi progetti dance nel mondo (Cappella, 49ers, Antico, etc), ha creato il mito dei top dj (Mauro Picotto, Gigi D'Agostino, etc). Prima, questo se lo ricordano in pochi, è stato pure socio di un certo Claudio Cecchetto con la Marton Media, lanciando artisti come Molella, Fargetta e tanti altri. Roba vecchia, dirà qualcuno, sbagliando. Perché GFB ha anche lanciato artisti di successo recentemente, Mr. Rain ed Il Ghost su tutti.

UMM su Instagram

Gianfranco Bortolotti su Instagram

Gianfranco Bortolotti su Wikipedia

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djs-party-edm-italia · 10 months ago

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Bortolotti: 4 artisti a Sanremo e su UMM ecco 4 remix di "Born Again", l'inno Babylonia

Durante il mese di febbraio 2024, il ritmo della musica prodotta o lanciata da Gianfranco Bortolotti, produttore musicale bresciano protagonista della scena mondiale da decenni, cresce ancora.

"I was born in a system,

That doesn't give a fuck about you, nor me, nor the life

Don't be a victim of things I do to survive

Because I won't wish you any good, you Babylonians…"

///

UMM su Instagram

Gianfranco Bortolotti su Instagram

Gianfranco Bortolotti su Wikipedia

0 notes

sounds-right · 10 months ago

Text

Bortolotti: 4 artisti a Sanremo e su UMM ecco 4 remix di "Born Again", l'inno Babylonia

Durante il mese di febbraio 2024, il ritmo della musica prodotta o lanciata da Gianfranco Bortolotti, produttore musicale bresciano protagonista della scena mondiale da decenni, cresce ancora.

"I was born in a system,

That doesn't give a fuck about you, nor me, nor the life

Don't be a victim of things I do to survive

Because I won't wish you any good, you Babylonians…"

///

UMM su Instagram

Gianfranco Bortolotti su Instagram

Gianfranco Bortolotti su Wikipedia

0 notes

malk1ns · 3 years ago

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for this ask:

Geno likes the new winger.

Sid's glad. Of course he's glad, obviously he's glad, the front office brought Ricky over specifically for Geno to play with, so the fact that it's working out, that they're clicking on the ice as well as off, is good—for the team, and for Geno too, who's been getting frustrated all season with the rotating cast of characters on his wing, none of whom have been quite able to play up to the high bar he sets.

That's changed now, with Ricky who can pull Geno's pretty passes out of midair and turn them into goals as if by magic. Sid sometimes feels like he's watching the ghost of James Neal when they're out on the ice together.

James Neal, though, is an alpha, and for all he and Geno were closer than close, Nealer had never looked up at Geno through his lashes and pouted at him, like Ricky does at every opportunity. Even when Sid is right there.

It took Sid a while to figure out what was going on. For years, it's always been Geno who got teased for being jealous, for keeping Sid to himself, for snapping at anyone who looks too long or moves too close, and Sid who always tolerated his desire for monogamy with patience and a smile. Sid's never felt jealous in his life.

Now, though?

Geno likes Ricky, in a way that he's never liked anyone, not since...

Well. Not since he started going after Sid with intent.

Sid might deserve it, after how long he kept Geno dangling in those early days, but watching Geno track Ricky's mostly-naked progress across the change room and saying nothing takes a level of willpower that Sid hadn't been sure he possessed.

He's the captain, though, and it's his job to keep the team ticking along smoothly, so he puts his game face on and checks in with Ricky, making sure he's getting comfortable with the team and the city, offering help if he needs it.

He's been doing a pretty good job, he thought, until Jarry stops him after practice one day, when they're all heading out to their cars. Geno has Ricky tucked under an arm and is gesturing expansively with the other, telling some no doubt exaggerated story about some of the traveling he'd (they'd, Sid had been there too) done last summer, and Sid is walking a bit behind them when Tristan tugs him to a stop.

Sid obliges, waiting patiently while Tristan snaps at Kris that he's fine, he doesn't need to be walked to his car, seriously Tanger, just go, I need to talk to Sid, not you.

Finally, Kris slinks off to the parking lot, and Tristan turns back to Sid, rolling his eyes expressively.

"Still giving him a hard time, eh," Sid observes, amused. Tanger's lovelorn pining gets worse each time Tristan shoots him down.

Tristan flattens his mouth. "I should be asking you that," he says, smoothing his skirt down and crossing his arms over his chest.

Sid blinks. "Sorry, is Kris upset with me about something?" He hadn't noticed, but he's been a little distracted recently, focusing on making sure the team's chemistry was still balanced, and—

"Not Kris," Tristan sighs, rolling his eyes again. "The new guy. Ricky. You look like you're about to rip his head off with your teeth whenever you're talking to him. I think he's scared of you."

"What!" Sid squawks. "I've— No way. I check in with him all the time. He's not scared of me."

"And the fact that every time you check in with him is immediately after he's said something that makes Geno laugh is a total coincidence, I guess?" Tristan's voice is drier than the rink air.

Sid cringes.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Look, I get it, I've seen how Geno looks at him too—but you've gotta lighten up. It'll affect his play, if he thinks the captain is pissed at him."

Sighing, Sid leans back against the wall. "You're right. Fuck. I just..." He runs a hand down his face. "I feel like. I tease G so much for acting jealous, and now..."

Tristan shrugs. "Yeah, I can't help you with that part, sorry Cap. But look, G's obsessed with you, right—he's distracted by a shiny new toy right now, but it'll pass. Maybe he just needs a little reminder." He claps Sid's shoulder. "Chin up. Don't make me get Kris involved."

Sid watches as Tristan walks to the parking lot, skirt clinging to his ass. It really is a criminally tight outfit today; Sid can't really blame the way Tanger was hanging around with his tongue basically out of his mouth earlier.

And that gives Sid an idea.

---

He detours to the mall before he heads home, stashing the bag in his closet before Geno gets home from lunch with Max. Tomorrow's an off day, and they have plans to get lunch with a few of the guys.

Sid's never been into following along with the omega fashion trends. He doesn't have the body for a lot of them, first of all, and frankly he just can't be bothered. He's in suits and workout gear 70% of the time, and jeans and shirts work just as well for the remainder. Geno knows this about him, so even though he'll occasionally beg for Sid to try the ultra low-rise jeans that had popular a few years ago, or the crop tops that came into fashion last season, he never pushes.

Which is what makes his reaction when Sid walks down the stairs in a flippy little miniskirt all the more gratifying.

"Sid," Geno breathes, clutching his car keys. He looks totally gobsmacked, eyes going dark and scent rising.

Sid smoothes his hands down the front of his thighs. "Do you like it?" he asks, keeping his voice steady. He's never worn anything like this, but the way Geno's looking at him, all focused alpha intent, he wonders if maybe he's been missing out this whole time.

"Do I like?" Geno growls, dropping his keys on the side table and stalking forward. "When you buy?"

Sid backs up until he hits the wall. "I picked it up yesterday," he says, breathless, watching Geno get closer, trapping him where he stands. "I thought, you know, I'd switch it up a little."

Geno rests his hands on Sid's hips. The skirt's material is so thin that the heat of his body bleeds through to Sid's skin right away. His fingers are digging into Sid's sides, and Sid can feel himself start to drip.

Geno slides his hands around to grope at Sid's ass over the skirt, messing with the fabric and pulling it up enough to get at the bare skin underneath. "Fuck," he swears, nosing down to Sid's neck and biting lightly. "How long until lunch?"

"We have to leave in fifteen minutes," Sid moans out, letting his head loll to the side and pushing up against the leg Geno's got wedged between his thighs.

"Good," Geno rumbles. "I take you to bed, eat you out, sit you on my dick. You not want to be late, you make me come fast. Then we get lunch."

"I won't have time to clean up after," Sid whines out, rocking his hips forward. The friction of Geno's jeans through the skirt feels unbelievable.

He feels Geno's smile on his neck. "No," Geno agrees. "You'll be at lunch with Jason and Jeff and Kris. Think they'll smell on you?"

"Oh god," Sid moans, letting Geno push him up the stairs.

#my fic #my writing #birthday drabbles #sidgeno #hockey rpf #a/b/o

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deonideatta · 2 years ago

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WELL EPISODE 3 PORTWELL

they were being really cute in the beginning of the episode, ej got gina flowers because she got the lead in the musical!!!! she is anna in frozen!!!!!!!

but then the episode progressed into ej being really stressed about directing, half the episode was him highlighting the scripts for a table read because the director of the tv show that the musical is gonna be brodcasted on is coming early in the morning to film the table read. so ej is doing the actual work while tv director is doing almost nothing. I KNOW ITS A LOT

with all of this, gina is feeling neglected and theres a scene where her, ricky (love triangle boy) and another friend comes into his tent (because theyre camping this episode) and ej kinda breaks and is like 'i cant do this right now im really busy' so gina pulls them out of the tent

this also serves as a moment sequence for gina and ricky because they go look for this shrine in the woods (ghost story thing) so BONDING (ngl it was kinda cute-)

but yeah TENSIONS

i want them to COMMUNICATE please im begging

Yesss thanks for the rundown bestie!!! I was lurking in the tag for a bit when it was trending and there were so many people fighting lol but a lot of people who ship gina with the other guy were very happy this week it seems 😂

The flowers thooo that's rlly cute 😭😭 I just hope they don't have a fallout due to some stupid misunderstanding/miscommunication (kdrama style lol), that's one of my least favourite plot directions haha

Hoping for them to talk it out next week lol

#also i hope they dont overwork ej too much #bc that would make him stressed and that would make it more likely that they go the fallout route #portwell #ask #pls let them all be happy together #including the other guy #he seems nice

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i-willstealyourtoes · 3 years ago

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All you need to know about me

Requests: CLOSED

Status: On hiatus

Inbox: 1

Masterpost

(🔔) Progress post on my requests

Fandoms I write for:

Green means I'm confident, orange is semi-confident, red means not confident (I'll attempt all on the list though) + Franchises/Fandoms ranked in order of confidence + Feel free to ask about a character I haven't wrote down here :)

Main:

- PAYDAY 2 w/ ALL heisters (semi-excluding Ethan/Hila), Bain, specials (cops), Vlad, Twitch, Bile and Locke(?)

- TF2 w/ ALL the mercs, Miss Pauling, Zhanna, Saxton Hale

- Star Wars: Clone Wars w/ The 501st (as many as I can remember 💀), Domino Squad, Waxer, Boil, Wolffe, Fox (my interpretation), Ahsoka (platonic only bc she's a kid), Padme, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Cody

- Star Wars: Rebels w/ Ezra, Kanan, Zeb, Sabine, Hera, Rex, Ahsoka, Kallus

- The Bad Batch w/ Hunter, Crosshair, Tech, Wrecker, Echo, Omega (PLATONIC ONLY YOU FUCK), Phee, Gregor, Mayday, Howzer, Riyo Chuchi

- Republic Commando w/ Scorch, Sev, Boss, Fixer, Advisor (I will refer to him as Addy :) )

Others:

- Undertale (no AUs) w/ Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, Toriel, Asgore, Mettaton (NEO), BurgerPants, Napstablook, (W.D) Gaster (my int.), Frisk + Chara + Asriel (all platonic + my int.), Grillby (my int.)

- HLVRAI w/ Gordon, Benrey, Tommy, Bubby, Dr Coomer, G-man

- Sleeping Dogs w/ Wei, Jackie, Winston, Conroy, Ricky

- Ghosts (BBC) w/ Thomas, Julian, Kitty, The Captain, Fanny

Others Pt.2:

(The ones I'm the least confident in/know less about)

- Sons of the Forest w/ Kelvin, Virginia

- (OG) Ninjago w/ ALL the (OG) ninjas

- Minecraft: Story Mode w/ Lukas, Jesse, Petra, Axel, Olivia, (old) Order of the Stone

- Henry Stickmin Collection w/ Charles, Henry, Ellie

- Detroit: Become Human w/ Connor, Ralph, Markus, Kara, Gavin, Simon and Daniel

- Faith: The Unholy Trinity w/ John Ward, Lisa

Rules/what I do(n't) do:

Green is yes, orange is yes (but I'm not too confident in it), red is no

- Canon x reader

- Only canon characters (as in, not an 'x-reader')

- Angst, fluff, lime

- Romantic or platonic parings (please specify for platonic pairs)

- Suicide, SH, mentions of abuse/racism/homophobia/transphobia (NOT DEPICTED AS POSITIVE (ex of a good req: how would (character) defend against racism)), death, light gore

- Headcanons/bullet-points

- Monogamy, polyamory (please specify if you want a polyam relationship)

- Match-ups

- Pregnacy fics (I'm not a fan of them but I can try)

- Song/lyric fics (also not a fan but I could still do it)

- Oneshots/multiparters (very unlikely for me)

- Smut

- Canon x Canon (unless it's Canon x reader x Canon)

- Canon x OC / OC x Reader / OC x OC

- Abuse (sexual/domestic) from the character (I accept the situation in which the character accidentally hurts s/o)

- Non-con/Dub-con

- Pedophilia/MAP-behaviour

- Extreme gore (guts, organs)

- Emeto (other illnesses are fine)

My style of writing:

- I prefer to be quite informal with my writing, often including jokes and personal comments in the pieces I make

- I also like putting text colour, italics, bold and small letters since I feel like that adds more character to the piece

- If you don't indicate (in x reader fics) what stage of the relationship the reader is in with the character(s), I will automatically assume they are already dating

- There is currently no character limit, but don't go silly with it lol (10 is probably a good amount but it depends)

Extra:

- Send me '🌱' to send feedback on something (ex: '🌱 - I enjoyed this part, but I think next time you should...)

- Send me '💭' to ask a question (ex: '💭 - What's your favourite show?')

- Send me '🎵' to ask for a song that represents one of the characters in the list above (ex: '🎵 - Song for Dallas?')

This helps me recognise things faster and answer quicker!

Please respect the fact I am only one student with not a ton of free time to write all the time. I also experience blocks in creativity like everyone else, so don't be mad if your request takes a while to come out.

THE PUNISHMENT FOR SENDING IN A REQUEST AFTER I'VE CLOSED MY INBOX IS A SHORTER PIECE!!

Psst... here's a secret link hehe

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ricky-fitness-ukagaka · 4 months ago

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ok haven’t updated this in a min but im still working on sprites 😭😭

#ricky ghost progress

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wingingitonwheels · 3 years ago

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Winging it from the end of the world.

Prologue

Before we begin, a few notes of introduction. Whilst I’m as ordinary as anyone and equally as special as everyone, I’ve chosen to share this adventure, potentially uncensored, as I have many others. This one is quite extreme as far as outings on the bike go. Both geographically and mentally and to what timescale, I don’t know where this will take me but I welcome all along on the journey, to laugh at and with me, cry for and with me, and to tolerate the eventuality that at times, things won’t be going well. In life, I like to swear. I am quite controlled in that what was my day job, I seemed at times professional and never swore. However, since the children left home and I banished religion from my life (a long time ago for the latter), I find it very liberating to just say it how it is. This said, there family and friends who will read this who may find my language shocking. To manage this, I intend to use asterisks to replace the requisite swear word, and leave you to use your imagination and vocabulary to replace the word or phrase. Multiple sets of asterisks is unlikely to be a good thing but does present an opportunity for you to be artistic and creative.

About the title of this adventure. Whatever I do, I feel that as time has progressed, I’m making it up as I go along. There’s a willowy idea and loose plan to jump on my bike and head vaguely in some direction, with not much structure to anything really: training, gear, direction, contingency plans, nutrition. The parts that are normally set are that it will involve a self-powered bike and it will end by a specific date. This has applied right from my first folly, aged 18, when it would seem, all my friends were in relationships, and I’d already left home, the appeal of just buying a bike and going anywhere you chose was as exciting as life could get. And so it was, the stage was set. My first 10 gear Peugeot Road Race bike, with lever gears on the down tube was bought, loaded up with panniers and off I pedalled, from Windsor to Plymouth and eventually Spain and France, on a wing and a prayer. The direction of travel only set because I knew the A4, as what used to be the Bath Road (and still is through Slough) is a largely straight, Roman Road, and it was difficult to get lost. As with all my trips until now, the only restrictions I had were time and money. I had no money, and I had to be back for my first permanent job at OKI Systems on the Slough Industrial Estate, now famous for its association with Ricky Gervais’ excellent “The Office”. Considering the two landscapes of the UK’s biggest industrial estate and the smell of dog food being produced at the Mars factory in the adjacent building, the draw of something epic such as the Picos and Pyrenees is not hard to comprehend.

Now for the second part of the adventure title. “…from the end of the world”. In 2017, following quite an extended period of ill health (2 operations, meningitis and temporary facial paralysis, all of which was a lot of fun), I’d plotted a route across the USA, East to West, taking in as many national parks as possible. I’d start in South Carolina and finish in either Los Angeles or San Francisco. I’d booked my tickets, my work had given me extended time off, combining my annual leave from two years together to give me a window of 5 weeks to complete the trip. My pleading angle for the request was that my knee consultant had told me that my right knee was about to give up the ghost, on its last leg, so to speak. What an opportunity that was and an incredible employer to allow me to do this. I ended up cancelling my flights as a number of things impacted the build up and training, including a house sale that meant a radical move from busy Buckinghamshire to England’s version of paradise, the Forest of Dean.

By winter 2018, the cycling dream morphed into riding 2,000 miles of Chile, tracking the Andes from Puerto Montt to Lima in Peru, if time allowed, all of which I felt could be achieved in around 3 weeks. Life got in the way, and the thought remained, if you can think it, you can do it; it’s just a matter of time.

Winter 2019 came and went. My priority that season was to see my daughter, Jess , in Australia. I spent 6 weeks with her, not knowing that the day after her 21st birthday, and the day I returned to the UK, that a virus would put a barrier between loved ones all over the world, and whilst writing today, it’s two years and 3 days since we said goodbye. It’s still hard to fathom that I made that call to go and see her at that time, not knowing what impending doom would shroud the world.

With COVID ruling the world, it would seem planning an adventure impossible. It’s definitely not been easy. Borders and restrictions change daily. It would seem flying everywhere is not a problem, but crossing a land border is. Ask the Chileans or Argentinians “Is the border at San Sebastián open for land travel?” The Ushuaian Tourist office says yes, Chilean Authorities say no, Argentine resident says they’re confused. As it’s the first border I would cross, and would leave me stranded closer to Antarctica than any other city in the world, I have been flexible with my adventure visualisation.

At this point in time, I have changed 5 flights, cancelled two, I am owed in refunds from Aerolinas Argentinia £450. My flights have been booked via Santiago to Punta Arenas, Buenos Aires to Ushuaia (which is the end of the world), but currently, you will see me lying in a bed in the centre of Retiro in Buenos Aires, considering once again my direction: do I get on another plane, or ride north or south out of the city?

With this in mind, “end of the world” now has different meaning. For me, rather than being a geographical place, or the back end of nowhere, the name can mean “riding away from all the bad news if you choose to listen to it”, “the moments that made me finally make the choice, seize the day, pack up my job and do it” or “the series of unimaginable unfortunate dental events in the last 4 weeks that took me to hell and back and obliterated all chances of an exciting and predictable build up to my unlikely departure”. I should probably change the name, but it’s a moment in time; winging it “to the end of the world” doesn’t quite have the same tone. And I don’t actually know for sure where I’m going…

Day 1: January 22 - The unpredictability of the land border

I’m counting day one as today; it’s the first day I’ve ridden my bike therefore it is. I’ve hardly touched my bike since early December, which wasn’t in the plans, and not really to be recommended, due to the events in the build up that were inflicted on me, I wasn’t well enough to do a final bike test. The last one I managed, the front wheel, built with a unit that charges devices based on pedal power, hadn’t worked. As the final decision to fly had only made the day before my flight, I put my faith in technology and sent a wish to the bicycle gods it would.

At each stage of the journey, I was surprised to get to the next level: to the airport, through check-in, through security, through Argentinian passport control and then with huge relief, 24 hours after leaving home, I arrived in Retiro, in the heart of Buenos Aires and Hotel Carles, a savvy choice and an expensive taxi ride. My taxi driver did his best to give me a running commentary of the city as we tried hard to understand each other’s pigeon second language. I learnt in that one journey that he has a daughter, aged 8, he rode a bike with his brother for 2km and it nearly killed him, that his brother rode to Ushuaia on a motorbike but the corrugated roads were so terrible, he got repetitive strain injury and his motorbike eventually fell apart, leaving him to fly home as his bike was brought home on a bike wagon. Two other facts I learnt were that Argentina has a population one-third smaller than the UK. The final fact that stayed with me as I rode along the same route today, was that the city has like many others, a distinct line between the rich and the very poor. In Buenos Aires, one demarcation is a physical line, the train track. Here, where people cannot afford to buy or rent, they build with whatever they can, but the majority are made of brick, just boxes with no supporting structures, one on top of another, some 4 storeys high, with no sanitation, stairs and some with only a tin roof. As I watched, I saw one young guy levering himself on a ladder that had been attached to a vertical wall to get to his box home. It was an eye-opening introduction to South America.

Perhaps it was the relief of finally arriving in Argentina. At 5pm local time, I polished off my zuma de Naranja, and made it home before the skies turned black and an almighty downpour announced itself outside my open hotel windows. I picked up my Spanish lessons, and basically started again, and 20 minute later, this insomniac fell asleep for 11 hours. I had arrived.

The number of routes and stages I’ve planned for this trip closely correlates with the number of flights I’ve cancelled or changed. Yesterday, I’d considered that I’d ditch the convalescent Spanish lessons I’d planned for a week in the city in exchange for Plan F, to ride the north border of Argentina to Bolivia leaving Monday, then follow the Andes south until I could or could not get into Tierra Del Fuego (it seems to open or close depending on the wind direction). After 3 hours in bed, contemplating my next move, I’d booked a flight to El Calafate, and finally written off the end of the world. It’s ok, it’s not the end of the world…well, actually it is, but who cares? In my head, it just felt wrong to be cycling away from home, carrying winter gear which weighed an additional 2kg, and not wearing it until I reached Bolivia, in that plan, about 2-3 weeks time. I also couldn’t handle any more poison being injected into my bloodstream, and a trip north meant I’d need a Yellow Fever vaccine ideally tomorrow. When I woke this morning, I had finally stopped with the headaches, nausea and hot flushes, resultant of the following interventions in the last 4 weeks:

COVID booster

Flu jab

Tetanus jab

Typhoid jab

Hepatitis A Jab

Dyptheria Jab

4 separate sessions of dental local anaesthetics

5 dental/jaw x rays

A molar extraction

A tooth repair

Amoxicillin

Metronidazole

A packet of paracetamol a day

A packet of ibuprofen a day interspersed with naproxen

Tramadol

And finally: a cortisone injection in my knee.

Sat at the airport again, writing this list, I am laughing underneath my face mask.

A Yellow Fever injection was just a step too far. I can’t even drink coffee or alcohol! (I managed a few for my farewell drinks though - it was an effort 😁). Ushuaia and it’s remote spot at the end of the world can stay there for all I care. I’ve settled on starting from El Calafate and riding towards, rather than away from home and all the people I care about. It feels better that way, prevailing headwind against me or not. It means I’m 5 days ahead on my schedule, meaning more time to make up stuff as I go along.

Having spent 3 hours building my bike in the hotel room yesterday and carefully organising all my gear, I really enjoyed taking it apart again today and putting it back in the bag. With time on my side, I’m really getting quite good with an Allen key.

See you in Los Andes 🤩

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danetobelieve · 4 years ago

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A Couple’s Home Is Their Castle || Rio and Winston

When: 24/08/2020 Who: @3starsquinn & @danetobelieve Where: Rio and Winston’s home. Summary: Winston and Rio keep working on the defenses that they’re slowly building up around their house. Warnings: n/a

Winston looked at the large spotlights that they had just finished attaching to the roof of their home. Ricky was down in his workshop grafting away at a new set of fastenings for the next set of defenses that they were affixing to their house which left Rio and Winston the job of actually installing the stuff to the house. A job that was more difficult for normies. But when you could use magic and your boyfriend had a serious degree of supernatural strength then everything was honestly a little bit easier. As Rio held the large frame of the bank of UV spotlights in place, Winston finished fastening it to the roof, made sure that it was secure and then gave it a slight rattle to see if it was done. “You know, I don’t think i could move this even if it was going to fall off,” Winston admitted, “do you wanna test it?” The bank of spotlights was something that they had been working on for a while. The idea was that they were basically security lights. Except they would shine out UV light (they were technomagically enchanted with a variety of runes and high powered LED bulbs). In theory they would stop vampires from getting too close to their home. In theory. The truth was Winston wouldn’t know until they tried it out. Which they hoped they’d never have to do. But better safe then sorry, especially when Miriam might be involved.

Orion liked watching Winston work. Considering all of the other thoughts that were constantly running through his head, this was a more than welcome distraction. And considering the whole love potion fiasco, Rio considered himself lucky that Winston was being as cool about it as they were. Even if it wasn’t Rio’s fault and Winston had insisted that the two forgot it ever happened. Rio’s body was still sore from the spawns, but he happily stood out and held the light into place as Winston worked on it. After it was completely fastened, Rio switched just group and began pulling at it, feeding only a small bit of his hunter strength into the motion. He didn’t want to accidentally rip it free, though he wasn’t sure he was necessarily in the best shape to do that anyways. Afterwards, Rio scratched at the wounds of his arms over his sleeves and winced at the pain. “This is incredible. It’s too bad we don’t know any vampires to test this with. I mean, not that I’d want to burn them or anything.” He studied the mechanism and glanced back and forth between it and Winston. God, they were so cool. “What can we do next? Please don’t make me go back into my room again. There’s only so many video games I can play.”

Somehow the sweetest and kindest person who had ever existed had managed to get themselves hurt again. Winston had all but forgotten everything to do with the love potion, although it had been tough to accept, Winston had worked through it and they’d been able to put the whole thing behind them. That was the way it had to be. Rio had hardly been consenting and Winston hadn’t admitted it yet but they really cared deeply about Rio, maybe to the point of loving him. But this was their first relationship and they didn’t want to knee jerk anything until they were completely sure. “You really think?” Winston asked curiously, “Honestly, you remember when we had that month of perpetual night and there was a shit load of vampires out there just snapping at everyone’s heels all the time, well that was when me and Ricky decided that it was time to start taking the safety of this place a lot more seriously.” With their developments in technomancy, well automating everything was only easier. “Oh, I know we’ve installed everything up here but don’t get excited about being with it yet.” Winston couldn’t help but tease Rio, he looked so cute when he was teased. “I still need to hook this up to our AI in the house so that we can literally go like defenses on or whatever and the house will become a safe zone, or as safe a zone as you can have in White Crest.”

“Of course I do! You’re like a tech genius. Anything you do is incredible.” Orion shrugged, as if this was the most natural thing to say in the world. Rio remembered back when they had first met. Rio had troubles giving anyone an abundance of compliments, afraid he was going to come across as weird or desperate. Now, Rio practically told anyone that he could about how great Winston was. It was a welcome change, one of many positive changes that Rio had begun noticing after moving in with Winston and Ricky. “Yeah I remember. It didn’t make doing things at the Scribrary easy. I mean, for people without night vision I mean. Well, I’m glad this place will be safe.” Luckily, Rio didn’t have much of an issue seeing at night. But it had certainly been creepy. He wished there were defenses against hunters they could do. “Oh. Great. So we’re staying on the roof then?” Rio crosses his arms and poured, “Guess it’s good I’m not scared of heights or anything.” He laughed sarcastically and readjusted his hold on the machine, holding onto it in case he slipped. “But that sounds super cool. So do your thing.” Rio couldn’t offer much in terms of technology and was here based solely on his muscle, by some weird sense of irony. But he supposed he could offer some suggestions. “You know, and I hate even suggesting this, but my family replaced all the doorknobs on the house with silver and pure iron.” He made a face at the idea of following something his family did, but depending on the threat, maybe it wasn’t the worst idea. “Not silver, obviously. We know too many werewolves. But maybe we can do something with the iron?”

“You’ve tasted my cooking right?” Winston replied with a chuckle, “Because not even your sweet sweet lips,” Winston winked in the most exaggerated way they possibly could to show that they were joking, “cannot convince me that my cooking is incredible.” The scribrary was going to be a perpetual work in progress for Winston, they weren’t sure if they would ever complete everything that they wanted to do with it, but the fact that they didn’t have to carry a flashlight with them at all times was refreshing enough. “We got all the lights fixed though,” Winston replied with a smirk, “so we’re definitely making progress.” Looking around, Winston shook their head. “Don’t worry, we won’t be up here for too much longer, we’ve just got to thread the wires down through the roof and then Ricky has said it’s cool if we set everything up for the connection in his room, he’s going to be in his workshop for a few more hours anyway so if we’re quick we shouldn’t even take up too much time or space.” Winston quickly and expertly began threading thick spools of wires through the hole in the roof. “Can you just like slowly give me slack on the wire until we’ve got it all through, and then we’ll go in through Ricky’s skylight because I’m way too lazy to climb all the way down and go in through the front door.” Heights bothered Winston too, they didn’t want to be up here any longer then they had to be. But it was easier to not seem bothered by stuff when Rio was around. He made it easier to be confident. “Uh, well we’ve got some fairly crude salt traps for ghosts, we could definitely include like iron and silver traps too, but I’d rather not have them in the doorknobs, it makes it difficult to bring anyone who’s fae or like you said a werewolf over without warning them not to touch the doors.”

Orion considered Winston’s statement. Sure, Winston’s cooking still probably beat Rio’s own. More due to the fact that Rio never actually tried to cook. The little that he knew he knew from cooking with Ricky. Who frequently took over jobs when Rio proved hopeless. “Not everyone can cook like Ricky.” Rio stayed neutrally, blushing at the comment about his lips and scratching nervously at his neck. Okay, so not all the butterflies were gone. But could Rio be blamed when Winston said stuff like that? “The Scribrary has come farther than I ever thought it would. So even if we never do anything else to it I’m going to count it as a win.” Of course, neither of them had any intentions of stopping their progress. The Scribe HQ was really important to Rio. Outside of being filled top to bottom with knowledge and a source of escape from Rio’s old life, the Scribe building attributed to how close Rio and Winston were now. If they hadn’t run into each other that night or started working on the place together, who knew if they would be as close as they were now. Rio would probably still be awkwardly crushing on them in secret. “You got it, boss.” Rio gave Winston a thumbs up and then moved over to hold onto the wire to help out. He loved the skylight idea, mostly so he didn’t have to stare at the ground and try to get down. “I completely agree. The last thing I’d want is for someone like Ariana to burn her hand try to come visit us. I want this place to be safe against threats. So I also want it to be safe for any of our friends that aren’t human.” It was strange, acknowledging that some people weren’t human. For as long as Rio could remember, he had considered everyone human. Undead, werewolf, Fae. But he remembered his conversation with Morgan and the one with Athena about Ariana. Not everyone wanted to be referred to as human. He was still getting used to that.

“Honestly, for someone who only eats meat or fish, I find it almost a little bit disconcerting that he is so good at cooking things that he can’t eat without getting sick. It’s like some kind of unfair super power.” Winston was honestly still glad that they were living with both Rio and Ricky. The two of them made their life so much easier then they had previously imagined that it could be. Grinning gently at Rio, Winston nodded. “I know we’ve still got tonnes of work to do, but with every step we make and everything that we do to make things like a bit more accessible it all seems a bit easier you know.” Winston shrugged to themself and Rio before continuing. “I was actually thinking that we should back up both of the databases, cause I know we back up the Scribrary here and vice versa but it’s probably not a bad idea to back both of them up just in case there is a truly cataclysmic event or something that could damage both locations, which although it sounds unlikely when it comes to White Crest I guess that you can’t be sure.” Laughing at Rio once more, Winston finished threading the wires through the hole in the roof before turning to Rio and pulling open the skylight. “After you dude, and yeah, exactly. I would ideally like to be able to turn everything on or off so that depending on who comes here we can make sure that nothing we have in the house hurts them. Just because someone is fae or something doesn’t mean they’re definitely bad but I also think it’s a good idea to have different things in place that can work with both, I don’t know, it’s just an idea and obviously all the houses defenses are still a work in progress. I’ve not got the autoturret prototypes anywhere near working yet, they don’t aim for shit and the firing mechanism doesn’t work properly either but we’re starting to really make progress on everything else.”

“Right? He has an unfair advantage.” Not to mention his human body was sculpted like some sort of Greek god. It had made talking to him very hard that first night the two had met. The infatuation didn’t last very long though, just until the two actually became close friends. It had been a common trait with most of Orion’s crushes. That star-eyed butterfly feeling mostly disappeared after getting to know them. Winston has been the exact opposite, that feeling only getting stronger and stronger the more time they spent together. “It’s a good idea. I was thinking it wouldn’t be bad to find someone else to keep hold of the information. Y’know, someone trustworthy obviously. If we start building this like we want to, we’re going to need to add in some more people eventually.” It was something Rio had thought about a lot recently. He had ideas of people he could ask, but he wanted to be really careful not to just pull in friends or people he liked. He needed to be smart about this. He wasn’t trying to create some fraternity or book club. He wanted to make a difference. “I’m not trying to hurt anyone. Just keep us safe.” Rio was slowly starting to realize that sometimes the two had to go hand in hand. It wasn’t a fun realization. Lots of existential crisis involved in that inner monologue. With the skylight open, Rio climbed down into it and then jumped, hitting the floor of Ricky’s room and rolling. It wasn’t graceful by any means, but Rio wasn’t injured. “I can’t believe we’re actually casually talking about turrets right now. With anyone else, that would scare me.”

“He’s also just a competent adult which isn’t something that I feel like I’ve ever been able to achieve,” Winston replied with a laugh. Winston raised an eyebrow and bit their lip. “Well there are options, someone like Nell or Bea or Luce could work but I don’t know if they’re impartial enough with their coven involvement, there’s also someone like Leah who’s already got her own library of information and I think that she would understand just the sort of discretion that this needed,” Winston honestly wasn’t sure if they were really the right person to be deciding who should or shouldn’t be involved in all of this, they were still so new to everything that they didn’t think that they could be impartial. “I just worry that if I have to pick someone then the obvious temptation is going to be to just pick my friends and you know that isn’t exactly a good idea.” Biting their lip, Winston slipped into through the skylight after Rio, landing far less gracefully and not managing to roll at all. “You make that look so easy, but yeah I get you. I just know that there’s a bunch of people that have either threatened me or would threaten me with death if they knew the actual truth about me -- also known as a witch hunter -- and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a relative safe haven in which we could offer people in need a place to go should everything go terribly terribly wrong.”

“Y’know? Valid. I wish I was half as competent as he was at adulting. I only got book smarts.” Orion laughed, though it hadn’t entirely been a joke. He often felt like the only thing he could actually contribute was an uncommon amount of storage he kept in his memory for historical facts. He was starting to learn that maybe he could bring more to the table. Just like many had told him, maybe this strength of his wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. “Leah? I know her name. Nell is supposed to introduce us.” A library? That was certainly interesting and something Rio would have to remember when they met. “I know what you mean. My first thought was Blanche. And I think she’d be great but I didn’t know if I only thought it because she was my best friend. Maybe we should make a pros and cons list!” It was one of his nerdier ideas, only made nerdier by the fact that it genuinely excited him. Winston followed after Rio, dropping onto the floor and wobbling against it. “You okay? I have uh- lots of practice falling from things. You didn’t hurt your legs did you?” He studied Winston’s legs for a minute before swiftly averting his eyes and trying to focus on what they were saying. “No. Yeah. Totally. I agree, safe haven is good.” Rio had heard about the witch hunter. He didn’t like the knowledge before, but now knowing about Winston and Nell and others he really didn’t like it. He crossed his arms and his sleeves rubbed against the wounds, a pain shooting through them. Rio was ready to ignore it before he realized that he didn’t have to wear it at all. “Hey uh- this is probably a dumb question, but…” Rio paused, not sure how to ask without sounding weird. Why did he feel so awkward about taking his hoodie off? Probably because he had never gone without it around anyone that wasn’t his family. “Do you mind if I take this thing off? It’s hurting my arms.” He had pulled his arm through the first sleeve but didn’t want to do anything without Winston’s approval. He had the short sleeved shirt under his hoodie, but his arms weren’t always easy to look at.

“Everyone has different abilities and different skills, unfortunately I think that Ricky got all of the practical and useful skills and the two of us got all the useless ones that are only good at Trivia nights.” Winston grinned. Spending anytime with Rio was always a pleasure but he was so similar to Winston in so many ways that sometimes it was night just to spend time with someone who had such similar views to them. “Leah is cool, she was one of Bea’s friends when they were younger and so I kind of know her through Nell and Bea, but she’s really cool and really nice and really really helpful. When I was struggling after Bea’s resurrection she was the one who really helped me work out how I could get rid of all that excess energy.” Chewing their lip, Winston nodded. “I think that Blanche would probably do great at it, but the truth is that she’s also my friend so I don’t know for sure if I can objectively say that, I guess my only concern is that she has lots of people constantly coming to her for help all the time when they probably shouldn’t and I don’t want to give her more tools to make things worse for herself and put more pressure on herself. I think that the scribrary is also a tool and not one that should be used lightly.” Dusting themselves off, Winston stretched a little as they got to their feet. “Nah, I’m okay, just not nearly as graceful as you.” Winston didn’t really realise what Rio had meant at first and frowned a little as they looked at them confused. It took them a minute to work out exactly what Rio was asking. “Oh, please of course, you don’t have to check with me if you don’t want to be wearing that sort of thing.” Winston quickly crossed the room and pressed a kiss to Orion’s lips. “I don’t care and it’s none of my business what you wear, you always look cute with or without the long sleeves and if you’re comfortable then so am I.”

“At least together we’re always going to win first prize?” Orion questioned, shrugging and hoping to find the silver lining in it, but he was giggling the whole time. Clearly, Rio and Winston had found a way to put their talents to use. Even if Rio’s only real contribution was an impressive memory for weird historical facts. The Scribrary was the perfect place to hone that talent. Rio nodded along as Winston explained Leah’s connections to the Vural’s and Blanche’s connection to… well everything. Rio was certainly intrigued by Leah, the girl who Nell said could help him learn more about Phoenix’s. From the sounds of it, she had more knowledge than just that. As for Blanche, Rio didn’t want to overwhelm her. And he didn’t want to ruin his only chance to get things with the Scribes kicked off again. He was positive she would make a good addition, but he didn’t want to rush anything. Not yet. “Good points. We will think on it more. We don’t have to rush anything. Especially since right now we don’t even really know what we’re doing.” That was the truth, at least for Rio. He knew they were going to continue archiving the Scribe information, but he still needed to figure out exactly what he wanted to do with it. All he knew was that he wanted to help people. They needed to figure out the how. But for now- Did Winston just say that Rio was graceful. He started snickering to himself, “Wow. I didn’t think anyone would ever call me graceful. That’s really sad for you.” With Winston’s approval, and a bonus kiss, Rio pulled the rest of the hoodie over his head and tied it around his waist. The sudden exposure in front of someone still felt incredibly weird. Weirdly enough, Rio didn’t even feel that awkward in the short sleeves around Winston. Rio supposed it was a testament to how much he cared about and felt comfortable around them. “Thanks. Seriously uh- I’ve never really walked around with a hoodie on so… it’s weird. But not with you. It’s just- god it’s so much less hot without that thing on.” He sighed into a laugh and gave a quick thumbs up to Winston, his way of thanking them for offering their support to Rio, “Okay, let’s get back to work.”

“I certainly hope that we’d always win first prize.” Winston had only ever been able to rely on their intellect in life. The rest of them hadn’t been exceptional in anyway, but being smart and having magic were really starting to get them places. “Plus with the amount of time you’re in college and the amount of time that I’m working, and the amount of time that we both seem to spend getting caught up in supernatural messes, well it is all something that is a bit much too plan to actively restart the Scribe chapter straight away, we definitely need other people to help and we could probably do with more resources then the two of us have at our disposal.” In that moment Winston wished that they had more money. Sometimes it felt like money fixed everything. Especially when it came to starting a supernatural organisation dedicated to recording supernatural phenomena. Laughing with Rio, Winston shrugged. “Sometimes I guess you have to just accept that your shortcomings are your shortcomings and move on with your life, grace isn’t something that I’ve ever possessed in any real quantity.” Pleased that Rio didn’t feel the need to keep from taking off the hoodie, Winston returned to their work, carefully and neatly winding the wires through the rafters with magic before taking them in their hands and continuing the work when they were at a level that Winston could actually reach. “Rio, you don’t need to say thank you for not wearing a hoodie, if you feel comfortable enough doing it then you know you’re totally fine doing it right, I don’t care as long as you don’t care y’know. It’s like, the people that matter don’t mind and the people that mind don’t matter.”

What Winston said made a lot of sense. The two would need more help, and they would need people that specialized in things that the two of them didn’t. Orion tapped his finger against his chin as he considered all of this. “I’ll start putting together a list. Try to figure out exactly what we are going to need and who may be able to help us, but-” Rio knew the thing that they were really lacking. Funding. “Well, I know we said we don’t want to pull in friends, but what we don’t have is money. Right now anyone that could offer to help us would be more volunteering their time like we are.” He shrugged it off, realizing that wasting time stressing over it now was useless when Rio was here to try to help Winston arm the house. “But that doesn’t matter right now. I’m going to start a list of what we need and then we will start thinking about it.” Rio settled in with Winston, what they were working on now wasn’t something that Rio could provide much help in, but he enjoyed watching them work regardless. “Yeah, yeah. I know. I get what you’re saying but all I’m hearing is ‘I’m Winston and I’m adorable and amazing and support my boyfriend no matter what’” He put on his best Winston impersonation but giggled the entire sentence through. Not that Winston would accept the thanks, because that was the amazing kind of person they were, but Rio couldn’t find a way to describe his gratitude that Winston didn’t act bothered by his appearance. It was only because of them that Rio felt comfortable right now. “So what are you doing right now? With the wiring?”

“Definitely, I can do the same thing and maybe once we’ve actually got some more time to look into this we can compare our notes and see what the other was able to come up with.” Winston knew that money was going to be an issue for a little while and they weren’t sure how they were going to solve that specific issue, but for now it was an issue that wasn’t pressing or urgent and it was certainly one that Winston could live with. “We can work all of this out soon, ideally we would be able to find some sort of donor or someone who could fund this for us but this isn’t like a university grant system and they were already hard enough to get in the first place.” Winston quirked an eyebrow thoughtfully as they pressed on with their work. Letting out a slight chuckle, Winston shrugged at Rio and gave them a quick smile. “Yeah, that’s pretty much it, ignoring all the compliments which thanks for those by the way, but yeah, I will support you no matter what because what’s the point of going out with someone if you’re not going to be there for them all the way, all the time, no matter what.” They didn’t even need to ask Rio about whether they’d do the same for them because they knew without hesitation that they they would. Focussing on their work, Winston grinned. “So, we’ve got power cables because this is going to take up a lot of power,” Winston indicated a bunch of the cables, “then we’ve got these, I’ve installed solar panels on the back of the lights and those feed down into a generator and battery set up that I’ve got in the basement of the house so that our power bill isn’t monstrous when or if we ever have to use these things, plus we should all invest in renewable resources anyway if we can…” Winston pulled a final wire out of the bunch and wiggled it for Rio to see, “this is an ethernet cable, it connects everything up there to the internet and to our computer and AI system so that everything works on voice command, at least that’s the theory.” Making magical tech work was an entirely different story.

“Deal!” Orion agreed, happy that he had Winston here to work through this with. Everything seemed easier with Winston’s help and support. “It’s sort of crazy to say, but honestly I’m not even stressed about it. And I’m usually stressed about… well, everything.” That wasn’t even an exaggeration, “I think I owe that to you. I mean, I also owe it to Ricky and Blanche and Ariana and everyone else. But with the Scribes stuff, you keep me grounded.” As Winston explained what they were doing, Rio peaked from behind Winston and rested his chin on their shoulder. His hands were flat against the ground, supporting him on either side. He pressed a quick kiss against Winston’s cheek from behind and turned his attention back to wires that Winston was fiddling with. “Have I mentioned that I love watching you work?” Rio was trying to get more comfortable with banter like this. Being able to openly compliment and flirt with Winston because the two were dating. It was still an odd feeling. “But in all seriousness, I love the idea of it being voice command. As long as I can’t accidentally voice command it to activate the turrets or something. But this is like the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“You know that we’ll get there in the end, just like with the scribrary and the house defenses, I think these things naturally take time.” Winston pursed their lips thoughtfully before bobbing their head in agreement with Rio. “Maybe it’s just a sign that you’re getting more and more mature then you already were and you’re getting better and better at handling all the stuff that the world throws at you, sure we’ve helped, but you were the one who has done all of the hard work. We’ll all obviously keep helping you, but you’re the one who’s doing the lifting you know, you can’t forget that. You shouldn’t either.” Winston gave them a reassuring smile. “But you know, you really keep me grounded too.” Running a hand over Rio’s cheek affectionately, Winston returned to their work as Rio watched, explaining everything that they did as they worked. “I’ve noticed that you love watching me work, I always just assumed that everyone thought it was boring, but I guess you not being bored by me is why we make such a good couple.” Winston returned the kiss before laughing. “I’ll make sure that the voice command to set off the turrets requires double verification or something so that you don’t have to worry about that, but considering that on some scale the house is going to be powered by a magic spell that I’ll be weaving as it goes, you’ve kind of got to bear in mind that once this all goes off it’ll feed off of my energy a bit, I know you won’t fuck around with it, but yeah, don’t fuck around with it … lol.” Winston was right back to being awkward. Great.

“Bleh. Ew. My one greatest weakness.” Orion feigned coughing and grabbed at his heart for dramatic effect. The joke was meant mostly to distract from the compliments and avoid having to agree with Winston that Rio had anything to do with his own growth and development since moving in with them. He’d rather give all the credit to his friends and the others that had helped him stand up to his family and leave. “But that’s good. I want you to be able to feel as comfortable as I’m able to feel around you.” Rio had that thought about it a lot recently, especially after the love potion. Once it began wearing off, it was so easy for Rio to say that he never loved Blanche. Because that wasn’t what love felt like. Rio was pretty sure he knew what love felt like now. It all seemed so obvious. “I don’t know how people couldn’t find this stuff fascinating. Technology is so rapidly evolving so watching someone work with it and learning how to wire things and-” Rio stopped himself, realizing that it actually did sound pretty boring just talking about it, “Y’know what? Now that I’m thinking about it I think it’s just you. I just like watching you specifically work.” Rio nodded and crossed his heart as a promise, but found himself smiling by how Winston’s voice trailed off awkwardly. Since the two had spent so much time together, the two didn’t sound nearly as awkward as they had when they first became friends or first started getting feels for each other. “Ooh. I can’t believe I’m the one not super awkward right now. It’s really cute.” Rio pokes at Winston’s cheek playfully, “No worries about me accidentally using the AI for evil. I don’t even like asking Siri to do too much for me.”

Winston knew that Rio was not very good at giving themselves compliments and they also knew that they were worse at taking them, so they would just continue giving them compliments until it was so normalised for them that they had no other choice but to accept them. That was the plan. “Of course, I do, like, you wouldn’t believe how comfortable I feel around you, you … I guess I just trust you without any hesitation.” Raising an eyebrow, Winston secured cable ties and plugged things in, making sure that everything was neat and tidy as it did run up through Ricky’s roof. “I’m glad that you admitted that you’ve just got a bit of a thing for watching me work because honestly sometimes when I do the stuff you love to watch even I am bored, there are definitely things that you’ve obviously just got to get done you know, but I appreciate you keeping me company, it makes everything a bit better and less boring then before.” Laughing gently, Winston shrugged. “I can believe that i’m the super awkward one, I know you think I’m not as awkward as you, but social situations don’t always come easy to me, people are less easy then computers.” Probably because they didn’t just think in ones and zeroes. “I don’t worry about you accidentally using the AI for evil, I worry that someone will upset Ricky and he’ll set the autoturrets on them for not being polite or something.” Winston joked, they were pretty sure Ricky wouldn’t do that … right?

Knowing how comfortable Winston was with Orion was probably the greatest compliment that Rio could receive, and certainly one that he was willing to accept. The trust between the two of them was something Rio had always wished he could have with someone but figured he never would. “Same to you. It’s good to have someone that I know I can come to with anything. And i’m glad you know that you can do the same with me.” Sure, not everything could be the most exciting thing on Earth. But one of the greatest things about the mutual comfort Rio held with Winston was that the two had the ability to work around each other and be completely comfortable and entertained. The two could probably just lie on the floor across from one another and Rio would be content. So maybe all of the actual work itself wasn’t the most riveting, but Rio loved watching the way Winston’s hands fiddled with the project. Or the way their nose scrunched as they processed something in their head and the switch in facial expression once they finally worked it out. Watching Winston’s break work through their passion was sort of incredible. “I’m here to hang out whenever you want company. And I can also dip whenever you need time to focus.” It wouldn’t hurt Rio’s feelings. “Yeah, you’re right. I mean, we can’t all be like Ricky. Or Nell. Or any of the other social butterflies. But I think you have a certain charm with people. Even if you don’t think you do.” A lot of people in town seemed to know them and like them, so Winston must have been doing something right. Rio chuckled at the thought of Ricky messing with the turrets, mostly because he knew that Winston was joking and probably wasn’t serious. At least mostly. “Yeah well, let’s just keep an ear out for that to be sure. Otherwise, I think you’ve got a really good start. I feel safer already.”

#wickedswriting #p: orion #para #chatzy #chatzy para #a couple's home is their castle

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