#so i apparently finished and/or bullshitted well enough for that to be the case?

[qqueenofhades]

Had a dream last night that I needed to write a paper for a presentation in twenty minutes, on a subject I didn't know, in a conference that wasn't in my field, while colleagues sent me anonymous judgy notes and an obnoxious omniscient British narrator type called me patronizing things and got my name completely wrong. We've done it lads. Ultimate Academic Nightmare.

[gay-dorito-dust]

Tag list: @sh-tposter2021 @casmosmoon @hoesindifferentshows @daffodildelight @stuckinaoaktree @this-is-music @good-so @farleyis @starksdaughter20

Part 1

It has been a couple of days since your confession and Hobie was conflicted on whether he should rip the preverbal bandaid off and tell you of his secret identity, and possibly putting you at risk for potentially dangerous circumstances in the future, or keep you in the dark for a little while longer until he felt brave enough with himself and his situation to come forward; After all personal relationships -whether platonic or romantic- and Spider-Man never went well together. It was a sacrifice placed upon the shoulders of all variations who were chosen to dawn the mask of Spider-Man.

For if the legacy of being Spider-Man was a death sentence to those who are close, Hobie doesn’t want you death to be treated as his ‘canon event’ or whatever hand fisted bullshit excuse Miguel was trying to ram down everyone’s throats in order to justify in allowing a loved one of theirs to die. Hobie refuses that being the case and due to his righteous mistrust of Miguel, he kept your name out of his mouth unless it was within the presence of the few he could trust; Miles, Pavitr and Gwen.

‘So they have a crush on you.’ Pavitr began.

‘Yeah.’

‘And you have a crush on them.’ Miles jumped in.

‘Ain’t no point in hiding it.’ Hobie cooly replied because why should he bother hiding the obvious.

‘So…what’re you going to do about it?’ Gwen finishes and Hobie only shrugs in response, ‘dunno.’

Pavitr made an face of exaggerated shock and looks over at Miles and Gwen, who were already expecting this reaction from him as they exchanged looks with him, before looking back at Hobie. ‘Dunno, the person you like has expressed that they like you too-‘ ‘-it wasn’t me they were talking to Pav, it was Spider-Man, clear difference. No need to rom-com it.’ Pavitr waved his comment away and continues on his tangent, ‘they like you, you like them and your response to all that is; Dunno?!’ Hobie -again- shrugs. He really didn’t know what to do, yes the feelings between you two were mutual but that didn’t mean he was going to risk your safety over them; no matter how deeply he feels them to the point where the mere idea of you being put at risk because of him acting out of his selfishness in having you, made him physically hurt.

Hobie would rather enact upon his selfishness in a way that meant letting you go and moving on to someone who wasn’t going to be putting your life in constant danger, whilst also getting to shamelessly cling onto some part of you in the process; even if that meant just being your friend, even though he already knew that wasn’t what you wanted. ‘What do you want me to do Pavitr?’ Hobie began, ‘Go up to them and be like ‘remember the talk you had with Spider-Man up on the roof? Yeah that was me and no I’m not having a laugh because I like you too.’ He made a face at this, ‘nah I’d rather them call me a nonce for the rest of my life, well that is if they still want me in their life afterwards for lying to them this entire time.’ He murmurs the last part to himself mostly and it was silent for a while as he, Pavitr, Gwen and Miles sat on what has been said.

The later three shared a look between them as Hobie looked at a picture of the two of you that he kept within the pockets of his vest, smiling softly to himself as the echos of your laughter ran in his head like a melody he could set his soul adrift to on his most sleepless of nights. It was obvious to Gwen, Pavitr and Miles that Hobie held you close to his chest, right where his heart is; Gwen in particular was aware of how much of an impact you had on Hobie from the times she spent at his place and it was obvious as to where it was that you touched as Hobie made it apparent to keep it that way. You’ve made a home for yourself within Hobie’s heart and she knew that he’d fight to keep you in his life.

‘Hobie,’ he lifted his eyes to meet theirs, ‘would you rather be afraid to tell them who you are for the rest of your life, or tell them while you still have the chance because from what you’ve already told us about y/n, they wouldn’t hate you or call you a nonce, whatever that is.’ Miles mumbled under his breath as Hobie raised his brows, ‘has it crossed your mind at all that you might just overthinking all this? Not to say the fear ain’t real, what I’m trying to get at is this; you should pursue what makes you happiest, regardless of the fears you may have because in the end isn’t it better to have love and lost then to have never have loved at all?’

Hobie mulled on Miles’ advice once he got back to his reality before finding himself standing on that very same rooftop where his conflict began, looking down as he clutched his mask between both hands in contempt, so much so that he didn’t even hear your voice call out to him until you were right next to him. ‘Hobie? Everything alright?’ He had told you prior to meet up on the rooftop of some abandoned apartment complex that you were more then camisole with at this point, but the way he said it made you feel as though there was something eating away at your best friend and you weren’t about to let him go through anything alone without you.

Upon realising how close you were to him, Hobie was slick enough to hide his mask behind his back when he addressed you, stuffing it into his back pocket so that you wouldn’t get overly curious as to his hand placement but then again you were always as observant as him when he noticed the way your eyes lingered, like you already knew what this was about; to which Hobie wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case for it would make this situation a lot easier for you to process what you already knew. ‘Yeah, everything’s cool, why is it that you think somethings up?’ The raise of your brows only told Hobie that you weren’t buying it, ‘oh I think there is but it looks to me that you need a little prompting.’ and without missing a beat your hand was halfway to reaching for his back pocket when he caught your wrist, holding it there as he looked at you incredulously. ‘The hell was that for knobhead.’

You shrugged, ‘like I said, you needed prompting otherwise you wouldn’t be defending whatever’s in your back pocket so adamantly as you are now.’ You were smart, Hobie had to give you that as he lets go of your wrist and decides to quit the unnecessary prolonging and pulled out the mask from his back pocket, chucking it into your awaiting hands as he then sat himself near to the edge with his back facing you so he couldn’t see the look upon your face when you say, ‘so this is what you were hiding from me…I knew Spider-Man felt too familiar and now I know why.’ He heard your footsteps get closer before stopping all together as you sat yourself next to him.

You were both silent but it was a silence loud enough to dampen out anything else in that moment and Hobie didn’t know where this silence would lead to, and neither did you as you were now realising that you had confessed your feelings to your best friend without knowing it; which was already enough to take in but for that friend to also be spider-man was a whole other thing to unpack. Where you mad that he didn’t tell you? No, not even in the slightest but you were more worried then you could ever be mad, after all you just found out your crush and best friend was spider-man for fuck sakes so of course you’d be more worried for his well being. ‘Here,’ you tell him, holding out his mask for him to take, ‘you can have it back.’ Hobie did as you asked and took his mask back, but before it was fully in his grasp you yanked it away from his reach, causing him to look at you.

‘Give it.’ He tells you straightforwardly but you stood your ground as you pressed a finger to your cheek, ‘not until you tell me something first; did you know I had a crush on you prior.’ Hobie shrugs. ‘No, honestly it wasn’t until but you admitted that you liked me that somethings started to make sense.’ You hummed, content with his answer but you weren’t through quite yet. ‘Do you…feel the same.’ You once again asked but this time your voice wasn’t as steady and strong, it was fearful and hesitant; something Hobie never wants you to be when near him.

‘Of course I do, I thought I made it obvious when I personally dealt with those who chatted shit about you behind you back, I thought it was obvious that when I let you into my heart, that there would be no way that I was letting you go but with this,’ he gestured to the mask in your outstretched hand, ‘made it all the more harder for me to do that without putting you in danger; I was hiding this other life from you to protect you but you were always too observant for your own good but it’s one of the many things I love about you.’ Hobie admits, happy he finally got it off of his chest. After hearing all that, you gave him back his mask and rested your head against his shoulder, murmuring, ‘your such a hassle.’

Hobie smiled for what felt like the first time in a long while throughout this whole situation and slugged his arm over your shoulder before resting his head on top of yours, ‘yeah but I’m your hassle.’ He says before pressing a kiss to your head, feeling you as you snuggle into his side, smiling to yourself, ‘how unfortunate.’ You say half heartedly as Hobie joins in, ‘yeah, poor you.’

[darklinaforever]

Daemon in love? Excuse me you can't be serious.

Grooming her

Trying to ruin her reputation

Abandoning her half naked in a brothel

Flirting with Laena in front of her salad

Leaving her again at the funeral cause the man was walking away if she wouldn't chase him, nothing would have happened. He didn't speak to her nor cared of doing that

Making up the excuse he spared her cause she was a child meanwhile married Laena, who was younger than Rhaenyra

Finishing as fast as possible the sex with her, he literally never looked at her once or kissed her again while fucking her. Rhaenyra was more tender cause she was holding him tight, he 0, nothing

Ignoring her feeling bad while baby was coming, ignoring her screams, calling his name during their child miscarriage

Looking at her with disgust during the funeral of Visenya (who knows what he was thinking)

Yelling at her during the council cause she doesn't want go war

Choking her out cause of the prophecy. Almost KILLING her cause she couldn't literally breathe anymore and if he didn't stop he would have killed her!

And this is nothing yet, wait for S2 and have fun on watching how Daemon damage Rhaenyra in the name of the so called love named by you

Yall saying he's in love by watching glances of flirting while grooming and kisses is out of your mind. Be for fucking real!

As I said before, this has all been covered many times, but you don't accept my answers and act like a parrot.

Daemon is a gray character and his actions are therefore generally complex, not meant to simply be boiled down to purely good or purely evil, like the brothel scene. But again all you care about is pushing your evil groomer Daemon agenda. Once again, Daemon is a gray character and this book and show grooming story is bullshit :

Over the centuries, House Targaryen has produced both great men & monsters. Prince Daemon was both. In his day there was not a man so admired, so beloved, & so reviled in all Westeros. He was made of light & darkness. To some he was a hero, to others the blackest of villains.

I've already literally said that this strangulation scene was stupid and incoherent and that, no, it's not because GRRM accepted this scene that it makes sense. GRRM also confirmed the last season of GOT with its ending and we often all talk about how stupid and incoherent it was and that GRRM himself said that its ending would be different from the show. Once again, books and show are not the same thing. Unless of course you are one of the imbeciles believing that Daenerys' behavior was consistent at the end of the series... In which case I would have enough information on your capacity for analysis. In fact, the simple fact that you repeat the grooming argument over and over proves it enough to me...

Also, once again you are complaining about me saying Daemon loves Rhaenyra, well then complain about the writers and directors who said that and also about Matt Smith. Are you planning to harass them too ?

Oh and for the :

"Finishing as fast as possible the sex with her, he literally never looked at her once or kissed her again while fucking her. Rhaenyra was more tender cause she was holding him tight he 0, nothing"

Here's what Daemon did during the love scene, even though he apparently didn't do anything or show any signs of tenderness...

Rhaenyra didn't try to kiss Daemon during their sex scene either ? As if that was proof of anything ? Like they hadn't kissed multiple times before with Daemon gently holding Rhaenyra's chin ? As if Daemon hadn't rested his forehead tenderly on hers ? As if he hadn't slowly loosened his dress ? As if he hadn't tenderly kissed and caressed her shoulders ? As if he hadn't held her face in his hands to look at her ? As if he hadn't squeezed her thigh in his hands ? As if he didn't caress her face again before resting his forehead on hers ? Oh and if you watch from 1 minute and 14 seconds to 1 minute and 17 seconds Daemon actually puts his arm under Rhaenyra to hug her too. Then as if the sex itself hadn't been slow and tender ? Saying that he's done with sex with her as soon as possible is the biggest bad joke I've seen. 😂

And then I repeat myself, but I don't care what happens to this already shitty and incoherent show. Even if Daemon cheat on Rhaenyra in the show, it will not impact the book because, small detail that you seem to ignore again and again, the book is not the show and the show is not the book, the canon of the book and the show canon are not the same thing. If Daemon cheats on Rhaenyra in the show, that won't be proof that he cheated on her in the book. It's you who seems to be in complete disillusionment repeating over and over again that you can't wait for the rest of the show to come out as if Daemon cheat Rhaenyra ever comes true was going to destroy me even though I don't fucking care basically. The book will still exist and from there, fuck you.

Also, no matter what happens, I will always have this magnificent musical composition for Daemyra :

And again, stop acting like you care about Rhaenyra's abuse. If that were the case you would be talking about Alicent and the Greens in general and above all, you would not proudly proclaim that you can't wait to see Daemon abuse Rhaenyra again and again in season 2. Seriously you are all completely sick...

Once again I recommend going to the tumblr of @la-pheacienne and of @horizon-verizon to educate you on what the character of Daemon and the Daemyra relationship really is. The posts of @stromuprisahat are also pretty good in general on Fire and Blood.

@aleksanderscult

[thessalian]

Thess vs Performance Review 2024

Well, performance review finally happened. Not that I was particularly stressed about it - honestly, I don't have the energy for that shit. I know damn well they can't afford to lose me, and that must translate to a good performance review, right? I mean, surely they know as well as I do how much they can't afford to have me not doing even the hours I currently do.

...I had no idea quite how much they understood that. Not even last year's apparent triumph.

Before the review even got underway, it was, "Oh, hey, did you ever hear back about that monitor you asked about?" When my response was, "Nooooooo and I did ask again back in July, and I also noticed it's been giving me headaches that sometimes spark migraines", Scruffman was very much on it. As an aside - just to have it on record, as we were talking about equipment - I mentioned that I'd figured out why I kept having the electronic patient record system crash on me. It's not the server that's lacking memory - it's this very old i5-running POS laptop. I checked out Task Manager earlier, and it turns out that that fucking machine is quite often hitting 100% CPU and RAM capacity. Like, regularly. I mean, it's hardly a surprise, when you think about it - Windows is now rolling out some of its AI features onto Win10 machines, which is a resource hog right there on top of Win10's usual bloat, plus the various security features that have to be running on a machine handling patient data. But that old Dell just can't handle that shit without horking occasionally, in the same way you shouldn't feed very small children whole grapes - you have to cut them in half first.

Anyway, Scruffman was very much, "Oh, okay, we should be proactive about this because we want you to have all the tools you need." I was ... a little stunned, but said I'd email him a summary of our conversation about my current equipment so he could escalate it to Head Honcho. He was, again, very jazzed about this. I swallowed my surprised blink as best I could, and on we went.

Honestly, I wasn't surprised for long, because we got right into the "core values" section, which ranks a bunch of workplace stuff from Needs Improvement to Exceeds Expectations. I actually put "Exceeds Expectations" on a few more things this year than I did last year, and Scruffman told me it still wasn't enough. We had the same conversation where I explained that I just have very high expectations of myself. But he said something different this year. This year, he said, "Yeah, just I really want to make sure you get the maximum possible money because we really love having you and would really hate to lose you".

So ... I ... can apparently expect a raise?!? For some reason, this blows me entirely away. There's not a lot of that about these days. But ... I mean, hey, if he thinks I've earned ALL THE RAISE, I'm not going to argue with him.

Anyway, upshot was that I am apparently magnificent. Which ... I guess. I do my job to the best of my abilities and this is somehow some kind of miracle. Then again, given...

Yeah, there was a conversation about the others too. My dedication to prioritising workload properly (urgent cases, then chronologically) was lauded, and I did point out the cherry-picking going on. (Seriously, it only takes a look at the archives to see it. We're still on yesterday's long-ass bullshit and New Girl was grabbing the short-and-easys from today before yesterday's typing was finished. I can't blame Temp for this one because she wasn't in today, but I figure she does similar.) Let's just say that Scruffman was not pleased. He very seldom gets grim and determined-looking, but I guess given today's performance review, there was a feel of, "Okay, we're going to have to actually do something about this shit because this is the one thing that my star secretary complains about and it probably needs to stop". I can't expect him to stop it completely, mind - he'd have to be hovering over their shoulder at all times - but the fact that he's going to have a word at all is saying something.

Not that that helped at the end of today, or anything. By the time my performance review meeting was finished, my forms signed off by both parties, and my overworked ass was sitting back down ... well. There was almost nothing in the queue that didn't top five minutes. The first three on the list were 9, 6, and 20 minutes respectively. (Yeah, you read right - twenty fucking minutes. Of course it was Breast Guy.) Now, my meeting was in the afternoon, I still had some mid-length but persnickety stuff in my queue, there was a five-minute urgent case that no one wanted to touch, and I hoped that someone would pick up at least one or two of the longer ones by the time I was done. Just so that it wouldn't all be sitting there for the duration. Nope. New Girl picked up a thirty-second one from this morning at about 4pm and was gone after that. (I still don't know what hours she works, but I have a feeling it's not as many as her contract states...). Goblin tried, but ... nope. I did the nine and six minute ones, which took a half-hour between them because they were from one of our worst word salad individuals. I could obviously make it make sense - that's my job - but it takes time. So ... well, that twenty minute long Breast Guy monstrosity is someone else's problem.

Thing is ... there's a reason I try not to do long dictations at the end of the day. It's because by then, I'm tired and usually having pain flares. Today's no different, but I had to vent a bit. And maybe brag a tiny bit.

Anyway, happy Halloween / Veilguard day! I'm pondering treating myself to takeaway. I did good. (And also I hurt a lot and not-cooking feels like a thing.)

[sailormoonandme]

Mamoru is NOT useless in the Anime Part Deux: Manga Comparisons

In my previous post I talked about what Mamoru actually does in the anime and debunked the persistent narrative that he is useless.

Ah, but perhaps the narrative shouldn't be taken so literally.

Maybe it isn't that he literally does nothing, or that what he does truly useless.

Ya see, 'Mamoru is useless' is actually a super secret spy code phrase that is actually intended to express the following sentiment:

"Mamoru's power is of such a low level that he is unworthy of Usagi'. But in the MANGA he has the Golden Crystal and a uber kewl finishing move and actual magical powers and isn't just some guy. He has a power and a destiny WORTHY of being Sailor Moon's lover."

Let us be charitable and accept that a shitton of fans are indeed expressing a sentiment along those lines when they claim 'Mamoru is useless in the anime'.

The problem is...this is bullshit...on multiple levels.

Manga and Anime Power Levels

Now to be clear, I like Manga Mamoru a whole lot. My intention is not to critque him as a character, neither to hold him up as superior or inferior to anime Mamoru. I am just trying to deconstruct this line of thinking. With that being said...

As originally written, Mamoru in the manga IS just 'some guy' (read: a normal human with no supernatural powers to speak of) until he 'dies' and is possessed by Queen Metalia.

It is only then that he gains any kind of abilities but these are obviously just Metalia's powers working through him. He is her glorified meat puppet during this part of the story. The situation changes at the end of the Dark Kingdom arc, when Mamoru displays psychogeometry powers.

Later in the consequent arc, the Black Moon arc, he is shown to have minimal healing powers too.

In addition he displays psychometry powers and later in the arc, prompted by how he feels useless and unable to help, his future self (King Endymion) helps him to unlock his one and only offensive technique, Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber.

In the Infinity arc (the scans of which currently escape me) I believe he (like his anime counterpart) acts as a magical life support system for Chibi-Usa, but this is owed to his own magical abilities, which isn't the case for anime Mamoru.

In the Dream arc he learns he possesses the Golden Crystal, an artefact that is connected to the all powerful Silver Crystal and serves to boost its power. It is here that Sailor Moon creator Naoko Takeuchi retcons that it was this artefact that was boosting Sailor Moon's powers during past battles.

Bear in mind, the Dark Kingdom arc was originally intended as the sum total of the Sailor Moon story, meaning the Golden Crystal was not in Takeuchi's mind at the time.

Following the Dream arc, Mamoru consequently dies.

So...how are things over in the anime?

Well, whilst we do not initially know this, over the course of the first season we discover that Mamoru as Tuxedo Mask has the following abilities:

He can magically transform into Tuxedo Mask, whereas his manga counter part is literally just wearing clothes

He can sense whenever Usagi transforms and is in danger, triggering him to automatically transform and travel (possibly by teleportation?) to wherever she is

He can generate a seemingly infinite number of roses the stems of which are as sharp as darts, and can throw them from significant distances with pin point accuracy

He has a cane that can magially extend itself and might be magically empowered to be tougher and more resilient than a normal cane, since he often uses it like a sword

He clearly has beyond human durability, streangth, speed and agility as he leaps from rooftops and is able to survive hits that would cripple a normal human. The same is true of the Senshi, implying they all possess similar vague enhancements

In addition, in season 2/Sailor Moon R, he reveals that he can fire a whole barrage of roses that are apparently powerful enough to diffuse an attack from Rubeus, one of the high ranking generals of the Black Moon Clan.* And, of course, as I mentioned above, through his emotional connection with Usagi he was able to generate the Spiral Moon Heart Rod, though this doesn't seem to be an ability he developed in season 3 so much as simply another application of the 'love energy' he and Usagi seem to share.

Beyond that, his magical abilities do not evolve throughout the anime. Meaning that Manga Mamo starts out as weaker than his Anime counterpart and only later develops magical powers of his own, all of which are...well...not overly useful in a combat situation. Not until he gets Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber roughly halfway through the Black Moon Arc anyway. It is only then that he surpasses his anime counterpart's power level.

Sure, psychometry and psychogeometry can be useful when it comes to gathering intelligence, locating allies, etc. But when a Youma or Droid or Daimon is seconds away from stabbing you or someone you care about its not THAT useful to know where everyone is at the time or how they are feeling about it. His healing abilities are also kinda cool...but also redundant when Usagi's own abilities can literally bring the dead back to life.

And then you have the Golden Crystal. Let me be clear, I personally wish Mamoru DID have the Golden Crystal in the anime. But, him not having it...doesn't really matter in terms of how useful or useless he might be.

In the anime, Mamoru's love and emotional support BOOSTS Usagi's power levels. In the manga the Golden Crystal ultimate is just a literalisation of that same concept. It is a solid tangible object that functions the exact same way and its magic is clearly activated through Mamoru's emotional connection to Usagi anyway. So, on a practical level, what's the difference really? Especially when you consider:

a) In the anime and the manga, Usagi's power levels are boosted via the love and support of her friends anyway. Takeuchi in the manga simply literalises this also in the form of the Holy Grail, which in the manga is formed from the connection the Senshi share. It amounts to the same thing though.

b) In the manga, Mamoru is dead, his Golden Crystal has melted into the Galaxy Cauldron, and yet, without the power boost it provided, Sailor Moon was still able to go head to head with Galaxia, the Senshi of Destruction. So, clearly Sailor Moon was mindblowingly powerful no matter what.

So, the idea that manga Mamoru is worthier because he is more powerful than his anime counterpart is simply nonsense. Until he got Tuxedo la Smoking Bomber he was catagoriclly less powerful. And by that point in the story, the narrative had already repeatedly emphasised how in love the pair were, to the point of possibly implying they had had sex and already introduced their daughter from the future.

Are we to take it that Mamoru wasn't actually worthy of her affection until he could reduce monsters to dust with his Kamehameha-esque energy attack?

If not, then anime Mamoru must also have been 'worthy' of Usagi too.

There is a lot more to say about the statement at the top of this post but I will save that for next time.

*He also displays some other abilites in the final episode of season 3, but he is charged up on evil energy at that point so I don't think its fair to count it.

[scrollsfromarebornrealm]

divorce

Riven exhaled. Of all the things that weren't absolutely, positively, fucking needed at this point in time--Ishgardian political bullshit was at the top of the list. Mathye was still in the throes of recovery from two major surgeries--upgrades for his leg's socket having been the first surgery, and the second--the reattachment following one of his bi-yearly maintenance. The second was the worst--as he couldn't be given painkillers--which meant his curse would trigger. Augustine had just about had it with his brother being out of his mind in pain every time the maintenance happened--and Nero was also of the same mindset. With the Empire hesitantly opening up trade once again, there was a chance that there was a safer-and healthier option...

"Is it certain that the baby is his?" She asked acidly. "Look him up in the Ishgardian social directory and he's the definition of cuckold!" The 'him' being Arsène Seymour, Augustine's stepfather. The look that crossed Emmanellain's face made Riven narrow her eyes.

"Well..."

"I am not going to like this, am I?"

"The story is, when the father sought to confront him over his daughter's pregnancy, Arsène instead paid him to have her be sent to the family holdings outside of the city. She was kept in high luxury--and when the baby was born, he had the blood tested."

"Did she agree to being treated like chattel?" Riven snapped, and then stopped. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't--"

"You need to sleep." Emmanellain chided. "Things have improved with Zoissette, and Mathye's over the worst of it now, yes?"

"Hopefully. He hasn't fully reverted, though. With all the stress...the other Knight-Dragoon healers think that it might be another week." But for a mercy Mathye had at least shed some of his scales, which was a good sign.

"To answer your question, it seems the daughter was all for the plan. Apparently she'd set her cap for a lord, and as House Dzemael is known for overlooking indiscretions in certain cases..."

"Overlooking indiscretions." Riven repeated softly. "So...what? This had been in the planning for a while?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. The family is new money, but many of the old lords and ladies aren't willing to open any doors into high society. So one must carve their own path. And it helps matters that Lord Seymour is still a staunch traditionalist, which makes many in Dzemael very happy. By all accounts, he is completely over the moon with both his new wife and infant son."

"In the meanwhile, his now ex-wife and firstborn are out in the cold." Riven finished. She closed her eyes, rubbing at them.

"Not completely. The Lady Catherine's family has taken them both in, but it's said Yannick is...beside himself with fury." Emmanellain continued, naming the brother Augustine had grown up with. He watched as Riven opened her eyes.

"I'm assuming if you're telling me about this, there's a concern someplace." Emmanellain offered a wry smile.

"Not from Lord Seymour." He said. "Yannick and his lady mother? Yes. Hopefully they'll keep their ire directed at Seymour--but there's still that slim chance..." He trailed off. Riven exhaled, understanding.

"Right." From what Augustine had told them, Yannick and Catherine had contributed to the nightmare that had been his childhood. Both had been abusive, but as Augustine's martial and magical skill had grown--Yannick had gotten worse and worse, fearing that Augustine would supplant him as the Seymour heir.

"Father thinks everything should be alright, but it wouldn't hurt for you to keep a weather eye out."

"I'll do one better than that." Riven said. "I'm going to speak to Nero. If he feels Mathye's strong enough, we're going to Dravania tomorrow and waiting out his reversion."

[thegeminisage]

squeezing in a little korok hunting before i have to Do Stuff just kidding as soon as i finished typing that i had to get up. but NOW im back to hunting koroks

every day my map opens with everything on as default and i just caught sight of two more gloom spawn points and became Afraid. under one hand it kind of takes the fun out of it if i know Where they are under the other i become extremely terrified of even going NEAR where they are. so.

i did go ahead an enable lynels though because you have to be prepared for that shit and i was very surprised to see there are still quite a few on the surface! incheresting...

absolutely disgusted with my past self for doing SO many shrines without getting the chest. what was she thinking!!! girl you never leave the chest! and since i don't have any fans (i have 2 left but theyre for emergencies only), i can't go in and get them without losing my bike and having to spend zonaite to make a new one...after i finish this section, im tracking some fans down for sure. and THEN im gonna expand my energy wells

aw man the spring of power...i'll never forget the memory from here!!!! i can't go into the quarry tho bc Hands >:(

YOOOOOO this statue also wants to know about the mother statue........

oh shit she wants dinraal's claw........also, canonical dinraal she pronouns. hell yeah

oh um. just kidding! i totally do have to go into the quarry! my bike probably wouldn't be able to get out this tiny hole...

this (dragging the bike everywhere) wouldnt be an issue if i just had more FANS. i have like thirty steering sticks. why am i so short on fans!!

i am Extremely Close to the spawn point adn i am Very scared.

oh you know what i shouldve left a fast travel point at the spring of power...augh, but then i wouldn't have enough to do the other springs and still keep one at the temple of time...nevermind, i guess...

wisdom and courage both have one REALLY close by though...well, whatever. i only need to come back once, probably, and if it gives me more to do i'll lay one then. i don't want to go back near the quarry lol

i REALLY miss urbosa's fury. i don't know how to take out taluses that have a weak point on their back without it. this talus is super weak and yet it's taking forever bc i just can't hand a hit on it!

eventually got it with midiar bullet time bomb arrows. apparently this particular talus was a quest objective!

apparently the lynel in this forest is a normal one...maybe i'll try to fight it

oooh i'm v nervous. snapped a pic and saved just in case

GOT HIM!!!!! easy peasy. i'd hoped i was op for this and i am <3 nice to be op for SOMETHING

lost my bike ;_; i knew it would despawn...i mean i can make another but i'm trying to save my zonaite for batteries!!!

this one precise strike shrine is bullshit. i'm gonna have to get this particular chest later this is making me crazy

oooh using the bike to skip the long walk on the big sand spiral....n*ce

263 seeds!! not bad for just an hour or so

[aelfgiure]

I tried to talk them out of going, especially after that last camping trip, the one with the sasquatch encounter that could've gone soooooo wrong. (Pro tip: always carry vegan marshmallows when hiking into the back country!) But no. They had a great itinerary planned out, this was going to be a great time in a national park! They were determined to go, with or without me, so I wished them luck and stayed home.

With my usual friend group out and about, I decided it was time to indulge in popcorn and bad movies. While watching Sharknado and laughing my ass off, I had the blinding flash of the obvious - I should look up their campsites! They'd given me a copy of their reservations, just in case I changed my mind, so I turned on the laptop and logged in.

There are sites out there for the things I do. You won't find them, they're invite only. People have to vouch for you, depending on circumstances you may get background checks. This is serious stuff. Dark web? Pfft. That's for edgelords. No, this stuff... let's just say it's an interface between one universe and a few others, and leave it at that.

Searching up those campsites triggered a cascade of files, ranging from 'well THAT was dumb' to 'holy shit, how many parts were missing?' On a hunch I did an overlay of the moon cycles, and swore to myself. The dumb stuff happened on the new moon. The bad stuff happened during the full moon. The horrific stuff happened when the full moon coincided with a major holiday.

This weekend was a full moon. Also Midsummer.

Now I was scared sick, my stomach churning. Who came up with this trip idea, anyway? I double-checked the chat logs, printing out the whole thread just in case. It was close. As I finished printing, the logs were deleted, including the itinerary and dates. This was a set up, but who?

Ah. Him.

The new boyfriend of one of the regulars, well, about 8 months of dating. I'd never liked him, but then I find most people creepy until I get to know them. He'd seemed harmless enough, and he sure made Lilian happy. Now I did a deep dive into his background based on what I knew about him, and made a couple of calls to, ah, coworkers is the best description for our relationship. It's close enough.

Within half an hour I had a team of six at the campsite, with two more joining me in my home. We were digging through files, trying to find the connection.

"You were the target," the younger one stated flatly. "The rest of them were collateral damage, side dishes for what this prick wanted. Look."

How this kid managed to hack into stuff the way he did, I'll never understand. But he had found links that connected this asshole to the Unlight, the Voidmakers. Nasty, vile individuals, every one of them. They were all about the personal benefits, and nevermind who got hurt so long as they got what they wanted. Money, power, whatever. Anything, so long as they served those that were fed by suffering and needless destruction.

I'd been thwarting them for a couple of centuries, different places and times. Apparently I was good enough at it that someone put out a hit on me, and to add insult to injury, they planned to use me as a sacrificial offering to a local chaos entity, making a Gate that would allow other, hungrier entities into the park to hunt and feed.

"Relocation time. You know the drill." The older man was sympathetic as he sent out the text message for the movers to come for my stuff. "You've got the option to set up a nice pied-a-terre over on the next line, you know. It's secure."

"Fuck."

I liked this place. The people I'd met. But yeah, Relocation. Safer for them, and for me.

"Go ahead. Set it up, make it like Stronghold, but with stable foundations and less bullshit, okay?" I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. "Just let me deal with this little shit before I go, please."

We actually DO have black helicopters, ya know. Well, close enough to it. I was suited up and ready to rock and roll before the Movers showed up, my overnight kit packed because after this, it was going to be AARs and debriefing at The Hub for a couple of days. I planned on taking out my annoyance on this assholes hide.

The team had already traced the ley lines and found the spot where he was going to open the Gate. It was pretty typical of such things. Triangles of wood with ropes, hooks, and pulleys to hang the lesser sacrifices, all spaced out according to the arcane geometry of summoning. Big rocks piled up as an altar with chains and manacles to hold the victim. Pillar candles, brazier, bags of foul herbs, the ritual knife.

"Clean it up enough to make it useless for his purposes," I ordered the team. "I've got a lovely idea."

"Oh, not THAT again," groaned one of my regular partners. "That's just mean, that is. Why not kill the sod and be done with it?"

My glare was enough to chill the air. "Because first of all, he was going to hurt my friends. And because I'm gonna have to do paperwork after this. If I gotta suffer? The one responsible gonna suffer."

My guys put on the robes of the cultists while I modified a few things. We were all snickering; while we usually did our work in the shadows, it was nice to give one of the bastards a good solid kick in the dick every now and then. This was one of those times and I hoped it would be memorable.

We heard them long before we saw them, talking and laughing as they hiked along. The ass was encouraging them, telling them about this great campsite just up ahead, they'd love it. They stepped into the clearing, just as he intoned:

"Now."

My friends screamed and fought, but unlike the pasty ass cultists, my team was tough and trained. And also whispered to them to play along, this was rescue, so it was a hell of a good show. Ass was gloating while they were tied up and gagged.

He pulled Lil's phone out of her thigh pocket. "You miserable creatures are a means to an end. It'll take a while for the real sacrifice to get here, but I'm sure we can keep ourselves entertained while we wait."

He dialed my number. I picked up.

"Hey, Lils! You all having a good time? I -" yep, Ass interrupted me, just like a goddamn cartoon villain.

"If you come to these coordinates, I may let them live," he sneered. He stepped up to Lilian and grabbed a breast, hard, pinching and twisting to make her scream in pain. "Listen carefully."

He rattled off the location, then hung up. His smile was utterly devoid of anything human. "I think I'll start with one of the boys, maybe... Jim?" He picked up the knife and stalked around the circle.

Never pass up a good distraction. My team had my friends cut down in seconds, encouraging them to keep protesting. I walked up behind him, waited for him to raise the knife, and dropped a hand on his shoulder.

"Yo. You rang?"

His scream was incredibly gratifying, and we all laughed at him. He whipped around and I punched him in the throat, hard enough to incapacitate him. He dropped, gargling horribly, and I dragged his sorry ass to the altar, fixing him in place the way he had planned for me.

My friends were unbound, ungagged. Shaken as hell, and poor Lils was bruised up as well as heartbroken. My team was helping them out, treating them for shock, rope burns, (there were a few apologies over that, too) generally helping them recenter and recover.

"Hokay. So. You're probably wondering why I called you all here today -" it was the stupidest thing I could think of, and it worked. Everyone laughed, Lilian hucked a rock at me, good times. I explained what had happened, who I was, who Ass really was, and that I was going away. For good.

"Almost moonrise, sir." I nodded to my teammate.

"So, you won't consciously remember this incident. We're pretty good at that. But if you want to watch what's going to happen to AssFace there, I can promise you'll have good dreams about it." I explained to my friends, the way I'd had to explain my leavetakings so many, many times before. It never got easier.

"Can I stab him?" Lils asked, and I laughed.

"That'll be too easy. Step back a bit, so you can get a good view."

The triangles had been taken down and cut up into neat piles of wood, placed at the cardinal directions, the pillar candles broken and added to the pile. I walked counterclockwise around the circle, scattering salt as I went, cleaning and purifying the place. It felt better all ready, so after I did the seven rounds, I stood in the East, and waited.

The full moon crested the hill, pouring Her light into the clearing. I raised my hands, and started the Dance. Sunwise, deosil around the circle, I lit the fires, called the Quarters, all while Ass tried to throw me off interrupt me. My team joined in the singing, a joyful invocation of the proper forces of this lovely place.

I heard my friends gasp and knew they were seeing the spirits of this place as they ripped off the tarry, unholy bindings that had kept them from protecting this place they loved. They rose up, shining and wonderful and terrible, and laughing, asked if I required payment for the rescue.

"No, how can I ask payment for cleaning up my own damn mess? With your permission, I will break the Gate that this one and his ilk tried to open." Oh, they liked that, they approved heartily. But what of the ass himself? They didn't want him.

My team helped me pry open the gate, just enough, to toss the fucker to his masters. "And stay out, asshole!" I roared after him.

After that it was a routine clean up. Stones back where they belonged, circle erased, the rightful guardians of the place free to defend and keep it as they willed. We set up the camp for my friends while the experts removed memories. It's a painless process, but leaves the person undergoing it loopy for a while. Easy enough to explain, empty beer cans, a bottle of mead or two, the megabong. It looked like one of our usual campsites, except.. I wasn't going to be there to watch the fire burn low. Watch over these fun, funny, GOOD people, as they slept.

By tomorrow morning, I wouldn't even be a memory. They'd go on to live their lives, happy ones I sincerely hoped. They were safe now, so I figured that was as good a win as I could hope for, right?

Before I closed the door of the helicopter I looked back at the camp, at my friends all snug in sleeping bags, waiting to start a new day. I was going to miss them.

"Goodnight kids," I whispered. "Goodbye, friends. Thanks for everything."

Then we left, leaving no traces of the incident behind.

getting horror movie vibes from the trip your friends were planning, you decided to simply stay home.

[2015project]

January 7, 2015

So I've been dragged out to the stupid vineyards today against my will. Just because Lauren's at a party. They said "she's not here, so let's do something fun!" This isn't fun. Maybe for them, but for me it's more like some sort of a punishment. First they had the cricket blaring over the radio and giving me a throbbing headache, but now we're listening to Tim McGraw instead. Don't get me wrong, he's okay, but right now listening to that guy sing soppy love songs while Mum rests her hand on Dad's lap as he drives makes me feel like nothing more than the third wheel. I feel like I'm THIRD-WHEELING MY OWN PARENTS!! That's a new low, even for me. Worse still, even just the phrase "third-wheeling" makes me think of December 27 and how I screwed up everything that day. So now I'm using my sunglasses to hide the tears that fall down my face as Tim croons, Mum and Dad chat and I remember. I can't even put my earphones in and blast my "anti-love" playlist I made for times like this. Why? Because my phone is on 20% since I hadn't planned on leaving the house today. I was planning to go on a walk; play darts; maybe write another song; read a book. Anything but go to bloody wineries. At least I finished Fangirl before I left. It was the best book I've read all year. Yes, it was partly a romance, but books are different. I can handle that, because it's in context. Love songs by themselves are bullshit. You've got someone. Sing to them, don't torture the single pringles with your harmonic flirtations. At least my songs have a plot, a storyline. At least I'm trying to achieve something.

At Winery No. 1, I sat on the porch and read An Abundance of Katherines. Mum + Dad met some guy who used to live in Hull St, and they bought a case of wine (duh).

At Winery No. 2, there was cheese + biscuits, so at least I could be mildly interested. I learnt a bit about wine, and was told to consider getting a degree in winemaking. Mum shared her pineapple epiphany with the waitress, who was surprised. Apparently Mum only learned last night at trivia how pineapples grow, despite the fact that it was featured on Better Homes and Gardens last year.

Winery No. 3 wasn't a winery. It was the Pandora Estate olive oil place. There were oils, mayos and dukkahs to taste, as well as two dogs. (You couldn't taste the dogs.)

Winery No. 4, we had coffee and chilli cornbread. Predictably, Mum's first coffee wasn't hot enough. The bread was divine. Then we picked up Lauren from Taylor's house. Her little brother was scared of me. Ham, avocado, salad and the final chilli relish for tea. Before that, I played darts, practised piano and locked myself in my room to sing whilst they went for a swim. Still no FB, thanks for the impulsive w(h)ine day. No walk today either. There are multiple reasons I declined a swim, but I think one is that I can't bear (bare?) it because it reminds me of Boxing Day.

Mum said I could have a party this year. I think I'll invite a lot of people, including guys, so no campout this year. Still trying to come up with a way to include Aiden on the guest list without seeming too suspicious/desperate. Looks like I won't be seeing them until Feb 7, if then. I think Mum's still pissed about the tea and the gingerbread. I don't know what I'd do if she and Karen had a falling out. Probably come out of the closet, I guess. It wouldn't matter anymore. Lauren knows I write songs now. Luckily, she's uninterested. Also, if I have this big party, I'll need to find a way to get Squirrel, El, and Brando to get along. Lauren's being a total bitch about Resolution No. 5. She doesn't get that she's not really the subject. Mum is. This diary is really helping me with letting off steam somewhere other than in her direction. I seriously think I could make it through the year without any big fights with her. Oh, and Chocolate Free January (Sweet/Dessert/Sugar Free January) is still going strong!

[jodilinbio]

2018

January

Jan 4 Red and white blood cells are on the rise again.

Jan 8 Yes! My test for leukemia and bone marrow condition were normal.

Jan 11 So excited because I found Officer Palma on Facebook.

February

Feb 5 It was totally AWESOME to wake up to a message from Officer P!!! Not expecting any kind of a friendship, though, but that’s fine.

Feb 18 A little surprising but definitely nice to hear from Stacey yesterday.

Feb 22 Socio is done and almost 16K words!

April

Apr 10 Please tell me I did it wrong and my blood pressure really isn't 168/107!

Apr 17 After 6 (or possibly more hours) our water is finally back on!

May

May 12 Just as worried about Tom as I am for myself. He went deaf in one ear yesterday afternoon, did research, and like in most cases, got a bunch of confusing, contradicting info but it’s likely a virus. Some say to go to the doctor right away, others say it will go away on its own, etc.

June

Jun 4 Glad my PCP appt is over! Not all the test results are in yet but my cholesterol is worse. :( She sprayed liquid nitrogen on the precancerous spot on my back.

Jun 5 T3 & T4 are normal but TSH is 16.

Jun 23 At last! A way to sleep through loud traffic with the sleeping earbuds Tom found! ‏ Really hoping I don't have chronic fatigue syndrome even though I seem to have most of the symptoms.

Jun 26 My nieces decided to dump me because it's apparently not okay to express myself as it is for them. Fine. I'm done with the family drama.

Jun 28 One "bleeder" in one year!

Happy 61st, Tom!

July

Jul 2 Just got a very strong vibe, feeling, whatever, saying we're not going to be here till he's 66. I just don't know when we'll be leaving for sure. Can't be before another year or two, I would think.

Jul 11 Nothing bad showed up on Tom’s MRI, as we figured would be the case.

Jul 25 Finished Stealing Kat, my Nano project, with 10,176 words!

Jul 29 RIP Burkey boy. :(

August

Aug 22 Found Nissan on Facebook, the bus driver I knew very briefly in Spfld in the late 80s that I had a crush on. Messaged her but don't expect a response.

September

Sep 18 Moving here was a HUGE mistake. I can NOT take another half a decade of this constant string of loud projects let alone the daily landscaping, traffic, and water outages.

Sep 29 Kind of interesting that one of my health conditions on the health portal is listed as being "Polycythemia Vera." But my red blood cell count wasn't that high that often, was it?

October

Oct 9 Our crown tail betta died. :( :( :(

Oct 13 Got a beautiful butterfly betta!

Oct 15 Saw my endo and stopped at the lab. Dropping to 50 mcg of levothyroxine for the next week, then adding 5 mcg of liothyronine. If all goes well I'll stop at the lab and see her again in 2 months. Fingers crossed!

Oct 16 Lab results are as shitty as expected. T3 & T4 are normal and I'm just on the edge of menopausal. However, my TSH is 27! I showed her all the skips I charted on Google Docs on my phone.

Oct 29 Water was off today for a few hours and going off again on Thursday. Fuck this place!

November

Nov 5 Yes, Marie, we are truly done forever this time! YOU chose to walk away but you know what? I'm glad you did. I've had enough of your drama. There really are only so many times we can forgive the same people for the same old bullshit. I'm actually relieved to have Marie out of my life. I get that she's crazy and she can't help it but I just don't have it in me to put up with crazy. Haven't for many years now.

Nov 9 Sky took on a brownish-gold tint due to the fires further up in the state.

Nov 21 Endo's nurse called asking me to go to the lab. Tom left work early and brought me. This was before my endo got my 2nd message. So tempted to just throw in the towel and say fuck it!

Horrible news from my endo's nurse. TSH is 33. That's what I started with nearly 5 years ago! Endo wants me to go back to 75 of the first drug or take 50 of that drug along with the liothyronine.

Nov 22 Back to 75s of Levothyroxine I go since the Liothyronine/Levothyroxine experiment was a bust.

Nov 24 RIP Simon.

December

Dec 4 I’m 53 today!

Dec 8 Quick Update before I run out of energy. I'm still sick and Tom is coming down with something now as well. I'm still completely drained of energy not just because of the flu but because my TSH is still 22. Good news is the ACV shots have improved my cholesterol tremendously!

Joined Kindle Unlimited and really enjoying it so far.

Dec 11 RIP Dumbo.

Dec 22 After 5 days of BP monitoring, it looks like I could have stage 2 hypertension.

Learned that Tom’s mom died 4 years ago at age 91. Sent a piece of my mind to a few of his family members and Ryan and Jennifer wanted to add me, LOL. Best not to associate with any of them.

PCP says that because my blood pressure is good in the morning, just continue with lifestyle changes and forget medication for now. Hey, nothing wrong with being told I DON'T need medication!

Back with our 9-week-old male cinnamon-hooded rats, Fuzzy and Woody.

[ourlordapollo]

Stumbled across this Fanfic Tag Game and nobody tagged me in it but I thought it looked fun, so here we are

As such, I will also not be tagging anyone. Be free! You can do whatever you want forever!

1: How many fics do you have on AO3?

31

2: What’s your total AO3 word count?

347,001 :0

3: What fandoms do you write for?

Pokémon (games), Ace Attorney, Sanders Sides, Black Butler, Welcome to Hell

4: What are your top five fics by kudos?

I Love You (Just in Case You Didn't Know) (Pkmn)

Seek, and Ye Shall Find (W2H)

Soft-Shoe Shuffle (TSS)

Intertwined (TSS)

A Place Where I Can Breathe (TSS)

5: Do you respond to comments?

I try to! If someone leaves a whole bunch on a multichap then I usually just reply to the last one.

The only comments I absolutely don't respond to are ones speculating on what will happen next. No hate, and I'm truly flattered people are invested enough to guess, but they make me uncomfortable because them I start to wonder "does my version not make sense? Will they be disappointed if the story doesn't go that way?? Am I gonna get a bad grade in fanfic??????"

I am very normal :)

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

Probably Down Comes the Night. It's a W2H fic that ends with a break up so bad one of the parties literally invents Hell. (Yes it's Proveles lmao)

7: What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

ILY(JICYDK). I write a LOT of happy endings, but there's this concept in music theory where something loud sounds loud, but something equally loud preceeded by something quiet sounds REALLY LOUD. By that metric, many of my endings are roughly the same, but this one is preceded by something tragic.

8: Do you get hate on fics?

No lmao. I don't really write anything controversial.

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

Nah. Maybe in the future, but it's not really the kind of thing I'm interested in on its own? I can see p0rn having a place in some future stories, but it's not something I'd prioritize.

10: Do you write crossovers?

Nah. Apparently what I write are called "fusions."

11: Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge

12: Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I have toyed with the idea of translating my own fics into German

13: Have you ever co-written a fic?

Good LORD, no. I'm too much of a control freak to ever consider that

14: What’s your all time favorite ship?

Apparently it's SnazzyShipping. Don't ask.

15: What’s a fic you’d like to finish but don’t think you ever will?

You never know with me. I could finish anything at any time.

16: What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, weird displays of love and intimacy that ride the line between platonic and romantic, dialogue, pastiche, and dialogue

17: What are your writing weaknesses?

Sometimes I get a little caught up in adjectives so I'll use two (or more) redundant ones in a way that really doesn't serve the story, but frees me of having to choose lmao. Occasionally you'll get a sentence like "her voice was soft, gentle, crawling along his skin like a drop of water" or some bullshit. It purples up my prose needlessly.

18: Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

BUCKLE UP

I think it works best as little interjections; I think it can really humanize characters who learned English as a second language. For example, in all my years studying German, no one in my class EVER answered a question with "ja." It was ALWAYS "yeah" or "yes," even when we were doing total immersion. There are just always things that are gonna come out of your mouth in your native tongue unless you're being REALLY careful. So I think interjections, expressions of pain, yes and no answers, and swears/oaths do REALLY well when written out in the target language.

That being said, I don't think it works for most other scenarios. Maybe in a story with an omniscient narrator. Because in deep POV, if your character doesn't speak the target language, "he mumbled something in German" works better than "'küssen verboten,' he said, whatever that meant" because there's no reason the POV character would be able to identify those words without also understanding them.

There is one niche usage of the above that I've found works, and it's used in The Secret History, the OG dark academia novel by Donna Tartt. A character speaks Latin at the POV character. He understands enough Latin to pick out and identify the words that are being said to him, but he doesn't know what they mean.

*deep inhale*

HOWEVER you do have the problem of the POV character speaking the target language with someone else, and they both understand each other. There's no elegant solution to this. "'Kissing forbidden," he said in German. / "Strongly forbidden," I agreed in kind' can only do so much, especially if it's a long conversation. It's not strictly grammatically correct, but back in my Hetalia days, people used to use «guillemets» to indicate sentences spoken in the target language and I have borrowed that from time to time because I find it the most elegant solution, even if it necessitates explanation in the author's note

19: First fandom you wrote for?

Pokémon! But the anime; I used to almost exclusively read and write RocketShipping fanfic

20: Favorite fic you’ve written?

When I weed my garden, I don't pick out a favorite weed as I'm throwing them all in the compost lmao. For me, writing is like weeding my brain. I think my fics are good, and I re-read them, but I wouldn't use the words "like," "dislike," favorite," "least favorite," etc to describe my relationship with them

Wait no just kidding it's Hitsuzen.

Hitsuzen is my favorite work.

[androgynousblackbox]

More ideas because I have those, apparently: -Emily is one of the bunch of half siblings of Stolas so she is a disowned Goetia because she refused an arranged marriage. Literally nobody knew this until Stolas himself visited the hotel to see his little sister, mostly because Emily has no presence online or marketable appeal so Vox never thought to bring it up and Velvette literally never knew what was her last name because she simply did not give a fuck. -The same day that Valentino appeared because of Vel's performance on TV is the same in which Emily applied for any position available to help on the hotel. Vel put her as a maid because she didn't know what else to do with her and clearly she wasn't going to clean up, so better Emily for that. -Alastor has radios all over the fucking tower and even on the streets so he can keep hearing every conversation that he ever wants. It also gives him a quick travel to any space in hell that he wants. Lucifer and Charlie both carry small radios with them because Alastor insists, just in case they need the protection.

-Lucifer is a bird demon, specifically a red cheeked cockatiel, and he takes immense pride on how well he takes care of his feathers. He doesn't know that Alastor has been stealing them for years to fill his pillows. Charlie likewise has been missing the hair on her favorite brush, but assumes that it has been just the cleaning crew at the tower. -Vox instantly saw through Valentino's seduction tactics and didn't mind at all. At first their relationship is purely physical, but Valentino starts feeling some type of way when he sees Vox going off in anyone that is trying to attack his investment. Valentino tried to use his pheromones on Vox, it didn't do jackshit, and Vox laughed when he analyzed it because he really thought that thing could be stronger enough for the king? That is adorable.

-The full demon form of Vox is a glitchy giant shark monsters that he projects around his body to take down threats. Ozzie is the one on charge of repair his body if he ever receives any damage. Ozzie constantly tells him that he knows he is indestructible and all, but he should still try to be more careful and everytime Vox dismisses him. He has a whole bunch of bodies ready for him to be used, it's all the same to him. -All the workers who take care of repairing the hotel when some new bullshit happens are underpaid interns that Vox strings along promising a better position if they just keep working as well as they do. He obviously has the money to pay actual workers if he wants, but it's funnier for him this way and desperation can be such a good motivator for them to finish faster. If they didn't want to be scammed for free labor shouldn't have gone to hell in the first place! -Charlie heard about the hotel from Velvette's socials (because obviously she'd keep up with her number one fan, who she thinks is such a cool demon from what she saw Vel posted) and came on her own. When she heard what was about, she instantly was all over it and thought it was such a great idea so she became another sponsor for the surprise of Vel. Lucifer and Alastor consider it "the little pet project of Charlie" and neither think it will go nowhere, but at least she is happy and that is what matters. -Vox got especially mad when some fucking overlord made his wall blew up to look to fight Valentino. Not only they were targetting Valentino, who was obviously already part of his property, but they had just closed a sponsor deal with a brand of whisney he actually liked for once! So many of the bottles got destroyed! So the overlord is no fucking more. -Velvette gets bored as fuck when Verosika has to go out for her own pop career and Emily bonds with her through shopping in a attempt to make her feel any better. Sometimes Lute and Adam tag along because Emily drags them to it and they can't say no to her puppy eyes.

More stuff for this AU:

-Vox is the benefactor for the hotel and was there literally from the start. Velvette send him an email just the same as the richest motherfuckers that she could find in hell with a copypasted message, not really expecting much from the king of hell himself, but was then surprised when Vox appeared at the door of her run down apartment claiming to be "intrigued" by her proposal. After Velvette sold her pitch to him, Vox gives the biggest laugh ever and gives Velvette all the money she needs to make the hotel, promising that if this idea of her works and they can actually turn sinners into winners she will receive a lot more money. Maybe they could have a whole franchise of redemption if all turns out okay! -Vox and Mammon are greed besties. -Velvette dates Verosika. Verosika is very supportive of Velvette´s project. -Valentino is still very much a pimp and trafficker of guns that works closely with Carmilla Carmine. He came to know about the project of Velvette after she gave a passionate presentation on the news, after destroying verbally everyone who mocked her. Valentino thought to himself that he just had to be friends with such a huge bitch. -Angel Dust and Husker are angels dedicated to the extermination. The extermination is kept a secret from the rest of heaven still, including his own twin sister Molly, who he lives with. -Adam is the oldest sinner on all of hell and the first official resident of the Hazbin Hotel. He fucking hates Vox for condeming him there, but Vox literally has no recollection of who the fuck is him. That must have been data that got lost on one of his many updates. Adam is so fucking tired of hell that will do anything to get the fuck out of there. -Lute is the second resident and a fallen angel who fell when she tried to make Husker fell. Angel Dust found her out before she could do much and casted her away instead. Originally she just wanted a place to crash, but ends up staying because it's not that bad of a place after all. -Velvette has a crush/hate on Charlie because "she is not even that pretty, I mean fuck, if Lucifer wanted a good looking bitch I could have been that" and Verosika is 100% the kind of girlfriend to be there, nod and say "yeah, babe, you are so right, you are so much prettier. Honestly Lucifer missed a chance when he didn't pick you up as his fake daughter." Velvette is also the number one fan of Charlie because clout (and also she is pretty, fuck it). -Alastor literally came back to the tower after reporting on some event on a mobile station and Lucifer had already adopted Charlie, on whom he dotted and pampered on as if she was his actual daughter. He didn't get it, but Lucifer seemed happy in a way he haven't seen him in a long time so of course he let it slide (after investigating on Charlie's background to make sure that she wasn't scamming Lucifer). After realizing that Charlie had no bad intentions whatsoever and didn't represent any danger for Lucifer, only then he started to warm up to her and treat her as his own surrogate daughter too. Obviously, since Lucifer was his then obviously they were going to have the same family too.

-Alastor at the start didn't want anything to do with Lucifer, prefering to do the overlord shit on his own, but Lucifer kept following him around and helping him out so much that he realized that it was for the best for the two of them remain together. Lucifer fell first, but Alastor fell harder kind of deal. -Lucifer had a wife and daughter when he was alive, but he was killed for an investigation he was conducting when his daughter was literally just a baby and he always regretted not being able to be there for her. Charlie fills that void for him, even if he knows the dates don't match up at all and Charlie could really never been his daughter. He was so lucky that Charlie herself carried on with her own daddy issues that makes her suck up all the affection like a sponge, instantly. -Both Alastor and Lucifer also received emails from Velvette offering to be sponsors for her hotel. They never even read it. Alastor has Sir Pentious as an assistant who reads all that crap for him and deleted it instantly because he thought it was a scam (and he was right). -Emily is the demon maid of the hotel and literally the only person who believes in redemption. Nobody has the heart to tell her that it's all bullshit made for profit, not even Vox.

(this AU is available for asks, btw! Maybe I can get inspired to write something else)

[murdockparker]

Ask Me Tomorrow

Matthew Murdock x Reader

Summary: Nelson, Murdock and (Y/L/N) doesn’t have the same ring as Nelson and Murdock, this was true. If only there were a way to keep it the same... perhaps changing a last name would help.

Word Count: 3.5k

Warnings: slightly suggestive if you squint, alcohol use 

__

“To Nelson and Murdock!”

“To Nelson and Murdock!” The trio cheered along, clinking the mis-matched glasses clumsily together. A sloppy collection of an old Columbia mug, some glass Foggy had borrowed from a diner and a mason jar all were clutched in hand, filled evenly with some cheap boxed wine that was far too fruity to even be considered as such. 

“You know,” (Y/N) swallowed, having had a rather large sip of wine. “We could probably afford an actual set of glasses for the office—”

“But it wouldn’t be as eclectic, no?” Foggy mused, mug barely staying hooked on his finger. “Come on, you know how hard I worked to get Matt’s glass?”

“Putting it in a takeout box isn’t really all that hard, Fog—”

“Okay Saint Matthew, didn’t realize I was on trial here.”

“You’re not,” Matt laughed, setting his cup down. “But you do have to agree, (Y/N) has a good point. Now that we won this case—and got paid this time—we can actually work on fixing this place up.”

“Karen’s been dying to change it up in here,” (Y/N) drawled, motioning to the beige walls surrounding them. “If she were here tonight, she’d be barking at you both to buy some cans of paint.” 

“With what the client paid us, we’d be lucky to afford half a can of paint,” Foggy mumbled into his mug.

“And with that half of a can, I was thinking forrest green,” (Y/N) smirked, only causing Foggy to groan. “Mr. Jacobsen should be sending us the final check this week, I’ll deposit it as soon as I can. The faster the money is in our account, the faster that we can cover our rents.”

“You say that as if you two don’t already split rent—seeing as you two lovebirds live together and all.” 

“Y’know, you could always move in with us Foggy,” Matt smiled, finally finishing his one glass of wine for the evening. “Couch is always open.”

“Hard pass,” Foggy shook his head. “I love you both, I do, but I already get enough of the Murdock-(Y/L/N) love fest at work, don’t need it with my morning cereal too,” he jokingly gagged.

“I pegged you as more of an egg man, Foggy,” (Y/N) smirked. 

“Oh fuck off,” Foggy laughed, pushing (Y/N) away playfully. “Seriously though, this case was just the thing this firm needed right now,” he took a gulp of wine, “something relatively normal—a paying normal. No pro-bono bullshit.”

“Hey, I thought you liked our pro-bono bullshit,” Matt said, feigning offense. 

“Yeah, well, as much as I love the cookies, cakes and chickens—and I do—I also enjoy keeping my lights on too.”

“I’m sorry, chickens?” (Y/N) nearly choked, a bit of wine dribbled from her lips. Matt handed her a napkin, his fingers grazing hers for a moment.

“Matt didn’t tell you?” (Y/N) shook her head, cleaning her face. “When you were out of town for that convention or whatever, someone tried to pay us with like—half a dozen live chickens.”

“What!?” (Y/N) practically yelled. “That’s—that’s hysterical! Surely you at least kept one—”

“What would we possibly do with a chicken?” Matt laughed, feeling his cheeks hurt ever so slightly—a good hurt for once. “Keep it as a pet?” “Feed it, nurture it,” (Y/N) shrugged, “have a fantastic Sunday dinner—”

“That’s dark, (Y/L/N).”

“Yet you’d be the first in line to get a taste, Fog,” (Y/N) smiled lightly.

“You…!” Foggy paused, briefly. “You’re probably right…”

The trio abruptly fell into an orchestra of laughter, a comfortable rhythm that they so desperately needed. With Matt’s nightly duties, abundance of cases coming through the door and the ever-so-apparent pressure of the media on their firm, it was hard to let loose like this.

“(Y/N),” Foggy said, breaking the fit of giggles, “are you upset?”

“Upset? About what?” (Y/N) asked, filling Foggy’s mug with the last of the wine. “Matt’s new haircut?”

“You said you liked it,” Matt quipped quietly, head tilting towards his girlfriend. (Y/N) playfully patted his lap, smooching lightly towards him—a comforting gesture.

“Upset about our firm’s name,” Foggy waved his hands, “Nelson and Murdock?”

“And I would be upset why…?”

“You’re just as much apart of this firm as Matt and I are, doing the lawyer thing and all,” Foggy said, bobbing his head, “hell, sometimes I think you may actually do more than Matty-boy over here.”    

“We all do our fair share, Fog,” (Y/N) said, patting Matt’s lap again in reassurance. 

“Exactly!” Foggy stood up from his chair abruptly, the wooden stool clamoring to the ground. “I propose we change our firm’s name— Nelson, Murdock and (Y/L/N)!”

“It’s a bit wordy,” Matt said, finally speaking up.

“Yeah, it doesn’t quite have the same cadence as Nelson and Murdock,” (Y/N) agreed. “Besides, everyone knows the firm with the name now, there’s really no need to change it.”

“Like one extra name tacked on would make people forget about our ugly mugs,” Foggy grinned. “Doesn’t it bother you, though? Being a partner here and not getting the fancy credit?”

“Oh I assure you, Mr. Nelson, I get plenty of the credit,” (Y/N) smiled, pointing her thumb to the wall behind her. The wall was covered in framed newspaper articles, all citing the various trial wins (Y/N) had brought to the firm. “I don’t need to have my last name be piggy-backed onto the firm to feel accomplished in the work I do.”

“I’m not saying that was even the case a little bit, (Y/N). It’s just, most lawyers dream about having their name attached to a firm—I know it was one of mine,” he paused.“Y’know,” Foggy set his mug down, the contents successfully emptied for the umpteenth time that evening. “If you and Matt got married, we wouldn’t even have to worry about changing it.”

Married.

The word made the couple freeze, if only for a moment. Sure, they’ve been together on and off for the last five or so years—steadily together for three—but marriage has never been a topic of conversation. The word seemed almost like an unspoken territory, one that the other never dared crossing. Until tonight, so it seemed. 

“Wouldn’t it be Nelson, Murdock and Murdock, then?” Matt smiled lightly, his face hard to read. Fuck, was the man hard to read. (Y/N) couldn’t make heads or tails of his reaction, sending her overthinking into a relentless frenzy. Nothing new.  

“Shit,” Foggy groaned. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” He slid down the wall behind him, firmly planted to the ground. 

“We should probably call it a night,” (Y/N) said, her heart beating nearly out of her chest. Surely Matt could hear it. Of course he could. “Maybe take a half day tomorrow?”

“Good call,” Foggy said, fully laying on the ground, staring up at the off-white ceiling. 

“Need us to call you a cab?” Matt asked, handing (Y/N) her coat from the rack. She pulled it on quickly, wrapping the accompanied scarf around her neck. A quick walk over to Karen’s desk—hopefully she wouldn’t mind the mess—and (Y/N) swooped up Matt’s cane. As if he knew exactly what she has set out to do, his hand was wide open to receive the cane. With a swift motion, he pulled her in just enough to peck her cheek in thanks.  

“No,” Foggy shooed, waving his hand back and forth. “The floor is just so comfy—I have a gym shirt—could you actually…” he pointed to the trash bin near his office, urging (Y/N) to bring it closer.

“If you vomit in here, you better clean it good,” (Y/N) laughed, putting the small waste bin by his side, along with this coat. “Could probably use a pillow too.”

“You’re too good to me,” Foggy said, pushing the coat under his head, eyes closing. “Get home safe!” He called out, hearing the door open.

“Night, Fog.” Matt said, following behind (Y/N).

The air was cold—instantly freezing your nose hairs kind of cold, but that was just January in New York. Snow was falling lightly, dangerously close to stopping, flakes getting caught in their hair. Matt wordlessly laced his fingers with (Y/N)’s, putting his cane in his jacket pocket, the warmth of her hand all the more inviting.

“We should probably take a cab,” (Y/N) mumbled, eyes dancing along the falling snow. “It’s almost midnight.”

“It’s not that far of a walk,” Matt retorted, swinging their connected arms back and forth. “Besides, the cold air and exercise is exactly what we need after drinking that garbage—” 

“I knew it! I knew you didn’t like the wine!” (Y/N) said pointing a finger at Matt’s face, knowing full well he could sense it before him. 

“Not really a wine guy, sunshine,” Matt smiled, pushing her finger away. “Even if I was, that box was what? Fifteen dollars? Not really first class.”

“A bargain in a box,” (Y/N) nodded, “Foggy liked it.”

“Foggy also drank most of it,” Matt laughed. “We should bring him some Advil tomorrow,” he said mindlessly, “you only had a glass and a half.”

“Keeping track of how much I drink now?” (Y/N) said incredulously, a hint of teasing naturally accompanied. 

“Of course not, it’s just—considering your win today, I’d thought you’d celebrate a bit harder.”

“Who says I’m done celebrating?” (Y/N) whispered in his ear, breath hot against his cold skin. 

“Fair point,” Matt mumbled out, his cheeks growing warm. Even after five years, the woman beside him always found a way to get him giddy, surprise him at the best of times. “Five years…”

“Hm? What was that?”

“We’ve been together for five years.” Matt repeated, his voice firm.

“Did you finally decide to change careers? From lawyer to a much more fitting Captain Obvious?”

“Har-Har,” Matt smiled, bumping her hip to the side. She smiled back. “Seriously though, five years is a long time.”

“How I’ve put up with you is beyond me,” (Y/N) said, glancing towards Matt. “Should’ve bolted years ago.”

“You did, but somehow we found our way back to each other,” Matt nodded, recalling their brief breakup. “Seems you’re stuck with me now.”

“What a travesty,” (Y/N) teased, gripping his hand harder. “Does this have anything to do with what Foggy said?”

“What did Foggy say?” Matt asked, lying through his teeth. He wanted her to say it, to bring it up. 

“Y’know,” her voice faltered, afraid of continuing, “getting married or whatever…”

“Or whatever?”

“Matt—” 

“Alright, alright, you got me,” Matt flung his hand up in admission. “It may be what sparked this conversation, yes.”

“Why tonight?”

“Well, we’ve never really talked about it before,” Matt shrugged, stopping at the crosswalk before them. He expertly pressed the pedestrian button to his side. “Is it something that’s… out of the realm of what you want from this—us?”

“I can’t say I’ve never thought about it,” (Y/N) said, pulling Matt slightly as she began to cross the street. “You don’t exactly stay in a committed relationship this long and not think about it a little bit.”

“That didn’t answer my question.”

“Is it something you want, Matt?”

“Answering a question with a question, good move on your end counselor,” Matt smiled, trying to ease the tension he felt. He could sense it worked, even if it was just a little. “Of course… maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“Marriage sort of involves a second party, love,” Matt smiled. “Can’t exactly go about it solo.” (Y/N) loosened her grip on his hand, dropping it entirely. “Hey, if this is too much, we can stop talking about it—”

“No it’s—I want to talk about it,” (Y/N) said firmly. “I’ve wanted to talk about it, I think,” (Y/N) nodded, “but I guess I just never thought of a good way to eloquently bring the topic up.” A lie. A small one, possibly a half-truth if Matt was really trying to dig into the details of how her heart skipped. He didn’t press her on it, he hardly ever did. 

“I suppose it’s not just something you mention over your morning coffee,” Matt nodded in agreement, a small laugh escaping his lips. “Would make for an excellent pillow talk topic, though,” (Y/N) felt her face warm, “not that we do much talking after—”

“You know you tire me out, Murdock,” (Y/N) playfully bumped against Matt, her hand intertwining back with his. “I don’t think we’d be in the best headspace for this conversation.”

“I don’t think we’re even having this conversation now,” Matt quipped, “we seem to be dancing around each other."

“Too bad you have two left feet,” (Y/N) hummed.

“(Y/N).”

“Alright, alright,” (Y/N) smiled, her anxiousness melting away like the morning snow. “If I’m going to be honest—”

“Oh I’d so love it if you were, darling,” Matt practically sang, urging her to continue.

“If you’d ask me to marry you tomorrow,” (Y/N) took a breath, perhaps for emphasis or dramatics, “I’d say yes.”

“Tomorrow?” Matt laughed—genuinely from the gut—laughed. “Something wrong with today?”

“The stars, they don’t align,” (Y/N) mused cryptically, tone playful, teasing.

“Oh bullshit,” Matt grinned, gripping her hand tighter. His cheeks screamed in pain, a feeling he seldom felt of late. Only with her, he realized, only with her he felt this pain. He pulled her into an alleyway—at least it doesn’t smell—and embraced her lightly, his hands resting atop her hips and beneath her coat. “So if I asked you—” 

“I’d like to see you try, Murdock,” she said, patting his chest, feeling his thumbs rub small circles. “I’m not one you can pin down.”

“Oh darling,” he practically growled, “we both know how untrue that is.”

“I suppose,” (Y/N) hummed, now playing with his tie absentmindedly. His head lowered to hers, foreheads touching. In this moment, in a random alleyway of Hell’s Kitchen, their world felt small—standing right before the other with warmth and love. 

Matt didn’t know exactly when the kiss began, but he was lost in the feeling nonetheless. The warmth of each other’s lips and breath was a welcoming feeling against the frigid cold air, a haven the other didn’t want to leave. (Y/N) moved her hands gingerly around Matt’s neck, pulling him closer into the embrace. His nose bumped against her cheek, causing (Y/N) to jump ever so slightly.

“(Y/N)?” Matt breathlessly pulled away, worried. His hand found its way to her jaw, holding it lightly.

“I’m fine,” she assured him, pressing back into the kiss. “Your nose is practically ice.”

“Yours is too,” he chuckled, his finger poking her nose in response. “We should hurry home,” he pulled away from the embrace, “take a hot shower…”

“I suppose we should conserve the hot water,” (Y/N) said thoughtfully, “wouldn’t want to run out, would we?”

“Well, we do have to finish our celebration at some point,” he said with his signature smirk, “love, what time is it?”

“Just a few past midnight,” she said, pulling her phone out of her pocket momentarily. “We really should get home—my head is starting to throb,” (Y/N) took a few steps back to the street, a hand catching her arm suddenly.

“Marry me,” Matt said as if those were the only words he needed to say, to convince her. A beat of silence passed, her heartbeat banging loudly in his ears. Perhaps his was, too. It was hard to make out. “(Y/N)…”

“I heard you,” (Y/N) quietly replied, breaking her silence. His face was stoney—serious as she’d ever seen it. Matt’s eyebrows twitched ever so slightly in worry, furrowing together slightly. Her hesitation made him worry. “Of course I’ll marry you, Matt.”

“I-I don’t have a ring—”

“Don’t need a ring,” (Y/N) said plainly, grabbing his hand, “only need you.”

It was in that moment that Matt finally felt warm out in the tundra of the streets, the happiness—love, he presumed—practically bubbled from his chest. He felt like he was glowing. Given his gigantic grin, he practically was.

“Good,” he mumbled, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. “Would’ve looked like a fool if you said no.”

“I would never have said no,” she mumbled, knowing full well he could hear her clearly. “Stars be damned.”

“Foggy’s gonna get a kick out of this,” Matt said, finally leading the way back to their apartment. Their home. 

“You really think Foggy’s gonna remember any of our conversation tonight?”

“Of course not,” Matt said, linking his arm with hers, “it’s hard to remember a conversation from the future.” He could feel her confused eyes staring at him, her gaze transfixed, mouth slightly agape. “Seeing as tonight is still,” he pulls his jacket sleeve up to ‘glance’ at his watch, “roughly nineteen hours from now.”

A beat.

“Oh you ass!” she nearly screamed, hitting Matt’s arm playfully. “You knew exactly what I meant by ‘tonight’.”

“Technicalities,” he shrugged, “they’ll get you.”

“This isn’t a courtroom, Murdock,” (Y/N) groaned lightly, “you can cut the lawyer bullshit.” 

“But if I can’t be a smart-ass with my fiancée, how would I know I’m not getting rusty? It would be a disservice to our clients.”

Fiancée.

“P-perhaps,” she fumbled, heart rate skyrocketing at the word. “Though, when Matthew Murdock comes to mind, the last word on my list would be rusty.”

“Oh? And the first word would be…?”

“Sexy,” (Y/N) admitted truthfully. Matt didn’t even need to listen to her heart to tell him that. He chuckled a bit at the honesty. “Thoughtful is a close second, though.”

“Thoughtful?”

“Of course,” (Y/N) said, pausing before the steps to their building. “You’re very considerate, deeply devoted to your friends, an extremely giving lover—”

“I try my best—”

“Wrap it all up with a bow and call yourself thoughtful, Matthew Murdock,” (Y/N) said, taking a step up. She now stood slightly over the man before her. It was a nice change of pace, to be above him. “Even if your thoughtfulness can make you an ass.”

“There it is,” Matt chided, patting her arm playfully. “Y’know, you’re marrying this ass, you sort of agreed to it a few minutes ago.”

“And what an ass I’ll be marrying,” (Y/N) chuckled, allowing Matt to pass her, “he even holds the door for me.” She walked through the door he was holding, the warmth of their building feeling euphoric. 

“Figured I should make up for the fact you don’t have a ring,” Matt said, pulling the door shut quickly, the cold air dissipating. He took a shaky breath, felt his face start to warm up. “I know you said you didn’t need one, but I’d like you to have one.” They made their way up the stairs with ease, a practiced path laid out before them.

“Why? Want everyone to know that I’m taken?” (Y/N) chided, a chuckle under her breath. She fumbled with the key just for a moment, her fingers still ice cold.

“Well, a ring is a little more appropriate than littering your neck with hickeys,” Matt hummed, placing his hands on her hips. He cautiously placed a kiss to her cheek, her neck seemingly out of reach—he hated when she wore scarves. 

“Careful, your possession kink is showing Mr. Murdock,” (Y/N) chuckled, patting his hand away. They walked into their apartment, discarding their winter wear on the hooks beside the door. The smell of their breakfast the morning before was still lingering in the air, coffee and burnt toast. They needed to get a new toaster, but that could wait another day. “We could pick them out together, y’know.”

“Matching rings?”

“You’re not the only one who wants people to know their fiancé is taken,” (Y/N) quirked her eyebrow, squeezing Matt’s behind playfully as she moved to walk past him.  

“I’m so glad you said yes,” Matt said, enveloping his lover in his arms, catching her before she fled. Without the extra layers of their winter attire, the warmth radiating off of one another was intoxicating, pulling him in closer. “You have no idea.”

“Well, I did say that if you asked me tomorrow I’d do just that,” (Y/N) mumbled, her words hushed. “Seeing as you asked just after midnight, you took my words just a bit too seriously.”

“I’m always serious about you, (Y/N),” Matt replied honestly. “Surprised you caught that, though.”

(Y/N) hummed in contentment, enjoying the warmth of Matt’s chest against her back. “You underestimate your fiancée sometimes, Murdock.”

“I really should stop doing that,” Matt chuckled, “I know better.”

“You do,” (Y/N) hummed again, swaying slightly, “we should probably get to bed, it’s late.”

“What? No shower?”

(Y/N) turned her head ever so slightly, her gaze catching Matt’s profile. It was highlighted with beautiful blues and pinks from the billboard outside, his cheeky grin plastered exactly how she knew it would be. She never got tired of looking at him, especially here, especially now. (Y/N) loved everything about Matthew Murdock, this moment almost overwhelming in that thought.

“Who said we weren’t going to shower?”

[thessalian]

Thess vs The Usual Aggravations

Well, we're getting more or less back to normal. Temp's back on a phased return, so she's doing fewer hours for a bit, but otherwise we've got everybody in. Well. In theory. I mean, except for when The Other Part-Timer has an appointment that apparently she didn't bother to tell anyone about until it was, "Oh, I have to leave for the entire afternon". And Goblin having an appointment that meant she was out in the morning. And Temp coming in an hour later than she originally said she would. You know - poor communication bullshit that Scruffman lets slide because he dislikes confrontation.

Now, it's nice that we're back to at most low three figures in the typing queue. Like, a little over a hundred. The problem is that the girls are back to the same old bullshit when it comes to the typing. One of the girls, and I have no idea which one, took a bunch of typing out of the queue yesterday morning and put it all back in in the mid-afternoon, which meant that I had to bust my ass if I wanted to have all of the previous day's typing done by close of play (which is our basic target). And today ... well, we didn't quite manage that, but that's only because I got fed up. Only four cases were dumped back int the queue in the mid-afternoon when by timestamp they should have been finished that morning. Just they were Annoyances, one and all. Worse - training Annoyances; ones taking their cues from other producers of Annoyances (and Monstrosities, worse yet) on top of the kinds of mistakes and tripping-over-words you get from a trainee.

I did three out of the four. I refused to get stuck with all four. I absolutely fucking refused. Goblin's in until half-five; she can handle the bullshit. Because, seriously, I am exhausted and in pain and really not feeling well, but I am getting through it because I have next week off and the workload will look bad enough as it is when I get back without being off. Because ... well, seriously. I give the others the consideration of trying to keep things at least a little manageable when they're away - more for the patients than for them, but still. Do they do me the same courtesy? Absolutely not. I wish I knew why the hell I alway seem to end up with colleagues who take ridiculous advantage of my work ethic and basic consideration. There have to be good secretaries out there, right? I can't be the only one. It's not that all my contemporaries in the field are lazy mares with no understanding of what our job means, is it? Because that would depress the hell out of me.

Scruffman sent me an email thanking me for all my hard work the last six weeks. "We'd have been lost without you" is what he said. I swear, though, if the rest of his team don't stop dumping the worst of everything on me, I'm going to end up the one on the sick leave, and I would bet serious money that we won't fare nearly as well if I end up on sick leave. Apparently they can survive losing any number of people for awhile ... as long as that person's not me.

I'd bring up the issues to Scruffman again, but seriously, nothing ever happens, and frankly he shouldn't have to be hovering over his typists to ensure they distribute the workload evenly and don't cherrypick only the easiest and least annoying bits of typing to the exclusion of all else. And that's what he'd have to do, because they might improve for a week but then right back to the laziness when the dust settles. It may not be a reflection on my value to the department, but it's still depressing as fuck when I bring up a complaint and nothing happens. It's not like it's Scruffman's fault that my colleagues are lazy, and there's not much he can do about it. He's spoken to them, but they've just gone back to base lazy soon after. Scruffman can't police them - he has other duties, so all he can really look at is if the typing's getting done, and it is, so ... sucks to be me.

At least there's no overtime.

[tarosin]

the great adventures of y/n tommy tubbo jack and ranboo - how y/n made friends with everyone

this is an extra to the great adventures series

requested: yes/no

warnings: cursing

tommy

you were actually friends with tommy when he was streaming to a few viewers, and you even watched as his channel grew. eventually he asked you to mod for him, as he knew he could trust you and because had experience being a twitch mod. he was also the reason you began streaming. as for how you met, you were in the same classes as him in highschool, and since you were the ‘quiet’ person in the class, they sat tommy next to you. honestly, you hated him when you first met him and the feeling was mutual. you didn’t want to sit next to the rather loud teenager and he had no one to talk to anymore as his friends were on the other side of the room.

“do you ever talk?”

“heh?”

“i said do you ever talk...do you always do that”

“do what”

“that fucking HeH.”

“are you mocking me simons?”

“noooo why would i do that...”

“it’s y/n.”

“right, yeah, yeah, i totally knew that.”

“great now please leave me alone i’m trying to work.”

“loser.”

“the fuck did you just say?”

“nothing.”

it was that moment tommy decided he was going to make you just like him, and a few years later that’s exactly what he did. by year 11 you and tommy had grown extremely close. the last day of school arrived a lot earlier than expected, everyone was extremely stressed, no one knew what to expect or what was going to happen. you found yourself hanging around with tommy a lot more as you had no idea if you would both be going to the same college, in september you received a text message that made your night:

tommy: college sent out emails telling you if you were accepted go check

*2 minutes later*

tommy: well?

y/n: i got accepted

tommy: me too

y/n: call me right now

tommy: i’m about to stream..have you ever considered streaming?

y/n: absolutely not

tommy: make an account and stream after me i’ll raid you..make me mod you know how people can be

once college started up, you were slightly nervous the two of you would drift away from each other. however this was far from the case, although you both did different subjects and he was only in on wednesdays, the pair of you would hang out together a lot more. he would be in your streams and vice versa, you would either be in his tiktoks, or you would be the one filming them.

“y/n make a tiktok we can be mutuals.”

“please god no.”

you spent so much time at his house either talking about random things, playing whatever game you could find, or streaming. he dragged you to every meet up he went on, allowing you to meet people such as niki, phil, and, wilbur. you didn’t know this, but he would constantly bring you up in conversations with dream, which eventually lead to you joining the smp in october where you would later be able to meet the likes of jack, technoblade and jschlatt. the only person you didn’t seem to see on the server was his other friend tubbo.

ranboo

you had become friends with scott after being his first twitch mod and when he noticed you started streaming, he was extremely supportive, always raiding your stream once he ended his. today you found yourself bickering with scott because he wouldn’t let you in mcc despite the fact you were ‘the best minecraft player.’

“y/n, i watched you die in minecraft 7 times last night within 5 minutes.”

“oh i’m sorry mr perfect, let me in mcc.”

“no.”

“fine i’ll make my own.”

and that’s exactly what you did..well you tried your best.

you started your stream as soon as scott ended and had him call you on discord after explaining to your chat what you were about to do.

“scott final chance let me in mcc, i’ll settle for access to the practice server.”

“fine.”

“REALLY?!”

“absolutely not!”

“fuck you, ill be in it one day!”

you left the call telling chat you didn’t need that negative energy in your life.

you really have scott to thank for you making friends with ranboo, scott made a tweet explaining what you were doing on stream which caught ranboos eye.

Smajor1995: after not making it into mcc again my good friend @y/n has decided to take it upon themselves to make their own on stream!! ill also be in the stream (if they answer my calls) *twitch link*

ranboo joined your stream and was instantly met with you yelling at scott (again) to let you in mcc.

“IM YOUR TWITCH MOD!”

“i will ban you from mcc!”

“you don’t have the nerve... so he left the call this is bullshit watch me land this water bucket clutch down this ravine so we can find axolotls and build an army.”

*you died*

you pulled your hood over your face before sinking down your chair taking a deep breath.

“FUCK!”

you calmly got back up and looked into your camera.

“i was so close, so very close.. HEY CHAT SCOTT SENT ME A LINK TO THE SERVER!”

a few minutes later you were able to get onto the server, only to be kicked less than a minute later. the reason you were banned being ‘i watched you fail the water bucket clutch down a ravine.’

you continued your build on your server and just spent the rest of the stream talking about anything that crossed your mind, that was until you decided to copy ace race. once finished, you looked into your camera and pulled your microphone closer to you.

“so this is race ace, so scott doesn’t sue me, and basically it’s going to be this course, but i’m going to change a random section practice it every day, not tell anyone it changed. of course i’m going to tell my team we have to win, oh fuck i forgot scott was watching my stream..it’s okay he didn’t hear me he’s too busy planning how he can rig the next mcc.”

ranboo found himself enjoying your content and even noticed you in his chat multiple times.

“just a minute chat i’m just sending an important dm to my mods.”

that’s when you noticed chat paused for a minute after you sent a message, it confused you for a minute before realising ranboo made you a vip on his channel and you decided to do the same for him on your channel, from there you added each other on discord. the pair of you made friends extremely quickly, you were constantly part of his streams as you would call him on discord not realising that he was streaming.

“hi y/n, by the way i’m streaming”

“i just wanted to ask if you knew how to break into a house?”

“....why”

“i locked myself out by accident and my parents are asleep come help me.”

“you are in the uk.”

“okay? catch a flight.”

chat honestly loved you and your friendship with ranboo. the pair of you only met a few weeks ago and you were already acting as though you had known each other for years.

jack

you and jack met for the first time on the smp, which would have been fine, however you met during lore and your characters weren’t exactly the best of friends. once lore had ended, everyone said their goodbyes and left the call. a few moments later you received a discord message from jack asking if you were available to call any time soon. since you were back in lockdown, you had plenty of free time. you arranged a time and date a few days later you called jack, where you had your first proper interaction out of character.

“hello jack!!”

“oh hi y/n i just thought it may be a good idea to get to know each other, well you know considering we’re both on the dream smp.”

“yeah, yeah, i understand what you mean.”

the pair of you ended up getting along with each other, it was slightly awkward for the first 5 minutes of the call, but that was expected since you hadn’t really met jack before and were anxious to call him. however, after that the conversation started to flow and you found out the pair of you had a lot in common making it easy to come up with things to talk about. it ended up feeling as though you were catching up with a friend you hadn’t spoken to for a while.

“has anyone told you your accent is really strong.”

“so is yours, y/n, what the fuck is that supposed to mean.”

“it means your accent is strong, duh.”

jack asked if you’d like to stay in call and join him on the smp whilst he streamed, and you gladly accepted the offer as you really didn’t want to do your college work, and you were enjoying your time with him. a few minutes into the stream jack had killed you several times.

“JACK STOP KILLING ME!”

rather than answering you he just sat laughing. he then went on to attempt to mute him microphone, he failed. however he didn’t realise this, so you sat listening to his plan on how he was going to kill you again. this time you were prepared, you sent a message to tommy telling him to log on along with your location. few minutes later tommy was by your side and helped you kill jack several times for revenge.

“Y/N...TOMMY!!”

“you didn’t mute your mic, so i told tommy you were bullying me.”

“im gonna go...BYE JACK, BYE Y/N, ILL SEE YOU SOON!”

“i can’t believe you.”

“hey you’re the one who didn’t turn your mic off.”

“how did you know?”

“i had your stream on my other monitor.”

“ayeee you watch my streams?”

“...i’ve been a sub for 4 months.”

the two of you stayed chatting and playing for another hour. the pair of you were already so close and you had only met each other the other day. this was just the start of your friendship, soon enough you were in a laugh and the stream ends challenge on his stream, however due to lockdown rules this was done over discord leading to you accidentally leaving the call several times.

“and they’re gone again!”

*4 minutes later*

“SORRY JACK IM BACK!”

“stop leaving y/n!”

“oh i’m sorry, let me just go yell at my wifi to stop cutting out!”

a few seconds later you could be heard faintly in the background screaming at your wifi as it would continue to buffer. as soon as restrictions were over one of the first things you decided to do was go to jacks and stream a laugh you lose where there was a punishment if you were responsible for losing the last heart. however everything was apparently hilarious in person as you would constantly laugh, meaning you were responsible for losing the last heart.

“y/n give me your phone.”

“no.”

“you lost let me tweet from your account”

“fine..”

soon enough your fans and friends with your notifications on received this twitter notification

“y/n: jack is so cool and funny he is also really tall i am not”

tubbo

tubbo was actually the last person you met and made friends with, your community were convinced for some reason that you both didn’t like each other and that’s why the pair of you didn’t talk to each other. this was far from the case you were both waiting for the right time, tubbo was an extremely busy teenager and you didn’t want to interrupt him, and tubbo knew you were currently in a stressful position since you had recently joined the dream smp, also you were still meeting people so he didn’t want to stress you out. this doesn’t mean he didn’t want to be your friend, he actually asked tommy since he had been your friend for at least 4 years what would be the best way of getting to know you.

“mate they hated me when we first met, just talk to them or something. you could have met them the last time i went up to visit you, but they ended up not feeling too good and went back to the hotel room.”

“when are you next coming up?”

“how about next week, and i’ll bring y/n, i really don’t understand why you’re nervous tubbo, it’s y/n they wouldn’t hurt a fly..well hmm.”

“see you next week then!”

a week later tommy dragged you to the train station.

“uh tommy where are we going?”

“...on a train.”

“no way, really? oh my god!”

a few hours later you finally got off the train.

“ill go with my dad to check into the hotel room, do you want to come with us or?”

“i think i’ll go for a walk and stretch my legs.”

“right okay, meet you at the beach later”

you spent a few minutes walking around the beach picking up any rocks and shells that caught your eye, little did you know it would result in you meeting tubbo. once you finished putting your new collection in your pockets you noticed a small crowd of people walk up to someone asking for pictures assuming it was tommy you walked over to the boy, it wasn’t tommy it was in fact tubbo. at first you stayed silent not wanting to really cause attention to yourself. you only spoke up when some people started to make inappropriate comments towards him.

“oh sorry to be a pain guys me and tubbo have plans with tommy in a few minutes, we should go so we’re not late. bye guys.”

you smiled and waved as they walked away. you looked over to tubbo, you could tell he was still pretty anxious about what just happened and honestly if you was in his position, you would react the same way.

“we should probably move from here incase they come back and see you’re still here, are you okay?”

“im feeling better now it’s over..thank you”

“oh it’s no problem i’m, y/n btw.”

“wait you and tommy were still meant to be on the train.”

“the train was actually on time, tommy went to check into the hotel i wanted to stretch my legs, i also wanted to collect some rocks.”

“did you collect enough or did you want more?”

“im not going to say no if you wanna go collect some with me.”

the pair of you walked around keeping each other close incase the people from before returned. half an hour later, the pair of you sat on a bench close to the beach so you could show tubbo everything you decided to pick up, he ended up keeping a rock he liked to have as a memory. tubbo wrapped an arm around you as it was getting cold whilst you watched the sunset.

“tubbo i think tommy forgot about me.”

“you can spend the night at mine, i’ll send him a message to let him know.”

“are you sure?”

“of course!”

“this has to be the most unsafe thing either of us will ever do, we hardly know each other and now i’m staying at yours.”

tommy sent you a message explaining that he didn’t forget, there was a problem at the other hotel and they had to go find another one, but you’ll be fine to stay at tubbos for the night. the pair of you spent the entire night learning as much as you can about the other person. it had only been an evening but you already knew the pair of you would be great friends.

taglist:

@dumb-chaotic-bi-energy @uselesssapphickitten @l0ver0fj0y @etheriaaly @xx-smiley-xx @hawarun @kylobensgirl @cawcaw-pretty-thing @reverse-iak @renleicrashed @c1loudee

[fcdcdmcmories]

"THEN... THEN, I GUESS THAT WE'LL BOTH JUST STAY HERE. FINE." he was stubborn . and yes , he knew that she knew that , because ... he should have left a long time ago and yet , here he was . he didn't know how to walk away . he didn't think that he would ever have it in himself to walk away and he hated it . he did . "you .. you weren't doing it here anymore ? why ? i thought that the only thing that mattered was the money. not actually helping people." it was the first hint of surprise that hit him , because .. no , he had not seen that coming . surely , she would have gone right ahead into making it happen again . right back into her plans . was he wrong about her? for the first time in a very long time , he found himself hoping that he was . that she wasn't the monster everyone else painted her out to be. that maybe, just maybe, there could be- no. what was he even thinking? "that would be a start, yeah! an apology . for leaving me in the dirt . for killing me in that fucked up way . not that it's going to change anything , but .. yeah , it would be nice to hear you say it for once . if you even are capable of such a thing ?" he shook his head furiously , taking a step forward again . he couldn't stay away . try as he might , he just didn't have it in him . "yeah? and is that an excuse for everything that you did after that? yes, he's a bad man. yes, he messed you up. i know that. i knew that when we first met. but what you still don't see is that.. you don't have to be what he wants you to be, cecilia. you don't. you can stand up to him. you can do what you want to do. and you can find your own family, because.. honestly? fuck that guy. he doesn't deserve how hard you've worked to be someone he'd be proud of. HE DOESN'T." had he just said out loud what he had been thinking? apparently so, but .. it was the truth . she just had to come to the conclusion of that as well .

"she won't stand for it. amanda. sooner or later, she'll know and she will never let you get anywhere near him again. i saw how protective she was of him . in other words? you're fucked as soon as she remembers and i hope that's soon enough ." rubbing it in her face that he had gone behind her back to do this ? yeah , he supposed he was . he wanted her to be pissed off. he wanted her to be angry , because .. any reaction was better than none . "no . not anymore . this is the last time you're ever going to see me . i'm leaving here and i'm going home to my friends . gabi . mateo and valentina . maybe even diego , if we can get him to join us . you might have tossed us all aside , but .. guess what? we found each other again . we're family . one that you no longer get to be a part of . shame, isn't it? you tossed aside the people who actually loved you . who actually looked up to you. like father , like daughter." he hoped that hurt , because comparing her to him was meant to be an insult . she just .. she got under his skin in ways that no one else ever could and he wanted her out . out of his mind, out of his heart, out of his life. for good. didn't he? "you what?" she wasn't going to get away with that anymore. "finish that sentence or i swear to god i'll walk away right now and you will never see me again . ever ." no more hiding things from him . he wasn't going to allow that to be the case . "why? why are you protecting me from him? NO MORE UNSPOKEN THINGS. NO MORE KEEPING THINGS TO YOURSELF. YOU KILLED ME ONCE. CLEARLY YOU DON'T GIVE A DAMN. so.. i want you to say it out loud. why. are. you. protecting. me. from.him?" was she going to say it? he didn't think so and yet , he couldn't stop himself from talking . "even you know that's bullshit. we both know there are ways of making people disappear, if you have enough money - which i know you do, hidden away somewhere, so.. why not take it? why not leave?" he didn't understand her . he didn't think he ever would. "oh, i will! i'd rather be with people i know give a damn about me even if i die tomorrow than to be here wasting my time with someone i know will never love me back the way i used to love her . THAT'S JUST IT. " @xtinyslip

THE TRUTH WAS THAT HE WAS STILL STANDING THERE BUT SO WAS SHE. after her father had quite literally destroyed her where she stood for letting parker talk to her like a piece of shit. yet, she wasn't walking away from him either when SHE KNEW what her father would do when he found out about this. cecilia didn't doubt for a second that he wouldn't find out. he had his ways of knowing everything. it used to strike horror into her when she was younger. when she didn't know better. not that she really knew any better now. she knew what her father had drilled into her. it's all she'd ever know. "BUT YOU WON'T AND IT SEEMS NEITHER WILL I." was he going to dare tell her she was wrong? was he going to attempt to walk away and make a complete fool of himself? she was waiting... intrigued actually at what he would do when pushed. "... i wasn't either." her voice quiet on admittance because after the verbal hammering her father gave her, this information her feel like a joke. "the clinic the trials here? it wasn't a complete guarantee but it was working." WAS, because her father was never going to let that happen. she knew him. "under duress. yes. i did. what are you expecting from me parker? I'M SORRY? I WAS WRONG? that psychopath would have left us both to keel over in there if i hadn't..." was she sorry? because honestly, the word hadn't even entered her mind until she was trying to use it to hurt him. she wasn't sorry she survived, that she could keep moving forward but was she sorry with how it had happened? why wasn't that an immediate no? SHE DIDN'T LIKE THIS AT ALL. that's destroying them. "parker you have no idea what its like to be truly destroyed. over and over until you're broken pieces are forged together to be what someone else wants! until you can't be anything other than what they forced you to be! I WAS A CHILD FOR FUCKS SAKE! A CHILD!" the worst part? her father had started and never stopped because nothing she could ever do or say would be good enough. the marvelous finn pederson was destroying her now... as they argued over who was hurt worse. SERIOUSLY? he had no fucking idea. she could scream this at his face because... she wasn't telling him something he didn't already know. was she? he'd seen it first hand.

"LYING, HM? what reason would i have to lie baby?" pulling out her phone because oh, she was going to rub this in his face because as far as she was concerned -- he'd just asked for it. "just like two old friends catching up. don't you think?" showing her the selfie that she and john had taken during lunch. of course, it wasn't anything like THAT but honestly -- once she had her claws in deep with him? she didn't need it to be. "john without his memories is the sweetest thing." tucking the phone back into her jacket pocket. admittedly, she hadn't been expecting him to track down amanda young. it was going to make things more difficult. did he seriously want more people dead? if she didn't get kramer and young under her thumb, under her control then that was the alternative. DEATH. she listened to him, her head tilting. "WE CHOSE EACH OTHER. perhaps, that's how fucked up we made each other HONEY? it doesn't matter where we go, who you claim to care so much about -- we're right back here. isn't that right, parker?" he may be one of the only people other than her father to truly know pieces of her. he was never going to know her completely because as much as she claimed to know herself. how could she? her father's taunts had started at such a young. it was impossible to know what came from her OR FROM HIM. "and as we're treating it like some kind of fucked up competition? i not only picked you from the start of our time together but i --" could she admit it? that would leave a hole of vulnerability that she didn't currently trust him with. "he wants you dead... my father is a man that gets what he wants. no matter what cost is it to him. i -- I'M TRYING TO PROTECT YOU'RE UNGRATEFUL DICK FROM HIM!" it wasn't a lie and she told herself she knew why and that it was because she needed someone her side. she told herself all the lies she could to cover up for what it might actually be because if that thought didn't break her? her father certainly was going to. "not even i know how to escape my father. there is no escaping his wrath... as a little girl i tried every way i could think of." it was twisted but she actually smiled at her memories of that. oh, if her father wanted her dead? cecilia was under no illusion that it was exactly what would happen. why else was she terrified of him? "please don't be that foolish parker!" she couldn't help but roll her eyes. he thought that he stood a chance against her father? who had she involved herself with? perhaps, that's why he got on her last nerve so frequently. "STICK WITH THEM AND MAKE THE MOST OF IT. WON'T YOU?" it wouldn't last long.