#so we're coming up on 2 months but we r not there yet

[orcelito]

a solid month and a half in trigun fandom & i already have over half as many trigun followers as p5 followers from my 2+ years in That fandom lmfao

[girlgenius1111]

ACL tear #4, ACL couple #2

r tears her ACL during the wolfsburg game. she's dating leah, but no one else on the team knows.

angst + fluff

In the world of football, there was no injury more infamous than an ACL tear. Every female footballer felt like they knew exactly what the injury detailed, hearing about it from so many teammates. Especially at Arsenal, where you were down 3 of your best players with it.

Which is how you knew what happened before you even hit the ground. The pain in your knee was excruciating, but it didn't compare to the dread that filled your body when you heard the pop. It was exactly like everyone had described.

The sound of the crowd seemed to fade, until you could only hear your heartbeat in your ears. No one was coming to you, and they needed to get you off, get someone else on, and beat Wolfsburg. That was really all you could think about, aside from the pain; that you'd drag yourself off the field if it would be faster. You waved your hand up in the air, trying to tell your teammates to kick the ball out. Eventually, Katie did. Her and Manu were the first to you, crouching down. The looks on their faces told you that they knew what this was too, but still, they asked.

"What hurts?" Katie said, placing a hand on your head.

"ACL," you responded, "heard the pop." The girls exchanged looks above you, and Manu motioned to the sidelines. You felt more hands on you, and then Lia was speaking in your ear quietly.

"It's gonna be alright, y/n. If that's what it is, we've got you," she told you. You appreciated her words, everyone's support, but you wanted everyone to just stop talking. You were fighting back tears now, and you were determined not to cry on the field.

Through clenched teeth, you asked, "are they coming?"

"Yeah, almost here," Frida told you. You nodded, still laying in a ball on your side. The pain was radiating out from your knee, and damn, everyone talked about how much it hurt, but this was worse than you were expecting. You continued to try to take steady, measured breaths as the medics got arrived.

You repeated what you'd told Katie, and their faces were grim as the got you up. You wanted to walk off, something you told the medics, Lia, Jen, anyone that was near you really.

"No, we're gonna need the stretcher. We don't need to make it any worse," Lia said.

"Leah walked off." You reminded her.

"I know, y/n, but lets just get you on here, alright?" You couldn't get off on your own, and it was clear they weren't going to let you walk off. So, you relented, allowing them to lower you back onto the stretcher. You were growing used to the pain in your knee, or maybe it was fading slightly, and as they carried you off, all you could think was that you just wanted Leah.

The two of you had been together for 6 months. No one knew yet, you'd been keeping it to yourselves, enjoying the privacy and the ease. It had been casual, until she'd done her knee, and suddenly, you were the only person outside of Viv and Beth that she'd really talk to. You'd watched her go through this, knew how hard it was. And as Viv walked with you, saying something that you didn't really hear, you just wanted Leah.

They took you back through the tunnel, and into one of the medical rooms. They set you on a table, and worked around you for a while. They hadn't let anyone in the room except Viv, and you loved her, you really did, but you knew Leah would be in the hall, going crazy. You couldn't think of any way to ask for her though without raising suspicion, even as Viv stood next to you, asking if she could get you anything.

"Alright, we need scans, but it seems like it's your ACL. I'm sorry, y/n." One of the medics told you. You nodded numbly, staring at the white ceiling, feeling tears burn the back of your eyes.

"You're gonna be alright, schatje, you won't have to do this alone." Viv spoke softly, and you shut your eyes.

"Can I just have a sec?" You asked, voice breaking pathetically, because if you couldn't have Leah, you didn't want anyone. The medics shuffled out, and Viv stepped away hesitantly, looking like she wasn't sure leaving you by yourself was the best idea.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, just need a minute." You replied. You were still staring at the ceiling, but out of the corner of your eyes, through tears, you watched as Viv walked out the door, shutting it quietly behind her. You covered your face with your hands as you let go, trying to muffle your cries in your hands. Your body shook with each sob, and you were sure that you'd never felt this bad, this upset, in your entire life.

-----

Leah had followed the stretcher at a distance, as Viv got to you first. She'd wanted to shove everyone out of the way and get to you as fast as she could, even when you were still on the field. She didn't care if people found out, if people talked, she just needed to make sure you were okay. But she would be damned if she was going to allow your privacy to be taken away from you too, along with your ability to do the thing you loved. In an impressive show of restraint, she felt, she kept her distance.

She paced the hallway outside the room you were in, feeling Beth's eyes on her as she walked back and forth.

"She'll be alright, Leah, she's a tough kid." Leah hummed in response, but kept pacing. She knew you were strong, but you were also her girlfriend, and she wanted to be with you. "Oh for god's sake, stop pacing." Beth said, grabbing Leah's hand and tugging her to sit in the chair next to her.

Leah obliged, but her nervous energy had to go somewhere, or she was sure she'd go bursting in the room, so she began to rapidly bounce her knee. Beth gave her a look, not really sure why Leah was acting like this. Sure, you were friends, and Beth was worried about you too, but the panic and worry she saw on her normally composed captain's face was so out of character.

"What is with you? You're normally the calm one when someone's hurt." Beth remarked, studying Leah closely. Just then, the door to the room opened, and the medics shuffled out. Leah tried to peek in and see you, but Viv closed the door quickly behind her. Leah looked at the Dutch woman with a question on her face, terrified of the answer.

"ACL," Viv said simply and Leah felt her whole body fall in on itself. She was sure then, very suddenly, that she must love you because she was trying to figure out a way to give you her good ACL, if it meant you'd be okay.

"Why aren't you in there with her?" Leah questioned, as soon as she'd pulled herself back together. She knew she was glaring at poor Viv, but she couldn't help it.

"She wanted some space," Viv told her, exchanging a look with Beth. Neither of them had ever seen Leah act like this before. Now that no one was speaking, they could hear you crying through the door, and they all flinched at the sound.

Leah sighed heavily, burying her face in her hands. Viv took the seat on the other side of Leah, looking over her at Beth. Beth just shrugged at her, and both of them pulled their attention back to Leah, as her shoulders began to shake lightly. Both girls blinked down at her, almost not believing their eyes. Leah never let anyone see her cry, not even when she'd hurt her knee.

"Lee," Beth began, placing a gentle hand on her back. Leah jumped up suddenly, wiping her face harshly.

"I can't take this, I'm going in there." She said, voice choked.

"She said she wanted-" Viv started.

"I don't care what she said, she needs me." Leah said aggressively, and her words had a finality to them. They knew better to argue, both throwing their hands up in response to Leah's deep glare. Leah pushed the door open, walking in quietly. She closed the door behind her, but not before Beth and Viv caught her first word to you.

"Love?" She said, just as the door fell shut.

Beth and Viv looked at each other. It wasn't odd for Leah to call a teammate that, but the word paired with her downright bizarre behavior since you'd gone down was leading them to question some things.

-----

Inside the room, you hadn't noticed Leah enter until you heard her soft voice.

"Love? Is it alright if I come in?" She asked, the harshness she'd shown Viv and Beth gone without a trace. She was only ever gentle with you, only ever soft and kind.

You pulled your hands down away from your face, and looked at her through tearstained and puffy eyes, taking in how worried she looked. Her hair was pulled back in a messy low bun, and you remembered it being down at the start of the game. Leah always fiddled with her hair when she was nervous. You nodded slightly, in response to her question, lip beginning to quiver again.

"Oh, baby," She said, walked quickly to your side. She pulled you into her arms, and you buried your face in her sweatshirt, inhaling the scent of her perfume. "I'm so sorry, my love. So so sorry," she told you, pressing kiss after kiss to the side of your head. You didn't respond, only pulling her in closer to you, grabbing her sweatshirt in your hands, as if afraid she was going to leave. She held you for a long time, only letting go when she felt you pull back.

She held your face in her hands, looking deeply into your eyes, trying to see how you were doing. "You can do this. I'll be here the whole time." She said, her words matching her unwavering expression. It was what everyone had been saying to you, and yet coming from her, it made you feel better. She watched as the defeat clear on your face disappeared, replaced by a fire she recognized. You pulled her down to you, pressing your lips to hers in a searing kiss. You tried to put your appreciation for her, your love for her into that kiss, even if you hadn't said the words yet. You both quickly got lost in the kiss, letting the world and everything that mattered fall away.

You were still kissing when the door opened, but neither of you noticed.

"Are you guys- oh. Viv you were right." Beth said, blinking at the two of you as you jumped away from each other. She said the words as if she hadn't just caught two of her friends making out, like it wasn't really a surprise. You felt your cheeks burning, and saw the blush reflecting on Leah's face. "Well, you're clearly alright. We're coming in now." Beth told you, and she walked into the room, taking a seat on the other side of you. Viv followed her in, both girls smirking at the two of you.

Leah tried return to being stern, but she was too worried you were mad at her for kissing you, and getting caught. She gave up the dirty look she was sending your friends, as they both sat next to your bed, staring at the two of you with stupid grins on their faces.

She turned back to you, deciding to pretend they didn't exist. "I'm sorry baby, I think I might have given that away. I was a bit of a wreck out there and then I charged in here, and I didn't mean-" You cut her off.

"Lee, it's fine. I just wanted you in here, but I didn't want to tell people before you were ready." You said. You both laughed lightly, realizing you'd wanted the same thing, but were too concerned with the other person to ask for it.

"You're gonna have to tell the rest of the team. Try to get Beth to keep this a secret, she'll lose her mind." Viv teased. Beth wacked her in the arm. All of you laughed at the disgruntled look on her face, and eventually she joined in.

Viv handed you a water bottle, and Leah pulled a chair over to the side she was standing on, sitting down. She was barely sitting though, leaning forward to hold your hand until she was almost off the chair. The other girls decided to leave her alone over that, opting to ask how you were feeling instead.

"Alright. It doesn't hurt a much anymore," you said, pausing. "How hard is it?" you asked quietly. They let the question hang for a minute before they each answered in turn.

"Nothing you can't handle." Viv said.

"Especially with blondie over there taking care of you." Beth said, once again smirking mischievously at you. Leah ignored her, waiting until you looked down at her before answering.

"Doesn't matter how hard it is. I know you can do it." She said, her voice full of confidence in you. You nodded, accepting the answer. Her words filled you with a feeling, one you could only describe as being loved.

-----

[theoddest1]

Hazbin Hotel episode 5 is a rushed mess.

May just make this a continual thing where I review the episodes from here on out.

-Right off the bat, the pacing for this episode is probably the worst out of all other episodes so far. Things just begin abruptly (Lucifer's first song with Al for instance), no build up, 5 months have passed in only 5 episodes of barely any progress or focus on Charlie as a character, a random character that didn't need to be introduced but was anyway ruined the flow further, and this stupid ass rivalry all on the basis of who's the "better dad" is legit the most random conflict of any conflict so far. That will get a point all on its own along with some of the other things mentioned. The pacing left no real breathing room aside from 2 moments: Al's rise to power and Husk n Al's convo. I wanna say the second song would be a 3rd but it just resolves an issue that was present for seemingly years and pulled a "Stolas" with having a song or sob story as an excuse for the lack of effort to reach out and be a better dad. Lazy writing and pacing overall.

-5 months....5 months have passed with barely anything revolving around helping sinners or trust built around the main cast SHOWN ON SCREEN. We are told important information opposed to witnessing the progress itself. This is not only lazy but extremely jarring cause it feels as though episodes were skipped and bonds feel unearned. They get easily resolved in what feels like seconds, and we're just supposed to....deal with it. Angel and Husk barely interact throughout this episode, which, after the crazy ride they had, with the knowledge of a SEVERAL MONTHS passing by as well, you'd think Angel would be shown to be more chatty with him....which he doesn't. Nothing crazy, just small bits of them interacting and enjoying each other's company. Nah. We get that next episode, and even THAT'S lacking. I'll tackle that in a separate post. But yeah, 5 months, and we have yet to see the other guests' views and how it has changed for the better or the process of them realizing WHY they would go for redemption. How that has affected them. Nothing of note has come about from any of these. No other sinners have joined. No other demons seem interested in Charlie's Hotel. Nothing. We are told things have been done, yet it feels like we are still at the starting line, or well, a foot away from it and miles away from the finish.

- Lucifer is a joke. I don't mind me a goofy threat, it adds a charm to them but also shows that they take so little seriously due to their immense power....not Lucifer. No, that guy just....is a joke. Dude is in his mansion making fucking toy ducks for some reason and just has depression (show said it outright, not even depression is spared from "tell don't show")

He does literally nothing, doesn't seem to WANT to do anything, and no one respects the guy. Nearly all in the Hotel lack fear, intimidation, or admiration for the guy (Pentious is the only one who seems to exhibit admiration of some kind). The closest we got is being uncomfortable. That's it. Then there's his scuffle with Alastor. Tell me why he feels the need to argue with this sucka again? Cause last I checked, Alastor is a mere overlord, and Lucifer is The Devil. Wtf is this randomass rivalry that just...S T A R T S? Why does Lucifer get intimidated or moved by Al? It makes no sense. Lucifer has been alive far longer than humanity itself, but nah this random fuck who looks like he robbed a blood bank got him weeping insecurities? I'm supposed to take this sad excuse of a character seriously? How many of these carbon copy characters will Viv make until I finally end my suffering???

-Wtf is Alastor's deal? Why is he so pressed and annoyed? One moment he is as cool and collected as a cucumber and showing only SLIGHT annoyance (Vox and His song), then he goes to meetings and speaks with people far older, far more experienced, and/or far stronger than he show no interest and he gets pissy? How insecure is he that people not caring where he's gone or thinking his ideas are wack is what leads to his eye twitching and him throwing a random ass cuss. Seriously, THAT'S what got him to swear? That his idea for the hotel's name is stupid? BFFR! You can not be serious right now, THAT'S what gets him going? You'd think with how witty and chill he was in the pilot, he would find a quick and a effective smart-ass comeback, not essentially bitch at The Devil. This makes Alastor look like a thin-skinned wannabe, too cause these minor ass comebacks are why he has lost his edge along with some randomass song number?? And at the end of the day, Al just couldn't be damned anymore to even care by the end of the episode, he doesn't speak with Lucifer or give any stank looks, doesn't speak with Charlie, does NOTHING pertaining to the issues prior, nah, he just stands there and watches after telling Mimzy to go away. Some say he did this to simply piss Lucifer off, but that doesn't make sense (not saying it ain't true, just saying if it is, it's nonsensical). First off, if that were the case, why was he annoyed even BEFORE seeing the guy?

If he only wanted to get a rise, why is HE getting angry? Trolls usually don't care enough to be this pissed. Second, wtf would he even gain from doing this? What to help push Lucifer to be a better father to Charlie, request by Lilith to Al so that Lucifer can get his act together?? If so, that's the LAZIEST shit I have ever heard. Lucifer is such a joke, he needed a SINNER to get him back on track....

Regardless, this whole father shit by Al comes out of nowhere and ruins the goddamn flow of the episode. Prior to it all, Al has shown NO interest in anyone and has done jack shit. Wtf does he even do? He's done ONE thing so far and that was help for the commercial. Alastor has shown to be completely useless as of now.

-Charlie, why is she treated as tho she isn't a grown ass woman? She's babied to hell and back and despite being the daughter of Lucifer, hasn't shown any of her abilities to help the hotel. So Lucifer can summon shit but not her? Is she that useless? Also, gotta love how she never asks her dad about the Valentino situation to help Angel out. Man...what a great ass friend. She also doesn't find it weird that Al is just suddenly...babying her? She has zero awareness of everything, I guess, which is getting annoying now. You're over 200 years of age (went to high school in the 1800s according to what her comic was about, but guess that's retconned based on what happens in the following episode).

So she doesn't use her abilities to tidy up the place, she doesn't act her damn age, she doesn't do anything to help her sexually assaulted friend. What a damn joke, just like her dad.

-Mimzy shouldn't have been in an episode about Lucifer. Plain and simple. Her character should have been introduced in one of the earlier episodes. Not during fucking this. And we got a repeat of the pilot with Alastor's backstory retold. So they're down to retell his rise to power but not to make at least a proper recap of the events that happened prior? Key word....PROPER.

-Husk caring about Mimzy bringing trouble is actually fucking stupid. Because of the lack of proper build up to him now finding more reason to like the Hotel, it feels forced that he would be worried about what danger Mimzy brought. And on top of that, yeah...ALASTOR IS RIGHT THERE. You know who else is there? LUCIFER. I get it, Lucifer stood by and watched as the Hotel was being swatted, but he also sang a song about providing what Charlie asked for, meaning if she had asked her dad, he woukd be down to help, so WHY TF IS HE WORRIED???? Also , is Charlie just INCAPABLE of fighting for herself?? "She doesn'twanna hurt sinners-" so she had no defensive abilities??? What???? Also, that's a damn lie, she fought Katie Killjoy on live Tv. Are no other damn people capable of protecting the Hotel??? Why did Al need to step in for that? They were just LOAN SHARKS.

Anyway, the scene where Husk is probing Alastor about Mimzy and treating him as a pet is decently paced and the tone was pretty neat, sucks that this feels like their way of showing that Husk is also under a leash like Angel rather than him being treated as a joke, which btw...horrid way to compare the two. Wanna know why? One is subjected to an onslaught of sexual assault whether he was pushing Val's buttons or not, and forced to be assaulted by various men around him, passed around like a thing. The other is Husk, who legit disrespected Alastor and had to push at him to get such humiliation and terror, and guess what....Al still ended up pushing Mimzy away after she did end up bringing trouble, so he did essentially listen to Husk in his own distant way. This is the ONLY TIME we see Al be downright mean to Husk and probably the only time. Angel has been subjected to nothing but horrid assault after assault no matter the situation. So I better not see anyone say, "SEE LOOK, THEY'RE BOTH ABUSED" stfu. Nothing about their situations are even remotely similar. Just cause the chains are the same doesn't mean the users are. EDIT: Ima say this before people act like I excuse this. No, I am not excusing Alastor's actions. I am pointing out what happened on screen. Husk mocked Alastor, Alastor retaliated out of anger(much like how Angel retaliated at Husk in ep 4 after Husk kept arguing and mocking him) by pulling out the chains to shut him up. He didn't even hit Husk. Again, I'm not excusing it, just pointing out how vastly different Husk and Angel's situations are and how one overlord reacts compared to the other....who is a straight-up rapist.

-Both the songs are mid/ok but pulled down by the awful storytelling....shame. I at first was not fond of Lucifer's voice.....it's ok now, I guess. Idk. I'm still not really feeling it, though.

Episode sucked ass

Pacing was all over the place

ALASTOR AND LUCIFER ARE PISS BABIES

[cure-typhoon]

please please please talk more about the beta troll’s friendship 🙏

You have summoned me in my favorite subject: 🎉🎉🎉🎉 FRIENDSHIP!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉 Take a sit because this is going to be long, so long i may end up dividing into different posts!

Okey so sadly we don't have a lot of info of the full group dynamic besides some clues and what we know is them literally at their worst thinking they we're going to die in a meteor,after a full one month campaign in the game they had won yet was taken from them being chased by an undefeatable enemy that destroyed their planets and probably their lusus too. And at the end three of them going on a rampage and killing the rest of the team

So not the most reliable info of how their normal dynamic as a friendgroup would be, but tbh it could never be "healthy friendgroup" in a human sense because, well, they live in Alternia.

But even in hell, the flower of friendship can blossom, so lets talk about the fucked up friendship between these kids:

We know little about how their friendship started, contrary with the Beta Kids that we know because of June's birthday presente for Jade arriving in the past to young Jade with her pesterchum and her probably looking at the clouds in Prospit and seeing there the pesterchum of Rose and Dave following suit

Because the Beta Trolls are a much bigger group and we dont really know if they actually celebrate their wriggling days, as none of the trolls mentioned it but it could also be in part because of Karkat's disdain for the celebration or them maybe not knowing because he is a very private kid after all

Maybe Kanaya was the first troll that befriended all of them, like Jade was and both of them being the assigned Space player of their group and the first ones to wake in Prospit, but i also doubt that considered she didnt went through the birthday gift shenanigan that young Jade went through

So what most likely happened: The trolls who we're closest to eachother (Equius and Vriska, Eridan and Feferi, Aradia and Tavros, Terezi and Vriska* (not totally sure about that one) and maybe Sollux and Aradia/Feferi) befriended eachother first and meet the rest (Karkat, Nepeta, Gamzee, Kanaya) online and just shared their info between eachother.

I honestly wonder who thought of the idea of all sharing their Trollian between eachother, maybe Feferi? maybe it just happened overtime? but what matters right now is the

F R I E N D S H I P

So today we will talk about the underrated friendships between the group

Starting with Aradia and Tavros! Both members of Team Charge, i see very few people talk about them as friends even though they were obviously very close considering they we're part of a Flarp campaign together.

Both seem to match pretty well personality wise, both adventurous and wanting to have fun in the game, Aradia knows that Tavros picked a hard class for himself yet she still encourages him and tries to cheer him on and advice him in the case of Vriska trying to get under his skin.

When Vriska starts to surrond him, she tries to communicate with her first, but sadly she and terezi where distracted by Doc Scratch, so he gets paralized

Side note: After Aradia and Terezi, his third option for asking for help is Karkat, which is...interesting, they dont talk a lot but when they do its Tavros trying to get advice/help from him (2 out of 3 convos), so either Karkat and Tavros have more convos besides the ones showed (very likely) or Karkat just having a reputation of helping with issues that he is the first one who comes to Tavros's mind

also Karkat calling him bro is so fucking funny cdbhd, idk if its sarcasm or if its genuine like with Eridan but he seems worried for a little before going on a rant about how stupid this is, only to come back trying to advice him to do this in private (also he winks at him as GTavrossprite but thats smt for the Tavkat shippers)

Anyway, back to Aradia, after her death we dont know about their relationship that much, we know that the whole reason that this whole revenge cycle was because Aradia wanted to avenge Tavros

But after her death, we don't know if they talk or if Tavros even knows she is dead, as it was mostly secret that only Sollux, Vriska, Terezi and Equius seem to know,

What we know is that Aradia keeps Tavros close to her heart, as the only reason she didnt straight up kill Vriska is

Because he was there to see it

And thats all the info we have of their relationship while Aradia was a robot, is more than likely Tavros confronted Vriska (besides creating Bec Noir) because Aradiabot had just exploded and he was blaming her for that too (especulation)

Their post-death/revival shows them having the same relationship pre-aradia's death, after they find eachother in the afterlife

Theyre big pals :)

Staying with Tavros, another friendship people dont seem to talk a lot about is Kanaya and Tavros, which tbh, we dont have a conversation on screen between them, but we know they talk and Kanaya tries to mediate to help him when Vriska is bullying him

And also, even after she cut Vriska out because of the whole ''Having a crush on her but finding out she has a crush on Tavros'' (probably because she was sulking) she seems to have a fine relationship with Tavros, as she made a Tinkerbull plushie for him

To other friendships, Kanaya and Feferi! Another group of trolls with very few coversations, but we can easily tell in those that they cared for eachother

They have a lot in common, being of the few trolls who woked up in their moons before the game, having a huge responsability as their lusus can either kill or revive their entire civilization, being in a unhappy moiralliagance (with their cases kinda mirroring eachother, with Feferi not wanting to be in any quadrants while Eridan wants to change them, while Kanaya wants to change quadrants while Vriska seems to be fine with where they are) and knowing their lusus were going to die when they were 13

Feferi and Kanaya seem to have very a similar relationship as Karkat and Eridan, where they advise eachother about their moirals + possible romantic relationships. And their very contrasting personalities helps them balance eachother out

Feferi is even comfortable enough to invite Kanaya to the horn pile and knowing Kanaya's expressions enough to guess that she is nervous about coming off as meddling with them

After Feferi gets killed off, Kanaya is already ready to attack, only waiting to see what Eridan is planning to do, attack her first or trying to escape

If it weren't for Kanaya distracting herself with the matriorb, and Eridan inmediately picking on this opportunity

To piss her off enough to set her off and attack him first

So she is an easier target that he can kill her off without a fight

Speaking about this two, next time we will to talk about the complicated (annoying) friendship between these two, why next time? because this post is already getting to fucking long!

Come here for Part 2 -> Here! (when its done this will get updated with a link lol)

[fatherrussia-69]

「《Happy Birthday Father R and Updates!》」

Hey Hey! Sorry for the absences, if you've been keeping up with all the updates, you'll know that we've been pretty busy this year and haven't been able to write. o(*￣▽￣*)ブ Yeahhh, School's just been eating up me and Editor T's schedules. 😩🤧 We've tried finding a good schedule for Father R to write without him getting burnt out and for me and Henchman A to be available to edit, pre-read and add our authornotes, but it's been proving to be difficult. That's why we've just settled for the goal of getting at least 2-3 chapters posted per month. It's not as many as it used to be last year, but working on the weekends seem to be the only saving grace. (￣▽￣)" There's a break coming up for Thanksgiving, so we're going to double-timing that week to try and get things posted. I cannot assure anyone that we'll get a chapter posted, but we'll have definitely made progress. I've also made a bit of a routine when it comes to writing to avoid Writer's block, and I'm proud to say Chapter 61 of SSATW is about 78% ready for posting. RAD Chapter 4 is about 64% but that's only because I haven't figured out the skeletal structure of the chapter yet- ヾ(≧ ▽ ≦)ゝ Anyways, Now that Updates are out of the way, HAPPY FUCKING BIRTHDAY BIG GUY!!! 🥳🎉🎊🎂 Happy Birthday Father R, and thank you @thegenderfluidace for surprising him with this drawing this morning. Hearing him screech in joy was one wake to wake up. Sorry about that- But truthfully, Thank you so much Ace for the drawing!!! Your art is amazing, and whether or not you were able to finish the drawing doesn't ruin the surprise in the slightest. q(≧▽≦q) As per tradition, we went bowling on his birthday and God Damn- 😀💀 I got first place, which isn't surprising. Gutter, after Gutter, After Gutter- ...( ＿ ＿)ノ｜

Ask me how this man got outdone by the NPC (accidentally added another slot so we all just randomly rolled balls down the lane). 🤧🤣 I had a rebirth on my skill tree okay? (┬┬﹏┬┬) You only had 23 points. Everyone else was above 50- Couldn't be me. 🤪😘 Just wait till next year. o(一︿一+)o Anyways, we'll see you guys pretty soon, we have some questions in our Inbox and although the Q&A has long since ended, we will answer a few of them when we can! If you guys have any questions or just want to chat with us, don't be afraid to drop by our inbox and say hello! (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ) ALSO WE REACHED 108 FOLLOWERS ON TUMBLR!! YOU GUYS ARE ABSOLUTELY FUCKING AMAZING!!!! 😍🤩😖

[daniyummy]

I'm sorry for this being late! I was sick all week and just had zero motivation, but here's the fanfic from my voting, and they have spoken, they want a Colby fanfic! Genuinely excited for this!

I want an angsty story, so, here I am!

Part 1 | Part 2

Use of Y/N and cussing

Happy reading!

—————

Sure, Colby had hooked up with plenty of girls, but never a long term relationship. And, yeah, he's had a few girls that stayed for maybe two months but he got bored of just sex and them begging to go public after barely two months. How was he supposed to react when he got a woman?

"Girls and women are the same thing, brother. Just another girl after your fame." His friends would tell him, and as much as he knew that his precious woman would never treat him like the girls in the past did, he was still scared. How could he not be? He's never had a real woman. He didn't know how to act. It was just different. Naturally, he started acting like a douche. staying out late with no clear answer on when he'll be back, and most nights be won't even come back until the next morning.

You, obviously, were getting tired of this behaviour.

"Colby, what the fuck? Where were you all last night?" You look at him in frustration, so close to screaming at him. "Calm the fuck down, jesus christ. I was with Sam and a few friends." He replied, not sounding the least bit interested in having this talk again. "Do not tell me to calm down. You could've at least texted! I was worried!" You're voice on the brink of raising. You were fucking pissed. Nearly five months of this shit.

"Does it really matter that much? I'm safe." Colby replys, he groans, his head pounding from the hangover. "That doesn't mean I don't deserve a fucking text. You're treating me like I'm just an annoyance to you at this point." You huff and cross your arms. He snorts. "Not wrong there." He mumbles and your eyes widen, you laugh. "You know what? Fuck you, Colby Brock. I'm done with this shit. We've been dating for nearly five months, and you still treat me like a hookup! We're done. Get out of fucking house, now." You demand. Colby sits up and looks at you. "Over a text, Y/N? Grow up." He chuckles, yet in a condescending manner. What a prick. Did he think he was too good to be broken up with?

"No, Colby, not over a text. Over your lack of commitment. I get it, you've haven't had healthy relationships in the past but you can't just assume the worst." You look at him in anger. "Don't raise your voice at me, Y/N." Colby ordered, you laughed. "Shut the fuck up, Brock. Do not tell me what to do. And get out of my apartment." You yell, he rolls his eyes and stands up, grabbing his phone and walking out of your room to grab his backpack, not realizing the gravity of his actions. "Leave the key." You cross your arms. "What?" His eyes widen.

"You heard me, leave my key." Those words pull him back to reality as he reaches in his pocket for your spare apartment key you gave him. He sets it on your counter and leaves your apartment, his shoulders slump as he heard the door lock and he walks downstairs, taking his phone out and calling his friend, Sam. "What's up?" Sam asks, Colby sighs. "Can you pick me up?" Colby sighs. "Thought you were with Y/N until we leave tomorrow?" Sam questions confused. "Yeah, well, she broke up with me.." He mutters, shame and sadness in his voice. "Oh, shit..why?" Sam's concern evident in his tone. "I don't want to talk about it right now, too hungover. Just please come get me, man.." He rubs his eyes. "Yeah, of course, send your location."

After a long 15 minutes, Sam's car slows down in front of Colby and Colby gets in, Sam looks at him with a raised eyebrow. "I was a dick. I rarely told her when I'd get home, where I was and who I was with. I messed up, man.." Colby voice breaks and he covers his faces, trying not to cry. Sam looks at him in pure shock, he's never seen him nearly cry over a girl, hell Colby barely cries in front of same. "Shit, brother..you must've really liked her.." Colby looks at Sam. "I loved her.." He mumbles, love is not a word he throws around a lot.

They arrive home and Colby immediately goes to his room, he lays in his bed and holds back tears. How could be be such an idiot? He lost an amazing girl. He grabbed his phone and went to check social media, his eyes starting to water as he noticed that you blocked him in everything, besides Instagram. You didn't use it much, so you most likely forgot. He was quick to make a post, he posted a picture of you two, you cuddle into his chest as he smiled and took pictures, he typed a caption explaining how he was a douche and how much he was sorry, asking you to talk to him and ending it with a "I love you, Y/N. That's not a word I say to everyone, you're the first girl that treated me good and I took advantage of that, and I'm sorry. Truly."

He posted it and it got over a a million likes and hundreds of thousands of comments tagging your account and asking him if he's okay.

He just hopes you see it.

—————

The end! Yes, there will be a part two and I'm happy with how this turned out, let me know if you have any suggestions for part two and feel free to send requests as well, tell me something I could do better for future fanfics! Reblogs, comments and likes are appreciated!

Thanks for reading!

-★⋆Dani⋆★-

[ginasbaby]

hii! I was thinking on something like

R and towa are besties, they're in love with eachother (both very oblivious about that) but after the rumours of towa and renee dating, r starts to avoid towa, towa is sad cause r is avoiding her and happy ending with renee being sort of the cupid

I couldn't find the request rules post so I hope this doesn't break any!

I love you

Part 1

Towa bird x fem!reader

Part 2

Warnings; slight angst, tooth rotting fluff.

3rd person POV:

It was a very normal day, Y/n had been performing at many places the past few days. She was a talented singer, she had performed on broadway 4 times- mainly for mean girls, but she's done Hamilton before aswell. On the mean girls set, she met Renee Rapp- who was playing as Regina, they both found out they would be together for most of the musical because Y/n was playing Cady. This is where the off-screen friendship started. The two were inseperable- they couldn't live without eachother if they tried.

Around the end of her Mean Girls era, Y/n met Towa Bird. They immediately clicked together, like two peas in a pea pod. Over time their friendship grew stronger. Over a couple of months, they had known each other almost like they had been together for their whole lives. Towa was not famous at this moment; hell, barely anyone knew her. But Y/n was known very well, so paparazzi and fans were always around her. It was hard to keep her private life private; well, most of it. And so if we skip a few years, here to the present. This is where Towa, Renee, and Y/n stand now: 'Vanity Fair'.

PRESENT

It was obvious that Y/n was pining over Towa, yet Towa was too oblivious to notice, yet Renee wasn't. The blonde was going to play the cupid part of their trio, it was clear that all three of them had a close relationship. However, some of Renee's (and Towa's) fans thought that they had something more going on. This made Y/n's heartache- she was head over heels for Towa, yet no one had noticed, but again we're in the present. Y/n had to deal with it.

There was a lot of photography and flashes, which is exactly why y/n wasn't keen on coming. She was photosensitive, not a good aspect for an actor/singer, she always carried a pair of black glasses with her, the only problem right now was that she forgot to bring them with them.

"Towa," she murmured. "Towa, I forgot my glasses." She grabbed the curly head's arm. Towa turned around with a soft look on her face. She reached into her pocket and handed the y/h/c girl a pair of sunglasses.

"Here sweets, take these." Y/n smiled her heart full of love.

"Why do you eat so many sweets," Towa looked up from her guitar.

"Well, they taste nice, and, uh," she also paused, looking up from her computer. "I don't know, I guess I just enjoy them." Towa smiled in understanding, she looked back down at her guitar before putting it down and picking up her phone. She clicked on Y/n's contact, editing the name to 'Sweets'. Y/n stood up from her desk and moved behind Towa.

"Sweets?" She chuckled sweetly," You're so corny. Hm... Curls! That's your nickname, curls." The Filipino girl chuckled.

"Alright then".

"Oh yeah!" the y/na girl chuckled nervously, "pictures, yay... Thanks".

Time skip

Renee and Towa had an arm around Y/n as she stumbled and wobbled. She hiccupped and burped, her breath invaded by the stench of alcohol. "Y/n did you really think downing that bottle of red wine was a good idea?" Renee asked, stopping to breathe.

"Don't answer that question," Towa intervened. "Renee can you go get the car, please".

"Are you sure you're going to be alright carrying her?"

"Yeah, y-yeah I'm sure." Towa finished by picking her up bridal style. Y/n let out a squeak and pulled herself closer to Towa's body.

"You know-" She hiccuped, "I love you." Towa pauses walking.

"Huh?"

"You silly little curls," she sneezed. "I said: I love you."

"I love you too, silly, we're best friends. Obviously, I would love you." Towa said, awkwardly smirking. Y/n's smile dropped a little but she smiled again, this time fake.

"Yeah, friends." She frowned but she was close enough to Towa that she didn't see it.

If only they knew.

[gotylocks]

Willow Month 2023: Day 2- Favorite Relationship

If you read my day 1 entry, this will be similarly unsurprising. Obviously Kit and Jade are my favorite relationship on the show. From the first moment Jade flicked her eyes down to Kit's lips, I knew I was going to ship them regardless if it was canon or not.

Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long to have my feelings confirmed by the show itself. I adored how their relationship was built. The foundation of inseparable best friends ("For Kit and only Kit", "I can't do this without you") gives way effortlessly to the clear, overwhelming, yet buried love and desire they have for each other.

One of the most fascinating things about them is while most stories (especially mainstream) will build both romantic and sexual tension in a queer relationships by keeping them apart. Willow really said "What if the tension comes from them kissing immediately and then not being able to unpack that till way later?" It makes their every interaction have this hidden weight to it, whether they're just joking around around the rest of the crew (almost trying to pretend they're "just good friends" so nobody suspects anything, which Boorman clocked day 1) or they're having an argument as if having that tension bottled up is rippling and causing easy discussions to be fights (specifically thinking about the Wildwood).

For Kit's brashness and bad attitude with everyone else, when it comes to Jade, she acts so differently. Where she holds grudges a lot, Jade admitting she had been lying to her about training results in Kit pouting, sure, but in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of the Slaughtered Lamb it's like she has already processed it. Instead, she is in full "Comfort Jade" mode, which continues into Nockmaar.

Jade's statement "Who protects Kit? I do." in the finale hits me so hard because it doesn't come off as Kit is a damsel always needed to be saved. Instead, it has the feeling of "She is my partner and we need each other. We keep each other safe. We look out for each other." When they're separated, they're capable, but they're better together. They're better together because they push each other to be better after the training lie is revealed. There are so many moments where they deal with the exact baggage they need to in order to be in a romantic relationship together.

This can be individual baggage like Kit's anxiety about her connection to Bavmorda or Jade's discovery of her heritage; or it can be shared baggage like learning Kit's dad killed Jade's. At each step, they go through these huge moments that could have massive ramifications in their lives, they deal with them, and they look at each other like "As long as we're together, we can get through anything."

I also think about how at no point does Kit lash out at Jade for pulling her away from her father, as all of that anger is directed at Elora (despite Jade being the one that physically restrained and removed her from the Tomb). This ties back into that feeling that they protect each other. She doesn't blame Jade because she's her partner, she had no choice but to protect her, whereas Elora had no responsibility to save her, which also is a big moment that sets up their connection later (but that's another essay).

The trust Jade shows Kit at the end of episode 7 ("I think you're going to make that decision on your own") hits me so hard because it is this clear feeling of growth on both their parts. It's Jade taking her hands off the wheel and making it more of an equal partnership between them, where up to now, she's often had to be the voice of reason to rein in Kit's poor decision making.

"When you love someone, and they need you, yes, you jump off the edge of the world to go and get them."

I've made the joke that Kit and Jade made me believe in love again, but it's true. Their connection, support, friendship, deep attraction, and overwhelming love for each other felt so vivid, so real, so beautiful, there are painfully few relationships that live in my heart and mind like Kit and Jade.

Oh and they had the two most intimate and beautiful kiss scenes I've seen in ages, if not ever.

[laxmiree]

[CN] MLQC Lucien’s Exclusive Past- Monochrome Scenery translation

⚠️ SPOILER ALERT ⚠️

This post contains a HEAVY SPOILER for the story that has not been released in EN yet! Feel free to notify me if there are any mistakes in the translation~

Through Thousands of Mirrors Event | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | HS/Uni SSR Story: Monochrome Scenery (You're here!)

[Notes from Lux: Here’s the CN video link if anyone wants to follow along his Voice Acting. VERY recommended to re-read Until Dawn R&S regarding his 'contract' with BS. AND perhaps Distant Similarity UR MQ as it's the date that is relevant to this story.

-

[Part 1]

I walk hurriedly towards Dr. Lawson's laboratory, while opening the paper bag in my hand, and stuffing the hamburger into my mouth.

Skipping lunch might save some time, but if it leads to a lack of carbohydrates and sugar, causing a decrease in productivity during the entire afternoon, it could be counterproductive.

When will nutritionists finally invent nutritional packages? Preferably in the form of a liquid that can be consumed just once a day.

The time saved this way would be enough for me to read a few more research papers.

??: Hi, Lucien. Are you going to the lab?

A friendly voice from behind rings out, and I turn to look behind me.

Lucien: Hello, Elliot.

Elliot: Seems like we're both going to be late.

Elliot quickly crosses a puddle, only slowing down after catching up with my steps.

Elliot: But I recall you've always been punctual. Did the recent lab class not go smoothly?

Lucien: I chatted with Professor White for a while and lost track of time.

Elliot: Ah, I understand. She's always very talkative... The only one who can talk as much as her is my clinical medicine professor.

Elliot sighed deeply and pointed at the teaching building he had walked from. We quicken our pace once more.

When we arrive at the lab, Senior Caroline has already begun today's work.

Just as I put my bag next to my desk, someone heavily pats my back.

??: Hi!!

The overly enthusiastic voice pierces through my eardrums, and without turning around, I know it's Colt.

Now that he's here, his daily challenges are probably about to begin again.

Sure enough, after greeting me, Colt slightly composes himself and looks at me.

Colt: Good afternoon, "Xiū, Mǒ" How's that, did I pronounce it correctly this time?

Lucien: It's "Xǔ Mò".

He scratches his head in frustration and quickly starts a new round of attempts.

Lucien: Actually, you can just call me "Lucien".

Colt: How can that be acceptable? I have great respect for Chinese culture; I'll definitely learn how to pronounce your name!

Colt raises his eyebrows high, and the confident expression on his face is so exaggerated that it could be used as a reference for the facial expression scale.

I give up trying to explain to him that "respect" and "pronunciation" are not causally related, and I put on my protective gear after setting down my bag.

I hope he succeeds soon and gives up making me his involuntary Chinese teacher, where I'm only tasked with examining two words every morning.

Caroline: Shut up, Colt. Leave Lucien alone and come over here to work, okay?

Caroline who was immersed in her experiment furrows her brow and glares at Colt, using her gaze to reprimand the "senior" lab member who has been there the longest.

In the end, she smiles and greets me.

Caroline: How's it going today, Xǔ Mò?

Lucien: Sorry for being late. Where should I start taking over from now?

Colt: This isn't fair! You've never greeted me with such a smile. Wait, why is your pronunciation correct? One more time, Xiū... Xī…

Like everyone else, I calmly ignore Colt's continuous self-challenges and begin today's work.

As a newcomer who has been in the lab for just about a month, there isn't much for me to do.

In fact, everyone here is more like doing their own research in the lab on topics they are passionate about, while occasionally helping Dr. Lawson with minor tasks.

Looking back, it seems that this casual and free atmosphere could be glimpsed from the very beginning, during that interview with just two questions.

-

=Flashback Start=

Dr. Lawson: You have an excellent research experience, and the awards you've received are enough to apply to even more top-notch labs.

Dr. Lawson: Why did you choose to reach out to me?

The doctor set my application paper and the stack of recommendation letters aside, looking into my eyes.

Lucien: I'm currently very interested in topics related to parietal lobe function research and its applications.

Lucien: So, for me, your lab is the best choice.

Dr. Lawson: Hmm, there is indeed a high match in terms of research direction.

Dr. Lawson: So, what do you hope the lab can provide for you?

I instinctively thought I had misheard.

Questions like "What do you think you can bring to the lab?" are ones I've mastered, but this reverse question isn't as common.

After a brief moment of thought, I honestly answered.

Lucien: If possible, I hope to research more of what I'm interested in within the limited time.

The doctor raised an eyebrow without giving a clear response, concluding this brief interview that lasted less than a few minutes. And a few days later, he sent me an acceptance email.

=Flashback End=

Colt: Hey, Xī Mó! Listen to me, I have a great idea!

Probably seeing that I'm not especially busy, Colt eagerly strides over to my desk, holding a small box in his hand.

I set down the keyboard, take out a notebook from the side, and turn towards him.

Colt's thought process is unique; he always manages to come up with some innovative ideas.

Lucien: Do you have any new ideas regarding the research topic?

Colt: No, no, there's not much to do today. How about a game of the traditional lab card game - NOU!

Colt: Do you want to join?

Lucien: …

And of course, there are times when it's just pure time-wasting.

I offer a polite and apologetic smile in return.

Lucien: No, thank you.

-

[Part 2]

A fixed routine can often lead to a skewed perception of time and dates.

I flip over the calendar again and mark the schedule for the midterm exam week, which is about half a month away.

Exams may not be a cause for concern, but papers and classroom presentations still require time-consuming preparation.

I furrow my brow as I look at the data for my research project on my desk. Just as I'm about to set down my pen, I pause.

The current issue is that the research progress is slower than anticipated, requiring extra time to meticulously review the results.

The once well-structured plan has become exceptionally tight.

How about cutting two hours off my sleep? It shouldn't significantly affect my regular routine.

And smoothly, a blank section appears on the spreadsheet.

Satisfied, I add a line next to my schedule: "Email Dr. Lawson to request an extension of laboratory usage time" as a reminder.

Then, I pick up the already printed poster and leave the dorm on time.

It's my turn to present a report in class today.

Lucien: Hello, everyone. Now it's my turn to share something with all of you.

Whispers of discussion arise one after another, even a few students who had just been yawning straightened up in their seats.

Half the semester has passed, and the curious glances that used to accompany me have subsided. My age, my height, and where I come from might not be as important anymore.

I know very well that now all the curious and probing gazes are focused solely on the poster I have unfolded.

In the corner of my eye, someone raises their hand.

Lucien: Is there a question?

I set down my materials and quietly look at the student who raises their hand.

Student A: I don't have any questions about your presentation. I'm just curious if injuries in the relevant brain region have an impact on drug addiction?

This is an expected question, as I myself noticed similar uncertainties when researching for literature.

Lucien: There is indeed an overlap, but based on existing research, I don't believe there is a direct correlation between the two.

Lucien: Moreover, for the topic I'm currently presenting, there's no need to overly emphasize the impact of different functions within the same area.

But it's evident that the other person doesn't share the same view.

After a brief moment of silence, he raises the issue of potential effects caused by drugs, and I counter each of his points.

However, the consecutive inquiries and debates have actually given me a fresh perspective on the topic at hand.

I attempt to work it out in my head, then take a pen and start writing on the whiteboard.

Lucien: Adding the drug effects caused by addiction as one of the conditions…

Lucien: I currently lack the relevant literature evidence, further substantiation will require future research, but I do have some hypotheses.

The rapidly moving marker on the whiteboard makes a slight squeaking sound as I write, and more questions and discussions emerge in the classroom.

Student B: Given the drug effects, the current papers seem somewhat lacking in rigor.

Student C: But we also shouldn't overly focus on such special cases, just from an experimental perspective…

These ideas and questions aren't quite direct and precise enough.

But the known theorems are once again filled with possibilities, and what I initially considered just a school assignment topic seems to have become interesting again.

The brilliance of the unknown and curiosity subtly shine through the structured words, silently beckoning everyone who tries to explore the mysteries.

Of course, I'm also paying the corresponding "price" for this "interest".

Class ends nearly twenty minutes later than scheduled, and I can only jog all the way, hoping not to be too late for the next classroom.

As I gaze at the ever-extending street ahead, I begin to understand why so many people are buying bicycles.

—------------------------------------------------------------

Lucien: Good afternoon, I hope I'm not too late.

Caroline: Of course not. Take a rest for a while. There isn't much to do today.

Caroline looks up, smiles at me, and points to the well-stocked snack cabinet on the side.

I put down my backpack, intending to pick up my water bottle to get some water, but I notice that there's a stack of data on the table that I haven't worked on, with several annotations written in different handwriting.

Slender and smooth cursive characters detail the model's construction and calculation process, while round and hastily written words explain extensive contemplation and inferences, along with many grammar errors.

Slightly smaller handwriting marks cited references and related experiments.

Lucien: Are these... further derivations based on my personal research project?

A head pokes out from the edge of the table.

Colt smiles and waves at me, with Caroline and Elliot following behind.

Several people stand by the table, making the already small space seem even smaller.

Colt: Well, I heard about the direction of your project a few weeks ago during the meeting and found it very interesting. I got into the habit of discussing it with Caroline when we were chatting…

Caroline gives an apologetic smile.

Caroline: I'm really sorry. Colt looked at your desk and research notes without your permission.

Caroline: He usually doesn't have a strong sense of boundaries when he's around us, and we've become used to it. We didn't expect him to go through your research materials this time.

Caroline: I initially wanted to refuse to discuss it with him, but the research direction is so novel, and the reasons for the roadblock are also quite intriguing. It was easy to get carried away…

The research content is indeed not much of a privacy concern, and exchanging data and projects is quite normal.

Lucien: Next time, we could discuss it during the regular meeting or just talk to me directly. It would be more efficient.

Lucien: However…

I quietly watch the smiling faces of others, my puzzlement still not answered.

Lucien: As I recall, my direction doesn't really overlap with yours, does it?

Caroline: Yes, so we've just made some inferences. The specifics still require you to take another look.

Lucien: Okay.

I lower my head again and begin to roughly browse through those handwritings.

Colt didn't propose a new direction but changed the experimental approach, while Caroline and Elliot used this to present arguments or counterarguments.

Different notes mutually fill in and correct each other, gradually outlining a clear framework.

Lucien: This hypothesis seems to have a high feasibility.

Lucien: I will try to adjust the experiment according to this approach later.

Lucien: At a suitable time in the future, based on the specific data, we can determine whether it can move forward or not.

Colt: Sure, it can!

Colt nods vigorously, his voice much louder than usual.

Colt: I've noticed that you've been busy with midterm exams and papers lately, so I ran some of the data with them to save you from spending extra time to test and verify the data.

Colt: So far, several graphs are looking quite good. I hope they can be of help to you!

Lucien: …All of the data?

I'm stunned.

I've already prepared to apply for extra lab time, but the data I needed to test and verify has just landed directly in my hands like this.

Colt: Of course! The three of us taking turns won't take much time, better than you staying here without eating or drinking.

On the side, Elliot also smiles and hands over another stack of documents.

Elliot: I asked a friend who's a clinical medicine student, and I was able to get some research materials on what happens when you have a lesion in the area in question.

Elliot: Perhaps it can offer some assistance from a different perspective. Consider it as broadening your perspective.

Lucien: Thank you. I did plan to reference some research findings from other fields, but unfortunately, I haven't had enough time recently.

A valuable idea to consider, coupled with readily available data, and the issue that had been stagnant for two weeks was suddenly solved without any warning.

I silently look at the mixed handwriting.

I know that human beings will always help each other and work together to achieve what individuals can't do alone.

Relying on each other for certain aspects and independently taking on the needs of others within the same community.

But along with the objective facts, there is also an inexplicable and faint warm feeling surging to my heart.

The seemingly ordinary paper in my hand now vaguely has a different weight to it.

Lucien: (gently) Thank you, all of you.

Colt: Hey, kid.

Colt smiles and puts his arm around my shoulder.

Colt: We're all from the same lab, so helping each other is only natural.

-

[Part 3]

After the last meeting before the autumn break, Dr. Lawson stopped me.

Dr. Lawson: Lucien, do you have any plans for the autumn break?

Dr. Lawson is organizing the reports we submitted, his tone is calm.

Lucien: I'm staying on campus. If there's a need for someone to oversee the lab, I can help.

Dr. Lawson: You aren't going home?

I smile and reply in the same tone that Colt and the others usually use when joking around.

Lucien: Returning to Loveland City during such a short one-week break?

Dr. Lawson smiles and shakes his head.

Dr. Lawson: How about going nearby? You still have time to plan a short trip with friends.

Dr. Lawson: There are plenty of interesting places within the state worth seeing. Take a train or bus, and "whoosh," it's easy to get around.

Lucien: That sounds appealing, but I'd prefer to take this opportunity to catch up on my project and coursework progress.

Lucien: Recently, my research has just started to make some progress. I'd like to work on it nonstop until I achieve some results.

Lucien: Or is it just that during the autumn break, the school doesn't allow students to stay on campus?

Dr. Lawson: Of course not, silly kid.

Dr. Lawson: I'm just curious, why are you always in such a hurry?

I quietly look at the old man in front of me.

There are too many things I want to explore, and there's too little time.

Nevertheless, I don't feel that I appear "impatient" in my usual behavior.

The doctor shakes his head and taps the table with his fingers.

Dr. Lawson: At your age, you should go out more, travel, play games, take walks, do something silly... Just do anything to waste time and enjoy life.

Dr. Lawson: You do have an impressive intellect, but there are geniuses all around here. So, frankly, you're also an ordinary kid.

Lucien: ….

I've never thought of myself as a once-in-a-lifetime genius, but being straightforwardly labeled as "ordinary" is indeed a first for me.

And, of course, being labeled "in a hurry" is also a first.

Lucien: I don't quite understand what you mean, Doctor.

After a brief silence, I eventually chose to ask the question directly.

Dr. Lawson: I don't doubt your abilities. Lucien, you can accomplish many things by yourself.

Dr. Lawson: But you should also trust your team, after all, this laboratory doesn't consist of just you alone.

He casually points to a group of people in the distance who are playing NOU, and over there, it's particularly noisy, as if the game of cards is reaching a conclusion.

Caroline proudly crosses her arms and looks sideways at Colt, who is slumped over the table, looking dejected.

Elliot begins to tidy up the card table and starts shuffling the cards again.

Dr. Lawson: They're all kids in their late teens to early twenties here in the lab. Came a few years before you, and perhaps they'll leave a few years earlier as well.

Dr. Lawson: But in the road of scientific research, everyone is just a beginner taking their first steps.

Dr. Lawson: I'm not asking you to really study and imitate anyone, but doing something different from your usual routine might make you gain something special. What do you think?

The doctor slows down his voice, his calm tone not resembling a question, it's as if he's talking about the treasure that he is most proud of.

The stack of data with various annotations from a few days ago inexplicably resurfaces in my memory.

I subconsciously infer that when the doctor said, "You're just an ordinary kid", perhaps it meant, "There are many people like you here."

Looking at Dr. Lawson again, he remains as not casual and serious as he was during class. His words are solemn and genuine with a touch of guidance.

Dr. Lawson: If you haven't achieved any significant progress or results within a week, there's no need to lock yourself in the lab every day. But if you need to, remember to turn off the lights and lock the door.

I carefully put away the key he had placed on the table.

Lucien: I'll keep an eye out for it.

Dr. Lawson: Happy holidays.

Lucien: I also wish you a happy holiday.

I say goodbye to him, and as I walk to the door, the doctor adds another sentence.

Dr. Lawson: Take care. And of course, I mean not just during these vacation days.

He smiles at me, speaking a bit slower than usual.

Lucien: You too, Doctor. Take care.

"Take care." The simple sentence passes through my mind, lingering longer than the other phrases.

I think maybe it's because of the pronunciation.

—-------------------------------------------------------

The teaching building has become much quieter during the holidays.

The leaves outside the window are rustling. It's as if the entire city is reminding people of the traces of autumn.

The laboratory feels strangely colder than usual after I'm the only one left.

I closed the window, put on my sweatshirt, and continued with the experiment at hand.

However, the autumn chill didn't last long and was soon warmed up again by the lingering heat of summer.

—-------------------------------------------------------

Five days later, along with the rising temperature, what returned was the noisy chatter within the laboratory.

The first to arrive at the laboratory is the always-diligent Caroline.

She brings a larger-than-usual handbag, takes out beautifully wrapped gifts, and places them on everyone's table one by one.

Caroline: A few days ago, I went to Yellowstone National Park with my family and brought back some souvenirs.

Lucien: Thank you. How was your holiday?

Caroline: It was pretty good, though I wish it could have been longer. I feel like I could stay there for at least half a month.

Caroline: I thought you might prefer something more practical, so I brought this for you. Go ahead and open it.

She smiles and points to the gift box I had placed by the desk. Inside the neatly wrapped layers of gift paper is a coffee mug, with the design of erupting geysers on its surface.

Caroline: This is a landmark sight in the park. I was truly moved when I saw it erupt right on time. I really wish everyone in the lab could go see it!

Lucien: I'll go there if I get the chance in the future.

??: Hi friends! I'm back! Did you miss me during your wonderful holiday?

The next second, a figure rushes in through the door of the laboratory.

Colt is also carrying a package, which is twice the size of Caroline's.

Colt: Oh my god... you're actually working. That's way too diligent.

He looks at me with wide eyes. After some rummaging in the package, there's another gift on my desk.

Colt: I highly recommend trying my grandma's cookies. Even the most popular shops around here can't compete with her skills.

Colt: Oh, by the way, the bookmarks inside were made by my mom. She's recently gotten into handicraft, and our house is getting filled with the things she makes.

Lucien: Please thank your family on my behalf.

Colt: Then they'd be so delighted that they might just invite you over as a guest.

Colt: By the way, do you really spend every day in the lab? Haven't you had any rest at all?

Colt sits down next to me, looking like he won't give up until he gets an answer.

Lucien: I visited a few museums.

Lucien: I also visited some scenic spots along the way and strolled through the market.

Caroline: I remember a few days ago there was a Shakespearean touring theater group performing nearby. Have you heard about it? The performance…

The computer screen in front of me enters screensaver mode, and I realize that I should politely decline this conversation to reactivate the computer and continue processing the data I was in the middle of reviewing.

But when my fingertips touch the keyboard, I pause again.

Such conversations don't have much meaning, but they don't make me feel annoyed either.

Besides, today's progress has been completed ahead of schedule, and there is indeed some free time on my agenda.

I let the screen continue playing the screensaver images.

Colt: How about we also go see a play today?

Lucien: The theater troupe left the day before yesterday, and tickets also needed to be booked in advance.

During the conversation, the laboratory door is pushed open once again.

Elliot: Hey, I thought I was the earliest one here.

Elliot also has a delicately wrapped gift in his hands.

Same greetings, same small talk, and same distribution of gifts.

I look at the three gifts on the desk- I should have some time over the weekend to visit the market and find three suitable return gifts.

Before the plan has been finalized, another particularly large gift appears on my desk.

Dr. Lawson: You all should find these books useful.

Dr. Lawson smiles and nods at us, placing the hefty books one by one on our respective desks, before finally sitting back in the chair and letting out a sigh of relief.

Dr. Lawson: I really should have chosen some lighter gifts; four big books are too heavy for an old man like me.

Lucien: ....Looks like it's four gifts.

I say to myself softly.

Dr. Lawson: Hmm? Did you say something, Lucien?

Lucien: Nothing. I was just saying… "thank you".

Lucien: By the way, Doctor. Here's the key to the laboratory.

The small key that has been with me for five days is returned to its rightful owner.

The gentle breeze blows a book on my table, flipping back a page as fallen leaves dance lightly and land on the windowsill.

I glance at the cloudless sky, hoping that this weekend will also be a sunny day, suitable for going out.

-

[Part 4]

Everyone left the laboratory with the gifts, but Colt unexpectedly broke from his usual behavior and didn’t attend any party.

Instead, he followed Elliot and me all the way to our dormitory building.

Elliot: Colt, your dormitory isn't over here.

Colt: I know, I know. But on this especially memorable day, how about a game of NOU to celebrate? Here's to our reunion!

Elliot: I knew it... I don't want to play NOU with just the two of us. You better invite one more person.

Colt: Will Xù mò be joining us?

Colt looks up at me, and this is the 16th invitation he has extended to me since I joined this laboratory.

Lucien: Okay.

Colt: It's fine, maybe next time... Wait, what?!

Elliot: You're going to join us?!

They aren't the only ones confused, I'm also a bit puzzled myself.

The choices I've made today are all a bit out of the ordinary, and it makes me wonder why I want to act the way I do.

If I join, will I be able to find the answers?

Besides... Looking at the two of them that have the same expression as if they've just seen a new topic; if I want to refuse now, the amount of effort required doesn't seem proportional to the outcome.

Lucien: Yes.

Lucien: I don't have any other plans for today-

Before I could finish speaking, the two of them had already surrounded me, one on the left and one on the right.

Colt: Is this the blessing of the Autumn Break God! Elliot, let's go quickly.

Elliot: Lucien won't run away again this time.

Saying so, he continues to pull me without stopping towards a small table in the public lounge area.

Just as we sit down at the small table, Colt eagerly begins to shuffle the cards.

Elliot: Do you need an explanation of the rules?

Lucien: No need.

Having watched them play so many times, I'm not entirely unfamiliar with the rules of the game, and the symbols on the corners of the cards also help me determine their colors.

I'll consider it as an exercise in reasoning and memory then.

—--------------------------------------------------------

Elliot: NOU, +2!

Colt: Wait a minute, that's not right. You're cheating! Why do you have a red +2?

After the initial "demonstration round", I quickly realized that this game might not be as straightforward as I had imagined.

Lucien: ...Drawing a +2 card directly from the deck is not entirely impossible either.

Colt: Huh? +2 should be in your hand, right?

Colt: Judging by the overall color distribution of the cards played, it seems like you're building a hand predominantly based on red cards.

Lucien: However, based on the cards that have already been played, there are still 28% red cards left in the deck.

Lucien: I would need to draw that +2 card along with another red number card starting from at least the first four rounds to maintain an advantage without playing the +2.

Elliot: My dear friend, just admit that low probability is still probability and draw the cards.

I nod in silence and urge Colt to draw a card, preventing the game from turning into his endless mathematical calculations.

If that happens, he will build a solid model in his mind and he'll be almost impossible to beat.

I take another look at the situation on the card table.

Setting Colt aside for now, among Elliot's three cards, there should only be blue and green ones.

Or in an extremely low-probability scenario, there might be one Wild card or possibly the last +4 card aside from mine.

I closely watch each card played, rapidly calculating the possible card arrangements in others' hands in my mind.

And I'm equally aware that the other two people sitting at the card table are also making their own deductions in their own ways.

I need to conduct another experiment, even if the cost is higher than expected value.

It's my turn once again.

Lucien: Change color, let's go with... blue.

Colt, who is determined to beat Elliot, wears a worried expression, while Elliot confidently draws a card.

"Reverse."

I silently say to myself.

Elliot: Reverse.

The variables waiting to be filled in gradually decrease, and assuming confirmation is obtained, the inference is established.

The opportunity to determine the course of the card game on the table comes back to me once again.

Colt: Come on Xǔ mò, it's time to play a number card and join forces to eliminate Elliot early!

Lucien: Is that so? I thought I'd have a better option.

Quick responses and extensive thinking make the brain more active than usual.

A seemingly meaningless card game becomes more complex due to repeated setups and disruptions.

Pure competition for calculation speed and formulating strategies stimulate the release of neurotransmitters.

I raise the corners of my mouth and quietly play my card.

Lucien: I choose +4, green.

Due to too many unexpected situations, Colt, who had stopped calculating, begins to howl in frustration.

Elliot, sitting across the table, also appears surprised, his gaze once again scanning the cards on the table.

It's my turn again.

I smile, say NOU, and play the green number card, leaving only one of the same color in my hand and skipping the next player’s turn.

Unless the almost improbable reversal occurred when they have the last card, a color-changing card, and bring it onto the playing field from the deck

But I trust my calculations more than probability.

Colt: Xǔ mò, I thought you were my friend!

Colt has flipped his cards onto the table, giving up on the struggle.

Lucien: Of course I am. That's why I'm sitting here, playing cards with you.

I lean my chin on my hand and look at the card table, unable to suppress the victorious curve at the corner of my mouth.

Lucien: Also, thank you for calling me by my name correctly.

Unfortunately, it's still Elliot who reaches 500 points first.

Colt is not one to accept defeat easily, and he pulls us into starting a new round of the game.

The card game goes on from the afternoon into the evening, and we unknowingly gather a crowd of onlookers around us.

Centered around this small table, the dormitory that was quiet just a few hours ago is now overflowing with discussion and laughter.

We graciously give up our seats to other students who also want to give it a try and withdraw from the crowd.

Colt: Xī... Xú mò is quite skilled. If we go by rounds, he tied with Elliot.

I haven't responded yet when Elliot chuckles and shakes his head, then tosses a box of ice cream from the fridge to both Colt and me.

It's the most common chocolate ice cream with nuts and chocolate chunks added.

I've seen it in many convenience stores, but I've never been interested in buying it.

Elliot: In front of our little genius' brain, even the best luck can only yield to skill.

Colt: Sigh... the vacation is too short. It feels like it just started, and now it's already over in a blink of an eye.

Colt finished his ice cream in a few bites and tossed the empty box into the trash. He leans on the bar table, watching the new round of NOU craze.

Colt: How about we have another round of NOU to refresh ourselves after the experiment is over tomorrow?

Elliot: Lucien, are you joining as well?

Lucien: I have to start preparing for my thesis from tomorrow.

Lucien: The experiment has made progress as well, so I want to sort out the related processes.

Colt: Oh... that's a shame. But how about next time? You'll come, right?

In the dorm room without air conditioning on this autumn day, the ice cream seems to melt even faster than it would in the heat of summer.

I scoop up a spoonful of the slightly softened ice cream and put it in my mouth.

The taste of chocolate spreads with the coolness, it's sweeter than I had imagined.

Lucien: I will if I have the time.

—------------------------------------------------

After seeing them off, I close the door and start preparing for tomorrow's coursework, allowing life to return to its normal course.

A notification pops up on my laptop, indicating an email from Dr. Lawson.

"Hi, everyone. Thank you for your hard work. Our lab's project has passed the review, so you can start preparing for the academic conference that will take place in a few months."

"The conference will be held on a beautiful beach on the West Coast. Since we have ample time, you can all bring your swimsuits and enjoy some time by the water."

"Colt, as for you, don't bring too many fancy things. And definitely leave the unicorn swimming ring behind!"

I can almost imagine Dr. Lawson saying this with a furrowed brow, while Colt complains reluctantly.

"P.S. Lucien's personal research topic aligns with the conference theme. Although the application is a bit late, there will be people at the conference who have done related research."

"You can prepare a summary of your current progress and any issues you've encountered to discuss together."

"P.P.S. Welcome back, everyone."

These few short sentences make me feel a bit warm.

*Ding*

The inbox hasn't closed yet, and there's another notification sound.

The email is encrypted; its sender is Black Swan.

I glance at the calendar and realize that today is the day for the routine report.

The newly arrived email obscures most of Dr. Lawson's message, and the sharp-edged letters in the signature appear to be some kind of silent warning.

"Why are you always in such a hurry?"

Dr. Lawson asked me this before the autumn break.

Yes, children his age have plenty of time to pause, slow down, and enjoy the scenery around them.

To try, to fail, to start over from scratch, to explore endless possibilities.

But Doctor, vacations are always so short.

They always end when you least expect it.

I close the laptop and start selecting the book I want to read tonight.

----------------------------------------------------------

[Phone Call- Class Reunion]

Lucien: Hello? At this time, you should have finished washing up and lying down, right?

MC: Um! I just finished my skincare routine and am already lying down.

Lucien: You sound happier than usual. Did you have a lot of fun at the class reunion today?

MC: You can tell?~ So many people came to the gathering today! All of my old roommates were there too!

Lucien: Are they the ones in the photo you sent, who took a group picture with you?

MC: Yes! Although we've kept in touch after graduation, getting back together like this is still quite rare.

Lucien: No wonder your eyes looked a bit red in the photo.

MC: Haha... I got a little too excited.

MC: But now that I think about it, I don't recall Professor Lucien mentioning much about his own classmates or roommates?

Lucien: I do have colleagues I work with in a lab, but our relationship might not be as close as you and your friends.

MC: Do you guys meet up regularly?

Lucien: We are now in different places continuing our own projects, and most of us have our own laboratories.

Lucien: It's indeed not easy to find a time when everyone is available.

Lucien: However, we do occasionally meet at neuroscience-related academic conferences. That could perhaps be considered a sort of 'class reunion'.

MC: ...Is this what gatherings are like for scientists?

MC: What about your roommates? Do you meet up with them?

Lucien: I lived in a single room and didn't really socialize with others in the same dormitory building.

MC: Wow! That must have been so comfortable! Doesn't that mean you could do whatever you wanted?

Lucien: At that time, I thought it was very convenient to have a space where I would not be disturbed by other people.

Lucien: But now, I've come to realize that having a 'neighbor' around who can 'disturb' me at any time might actually be more comforting.

MC: Oh? Do tell, I'm all ears!.

Lucien: For instance, when I'm out, someone can help me take care of the flowers on my windowsill, or if I forget to buy new tea leaves, I can ask this special neighbor next door for a bit.

Lucien: There are also occasional biscuits and sandwiches, and if I stay up too late, I will receive reminders.

Lucien: And more importantly…

Lucien: With this neighbor lady here, the place where I live is not just a spot to rest, but can be called a home.

-

[Phone Call - Novice Period]

Lucien: I thought you were also too busy to answer my call today.

MC: I just had a meeting with the new colleagues at the company, so I didn't hear your call.

Lucien: Do you still have some work left to finish?

MC: Not exactly... it's just that this recent batch of new colleagues who joined recently has been really busy.

MC: So I decided to hold a meeting to help them improve efficiency during work hours, aiming for them to leave on time after work.

MC: After all, there's always more work to be done, right? I don't want them to wear themselves out. The way they approach overtime work makes me quite nervous.

Lucien: [chuckles] They're lucky to have a boss who cares for the well-being of employees like you.

Lucien: However, when everyone starts their first job, there's always a certain level of nervousness. So, they can only ease that nervousness by working hard.

MC: Oh? Professor Lucien, you sound quite experienced, but I suppose you didn't have such worries, did you?

Lucien: Of course not, the first time I entered a laboratory outside of school, I also needed some time to adapt.

MC: Wow, what were you like back then?

Lucien: Hmm... I had to clean lab equipment, organize data files, help with literature research—there were many mundane tasks.

MC: Pfft, so Professor Lucien also started as a working person from scratch.

Lucien: That's right. Everyone in the same lab was highly capable, so back then, I often shadowed others, observing and learning as much as I could.

MC: Were there people even more capable than you?

Lucien: [chuckle] Among them, I think I'm just an ordinary person who works hard.

MC: Professor Lucien, your concept of 'ordinary' seems quite demanding.... But I didn't expect you to have a 'novice period' as well.

Lucien: Is that such a surprise?

MC: Maybe it's because your student days were quite unique. While most people were enjoying their youth, you were immersed in scientific research.

Lucien: I suppose it all depends on one's definition of 'youth'.

Lucien: If we're talking about a phase in life where you can do what you like without worrying about consequences, where you can fully explore possibilities…

Lucien: In that case, I'd say my graduate and postgraduate years could also be considered as 'youth'.

Lucien: If you define it as having a love with someone close to you, that you can't bear to part with and always in your heart…

Lucien: In that case, I'd say my youth hasn't had a chance to slip away from me yet.

--------------------------------------------------------

[Lux's short rambling corner]

And finally, it's done 🎉 If I'm being completely honest, the reason it took so long was because I felt that the end of this story seemed 'incomplete'—and I think it turns out to be true? Because the newest birthday story feels like it completes this story.

Still, just as he mentioned in "Distant Similarity UR' MQ," he's accustomed to working alone because there was no one he could confide in, often sacrificing his own sleep to fit more into his schedule. Due to his past self-reliance, he finds himself somewhat at a loss when others offer their assistance 🥲. He's someone who is deeply touched by even the smallest acts of kindness, and you can detect a hint of confusion in his usually monotone 'thank you.'

It's heartwarming to see that he receives small acts of kindness from those around him. His college life seems less hectic thanks to the support he gets from both his friendly seniors and caring mentor 🥺. I also enjoy their harmonious yet playful team dynamic, with Colt being my personal favorite because he reminds me of Fan Zihang, hahah.

Another noteworthy point is what Dr. Lawson mentioned about him being fundamentally an ordinary kid. I think it's accurate, because beneath his 'rush to move forward' demeanor, there's also a yearning for warmth and the opportunity to slow down.

In the dorm room without air conditioning on this autumn day, the ice cream seems to melt even faster than it would in the heat of summer.

I scoop up a spoonful of the slightly softened ice cream and put it in my mouth.

The taste of chocolate spreads with the coolness, it's sweeter than I had imagined.

God, I absolutely adore PG's writing and the beautiful metaphors they weave into the story. Through the story you can see how Lucien's barrier starts to melt by the warm atmosphere. And that's because he's an inherently lonely kid who also longs for warmth and mundane life. It's just too bad that the longing he had shattered in the face of his reality. If i had to describe what I feel when I read that sentence about the email, It'd be like waking up from a sweet dream, and now the sweet dream is tinted with layers of sadness🥲. The dream was over and he had no other choice but to bury his longing so deep.

Why the constant hurry? Because he had no choice but to grow faster than other kids; he didn't have the privilege to fail and try again. Why did he keep his distance from others? Perhaps because he doesn't want to experience another loss after his parents. Why didn't he go 'home'? Because at that time he didn't have anything that can be called a 'home'. Once he wakes up from this sweet but fleeting dream, the world he's diving into is even more treacherous than hell. So in the end, he kept his distance from others just as he said in Distant Similarity UR.

Distant Similarity UR," "Until Dawn R&S," and "Monochrome Scenery" together create a comprehensive picture of his 16-year-old self. "Distant Similarity UR" sheds light on how his college experiences influenced him and his reflections on that period. "Until Dawn R&S" delves into his narrative with BS and his ambitiousness. Meanwhile, "Monochrome Scenery" reveals his more 'human' side and the sense of his relaxed college life being a sort of 'vacation' amidst the long darkness in his life… Anyway, I want to write more but my schedule is tight with all the birthday translation 🤣 Perhaps if I have time I'd write a more comprehensive analysis. Thank you for reading!

[superdanverstrio]

Hi again! I am so totally requesting again, I love your work and you make me happy. So Obviously Kara danvers x daughter reader :) And this time Kara catches r and her "boyfriend" Ben out in public kissing or hangout, doing something and Kara now has evidence to prove it to her daughter. But Y/n tries to deny it for a moment before giving in and telling her everything... Please and Thank you Zohra :)

Have a good one!

Right through you Pt.2

A/N: I am so sorry this took my entirely to long to start writing.

“Mom?” You asked, entering your home. “Hey honey, how was your day?” She said, closing her book and leaving it on the coach, she walked toward you to give you a hung. “It was good. Umm, I had a question.” You said, looking up at her. “Shoot.” “Can I go to the mall with some friends tomorrow after school, we would walk?” She looks at you and smirk. “Is Ben coming with you?” You rolled your eyes and shock your head. “No, I told you Ben and I aren't together.” “I never said you were, why are you on the defensive, do you have something to hide, Missy.” She questioned, still not believing you. "Mom come on, can I go?” You asked, trying to change the subject a bit. “Sure, but you need to be back before 7.” “Yes, thank you.”

The next day at the mall

“So, have you told your mom yet?” Ben asked as you walked hand in hand. “No, not yet, but ill do someday.” “Why don't you want to tell her? Are you maybe ashamed of me? It's fine if you are, I'm not mad.” You looked at him and smiled. “Of course I'm not ashamed of you, I would love for my mom to meet you.” You said, giving him a quick kiss on his lips. “It's just that my mom is extremely protective, it's a little intense sometimes. Especially my aunt, oh my god if she meets you, she will interrogate you for at least 3h hours.” He laughs and shock his hand in disbelief. “I'm sure, it's not that bad.” “It is, it really is, but ill tell her eventually.”

You guys continued to walk around the mall and visits some stores for a few hours. When you got back home, you say Kara waiting for you on the couch. “So, how was your activity with Ben.” She said with a smirk. “Are you ever going to give up, I'm not with Ben.” "Yeah, right." She said and got up from the couch and she showed you her phone, there was a picture of you and Ben on a bench, you had your head on his shoulder. You were stunned for a second.

How did she get that picture? “How did you get that. Did you follow me there?” “I actually didn't, but I have spies working for me. But don't change the subject, do you have something to say to me.” “No because this picture doesn't prove anything, we're just good friends.” Your mom smiled again, you swipe to the next image, this time you were kissing on that same bench. “Yeah, excellent friends.” You were about to defense yourself again but decided against it, you sight. “Fine, we're together, we have been together for like a month now.” “I knew it, why didn't you want to tell me?” You looked at her and chuckled. “You really don't have an idea?” she shook her head. “You are intense when it comes to people I see.” “No, I am not.” You raised an eyebrow. “Remember Kyle? You and Alex interrogate him for like 10 minutes.” “We just wanted to make sure he was good for you, I want nothing but the best for you.” She said, hugging you.”

“I know mom.” You said, hugging her back. “But you're going to have to tone it down because he really wants to come over this weekend and I don't want you to freak him out.” “Oh he's coming over great ok. And yes, I will try to tone it down.” She said, “thank you.”

Honestly you should've known she'd never tone it down, in fact she didn't try to.

[amenders93]

6 Weeks till Chicken Run 2!

Over a month ago, I mentioned that some couples start after having some disagreeable moments and occasionally a big spat before they make up as friends and then start to develop feelings for each other. Well last week's post was all about Rocky and Ginger having their biggest argument yet. Rocky sees Ginger as too serious and a big stick-in-the-mud while Ginger sees Rocky as careless and selfish. Their argument had left them saying hurtful things to each other that later has an impact on one of them - Rocky. After he finally sees how serious the chickens' life or death situation is, he starts to feel something he has probably never felt before - sympathy. Most of all, he's letting what Ginger said about him not caring about anyone but himself get to him and realize that she was right. Now he wants to help the chickens the best he can. This shows the start of his character development. For this week's post, we're going to see just how Rocky plans to actually help the chickens. Not only that, he'll probably start to earn some trust and even a certain someone's admiration.

Let's pick up from where we find Ginger sitting on the roof of hut 17 just thinking about their life or death situation and her fight with Rocky. Her face is devoid of all expression - she was tired of fighting and tired of thinking. That's when she hears a commotion coming from inside the hut through the chimney and heads down to investigate. Once inside the hut, Ginger finds some hens moving bunks around as well as Rocky with Nick and Fetcher again, but this time the rats have brought the rooster a radio. She is still not trusting the rats but now she's curious as to why Rocky has a radio in the hut. He kneels beside the radio and starts to fiddle with the dial scanning through the stations until he finds one playing some jumpy jazz music. When Ginger tells Rocky that she doesn't see how this has to do with their problem, all he tells her is that she will soon enough.

Rocky then turns to the other hens watching the whole thing. He tells them they've been working too hard so it's time to kick back a bit and shake those tail feathers. Our dashing rooster even bounces to the beat and shakes his hips. At first Bunty crosses her arms and scoffs at him, until she notices that her foot is tapping. When she questions this, Rocky tells her that it's called a beat and asks if she feels it pulsing through her body. Now our champion egg layer is bouncing to the beat which clearly shows the beat is pulsing through her after all. Rocky encourages her to go with it; Bunty bursts out moving her body and even adding arm movements. Babs is alarmed at seeing her friend dance; she asks Bunty what has gotten into her. All Bunty responds is the same thing that gotten into Babs apparently because now the knitting chicken is tapping her foot too. Suddenly, Babs starts to bounce, swaying her arms and is dancing too.

But Babs and Bunty are not the only ones dancing because now all the other chickens are dancing too, bouncing and grooving to the beat. Rocky moves amongst them as they get more and more carried away. Even the chickens sitting in their bunks were doing synchronized hand-jive moves. Then Fowler walks in after hearing the music blaring; he's clearly not amused. When he tries to break it up, Bunty just pulls him onto the dance floor and swings him around. Up in the rafters, Nick and Fetcher had hung a mirrored Christmas ornament that had the light ricocheted off it as it spins like a disco ball. Little spots of light wheeled around the room, polka-dotting the dancers as they bounced to the music. They even switch on some strings of Christmas lights around the hut to give some more colorful lighting in the room.

Meanwhile Ginger is just standing off to the side watching everyone else dance and having fun. Then she gets sees one chicken coming her way and bumps her before she had any time to react. Ginger is bumped right into none other than...Rocky. You'd expect them to still be mad at each other but it's quite the contrary. This time when they see each other, they smile at one another. Rocky gives a friendly gesture to ask her to dance with him and she complies. Pretty soon our two stubborn but adorable chickens are now sharing their first dance, smiling and actually enjoying each other's company. If I didn't know any better, there just might be a little spark happening right here, right now.

Now the dance party is in full swing. Nick and Fetcher are doing their own dance up in the rafters. Mac is doing her own little Scottish clog-dancing moves. Fowler is doing the tango with another hen. Everyone is just dancing, stepping in sync, flapping to the right, flapping to the left. And most notably, they were all happy. Near the end of the song, Bunty grabs Babs and gives her a good twirl but loses her grip on her friend. Babs flies across the room flapping her wings until she crashes into the corner wall and lands into a top bunk. Rather than being hurt, Babs just pops up from the straw in the bunk and is all excited that she actually flew for the first time in her life.

Off to the side with Ginger, Rocky claps his hands and congratulates Babs on her flight, not realizing that his bandages were coming off. Ginger, however, does notices this, realizing that his wing is all better. She alerts Rocky of this realization and the rooster looks at his wing, feeling that he was busted (which technically he is). Ginger is so happy that she insists that Rocky will demonstrate his flying technique tomorrow. Rocky starts to look a little sick but he gives her a pained smile, trying to hide how he really feels from her. Something tells me that there's more to what Rocky's nervous about besides the fact that his wing is all better now.

While Babs is still excited that she flew for the first time and everyone else is congratulating her, Ginger turns to Rocky and apologizes to him about her believing that he didn't care about the chickens at all. But after seeing that he threw them all a dance party to lift their spirits up, it seems that our feisty little firecracker was wrong about a certain cavalier rooster. Rocky is now stunned by these words; up until now he's seen Ginger as nothing but a serious hard-boiled egg of a hen but now she's suddenly going soft and being nice to him. He's starting to like this other side of her; maybe she wasn't so bad after all. While slow jazz music plays in the background and the lights are still polka-dotting around the room, Ginger and Rocky are finding themselves looking into each other's eyes. That sounds romantic. Is it just me or is this the start of something new between these two?

After his charming brown eyes looked deep into her beautiful green eyes for what feels like forever to him, Rocky comes around and tells Ginger that there's something he needs to confess to her. However before he could even get one word out, he's interrupted by a new and terrifying sound - a deafening rumble. The lights dimmed, the radio crackled, the music turned to static and all the chicken froze. A loud engine could now be heard outside; the chicken held their ears and begin to mumble, worried and confused. Ginger and Rocky move towards the door but the hen turns to the rooster and tells him to wait in the hut. Seems that despite what she said earlier, she does care about him after all.

Ginger steps out of Hut 17 and walks toward the fence in the direction of the barn. She sees the two vicious guard dogs barking at the barn doors and black smoke billowing out of the chimney on the roof of the barn. Our little ginger hen is really starting to get worried, more than ever before. Nothing like this has ever happened on the farm before and unfortunately, and unbeknownst to her, it's only about to get worse from there. But we all know what's going to happen.

This is the first weekly post with Rocky and Ginger liking each other rather than before when all they could do is disagree and then argue. Later on, there will be other posts that will lead straight to romance. Rocky took Ginger's harsh yet true words about him to heart and makes a big development in his character. Rather than saying how he does care about his new friends, he shows them by throwing a dance party to cheer them up from the miserable news earlier that day. All the chickens, even cranky old Fowler, were having a wonderful time, smiling and dancing their cares away. Even Ginger took a turn with Rocky on the dance floor and they have a wonderful time together. She starts to see that maybe she was wrong about him this whole time and Rocky even starts to see Ginger's soft side as well. After a fun dance together, then Ginger's apology to Rocky and now them looking into each other's eyes, anyone can see that there's some little spark starting to ignite between these two chickens. This just might be the start of something special for our dashing rooster and beautiful hen.

Anyway this is my seventh weekly Rocky/Ginger moment post commemorating the upcoming sequel to Chicken Run. I hope you enjoyed this post. There will be 5 other posts about the first film coming up in the future as well as one monthly post about the sequel. Waiting for this long-awaited sequel may not be easy but these posts are making it easier as the release date draws nearer.

[nickinick554]

Halloween Hotline

Prompt 5 - What's Your Favorite Scary Movie

Character Joel + reader Word Count 2700 approx.

#PedroHalloween2023 Writing Contest

"Attention all you trick or treaters! It's about that time to get your ghoul on!" An enthusiastic male voice boomed with jovial Halloween spirit through the speakers of my old, black Ford. I twisted the volume knob to turn it up some as I drove through the center of town.

"For tonight is All Hallow's Eve, my favorite time of year. Our town comes alive on October 31st when the witches and warlocks, imps and monsters roam our streets!" Upbeat, spooky music accompanied his voice and he gave a laugh that made me giggle.

"Tonight we will be flooding the airwaves with the scary, spooky and downright disgusting stories that you, the people, have submitted to us throughout the month. It's not for the faint of heart so if you're not down with blood and guts, this is your warning to change the channel and turn on the old classic, The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, instead. I'm your guest host for the evening, Joel Miller. Before we get to all those stories, beginning promptly at 8:30, we would love to hear your answers to the ancient, old question, what's your favorite scary movie? Call in now and let us know. It'll put your name in a raffle for a chance to win a pumpkin full of tricks and adult treats!"

The Monster Mash began to play and I looked down at the center console toward my cell phone. A pumpkin full of tricks and treats didn't sound too bad, and the addition of the word adult treats was a bit alluring. Also, guest host Joel had a sexy voice.

At a red light near the town green I snuck in a quick Google search of Hot 99.9's phone number and clicked on the nine digit number. In place of the Monster Mash was a ringing sound through the speakers and the light turned green again.

I took a deep breath as I turned onto my street and then that familiar, cheery voice answered. "Hot 99, this is Joel, what's your favorite scary movie?"

"Hi Joel, this is Nicolette. My favorite scary movie is Scream 2." I cringed at my attempt to match his radio energy. It sounded much cheesier and less cool when I spoke.

"Scream 2." He laughed as he spoke back. "Interesting choice. Not the original?" "What can I say? Scream 2 was cheekier and more fun. I know I'll probably catch shit for this. Oh no, I'm sorry. Can I swear on the radio?"

Joel laughed louder. "We are officially into adult hours here, so one lonely little curse word won't get us shut down. This call is recorded, not live, so no need to panic." He had a charming delivery.

"Just as long as I can still get entered into the adult tricks and treats raffle." I attempted to sound flirty, "Any chance you can give me a sneak peak of what's in the prize pumpkin? I promise I won't tell, and since we're not live it can be our little secret." I blushed at my own cheesiness once again, but I couldn't deny I was having a little bit of fun.

"Well, it isn't Christmas quite yet but asking me something like that could put you on the naughty list a few months early." "We wouldn't want that." "The adult treats are nips of vodka," Joel quickly confessed, "And a dirty card game to play at parties."

I smiled wide, certain he was flirting back. "My lips are sealed. I won't spoil the surprise for your other contestants." I pulled into my driveway and put my phone on speaker before hurrying inside. The two bowls of candy I left out for trick or treaters had been emptied and turned upside down. I hoped the younger kids got their share before the teenagers ransacked it.

"It's Nicolette, right?" Joel asked as I closed the front door behind me. "That's right."  "And can I have a phone number to call back in case you're the winner of tonight's grand prize?" Of course you can, I thought. I carefully spoke each digit of my phone number into the receiver all the while wondering if it was possible to develop an innocent crush on someone without even knowing what they look like.

Joel repeated the number back and I confirmed it was right.  "Good luck, Nicolette. If you win, you'll have to come down to the station to claim your prize." I smiled again, actually hoping I would get the call back so I could go down and meet this guy face to face. Maybe my life had gotten so boring that this was as exciting as it got for me. Whatever, it's fun! I dismissed the negative messages my mind was sending to put a damper on my unexpected thrill of the evening.

"Oh, and Nicolette?" Joel spoke. "Are you still there?" "Yes." "If you win, you'll get a bonus prize if you wear a Halloween mask to the station. We aren't supposed to tell our callers that, either."

I had a gut feeling Joel was going to rig the raffle. It wasn't fair, but hey it wasn't like it was a million dollar giveaway. I wasn't even excited to win a little liquor or a card game. I just wanted to see what the mystery man looked like on the other end of the phone line. "Like I said, my lips are sealed." "We'll call you back if you're our winner."

The line finally went dead and I smiled to myself. I hadn't dated in awhile, not since my last boyfriend broke my heart the year before. My walls had been securely up and no one had managed to break through. For the first time in forever, flirting a little felt good, even if it was just a little bit of telephone banter.

I kicked off my shoes and curled up under a blanket with the television remote in one hand and my iPhone in the other. In the corner of the room was a modern radio with an old time look that I had only used to play my Spotify lists, or charge my phone. Rather than turn on the TV I checked the settings and clicked the switch at the bottom of the radio to FM.  Okay, what now? It was, sadly, the first time I had attempted to use the actual radio on the device.

I twisted the knob, carefully spinning it until it landed on 99.9 with just a mild etch of static. I positioned it just right to get clear audio of Joel's voice. "Only ten minutes remaining to get your name into that raffle," he said. I could almost picture him smiling as he spoke. "We'll announce the winner right at 8:29 before my brother, Tommy, your everyday host, takes back over to read that first spooky story at 8:30. Call in now, what's your favorite scary movie?"

I cuddled back up under the blanket and listened to two more Halloween tunes, Thriller and the theme from Ghostbusters. I looked at my phone. It was 8:28. I felt silly for how my heart was racing. Maybe I was naive and Joel was using his catchy personality to woo all of his callers. It was certainly plausible. "It's that time, Joel." Tommy's voice overlapped with the tail end of Ghostbusters and the music faded out entirely a few seconds later.

"It's that time," Joel agreed. "Let's get the winner of The Great Pumpkin announced so we can start scaring all of you still listening out there. Thank you to everyone who called in. We had lots of classic answers, from Halloween to Saw. Even Scream 2 made the list. We had some Blair Witch project, Friday the 13th and Trick 'R Treat. All fun ones." "And now for the big reveal," Tommy chimed in as one or both of them made a drumming noise near the microphone. "And our winner is....."

"Caller Nicolette, Scream 2 is her favorite. Nicollete, if you're out there, if you're listening please call the station. If we don't hear from you in two minutes, we'll call you because we're good guys like that." "We are?" Tommy asked. "We are!" The two of them laughed and I couldn't help but jump into the air, sending the checkered blanket on my lap to the floor. "Yes!" I knew it. Joel was flirting back. Now, I had to see what this man looked like.

I hit redial on the station and Joel picked up right away. "Hot 99, this is Joel." "This is Nicolette, calling to claim my winnings." "Congratulations!" He bellowed, making me laugh into the phone. "Do you know where we're located?" "I do." "Well, hurry down and I'll get you hooked up with your grand prize. Oh, and don't forget the Halloween mask." I gave a glance in the mirror, touched up a little of my eye makeup and scrambled to find a cheap masquerade mask I wore to a costume party a few weeks ago. 

I was a bit giddy on the five minute drive as I attempted to picture Joel Miller in my mind. Was he tall, short? Did he have dark hair? Light hair? Bald? Glasses? Beer gut? Abs of steel? Dad bod? Clean shaved? Facial hair?  I was making too much of it. I wasn't being judgey. I just had this insane curiosity that was eating away at me.

When I saw the tall, red neon sign that towered above Hot 99.9's brick building, I felt a layer of goosebumps and parked my car in front of it. In contrast to the lively nature of the broadcast, the building was dark and quiet. Clicking open my door and pacing up to the big, steel door left a hushed echo and I even looked over my shoulder to make sure I wasn't being stalked like in some scary movie. That would have been ironic given my reason for coming to the station.

The steel door, I discovered, had a giant round handle that wouldn't open. Beside it was a button with a white rectangle above it and blue writing inside. All it said was, Ring for Entry. I rang the bell and breathed deeply to myself, taking in my surroundings once more. I looked over one shoulder and then my other one, again, half expecting to see a masked man wielding a knife. My imagination has begun to run a bit wild. "Hello?" A voice finally sounded off through a speaker beneath the bell.

"Hi, I'm Nicolette. I'm here to claim my prize." "What prize?" My heart sank, but it didn't last long. "I'm just kidding," Joel's voice was clear as day on the other end. "The door just unlocked. When you walk in, go straight to the end of the hallway until you can't go anymore. You'll see a ghost. I'll meet you there." A ghost? "Okay, thanks."

I pulled at the heavy door handle and yanked it open with both hands, leaving the eerie setting behind me as I slipped inside. I reached into the pocket of my sweatshirt and placed the Masquerade mask down over my eyes.

It was much more modern than on the outside, with tiled floors that I guessed were on the newer side and freshly painted walls. There were pictures and decor, some seasonal, some not. I passed a few blurred out windows on the walk down that left a bluish glow from whatever was taking place inside. One of those blow up Halloween ghosts you see in peoples' yards was there to greet me at the end of the corridor when i arrived, as promised by Joel, himself.

I looked to my left to see a water fountain beside a brown door but the hallway stopped there just twenty feet away. To the right the hallway stretched on for another long while to make a sort of uneven T. The brown door next to the water fountain clicked open and I jumped. A startled yelp left me and I put a hand over my lips, embarrassed.

The man who walked out made my eyes widen a bit. I was certain my pupils dilated in order to see the object of my instant attraction more fully. He was handsome, devilishly so, and right there at first glance I could see the mischief in his eyes that matched his voice. He was trouble, the good kind of trouble. The kind of trouble that sent you home laughing to yourself well after the date was over. His beard, his radiating smile and his messy head of hair was icing on the Joel Miller cake. 

I wouldn't mind if he was the extra prize. I couldn't help thinking it to myself, glad I brought along the Halloween mask just in case. "Hi, I'm Joel." For the first time I realized he had the plastic pumpkin full of goodies in one hand. He outstretched his other arm and we shook hands. "Hi." 

I almost asked, what was the question?, even though one had not been asked. Joel had an aura about him that had me instantly mesmerized. His warm, firm gasp might has well have turned me to stone. "You must be Nicolette?" "Yes." I snapped out of it, thankfully. "Yes, hi. I'm Nicolette." "I have your prize bucket here." Joel's right hand dropped and he raised his left one, offering up the pumpkin.

"Thank you so much." I was smiling wide now. "I hope I didn't get you in trouble by spoiling the surprise." He smiled back and I didn't know if it was just hopeful on my part that he looked me fully up and down. "No I'm not in trouble. Tommy is my little brother. I call the shots." I laughed with him and Joel shoved his hands deep down into the pockets of his jeans.  "So, will the winner reveal her true identity?"

I breathed and pushed the mask up onto my forehead. "I guess that's only fair." Joel's smile grew bigger. "Do I get a second prize, or does that make me greedy?" I removed one of the promised mini bottles of vodka and held it between my fingers. "A promise is a promise." Joel held up a finger and disappeared back through the brown door. He returned second later with a brown envelope. "You have two choices." "Okay." My cheeks hurt from smiling. I put a hand on my hip and slung the pumpkin up to the bend in my elbow.

"Choice one." The mischief returned to his eyes, "You take the envelope." "But you won't tell me what's inside it?" "It's a twenty-five dollar gift card to The Wolf Lounge on Esther Street." Joel was pretty straightforward. "Tempting. That's a pretty cool place." I couldn't help but ask. "What's option two?" Joel sized up a clock on the wall with his eyes that I had not seen or noticed until that moment. I followed his stare.

"At nine o'clock when my guest appearance ends, I could take you there myself, and we could spend way more than twenty-five dollars." Joel held his arm out straight with the envelope looming in my direction. It was a bold move. I felt the palpitations of my heart leaving a little chorus of lub-dubs in my chest. If this was a cartoon little heart emojis would be fluttering through mg chest cavity into the air right about now.

I pretended to reach for the envelop but at the last second I pushed it back toward him. Joel's expression went from certain to uncertain back to certain again and he laughed. "I was thinking about option two since I heard your voice on the radio," I said to him. "That makes two of us."

I admit that I went against all of my feminine instincts and all the warnings not to get into a stranger's car when I allowed Joel to take me down to the Wolf Lounge. As we clicked our glasses of red wine together I knew it was the right call. Joel looked me directly in the eye and with his best radio voice and that mischievous smirk of his he said for the first time, "Happy Halloween."

@pedrocontestsrus @joelswritingmistress #PedroHalloween2023

[selkies-world]

So... to recap:

We have canceled Tiffany Hadish for acting on the comedy sketch 'Mind of a Pedophile', one of the co-creators of Rick & Morty for domestic abuse, one of the main actors in Wednesday for being a sexual predator, the entirety of Pantera for racist remarks / Nazi behaviour, R Kelly & Kevin Spacey for sexual abuse & Danny Masterson for rape, Jada Smith for... I don't actually know why we canceled her, but we canceled her this year after canceling Will in 2022 for his reaction to Chris Rock's joke, we finally canceled James Cordon for his horrific behaviour towards wait staff in a restaurant, and we still haven't come full circle & uncanceled Armie Hammer for those false serial killer, rapist & cannibalism accusations which were made public & which ruined his entire life & career & wound up in a whole-ass documentary, which was all later revealed to be false and the interactions were 100% consensual & he never killed anyone & just likes BDSM & vore, yet hasn't been able to make a come back because hey, we canceled him for being bad... oh, and we're in the process of canceling 2 of the richest men in the entire world, 3 governments and one of the largest agricultural movements in human history....

We have done all of that in the last 12 months. And yet we still haven't been able to agree on canceling a woman who *checks notes* has stated she dies not care about children, condones conversion therapy on LGBTQ+ children, thinks autistic people should not be entitled to autonomy over their bodies, medical procedures, money / bank accounts or life choices, kept her mouth shut when someone was paralysed from doing a stunt on the set of a movie based on her books, spreads allegations that all trans women are predators, all trans men are mentally ill & coerced, and all trans children have been sexually abused, has stated & joled about the fact she values her bank account and money more than she values the wellbeing of those who gave her her career & platform in the first place, celebrated closing down a transgender children's suicide hotline by having her supporters flood it with abuse and threats, has openly stated she knowingly put anti-LGBTQ propaganda in her children's books, has been arrested, has filed lawsuits against people who disagreed with her online, and whose actions have been condoned by Vladimir Putin.

Despite all of that, we still haven't canceled her, and we can't even agree to not read her godfucking books anymore or not watch those movies or not buy the genocidal computer games from that franchise. Are you fucking serious?

[literaticat]

is it true that if an editor has a submission past 2-3 months then it’s likely a pass?

No. Like what? Do you not read this column? Am I typing into the void? Remember how less than a week ago I said this? Did you think I wasn't telling the truth? Do you need evidence?

OK. *rolls up sleeves*

Not counting the 15 or so projects that were sequels, illustration deals, or WFH scenarios where they approached us or we were only going to go to the one editor anyway, these are the deals I've closed so far this year. As you'll see, it's about an even chance whether something takes less or more than 3 months.

Normal submission, 1-3 months -- 9

(Of those, most took 2.5 months or so from submitting to actual offer. The fastest was a month. I have had faster offers in the past, fastest being one day -- but not this year!)

Normal submission, more than 3 months -- 9

PB: 5 months

MG GN: 4 months

YA GN: 6 months

PB: Time from original round: 1 year, time from second round with new editor: 4 months

MG: 6 months

MG: 5 months

PB: 4 months

PB: 6 months

YA: 6 months to R&R, 4 more months to sell to same editor

MG: 9 months

I also have numerous other projects that are still on submission and I fully intend / hope will sell, and books that are yet to be on submission but will be, and books where the first round has closed out and we're on second rounds, etc etc -- so these stats may change in the coming months.

But overall, I think it's pretty accurate to say that at least half of books on submission sell after more than 3 months. And I have certainly had books take a lot longer than that.

[readingtheentrails]

Self Love Game

We're all cool as ice, but we don't always recognize it, so send this to 5 people you think are as awesome as it comes and let them say 5 things they think are neat about themselves 💛😎

This is cute! Thanks anon, whoever sent this on, it's very sweet. 1. I have very nice handwriting. Haha, I was so desperate for validation as a child that I used to set myself handwriting homework and make my mother grade it 😅 But now, I do actually have quite lovely handwriting. The only letter I don't do "correctly" is the lowercase r, which I do the same way as my mum, and I refuse to change it because I like being able to see her fingerprints on me. 2. I try my best to be kind. I don't always get it right and I do make mistakes, but I really do try and I will always apologise when I get things wrong. Before I say something aloud or send something, I try to ask myself if it adds positivity or negativity to the world, and if it's the latter, I'll try to keep it to myself. Obviously in the real world that doesn't always work and sometimes you need to get negative things out too, but I mean more about not saying mean things about people, etc. There's no need to drag people down when we're all doing our best.

3. I don't take myself too seriously. I'm very silly. I'm not too afraid to make a fool of myself. I'm also a Grade-A idiot. More than once friends have said "I don't know how someone so smart can be so stupid" 😅 I love to have a laugh and can be a bit of a clown and I'll make myself the butt of the joke if it will cheer you up. 4. I'm a reliable friend. Sometimes it takes me a while to reply to day-to-day messages because I often feel like I don't have very interesting things to say, but when you really need a friend I will be there, no questions asked.

5. Uhhhh, I'm really fucking struggling here. Five is a lot! Um. I'm resilient, I guess? I've been through plenty of life-shit (haven't we all?) and plenty of mental health-shit (haven't we all?) and I'm still here, ticking away. This time 18 months ago I thought I was dead and buried and yet somehow I came back up with the daffodils so I guess I'll just keep on going. That's all anyone can do 💜 If anyone wants to participate in this but didn't get it in their Ask box, please do so!

[marshiestars]

Tag 9 People You Want To Get To Know Better

thank you @scrawnytreedemon for tagging!! let’s begin, shall we? :3c

Three Ships: ughhhhh this is real hard because I JUST invented the most horrible, wonderful “why does it work” crackship a few weeks ago, but if I want to include it, I have to ignore one of my three big zelda ships :C

1. Ghiralink. because of course. I feel like it’s illegal to leave this one out or put it any lower. it’s the good food. it’s well-established. I can afford to be picky with my content. it’s great :D

2. Astlink! sorry Kohlink, but Astlink is less likely to scare half my audience away 😔.

tbh I’m still VERY surprised that Astor and Link aren’t paired together nearly as often as Zelast (Astor / Zelda). don’t get me wrong, both are rare pairs, but somehow Astlink is even *rarer* shksjhdjhsshs, and I can’t for the life of me figure out why. either way, it's 'moody goth bitch rejected by society (or maybe he rejected society first, it's a chicken or egg situation tbh) with the perfect golden person that everyone admires who secretly has their own issues'!! and it's about how they're on the complete opposite sides of this huge conflict and yet they find unexpected parallels in each other! and having everything fall apart but deciding to be a better person, even when the rest of the world says it's too late, because that one person believes in you and is willing to give you a chance! darkness and light! it's GOOD FOOD

(...man, I really gotta finish chapter 3 of swordsman and the seer.)

3. ...fuck it. scrawny, I hereby challenge you for the title of Weirdest Fucking Crossover Ship. Ghirahim x Godrick? Sephiroth x the Hollow Knight? I'm intrigued, but not crumbling to ash at the thought.

and so I give you this in place of gushing about Kohlink, which is unbelievably rare, but damn it, at least they're from the same source material! besides, I wasn't the first person to pair them by a long shot, no, no, no.

but there’s a special, lonely sort of pride in knowing you’re probably the first of 8 billion people in the world to ever even think of a pairing. ready? here it is:

R*x D*ng*rv*st x S*np*i from FNF.

(censored their names like that because if this shows up in the tags I’m gonna jump out a window)

yeah, man. I don't even know either.

I mean, I do know, somewhere, and my original train of thought is buried in the memory slush of a few months ago, gone forever. so now we're here. fuck. kill me. why am I writing shit for these two. girl what the hell is this

everyone who reads this post, I want a brick emoji in my inbox to simulate getting one through my window

First Ever Ship: ANYWAY, fuck, I don’t even remember at this point, I've been in greater fandom for so long. wait... oh, son of a bitch, nevermind, I do.

*sigh*

it was Billdip.

DO NOT COME AFTER ME, I DON’T SHIP IT ANYMORE. haven’t for years. I was 12. but I loved Bill Cipher (still do, he's my funny meow meow blorbo <3) and was very upset when the finale happened even though I knew that was how it had to be. but every time Billdip art came across my screen, I saw cool art where he: # 1. was still around and # 2. was more often than not a pretty human / humanoid (this was at the height of his sexymanification). hell, I didn't even give a shit about Dipper honestly, I just wanted more Bill content. and again, being literally 12, I didn’t really stop to think abt any moral implications. but yeah.

(also nowadays I hc Bill as ace sooo)

Last Song: 'She Had The World' by Panic! very nice to sing to, it's right in my range <3

Last Movie: does ‘My Little Pony: A Very Minty Christmas’ count? it’s a childhood film and practically tradition for me to watch it every year for christmas lol. although this year I’ve been replaying it for... research purposes. yeah. totally not for a lethally cursed fanfic, no sir.

if that doesn’t count, then ‘The Lego Movie’!

Currently Reading: nothing atm!! even as my 'to read' pile gets taller by the day, hhhh

Currently Watching: Minty Christmas, again, but definitely not so I can copy the dialogue verbatim to use as the base for a coked-up christmas crack fic

Currently Consuming: soup <3

Currently Craving: instant ramen, good god, especially if it’s spicy. they have cups for sale in vending machines around campus but they’re all beef and chicken flavour :C

I won't tag anyone else in this because nine people is a lot; far too many to bother with this wall of personal nonsense shdhdj but thanks anyway for tagging me scrawny, my beloved mutual!!! <3