#the more I play the more I get the sense that rye has been just. unbearably lonely for a very long time. and I um.

[vaguely-concerned]

I think rye really likes chocolate, but like... mostly very very dark chocolate. boring bitter barely sweetened adult person chocolate, to the point where most of the others find it borderline inedible. it's a regular occurrence for someone to raid the lighthouse kitchen for snacks and light up like 'ooooh wait we've got chocolate???' and someone else has to go 'yeah but it's only rook chocolate tho sorry :/'. 'oh okay :')'

[thgfanfictionlibrary]

In Panem AU Fic Masterlist (2)

Part 1 /

Created: June 6th, 2024

Last Checked:---

Golden-JLaLa (ao3)   Summary: A mandatory law brought them together. Four years later, Peeta Mellark comes to District 12 to the daughter he’s never known and the wife he barely met. An In-Panem AU with the marriage law twist. Heart and Soul-JHsgf82 (ao3) Summary: In Panem AU (No Hunger Games). A Soulmates AU. Two weeks prior to Peeta Mellark’s 18th birthday, his best friend, Delly, notices a bright yellow dandelion adorning his arm and asks about it. He proceeds to tell her about the day it formed on his skin, the day after he tossed a starving Katniss Everdeen some bread. Delly, believing it’s a soul mark, takes Peeta to a mysterious traveler who can explain the concept to him. Turns out, it is a soul mark, and the situation turns dire when Peeta discovers there’s a time limit on making a connection with his soulmate, and he’s fast approaching it. If he doesn’t find a way to talk to Katniss, could it mean the end of his life? Innocence Within-Alliswell (ao3) Summary: Prompt #59 of the Everlark Fic Exchange on Tumblr: Lighthearted Canon-Divergent, Snow's Hijacking backfires, reverting Peeta to a childlike state, where he pulls on Katniss' braids, and draws her pictures to let her know that he Likes-Likes her. By: @elaine-spades. "It hits me immediately, Haymitch and I are the only family Peeta has now, whatever is wrong with him, it'll be up to us to deal with.” Peeta has been rescued from the Capitol, Katniss will do her best to help The Boy with Bread come back to her. Or the one where she stays to help Peeta get better. It's All A Lie-katnissdoesnotfollowback (ao3) Summary: Unrest in District Twelve drives the Everdeen family to make choices they'd once thought would be impossible. Panem AU with no Games. Like The Stars Hold The Moon-VanillaCottonCandy (ao3) Summary: Their eyes full of shock and sympathy and sadness. And maybe a slight hint of relief. And for some reason, it doesn't compute right away. Nothing registers in my mind for a long beat of time. Nothing makes any sense, my thoughts completely frozen, for one long, harrowing moment. Until Effie repeats the name again. The name of the male tribute who will represent District Twelve in the Hunger Games. Who will go against Twelve's female tribute and the career pack and every other wildcard on a nationally televised death brawl. "Peeta Mellark!" / For the Everlark Fic Exchange 2021, Prompt 59, "Katniss' dad is a victor, he won his hunger games and is now a mentor. Peeta is reaped for the games and Katniss begs her dad to help him win the games. [submitted by anonymous]" Missteps-oakfarmer (ao3) Summary: Gale needs to discuss future plans with Katniss. She's been hard to track down this particular Reaping Day. He hasn't even been able to congratulate her yet.

No Reason-katnissdoesnotfollowback (ao3) Summary: It starts when their history teacher talks about ancient holidays and traditions of gift giving. It escalates when Katniss overhears Peeta talking about what would be his idea of a perfect gift for him. But what is she supposed to think when a gift, exactly what she needs, is left on her school desk one day, addressed to her. In Panem AU with no Games but still far too much poverty. Not Just Another Dumb Jock-JHsgf82 (ao3) Summary: Modern AU (high school). Katniss is fed up with Peeta's brother Rye and vents to Peeta. She might be surprised to learn why Rye is playing pranks on her, and what's more, she might get yet another surprise in the process. One Panem-Alliswell (ao3) Summary: Based on the Prompt: “How about this: Peeta, a capiltolite, is made to marry Katniss, a girl from 12’s Seam, as part of the ‘One Panem’ initiative.” By freddyfreak1999. On the Other Side of the Fence-JHsgf82 (ao3) Summary: Peeta has always loved Katniss, even though he feels she's way out of his league. Katniss has always loved Peeta, even though she thinks she's not good enough for him, and that he only sees her as a friend. When Katniss is discovered by a modeling agency and whisked away to the Capitol, Peeta feels his whole world crashing down, especially considering he's just worked up the courage to tell her how he's felt all these years, his mother's opinion be damned. What will happen when she comes back as the 'Darling of the Capitol?' Did she mean what she said in her interview? She had to be talking about him, right?

[wanderingmoonmen]

Hi! I just wanted to come here and gush about how much I love your half doomed and semi sweet series real quick! I binged it all in two days and you guys have done such a good work on it. I honestly think the first installment is probably one of my favorite pieces of fanfic ever just due to how great the mix of character interaction and action is within the fic. I also just adore how Mary is handled with James and how he realizes that Mary wouldn’t say a lot of the stuff his hallucinations are saying but also it’s still overwhelming and hurts despite this! I’ve also been enjoying the lot more day to day ness of the sequel fic too, where issues still come up but it’s also not, running from monsters all the time (unless those monsters are silent hill remnants/bad thoughts, sorry James!).

I don’t know if it’s ever detailed anywhere, but what exactly inspired you to write the sequel fic if you don’t mind me asking?

aaaaa this has been sitting in my inbox for a bit because I saw the nice words and it makes me melt into a puddle and I want to take time to properly answer your question. Thank you ❤️

I ended up writing way too much in my answer so the tldr; I have way too many thoughts and ideas and with @fly-rye 's encouragement and participation we're now in a place where there's a whole timeline and already drafted events still out there to do.

My ramblings and more detailed explanation under the cut

I think in the preface to Promise, or somewhere, I've said that literally all of this started as a joke. I'm also going to keep to my guns of coming up with it back in 2018 (albeit a joke that I kept to myself lmao). I had sort of kept my 'joke' meeting in some sort of filing cabinet in my mind. And honestly if @fly-rye wasn't a super cool and amazing friend and didn't indulge my bullshit we wouldn't be here (also I'm pretty sure that DBD audio of Leon sounding very......... y'know affected it too. I also started a playthrough of RE4 on Oculus at the same time. Also also this literally started I swear a couple months before remakes were formally announced.) ANYWAY this isn't an answer to your question, I just like rambling.

Now that sort of plays into what inspired the sequel, I think I am a 'too many thoughts head full' type of person and just have too much to say sometimes (and perhaps also too much imagination). I also like trying to explain things so the in-fiction lore makes sense (like... extensively thinking about how to actually for real explain how James got to Spain or What Is The Scientific Explanation For Silent Hill etc etc. I just like to make things Work in my head, idk how to explain it).

When Promise turned into a project, there was more serious thought into how their relationship worked and how to explain Leon's character changes in future media. Then it was a thought of 'how could things be better for the both of them?' Or 'what if they were allowed to heal and grow as people' and whatever else that can be narratively satisfying about seeing hurt people finding each other and helping each other.

Then that turns into 'let's put that thing into a situation.'

Which, of course, there are A Lot Of Situations considering Leon has... 4 movies and 1 game he's in after RE4.

There's also the interest of exploring the mechanics of Silent Hill and exploring how SH3/SH4 can become entangled with the mess.

There's then the flip side of the domestic life and living as """""normal"""""" people.

So to fill the gaps between Situations we've brainstormed a Lot of timeline stuff and certain relationship beats that should occur (yknow like their gay wedding, spoilers). I'm also trying to show how James integrates with the rest of the RE crew and with Harry and Heather.

So... Basically I've thought... a lot about how to make their ship and this universe integrate into all the canon events and have some random drafts for it (of course much credit goes to @fly-rye to a) indulging me b) getting sucked into this c) being super supportive d) brainstorming the Situations with me) because there's just so much potential!!

Now, this is kinda where I get stuck and why there hasn't been more posted, if you're wondering

I like to be thorough and in my head I think I need to explain and show character development in detail because, again, in my head, I think it'll then be viewed as 'bad' or idk, 'not well written' or 'not making sense' (as if any of this makes sense). So I feel like I need to show how these relationships develop so it's more convincing or whatever. I think about how some media is panned or criticized for bad relationship writing, ie 'we've been best friends for 10 years and he really helped me out, right bob?" Like who says that.

So in starting PE I wanted to try and thoroughly and logically explain how we get to the current point.

Obviously this is also literally fanfic and [insert meme here] it's my AU and I can do what I want [just tell you This Is How It Is]

But... I'm not great at writing fluff or character interaction stuff just for the sole purpose of development. I thrive on hurt/comfort and angst stuff (if that wasn't obvious) whereas trying to come up with story beats for a beach trip or something is much more difficult for me. So I've struggled to move forward because it's just not my forte and it takes practice and patience...

Unfortunately, I can be rather impatient.

It's really annoying when you're trying to be thorough! So even when I've got a plan, I just get annoyed with my writing because I just wanna get to the good stuff!!! Why can't I write this out faster!!!! I need to beam my thoughts into a document!!!

I keep on feeling like I'm making empty promises, but I do really wanna keep writing and posting. I am trying and I think about sitting down and writing a lot, but between all those other hangups and not having time, I just haven't.

I know a lot of this isn't exactly what you asked, but I hope it answers your question and then some. Thank you again for reaching out it means a lot to hear from readers!!!

[denimbex1986]

'Andrew Scott cut a dapper figure as he attend the National Theatre Live screening of his play Vanya at The May Fair Hotel in London on Tuesday.

The actor, 47, wore a long brown coat with large lapels over a white vest top.

He wore a pair of trousers to match the coat and opted for a pair of smart black shoes.

The star was seen posing with designer and co-creator Rosanna Vize who wore a black leather jacket and trousers in the same colour for the occasion.

He was also seen smiling as he posed alongside director and co-creator Sam Yates who wore a black jacket and matching suit trousers.

He completed his look by wearing a white polo shirt which he wore buttoned up at the collar.

Performing in the play, Andrew brings to life multiple characters in adapter and co-creators Simon Stephens' radical new version of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya.

Comedic and tragic, Anton’s examination of people's shared humanity - hopes, dreams, regrets - is thrust into sharp focus in the production.

This play explores the 'kaleidoscope of human emotions, harnessing the power of the intimate bond between actor and audience to delve deeper into the human psyche'.

It comes after Andrew said being an openly gay man in the modern age is a 'wonderful gift' that has helped him establish firm friendships within the queer community.

He told Attitude: 'I think it's such a wonderful thing to me. It's an extraordinary gift to my life and just to be able to see the real beauty in being gay is completely wonderful.

'The older I get, just the more I feel so lucky to have been born gay and that pervades my life in the sense of all my friendships.

'I have so many amazing queer friends in my life now that I just adore.'

He added: 'I feel such a huge sense of camaraderie with other queer people now, and without sounding too hippy about it, I feel like I just want to spread that love and positivity in our community because we've come such a long way and it's important that we are kind and look out for each other, and celebrate how uniquely different and how f**king wonderful that can be.'

Meanwhile, Andrew and Paul Mescal dmitted they weren't too keen on their family members watching their new film All Of Us Strangers.

The movie stars Andrew as a screenwriter who enters into a relationship with a mysterious neighbour, played by Paul, 27.

It features several intimate scenes between the actors which the pair discussed during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show.

Asked if their families had seen the flick, Paul said: 'With the Irish premiere, trying to allocate tickets to all the aunties and uncles is a tricky business.

'They have seen my bum before but there is a little more going on in this movie I would say!'

Andrew added: 'I don't want to be there when my parents watch it!'

All Of Us Strangers dominated the competition at the British Independent Film Awards, earning a staggering seven gongs in total.

Among the awards was the top prize for Best Film, beating Femme, How To Have Sex, Rye Lane and Scrapper.

All Of Us Strangers also scored Best Director and Best Screenplay for Andrew Haigh, who is known for his work on films Weekend and 45 Years.

Paul shared the Best Supporting Performance gong for his role in the film with Shaun Thomas from How To Have Sex.'

[periwinckles]

Please tell me you have a middle name - chapter 11

“Ok, change of plans, I’m going with you to the Hob tonight.” 

Delly comes barging into the bakery’s kitchen, unannounced, and takes a seat across from me, next to Reese. She’s wearing a dress, and I’m pretty sure that’s not what she was wearing this morning. 

“Why are you prepping for tomorrow, isn’t that Rye’s job?”  She asks, while flattening out her hair with her hands.

“Rye’s at my uncle’s house. Here, I’ll wash that, you’ll be done faster.” Reese takes the dirty mixing bowl from my hands and takes it to the sink.

I‘m supposed to be at the Hob tonight, to check the empty vendor space that’s opening up and have a word with the person in charge. Luckily, I’m almost done and it’s still early enough. Delly takes a look down her dress as if she’s pondering her options, but she ends up taking a drying towel anyway and helping out Reese with the dishes.

“Why exactly are you going with me to the Hob?” I ask her, keeping my eyes focused on my last batch of sourdough.

“If Delly’s going with you, then I’m going, too. I’ve never been to the Hob!” Reese complaints. “I don’t wanna reach adulthood without ever going there!”

“I can’t show up with a whole entourage! Katniss might be there!” 

“We’ll make ourselves scarce!” Delly argues back. “Trust me, I have no intention of hovering around you. How do I look? Too obvious?” 

She’s wearing a dark blue dress with long sleeves, but she has them rolled up to her elbow despite the evening’s dropping temperature. Nice cleavage too, without showing too much skin. Except for her soulmark, of course. That’s on clear display, but who am I to judge? I only put on pants half an hour ago. 

“You’ll be cold.” Reese points out. “Don’t come begging for my jacket to walk back to town, you’re not getting it.”

“I don’t care! Tonight’s my night , I’m feeling it!” Delly claps her hands together, giddy with excitement and Reese and I exchange a look. We’ve been through this at least a dozen times. 

“I’ve asked around.” She goes on, her voice raising with eagerness. “Taylor Banks, 21, miner, plays poker at the Hob every Friday night. Thom Campbell, 20, miner, no family, eats dinner at Greasy Saw’s every night. Two birds with one stone.” 

“How do you even know all of that?” I ask half impressed, half terrified. This morning she didn’t even know Thom Campbell existed. Ten hours later, I wouldn’t be surprised if she knew what each of these guys had for breakfast. 

“I told you. I’ve asked around. People like me. And I have a few favors to collect, ever since I started matching soulmates.” 

Between the three of us the final cleaning is done in record time. Everything is clean and put away, the overnight dough is resting, the firewood rack is full and the ovens are ready to be lit tomorrow at dawn. 

When we step outside it’s already dark and the wind is picking up. I’ve never been to the Seam more than a handful of times, and never after dark. Which is why it comes as a surprise when I realize the street lights we usually have in town grow further and further apart the more we get away from it. 

“Don’t get any ideas to come to the Hob by yourself, ok Delly?”

She nods to me in silence. I’m sure she wasn’t anticipating the lane to be so dark and ominous as well. After about twenty minutes or so we see a big building down the road. No street lights around it, but the windows are glowing enough to light the way. There's a big double door open ajar and we step inside. 

It’s as busy as the day market at noon. I take a look around and notice several different vendors. Second hand clothing, knickknacks, cutlery, you name it. Most merchant businesses close before dinner, but here it feels like they are just reaching their rush hour. It makes sense. Miners spend their days holed up in the mines. This is the only time they have to do business. Yes, my initial plan to work at the bakery in the morning and the Hob in the afternoon will go well with the Seam’s routine, as long as I extend my opening hours through diner time.

We wander around as I look for Mr Paxton, the superintendent in charge of vendor booths at the Hob. There are several stands selling food and beverages, and the woman serving stew at the back must be the famous Greasy Sae. 

“I think I wanna try moonshine. Yeah, I’m trying it!” Reese says with a grin, stopping next to a liquor stand.

“I’m not carrying you home drunk.” I tell him, as he takes a gulp and squirms in disgust, throwing the rest away.

There are several men around, and they look at us with suspicion. Three teenage merchants, one of them a girl. We’re hard to miss. To our right is the table holding the Poker game and I signal for Delly to take notice. She brightens instantly once she spots it. 

“Mr Mellark, I was waiting for you!” 

Mr Paxton finds me before I find him and we shake hands. “Right this way!” He says, gesturing for me to follow him. 

“Don’t leave her side.” I whisper to Reese before following Mr Paxton to the free empty spot.

It’s bigger than I expected, but that’s not necessarily bad. The fee is still the same, and I’ll have room to expand if it comes to it. We discuss the terms of the agreement, but it’s mainly just reaffirming what he previously agreed with my Dad. We have access to the space in exchange for a fee, but we need to build the stand, maintain it, and keep the adjoining areas clean.

“I’ll bring the papers to the bakery tomorrow, for you and your father to sign, and you’ll be all set. You can open it as soon as you’re able to.”

I’d open tomorrow, if I could. The last months of school feel like I’m just dragging myself, not really taking anything out of it. We shake hands again and Mr Paxton excuses himself to leave. I take the opportunity to take a few measurements. I’ll have to work after hours to build the stand, as school and the bakery are keeping me busy during the day. But I still reckon I’ll have it ready in a month or so.

“Peeta, hi!” 

The greeting is muffled, as if someone is covering the mouth of the speaker, but I can still hear it. I almost don’t spot them among the crowd, but Prim is kind enough to lift her arm up in a wave.

“Katniss, Prim, hi!”

Prim beams back at me, but Katniss just gives me a nod. Her scowling would be enough to deter a younger and foolish Peeta. This Peeta? This one has a black K on his leg that tells him this isn’t over. 

“Congratulations on your win!” Prim exclaims. “You were awesome at the match! You were my favorite candidate right from the start, you know?”

Read the rest on AO3

[mickey-henry]

𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐈 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝

pairing: bucky barnes (bookstore au) x reader

summary: eager to escape the heat, you find yourself in the presence of a mesmerizing bookstore and an irresistibly beautiful man.

word count: 2.3K

author’s note: hello! welcome to my third fic😊 I’m eager to share this with you all! I now have a taglist (the link is also in my bio) if you’re interested🥰 thank you to @certainaesthetic​ for helping me workshop this idea, @fuckandfluff​ for the grammar help, and @midnightf​ for hyping me up as I wrote it! likes, reblogs, messages, replies, and comments are cherished! the header images are from pinterest and the divider is from here. I hope you like it! 💖

You’re desperate to escape the smoldering heat. It’s too hot to rest in the car; it’s been baking all day beneath the sweltering summer sun, parked just outside your place of work. If you attempt to sit in it now, you’d only be greeted with a wave of torrid air, stung with the touch of your seatbelt, and burnt from the searing leather of your steering wheel.

You’re off from work earlier than usual—the blinding sun is usually long beneath the horizon before you head home for the day. The pathetically small sun visor does nothing to shade your eyes from the blazing sunlight. Rather than driving half-blind, you decide to wait out the setting sun.

As you ponder how to spend the rest of your afternoon, you realize that now is an opportune time to visit the new bookstore, The Book Haven, that opened last month. After changing out of your uniform and throwing your work stuff in the trunk, you walk across the plaza to the shop entrance.

The bookstore greets you with the chime of a bell and a rush of cool air as you step in, a blissful contrast to the scorching outdoors. The welcoming scent of coffee grounds and the tangy aroma of old books accompany the refreshing breeze. You take a deep breath, appreciating the convivial atmosphere. The bookstore is a sublime sight; words almost can’t describe its charm.

Shelves like skyscrapers—stuffed to the brim with books, magazines, and comics—graze the ceiling. An intimate reading nook lies next to the door; an inviting window seat dwells beside a floor-to-ceiling window. Clear mosaic window clings cover the glass, casting beautiful rainbows throughout the store. Stringed vintage light bulbs illuminate the shelves; candle-lit sconces adorn the top corners of each one. Oriental rugs lay between the shelves, covering a dark mocha floor. Tucked in the back of the store is a small coffee cranny, hidden at first glance. Frank Sinatra’s charming, rich vocals travel through the air, tickling your ears. The owner clearly put the utmost time, energy, and love into the creation of their shop. It is unequivocally perfect and already one of your favorite places.

You wander to the classics section, enthralled by the exquisite covers. Sensing someone nearby, your eyes glance at movement caught in the corner of your eye. Your stomach somersaults at the stunning stranger. The instant you lay your eyes on him, you forget to breathe for a moment—your breath engulfs your throat. You’re astounded by the Adonis of a man before you.

Bristles of scruff grace his defined jawline—his low man-bun neatly styles his dark chestnut hair. A grey short-sleeve button-up shirt hugs his toned arms; a white tank top clings to his lean, fit frame; cuffed slim-fit khaki pants, help up by a bronze braided belt, embrace his thick thighs; and weathered, chunky brown leather shoes don his feet.

Through the rose-colored glasses that surround your heart, your soul imagines a life with a perfect stranger. The hopeless romantic in you can’t help but steal glances, hoping to catch a better glimpse of him. The moment he turns to walk away, your heart sinks to your stomach. You hope this isn’t the last time you see this gorgeous man.

A few minutes later, you’re mulling over a collectible edition of The Catcher in the Rye, attempting to justify purchasing yet another copy of your favorite book. A melodic voice interrupts your pondering. “That’s a pretty edition of The Catcher in the Rye you’ve got there.”

You turn towards the charming voice. Lo-and-behold, it’s the love of your life: the handsome stranger you’ve mentally lived a lifetime with. His beauty is even more profound up close: now you can see that his eyes are a lovely shade of blue. His eyes, haunted by a subtle sadness, draw you in, unlike anything you’ve experienced before. You find yourself entranced in his sea-blue current; you could easily drown in his gaze. You attempt to hide your awestruck expression and converse with him like a normal human being. “I agree! I already own a copy though, do I really need a new one?”

“I think we both know the answer is always yes,” he assures.

“Okay, you’ve convinced me. I'll get it! Thank you for justifying my unnecessary purchase.”

Your words hang in the air, everything going quiet as you wait for the ravishing stranger to introduce himself. The two of you stare in silence at each other, the tension thickening as the seconds pass by. After a few moments, his face flashes in realization—you were waiting for his name.

“I’m Bucky,” he offers with an enchanting smile, extending his hand out to you. You share your name as the two of you shake hands. Your eyes stare down his veiny arm to his ring-studded fingers grasped around yours. You allow yourself to imagine for a few moments how amazing those fingers would feel tracing your arms, tangling your hair, and teasing your inner thigh. Your lustful reverie comes to an abrupt halt at the sight of the book nestled inside the crook of his elbow: The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, the bane of your existence. You scoff with furrowed brows; of course, Mr. Handsome Stranger would be interested in the one book you despise.

“Got something to say there, sweetheart?” he questions with an amused grin.

“Out of all the classic novels in this entire store, that’s the one you chose? The Metamorphosis?”

“What’s wrong with this one?” he jives.

You pause for a second, debating whether it’s worth it to argue with a stranger. The pondering lasts only a few seconds; the exhaustion from your day disintegrates your filter. Besides, you loathe The Metamorphosis.

“What isn’t wrong with it? The dude wakes up thinking he’s an insect? The reader has to sit there throughout the entire book, wondering whether he’s a man or a bug? What the actual fuck? I didn’t appreciate the existential crisis that book gave me at fifteen; if I can help someone else avoid the suffering caused by that monstrosity, I'm going to do my part,” you huff, unamused by the joy Bucky seems to gain from your zealous analysis.

“Wow, what a passionate review! Perez Hilton would be envious of your slander. Okay then, what classic would you recommend instead?”

You cross your arms, expecting him to challenge your response. “The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.”

“That’s a play,” he counters.

“It’s published as a book; it counts! It’s witty, playful, and has a happy ending, which is the most important point of all. It also doesn’t make you want to pull a Fahrenheit 451 and burn every copy in existence,” you attest.

He steps closer to you, tucking loose strands of his hair behind his ear. “Life doesn’t always have a happy ending, sweetheart.”

Great, there he goes again with that freaking pet name; it’s going to be the death of you. He knows your name, you just gave it to him, yet here he is, infuriatingly insisting on calling you sweetheart instead. Stupid pretty boy with his ocean blue eyes and amorous smile.

“That’s exactly the point,” you sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose. “So, why would I want to read something that doesn’t end well? If I’m going to escape this reality for a while, it better be for a happier one.”

“And if it's not?”

“Then I’ll throw the book across the room and make up my own happy ending!”

“Ooh, aggressive,” he tuts. “The owner of this place might not be too happy with you if you’re throwing books all over the place; it’ll scare away the customers.”

“Then it’s a good thing the owner isn’t here,” you interject confidently, knowing full well you have no idea who the owner is.

“Well, that just isn’t true, sweetheart. You’re looking right at him.”

He’s lying—he has to be. Why would a dreamboat like Bucky own a bookstore?

You scoff, “you’re not the owner of this place.”

“I’m not? What makes you say that?” he banters.

“People like you don’t own bookstores!” you exclaim.

“People like me?” he goads, cocking his head to the side. The action erupts butterflies in your stomach.

“Attractive people!” you groan.

“So you think I’m attractive?” he plays, stepping to close the gap between you.

“Psh, no, you wish,” you muster. The heat spreading across your cheeks betrays your bluff.

There are mere inches between the both of you now; you hope he can’t hear your racing heartbeat. You watch his eyes go down from yours to your mouth and back up again. He eyes you with a smirk, his teeth playfully tugging his bottom lip. It takes everything in your power not to give in to his spell.

“I’ve known you for what, five minutes? I don’t go around kissing strangers, Bucky,” you falter, taking a step back from his closeness.

“Then let’s not be strangers, sweetheart. Grab a coffee with me; I know a nice place, not far from here,” he flirts, gesturing to the counter at the back of the store.

“Let me learn more about what goes on in that pretty little head of yours,” he purrs, his breath tickling your cheek.

“Okay, fine. I’ll have a coffee with you,” you surrender.

A bright, honeyed smile dons his face.  

“It better be good, though. Not the stale crap you usually get in the middle of the afternoon.”

“I’d only give you the best, sweetheart,” he winks, extending his right hand. You take it; he gives you a soft squeeze before weaving you through the towering shelves.

Your discussion continues with another passionate book review as he prepares your drink. He’s a sucker for gritty dystopian novels while you gravitate towards sappy romances. He shares his passion for painting as he guides you to the reading nook. The artwork hung on the edges of the bookcases is crafted by him—a detail you hadn’t noticed at first glance. His stunning work features both landscapes and people. He loves to sit in a picturesque landscape and paint for endless hours. Occasionally, he takes his old polaroid as he explores the town, snapping moments between strangers, translating their intimacy to canvas when he gets home.

He gestures for you to take a seat in the reading nook before handing you our steaming cup of joe. You sit with your legs crossed, your hands hugging the mug in your lap. Bucky sits with his leg draped over the side of the bench, his left foot pressing into his right thigh. The conversation shifts topics; the two of you divulge your desires and unfulfilled ambitions. You aren’t sure if it’s the look in his eyes, the sweet cup of joe in your palms, or the aroma of coffee surrounding you, but in his presence, your senses feel wide awake.

Before you know it, the mesmeric moon replaces the sizzling sun, melting away the blistering heat, and the steaming cup of coffee in your hands has long chilled. Bucky’s employee interrupts the blissful rendezvous, informing him that all the closing duties are complete, and he’s headed home for the night.

You stare at your watch in shock—it's five past nine. Where did the time go? You apologize profusely to the poor kid who had to close up alone; he assures you it’s no problem.

A melancholic pit in your stomach forms as you turn back to Bucky. He’s nestled himself into your soul; you don’t want to say farewell to him so soon. He has a sad glint in his eyes; you hope it’s because he’s also dreading the end of this perfect night.

“Can I walk you to your car?” he asks timidly, his earlier suave demeanor gone from his voice. He stands up in front of you, offering his arm to escort you.

“I’d love that,” you reply with a shy grin, grabbing his arm and hugging it tightly.

In the blink of an eye, you’re in front of your car. You let go of his arm and lean against the trunk. You stare into his eyes, hoping that he can see without the use of words how much you don’t want this moment to end. There’s a few moments of painful silence before Bucky clears his throat.

“So, now that we’re not total strangers, how about that kiss?” he flirts with pleading eyes.

“Okay,” you reply with a bashful smile.

He slowly reaches his hand towards your cheek, softly stroking it with his thumb. He presses his forehead against yours. “Are you sure you want to do this? ‘Cause if we do, you might not be able to get rid of me, sweetheart.”

“Yes I do, Bucky,” you giggle.

He grins as he gently presses his pillowy pink lips on yours. The kiss steals all the air from your lungs—his touch sends tingles throughout your body, electrifying your veins. You’re breathless when your lips finally part.

“Let me get your number before I let you go,” Bucky insists. You nod and hand him your phone, unable to form a coherent thought.  The ghost of his lips and fingers trace your figure. You’re barely acquainted with his tender touch, yet you feel naked without it, yearning to once again be within his grasp.

You exchange phones—adding your number and name with a sparkling heart emoji and swiftly passing his phone back before you can change your mind. Bucky snaps a quick selfie for his contact, smirking for the camera. You grin when you see he also put emojis by his name: a beetle and a kissy-face.

He pecks your cheek before opening the car door for you. “Hope to see you around, lovebug.” The new pet name burns your cheeks and erupts butterflies in your stomach.

He doesn’t leave the parking lot until your car disappears completely from his view.

You drive home with thoughts of Bucky swirling in your mind. You send a silent thanks to the universe for bringing this beautiful man into your life. His voice, touch, and smile echo in your thoughts for the remainder of the evening—his presence paving its way through your dreams. You’re falling hard and fast; you only hope he’ll be there to catch you.

tagging a few mutuals who expressed interest in this story🥰please fill out the taglist form if you’d like to be tagged in the next story! 💖

@ritesofreverie @midnightf @certainaesthetic

[earlgreytea68]

Hi EGT! *waves* I know not to quote you on anything but as a lawyer and a fandom veteran, could you shed any light on the attitude difference between monetizing fanfiction versus fanart? I know it's ALL ILLEGAL, technically. But what's the difference in copyright law for words versus imagery? How do you make art transformative enough to pass muster? (No need to respond if you don't feel like it, I'm just on a research binge and I loved your perspective on the omegaverse case)

Hello!

Okay, yes, first: no legal advice here! This is just some information!

First of all, technically fanart and fanfiction (as I understand those terms to identify) are not necessarily AUTOMATICALLY illegal, even if monetized. Fanart and fanfiction are protected by the fair use doctrine. Fair use is a notoriously unpredictable, fact-specific defense based on a number of factors. One of those factors has to do with transformativeness, as you reference above, so, do you have a different purpose or have you altered the character of the original work. This is why AO3's nonprofit is Organization for *Transformative* Works.

Another of those factors has to do with commercialism, and that's where the monetization comes in. While commercialism is not automatically infringing, uses that are *not* commercial are more likely *not* to be infringing. (The flip side of this is that non-commercialism is not automatically okay, either. There is never anything automatic about copyright fair use. No bright line rules!)

Another factor of the fair use analysis is whether the fanart or fanfic affects the copyright holder's market, which is another question entirely. Commercialism can play into that, but not always.

Okay, so with that as background, a couple of things:

--The attitude difference seems more cultural to me than anything else, at times. Sometimes I think it's even generational? Theoretically, commercialism is taken into account in all fair use analyses. Theoretically, commercial uses are less likely to be considered fair than non-commercial uses (although, again, commercial uses can be fair and non-commercial uses can be infringing). So legally there really is no difference between a fair use art analysis and a fair use fic analysis afa commercialism is concerned; they would both be taken into account. As far as I can tell from my years in fandom, fanartists could monetize more easily, selling at cons, and before the rise of Patreon, etc., fanfiction writers didn't have a clear path to monetization, and so it happened that fandom got more used to the idea that fanartists get paid and fanfic writers don't (this is obviously an extremely broad generalization). But that's just a matter of the way technology developed and not actually a legal statement.

--That said, are there differences in copyright law between words and imagery? Yes. Inevitably. They are different creative media. The same reason why not everybody who writes can draw is the same reason why the law is slightly different between them: they're just two different things. To be clear, the law is the *same,* it's just that in application it's a little different. So, for instance, one of the enduring questions in copyright law is how much a character is copyrightable? Important for fanfiction and fanart, right? Since often they're just borrowing characters? We have a test but the test is different for graphically depicted characters than for characters that only show up in books. And this makes sense, right? Recognizing a character as depicted in a television show is using an entirely different set of signals than recognizing a character you've only ever seen in your mind's eye. So figuring out what makes a character in a television show copyrightable is slightly different than figuring out what makes a character who exists only on a page copyrightable.

--So, finally, how can art be considered transformative? Vs. how can fic be considered transformative? I can't really set out guidelines, because of how finicky fair use is, and also because I don't want anyone to think I'm giving legal advice (I'm not!) and make them think there's some foolproof algorithm to make sure your use is transformative. Analyzing the transformativeness of art vs. text can be a little different, because, again, they're different media. I teach a course on fair use and I actually divide the cases up by creative medium because I think it's interesting to see how it plays out.

The answer ultimately is: It depends. We have a bunch of appropriation art cases, many of them involving Jeff Koons or Richard Prince. In some of these, the courts have found the art transformative, when it recontextualized the art in a new collage, or added some Photoshoppy graffiti over the art. But in others of these, the courts have either found infringement or been dubious about transformativeness, when the art just recreated the original in different colors, or printed the original out with just a caption added. We have fewer cases about text. One of these is the Harry Potter Lexicon case, where the court actually basically found fair use with just a few minor changes to decrease how much of Rowling's text was quoted. There's another one involving a sequel to "Catcher in the Rye" called "Sixty Years Later." The court found it was infringing, not transformative enough of the original because it borrowed too much and didn't change enough. And there's the "The Wind Done Gone" case, which was a retelling of "Gone with the Wind" from the POV of a new enslaved character. The first court thought this was infringing, but the appellate court disagreed and thought it was fair use because it was providing valuable social commentary on "Gone with the Wind" and didn't take more of "Gone with the Wind" than was necessary to make its point.

And it's always important to remember that, as in the "The Wind Done Gone" case, often courts themselves disagree strenuously about fair use. We recently had a big fair use case involving an Andy Warhol painting of Prince, and one court thought it was transformative fair use, and another court thought it was infringing. Such is fair use.

[samstree]

The One with the Coastal Customs

Geraskier, 1.8k, Fluff, Crack, Secret Relationship, Kaer Morons at their best, humor, Jaskier takes one for the team

Inspired by Friends. Read on AO3

Breakfast at Kaer Morhen is full of chatter as always. With Ciri and Yennefer joining them a few days ago, loud arguing and laughter always fill those once empty halls.

Jaskier picks at the rye bread on his plate, not paying attention to Lambert’s clearly exaggerated monster story, though Ciri seems completely entranced, prompting him to go on with anticipation.

His mind is still full of last night’s visage of Geralt pressing him against the wooden door and kissing him senseless. The witcher had to come to his bedroom after everyone else turned in so no one noticed. After the whole mountain incident last year and Geralt’s following apology, they thought it wise to keep their blooming relationship in secret for a while.

Let’s not tell everyone in a rush. Geralt was the one who proposed the secrecy. Whatever we have here is ours, Jask. I don’t want them to interfere or mess it up. You are too important to me, He said. Besides, what could go wrong?

Jaskier, at the time, agreed to it whole-heartedly. The witcher was so sincere that day, his golden eyes flowing with adoration and vulnerability that Jaskier could not deny him anything.

Despite some inconveniences, Jaskier has to admit it does make things excitingly hot. He almost feels like a naughty student sneaking out of class to make out with a lover again.

Jaskier’s hand comes up to touch the skin on his neck, the same spot where Geralt nibbed and sucked gently last night and left him a sobbing mess. Next to him, Geralt catches his motion with a look before a faint smile quirks up the corner of his mouth.

“Grape juice?” the witcher passes him the pitcher with the most unaffected tone in the world but his other hand travels up Jaskier’s thigh teasingly.

He has to choke in a gasp.

“…and bam! The third wyvern drops dead.” Lambert ends the story proudly, “And that’s why I’m the best witcher at this table. You have a lot to learn from me, princess.”

Ciri giggles as Geralt and Eskel chime in to call out all the lies in that tale. The room erupts in jabs and loud arguments.

Yennefer is the only one who remains silent throughout the whole meal. Her violet gaze only falls on Jaskier once, piercing with intent, before looking away like nothing happened. Even though their exchanges are a lot more amicable these days, the sorceress tends not to acknowledge Jaskier’s existence very often.

From the corner of his eyes, Jaskier sees Vesemir leave for the library. The older witcher still has work for him to finish today.

“Right, duty calls.” With a screech of chair, Jaskier stands so he can leave too. “I’ll see you later.”

He rests his hand on Geralt’s shoulder and leans in for a kiss. Geralt’s lips taste like the sweetness of grape juice and Jaskier revels in it for a moment before pulling away.

Everyone at the table is staring at him.

Oh.

Oh, fuck.

Jaskier freezes on the spot, a million thoughts going through his mind. Is it time to announce it to the world? They are ready for everyone to know and get involved, aren’t they?

But with one look at Geralt, he abandons the thought. The witcher has gone pale, and stiff as a statue. Panic starts to creep into those beautiful honey eyes, so subtly anyone else would have missed it.

Geralt is not ready.

Jaskier swallows. Well, there’s nothing to it.

He turns to Eskel, who’s holding a spoon mid-air and studying him with confused surprise.

“Eskel. See you later too.” He cups the older witcher’s jaw and presses their lips together. Eskel, the sweet man, even holds on to his wrist by reflex. He ends it with a pop before going around the table, careful not to trip over a chair.

Lambert can only be described as dumbfounded when Jaskier leans in, and incredulous afterwards.

“Have a nice day, Lamb.”

Yennefer looks at him with the same scrutiny. Wait, why is she looking smug? Fuck, the mage is looking scarier than the day they met. This one he might regret the most later.

“My favorite witch. It’s so good to have you here.” Jaskier opens his arms dramatically before going in, the familiar lilac and gooseberries filling his senses. Oh, her lips are so much softer.

When he stands to straighten his doublet, the whole table is still looking at him in silence. Geralt is tense as a statue while Lambert’s mouth hangs slightly open.

“Right.” He pats Ciri on the back and runs away from the scene, keeping his footsteps as steady as possible.

 *

Ciri is the first one to break the silence.

“What the hell just happened?”

“Language.” Yennefer berates her, seemingly unfazed.

Geralt swallows a lump. If Jaskier is willing to go such length to keep the promise, he can try to look inconspicuous for a moment.

A blush is creeping up on Lambert’s face, but he tries to hide it with biting words. “Geralt, what the fuck is wrong with you bard?”

“Watch your language too.” Eskel’s voice is steady with amusement. “Why do you mind it so much anyway? He’s being friendly. It was nice.”

If Eskel wipes his lips casually with a pleased look, nobody mentions it.

“In what world is that friendly?” Lambert scowls.

“It’s –” Geralt clears his throat, “He went to the coast last year. In the south. Must have picked up some local customs. That’s…um…how they greet each other. In the south.”

Lambert stares at him. “Doesn’t feel southern to me.”

Geralt gulps down all the juice in his cup. When he puts it down, Yennefer is studying him like a predator might a prey.

“Interesting custom.” Her violet eyes sparkle with curiosity.

Geralt has never been more grateful for his witcher trials for allowing him to remain calm under extreme pressure. His heart still beats slowly without revealing anything.

They are fine as long as it doesn’t happen again.

 *

It happens again.

Jaskier sucks at Geralt’s lips with heated passion, drawing a soft moan out of the witcher. Neither of them pays any attention to the flurries of snow falling into the empty courtyard around them.

“I’ve missed you today.” He moves down to Geralt’s jawline, and then his neck. “Where’d you go?”

“Had to repair the wall at the back, or the whole keep crumbles.”

“Hmm. Should have let it.”

Jaskier captures those lips again just when he hears people entering the courtyard, and pushes Geralt away with force.

It’s too late.

Eskel and Lambert stare quizzically at Jaskier, their training swords in hand. Behind him, Ciri is also in full gears, ready for lessons. The way she tilts her head in bewilderment is such a spitting image of her dad.

“Well.” Jaskier pats Geralt on the bicep. “Thanks for helping me clean the stable. That’s…nice of you.”

Roach snorts in the stable behind them.

He walks towards Eskel and kisses him again, and then Lambert. Boy he’s just noticing how tall the younger witcher is. Jaskier has to tiptoe a little bit. “I’ll be off then.”

When he passes Ciri, the girl just moves out of the way like he’s the plague. “See you, uncle Jask!”

Jaskier nods at her, carrying himself as naturally as possible, and enters the building.

 *

The gwent is going great. It seems that Geralt is going to win again.

Jaskier yawns. He’ll never see the appeal of the game, so he just reaches over Lambert to grab the lute. Maybe a little practice will be good–

“Okay, bard. You need to cut it off.” Lambert stops Jaskier’s motion with a hand on his chest.

Jaskier blinks.

“I don’t care whatever–” Lambert gestures around Jaskier’s whole being. “– coastal customs you picked up from the south. It’s not…how we do things around here. We are not in the south and it’s fucking weird. So quit it.”

“Okay?” He blinks again.

“I know you like witchers more than the average man out there,” Eskel adds, “and you want to show us. I appreciate it, Jaskier, but it might not make us the most comfortable.”

“What now?” Jaskier looks around the room. Yennefer and Ciri are sitting by the fire with some magic book spread out between their knees, watching the situation unfold.

“Quit the kissing, bard.” Lambert scowls.

Eskel smiles politely. “Yeah, it’s best if you did.”

Oh.

Jaskier can see the two witchers are clearly not at ease. Lambert’s face is a ripe tomato and Eskel is acting way too formal with all the niceties.

“Okay. Of course.” Jaskier raises his hands in defeat. “I will stop assaulting you with the overly familiar foreign customs. Message received.”

“Thank the gods. It was disgusting.” Geralt deadpans.

Jaskier looks into those golden eyes he loves so much and wonders if he can express ‘I’m gonna put a pillow over your face tonight’ with a neural glare. The bastard only raises an eyebrow in challenge.

“If you do need to let it out somehow, Jaskier, maybe your friends at that fancy academy of yours are open to it.” Yennefer says, chill as the winter sky, “Or some of your lovers.”

Maybe Jaskier’s eyes are deceiving him, but he swears the sorceress glanced in Geralt’s direction when she said ‘lovers’.

The ladies resume their discussion about spells and magic, and the gwent game continues. Geralt does end up winning.

Jaskier plucks his lute, imagining a million ways for his witcher to make it up to him later.

Oh the sacrifices he has to make for this ridiculous man.

 *

“The sacrifices I have to make for you, my dear.” Jaskier rests his head on Geralt’s shoulder, cuddling up to his witcher’s warm body.

“What sacrifice? I thought you were enjoying it.”

“They are quite good kissers though, especially–” He cuts himself off. It’s best not to discuss your lover’s brothers that way, or ex-lover, for that matter.

“Then what are you moaning about?”

“But my reputation!” Jaskier protests, “My name will be tarnished forever. Jaskier – barker and molester of witchers. None of you will ever let me sing your heroism anymore.”

“Hmm. Don’t you forget about Yen.” Geralt’s voice rumbles deep in his chest.

“Oh yeah. I’m surprised she didn’t turn me into a toad on the spot.” He plays with Geralt’s long hair. “By the way – I just have this inking – do you think, perhaps, Yennefer might know? About us?”

“Oh she knows.”

Jaskier bolts upright, looking at Geralt incredulously.

“Since when?”

“The day she arrived?” Geralt guesses, “I’m sure she took one look at us and figured it out. It’s not my fault she’s so smart–”

Jaskier picks up a pillow and throws it at Geralt’s smug face.

“And you didn’t tell me?”

Geralt finally breaks out laughing. He catches the bard’s feral attack and pins him into the mattress. Jaskier’s angry little pout is too adorable Geralt has to kiss it away. Uninterrupted this time.

“Is it worth it though? All the sacrifices?” Geralt's breath ghosts over the skin at Jaskier's throat.

The bard only glares at him for a moment, before letting out a sigh long-sufferingly.

“For you, my dear. Always.” He pecks Geralt’s soft lips one more time. “As long as no one turns me into a toad.”

[classicanalyzer]

20 Questions for 20 Writers (where did the other 10 questions go?)

Thanks for tagging me @marvel-starwarsfangirl :D.

1. Is writing a hobby or way of life?

I would love to make writing a way of life for me but it's mostly a hobby. However, my mind always thinks of writing, so it's a way of life in my head. Ideally, it would always be a way of life for me haha.

2. A journal full of writing notes or a clean, completed manuscript?

I attempt and want to keep journals of my ideas. Often my notes are what I type to others since I love to discuss them. In a nutshell, I gotta compile those conversations into actual notes lmao.

3. Who (or what) is your writing inspiration?

Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Kingdom Hearts were my main inspirations when I was in 3rd grade. It all started when I roleplayed stories outside and it was a long process of my desire to write.

4.Which is worse: someone you "idolize" reading your first draft or listening to you sing?

Both! I feel terrified of someone I idolize reading my first draft because I don't have a lot of confidence in my own writing...it's why I struggle with writing at all despite all the writing in my head. I'm also super insecure about my singing abilities.

5. Has writing from someone else's POV ever changed your own perspective?

Not really but it does really help me understand why a character feels and does what they do.

6. Tumblr, AO3, LiveJournal, or FFN?

When I post a fanfic, I would definitely post it on AO3. Really hoping to write a Phineas and Ferb one I had in my mind for quite a while haha.

7. AO3 wordcount, and are you satisfied with it?

I would be satisfied with actually writing the fanfic! Once I do no matter the wordcount, I'll be so satisfied.

8. What movie/book/fic gripped you irrevocably?

Note: These are some of them.

Movies: Star Wars (All movies...okay maybe except for the romance scenes in AotC lol), Lord of the Rings, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Spider-Verse movies, Nimona.

Shows: Phineas and Ferb, Gravity Falls, Amphibia, The Owl House, Digimon Adventures and Tamers, Regular Show, Hilda, Star Wars (Andor, Rebels, and Bad Batch), Ninjago, Community, Lupin (Parts IV-V), BoJack Horseman, Green Eggs and Ham, Lackadaisy.

Books: Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule and Rising Storm by Caven Scott, Animal Farm and 1984 by George Orwell (They were a major part of my literary journey into writing).

Fics: Timeslip by @nekodatta, MoonShadow by @a-e-redacted, Pokedex by Birdboy, Pokemon Conquest: The Legend of Ransei by Imperator Justinian, Long Distance by DoubleRainbowPudding.

(Bonus) Video Games (Just some of them lol): Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy (Especially VII, IX, and XVI), Pokemon, TWEWY, Fallout (Sadly I have never played the games yet but the story and lore of the series is amazing), Ni No Kuni, Digimon Cyber Sleuth and Hacker's Memory, Eastward, Sable.

9. What's the highest compliment you could ever be given, and have you been given it?

If they like my story, I know it's small but every positive comment helps me write more.

10. What defines your writing style?

I would like to go for either a single-POV or multiple-character POV writing style. I might use the third person for the latter but also some signals to indicate their inner thoughts almost as if they're reacting to the written events. I think of The Catcher in the Rye as an inspiration for aspects of the writing style I want to further develop.

I love to tap into the emotions, desires, and insecurities everyone has from villains to heroes. It is what helps me write these characters and get myself invested. I also really love weaving the in-universe past with the in-universe present of the story. It gives a story a sense of a tragedy or a heartwarming continuation when those direct or symbolic parallels are made.

Tagging: @hshfsjzjsgj, @legendarycollectorcomputer

20 Questions for 20 Writers (where did the other 10 questions go?)

Tagged by: @evilwriter37

1. Is writing a hobby or way of life?

I think it started as a hobby for me, but at this point, thanks to The Bad Batch getting me back into writing, it is a way of life.

2. A journal full of writing notes or a clean, completed manuscript?

Gonna go with the notes. The amount of notes I have to take now because of my TBI. Wow.

3. Who (or what) is your writing inspiration?

Well, I'd definitely say The Bad Batch, and I think my friend Marshall, honestly. Talking with him about writing and writing techniques and all that gets me really excited.

4.Which is worse: someone you "idolize" reading your first draft or listening to you sing?

Definitely the first draft one. Thanks to the TBI my first drafts miss so many things, and I constantly have to go back and add details I had completely forgotten existed. I used to sing all the time, and had an excellent singing voice before COVID, so maybe even now with a bad singing voice I wouldn't mind too much. I'm used to performances.

5. Has writing from someone else's POV ever changed your own perspective?

No.

6. Tumblr, AO3, LiveJournal, or FFN?

AO3! Though I love posting my Summer of Bad Batch fics here. The reception I get is amazing.

7. AO3 wordcount, and are you satisfied with it?

1,907,782. And hell no. I want to hit 2 million!

8. What movie/book/fic gripped you irrevocably?

Movies and shows: Doctor Who, Supernatural, The Lord of the Rings, The Bad Batch

Books: Throne of Glass, Mistborn

Fics: (Okay, I love your answer for this, @evilwriter37, thank you!) As for fics I'd say Series Failsafe- Post Plan 99 from @clownery-and-fuckery. He really got me back into reading fanfic. And also System Upgrade from @just-here-with-my-thoughts. (Sorry I haven't had time to finish reading it yet!) Also probably 30 Days (on the road to healing) by @marvel-starwarsfangirl because Crosshair journaling is so intriguing!

9. What's the highest compliment you could ever be given, and have you been given it?

Probably that I write as well as canon or better than canon, and everyone's in character. And yes, I have been told that multiple times.

10. What defines your writing style?

You know, I'm not sure. @evilwriter37, any guesses here?

Tagging: @clownery-and-fuckery, @squad-724, @just-here-with-my-thoughts, and @marvel-starwarsfangirl (Sorry if I'm missing anyone? My memory's bad today.)

[hnnyoongs]

akai shuichi headcanons

shuichi wears a beanie all the time because he's self conscious about hir hairline .... and I mean who can blame him? id be too

shuichi saw gin when he was visiting Japan in the 10 years ago flashback and was like ooh long hair is cool AND it'll piss ka-san off flash forward 5 years later when shuichi infiltrates the BO and is like fUck cool long hair dude is a psycho

shuichi cut his hair off when he heard akemi was killed by gin he kinda went into the whole mental breakdown mode and was like fuck this shit because he started growing his hair out cuz of gin and also akemi really liked his long hair

shuichi used to be a band kid when he lived in England and wanted to pursue a career in music (much to the chagrin of Mary) but after tsutomu disappeared he was like fuck that and stopped playing until he entered the BO

shuichi has a really bad memory about things that dont have to do anything with his job kinda like BBC's Sherlock but not as bad

shuichi used to find dead bodies when he was a kid just like shinichi but it wasn't as often maybe like a dead body once a year or something

shuichi named himself dai because that's what Mary actually wanted to name him when she was giving birth she was screaming die die die and tsutomu wasn't there yet so she was like aight die sounds like the japanese name dai the only reason shuichi wasn't named that was that tsutomu burst in and was like FUCK NO

shuichi was picked on when training for the FBI since compared to 6 foot jock white men shuichi was a 5 foot 7 asian with long hair and dressed like a teenage girl who frequented Starbucks in the toxic environment of the FBI for anyone who doesnt fit the mold shuichi had it cut out for him

shuichi showed signs of multiple mental illnesses but they were all difficult to pin down so he was never diagnosed with anything since he refused to talk at the FBI mandated therapy sessions

shuichi's type is someone who is kind but could wield a gun

he used to dislike kids but being around them as okiya has made SOME kids special in his heart

before tsutomu's disspeareance he taught shuichi how to hunt with a shotgun

shuichi lived off of sports drinks and bars whenever he was single since he couldn't rely on take out due to it being unhealthy which wouldn't help his FBI styled life

shuichi taught akemi simple self defense techniques but refuses to teach her how to shoot a gun saying he didn't want her hands to get dirty

shuichi and shukichi blackmail each other for favors by using the "ill tell ka-san you did that one thing that you blamed dad for when we were kids if u dont help me out"

scotch once told him that bourbon's type was a white milf (in reference to Elena who was white and was a mother) so shuichi was scared as fuck when rei met Mary's adult self for the first time

shuichi hates being compared to his mother but the truth is they're the most similar and they both started mimicking tsutomu after his disappearance

the only thing shuichi knew how to cook before meeting yukiko was plain white rice as that was the only thing tsutomu was able to teach him

shuichi mimics an American accent while talking in America or talking in English unless he's talking to his family or he's mentally shook up and his British accent slips out

he thinks in British accented English as well (idc if the animanga shows him thinking in japanese it makes no sense that western raised people like Jodie and camel think in japanese) but he does use some japanese like ka-san and when he's trying to get deep into his okiya persona

he tries very hard to keep the polite speech patterns of okiya Subaru since as akai shuichi he's very .. rude

shuichi's sniper skills were so good the fbi was willing to overlook his disrespect of authority and his tendency to do everything by himself without consulting everyone

shuichi slips into a British accent around James if he's feeling really comfortable

he felt bad about using shiho since she was only a year older than masumi and she hadn't done anything wrong so he vowed to get her and akemi out of the BO

he had a plan to get akemi and shiho out by convincing the higher ups to grant them immunity if they testified but akemi's death derailed the entire thing

he hates to admit it but his family is the most important thing to him he may not contact them that often but he's going to such lengths to bring his father back because he cares for his family so much

shuichi didnt really know what he wanted to do with his life once he took down his father's pursuers but after akemi and scotch he decided that if he solved his father's disappearance first he'd hunt down the BO next tho once learning that Haneda Koji’s death had something to do with the BO he's back at the thing where he doesn't know what to do with his life without revenge

he promised shukichi that he'd be the one to solve shukichi's death if what happened to Haneda kohji also happens to shukichi

he isn't a fan of dates in amusement parks but if it makes his partner happy and smile he'll have fun

dating Jodie was a quiet thing most likely from an attachment maybe due to a bad case or a loss of a mutual friend depending on the agency they might have been legally allowed to date each other but it is usually looked down upon I dont think they went out together often probably spending time together at home ... doing stuff

he identifies as bisexual it was normal to him in childhood since both Mary and tsutomu talked about their past relationships to their children he never told anyone due to the fact it would affect his FBI status since it was illegal in America shukichi and Mary know he's bi but shuichi has no idea Mary knows

akemi and shuichi would take strolls in parks go shopping and go to cafes

he's very self conscious about his height and whenever he goes to Japan it makes him feel good about himself since he's relatively tall there

Mary was the one who drilled japanese into his head not tsutomu

the last time shuichi talked to Mary was when he called her up to tell her to take masumi and leave Japan for Britain after masumi cornered him and scotch him and Mary had a whole argument and after that they stopped talking to each other, not that they talked to each other much in the first place

shuichi learned jee kun do by watching training videos from vhs tapes/cds/YouTube depending on when you consider detco taking place I personally believe conan shrinks in 2018 meaning that tsutomu disappeared in 2001 and shuichi used a mixture of tapes and cds to learn

shuichi can read people really well but has a hard time manipulating people by being nice he can use people by being a jackass very well but trying to be a normal person is hard for him

Yukiko and yusaku remind shuichi of his parents before tsutomu disappeared but like more upbeat

shuichi dislikes full body hugs

akemi and shiho were both anime and romance drama fans so he knows random things about the shows and uses that info to connect with the DB and especially haibara

he considered himself British first and foremost but when asked about whether he considers himself white or asian he'll always go with asian

he started smoking soon after his father disappeared since his father used to smoke and he needed to cope but didn't wanna fall into drugs like cocaine

smoking is heavily looked down upon in America and is seen as unprofessional which helped shuichi go undercover a bunch due to him being a heavy smoker

akemi would make him stop smoking around her and shiho saying that second hand smoking was dangerous and that shuichi who was smoking constantly was going to get lung cancer but he would tell her that he just couldn't stop smoking he did stop smoking around shiho and akemi tho going outside to do it instead

as okiya it makes him go wild because he desperately needs to smoke to cope but okiya cant smoke it doesnt fit his image so he smokes a shit ton at night during his nightly drives

shuichi forced himself not to smoke during his time visiting Japan when he met masumi because he knew Mary would get even more upset with him

shuichi was terrible driving American styled cars and he got so upset that he perfected his drive-in techiuque over the years just to spite the instructor that said he was barely passing

he likes to go on late night drives and speed on the high way because he's a thrill seeking idiot

he has no social media but he created on as okiya Subaru to keep an eye on haibara's higo stan account

he takes offense to the idea that he's stalking haibara he's just p r o t e c t i n g her

he wants shiho to be happy more than anything so he's an avid coai shipper and is exhausted in Conan's obliviousness

shuichi didnt tell shukichi he wasn't actually dead shukichi just walked up to okiya Subaru one day and was like shuuichi-ni-san right? shuichi has long stopped questioning shukichi's weird ways of knowing shit he shouldn't know

shuichi is a sherlockian but he's not like shinichi or hakuba in that he does not hate BBC's Sherlock and actually enjoys it a bit

one upside to shuichi living in America is that he gets to hoard guns because he's obsessed with them he thinks they're really cool it's like conan with Sherlock he starts yapping his mouth of about them

bourbon once dangled a gun on in front of a sleeping shuichi cuz he didnt believe scotch when he said that rye was obsessed with guns and started saying incorrect shit about the type of gun he was holding and shuichi just shot up and started berating him

shuichi hates that chianti is a killer because she's the only person who's as much as a gun fanatic as he is

he tends to steal Jodie's car a lot

he likes fucking with peoples heads it's very fun to him to watch them get all worked up

shuichi hasn't mourned his father yet because he doesnt believe his father’s dead

deep down he blames his father for his mother going slightly bonkers

he didnt want masumi to be a detective at first but now hes proud of her

he drinks a lot as okiya Subaru since he cant smoke as much

he's willing to go to hell if it means he can rip gin from limp to limp

he really hates gin yall I dont think I can convey how much he hates gin

[omniscientwreck]

Some of the best things to come out of me and my roommate's high school AU conversation:

- Caleb is a quiet nerd who spends most of high school denying party invitations to study, he's taking AP classes and doing university prep constantly

- Beau skipped from grade 4 to 6, she's the student who's involved in so many things nobody has any idea when she sleeps

- Veth is the single meanest person in the school except for to Caleb and this nerd Yeza who she met because they were lab partners in AP chemistry

- Mollymauk has been at the school for forever, he's failed every single class not because he isn't smart but just because he can't be in the right place at the right time. When he has English he's hanging out in the band room but when he has art he's in History class.

- Essek Thelyss plays clarinet and oboe. He listens to Baroque music and is incredibly pretentious about the superiority of both JS and CPE Bach to any Romantic era composer. He also likes New Wave. He does have a secret playlist on Spotify full of Carly Rae Jepsen, Lady Gaga, and Brittney Spears.

- Fjord is on the football team and nobody knows why, least of all him. He tries out for the school musical as a joke in the 11th grade and finds out he's actually really good at singing and enjoys it.

- Caduceus Clay graduated a few years ago but he comes back to visit teachers and the Nein who he made friends with often. If an adult is ever needed the Nein call him and he's always there within 5 minutes

- Yasha had a rough time with puberty and went through a phase where she was very angry and reclusive and alienated herself from her previous friends. Now that she's found the Nein she's more outgoing and the sweetest person you'll ever meet. She walks absolutely everywhere and somehow always arrives before everyone else.

- Jester Lavorre is everyone's friend it doesn't matter who you are she probably knows your name and at least one thing about you. She's the stereotypical art student who seems to be friends with the art teacher but it's not at all inappropriate. She's a master of bathroom graffiti and even though everyone knows it's her she's never been caught.

- When they talk about the dangers of weed in health class the teacher is going through slang terms for it, one of which is Uk'otoa which becomes a meme with the class.

- Nobody has ever seen Mollymauk Tealeaf arrive to a party. When the energy shifts from 'nobody is drunk and everyone's a little awkward' to 'we've had a couple drinks and everyone is having a great time' you'll know he's there. You just turn around and he'll wave at you from another conversation he's having.

- When Caleb finally does start going to parties you can almost always find him arguing with Yussa over some matter of academia. It ends with them in the backyard doing dangerous magical stunts and getting hurt. Essek sometimes tries to referee but often gets sucked into the showboating.

- Whenever there's a bake sale Yasha and Jester collaborate on dozens of different desserts and they always sell out immediately.

- Beauregard plays auxillary percussion in band because playing only one instrument isn't enough for her brain.

- Mollymauk can technically drive and he does frequently, his car is always inches from a breakdown and he frequently gets distracted. Fjord is a great driver and owns a truck for no discernable reason. If Caleb ends up driving he usually dissociates into the middle distance, not dangerous just not as fun.

- Pumat Sol is the shops teacher that everybody loves. Kids will take shops specifically to hang out with him and make cool shit.

- Beauregard frequently gets in trouble for calling teachers fascists in class and Essek always agrees with her.

- If Beau and Essek are in an English class together they will often overtake the class with an argument. Essek reading into gay subtext, Beau reading into capitalism critique subtext, and Caleb trying to explain why they're both right. The Great Gatsby was a nightmare.

- Beau and Yasha spend ages flirting before finally making out at a party at which neither are drunk. They then go on to found the queer students club and are elected prom queens.

- One time Caleb expresses mild interest in learning a woodwind instruments and joining band. Essek adjusts his schedule to be five minutes late leaving class in case Caleb ever takes him up on his offer to teach him.

- Fjord and Veth are ruthlessly cruel to each other and anyone who doesn't know them would think they hated each other. However, there's a theatre kid named Marius Lepual who they both despise and frequently team up against.

- Molly and Essek run the school's rumor mill. They do a good job of telling Jester or Beth exactly the right tidbit of information to have things blown wildly out of proportion. By the end of any given week there are 5 different versions of the same rumor spreading and nobody knows what's true.

- Jester decides the group chat names.

- One time Yussa and Caleb end up making out at a party when Essek isn't there. He gets jealous and doesn't speak with either of them for two weeks.

- Jester's parents are the ones who will buy the alcohol as long as they promise to drink at home or call them if anything goes wrong.

- Astrid and Eadwulf have been Caleb's friends from middle school. They abruptly transfer to a different school across the city during grade 11 and Caleb is eventually adopted by Jester and Veth and inducted to the Nein after Jester dances with him at a school dance because he's sitting all by himself.

- Molly's catchphrase is 'i have a guy' and he can get anything. Your car ran out of gas at 3am and no stations are open? He'll be there in 15 minutes with a jerry can. You need a paper for 12th grade English on Catcher in the Rye? Give him a day.

- Mario Kart tournaments always devolve into Veth and one other member. Controllers have been thrown and friendships nearly ruined over blue shells.

- The year the Nein graduate the staff are so worried about their senior prank that they nearly cancel class. The prank doesn't happen and they're lulled into a false sense of security until the next fall when they retroactively pull off the most elaborate prank in the schools history.

- When the rest of the Nein are in the 11th grade Molly just fucks off for a year. None of them know where he went, they keep receiving oddly nondescript postcards telling them he's fine and having a blast. When he returns the next summer all he says when they ask where he was is "don't worry about it"

[soulmateseptember]

DARCYLAND SOULMATE SEPTEMBER 2021

Welcome to Soultember! Once again I'm in the mood to indulge in one of my favourite tropes (and the Most Popular Trope in the Annual Darcyland Trope Madness for 2018 and 2019!) so let's get our Soulmate on and have some fun!

This year I've chosen 5 prompts for us to play with, details below.

See the pinned post for the Rules!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask! The ask box is open!

Detailed prompt list under the cut:

The Soulmate Goose - as per this post from @thestanceyg.

Classic: just like it said in the author’s note, the soulmate goose shows up and is on the attack until the soulmates are in the same space and kiss.

Marvel Style: instead of the soulmate goose, it’s the soulmate Goose as in Captain’s Marvel’s furry friend. The cat uses any and all tricks to get soulmates together, disappearing once they kiss.

I Feel Something - Whenever your Soulmate has strong feelings about something you feel it too.

Stripey - There's a single stripe of hair coloured the same as your soulmates - including if it gets dyed

Symbolise Me - Instead of words, Soulmarks are symbols representing your Soulmates job, hobbies, or calling in life - they change and grow as people change jobs, get promotions, learn new skills or choose a new direction.

Old Faithful - The original Soulmate trope - everyone has the first words their soulmate says to them tattooed on their body.

(For Bonus bragging rights, use one of these 'Out of Context Quotes' as one or both Soulmarks. Examples below:)

‘Nothing ever has anything to do with real life.’

‘Scallops wait for no man.’

‘In my world, ALL hats are made of balloon animals.’

‘To be fair, most people can’t use their butts to pull things out of the oven.’

‘Croutons have no sense of humor.’

‘But what if the Queen stops by and I’ve got my face in a bowl of melted butter?!’

‘I don’t think anyone would be opposed to fudge expansion.’

‘Olive oil tends to give me amnesia.’

‘It just explains why they lost track of their pants when they went to the other side of Mars.’

‘Even brain surgery is easier when you’re a professional chef!’

‘Did you go to the JubJub School of Laying Down?’

‘This horned helmet just SCREAMS ‘skilled electrician’!’

‘T-Rex will never know the joy of putting olives on the end of his claws.’

‘Since the angels got out of the bathroom they’ve been very crunchy.’

‘S’Moria – where the Dwarves toast marshmallows.’

‘Everything with you revolves around opposable thumbs.’

‘My call of the wild went to voice mail.’

‘Your office space is NOT Feng Shui if none of your pens have caps!’

‘Fish Licking is frowned upon, especially in New England.’

‘Marble rye isn’t like celery in a tree!’

For more Soulmate AU prompts and ideas, see the previous lists:

2018

2019

2020

Or this list here

[iwavibes]

𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐘 𝐒𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 ;; twelve

----haikyuu social media au

iwaizumi y/n, nekoma's second year manager, has always been in love with kozume kenma. in an attempt to get her to move on, her two best friends introduce her to the prettiest boys they know.

besides, the only way to move on is to actually move on, right?

prev • masterlist • next

NOTE: kinda don't like this chapter but it's the only one we've got KSKSKSK // 1/2 of the extra updates as a thank you for 100+ followers 💞

word count: 900+

"It looks like it's just us today." You say, lifting your head up to a very confused Akaashi.

"That's weird. Bokuto said they'll be here." He takes a bite off the onigiri in his hands, eyes trained on you.

"Apparently, Kenma is sick so Bo and Kuroo are taking care of him." You show him the text Kuroo sent you.

He nodded his head in understanding. "I hope he gets better soon."

"Do you want to go somewhere? We're here anyways."

Akaashi paused in thought. He didn't really know where he wanted to go, he was under the impression that Kuroo and Bokuto would just drag everyone to wherever they like like always do. Still, one place always came to mind as one of his favorite spots to go to.

"A book cafe?" You ask, the moment you entered the small secluded shop, the strong scent of coffee engulfing your senses in an instant. The walls were adorned with bookshelves and a variety of framed paintings.

"Is this okay? If you don't like it we can always walk around…" he suggested shyly, avoiding your gaze as he did so. You couldn't help but smile at his bashful appearance.

"No… I think it's great, really." You assure him. His lips stretched into a small smile and you hate to admit how attractive it made him look.

"That's good to hear…" he trailed off, "we should go find a table. I'll go buy our drinks. What will you have?"

"Chocolate Milk?"

He nodded his head before walking to the counter, that left you to look for a spot to sit. You chose one right at the edge of the cafe, near a bookshelf. You figured Akaashi would like to be somewhere near the books. And you were right, the smile that settled on his lips said a lot and also the way he hurriedly walked to the nearest shelf. You found it adorable.

You've never been here but it was very peaceful. A comforting type of quietness settles around the shop and everything just seemed to give off a very warm feeling. You liked the sweetness of your beverage and how it oddly matched with the lofi songs currently playing.

You hear the chair in front of you creak and your eyes fall to Akaashi. His hands held a dark red leather bound book. There was no title on it but you see the way his eyes trained on the pages as if he was soaking up every word the book displayed.

"Read to me." The words leave your lips before you could stop them. You flinched in surprise at your own voice, looking over to Akaashi whose cerulean eyes bore into yours. "If it's okay."

You seem him nod in reply, leaning closer to you as he recited the words. You found yourself staring at him, the syllables falling from his lips like a harmonious song, you could listen to it for a long time.

This went on for a few more moments with the two of you drinking your drinks from time to time until he finished. Your eyes never left his frame, not even when he read out the last paragraph in his melodic voice.

"We are nothing more than specks in the wind. Small dusts carried away by the breath of time. Our names will be forgotten eventually and the people we look up to will be nothing more than distant memories of the people who once knew them. But for once, in this insignificant life of mine, I want to be remembered. I want to be remembered by my smile, my laugh, my touch and my gaze. I want you to remember me." He lifted his focus from the page to your awaiting eyes.

"You have a really nice voice." You tell him. Akaashi's brain seemed to have stopped working at the sound of your compliment, his body tensing up a bit but not enough to be noticed by you.

"Thank you, y/n." He replied. He looked to the watch that hung on the wall behind you, the clock displaying that it was already almost 6PM. "It looks like we've been here for a long time."

You turned towards the window, seeing the sky already turning dark. You hummed, "looks like we did."

"Let me walk you home." He offered, already standing up from his seat. You chuckled before nodding your head, saying 'sure' under your breath.

The stars glowed brightly over the dark sky, a mish mash of constellations already peeking into view. Akaashi is very observant so when you suddenly grew quiet by looking at the stars, it didn't take long for him to notice. In his mind you must be disappointed with the day's events.

"I'm sorry we didn't get to do something you like." He spoke up, looking down on the ground.

You let out a small puff of air through your nose as if you expected this reaction. A genuine smile bloomed in your features as you slightly tug on his arm to look at you. "It's okay, Akaashi. I enjoyed this day with you."

He could feel his cheeks heat up at your words. If you asked him what his brain was like right now, he might say it looked like that one meme with all those mini SpongeBobs panicking because that's exactly how he feels; like his brain cells were scrambling all over the place.

He certainly didn't expect that. How could you look at him like that? What was that in your eyes? What was he feeling? He barely knew you before this, hell you never talked this much face to face until today, yet you've somehow sparked something within him. What it is, he doesn't know yet.

"I-I'm really happy to hear that, y/n." He stammers a bit, mostly because of his thoughts but also the way you still held on to him. It felt like a small fire on his side. A soft burn in the cold night.

"Thank you, Akaashi." You grin cheekily at him. "I'm kinda glad the others aren't here to be honest. Knowing Kuroo, we would've probably been kicked out." And then you finally let go, Akaashi's head seemed to have finally cleared as you did so.

Akaashi laughed, eyes crinkling into perfect crescents as his smile grew wider. It looked like his whole face glowed with it. You kinda liked the way it looked on him.

TAGLIST: @jesquisser @peteunderoos @rye-li @sophie-duck @elianetsantana @angrylittleriri @kpop-kk @winunk @mint-mai @applekenm ((can't tag)) @what-dose-nani-mean

[euronymous-files]

 NOTE: This is actually an interview with Tara G. Warrior, longtime friend of Metalion and the one who collaborated with him on the project “Metalion: The Slayer Mag Diaries“. I wasn’t able to find a picture of her for the header but here she’s either quoting Jon or talking about him and the interview revolves around that project so a picture of Jon makes sense. As always, the following are the parts of the interview that in some way or another are tied to Øystein, but there’s also an emotional side to the story that I felt could not be left out, which is what survivors have to endure after suffering a traumatic loss... or in this case more than one. 

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

Was one of the issues Jon had with the book [Lords of Chaos] that people started to only care about him for friendships he had with people when they were teenagers? He knew people like Euronymous when they couldn't play instruments. I think a lot of people don't really understand him or just see him as a novelty. It pisses me off. It makes me angrier than it makes him. They only see Metalion or Slayer magazine. They don't seem to get that there's a person there or look at what this person has been through. People mythologize arson and Varg and think it's so cool.  I'll come right out and say Burzum is as popular as they are due to what happened. Black metal is as popular as it is in no small part because of what happened. People forget that Jon's best friend was murdered in cold blood by someone he considered a close friend. Think about that happening to you. When Jon asked me to participate (on the book), the reason was to help tell the other side of the story. He has a compelling story, even if you just talk about producing the zines. But there's also a very human story. Jon's story has classic literary themes like the loss of innocence. Anyone of my generation who has a hippie English teacher has heard about the loss of innocence.

A Separate Peace, Catcher in the Rye, Huck Finn - all of those books have that theme. The greatest literary works center on it. I'm not saying we've come up with something like that. But Jon's story has those universal elements. It was important and needed to be told. If one person reads this and understand that lives were affected and real horrible shit went down, and it wasn't cool, then I've done my job.

In Jon's story, Euronymous comes out as a more fully formed person, not just someone who wrote incendiary letters and boasted about arson. Does Jon feel like Euronymous has been lost in the picture, especially since Varg has been paroled and resumed his musical career? With all of the mythology surrounding these things, I think people have lost a sense of Jon as a human being and Øystein as a human being. Jon told me that many times throughout our friendship and when we were doing the book. He felt like people had forgotten Øystein. I don't read many interviews with Varg. I've never met him. What I know about him is what I know from Jon and what I've read. He's not a person I would want to know. There are two ways to look at it. Either you are completely sociopathic or a posturing asshole or maybe a combination. We're talking about murder. It's not a way to market your record. It's not something decent human beings do. The fact that it's been 20 years, and he still seems to be playing this role, it's like he’s trying to act superior. But what's so superior about staying in the same place for two decades? He talks about being weak, but what is more weak than not evolving?

What was the biggest challenge of the project outside of length? The intensely personal nature of the interviews. Jon and I were already quite close, and he didn't tell me things I hadn't heard. But there were things that we talked about or even got on tape that were things he'd never told anyone else. When it came time to edit, and we looked at the book, it was like, "Wow, do we want to go here?" Maybe it's because I'm older, and we're not part of a generation that thinks anything should be put out for consumption. But there were things that might have been too personal or private. Some of the places we went doing this book were very hard. The things I was asking him to go on record about were difficult. I didn't want to traumatize my friend, but I also had to sit him down and ask him what it was like when he arrived at the old Mayhem house and saw his friend's brains on the wall. It's a tough question to ask someone you care about, and it's tougher to push them to answer it. There were murky waters.

It's tough to be so close to someone but also do your job as a journalist. There were times when Jon literally got up and walked out. We eventually got it all, but it was a grueling process. In the course of an ordinary friendship, you don't push people to talk about things when they don’t want to talk about. Jon has also talked about them before and wasn't pleased with the results. I know he trusted me, and that was the idea of involving me with the project.  But it put me in the position of having to do a job. I had to produce something people would want to read. There was no point in putting this book out without addressing these things. We can't do this book without talking about arson, murder, and suicide. It's a huge part of the story. During the final edits, Jon took a few things out that I thought were very powerful. He knew they were important in terms of the story, but it's his life, and he has to live with whatever was released.

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

read the full interview here “Metalion: The Slayer Mag Diaries“

[emeraldspiral]

You know, I get that Larry David envisioned a cynical finale for a cynical show, but rewatching the finale I can see why it irked people back in the day. Like, yeah it’s impressive that they brought all those people back, but it’s also kind of aggravating how many artistic liberties have to be made to get them into the story. Like, the entire point of juries is that they’re anonymous strangers who’ve never heard of the people on trial so they can’t be biased by personal feelings about the defendants. The question is supposed to be, did they commit the crime they’re on trial for, or did they not. Unless there’s an alibi proving they couldn’t have done it, 99% of the time the defense and the prosecutor are going to rely on their knowledge of law to argue semantics about what technically counts or doesn’t count under the definition of whatever laws they’re trying to prove are applicable.

But I could see people being more accepting of the testimony if most of the people put on the stand were actually talking about legitimate things the gang did wrong, and not misunderstandings, misrepresentations, and shit that’s not even wrong.

In order, the witnesses who testified were:

Rye Lady: Jerry stole her marble rye when she refused to sell it to him. Definitely wrong, but pretty tame unless your name is Javert. Actually that lady was kind of being a bitch for refusing to sell her rye, even for $200 when it was obvious Jerry needed it desperately. The scheme Jerry and George needed it for all things considered wasn’t really that selfish. It was all just to help George cover up a social faux-paw committed by his parents and keep the peace between them and Susan’s family. Not a particularly striking example of what horrible human beings they are.

The Virgin: Discovered Jerry and his friends had a contest to see who could go the longest without jacking it. Oh no. How dare they be comfortable enough with one another to discuss something perfectly normal that almost everyone does, has every right to do, and has no reason to be ashamed of. Especially when two of them have been intimate with each other in the past.

Bubble Boy: Blames George for sending him to the hospital, but did he really? Yeah, George was being a pedantic ass, but BB was a spoiled brat who tried to strangle George just for not letting him have his way. The way the scene plays out it actually looks like it was Susan who ruptured the bubble when she slapped at him to try and make him let go of George.

Wheelchair Girl: Blames George for causing both her accidents by parking in a handicap space and then buying her a used wheelchair. Parking in a handicap space is definitely wrong, but the guys made a good point that her original wheelchair had a faulty design if it could just run out of batteries with no failsafe to prevent her first accident, so I would say they’re definitely partially to blame for that, but the wheelchair manufacturer was much more at fault. As for the replacement, just because the chair was used and the cheapest one available doesn’t mean they should’ve just expected it to be defective. If it hadn’t passed an inspection first to ensure it was in good working order it never should’ve been put up for sale. So that’s on the person who sold it. Also, they didn’t have to buy her a chair at all, they could’ve just pretended the whole thing never happened. But Kramer felt bad and was smitten with WG so he insisted they try to make-up for their mistake, and before the second accident WG showed her gratitude by telling Kramer to fuck-off.

Susan’s Doctor: Believes George was secretly happy Susan died. This is actually true. It’s unprovable, speculative hearsay but if the point is that it’s supposed to be more about divine judgement than a real legal trial, it makes sense to include.

Susan’s parents: Didn’t actually testify, but called George a murderer in the middle of the courtroom, claiming he knew the envelopes were toxic. George did not, in fact, know the envelopes were toxic. Also, once again it’s really the fault of the people who manufactured and sold the envelopes. They may have been discontinued at the time George purchased them, but “discontinued” just means they stopped making it, which could be for any number of benign reasons. All the stationary store owner said was that the adhesive doesn’t adhere well and requires a lot of saliva, to which George responded that they could just use gluestick, something that would’ve saved Susan’s life if she’d listened to him. “Discontinued” does not equal “dangerous product”. If they were dangerous, and it was known to the people who made it, they should’ve been recalled and the stationary store never should’ve been allowed to sell them.

Spectacular Breasts: Believes Jerry sent Elaine into the sauna to feel her up in order to find out whether her breasts were real or not. Yes, it does reflect poorly on Jerry and Elaine’s characters that they would speculate and judge someone over whether or not they had plastic surgery, but Elaine falling on her tits really was an accident and not something she and Jerry schemed together.

Library Cop: Jerry didn’t return a book for 25 years. The entire reason that storyline was funny was because it was an incredibly petty thing to take so seriously and the fact that Jerry voluntarily paid the insane fine LC claimed he owed when most libraries have a maximum cap of $5-$10 to cover the cost of a replacement book goes to show that Jerry does actually adhere to a certain personal code of ethics.

Birthday Mom: George shoved everyone out of the way to save only himself when he thought her house was on fire at her son’s party. Hey, this one actually is a genuinely bad thing someone actually did and not a misunderstanding, overreaction, or misattribution of guilt.

Mall Cop: Caught Jerry peeing in the parking lot. Hey, another one! Honestly, it wouldn’t have been so bad if he’d just admitted he was lost and didn’t want to pee his pants. The fact that he lied about having a medical condition to try and make MC out to be the bad guy for catching him red-handed was what really showed his disreputable character.

Regular Cop: Claims Kramer was a pimp. He literally did nothing wrong. He was wearing a flamboyant coat and hat and walking with a cane because he has terrible fashion sense and happened upon a hooker doing business in his car without his permission and was falsely arrested. The fact that Kramer wasn’t already in jail means they had to have released him for lack of evidence, or more likely because George and the other parking lot patrons and some of the hookers themselves probably identified the lot’s owner as the actual mastermind behind the prostitution ring.

Low-Talker: Dismissed because no one can hear her testimony. But she did actually have a case. Yeah, Jerry didn’t know what he’d accidentally agreed to by nodding along when he couldn’t hear her and yeah, the shirt was ugly and made him look stupid. But it was still immature and unprofessional to blow up and trash the puffy shirt on live-televsion.

Steinbrenner: Claims George was a communist. Again, not actually true, just a misunderstanding. Also, if Steinbrenner had such a problem with it, why did he continue to employ George? It was only when he thought George was moonlighting at Tyler Chicken and made a deal to trade him for chicken concessions to be sold at ball games that George finally lost his job at the Yankees.

Fruit Store Owner: Ran a cockfighting ring that Jerry and Kramer participated in. At least Jerry and Kramer knew it was wrong and put a stop to it when they realized it wasn’t always going to just be one rooster running away immediately and Little Jerry might actually get hurt. The guy on the stand actually masterminded the operation.

Drug Store Owner: Thinks there’s something wrong with a woman buying birth control in large quantities. Like, regardless of whether Elaine intended to make her sponges last the rest of her life or was gonna blow them all in one day, even if she was using them for prostitution, it’s none of his fucking business and doesn’t give anyone the right to judge her moral character.

Some Guy Elaine Dated for One Episode: Elaine sent a Christmas card with an exposed nipple. It was an accident and she was clearly embarrassed. So the fact that he judges her for it only serves to reveal the nipple on his soul.

Mr. Pitt: Thinks Elaine tried to kill him. She didn’t actually. Mr. Pitt treated her horribly and made ridiculous, degrading demands of her and she was going to quit until she learned he’d put her in his will. There was no indication in the episode that she was hoping he’d die so she could get his money without having to put up with his BS anymore. She actually seemed touched to learn that Mr. Pitt appreciated her and doted on him afterwards. Pitt doesn’t say this on the stand, but before he claims Elaine tried to smother him he mistakenly thought she’d recruited Jerry to pose as a pharmacist and prescribe the wrong medication to him. Obviously, Elaine didn’t, and it wasn’t Jerry’s fault Mr. Pitt made a false assumption. Although Pitt DID say to Jerry “I have a heart condition, what’s safe to take with my medication?” so it seems really boneheaded and irresponsible of Jerry to say anything other than “I don’t know, I’m not a doctor”.

Soup N@zi: Yeah, Elaine acted like a dick in his shop and he had a right to kick her out for not following the rules, but Elaine was ready to forgive the humiliation and graciously thank him when Kramer gave her his armoire. SN was the one who spat in the face of an offer to make amends. Of course Elaine retaliating by publishing his recipes and driving him out of business went way beyond what he deserved as comeuppance.

Babu Bhatt: His business was already failing when Jerry gave his advice, which he prefaced by making it clear he wasn’t an expert, and no one forced Babu to follow. Then he blamed Jerry for getting deported because some incompetent mailman sent his visa renewal to the wrong mailbox and what sort of monster doesn’t check their mail every day just in case SOMEONE ELSE’S important paperwork ends up in their pile of junkmail? It wasn’t Jerry’s responsibility to deliver it to its rightful owner, and it certainly wasn’t on Jerry to find him a lawyer to straighten the problem out and not Jerry’s fault the lawyer decided to leave him high and dry without informing anyone so they could find someone else just because she had a falling out with George. Babu also claims Jerry and Elaine didn’t care about him, were indifferent to his suffering, and did nothing but mock him. Ironically, Babu was probably the person Jerry and the gang showed the most concern for and tried their hardest to help when they had nothing to gain from it.

Now, if they REALLY wanted to show what terrible people Jerry & Co are, the guest stars they could’ve brought in might include;

The couple from Jerry’s building whose parrot died because Kramer hid his strongbox key in his food dish and then found them digging up his grave to retrieve the key.

The girl Jerry drugged so he and his friends could play with her toy collection.

Marisa Tomei, who George tried to go out with while he was engaged to Susan and then called up for a date again immediately after her death.

George’s secretary who he slept with while she worked for him, negotiated a raise for, then pitched a fit about her making more than him.

The guy who customized George’s desk to help him nap at work.

Kruger, George’s boss at the only company incompetent and apathetic enough to not care that he made up a fake charity so he could give his coworkers fake donation cards as gifts, then accepted a real donation for and tried to blame it all on Festivus.

George’s boss at Play Now, where he pretended to be handicapped and refused to resign after being caught, whose business went bankrupt after Jerry’s ex sued for an experiment conducted by Kramer and his intern which resulted in her being hit with a rubber ball filled with oil.

That one accountant at the Peterman catalog who was going to bust Elaine for buying personal items on company credit.

The various married couples the gang was responsible for breaking up, tried to “wait out” or had affairs with.

[ms-rampage]

New Dawn: New Horizons Chapter 1 - Prelude 

Warnings: Language

Word Count: 3.7k

Summary: It's been almost 20 years since the nuclear explosions that destroyed all of Hope County. A lot has changed, many new faces, old friends and new enemies are all head. 

Guest OCs: Cristina Winchester-Smith (FC: Brianna Hildebrand), Bianca Winchester-Smith (FC: Maisie Williams), Daenerys Winchester (FC: Xia Brookside)

Guest Characters: Nick Rye, Carmina Rye, Gabriel [Supernatural], Lucifer [Supernatural], Mickey and Lou [mentioned], God/Chuck [mentioned], Joseph Seed [mentioned], John Seed [mentioned].

Written by @athenalillystar and myself. Supernatural & Far Cry New Dawn crossover. Hope y'all enjoy! 💗💗

Taglist: @wargames94 @rabbitsoldier @mrsladydiana

________

"I was just an infant when all this happened. My name is Cristina Tatiana Winchester-Smith, and life has never been the same, to my parents at least. Half my life I spent living underground in a bunker. All this was just an experience for my siblings and I. My family had to rebuild everything they had established. Saving, helping out those in need, it's our family business. 

The next generation of the Winchester family has grown over the last 15+ years. Ever since the bombs dropped, Joseph Seed was right about everything. Everyone in Hope County emerged from their bunkers after 7 long years. The Collapse happened, sending the world into a nuclear holcaust by the Man upstairs, but that still doesn’t mean he, God, didn't play Joseph Seed and his family. 

Cristina Winchester-Smith, the eldest daughter to Paige Winchester and Kenneth Smith along with her younger sister Bianca, and their cousin Daenerys, the only daughter to Kate Winchester, and unfortunately the daughter to John Seed, whom she doesn't know anything about because she doesn't know of his existence. 

Walking through the ruins of what was once Holland Valley. Everything's destroyed, gone, obsolete. 

Paige used to tell them how everything was, how everything was beautiful, the small town of Falls End, the church, the bar, the agriculture. How life was beautiful and simple, before the bombs fell, and now everything is obsolete. Never, not once telling them about the Cult that terrorized the whole town and how the leaders tortured their whole family.

They walk through the tall grass, rummaging through the prepper stashes in the abandoned destroyed houses looking for supplies.

"Did you find anything!?" Bianca calls out, from a nearby house.

"No, nothing!" Daenerys yells back, not far from her.

In another house 20 feet away from them, Cristina is digging, and pushing debris of a collapsed house out of the way. As she's searching for supplies, a gust of wind blows through the house, and a flutter like noise. She doesn't think anything of it. She hears footsteps from behind her, thinking it's her sister or cousin.

"Hey, did you find anything?!?" she asks, not looking back. Digging through the rubble.

After a few moments of no response, she speaks up again, still not looking back.

"Hey, did you find anything?!?!" she asks again. The voice of a man makes her snap her head back. 

"Ooh how this world has changed" he whispers. She turns around, and sees a tall blonde man with his back to her, slowly standing up, her hand ready on her pistol. 

"Umm who are you?!?" she asks him. 100% suspicious. 

He turns to face her. He's very attractive, he looks like he could pass for her dad. He’s so much older than her, and has beautiful piercing blue eyes.

"I go by many names" he tells her, stepping closer to the eldest Winchester.

She narrows her eyes at him and says, "I don't understand. Is that a reference to something?!".

"I'm Lucifer" he says in a calm voice that sends shivers up her spine.

Her eyes widened for a second, taking a few steps back, and let out a soft chuckle. 

“Okay!!” she laughs. When he doesn’t respond, and stares at her with a serious, dead look. She internally panics.

"Wha-?!!? No?! You serious??" she whispers, trying to play it off but the fear in her voice betrays her.

"Yes" he responds softly, standing still in front of her, blocking the doorway, the only way out.

"You better be joking” she tells him, after a few moments of no response from him “Are you gonna kill me?!?!". 

He steps closer to her, examining her face. He tilts his head to the side while examining her face. She slowly backs up. 

"You look familiar" he says softly. 

Cristina is a splitting image of her mother Paige. Lucifer thinks that this person is Paige Winchester, but appearing much younger, and with blue streaks in her hair. 

He reaches his hand out to touch her face. She backs up against the wall. 

She’s able to duck underneath him, avoiding his touch, only for him to appear in front of her again.

She lets out a slight gasp, and drops to the floor. Crawling away from him.

“I’m not gonna kill you” he tells her, with a hint of annoyance in his voice. 

She crawls back to where she was before, her back against the wall. He kneels in front of her, his hand reaches out to touch her face. Freaking out, she’s never seen, nor met this man before. His huge hand touches her forehead, and he closes his eyes. After a few seconds his eyes open, and are now glowing red. 

She panics, and crawls away from him. Her scream getting caught in her throat, unable to call for the other two.  

“Winchester” he mutters,”You’re a Winchester”.

“Yeah” she responds, softly, her voice breaking. 

“I’m guessing the other 2 are Winchesters as well?!” he asks.

She nods her head, “Yeah” muttering softly.

“Paige Winchester is your mother I’m guessing” he asks, standing up, and taking a few steps away from her. 

“Yeah?. Why?” she asks, beyond confused. 

He sighs, and with a hint of annoyance in his voice, “I know your mother, and her sister Kate Winchester. Pretty much your whole damn family”. 

He turns back around to face her, and says “Sam and Dean Winchester are, or were Paige and Kate’s 1st cousins. So that makes them your 2nd cousins? I’m guessing?!”.

Dumbfounded, and wondering if this is all some dream or hallucination. He’s telling her about relatives that she has never met before, she’s heard her mother talk about them to Kate and her father Kenneth. 

“I still don’t understand” she tells him, shrugging. Confusion written all over her face.

“The famous Winchester clan. My dad, God, he was bored of the human race. That he did all of this” he explains to her enthusiastically, with his arms out. Referring to the collapse, and the world being destroyed. 

“My mom said that some man named Joseph Seed said that all this would happen” she tells the Archangel.

“Yes, because he was picked by God, but what he didn’t know was that, God, Chuck was playing him, and would lead to the destruction of humanity. Hence The Collapse" he tells her. 

Her eyes widened, everything made sense. Everything that her mom, and aunt have said over the years makes sense. 

After emerging from the bunker after 7 years, they were able to rebuild their home. Making sure everything would be protected from the Highwaymen. A group of assholes who force people out of their homes, taking whatever they want from whoever they want. 

“I didn’t catch your name” he says, breaking her from her thoughts. Crossing his arms. 

“C-Cristina” she hesitates. 

He claps his hands, “Well Cristina, you won’t see the last of me. I might pay your folks a visit. Most Angels, and a few Archangels were all cast out of Heaven when my daddy farted on humanity. So I’m gonna go find my bros” he says, “But before I leave. One more thing. You look too much like your mother. It’s weird”. He tells her with a smug, disgusted look on his face, as if she were responsible for how she looks. His last words to her before he disappears, or are they?!. 

She looks around looking for him. Cannot believe that she met Lucifer. The Fallen Angel. The Devil, Satan himself!!. Her thoughts are interrupted by her little sister and cousin calling out for her. 

“Cristina!!” Daenerys calls out. Startling, and disturbing her thoughts. 

She steps out of the house, “Yeah!?!”. 

“Did you find anything?!” Bianca asks.

She shakes her head, “No I didn’t find anything”. Trying not to show any fear in her voice or in her eyes. 

“Well, I found 5 rolls of duct tape, 3 metal springs and some titanium pipes” Daenerys tells her.

“I found titanium pipes as well, and 3 rolls of copper wire” Bianca tells them. 

She nods her head, “Okay, well let’s head back to Prosperity then” she tells them. 

They jump into their motorcycles and ride back to Prosperity, their safe haven. Cris riding by herself, Bianca in hers with Daenerys in the side cart. 

They didn't find much supplies, but enough to fix a car or part of a motorcycle.

The eldest child, Cristina who is still disturbed, and discombobulated after encountering "Lucifer". She didn't say anything to the other 2 because she didn't want to freak out, or have them worry about it.

She would tell her parents but they might not believe her, telling her that it was some Highwayman trying to scare her, but that didn’t explain him disappearing out of nowhere, and his eyes glowing red. Thinking about everything he said. Him saying that he knew her mother, and aunt.

They make it back to Prosperity, walking through the front gate with their supplies. They hand all their supplies they found to Nick Rye, and they go inside the house.

"Hey, are you guys hungry?" Paige, the mother to Cristina and Bianca asks.

"Yeah, sure" Cristina replies. Trying not to look bothered

She hands them plates with different types of sandwiches and chips. They all sit outside on the steps. Paige notices her eldest daughter looks bothered.

“Cri, you okay?” she asks. Putting on her best concerned mother look.

She lifts her head up, and looks at her mother, “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just a little tired” she replies.

Paige nods, and goes back to making lunch for everyone in the safehouse.

As they’re sitting outside eating, Kate along with Selene walk down the stairs with boxes of medical supplies. Daenerys sees them, and immediately gets up from the steps. 

“Hye mom!” she calls out. Kate turns to face her only child.

“Yes Dany!?” she asks.

“Would it be okay if Cristina, Bianca, Jeff, Tom, Carmina and I go to Roughneck’s Crag tonight?” she asks, trying to use her puppy dog eyes that she inherited from her. Kate furrows her eyebrows at her, scrunching her nose. Trying to be a good parent, but also wanting to keep her daughter away from danger, but also wanting her to have fun and be a kid.  

“I’m okay with it, but you have to ask your father. He has the final word” she tells her, and walks towards the infirmary.

Daenerys’ adopted Archangel father Gabriel, whom she doesn't know is an Archangel, nor her biological father walks by, going towards the garage. He was one of the several Angels that were all cast out of Heaven when the bombs fell. 

“Hey dad!” she calls out.

He stops, faces her and says with a smirk. “Yes Dany boy?”. She rolls her eyes in embarrassment at the nickname he gave her. 

“Would it be okay if Bianca, Cristina, Jeff, Tom, Carmina and I go to the Roughneck’s Crag tonight?” she asks, with her blue puppy dog eyes.

He crosses his arms, staring at her, trying to put on his best strict father face. “Did you ask your mother?”.

“Yes” she replies.

“And what did she say?” he asks, looking down at the small pink haired human that is his daughter. 

“To ask you. But she said she was okay with it” she replies, using the puppy dog eyes on him “Sooo is it okay!?!”.

He stays silent for a moment, anticipating to answer her question. “It’s okay with me. Just be careful” he tells her.

“Thanks dad” she says, and goes back to her cousins at the steps. He goes to the garage where Nick Rye, and Kenneth Smith are. “What did he say?” Bianca asks her. 

“He said it was okay” she answers. 

****

Later that night, at the Winchester-Smith compound, Bianca, Cristina, Jeffrey, Thomas and Daenerys leave for the Roughneck’s. Which is a hang out spot for those who survived the Collapse, and need to take a breather.

“Be safe!!” Paige shouts as they drive off the property. 

Kenneth taught Cristina how to drive when she turned 15, since there are no cops. Well there are a few cops but they don’t care. No law enforcement officers that survived the bombs cares about their jobs. So she can drive without a license.

All of the adults stay behind. Paige, Kate, Kenny, Gabriel, as well as their old friends Mark, Nate, Martin, Cody, Adrian and their families. Paige and Kate’s mother Mandy, and their godmother Barbara. 

They had to rebuild, and expand their house, once they came out from the bunker after 7 long years. Splitting the house into 3 houses once again.

Putting up a 25 foot wall, solid concrete with a 25 foot iron gate. Security cameras pointed at all corners of the property. Always heavily armed.

“I’m not very comfortable about them going out this late” Kenny says to Paige. 

She sighs, “I’m not either, but I want them to have fun. They know what to do when they encounter the Highwaymen”. 

Kate and Gabriel approach them from behind. 

“Daenerys has an ear to detect trouble, they’ll be fine” Kate explains, reassuring them.

“Yeah, I know. I just don’t want them to run into the twins” Kenny tells her. 

Kate scoffs, shaking her head “The twins. Mickey and Lou, a couple of little fucks, who need an ass whooping”. Paige chuckles, “Yeah, no shit”. 

“They’ll be fine. I know it” Gabriel tells them, sitting on the kitchen counter. They turn to face him, “Are your Archangel senses kicking in?!” Paige jokes. 

He nods his head side to side, “Whatever I have left, which isn’t much” he tells them.

“So you’re a human?!” Kenneth asks.

“Partially human” he says, before joking “I hate it. I know I’m fond of humanity, but how do you all live like this?!?”. 

They laugh, despite what this celestial has gone through, from being cast out of Heaven, losing his grace but he got to marry his soulmate, even if she doesn’t know it. The soulmate part. 

“You know you love it!!” Kate teases, wrapping her arms around his neck. Placing his hands on her waist, pulling her closer to him.

“If I have to deal with you, I’ll take it” he responds, kissing her. He gets off from the counter, and heads outside. 

“Where you going?!” she asks him. He turns to her, “I’m gonna try, and contact my old man for the 5,678th time”.

“Is Heaven radio even working?!” Paige asks, “Is anyone up there taking the calls?” 

He shrugs “It does work, nothing but static. They still should get my calls. Even if the line is busy”. He goes outside, standing far away from the house, so he can get his message through the line. 

He looks up at the sky, and prays “Hey dad, it's me, Gabriel. Answer me, or you won’t get rid of me until you answer all of my questions. You’ve been holding off for 17 years and you will reply back”. 

A moment a silence, then a gust of cold wind blows past him. Looking up at the night Montana sky with green, pink Northern lights illuminate all day and night. 

“Well, well, well” a familiar male voice says. He turns around, and sees his older brother.

“Lucifer?!” he exclaims, surprised to see his fallen brother.

“Gabriel?!” he mocks him, “You’re one of the Archangels that fell?!”.

He shrugs, “Yep. The old man won’t respond to my calls”.He takes a few steps closer to his older brother, “He owns me, and every other angel an explanation”. 

Lucifer steps closer to his little brother, he sighs, then his eyes wander up, and sees Kate at a window inside the house. 

“Are-are you living with the Losechesters?!?” he asks. Look of disgust on his face. 

He looks back at the house, then back at Lucifer, “Yeah, after I fell and landed on Earth. With the very little powers I had, I teleported to them” pointing back towards the Winchesters who don’t see them.

“So they took you in?!?” Lucifer asks, confused.

Gabriel sighs, “Yeah, and I uhh. I eventually had a relationship with Kate”. 

Shaking his head in confusion, nothing knowing what to say, “You had a relationship with Kate Losechester?!” he asks.

“Well, I'm still in a relationship with her” he says. Still beyond confused that his brother is in a relationship with a weak inferior human, “I’m practically a step father” he adds.

His eyes widened, “You? A father?. How the Hell did that happen?!” he asks, holding back laughter.

He sighs once again, “Well around the time daddy dropped a deuce on humanity. Kate was pregnant, and when I teleported to their bunker, she was 7,8 maybe 9 weeks, Paige was also pregnant, she had triplets. Kate had a daughter, and that's how I became a step father. Being underground for 7 years because of radiation. I would’ve nailed Kate, and impregnated her myself but you know the whole Nephilim thing, and she’ll die giving birth to it”.

Lucifer trying to take in everything Gabriel said, and trying to process it all at once.

“So. So you’re human?!?” he asks. 

“Partially human. I still have my powers, they're just very limited. I have no access to Heaven, Hell, Purgatory. I can still teleport, but I’m not as strong as I was before I fell”. He sighs loudly, crossing his arms, looking up at the night sky. He looks back at his brother, and asks “So why are you here?!”.

Lucifer shrugs, and says “Looking for my brothers, and I found one so far”.

“Hey Gabe!” Kate calls him from inside the house.

“Come on Gabe, I can take you away from here. Away from them” he says, trying to convince his brother to go with him to looking for the other Angels. 

He shakes his head, “I’m sorry Lucifer. I live here now, I’m glad you want me to help, but I can’t leave them. I can’t do this to her”.

He rolls his eyes, sighing in annoyance. “Come on Gabe, this is the same Kate Winchester that killed Lilith, and freed me from my cage, which I am thankful for. The same Kate Winchester that watched her own sister get turned into a vampire, and didn’t do shit. The same Kate Winchester that lost her soul, and was a demon. The same Kate Winchester that-”.

“Stop!!. Just stop!” Gabriel cuts him off. “I’m not staying just because of Kate. Yeah I married her-”

Lucifer cuts him off by groaning in disgust, “You married a human?!?. Even worse you married a Winchester!!”. 

He ignores his interruption, and continues, “I married her, but I’m not staying just because of her, I’m staying because of Daenerys. Her daughter. My daughter!”. Lucifer crosses his arms, rolling his eyes in annoyance. 

“She is not your daughter!. She’s John Seed’s daughter. She’s not a damn Nephilim, nor does she have any angelic grace".

He glares at him, “John Seed is dead. I was there throughout Kate’s pregnancy. Since the beginning before Daenerys was even a damn embryo. It’s dad’s fault, he’s responsible, he kept me away from her because of his stupid little game”.

He raises his hands in defeat, “Okay. That's fine. If you wanna live amongst the humans, that's fine with me. But I’m not done with you little brother.” 

Gabriel rolls his eyes, turns around, and walks back towards the house.

“Maybe. I’ll pay little Dany a visit” Lucifer speaks out, making Gabriel stop in his tracks.

He turns to face his brother, “If you touch her, or go anywhere near her. I will kill you” he threatens him.

Lucifer smirks at him, “How?. You ain’t gotten any powers”. He goes to grab him but he disappears before he could get to him.

“Gabriel!!” Kate calls out for him again.

***

Bianca, Cristina, Daenerys, Thomas, Jeffrey and Carmina Rye are hanging out at what was once Steele Farm. Laughing, having a fun time, enjoying the Montana night. The radiation caused the sky to have their own Northern Lights. This was always a great hang out for them because you can see pretty everything from this view. 

Especially from the second floor of the hut. They spent 7 years living underground in their bunkers, and when it was time to come back out. 

Their families rebuilt everything, upgrading everything, their security, their weapons.

The Winchester kids come from a long line of hunters, their parents, their grandparents, their great grandparents, and so on were all hunters, but they don’t know this information because their parents didn’t want them to know of the evil that is out there in the world.

Cristina was always told that “God doesn’t care about anyone. That’s why everything was destroyed. He wanted all of us dead, to wipe us all out of existence because of one man. His name was Joseph Seed”.

She always thought that was a metaphor, or something like that. Yeah everything was destroyed by the bombs, and everything looks depressing. Mainly for their parents because everything was once beautiful, and normal. Life was enjoyed. They lived through it.

To them, to the kids, this was beautiful, and it was just the beginning for them.

Cristina keeps thinking about what “Lucifer” said to her. She feels like she should tell someone maybe not her siblings, or Daenerys or Carmina. Maybe she can tell her parents, her aunt, or her grandmother about that. Maybe this Joseph Seed man, maybe he’s still alive.