#the narrator will be untagged for now

[redrawthecolorlessworld]

The Concept of a Perfect World

———

What does it mean to live in a perfect world?

Every universe, no matter how perfect they seem, will always be imperfect. The God who created them may be the perfect one here, but it's not like the worlds he makes will turn out as great and spectacular as he is. It's laughable, to say the least. The irony of it all is just so, so laughable.

In the Void Between Universes, resides people. Living, breathing human beings made out of flesh and blood, floating around, monitoring each universe.

None of them are familiar with the concept of a perfect world.

Hopping from world to world, a group of people who have sworn to destroy each and every one of those worlds they keep coming in and out of. Each having their own reason to even be in such a group. Each having their own pain that they may share, yet they don't say anything about it, as if they feel like they shouldn't care about such sensitive stuff like that at the moment.

None of them are familiar with the concept of a perfect world.

A girl who's main interest is clocks, a math teacher who always seeks knowledge to keep and to spread, a daughter of a God who tries to fit in somehow, a girl trying to find a reason as to why rain keeps falling in her dark and gloomy world, a trio trying to chase away the stars rather than wish upon them.

None of those people know the concept of a perfect world.

Not even a writer would know such a concept.

Not even a reincarnation of a Goddess would know such a concept, surely.

Not even the God of Universes himself know the concept of a perfect world, despite being "perfect" himself.

Not even I—a third party watching two groups clash each other with so much hatred and fury in their eyes—know anything of a concept of a perfect world.

And frankly, such a concept sounds stupid.

Idiotic.

Impossible.

Too much of a stretch.

If not even a God can create a perfect world, then surely enough not even someone like me can do that.

Every world, every universe is bound to be imperfect—filled with the most rotten of people.

I see people disregard each other despite the fact that they should care about each other more. I see people get disregarded by their own family for who they love and what they identify as. I see things like racism, murder over the most pathetic things, bullying, pointless bickering on the internet, etcetera.

And honestly, all of that left me to feel empty.

Because in every universe, in every world...it's all the same.

Even if there's at least a small fraction of hope and beauty in a specific world, it'll all be gone in an instant.

And that's stupid.

That isn't fair to me.

Can I shape a more better world than all of the ones I've visited so far?

...I don't know.

And to be honest, I don't want to know.

I don't want to play God either.

An imperfect world will always be imperfect.

And a perfect world?

That'll never exist.

[readythefanons]

self-critique - faded

DE voice lines (Harry's skills) + music

This one was built around a few scenes: the self critique resolution, the memory of sledding and Harry’s mom, and the whistling scene (failed attempt version).

Duration: 3:14

gosh reddy i love these weird audios i'd love to hear more

Credits, comments, and transcript below the jump

Comments & Credits

This was my most ambitious project so far, mostly because I had several specific scenes I wanted to pull from, and to get those audio clips I had to draw from… six? Audio sources? So that was a lot, for me :) But I’m really grateful I was able to find the audio clips I wanted. (Self critique + the shivers memory from the measurehead scene + the narration from the whistling scene with Kim + the electrochem line about rewriting synapses)

I want to give some Tumblr thank-yous. Specifically, I’m grateful for this tumblr post from doddsmountain, which made me aware of the shivers narration from the measurehead scene. As for the electrochem voice line, I came to know about it from this tumblr post by suresne. Thank you to @doddsmountain and @suresne for unknowningly contributing to this project :) [i don't know you personally so i apologize if you dislike being tagged and please lmk if you would like me to untag you!]

Duration: 3:14

Rigorous self-critique voice lines from FolLow

Volition voice lines by GrandFrance

Electrochemistry voice lines from The 41st Precinct (*link corrected!)

Shivers voice lines from

Pain threshold voice lines by GrandFrance

Sunken Motor Carriage scene voice lines by Luckless Lovelocks

Music: “Faded” by CalvinClavier on Pixabay

Ocean and seagull sound effects are also from Pixabay

Assembled in Audacity

More like this

=Transcript=

RSC: You let life defeat you. All the gifts your parents gave you, all the love and patience of your friends, you drowned in a neurotoxin. And, above all, you let misery win. And it will keep on winning ‘til you die -- or overcome it.

V: You can. It's possible, because time is possible.

EC: Synapses can be rerouted. The mind takes on a new shape.

V: Streets and sodium lights. The sky, the world. This is somewhere to be. This is all you have, but it's still something.

PT: Breathe.

V: This isn’t the end of the world yet.

PT: Just breathe.

SH: Something moves in the depths of your mind, sending shocks of cold through the connective tissue. You're sitting on a kicksled, whizzing through the snow. A warm, kind presence is guiding the sled behind you, her mittened hand resting on your back. You feel very, very loved -- and very, very safe.

PT: It’s okay. Breathe in slowly.

V: Weave this into the story of you. This might help against whatever comes next.

Steel yourself. Push on. Just wade through the hell. Month after month. Year after year: you against the nothingness. Walk out of its ruins. Save those who still can be saved. You’re still alive.

You can do it. It’s nothing. Do it for the city, not for yourself. For the people of Revachol.

PT: Breathe.

V: Just remember that you’ve made it this far, and it’s just a bit farther now. Let’s finish this.

N: With his lips puckered the lieutenant lets out a beautiful melodic trill that puts even the Insulindic thrush to shame.

You hear the sound echo on the large body of water. Clouds race across the spring sky and suddenly you just feel better. About everything.

V: You will make it.

.

[Attributions are as follows:

RSC: Rigorous self-critique

V: Volition

EC: Electrochemistry

PT: Pain threshold

SH: Shivers

N: Narration from the “sunken motor carriage” scene.]

[strangefellows]

excuse me for a moment while i go on a little rant about my limbus theory under a cut (and untagged because fandom scares me) bc i went on this rant earlier to a friend i want to post it

So one of the biggest complaints I've seen people have with the Dante-is-Ayin theory is that it's "bad writing to repeat the twist from the first game" and objectively, yes, but that's not what they're doing at ALL and I've said it before and I'll say it until I'm blue in the face. It's actually giving Ayin a chance to be a character with agency, and give him closure/a real ending.

Like. Okay. In Lobcorp. he has NO actual dialogue beyond player choices sometimes - which we know doesn't count thanks to games like Persona who have similar arguments about their PCs - and we never see his face until the very last Day of the game....and it's not even really 'him' it's basically his shadow talking to him! And even the flashbacks are almost certainly narrated by that shadow rather than the X/A we're playing as. Not to mention the amnesia for the first half of the game; and even after he remembers they call him A rather than X -- and we don't even get his full name until the very last lines of the game.

And let's be real here, I think it's very telling of his lack of agency that the last lines are "Your name is Ayin. Now close your eyes and fade away."

As he disappears into the Light he just spent the entire game generating.

Left on its own, and especially with the entirety of Ruina giving Angela closure and a place to overcome her trauma and issues, it's grievously unfair.

When half the plot of the game is Ayin helping save and guide the people in hell with him into closure and moving forward-- what does he get? Someone else telling him to fade away his role is over bye.

He doesn't get to get that closure and forgiveness and chance to move on that Angela does! He spends the whole game acting on someone else's last wish, someone else's dream, trying to save the people he'd condemned to hell and make up for his actions, and then he doesn't get to be saved with them.

He has no voice, no face, barely a name. No agency -- everything he does in Lobcorp is because of Carmen's wishes. Everything we hear about him is from the perspective of other people, and incredibly biased; even the flashbacks aren't from the POV of the X/A we're playing as but the 'shadow' (mirror self? haha looks at yi sang) from Day 50.

And more than that -- we don't know Ayin outside of Carmen. We don't know anything about his life before he met her. We don't know who he is, what he likes, what he wanted, what he studied, what he did before her. Everything Ayin has been in this series so far is from the lens of someone else. (So any theory tying him to Demian - even if Demian isn't related to Enoch, which is still possible - can still apply; because we don't know him outside Carmen, there could very well be a tie from before then.)

So Dante's faceless, voiceless nature, how they're just kind of forced into the situation they're in and how they're slowly gaining their own agency and deciding on their own will what kind of person they are and what they want to do, from their own perspective, as they seek to regain their voice and face and Self...

It's perfect.

It's not "bad writing" at all. It's like that quote from George Lucas: “Again, it’s like poetry, so that they rhyme. Every stanza kind of rhymes with the last one.” It's poetry.

A mirror of the first game, not a rehash of the same twist, a continuation of the story of the one character who never got his ending, who was never allowed to be a character, a person, who was never given his own choices on his own will, who was never given the opportunity for closure and moving on everyone else got. It's Ayin's chance for an ending, a real ending, one he's allowed to make with his own hands for himself. Face the sins and all that.

[Sits back with my 90+ page evidence document and sighs.]

[blurrypetals]

The Sunshine Court by Nora Sakavic - blurrypetals review

originally posted aug. 17, 2024 - ★★★★★

[this review contains untagged spoilers]

Nora. Nora. Oh my god. Oh my god, Nora.

I wasn't prepared for this book. I didn't know there was going to be a fourth book, but I couldn't have been ready even if I had known.

This book took me a while to get through. I think this review is going to take me a while to write out, too. I think the reason it took me so long (beyond just being too busy to read outside audiobooks, which was certainly a factor) was how sure I felt this was going to be a one-off, that I needed to savor this one, final gift to all the All for the Game fans out there.

But I wasn't prepared for this book to be starting something new, beyond establishing a new life for Jean beyond Evermore, beyond Riko fucking Moriyama, may that bitch baby "king" rest in piss.

I couldn't have guessed those last two chapters would hit me like a fucking freight train, just like Grayson to Lucas and Jean, nor that they would almost singlehandedly establish all future conflicts for one Jean Moreau and his partner Jeremy Knox.

But even up to that point, my god, this book had me in a chokehold. Even though I savored it, took my time, this book as near-constantly on my mind these past few months since I got my hands on it.

I thought Neil, Kevin, and Andrew had it bad when it came to trauma. In the original trilogy, I also considered Jean to be rather unsympathetic and cruel, but I failed to realize I only felt that way about him because that was how Neil felt about him.

I also vastly underestimated the trauma, abuse, and absolute terror Jean lived through at Evermore. I obviously understood Riko broke his leg before Championships, but I couldn't have imagined this was simply the last in a long line of violent, unholy tortures Jean survived, and not only by Riko's hands.

But this is where I arrive at what makes these books so incredible, so prime to reread over and over again: the relationships and the healing that occurs because of them. I love seeing such a warm, loving trio in Jeremy, Cat, and Laila being Jean's way through his trauma. It casts a satisfying contrast between them and Neil's monsters in the original trilogy, and I really do love to see Jean, the prickliest, rudest bean I ever seen, softening to cooking for his friends, going for rides up the coast, getting rid of those goddamn notebooks. It's so fucking good for my heart. It really is.

And I've barely touched on Jeremy! It's also a really nice contrast that we get two POV's this time. Jeremy casts into relief the things Jean is misinterpreting, the things he has been deluded into believing are absolute. The warm, reasonable, reliable narrator to Jean's traumatized, brainwashed unreliable narrator.

I was also impressed by how events at the beginning of the book that we'd seen before in The King's Men still felt exciting, as if I didn't already know how it was going to end. It still somehow felt like I got to read about a new Exy match even though it was the exact same one from the end of the previous book, a book I've read no less than 5 times.

These books are an absolute ride, no matter what you're prepared for, no matter what you think you're reading. It always feels like you're there on the court, there in with the Foxes and now the Trojans. Books like these are fucking magic, and I can't wait for the next one.

[fairymint]

🐣 Is there anything you're new at, just now learning, or practicing when it comes to RP?

I'll full-ass admit, I am not mcfuckin fast at answering untagged posts; if i can't tell whether your post is an open or dash commentary @ a specific character, I probably won't figure it out until it's too late and the mood passes. This also goes for dash commentary that's vague enough; i am mildly paranoid/occasionally stupid enough that I won't take the risk or figure it out. I'm not the only person like this of course, but it can actually perturb me.

Adding muses 'on purpose' is less of a thing here than typical- we deal in stray cats here, not boyfriend-shopping- I'd be hard-pressed to.

immaculate as I try to be at it, establishing and explaining anything transgender related, like HRT- I want more RPers to not be fuckin scared of trans muses (writing or interacting) and have the info to proceed, less excuses. So most posts like that require thinking/research.

Trying to write in such a way that explains character motivations flatly in the narration. always worth sharpening.

Confidence in general; Felix muse is growing with me, but he's also a little behind; picking whether to make him munnish or funny, and gender-presentation wise....meek or strong. Trying to get him out of the lukewarm area for more interesting threads.

adding realism to be silly instead of just trying to be the coolest all the time. makes for good 'flaws'.

ngl, my ooc chatter is rusty as hell, barely existent atm due to IRL stresses. I'm capable of talking your ear off, but will my memory let me? haha

actually following through with sending memes or closed threads! I make myself stop scrolling.

[nobodysdaydreams]

If Cutter and his little girlfriend are going to space, does that mean they're gonna get their hands chopped off too? (Also it looks like Duck Boy might be going for a redemption arc! Go Duck Boy Go!)

(or my reaction to Episode 47 and mini Episode 14 of Wolf359)

Welcome back dear readers! I managed to get another episode in as I pack for my vacation. Please enjoy!

Tagging the mutuals who got me invested in this, and if you want to be tagged or untagged from these posts, lmk, or you can follow my blog or simply follow the tag "#bods wolf359 reactions". Anyone who has followed me for a while knows my updates are inconsistent, so I apologize in advance for that and for any spelling/grammar mistakes in my posts.

@sophieswundergarten @oflightningandstars @acollectionofcuriousreblogs @herawell @commsroom

Episode 47: Into the Depths

I love Hera's narration, and I love the thought experiment. It reminds me of split brain patients. (For those who don't know what a split brain patient is, or haven't taken a psych class, if we were to surgically cut your corpus collosum (the part of the brain the connects your hemispheres), your consciousness would split and there would basically be two of you sharing one body (but same memories, personality, intelligence, etc.). This is only done if there are life-threatening seizures in the area and removing it is the only way to stop them, but it's an interesting thought experiment because if there are suddenly two of you, what happened to the one?)

And... now Doug is freaking out. I guess the slaps aren't working.

"You will understand Hera." Shut it Whiskey Boy! This also makes me wonder how many "Hera's" we've seen.

Kepler: "I have no idea what's going on Doug, but I just can't stop being ominous. I swear I don't know what's happening, this is just how I talk at all times."

Conan and Clippy? 😂 The names Lovelace gives them.

Yes. Kepler was rude Lovelace. He had so much Whisky and did he share it? No. No he didn't. Selfish.

Ah it seems even you weren't in the loop Jacobi. Perhaps you might fancy a mutiny now?

She doesn't know she's a clone? That's cruel. Think of Jacobi! He died thinking he was the real Duck boy! That's an awful way to go. No one should die believing they're someone so cringe.

Warm up act? Kepler, shut up. And what other clones have shown up over the years? Cutter? Pryce?

Good question. What about Jacobi? Was HE going to die too?

Kepler: "Start listening to me. The only person who knows what's happening." You're just blackmailing them Kepler, you're not good for much other than threatening people and swirling around your Whisky.

Weapon designed to appeal to humanity? But...how do you know she's a weapon? And how do you know she can't fight it even if she is? Maybe Lovelace is stronger than the evil aliens! If they even are evil.

TELL HIM HERA! TELL HIM!

Jacobi: "What could motivate me?"

Me: *Holds up a duck*

Ah blue part of the star. 💙💫 That does seem to be important. Scary, but important.

"Jacobi, any thoughts?" When does he have any?

His hands are shaking? Oh yeah, your friend died, you killed someone, and your boss who lies to people (GASP) LIED TO YOU TOO! Oh if only SOMEBODY could have seen this coming. Really, anybody with ears and a brain.

Oh right. The other Jacobi. This entire time he hasn't been sure? AND HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT FEAR FEELS LIKE? It's a NEW FEELING FOR HIM???

I guess everyone has their limit. Duck Boy needs a therapist. A team of therapists. The best therapists, and even then, I'm not sure it will be enough.

"You don't know what working at Goddard is really like" "You have a cool dental plan. Hooray." "It's not about that."

So...they do have a good dental plan? 🪥🦷

"Going new places. Meeting interesting people....LITTLE KIDS?"

Kepler. You didn't. NO. Oh my gosh they have Anne and Minkowski's husband at gunpoint don't they? And they don't even know.

Punch his lights out Doug. Good job.

Though to be fair that IS what working at Goddard seems to be about. Threatening the innocent for a 0.0000000000001% chance that you MIGHT get something out of this in the end.

Poor Lovelace. Hera knows what you're going through though. Exactly, see she does!

"Nobody do anything stupid" it's too late for that Kepler, you're here.

Good speech Lovelace! And nice punch!

"Can we get a break" Nope. Sadly no.

Huh. Hands are glowing. That's...interesting. Maybe she has some cool magic space powers? Is it too much to hope for?

Oh. It's the Dear Listeners. Well. Hello. 👋

Hush up Kepler. 😂 I love how they still talk like Doug.

That's right Kepler. Violence doesn't give you authority!

DISARMING HIM! DOES THAT MEAN HE IS LOSING HIS ARMS!

But...if he doesn't have any hands...

Then...how will he enjoy the feel of the Whisky in his hands?

Doug is hiding 😂 Why is Doug me?

What process are they talking about? “The door won't stay open, we are waiting.” Waiting for what? For what?

Well, at least the aliens don't like Kepler. That's a positive in my book. 👍

Glad Kepler and Jacobi are in custody. But...how exactly are they gonna put the handcuffs on Kepler if he no longer has hands...

Yeah, Minkowski, I'm with Lovelace. You SHOULD be in command. I know you think you're doing what is right, but Lovelace is an alien so...

DOUG. DO NOT SAY THAT THINGS CAN'T GET WORSE. TRUST ME THEY CAN.

Who is this? What is this? Who is Cline? Who is Jordan? What is this? Dr. what now? This is a lot of characters.

Full read out? Minkowski better send them a message warning them about Cutter. USS Hermes? OH NO THEY'RE NOT CALLING MINKOWSKI THEY'RE CALLING CUTTER. NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!

Who is this? Who is the robot? Expunge the records? Ah yes, the black achieves. Oh Rachel.

"Say hi for me?" Hi to who? HERA oh no ew Pryce isn't it.

TRAVELING???

Please tell me Pryce and Cutter aren't coming to space. Unless it's to get blown up. In that case, they are welcome.

Mini Episode 14: One of Them

Oh they are listening to Jacobi and Kepler.

Looks like Jacobi might fancy a mutiny now.

Doug is me, I want snacks too 😂

"are you worried I can't get around Eiffel?" "Hey!" again, why is Doug me. 😂

Wow, Jacobi really DID care about Maxwell. Well then. Maybe the two of you shouldn't have been working for the bad guys then.

"What kind of officer have you been?" DANG DUCK BOY. GET THAT REDEMPTION ARC. GO DUCK BOY GO! 🦆

"I feel used. I feel experimented on. You treated me like one of them!"

Oh Duck Boy. Sweet silly little Duck Boy. Don't you get it? You've always been one of them. You, Hilbert, Maxwell, Kepler, even Rachel. You've always been one of them.

"You're addicted to gambling with people's lives and you lost!" EXACTLY!

"Neither one of us killed Maxwell." LIES! YOU COULD HAVE STOOD DOWN!

Jacobi is starting to realize that's not necessarily true. Good for him.

"I had my orders." So did Maxwell. So did Hilbert. So did Jacobi.

"You're just the middle link in the food chain" EXACTLY! YEEEESSSSSS!!! DUCK BOY IS FINALLY GETTING IT! AND THANK GOODNESS SOMEONE FINALLY IS BECAUSE HILBERT NEVER COULD! DUCK BOY! YOU'RE DOING IT! WADDLE YOUR WAY TO THAT REDEMPTION LITTLE DUCKLING! YOU CAN DO IT! 🐣

Thanks for reading dear readers. Sorry I didn’t have time to react to more, but I hope you enjoyed this!

[tomatomarrow]

tagged by @briarwick-cache on main; really made my day :}

- - -

→ 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆: crush [ethel cain] (inbred) the last track she played at the show I went to, and the only one I didn't know, so naturally I gotta remedy that. → 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆: I'm bad at television; mostly I'm just keeping up with the news. Got my eye on Yellowjackets s2, though. → 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐃: my first thought was "wayneradiotv's half-life gnome finale," which, okay, yes, technically not a feature film, but it's an hour and a half and it's kind of riveting :B the last actual film I saw was Saw X, which I got all dressed up for cuz it's the first Saw film I got to see in theatres :} → 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆: I double-featured Piranesi and Camp Damascus a bit ago & I'm still reeling, but I've been meaning to get into Jorge Luis Borges forever now so The Book of Sand is next on my docket. I'm also midway through Premee Mohamed's The Void Ascendant but I haven't picked it up in a while. → 𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓, 𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐘, 𝐎𝐑 𝐒𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐘: capsaicin is an essential nutrient for tomatomarrow 🜂 → 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐎𝐁𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍: Lot of Saw rattling around in the noggin right now (mostly John Kramer's bad opinions about drugs & how they shape the narrative); between that & my work games & the Twine game I'm writing & my recently-rekindled love of corpse paint & my upcoming Halloween costume & myriad other fixations... → 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐒: oh you know, if you know you know :} → 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐆𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇: 'disco elysium narrator'; learned that Lenval Brown is also in Ultrakill & wanted to read more about him.

- - -

tagging @oeht @shevr @caduceator @thebeardedheart @benegesseritofficial and you, yes, you, untagged reader, I hereby tag you, get in here

[junkdrawernoggin]

Talryne's friendship chart.

So I found out about this from @paletigers (Feel free to lmk if you want to be untagged!) who in turn got it from Mo over on twitter

Not going to post the blank since you should check out OP's account, but here is Tally's!

Explanation under cut! Also I didn't include her photo because I am not great with technology and my iPad is not at college.

So Minthara and Lae'zel are both dead in my run. One, I did the Minthara fight like a day after release and had no clue she could be a companion. Tally killed Lae'zel because I was worried entering the astral prism would mean killing the emperor and somehow ending the game early.

Shadowheart and Tal have wine therapy talking about being ex-clerics for evil goddesses.

If you'd like to know why Astarion and her are lovers...look at the rest of my blog.

I really enjoy Karlach, but she definitely got tossed by the wayside so I could focus on Shadowheart and Astarion. She also only has high approval even though I'm halfway through act 3, because Talryne's murder morals are a little dicey.

Wyll I also tried to stay away from because I want my next playthrough to be romancing him and I wanted to keep most of it under wraps. They get along well though cause he and Karlach take turns being the 4th party member.

For Gale, I accidentally didn't pick him up until almost the end of the Underdark. The 'tism got to me and I took the narrator saying that the portal was dangerous a little too seriously. Tal wanted to be a wizard as a child, so I imagine both being scholar's they get into interesting academic conversations.

Halsin...what do I say. This choice was on me rather than thinking what Tal would do. I liked Halsin until I got his scene which has moments that are fantastic and then immediately has moments where I got such awful secondhand embarrassment I couldn't look at my screen. SO now I never speak to him because I'm worried his dialogue will bring it up.

Jaheira and Talryne have canonically (I wrote it and therefore it is so) gotten into a fistfight. She constantly questions Tal's leadership and decisions. Jaheira yelling at her after Tal lost her oath was both mine and Tal's final straw. She doesn't talk to Minsc because he is friends? with Jaheira.

[footyleclerc]

hello, since a few of my followers (and the lovely @whoopsallgone!) asked me to do a lestappen fic rec, here I am delivering to the masses! you may have seen a few of these fics in other recs but they’re just so good that they deserve as much appreciation as is humanly possible! so please do show them all some love if you haven’t already :)

lost in your current like a priceless wine • 10,211 w • by shybear_styles

"I might have accidentally told my mom that I have a boyfriend and now she's demanding that I bring you home with me for the New Year. Actually, she said Christmas and New Year, but I told her that you were spending Christmas with your own family..."

The ultimate fake dating fic, and it's set during Christmas! From roommates to lovers, the entire fic is adorable fluff. They've written a few bangers and this one is great too!

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we're fallin' like the stars, we're fallin' in love • 6,330 w • by maxverstappens (@pierlex)

Lando sets Max up on disastrous blind dates that end up with Max falling for the bartender who was the real set up all along.

One of my fave fics ever! The subtle flirting. Norstappen friendship. *BEAUTIFUL* Just really well written, would 100 percent recommend. Special shout out to 'pick apart the pieces of your heart', it's amazing!!

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When Not If • multi-chapter • 5/5 • 11,448 w • by ayuxena

Max and Charles find themselves in quarantine together in the middle of the Swiss mountains. It was all destined to happened. It was just a matter of when and not if.

Such a cute read! The way they spend their time together and the little things they learn along the way, it's as Max would say "simply lovely".

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The Grid: A Comprehensive Guide for Handling your Gay Racer Friends • 6,333 w • by inchidentsdeancas (@dumbass-ultimate)

A view into Charles and Max, in the style of The Office. Featuring a large number of baked goods.

Can't believe this is the author's first time writing. So much talent, it's such a fun read! This embodies the tag 'idiots in love'. Beautifully written. It's a comedic masterpiece!

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take my hand, take my whole life too • 8,414 w • by  footysel (@footyleclerc)

Max is Lando's best man. Charles is Carlos' best man. They now have to plan a wedding together without killing each other.

A small self bump! Honestly, I think it's my best work and the amount of fluff it contains has become my source of comfort.

.

at the end of the line (it's always been you) • 6,034 w • by maxricciardo (@maxricciardo)

A glimpse into Charles and Max's relationship after they retire from formula one.

If you follow Gi, you know how wonderful her edits are. This fic rivals her editing skills. Post-retirement lestappen as they figure out their feelings. Brilliantly written!

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i love the way your green eyes mix with that malibu indigo • 11,128 w • by altissimozucca (@altisssimozucca)

Max deals with a break up by spending some time at his Malibu summer home when he finds another distraction in Charles. Getting drunk by the beach, the two begin to catch feelings.

Literally all of Lana's fics are works of art but this one tops the list for me. (seriously, I could make a list just for her. read her lestappen fics, you won't regret it!) Immaculate vibes and great aesthetics. The build up and the angst, just wonderful.

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Charles Leclerc vs Red Bull caps • 6,368 w • by  Ledger_m (@the-last-jedis)

Charles does God's work and tries his best to get Max to stop wearing those stupid Red Bull caps.

Literally what every Max fan would want to do; get rid of those caps and #unleashthehair. It's hilarious with Charles' crazy antics. Very well written and is a great cheer up!

.

On the outside, always looking in • 1,803 w • by bonotje (@sleepyverstappens)

The progression of Max and Charles' relationship through someone else's eyes.

The beautiful development is just wonderfully written. The small observations of the narrator are quirky, and it's overall very cute!

.

set my midnight sorrow free • 13,439 w • by  PrincessElectra (@princess-electra19)

A view of Charles and Max's relationship through the eyes of one Pierre Gasly, the man who's seen them from the very beginning.

This fic has probably popped up in everyone's fic recs but that's literally because it's such a masterpiece. The development you see. The heartache you feel. Just wonderful in every way! Part 2 is great as well.

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thank you for indulging my choices and getting this far! if you have any more suggestions, let me know. if you know the blogs of the 2 untagged writers, please let me know!

hope you liked it :)

just a massive shout out to all the writers in this fandom, you're all extremely talented and brilliant! keep creating💙

[helloliriels]

Dear helloliriels,

I have a (long) question concerning your Crack Fic Contest/Collection.

I´ve written one but it is a sort of WIP as in I plan to add a new chapter now and then when I have a new idea but each chapter in itself is also a complete story.

Let me explain.

There is a frame narrative (short first chapter) explaining that/why John is allowed to read Sherlock´s diary in this moment. They are together now and “Sherlock´s Secret Laboratory Journal” (which is also the title of the fic) features Sherlock´s attempts to seduce John via applying Internet advice. Which of course will all fail in a spectacular and hilarious way. Each chapter will feature one piece of advice, comprising several pages in the diary narrated in Sherlock´s first person POV.

So, basically the reader will know that Sherlock will succeed in the end therefore the fic is not without an ending but the number of tries (chapters) leading to this point is open and will increase over time and my inspiration.

The first advice-chapter is finished and has about 5400 words.

Would this be OK to be added to your collection? It´s a strange hybrid between finished and WIP so I´m unsure if it will fit your criteria. It´s definitely crack. If you decline that would be totally OK, I´ll post the fic on AO3 anyway and had the idea before you set up your Crack Fic Year, so no offense would be taken at all.

Love, Samarra

Fantastic question!!! Thank you for asking!

Think I've only lightly touched on this, so I'll give the full rules of the contest

Any Johnlock, Mystrade, and Sherlock entries welcome!

Any length, any rating!

If it is written (or posted/shared first) in 2022 - and it is a crack fic - it is a valid entry! Even if you've already posted it this year untagged, you can stlll enter it now! Simply 'add to collection' on AO3: '2022_crack_fix' and it will send me a notif to review and accept!

If it is serious twist on crack, or has angst/whump etc in it - THE HAPPY PART (the funny/silly twist) MUST be posted by the end of the year to qualify! In other words ... if we don't get to the smiles by the end of the year - it will not qualify.

That being said ... If your whole fic is crack (smiles every chapter), as long as the WIP is started in 2022, it is fair game!

Please properly tag your fic (with any warnings, ratings, triggers, etc.)

The only thing I will reject from the collection is if it is mean or I see MCD that isn't a joke/twist. I will send you a message if there is an important tag missing before I accept it to the collection if there is a concern (again, we're talking any warnings or whump/angst to be fair to readers) you do not have to give away the funny twist.

Hope that helps!! Can't wait to see the entry!

2022 Year of the Crack Fic challenge is on!

[dewitty1]

(Moodboard by @thusspoketrish)

Lemon Colour, Honey Glow

trishjames @thusspoketrish

Chapters: 7/7 Fandom: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter Characters: Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini, Zacharias Smith, Original Characters Additional Tags: Post-War, Some Content Left Untagged Because of Spoilers!, pub nights, Beer Gardens, Nightclub, Cigarettes, Spliffs, alcohol consumption, Very Brief Discussion on Alcoholism, Strong Friendships, The Silver Trio - Freeform, Humor, Paris - Freeform, Diagon Alley, Falling In Love, Fluff, Romance, Lovesickness, Enemies to Lovers, Pining, Desire, Cuddling, Notting Hill, Portobello Road Market, Magically Powerful Harry Potter, Secrets, Secret Relationship, Possessive Harry Potter, Harry Reads Pablo Neruda, Love Poems, Original Character - Freeform, POV Draco Malfoy, Unreliable Narrator, Sad Draco Malfoy, Mental Health Issues, Anxiety Disorder, Intrusive Thoughts, Insecurity, Vulnerability, Forgiveness, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, flangst, Bullying, Fist Fights, Canon-Typical Violence, Violence, Blood, None of the violence/bullying is between H/D, Miscommunication, Trust Issues, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, First Time, romantic sex, Very Enthusiastic Consensual Sex, Fluff and Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending

Summary:

Over a series of unfortunate pub nights at the Leaky Cauldron, Draco Malfoy falls in love. A story about finding strength and forgiveness in unlikely places.

Excerpt:

It’s been so hard trying to control his constant worrying and unrelenting intrusive thoughts since moving back to Britain. All the rage and humiliation he has to face keeps his anxiety feeling like the weight of an extra body attached to his back at all times, it’s why Draco would rather stroll a Muggle market than visit Diagon Alley alone. But Draco wants this. He wants Potter, as crazy and as exhilarating as it sounds. Maybe having Potter in secret would ease some of the pressure that would come with dating him. Draco could work on his fears in private instead of out in the open, where the public will try to shame him and break them apart before they’ve even begun to explore what this could be between them.

“Draco?” Potter’s voice is soft, gently drawing Draco’s attention from the terrible tumble of thoughts in his head. “Are you okay?”

“Okay,” Draco says, looking back up at Potter.

Potter grins. “Yeah?”

“Yes. I’ll date you,” Draco says, the words sounding strange to his ears, but a good strange, he thinks.

“Brilliant!” Potter says, his eyes dancing. “Just a moment, my vision-corrector charm is fading.” He lets go of Draco’s hand and heads down the hallway.

Draco sits back on the sofa, crossing his legs and looking around for his flat white. It dawns on him that he left it in the middle of the road when he helped Potter up. Well, this has been an interesting morning. Lost a coffee, gained a boyfriend.

Potter. His boyfriend.

The flutters go rampant. Draco touches his stomach, for once a smile creeps across his face at the sensation.

Potter comes back into the room, a forest green jumper with a gold H on the front and his round glasses on. When Potter sits back down, Draco turns his body to face him.

“May I kiss you, Potter?” Draco asks, feeling bold.

Potter sits up straighter. “Yeah! Yes, of course,” he says eagerly, scooting closer to Draco on the sofa. “If you call me Harry,” he adds.

Draco smirks, and reaches out to gently trace the edge of the longest bit of Potter’s—Harry’s—lightning scar across his cheek, his index finger dragging across his light stubble before he slides it over his bottom lip. “Okay, Harry,” Draco whispers. Harry’s breath hitches, his eyes darkening. And that’s it for Draco, that’s all the convincing he needs to know that Harry will never be Potter to him again.

Draco leans in at the same time as Harry, who moves too quickly, his glasses bumping against Draco’s nose.

“Ow,” Harry says, reeling back and adjusting his glasses.

“Sorry!” Draco says, his hands coming up.

Harry laughs. “It was my fault. The perils of being legally blind. Let’s try this again, yeah?”

“Okay,” Draco says, nodding and moving close. Harry’s warm palm cups Draco’s chin, tilting his head slightly before leaning in, much slower this time, and presses his lips against Draco’s.

Draco’s eyes fall shut, a painfully sweet eruption of flutters dancing in his belly as Harry reaches out to curl his fingers around Draco’s hand as they kiss. When they pull away for air, Harry’s breath is warm and sweet against Draco’s face, and Draco leans in again, feeling bolder as he opens his mouth under Harry’s and slides the tip of his tongue across Harry’s bottom lip, asking for permission. Harry responds, his mouth sliding open and his tongue curiously licking into Draco’s mouth, his lips twitching up into a smile as their tongues caress.

Draco has never tasted anything so sweet.

Harry’s excitable magic wraps around Draco like a warm blanket, cocooning him as the kiss deepens. Draco’s free hand finds its way to the nape of Harry’s neck, his fingers twisting around the long strands as a low moan escapes the back of his throat, the kiss growing hungrier, Harry now pressing him into the sofa. Draco doesn’t care that small, shameless moans have escaped the back of his throat as they kiss, his chest heaving as he tries to press their bodies together, as close as physically possible. He’s just starting to grow hard when Harry’s wards ring for what sounds like someone at the Floo.

“I’m - ignore,” Harry says incoherently against his mouth, before lifting one leg over Draco to straddle him. Draco gasps as Harry attacks his mouth again, grinding down onto his lap. Draco frees both his hands to grab Harry’s arse through the tight spandex. He squeezes.

“Yes, oh Merlin, you’re perfect,” Draco whines against Harry’s mouth, rutting up against him as Harry sinfully rolls his hips. Draco closes his eyes, relishing the heat of Harry’s mouth and body.

[la-fille-en-aiguilles]

The Beautiful & Damned (4/7)

Female Reader x Young!Remus Lupin | Female Reader x Young!Sirius Black

Chapter 4: Bravado Falls

A/N: Wow you guys. Just wow. I can never thank you enough for the support and for all the love you show so kindly for my ramblings. I hope that the last three parts won’t be a disappointment for you. If you feel like it, do let me know what you think, your opinions really matter to me. 

I just want to add that story kind of started to live a life of its own. It was supposed to be very Sirius-centric in the beginning, but I keep coming back to this cinnamon roll wrapped in softest cashmere that is Remus Lupin. I swear I love this guy - or his collective image, thanks to all the talented writers on Tumblr - more than chocolate. I still want to recognise all that hotness, devotion and true beauty that is Sirius Black, so I’m not done talking about him in this story either... Stay tuned! :) 

Things are getting a tad angsty in this one. I hope you enjoy! 

New to the series? - Accio Chapter 1: The Golden Couple - Accio Chapter 2: No, Definitely - Accio Chapter 3: Misread

Ever since that kiss in the Great Hall approximately a week ago, Remus’ communication skills seemed to have become a little rusty, to say the least. After what he could only describe as a colossal disaster that fateful Saturday morning, Remus had closed himself off to the outside world, barely talking to anyone at all. At first, James, Peter, Marlene, Lily and especially you tried time and again to break through to him on numerous occasions, but Remus always had something to do or somewhere to be. In order to keep his head above water, he chased your image, the feeling of your eyelashes brushing against his cheekbones and your taste - bloody hippogriff, that taste! - away with Advanced Transfiguration, Advanced Potions, Advanced Charms - pretty much Advanced anything he could lay his hands on. He spent his entire days, sometimes even entire nights in the library, hidden behind dusty bookshelves, choosing corners so secluded, nobody would ever think of looking for him there. 

Dull ache made a home deeper in his chest each time he saw your hopeful, beautiful face, and turned away, getting lost in a crowd of students. This same ache was replaced by emptiness once he realised you no longer sought to talk to him. He couldn’t entirely avoid you, of course, even though he really tried his best. Sirius was a best friend you two shared, after all, even if these past few days it might have appeared too loud of a word to define whatever was going on between Padfoot and him. 

It seemed that the more Remus distanced himself from you, the closer you were becoming with Sirius. He tried not to think about it. Really tried not to think about the fact that the kiss you shared - easily the happiest memory he was sure going to hold on to - was what pushed you in Sirius’ arms. To see you two one without the other around the castle had already been a rare occurrence before the kiss; as of now, legendary Padfoot and Siren were truly inseparable. The Golden Couple was thriving, the stories about Hogwarts’ King and Queen were told and retold, and each narrator considered it his or her duty to add a new detail, stretching the truth to a blatant lie. 

The word had it both of you had been seen eating lunch in the Astronomy Tower together on a daily basis, savouring dessert in between heated kisses; someone declared they saw Sirius walk out of the dorm you shared with fellow Gryffindors Alice and Margaret in the early morning wearing no shirt, after a steamy night, no doubt, added the confidential resource. 

Remus paid no mind to all the speculations, because this was none of his bloody business.

Okay, scratch that. 

Remus pretended to do so, continuing to dodge all the questions, all the curious looks, and, surprisingly, a great number of young witches and wizards, wanting to take him to Hogsmeade or to bed - sometimes he was even offered a choice - rather successfully. His grandiose bravado cracked on Friday evening, when he came back to the Gryffindor Common Room after thirty something hours spent in the library. 

He tried his best to slip unnoticed to the dorms, but was stunned speechless and motionless by a loud outburst of  dulcet laughter, that sent bolts of real happiness shooting throughout his body. 

He hadn’t heard your voice or your laughter for what felt like ages. You were no longer friends - wasn’t it funny how the person you used to know so well could turn into a total stranger in a matter of days? The thought made his heart clench, degrading him to his usual state: that of a hollow husk of a man, going through the motions of the day-to-day because that was what was expected from him. 

Wanting nothing more than to get to his dorm room, undress and fall asleep, Remus headed towards the stairs. Lady Luck was clearly not on his side - two steps in, he heard Peter call after him in high-pitched, yet soft voice. Having had no choice but to turn around and approach the people to whom he had failed to show his immense love this last week, he spotted you on the couch next to Sirius; the world around you three froze. 

Moony couldn’t see your face, for you buried it in Padfoot’s chest as soon as you heard his name. Sirius stared at Remus, unblinking, throwing a protective arm across your back, bringing you closer. 

Even now, Lupin couldn’t deny the power of the beauty the two of you emanated, cuddled together on the couch. With the low-cut, V-shaped collar of his black T-shirt, his hair pulled back in a bun, and his thunderous grey eyes fixed on Remus like on some kind of  an indulgent sinner, Sirius looked nothing short of a god, holding you, his goddess, in his arms. All at once, you raised your head ever so slightly, whispering something to Sirius - Remus saw your red lips move. Padfoot didn’t answer, but planted a soft kiss on your forehead instead. 

This was just about as much as Remus could take. 

“Come talk to us, Remus,” Lily patted the seat on the couch next to her, her vivid green eyes hopeful. “We barely see you these days”, she pouted. 

“Thanks, Evans, but I’ll pass,” never taking his eyes off Sirius and you, Remus brushed her invitation off. “No need to commiserate with the beast - no one’s watching anyway”. 

“…What did you just say, Lupin?” Padfoot’s reaction was almost instant, as he straightened in his seat, his eyes burning holes in Moony’s chest. 

“Exactly what I meant to,” Remus replied dryly, visibly unimpressed. “Don’t play stupid, Sirius, you are smarter than that”. 

“Blithering idiot,” Padfoot gritted his teeth, trying to keep his temper in control. “You haven’t got a fucking clue, have you?”

“Okay, that’s enough!” your voice seemed to have resonated in the entire castle as you got on your feet between the two people you cherished most in the world. “Remus,” Moony could swear your voice trembled, as you spoke his name. If you only knew how often he dreamed about this moment, about the way your lips form every letter before the sound comes out of your mouth! “Please, just go.”

Your eyes were glistening in the light of the chimney fire, dark circles only accentuating their redness. Yet you were still breathtakingly beautiful, especially now, making him question every decision he had made these past seven days.  

He wanted to speak; actually, he wanted to scream, to get the hurt out of his system. But what for?… You could never count just in how many pieces his heart had already crumbled, as he recalled again and again that pitying look of your beautiful shimmering eyes. You could never see him the way he saw you. You belonged with Sirius, and he… Well he was just yet another Icarus who got too close to the sun.

Holding back, Remus bit the inside of his right cheek so hard, he felt the taste of blood on his tongue. 

“Fine,” he said, his vision blurring. He threw one last look at the people he used to call friends - they dodged his gaze better than he avoided them all week. 

He stormed out of the Common Room seconds before the tears finally fell.

Having watched Lupin’s frame disappear in the dark corridors, you made your way back to Sirius’ side and into his open arms. He didn’t say anything, just held you close and placed a gentle kiss on top of your head. 

As awkward silence settled in, Prongs and Padfoot exchanged meaningful glances. Sirius slowly nodded at James, still not letting go of you. 

Despite what Lily kept on saying, Remus didn’t need saving. What, however, Moony desperately required was a proper kick in the ass, something, it just happened so, the Marauders were known to excel at. 

Accio Chapter 5: Marauders to the Rescue 

My Beautiful Taglist (please, hit me up should you want to be tagged or untagged): @xapham, @spunkypatterns,  @jackie-houston, @justducky0423, @zakthedrak, @marauder–harder, @davros2004, @firefurr, @heyjess-marie, @kapolisradomthoughts

[riddlegecko]

Y'all wanna hear what I thought the plot of DEH was before I read the novel and listened to the obc album??

Because it's a doozy.

First of all, I thought Evan, Connor, and Jared were all actually friends. I'd seen gifs of Sincerely Me and I thought that they were all buds. And before you say anything, the only lyrics I'd heard from this song were: "I rub my nipples and start moaning with delight", "Kinky~", and "'Cause all that it takes is a little re-in-ven-tion". I had no idea what this song was about.

Because of this, I didn't question at all why people shipped treebros and kleinphy. Imagine my surprise when I found out Jared's only interaction with the real Connor involved Jared saying Connor looks like a school shooter and calling him a freak.

I thought all the main characters were in like a support group or social skills class for teens with anxiety. I don't know why I thought this.

I had no idea Alana existed for the longest time because no post that I'd seen ever mentioned her ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I thought Connor's suicide happened in Act 2. Can you really blame me? If you don't know the plot, it seems like a very Act 2 thing to happen, y'know? I remember getting really ticked off when I saw a post mentioning it because I thought the op had posted an untagged spoiler in an unrelated tag (this was around the time Alex Boniello joined the cast, and people were joking that he was getting typecast as depressed teenagers). And then I found out Connor dies in like the first 20 minutes of the show.

I also thought The Connor Project was something started by Connor himself.

A lot of my misconceptions about the show were related to Connor, now that I think about it. So bear with me.

I thought that Anybody Have A Map was sung by Connor like, a few scenes before his suicide. I thought it was like a "I'm lost in this life, and I need a map" type deal. Related, I also thought that You Will Be Found was sung at Connor's funeral. I blame the In Memoriam segment from the 2018 Tony Awards for this.

Thanks to some parts of the fandom, I was under the assumption that Cynthia and Larry actually were pretty bad parents. As in, I thought that they were like, using Evan as a "replacement" for Connor because they thought he was a disappointment or something, and that this is what caused Connor to kill himself. Yeah, I didn't know jack shit about this show for a while.

Speaking of parents, I thought Evan was outright resentful of his mother, and I just assumed that literally every scene they shared had them arguing.

This one's minor, but I thought Evan had his cast for the entirety of the show instead of just the first act.

I thought that Connor and Zoe had a completely normal sibling relationship, but Zoe was just seen as the favorite by their parents.

I remember being very surprised to find out that the entire show (barring the finale) took place over the course of like, a month and a half. I thought that the show started in September and ended at the end of the school year.

Because of this, I thought "End of May, or early June" was a bit of narration from the finale.

Obviously, these misconceptions went away as I learned more about the show, but I still didn't have a firm grasp on the plot until I read the novel and listened to the obc album. And before you ask, no, I haven't actually watched a boot of the show or anything. I always feel bad about watching a boot of a show that's still running.

[andrew-buchan-fansite]

Update from the mod: Annual Report of ABF (Oct 2018)

In October every year on this blog I try to summarise what we have seen and heard about Andrew over the preceding twelve months. With the finish of Broadchurch and its accompanying media frenzy in 2017, all is now back to normal – a year of Andrew being mostly invisible, despite actually being more busy than usual!

Since update 2017 Andrew has worked with Christopher Plummer, Zahraa Gandour, Antonio Banderas, Clemence Poesy, John Malkovich, Rupert Grint and acclaimed director Samir, as well as narrating the latest BBCOne reality cookery show. However, as he continues to have no social media presence, is rarely spotted on Twitter or Instagram, and made nil appearances at premieres and award shows, he has remained largely incognito!

At this time last year we were looking forward to the release of three films plus Andrew’s own Gaumont-produced comedy series.

- All The Money In The World acquired unexpected and unwanted notoriety as a result of historical allegations against Kevin Spacey, leading to substitution by Christopher Plummer and re-filming in late November – just one month before release!  Some of Andrew’s scenes were amongst those re-shot.

Nevertheless his reviews were overwhelmingly positive, despite having only a secondary role: loser J Paul II (Andrew Buchan, brilliant job)

- The Mercy was eventually released in February. As expected, Andrew’s role was very much a cameo, almost all of which featured in the film trailer!

- The release of Intrigo-Samaria is now set for February 2019 with the first pictures of Andrew as lead character Henry only emerging in the last few weeks.

- To date there has been no further news about Baba.

There was an early Xmas present in December, when Andrew’s involvement in the film Baghdad In My Shadow was intimated via social media. Eventually photos from London film locations were released showing him with his Iraqi co-star, Zahraa Gandour and writer/director Samir. The film is currently in post-production and is due for release in the next few months.

Just one month later we were alerted to another new project, when Andrew’s agents tweeted about Genius: Picasso – although it was a further month before another cast member inadvertently revealed Andrew’s role as Henri Matisse.

The National Geographic series aired in April featuring amazing makeup and prosthetics – rendering Andrew, yet again, virtually unrecognisable. So much so, in fact, that reviewers neither mentioned his exquisite, subtle performance nor initially included him in the cast list in Wikipedia!

In early May BBCOne’s new cookery talent show Britain’s Best Home Cook was launched with Andrew as its narrator – a primetime coup for our voiceover supremo!

Then, just weeks later, the latest BBCOne Agatha Christie adaptation from screenwriter Sarah Phelps was announced: The ABC Murders. Filming began in June with Andrew in the central role of Franklin Clarke, alongside John Malkovich as Poirot. Sadly no photos emerged of Andrew during production, despite the many location scenes around Yorkshire and further afield. There were just two public spots of Andrew reported on Twitter during the two months of filming – actually the only ones of the whole twelve months!

The ABC Murders is expected to air this Christmas.

Photos of the year

- an untagged photo from June 2017 showing Andrew with Michelle Williams in Rome during filming of All The Money In The World

- another iconic, yet strangely familiar, image from Baghdad In My Shadow filming

- this lovely promo session from May 2018 for Intrigo-Samaria with producer Rick Dugdale in Stockholm 

This remains the ONLY photo of Andrew to date in 2018!

The ones that got away

The scene at Villa Adriana, Rome that Andrew did not reshoot with Christopher Plummer for All The Money In The World.....

 ....and the cast of Intrigo-Samaria sum up our feelings!

“missing the irreplaceable Andrew Buchan”

Meanwhile….. 

….. ABF now has an archive of nearly 3,300 different posts, 25 themed pages and over 400 followers, as well as many other non-tumblr fans and friends.

Thank you to all Andrew fans – especially to @madandi for keeping me up to date and to @geminigmo, @llywela13, @liathgorn, @john5747 and Pamela for their contributions. We are all still here.

As ever, my best wishes to Andrew, Amy and family for the next twelve months. I know you value your privacy. It’s fair to say that this year has been a resounding success!

Cheers – demurely1

[coffee-n-bagels-comic-universe]

Superheroes with Secrets: The French Test (Fic Part 157. Set in 2001)

Around 2000 Words. 18+ in places. Please inform me if you wish to be tagged/untagged from posts.

Tags: @tantamount-treason @piratewithvigor

Reference Posts: 'Giantess'/'Blacklight Bandit' Kirby Roussimoff x Shane 'Hurricane' Helms (Circa 2001)

"You do it almost too well. Hell, I'd fuck me."

"Il faudrait faire la queue derrière moi et Shannon, mari exquis."

"A line I'll be glad to stand in."

"Je veux voir combien de temps il faut à l'un d'eux pour me demander d'arrêter de parler en français." Kirby murmurs as she leads Helms downstairs to re-join the rest of the group before they leave for the mall.

"If they do, they can take it up with me."

"salut tout le monde, on est prêt, tu filmes tout aujourd'hui Matt?"

Matt looks to Helms, who discreetly nods.

"J'espère que vous savez tous que la confusion que vous ressentez lorsque je parle une autre langue est la même confusion que je ressens parfois en écoutant de l'anglais toute la journée"

"So she's gonna be French today so she can be comfortable for once." Helms explains.

Delilah giggles as she walks back to the car.

"J'ai oublié de préciser, Delilah comprend le français." Kirby admits sheepishly.

"Glad it's not just me."

Kirby snuggles up to Helms' arm as Matt leads the group out to Delilah's people-carrier.

"Shane, you and Kirby are in the back behind me and Lita." Matt murmurs to Helms as he climbs in.

"Yes sir." Helms nods.

It doesn't take long for the group to be on the road and Matt to be asking all sorts of questions.

"So, Shane, how many weeks pregnant is Kirby and how does it feel to be a dad?"

"Just about ten weeks now. And it's fantastic."

"Il dit qu'actuellement les hormones de grossesse me bottent le cul." Kirby adds as she nuzzles her face into his shoulder.

"Yeah, they're kicking her ass hard."

"Et grâce à être enceinte, mes seins sont plus gros qu'avant."

Helms blushes a little, "Yeah, that too."

"Ne fais pas comme si tu ne les regardes pas." Kirby teases.

"Well, yeah, but I can still blush about it."

"Si tu veux que je me taise, tu dois m'embrasser."

"Working on it."

Kirby smirks as Matt turns the camera to face Jeff and Delilah. Delilah's driving and Jeff is watching her like she's an angel come to Earth.

"Jeff, I love you, but stop staring, it's starting to distract me." Delilah whispers.

"I know, I'm sorry, I can't help it."

Shannon shakes his head as he looks over at Helms and Kirby, attempting to resist the urge to squeeze Kirby's ass. He's sitting on Kirby's other side with full access. It's when Kirby wiggles her butt slightly while teasing Helms that Shannon can't resist any longer and grabs her butt, making Kirby half-squeak, half-moan in response.

"Messing with my wife, blondie?" Helms smirks.

"She was tempting me." Shannon protests.

"je ne te tentait pas du tout." Kirby states flatly.

"I can't fully blame him, sweetheart," Helms says gently, "Your ass is delectable."

"And it's within grabbing distance." Shannon adds.

"vous êtes tous les deux adorables mais stupides"

"Just glad you didn't cuss us out." Helms grins sheepishly.

Kirby pulls Helms into a heated kiss, swatting Shannon's hands away when he goes to grab her ass again.

"Can I touch it if he can't?"

"Oui, mon mari."

"Sweeeet."

Kirby giggles as Helms pulls her into a heated kiss, grabbing her ass and getting slightly risqué about it. He squishes it happily, almost wiggling.

"Oh, mon mari, je vous dirais de continuer, mais il semble que nous nous arrêtions maintenant au centre commercial." Kirby whispers.

"Aw man, we are, aren't we?"

"tu peux toujours me serrer contre toi avec ta main sur mes fesses si tu veux." Kirby suggests as Delilah parks.

"Mm, that does sound like a dream."

Kirby follows Helms out of the car, holding him close as Matt narrates their journey into the mall. He's got his arm wrapped around her the whole way.

"Ouragan d'amour, qu'avons-nous besoin d'obtenir pour le bébé?" Kirby asks gently.

"Clothes. Babies shit all the time and there's never enough laundry."

"Parfois j'aimerais ne pas demander."

"Kirby, I heard that there's a baby store next to the food court." Delilah smiles as she walks hand-in-hand with Jeff beside the Helms'.

"Sounds like a perfect first stop."

The moment Jeff and Kirby see the baby store they both seem to light up, Kirby squeaks with excitement and Jeff pulls Delilah into a tight hug from behind. The way Jeff hugs Delilah makes Helms suspect the two of them might have decided they couldn't wait for a wedding, but he doesn't say anything. Kirby almost drags Helms in behind her, the way the two look immediately catches people's eyes and starts the one thing Kirby hates the most about being out in public, the whispers that are definitely about them.

"Honey, no one except the people in our group. Remember that, okay?" He whispers.

"oui, mon amour, j'ai juste un peu peur de ce qu'ils pourraient dire parce que je n'ai jamais été en public pendant ma grossesse auparavant." Kirby whispers back.

"Something to get used to."

Kirby nods before giggling at one of the baby-grows, nudging Helms' arm and pointing it out. Without a word, Helms adds it to the cart.

Kirby almost doubles over laughing at the next one she finds, immediately handing it to Helms.

"Hilarious, but I also wanted to fuck you." He grins devilishly.

"je sais, mon amour…" Kirby picks up another one, "Oui ou non?"

"Oh yes."

Kirby places it in the basket and gives Helms a quick kiss on the cheek before going back to looking.

"Still doesn't feel real sometimes that you're making a person who's gonna wear these onesies."

"ça n'a pas l'air réel, pour l'homme qui m'a mis enceinte en premier lieu, quoi, comme un mari n'est pas censé mettre sa femme enceinte?" Kirby jokingly teases.

"Hey, tall ass, this is America, learn to speak English!" Another customer hollers in Kirby's direction.

"Hey, shortass, she's speaking French to keep nitwit inbreds like you from eavesdropping!" Helms yells back, keeping a firm grip on Kirby's hand.

The woman only seems to get angrier, her husband has to hold her back.

"Oh, and for your information, you fat, pig-headed dullard, I speak English just fine, and could easily tear your skull off the rest of your spine and use it to play kickball." Kirby adds.

"Nice touch." Helms whispers, chuckling.

"Merci beaucoup mon amour." Kirby whispers as she pulls another baby-grow off the shelves to show Helms.

"Ooh, do they have any green lantern ones?"

Kirby hands Helms another one, kissing him gently and messing with his hair slightly.

"Perfect. Both the onesie and you."

Kirby blushes a light pink, burying her face in Helms' neck.

"I love you so much."

Kirby squeaks in response, kissing his neck softly.

"Trying to get me hot 'n' bothered while shopping?"

"peut-être, si ça te mènera à me foutre la cervelle dans la salle de bain."

His cheeks only grow more pink, "really hope Delilah isn't within earshot." He chuckles.

"elle est trop occupée à essayer de convaincre Jeff de ne pas acheter littéralement tout dans le magasin depuis l'entrée." She whispers to Helms.

"Good. Then let's do it."

Kirby's eyes light up with excitement as she leads Helms to the bathroom, double checking that their alone before locking the door and sliding her underwear off. He pulls himself out of his suit pants, basically able to just fuck her against the wall now.

"Oh Shane." Kirby murmurs as she pulls Helms into a heated kiss.

He's not neat with his kisses, letting their lipstick smear together. Kirby slides her dress up slightly, giving him a look at how wet she already is. He smirks as he slides into her, grasping one of her legs to keep the right angle. Kirby moans in pleasure, shifting her weight slightly to pull Helms closer and kiss him roughly but passionately.

"God, I love you."

"mon roi vampire, tu es le seul homme que j'aimerai jamais, peu importe ce qui se passe entre nous, d'ici la fin des temps, je t'aimerai."

"Same here, my love. You have domain over my soul."

"Rwy'n dy garu di." Kirby whispers, kissing his neck and nipping at his skin softly.

"You're too beautiful."

"Pardonnez le fait que je vais parler en gallois, mais vous méritez d'entendre cela dans ma langue maternelle," Kirby pauses to take a deep breath and collect her thoughts, "rydych chi'n olygus ac yn garedig, ac rydych chi'n gwneud i mi deimlo fel tywysoges pan rydw i yn eich breichiau, gyda'n gilydd rydyn ni'n ddi-rwystr ond ar wahân rydyn ni'n ddau hanner calon a oedd bob amser yn perthyn yn gyfan ond byth yn ei hadnabod nes i'r naill ochr gwrdd â'r llall. Byddaf yn caru bob fyff sydd gennyf gyda chi nes na fydd gennyf fwy o ddiwrnodau ar ôl, byddaf yn gofalu amdanoch yn eich oriau tywyllaf a byddaf yn torheulo yng ngolau eich ecstasi a'ch cariad, oherwydd eich un yw'r cariad, oherwydd eich un chi yw'r caraiad puraf a deimlais," Kirby blushes as she looks into Helms' eyes, "Would you, uhm,would you like a translation?"

"Yes please." He murmurs, blushing.

"You are handsome and kind, and you make me feel like a princess when I am in your arms, together we are unstoppable, but apart we are two halves of a heart that always belonged whole but never knew it until one side met the other. I will love each day I have with you until I have no more days left, I will care for you in your darkest hours and I will bask in the glow of your ecstasy and love, for yours is the purest love I have felt."

Helms almost stops his hips as her words hit him, his cheeks growing bright red and words escape him, "thank you."

"It felt more natural to say it in Welsh, but you don't speak Welsh fluently so sometimes when I want t express my love for you, the words escape me." Kirby explains softly, blushing a deep red.

"Fy ngwraig, ti yw fy myd." He says slowly, trying to remember the words he taught himself and praying he's pronouncing them properly."

"gwanaethoch chi ddysgu rhywfaint o Gymraeg i chi'ch ei siarad mor hyfryd a … fy arglwydd Rwy'n dy garu gymaint." Kirby whispers as she kisses as much of his skin as possible.

"Only a little, sweetheart. It's tough to learn." He chuckles sheepishly.

"Well, not every language uses y as a main vowel, so I will forgive you if you learn it over a decade or two, but as long as you eventually understand what I'm saying, I will love you forever."

"I'll do my best. I swear I will."

"Shane, you are my soulmate, and I love you, and that is the nicest way I can say how much I love you in English."

"Dwi'n byw i chi. Byddwn i'n marw i chi." He whispers

"Don't go seeking death, my love, squeeze as much out of life first." Kirby whispers, kissing his forehead.

"I plan to."

"And squeezing as much out of life doesn't just mean squeezing my tits or ass."

"Of course not. It's squeezing all of you. It's squeezing our baby in a hug for the first time. Feeling you squeeze me."

"Every single day and in every way imaginable, I will squeeze you, my hero… I'll share you with Shannon, but mostly you are my hero."

"Speaking of Shannon… should we invite him in here for a little extra fun?"

Kirby takes a moment to think about it, "Yeah, sure, but you fuck me first, ya big dicked idiot."

"Of course. I just want him to come in and lick your pretty pussy clean once I'm done filling it." He smirks.

"You sly fox." Kirby purrs.

"You say that, but he'd love it."

"Has he ever eaten someone out before, except for me?" Kirby asks gently.

"To my knowledge, you're his one and only woman."

"Well, yay for me, but I can't be his only forever, mainly because I'm yours forever, hence the wedding ring… and the baby bump, and the vows, you get the picture."

[blurrypetals]

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare - blurrypetals review

originally posted jun. 15, 2019 - ★★★★★

[re-read for Shadowhunter Summer 2019]

"Life is a book and there are a thousand pages I have not yet read. I would read them together with you, as many as I can, before I die."

All my Shadowhunter Summer 2019 reviews may contain untagged spoilers for all the books in The Shadowhunter Chronicles. If you wish to read a non-spoiler review for this book, you may scroll to the review I wrote on October 18, 2017.

You will seldom find me with very little to say in regards to Clockwork Princess as well as its predecessors in the rest of The Infernal Devices trilogy and all its brethren that make up the rest of The Shadowhunter Chronicles as a whole, but, honestly, I feel that past-me had it pretty much down pat. Everything I wrote in 2017 is still absolutely accurate.

This book is a love letter to love itself, it's a love letter to fans of the Shadowhunter books, and it's one big beautiful perfect masterpiece that I adore from end to end, cover to cover.

I also know I went off about Daniel Sharman on narration in 2017, but I just want to hammer home even further how excellent a choice he was to read this book. I wish he could go back and record the audiobooks for Clockwork Angel and Clockwork Prince (though Ed Westwick narrating half of Clockwork Prince was also choice, even if he didn't give Will a Welsh accent like Sharman did) so I could hear his absolutely lovely, soft voice read Will's, Tessa's, and Jem's words aloud to me. 

I went to Phoenix, Arizona to meet Cassandra Clare in December 2018 for the Queen of Air and Darkness tour (as well as to meet my best friend and internet wife, Constance Cates, in real life for the first time in our years-long friendship now that she lives in a closer state to Utah, making this a double C.C. meet and greet) and, when we bought our tickets, we were told we couldn't bring books from home. I was disappointed to hear that, as I had already begun to hope I could pack a suitcase filled with all ~7,000 of my Shadowhunter books to have them signed. Still, however, in hopes that miracles could still happen, I grabbed my copy of Lord of Shadows (because I already owned a copy of Lady Midnight from Barnes and Noble and would be receiving a signed and personalized copy of Queen of Air and Darkness at the event, so I wanted my entire The Dark Artifices trilogy to be signed, if possible. I also, however, found myself wondering if I could get just one more book signed and, even as wishful thinking, I brought my beloved, absolutely tear-stained and -warped copy of Clockwork Princess.

Long in the short of it all, I walked away from the event with two signed copies of Queen of Air and Darkness, a signed copy of Lord of Shadows, and, most brilliantly of all, a signed and personalized copy of my beloved Clockwork Princess. It was a perfect souvenir for a day with my best friend where we got to meet one kickass, kind author who took photos with us, complimented my, "Will Herondale is My Homeboy" t-shirt (and later posted a photo of it on her Instagram!), and listened to the story of how Constance and I became friends and how this book tour was able to finally bring us to standing in the same building, giddy and delighted to be having such a time with each other.

I realize this review became highly anecdotal, but it felt important to me to denote just how special it is to me that this specific book became the symbol for all the memories I made the day I met my two favorite C.C.'s.

And so with the finale of The Infernal Devices shut and shelved away for now, Shadowhunter Summer continues onward. Monday, we enter the strange land of 2007, of New York and The City of Bones, of City of Bones, of The Mortal Instruments.

Catch you on the flip!