#this is already too long i'd be surprised if anyone reads the whole thing

[urlocaldesertdweller]

Reader x Mafia! Venture (dark)

ITS DONE, behold!!! the dark version where you see the reality in Sloan's toxic and possessive behavior for you :] it all starts the same but BOY OH BOY it ends very differently >:)

(also i'd love to think that this is all the same Sloan it all depends on how well you react in the first part which can send Sloan down VERY different paths of affection.)

MIND YOU: Mention of adult toys, stalking, kidnapping, toxic relationships, cursing, the unhealthy kind of love, you get an ouchie

A faint knock that echoes through your home stirs you amidst your half-sleep. You felt your head throb as you tried to sink into the messy pile of blankets and pillows you called a bed. A groan naturally leaves your lips as you struggle to sit up holding your head.

You can't exactly recall everything that happened that night... Until you go down the events one by one, yes you remember now. The Sloan Cameron was caught burying a body by you. You finally set your heavy feet onto the floor then slowly you start to walk down the stairs which is a surprise that you have yet to slip on your butt with the hangover you have.

The constant dullness in your head makes navigating through your own dark home all harder. But living in this kind of city gives you a very good reason to shut your home up like a calm.

You grumble as you slap your hand to the knob of the door eventually getting a grip and twisting it to get flashed by the sun which is high enough already to shine light through your covered windows. You figured that you would just get whoever was at the door...or whatever, you don't see anyone but you see a letter and to your surprise. A good-looking bouquet of flowers...you pick it up, along with the attached pale yellow letter. Oh no...

Your eyes widen and look outside from side to side checking for anyone...possible suspects of whoever could possibly drop this letter at your door thinking it's a mistake. You never really found yourself attractive to the point where it would get you admirers or crushes on you. But none are either close enough or look to be the kind to crush. Your heart already races with how long you left this door open and you took the items in your arm quickly closing the door and locking it behind yourself.

"...What the hell.?"

You set the gift on the table and you slap a hand to your head groaning with the sudden rush of thoughts. God, you need something in your stomach quick... The feet find their way just below the counter holding the coffee maker. You stare out of your only open window which is right above your sink thinking hard as you pour yourself a cup of black coffee, something hard and strong to send you back to reality.

The coffee steams in your cool home on the counter. Your eyes shift back to the gifts on the table, and a million thoughts rush to assumption as you purse your lips for the burning hot which the scent alone wakes you up. But what, when, where, why...who.? Who could've made such a mistake...? You make your way towards the table steaming coffee in hand.

"Who..?"

A hand comes to fiddle with the letter flipping it around...

"To (Y/n)"

If the coffee took too long to wake you up, then seeing your name on the letter sent with flowers would send you to your early grave. You have to admit that you were now determined to see what this whole thing is about...

Fingers set the coffee and join the other with the letter fiddling. Fingernail pry off the adhesive opening it with ease. You didn't care much for looking at any other smaller details going straight for the main course of the neatly folded paper ripping it out and upholding it and your eyes glaze over it before actually reading the first word.

"Well, you finally got the courage to pick up this letter mi amor! If you manage to figure out who sent this, well you got me! But anyway I just wanted to send you this so you wouldn't be too scared when more gifts come your way. I'll keep things simple for your pretty head gorgeous. Everything you do and say makes my heart skip a beat more than any heist I can pull off. I want to give you every rose in the world and make you mine for the rest of my life. Hell, I would kill everyone in the world than myself for you, my darling. You truly catch my eyes more than any other relic or artifact from the past."

"-P.S. If you know who I am (did I make it too obvious?) Please find me during the night, but you won't find me but I'll certainly find you! ;)"

Dear god. What in the fresh hell were you reading?! Some sick unrealistic fanfsty???

"Okay okay okay... Deep breaths...deep...breaths."

To say that this letter was a roller coaster of emotions is an understatement. But you know one thing and one thing only out of reading this garbage. YOU ARE NOT LEAVING THIS HOUSE. You felt that it was a horrible joke that the letter wanted to encourage you to leave the safety of your home and let whoever sent this. You know better...way better than that, especially in this place.

Your neck could break with how quick you turn to look at your calendar on your wall. The only exception was for work which was in 3 days... Yeah you can totally live stuffed in your home with a most likely possibly stalker looking for you...yeah!

You mainly sat in your own home just trying hard to find something to distract yourself, feeling a shake in your legs and arms with anything you would do. The night would soon come and you triple made sure that everything was locked and you actually made your made so that you could have an equal amount of blanket protecting your poor shaking body...

A light knock wakes you this time...much earlier in the morning. You didn't need anything to wake you up, the knock was enough. The mind contemplated on whatever you should wait a long moment before going downstairs until you hear something far more concerning...

...Was that a latter.? ...Even with your tightly closed-up window, you could see a small subtle shadow imprint on your bed. You hold your breath and your heart skips a couple beats. Although the figure is gone within seconds you felt your life flash before your very eyes. Usually, people just break into your home if they want something, but of course, that didn't make the situation any better but worse. Whoever wants you clearly isn't willing to give up after one failed attempt. Then you hear the latter be carried away.

Yeah, you were going to wait until the sun rose enough to actually see.

Thankfully it was only an hour or two when you watched your home be filled with light through the cracks then you finally rushed out of your home in slippers and your robe. You open the door to see the effect of not responding to the last gift... It was yet another but it made an even deeper pit in your stomach with the sight.

A medium-sized box to which you only glance before scooting inside and stepping afar from the front to look at whatever your stalker did to your window...

They seemed to have stuffed your window cage full of letters to the point where it piled up. You feel like you are being watched sending a shiver from the heels to your neck making you yelp in complete paranoia and rush back into the home almost tripping by your loose slipper.

"...Alright, I'm done with this awful mental game you are playing!"

You shout frustrated at the box needing to desperately rant to something. You almost want to kick it which you do until you are reminded that you are not only wearing flimsy slippers but also something is either heavy or hard in this box...

You think about the amount of letters back up with your window thinking that it's all filled with the same crazed love-sick messages towards you. With a huff wanting to rip the bandaid off as quick as possible, with a quick tear of the tape, the laps of the box open up to you...

"Oh jeez am I in some sick romcom a wine mom would find romantic.?!"

The smallest glance of everything in that makes you bury your face in the fluff of your robe with a muffled scream. There were a couple more letters but the worst was yet to take out. A heart box full of your favorite candy...including the only flavor you love to cherry-pick, a large stuffie of your favorite animal which looks hand-stitched, more roses along...is that a promise ring?! And oh god. As you dig in through the colorful paper filler you reach and feel something very phallic, you then feel yet another version of an adult toy making you rip your hand out yelping kicking the box away shaking your hand, and rushing to the sink.

"Oh god! This is disgusting.!"

You didn't even want to test if those toys were used or not but you didn't plan on testing the possibility... It's hard to not gag how far this person is going beyond your limit already...

You keep on scrubbing your hands until the water is hot and every inch of your skin is covered in soap suds. You are stunned. At this point you felt like going into work for early hours...one more day in this suffocating home is going to be the death of you...

You finally pull away from the sink going up into the bathroom not even daring to glance at the horrid box. You would never feel clean unless you took the hottest shower after touching those toys...

At this point, it had only been 2 days and you felt like you were already going insane. You needed to get out even with the risk. You can't even think about what to put on.

With a sigh feeling the non-existent glare of the box stare into your back as you finally exit into the warm and comforting light of day. A long sigh and moment is taken already feeling better with getting outside of the house even if work doesn't take you in for extra unpaid work.

"Alright (Y/n)... Just go to work and forget everything that happened today...yeah just forget it. Forget it."

You can't believe yourself, you are talking and repeating to yourself on the streets like some crazed sicko!

But again... It feels like an undying mosquito, the feeling that you are still being watched somehow even being in what you think is the safest time of the day. The pockets of your business pants are quickly stuffed with your fists you look around even checking over your shoulder. But only a couple close and distant figures surround you. A huff near the refile escapes you with entering the most boring-looking building known to man.

You'd never find yourself actually liking this building until now. The thought alone makes you chuckle, making some people glance at you with their usual frowns. At this point, anything will be 100 times better outside of that home you once loved and thought about day in and day out. You pass many cubicles before finally falling into yours decorated by the one and only, as you throw yourself into the comfy chair you feel that this place could be your new home.

Wasting time was easy for someone like you. Before you knew it was already late, and it took a couple shakes of an acquaintance to get you out of your space of mind, and with the smallest glance through the windows, you felt a sense of deja vu.

You couldn't tell if it was just yourself but this night just felt colder than the rest. The slight breeze would send the rushing blood to your legs wanting to pack up and head back home as soon as possible. Then something finally clicked in you, leaving everything the way it was on your desk, and with a shove to the lobby doors you speed walk down the street being listed by the warm colored street lights once more. A huff for every heavy rushed step, your neck aches from twisting to look at every small bang or crash in the distance.

"Come on (Y/n). Just keep on going til home. I want to go home."

The self-encouragement didn't do much as something much worse blocking the words out. Slow dragging footstep. Shit. The awful self-paranoia, self-talking, and double personality come to a close. This isn't the time to cry now, it's time to pick up your goddamn feet and save yourself.

The footsteps start to follow up on speed making your heart race and you don't give them the time of day. You begin to run down the steep street, and you don't care what happens to your joints with the pressure, all that matters is that you get home safely and fast without becoming a victim to whoever wants you.

Everything starts to come crashing down on you with hearing the step run as well and sound closer, you struggle to breathe with sniffles, tears, and now aching lungs. You can't help but shout over your shoulder eyes tighten, afraid to see what is after you.

"Please! Leave me alone! ...What did I do?!"

During your shouting, you fail to see a decent crack in the sidewalk, and your foot digs into it. And with a yelp, you fall over yourself... Yep, you definitely sprained something down there... At this point, you are sobbing away the pain, nails digging into the cement desperate for a grip, for anything besides this.

"Please! Stop it... I dont understand...please."

Then you are silent with a soft hush, then a voice.

"Shhhh... I'll help you understand. ...Just not here."

You garbble noise confused before a wet cloth is pushed into your face. You panic and struggle against the sudden pressure on your back pinning you to the ground, the whole world begins to black and fade out as you soon lose consciousness. Your ears can barely make out the muffled words before you black out.

"...Lo siento mi amor. Te lastimé. Pero no te preocupes, te arreglaré mi diamante..."

...God so many things hurt and throb all around. At first, your vision is extremely blurry and you blink awake, you shift to look around only to feel the cuffs to the chair you are bound down to. You kick your legs...yep those are cuffed too. You can't help but whimper and choke down a stressed groan. Which seems to attract some company.

"Crap, sorry guys, they are awake..."

It isn't long to eventually see the keeper of the voice to which you are stunned, to say the least. Well, you can't exactly say that you are surprised to see the Mole. You strain against the chair, and your sadness and hopelessness turn to frustration and anger. You see them open their mouth to which you interrupt them which sends them back by your tone which is full of fury.

"What the hell?! ...Did you do this to me? And most importantly...why?!"

Your brows furrow, eyes trained on Sloan. They only stare at you clearly waiting for you to finish with a lazy grin.

"...Are you done?"

"..."

You clench on your teeth scooting back on the chair and allowing them to speak which they gladly do with a chuckle of your response which only they would find cute.

"First of all, I didn't catch you to be so... Oh what's the word... You look irresistible when you are angry.!"

Your eyes widen only becoming more confused, sending Sloan into a fit of giggles and sighs...they look back into you lovingly.

"Can you answer my fucking question?"

You once again interrupt them which they don't seem to mind, they still hold that odd look. As if they had won the lottery they push their cheeks together with their hands.

"Oh, you are so different when you are strapped to a chair... Come on my love... Where the (Y/n) I met that night hm.?"

They step closer, a little too close as they gently grab onto your chin, they add pressure to their fingers making you look up at them and they are only in awe.

"W...Why are you calling me love.?"

Your brows shift all the more conflicted with why the Mole just called you, love. You try hard to move away but they only add their other hand to cup your cheek holding you in place, they grin with power.

"Because silly, I love you!"

They give you an Eskimo kiss with a delighted hum, god you feel very sick. Your eyes move down as far as they can in clear thought, Sloan notices and chuckles and boops your nose. They tease you as they take joy in watching everything click in your head.

"But... I. Since? No no no... D-did you.?"

"Yep! If you are finally figuring out through that thick but pretty skull... I sent you those gifts and letters of my dedication and love for you!"

You feel the weight in your head drop suddenly and Sloan only giggles. You are overwhelmed. You take a glance at your injured foot while a trillion thoughts storm your brain, your speech continues to remain mumbles and babbles.

"Oh yeah... I'm sorry about that leg..."

You hear them get quiet as they kneel down to examine your leg but your thoughts stay loud.

"Mmmnmghmm... I just. I dont know anymore..."

"Oh.? Oh, I think I sent you into a braindead shock or something... But that's okay.! Because that will make bathing you easier and treat that nasty sprain of yours..."

That was true, you seemed to ignore the fact that they unlocked the cuffs, they knew you wouldn't get far with one good leg. They pick you up into a bridal style and you rest into their chest still mumbling as you listen to your capports heart flutter in the moment.

"You live in a cruel city amor. But it's a great thing that someone like me loves you dearly..."

They place a kiss on your head tightening their grip on you, as if worried they would let go and you would disappear. The lights and mood change, you grip their jacket in thought as they go up some stairs and you hear distant whoops and cheers to which Sloan responds with something back. But you don't care.

You only pay minor attention when you notice they stop and place you on the edge of a large tub, you look around to see the clean and pretty bathroom. You gasp when Sloan kneels in front of you rubbing your knees with a smile.

"Now then... We can't exactly get you clean if you are still clothed you silly goose.!"

You only sigh. Frankly much much worse things can be happening right now. But you don't plan on staying hopeful with the Mole of the gang.

"To be honest with you my diamond. You can forget about your old life, you have me to see every single day.!"

"You really are full of surprises."

Your brain is fried, to say the least after tonight.

I AM DONE WITH THIS RN I NEED FLUFF ASAP D,:

[major-comet]

The Music in RvB: Restoration Kinda Sucks. Here's how I'd fix it.

I gave this as a presentation the other night after my first re-watch of the finale, and it was a major hit so I thought I would share it with other people who think too hard about Halo fanfiction.

Red VS Blue has some truly fantastic music in it's 21 year history, and I think that the music here was pretty weak. Obviously this post has major spoilers for RvB19 / Restoration, so be warned.

So, under the Read More is a typed up and fleshed out version of my powerpoint presentation where I will dive in and not just bitch about the musical choices, but explain how I would fix things. This is...really long, but I hope you all enjoy my thoughts :)

This will be best enjoyed if you listen to the songs I'm talking about as a refresher. For your convenience, I have input links to the songs on Youtube when necessary

So what's the problem?

Since the development of the finale overlapped with Rooster Teeth getting shut down, it's very likely that they had minimal funds. (EDIT: Yes, the finale itself was done by the time the announcement rolled around. However, the decision was almost certainly already in the works at WB. RT was shut down in part for financial reasons. It’s all connected.) I personally think this was part of why Burnie/RT was/were [reportedly] so insistent on using stock music for part of the season rather than a whole soundtrack done by Trocadero - I'm not sure they had the money to properly compensate for a full soundtrack. And maybe it was just a stupid / dick move, and had nothing to do with money at all, but that's what I choose to believe if only because it makes me feel slightly better about it.

This means that besides the stock music, the new score by Carl Thiel, the Zero song for that cameo, and Waning Moon (the Barenaked Ladies song), all we have are four re-used songs from earlier RvB - these songs being the Trocadero Grifball theme, I Say Ooh and Round One by Jeff Williams, and Vale Deah by Trocadero. There's also a David Levy composition in there somewhere according to the credits, R U Ready, but I have no idea what it is or where it plays. It's bothering the hell out of me because it does not appear to be a reused piece as far as I can tell - at least not reused from RvB. If anyone has any leads on this please reach out, because it seems crazy that there's one random possibly original David composition mixed in there. I've checked Apple Music and Soundcloud, nothing by that name.

In this very Meta focused film, neither of The Meta's themes play in any shape or form - [When] Your Middle Name is Danger by Trocadero or Plagam Extremam Infligere by Jeff Williams.

Nor do any of the character themes, really. Most of the series' iconic recurring tracks are completely absent. Tex's various themes, Carolina's theme - hell not even Blood Gulch Blues or the iconic intro music.

Were there any highlights?

Of course there were!

Considering I was going into the finale having only been spoiled on Vale Deah, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the Jeff tracks! That was totally unexpected, and really lovely.

Speaking of, I thought the use of Vale Deah was a really lovely touch. Fun fact: that song was used for the end credits of the Season 1 DVD, so it really felt like a sweet full circle moment.

I think that using a Barenaked Ladies song for that very sweet scene of Caboose, Grif, and Simmons reminiscing about Blood Gulch by the fire was a very lovely choice, and quite honestly it was my favorite scene in the whole thing. The BNL have been close to RvB and RT since damn near the beginning, and it was very nice to hear them attached to the finale in that small way.

I should also point out that the composer for the season is Carl Thiel - known for his work on Hot Fuzz and the second and third Spy Kids movies. I think he did a totally fine job. I liked the bugles that were under Sarge's death, but the rest doesn't really stand out much. Perfectly serviceable.

So, now that that's out of the way, let's break down those four returning songs a bit more - shall we?

Grifball Official Theme - Trocadero

This was a really funny choice. It's such a quick bit, but I respect Burnie's dedication to get in one last Grifball joke. Obviously, I would have preferred to hear a different song for something else, but this was totally harmless.

Vale Deah - Trocadero

Lo-fi Hip-hop beats to get divorced to.

God that scene was heartbreaking. I love this song a lot - I think a lot of Trocadero's strongest stuff is the stuff that just feels kind of melancholy. It's something Nico does really well, and I think Vale Deah is one of my favorite examples of that. Like I said above, I think this song was used really well - if I had to pick a different track for that same scene I would probably choose Half Life. While it was written during the Blood Gulch era, it wasn't really used in the show until Seasons 12 and 13 - notably, a version of it plays under Kimball's rally speech to the troops after Doyle's death. I just really like it, tbh. There's absolutely other songs that could work, but I think having it be a BGC-era track served the scene really well.

I Say Ooh - Jeff Williams

My feelings about this are pretty similar to Grifball. It was cute, it was nice to hear, but I wish they had used a different Jeff track somewhere else. Ultimately, it's pretty harmless. It is kind of an odd choice though - I'm pretty sure Jeff didn't write it for RvB. This was a song that he composed that was used in two RT Shorts (live action sketches that RT used to do). I think it would have been nicer to use one of his RvB tracks for the introduction of Niner - could have been a cute spot to use a track like I Am The Best or Forge World or hell, Come on Carolina would have been cute.

Round One - Jeff Williams

...Actually, I have a lot to say about Round One, so let's get everything else out of the way first.

Other Scenes that *should* have had returning tracks before I talk about Round One for a billion years

Sarge's death should have been scored with a version of Rally (Sarge's Speech). My vision is a version of it that's just the string section - familiar, but not enough to be distracting, and absolutely soul crushing if you do recognize it.

The scene with Wash and Dr. Grey in the hospital needed a hint of what Nico so lovingly calls the "Wash Trauma Theme" - which is closely related to the Trocadero Meta theme, fun fact. I think Limited Duty from the scene in Season 16 where Carolina tells Wash about the brain damage could have worked pretty well there.

The scene at the end with Wash and Carolina talking about Doc and the Freelancers really needed something. I think one of the variations of the Shisno trilogy Carwash theme could have worked very well.

Obviously the big scene with Tucker and Sigma on the ship would have really benefited from [When] Your Middle Name is Danger or one of the many themes that incorporates it, but I'd also throw Soul Clef XI into the ring! I think it's so interesting that the work around they came up with for not being able to get Elijah Wood back was to have epsilon!Sigma take on a more Felix-y type of voice. Partly because Felix was an incredibly ambitious villain so he fits it pretty well, but more importantly that was a very smart voice to pick to fuck with Tucker in particular! I think that was really smart, and I think having some version of Felix's theme playing during that scene would have been really cool.

Bolt by Trocadero was never used in the series proper. However it was used in this ten year retrospective that they released alongside Season 10. I highly recommend giving it a watch, because watching it now that it's Over - RvB, RT, all of it - it's honestly kind of heart breaking. They're all filled with this deep optimism about the future of the company, and hindsight is a bitch on this one. They use it in a really sweet sequence at the end where they're showing a bunch of old photos. Anyways I think this should have played in the credits after Vale Deah finished. "We only want to have a good time."

Miscellaneous Trocadero Songs I would have liked to see them find a place for that I haven't already / will not mention elsewhere

Steady Ride (Gunmetal Green) - this is THE Grimmons song ever to me. I love it so much. Also fun fact: as of the interview Burnie did with Nico on the season 10 (I think?) dvd/bluray, this was Burnie's favorite Trocadero track. And you can tell when you watch the DVD cuts of the first 6-ish seasons - it plays all the time.

I like Good Fight a lot, not sure there was a great spot for it? but still would have been nice - It's used a few times as a Wash theme, I believe.

No One is my favorite Trocadero song and I wish it could've been there Somewhere. It was the elevator-music type song that played behind Vic in BG once or twice, I think was in the season 4 credits, and also played during the weapons demonstrations in the Meta VS Carolina Death Battle. I just like it a lot, lol.

Okay let's get back to Round One.

Why they shouldn't have used Round One for the big fight in RvB Restoration

AKA: The actual bulk of the presentation

Okay so we've got some pros and cons to this track. Starting with the Pros;

It's a song from an iconic scene - the 3v1 training room fight from Season 9

Tex and Maine are both in the fight

Was a great "Oh FUCK yeah" moment for the fans

Great track

Cons;

Not really a song for Carolina or the Meta (or y'know. Tucker. He's there too), and only kind of a song for Tex

Honestly the fight makes me think about York more than anyone else, since that's the fight where he gets hurt

Not a cool thematic moment besides just Tex being a badass

Started too late into the fight - it's sad that Carolina got a cool track when she (finally!) showed up, but Tex just got generic music. Show my girl some respect :(

So what would be better?

It has to be something that makes you think of at least one of the fighters. A track that's good for multiple would be better, but not required.

I think it should start when Tex first shows up, not when her armor changes. that’s a cool moment, but it still means most of the fight is working with Thiel’s score.

It should be something with a note of thematic relevance - for example, the big moment right at the end of the fight is Tex reminding epsilon!Sigma that she's not based on the Director's memories of her failure this time; she's based on the memories of Grif, Caboose, and Simmons. And she Always kicked their asses.

Still needs to be a big "Oh FUCK yeah" moment.

While incorporating Carolina's theme would be nice, I think it's more important to get at least one of the others - but we'll do our best here. I think this is moreso a Tex v meta!Tucker fight in my heart than it is a Carolina fight.

So let's look over a few options, shall we? These are in no particular order.

Spiral - Jeff Williams

This is the song that plays during the Season 9 car chase when Maine gets shot. It incorporates Carolina's theme, because in PFL her theme is never too far behind whenever a Maine/Meta song is playing, which has always been interesting to me. It has all that freaky choral stuff that Jeff loved to use, and generally is just a great track.

Fragments - Jeff Williams

This plays during the Freelancer break-in in Season 10, and it just rocks so hard. Anything from the break-in would be cool because that was the last time Tex, Carolina, and Maine/The Meta were all in the same place, and of course was when The Meta was properly created. I think it was so sad that they used the instrumental of Round One, because the vocals are part of what makes the Jeff era of RvB soundtracks so iconic, and god this song delivers! Also this song has a kickass trumpet solo at the end.

Slingshot (from the Death Battle) - Trocadero

Man this song rules. This of course plays in the Meta VS Carolina Death Battle from Season 14. It's a very different energy from the Jeff picks, but it rocks so fucking much. This is a fight between Carolina and The Meta, and would of course be a callback to a (marginally) more recent - and extremely popular - episode of the show. If you haven't watched the Death Battle in a while you really should, it still kicks just as much ass now as it did back when I was in high school.

Literally any other song from the 3v1 Training Room Fight - Jeff Williams

This includes;

Round One (feat Lamar Hall)

Just the Bullfight part

On Your Knees

I just think the instrumental to Round One is the weakest choice from this fight tbh! Bullfight is my favorite out of the three, because it sounds the most Tex-y. The guitars are very her, and it incorporates part of her Agent Tex motif. And On Your Knees would have had the biggest "Oh FUCK yeah" factor. But honestly even just using the version of Round One with the vocals would have been way better.

EDIT TO ADD: a quick note - while it’s listed in the credits as Round One/Bullfight, that’s just how the instrumental is packaged on the OST. As far as I could tell in my two watches of it, they never actually make it to the Bullfight part of the track.

A Girl Named Tex - Trocadero

hold on, walk with me on this one.

I had a vision of Tex fighting meta!Tucker set to the "Yellow rose of Texas clad in black, lonely star tattooed upon her back. Double Tex she'll hit you like a truck. Double Tex and she'll mess you up." bit right after I watched 19 the first time and it's been haunting me ever since. (That bit starts at about 02:19)

This is her theme for the first chunk of the show - which just so happens to be the time period Grif, Simmons, and Caboose were primarily reminiscing about. It would have been cool as hell, and I can See the beginning of the fight in my head - the opening strums (what my brother so lovingly calls the Out of Mind music) when caboose is saying his line about how he brought back someone even worse than church, and then the fight starts! I can see it in my mind, it would have been so cool!

I just think there should have been more Blood Gulch era music in here.

100 Tex Battle - Jeff Williams

This doesn't get you any Meta points, but obviously it incorporates little bits of Tex's, and a lot of Carolina's theme. Twisting a Tex vs Carolina fight - obviously, Carolina vs all the Tex bots in Season 10 - into one where they're fighting alongside each other would have been really lovely and a cool full circle moment.

This song is really cool, it's such a good fight. I do think it maybe sounds a bit goofy at points for this fight, but still a cool option.

Okay so now let's go over my top three-ish picks

Ice Fight (or maybe the revelations suite?) - Jeff Williams

Jumping to the end of Season 8, we have a fight that involves Tex vs The Meta! And Wash, Doc, and all the Reds and Blues (barring Donut and Lopez. Hmm. Doesn't that sound familiar.) are there! Ice Fight rules so hard, it's so good.

And it has some of that narrative theming I was looking for! While yes, Tex does technically lose this fight - so does The Meta. And how does she lose it?

By going into the recovery unit.

The main reason I suggest the Suite instead of just Ice Fight is because I think having a touch of Red Vs Blue would have been really nice.

Mental Meta Metal - Jeff Williams

Genuinely my favorite track from season 10. If you let the song play the whole way through, it has Jeff's themes for The Meta, Carolina, and Tex in it. This plays the first time we see Maine in a fight in Season 10, and is also Sigma's first time in the field after we see him pondering Meta-stability in the classroom.

It incorporates elements from both Spiral and Plagam Extremam Infligere, which is kind of Jeff's theme for the Meta that he established back in Season 8. It also plays during the Freelancer Break-in when he's tossing Carolina off the cliff. The Latin on that translates to “to inflict an extreme blow”.

It also has a very strong statement of Carolina's theme, which could have been a great opportunity to bring her in with her theme!

Now, before I go over my final pick, let's go over what we need again;

We need a song with thematic relevance to the fight, that’s from an iconic scene, has a good energy to it, and would give fans a big “OH FUCK YEAH” moment.

Well, isn’t it obvious?

Agent Tex (/ Tex vs Tank / Hell's Angel) - Jeff Williams

The first instance of Jeff Williams’ Tex motif, later used in Hell’s Angel and Tex vs Tank, etc. I would add the opening strum commonly heard in the later iterations, but keep it generally the Agent Tex version which was used in the S8 Warehouse fight, as seen above.

This is like. The RvB scene ever. So many people saw this before they watched the show, and many more never even watched RvB - just this fight, since RT uploaded it separately from the episode because they knew it kicked so much ass. It also helped draw in folks who may have been fans of Monty Oum's other work. Fun fact: This was RT’s outro music for a really long time, too. So it really has history with the company.

Part of why I think this pick would work so well, beyond it just being Tex's theme for the Jeff Williams era, is that it would be so interesting in terms of narrative theming. The Season 8 warehouse fight was Tucker, Grif, Simmons, Sarge, and Caboose against Tex.

This whole sequence was Grif, Simmons, Caboose, Carolina, and Tex against Tucker.

This was one of the other scenes being reminisced about around the fire - you can see it as one of the clips shown during the scene. I think it would have been a really powerful moment, and a fantastic "FUCK YEAH" moment for everyone whose stuck around this long. This track is so good, and I really do think it would have been the perfect choice for this fight.

It's not even my favorite, if I was just choosing favorites I'd have picked Mental Meta Metal or A Girl Named Tex.

What have we learned? Why Were We Here?

Red vs Blue is a show with a lot of really fantastic music in it's book, and a really strong history of musical callbacks - particularly with the Meta's theme and how it's so closely tied to the motif Trocadero liked to use as "Wash Trauma" music. Making a clever callback to a song you've used before can help strengthen the thing you're trying to get across to your audience. I think it's somehing that Restoration really struggles with, which is pretty sad. But I hope you found my deep dive / analysis of what could have been interesting.

I'd really like to dive in and do a long reflection about the series as a whole, but as it stands this is around 3,000 words and if I get started on that, this post will never end. I'll probably work on that once i've actually Finished this rewatch.

Thank you for reading all of that!

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is: @morningberriesao3! morningberries has 15 works in the Stranger Things fandom on AO3 and all of them are in the Steddie tag!

@steddieas-shegoes recommends the following works by @morningberriesao3:

Sweet Surrender

Sneaky Link

How I’d Kill (to See You Again)

"If I could write a sonnet, it would be about berries. She specializes in that very specific angst with a happy ending that grips you by the jaw and spits in your mouth and then you say thank you because it tastes so good. So anyway love her, love her work, love everything about what she writes and does. 10000/10" -- @steddieas-shegoes

Below the cut, @morningberriesao3 answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

Funnily enough, it all started when I exclusively read Eddie x reader on tumblr. I didn't have an account yet, so I made a quick burner and would gobble up anything under the tag. I always saw people on the internet "shipping" characters but never really understood it, until I came across one particular fic called Wild Parts, where the pairing was reader x Steddie. I remember being more excited for Steve and Eddie to fall in love than I was with the reader aspect. It all went downhill from there when I discovered there was a whole community that loves Steddie. I decided one day, yeah, I want to make them fall in love, too!

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

Honestly, the first thing that comes to mind is the classic friends-to-lovers where Steve has a sexuality crisis because he's falling for Eddie. I could read it over and over and never get sick of it.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

I feel like angst with a happy ending is common ground for, like, 90% of my fics. I also find myself constantly writing miscommunication, and giggling at all the comments that say, "IF THEY JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER!" Yeah. That's a point to be made.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

It's quite literally impossible to choose just one when there are so many talented Steddie writers creating new works everyday. I'll rapid fire a few that pop to mind first (all on AO3): Sea Legs by Midnightdrive. Drought by a_star_danced. Wanna Hurt You Just to Hear You Screaming My Name by DotyTakeThisDown. I've Been Having a Horrible Time Pulling Myself Together by Deadrats. Stupid Cupid by DirtyValentine. Money, Power, Glory by StrangerThings1975.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

Definitely! I want to write ALL the tropes! I think the reason writing Steddie hasn't become redundant for me is because each time I write a fic, I want it to be different from the last. I rack my brain like, "Okay, I've already done Kas Eddie, Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, No Upside Down, Modern Setting, Rock Star Eddie... What's next?!" 

What is your writing process like?

It's a very linear process for me. I'm somewhat of a daydreamer; I see the things I write in my head almost like a movie. And then I just type it out as it plays in my brain. I rarely outline anything, but I'll have random gibberish in my notes app to remind me of ideas or big plot points I need to wrap up. I'm honestly surprised anything I write makes sense when I'm through with it. I'm waiting for the chaos of it all to bite me in the ass one day.

Do you have any writing quirks?

I don't know if it's a quirk so much as a fault, but I do this thing where I let my comments pile up and pile up. I won't let myself answer one until I can answer them ALL, because I don't want anyone to think I'm ignoring their comment specifically. I also have to match the energy of the comment, so when it's super long I HAVE to write something back that's super long. This makes it an hours-long task when I let them go for as long as I do unanswered. If anyone hasn't gotten a reply back yet, I PROMISE I WILL!!! 

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

In a perfect world, I'd only start posting a project when it's completed so I could keep up with a posting schedule. Reality is: having 20 WIPs saved to my laptop in which I'll post the first couple chapters as motivation for me to finish it. It's a flawed system, but it works out most of the time!

Which fic are you most proud of?

I think it'll always be Sweet Surrender. It was my first fic and the first time I had ever completed something similar to a novel after it was wrapped up at 150K. When I look back, I see some flaws, but I'd never want to change them. If we're talking about which fic I think I wrote the best, I'd say How I'd Kill. The fantasy universe allowed me to get creative with the plot and scenery, and I think my excitement for that is reflected in my quality of writing.

How did you get the idea for Sweet Surrender?

Sweet Surrender is an amalgamation of every fic I read and loved when I first was introduced to the fandom. I basically owe it to all the favourite fics I mentioned earlier. Without their inspiration, I never would have started writing fic in the first place. 

When writing Sweet Surrender, what was something you didn’t expect?

The response. I cannot capture in words how GOOD it felt when people started reading, commenting on, and loving something that I created. You see it mentioned all the time, but it really is true when they say that a comment goes a long way. I was absolutely gobsmacked to see people following along from the beginning. It was such a motivator, and truly a feeling that nothing else could give me.

What inspired Sneaky Link?

I read Must Be a Devil Between Us, Or Whores In My Head by whateverokayFINE (a modern, OnlyFans AU that Sneaky Link could never touch)—loved it SO much that those daydreams I mentioned took off. It stayed as an unposted WIP for a long time because I told myself that I couldn't write a convincing modern AU. I'm so glad I did though, because I've never had a response to a fic like I've had with Sneaky Link.

What was your favorite part to write from Sneaky Link?

There were so many fun side plots to Sneaky Link—the whole thing was a blast to write. One of my favourites was the main conclusion, when Chrissy got to be the hero. Glitter and Chanel No. 5 really saved the day. Of course the first few chapters were hilarious, too. Dumbass, clueless Eddie will never fail to make me giggle, and his obliviousness to Steve's hidden identity really drove everyone up the wall.

How do/did you feel writing How I’d Kill (to See You Again)?

This story really had its CLAWS in me. I wrote the chapters so fast that I think I put out almost 50K words in a matter of four weeks; I've really never written that quickly before or since. The last few chapters were a little slower going, though. I think I was nervous as the plot got a little heavier how people would react, so there were definitely some mixed emotions.

What was the most difficult part of writing How I’d Kill (to See You Again)?

When I wrote Eddie betraying such a soft, loving, trusting Steve. When he pinned that part of his personality against him. I love writing angst, but I had never delved quite this deep into the trope. I definitely teared up a couple times making Steve go through it like that.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

Without spoiling much, I think the end scene of chapter 7 of How I'd Kill (The Judas Kiss) was absolutely thrilling to write, and of course the following chapters as well. This whole idea of "morally gray" Eddie Munson was the reason I started writing the fic in the first place. But when I got to the bit where he had to be morally gray and posted the chapter, I immediately had this fear; I didn't know how the readers were going to react, or if I, as the writer, would be able to properly explain Eddie's motivation or make him forgivable for what he did. It was an "oh shit" moment for sure, but I think I ended up doing an alright job pulling it off.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

I'm currently writing a piece for the 2024 Steddie Big Bang called "A Thousand Flowers Could Bloom". It's in collaboration with Inflomora-art, so I'm completely thrilled that I'll have gorgeous artwork to go with this fic. I'm sure by the time this is posted, it'll already be live! I'm so proud of this story—it might be the best I've written yet. So yeah, if you're reading this, please check it out!!! 

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

I don’t think so, but thank you so much for this! It was really fun to answer all these questions <3

Thank you to our author, @morningberriesao3, and our nominator, @steddieas-shegoes! See more of morningberries' works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[unknownteapot]

I didn’t like Tommy’s story either. I’m currently listening to the episode and so far I love it. You can tell they put a lot of time and effort into it, specially the background sounds. But fans can be disappointed that the format of a series was changed after months of not hearing from it. I don’t think people are ungrateful, they’re upset with how Smosh dealt with this. I think it’s unfair to completely disregard people’s concerns

hiii anon <3

i agree with you, completely honestly, i really don't want to seem ungrateful or like i'm being too negative about this whole thing, i'm going to try my best to listen to the sword af 2 episodes when i can and obviously i understand there's immense hard work and dedication that goes into making something like this, from what i've seen here on tumblr it's great so far- im not intending to disregard that!!

similar to you, though, i'm not too happy the way this was dealt with & announced - my major gripes are that their considerations for people who are deaf/hard of hearing/have auditory processing issues were only made after the backlash of the first announcement? like wdym you're making it into a whole podcast but didn't even think about people who can't listen to it? like not once in the entire process of shifting mediums? as far as i know (please correct me i'd love to be corrected, i hope i'm wrong) there haven't been any steps taken so far about that- i haven't seen any captions/transcripts posted by smosh games or any statements after the 2nd community post on yt where they addressed the backlash on what their further steps are to make this more accessible

it also feels strange to me that they were so silent about it for so long- maybe if they'd made the announcement earlier/gave at least a little info we'd already have had this conversation about inclusivity and captions would be available along with the 1st Ep so everyone can keep following the story they absolutely love as it releases

lastly (and i'm sorry this is an essay anon and anyone reading but i really need to say all this) the community of sword af fans are one of the most dedicated & talented communities i've seen tbh, they have to know the support is there right? i'm so surprised they're not posting any parts of the podcast on youtube (the literal home of smosh), it's so strange to me, it really feels like it's being pushed to the side slightly- but hey what do i know, i'm a silly gal on tumblr pls dont come for me

[madamebaggio]

Notes: OMG I THOUGHT I'D NEVER GET THIS DONE *cries*

Anyway... Guys, this is nasty. So... You've been warned.

Also, my mother has just arrived from a party she was helping at and I told her: "I need to go finish this smut or I won't get the chapter done." And she was like: "Sure, darling. You go ahead and do that."

Previously...

***

Chapter 5

Her husband might have fallen asleep quite easily, but the same wasn’t true to Lothíriel.

What was that?

What was that feeling? What had he done to her? And just with his fingers!

And the kisses! Valar, the kisses.

He’d never kissed her like that, she’d never been kissed like that. She’d read in books about those kisses, but she’d come to believe this was something that only happened in romance novels.

She was clearly wrong.

What was that?

She was starting to think she’d been missing something quite obvious, because her husband hadn’t been surprised  by any of it. He knew that whatever had happened was possible.

Lothíriel didn’t have many women in her life. Even if she had, what happened in the chambers between a married couple wasn’t commonly discussed. Elsa had been the one to explain it to her when it came the time, however Lothíriel had always thought that Elsa’s explanation for it had been… Lacking.

Now, she didn’t blame her sister-in-law for it, as such subjects weren’t meant to be discussed, even in such a setting. Elsa explained to Lothíriel like her mother had explained to her before her wedding night, and she’d even given more information than it was considered proper.

And yet… Most of what Elsa had told Lothíriel had concerned Éomer taking care of things. That was her biggest recommendation as a matter of fact: “let your husband guide you, and you will be fine.”

That had been obviously a terrible idea! Because she’d been letting Éomer ‘guide’ her for the last years and the best she could say about the whole thing was that it was boring.

BORING!

Last night wasn't boring. Actually that was the last word she’d use to describe it. In fact, despite her years of education, Lothíriel couldn’t find a word that described what she’d felt.

‘Delightful’ came to mind, but she didn’t think her husband deserved that one. Because if she could’ve felt that all along…

No. No.

She needed to talk to someone, the problem was… Who? She was the Queen, and she couldn’t go around discussing such things with just anyone. Firstly, because many were already  worried about the lack of an heir after two years of marriage. Secondly, as much as Rohan had less conservative views than Gondor, it still wasn’t proper to discuss such things.

Besides, what would she say? She wasn’t even sure how to explain what was happening in a way that wasn’t entirely embarrassing, if not humiliating.

“My lady? Are you alright? You are awfully quiet today.”

Lothíriel looked up from the bread she’d been staring at for far too long, and turned to Aelfdis, the cook. “I am fine.” She sighed.

The older woman didn’t seem convinced, but she clearly wasn’t going to push her Queen. “If you are certain…”

Lothíriel opened her mouth, then closed it again. Aelfdis had been her biggest supporter all this time. Many in the Mark were unhappy with a Gondorian queen, and hadn’t been shy about saying so. The cook had been kind from the very beginning and had helped her immensely when she’d first arrived at Edoras.

But there was a limit.

“My lady, if I may…” Aelfdis came closer. “You seem to have something on your mind that is weighing heavily on you. If there is anything I could possibly help with…”

“It is…” Lothíriel measured her words carefully. “It is something personal.”

The cook nodded slowly, then pulled her out of the kitchen, where they were alone. “Maybe something related to the King?”

The queen’s shoulders sagged. “I should not… Discuss such things.”

Aelfdis frowned. “Perhaps. But… You are very young and you do not have anyone close to you here. I am not old enough to be your mother, but maybe I am old enough to understand the problem.”

The gentle way she said it made Lothíriel finally admit something. “It is something really personal.”

Understanding spread across Aelfdis’ face. “I see. Something related to how babies get made?”

Lothíriel felt as if the woman was being subtle out of sympathy for her. “Yes.”

The woman nodded. “I imagine you are happy with his return, and you were longing for him.” 

Lothíriel had to hold in a snort. Even though they didn’t have a good relationship, Éomer and Lothíriel had managed to keep those differences mostly to themselves. Many believed that -after a rocky start- they were doing well as a couple.

Aelfdis was one of those. “But men can get tired too. It has very little to do with how much they love us.” She told Lothíriel comfortingly. “And you can still feel close to him in other ways.” The queen had no idea what the woman was talking about. “And then -later- things will be good again.”

That word caught Lothíriel’s attention. “Good?”

“Oh fine.” Aelfdis gave her a wink. “Excellent then.”

Was she implying…? “Because it is supposed to feel good.” Lothíriel said slowly. “Even excellent. Right?”

Aelfdis frowned, unsure about the Queen’s tone. “Yes. It is.”

Yes… Any normal reservation that Lothíriel might have had about this conversation was gone. “Aelfdis… Tell me everything that should happened between husband and wife in bed.”

***

Éomer wasn’t hiding from his lady wife.

No, this time it was serious. He wasn’t.

Well, not exactly. He just thought she might benefit from some time apart from him. Not a lot -he wasn’t going anywhere -but a bit.

Honestly, the more he’d thought about it, the worse he felt about the whole fucking thing. Which was a recurring problem and not something he was enjoying very much.

The night before he’d let his ego take over and did his best to erase the words ‘boring��� and ‘awkward’ from Lothíriel’s mind. And if her cries of pleasure were any indication, he’d succeeded -at least on that. However, he'd still managed to fail her.

He’d treated her worse than a harlot, with little consideration. He’d left her alone in a new experience -one that shouldn’t even be new since they were married for two years!

Éomer didn’t know what was wrong with him. He was aware that some Gondirian nobles thought the Rohirrim were savages and he was giving credit to such notions by the way he was treating his wife.

His wife!

He’d have to apologise and act better. Perhaps ‘boring’ wasn’t so bad, and they could have a more stable marriage in that way.

Éomer got out of the tub and dried his body, before pulling his pants up. It was better to be dressed before he could talk to his lady wife.

Actually… Where was Lothíriel?

The bedroom door slammed violently against the wall as it was pushed open. He almost lunged for his sword, before he realised it was his wife. Well, at least a version of her, one he’d never seen before. Her neat hair was a mess, she was flushed and clearly furious.

“You!” She screeched when she saw him.

Maybe not a sword, but definitely a shield. “Lothíriel…”

“All this time!” She accused advancing on him. “All the nights I had to stare at the ceiling and hope I wouldn’t fall asleep, and it was never supposed to be like that.”

Oh.

Fuck.

“I ought to…” She huffed, marching right up to him. “Kill you, you oaf!” She pointed an angry finger at him.

Éomer frowned at that finger. “You need to calm down.”

“Oh, do I?” She scoffed. “I just had the most embarrassing conversation of my life with Aelfdis…”

“The cook?” Éomer was aghast.

“Yes.” She hissed. “And she explained to me that I was supposed to be enjoying what happens in our bed!”

Oh, great. She’d discussed what went on in their bedchambers with Aelfdis. “I was trying to treat you with respect.” He said, his teeth clenched.

“Oh please.” She rolled her eyes. “You just did not care. You wanted me as miserable as you were.”

“You were a young princess! What would you have me do?” He demanded. “Treat you like a common wench?”

“Maybe I would be enjoying all of this a lot better if you did!”

“For fuck’s…” Éomer growled, beyond furious.

He grabbed his wife by the waist and sat her down on the nearby table ignoring her angry yelp at his action. “ÉOMER!”

He pushed her legs open so he could fit himself closer to her, his eyes intense as he looked at her. “Maybe we should find out.” He spoke, his voice lower.

Éomer cupped Lothíriel’s face with both hands and settled his mouth on hers. She gasped in surprise, her hands going to his shoulders. He promised himself he’d let her go if she pushed him away, but Lothíriel’s hands just rested there as if she was unsure on what to do next.

He realised she’d never properly touched his naked skin. He did remove his shirt to bed, but she’d always kept her hands chastely on his shoulders.

Not this time. Éomer grabbed one of her hands and put it on his chest. As if she’d received some sort of permission, Lothíriel’s hands started to discover other parts of him.

He should slow down - probably. Those were angry kisses and he was supposed to be better than this, but there was something about Lothíriel that made his blood boil.

Besides, she wasn’t shy now. Maybe she’d never been, and he simply hadn’t known her at all. Her kisses were still untried, but they were as angry as his, biting and hot.

He shoved the skirt of her dress up, his hands pushing her legs to open more. He found her cunt and she was… “Wet.” He hissed, somewhat shocked by the discovery.

“Éomer…” This time Lothíriel’s voice was unsure.

He pressed a hard kiss to her mouth. “You enjoyed this last night, remember? I will not hurt you, but tell me if you wish for me to stop.”

She took a deep breath, then nodded at him. She’d liked when he played with her the night before, and this time she was much less doubtful about the process.

Éomer made circles on her clit, pulling a sigh from between her lips, her head falling forward. Her hands returned to his shoulders, as if she needed something to hold on to.

“Tilt your hips for me.” He ordered gruffly by her ear, then slid his other hand between her legs when she complied. He didn’t stop massaging her clit when he pushed a finger inside her.

Lothíriel threw her head back, her hands clenching on his shoulders, her short nails biting into the skin. Her skin was flushed and she still looked somewhat bewildered by this.

His wife was small and he was not, and he didn’t want the words ‘boring’ and ‘awkward’ anywhere near her head anymore, so made sure to prepare her well. He pushed another finger into her.

This time she called his name in a completely different way.

When her gasps got louder, Éomer pulled his hands away.

“What?” Lothíriel asked, confused by the abrupt halt.

He pressed another hard kiss to her lips. “You do not get to peak until my cock is inside of you.” He should not be speaking to his wife like this, it was probably wrong, but Éomer felt feral just then.

He pushed his pants down, freeing his cock. He was taken by something, but Lothíriel didn’t seem scared or angry. Just… Mildly curious. She was very much avoiding looking at his nakedness, but they’d have time to discuss such things in the future. He should’ve been the one to guide her from the start and he was doing it from then on.

Éomer pushed into her - not as hard as he could have, but not as gently as he perhaps should have. His body was shaking and his heart was beating like a war drum.

He grabbed her thighs and Lothíriel her hands back to support herself. He wished he’d thought of getting her naked so he could see - for the first time -the lines and curves of her body, so he could touch more of her.

He tried to go slow, he really did. But her moans, the movements she probably didn’t even realise she was making, drove him insane. It still felt angry, but those were the sounds she’d made before -the one he’d never heard before then.

And his name on her lips was more beautiful than a prayer.

When Éomer snuck a hand between them, to caress her clit again, Lothíriel’s body shook and she came apart around him, dragging him down with herself.

Lothíriel’s arms gave up and she fell back on the table. Éomer pulled back and rested his head against her belly as he tried to catch his breath.

“That…” She started weakly. “Was not boring.”

Éomer would have laughed if he had the strength. He took a deep breath in and straightened up, decided to be a better husband this time. “Come.” He offered her his hand. “Let us get you cleaned up and into bed.”

She put her hand in his.

[tia-amorosa]

🌴Lucky Palms🌴

Friends (Last part for now)

Clark took his car, which he had left at Marisol's just a few days ago. And like many other people, he too had a preference for older models and so he fulfilled a dream a long time ago. Even if it was quite expensive, especially the restoration of the '68 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible. But money doesn't stink, as the saying goes.

When Clark arrived at Oscar's, he was a little surprised and also shocked. "Tell me… Is there any reason for your child to be lying on the floor?"/ "I didn't want to take him out into the blazing sun, I just wanted to get something from the car". Clark stood open-mouthed in front of his friend. "Then you could have just put him in bed. Oh man, I think you're a bit overwhelmed, huh? Where's Vivienne?"/ "Working"

Clark went to the little one and picked him up. "Really, she's going back to work so soon after giving birth? I thought she was taking time to enjoy being a mother first"/ "no, she's probably urgently needed at the institute and I have to get to grips with my role as a father first"/ "I have to do that too, okay? But I'm not just going to leave my child on the floor". Oscar was terribly uncomfortable with the whole situation and he was ashamed of it. "sorry, I…"…

Clark went to Oscar and gave his son back into his arms. "Here, believe me, it's not that hard, okay?". Oscar held his son and looked at him. The little boy seemed happy and alert. "h-hh, I'm sorry, I'm a bad father"/ "Ow man, calm down now, nothing else has happened and I won't tell anyone, okay?"/ "O.k…. Thanks, I'll… I'll bring him inside".

Oscar put his son to bed. And Clark was almost a little overwhelmed because he hardly recognized his old room. "Rainbow colors, really?"/ "I know, it would be too colorful for me too, but Vivi thought it would be good for his eyes to get used to the colorful world out there…"/ "If I were a baby, I'd close my eyes, these colors would drive me crazy"

Clark looked at the rainbow on the wall for a moment and grinned inwardly. He thought back to the conversation with Marisol when he said that it was okay if his son was gay. "Hey, where are your thoughts right now?"/ "Sorry, somewhere else. How did you both come up with the name Trenton anyway?".

"aah, that wasn't really my idea. Vivienne thought he absolutely had to have the name she'd read about in a book. "/"Does she decide everything about the little one?"/"huh? No, of course not. I find the name interesting, and the guy in her book had quite a charisma. She thinks our son is a bit like him." Clark shook his head with a smile. "o.k….I almost wanted to call ours Jimmy".

"Jimmy? Because of Hendrix?"/ "hehe, exactly. Well, that was the first thing that came to my mind, but I didn't have time to suggest the name to her. I was just too perplexed when I saw him there for the first time."/ "Yeah well, but Enrico is great too…"/ "Rico, I'll always call him Rico . and Enrico when he's get cheeky, haha".

Oscar realized how happy his best friend was. "Hehe… You're going to be a great dad, Clark"/ "hey, you too, huh? Just spend a bit more time with him, then something like before won't happen again." After these words, Oscar looked at his son again. "I do, but babies sleep a lot"/ "then use the time when he's awake, okay. You wouldn't believe how much the little ones are already aware of. And if you have any problems or questions…".

"… Then you can always ask me or Marisol for help"/ "You're probably already the baby pros, hehe"/ "Well, maybe not pros, but not amateurs either, the baby course has really proved its worth. She just sent me a picture… oh man, the little one is amazing."/ "well, it can happen that quickly. Thank you. especially for your support".

The two of them left the children's room and continued talking in the living room. "How are your therapies going?"/"Oh, quite well. It's just weird talking to nine other people in a circle. But we all have the same problem, triggered by other problems…"/ "And are the anonymous alcoholics really that anonymous?" / "hehe. Well, not quite. After a therapy session, some of them still meet up together somewhere".

"hopefully not to drink, hehe"/ "sure, water, coffee, tea… mostly in the park. but I always go home afterwards, I don't want to miss anything here"/ "very good. Just keep at it, okay? I just wanted to stop by for a moment."/ "Do you have to go home again?"/ "No, to the jeweler"/ "Do you need new earrings?"…

"Rings yes, but not for my ears". Oscar looked at him questioningly for a moment. But then something dawned on him. "What, you want… really?"/ "Well, not today and not tomorrow, but I at least want to have them in my pocket.". Oscar nodded in agreement and smiled "Yeah, it would be a bit early to ask her now…"/ "Exactly. But please don't tell anyone, okay?"/ "No, don't worry".

Clark left again. He was sure that Oscar was back on the right track. When his little son called out loudly from the room, he apologized and wanted to take care of him straight away. So they said goodbye and planned to meet again soon. A lot has changed for Clark in the last few months. He has grown up a bit more. And he knows what is even more important in life than just music. He doesn't want to give up his passion, but he does want to cut back a little. For now, he is concentrating on his little family.

We are now leaving Lucky Palms for an indefinite period of time. If anyone would like me to stop by again, please let me know. But I also have to manage and organize my time well. So be patient with me. For now, I'll continue with Sunset Died for a while.

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

@cozygirlsimmer 💕💓

[feralwaff1e]

So let's talk about an arc in my Lady Betrayus AU, that I've been hesitating to publish.

Also fanart in the read more

TRIGGER WARNING: NON CONSENSUAL BODY TRANSITIONING.

So, I'm unsure of how Stratos hears this, but he gets wind that if given the chance, Betrayus would not take back her physical body. The reason being, is that it is not transitioned, and if she were to go back into it, the gender dysphoria would be debilitating for her. After all, her ghostly form is already perfect, so why take her physical body? She'd obviously get the bodies back for her army, though.

Getting wind of this and already mulling over many things in his head. Questions such as: Was our house not safe enough to talk about this? Was it our fault she ended up like this?(evil not trans). How can we make this up to her without disturbing the political system of Pacworld?

Stratos, not really thinking, decides the Best Thing Ever would be to surprise his sister with a present that shows he supports and loves her.

What is the present/surprise you ask?

Well, he's gonna take Betrayus’s body out of the repository and transition it for her…..Yeah, he really didn't think that through or thought about how maybe YOU SHOULDN'T DO THAT. But he's not thinking that, he's thinking he's the Best Big Brother Ever.

He's giving his sister gender affirming care, well as much as the scientists/doctors sworn to secrecy would allow. The treatment Betrayus’s body was allowed to have without her permission was Hormone Therapy. Even then, that's still crossing the line. The only reason they're doing this is because he's the present, and they don't know what would happen if they say no.

So ,this is happening, Betrayus has no idea what's going on. The funny thing is, if Stratos had tried to ask or somehow tried to talk to her about it, she would have agreed! But he didn't. He took this whole choice/important decision from her. Not only that, but if he asked and they did this together? He would have been the perfect support.

He asks questions, makes sure nothing is harmful in the long term, all the stuff a good brother would do.

But he didn't, and Stratos lowkey is talking to her body sometimes, too. Not in a creepy way, but like how a loved one talks to the ashes or a grave. Little things, talking about his days, how he wished they talked more, how he's gonna make it up to her. It's concerning but not something anyone is willing to comment on.

This goes on, for what I wanna say, is about a year and a half. Enough that all the effects of the estrogen are seen on Betrayus's physical body. Longer hair, change in fat distribution, softer skin, etc. So after that, Stratos tricks Betrayus to coming to the roundhouse, under the guise of ‘Power Transferal’ that Betrayus would rule Pacworld.

Spoilers, it wasn't that.

Betrayus, confused as to why she would need to sign a document of power transferable in the basement, is About to fight her brother when the elevator opens. Then Stratos in all his glory points at the the thing he's been keeping his sister in, yells “Surprise!”

There was her body, floating in a vat. Betrayus could only quietly float up to it and put her hand on it. She was stunned, speechless, and felt…scared?

“...What did you do?”

“I heard what you were saying about your body? So I thought I'd show my support and help with the transition and-”

“Help? HELP?! YOU BULLDOZED *MY* DECISIONS!”

She's gone from scared to angry in a snap of her fingers. Her brother took this from her, like how she felt he took everything else, she wasn't even there to see how body changed. Then what the hell were they supposed to do when the body was transitioned for her? Back into the repository?! It didn't make sense. None of this made sense to her!

She yells at him, hardcore, the whole laboratory temperature raised by a whole lot too. How could he do this without her permission?! Didn't he understand that he took away her autonomy a second time?!

She ends up scorching some of the lab and telling him to put the body back in the repository. She didn't know what he expected from this, but she was disgusted And disappointed.

Meanwhile, Stratos is distraught. His sister…She looked truly fearful of him. He didn't understand what he did was wrong. Shouldn't she be happy? Eleated? It didn't make sense to him. He doesn't see Betrayus for 6 months after. Even then, it's because she had to stop Ezra & the twins from beating the shit outta him.

This is all I got for this rn, may add more later. If y'all have any questions just send an ask

[my-beloved-lakes]

@leveragetober

Leveragetober 2023

Prompt 4: crossover

Parker, Eliot and Hardison take a job in Paris. When it gets interrupted by a con artist who is scamming their mark, they decide to recruit him into Leverage International. (Under the cut.)

Parker eyed the man claiming to be the mark's assistant, tied to the chair in front of her. He was a grifter, No doubt about it now. And he was really good too.

None of them had suspected him of being criminal, not until they had caught him trying to clear out the mark’s bank account at the same time as them, making this simple trip to Paris much more complicated.

So, who was this guy really? A grifter, sure, but why had he chosen the exact same mark as them? Maybe it was just a coincidence, but what were the chances of that?

"Who are you?" Parker asked. "And don’t bother lying. We’ll know if you do.”

Parker heard Eliot crack his knuckles behind her. She knew Eliot wasn't actually going to hurt this guy, since he wasn’t much of a threat, but this guy didn't know that. And yet Parker only caught a brief flash of fear in his eyes before he managed to hide it again.

He’s not gonna talk, is he? Parker shrugged. There were other ways of finding out what they wanted to know.

"Run his face through that thing that tells you who people are." She said turning to Hardison.

"Parker, it’s called...?" Hardison started to say but was interrupted.

"Wait, The Parker!?" The guy asked, astonished.

"The one and only." Parker sighed. She was getting tired of people recognizing her as a world famous thief.

"You stole the Hope Diamond five years ago!"

Parker nodded.

"And then put it back!"

Parker rolled her eyes. 

“Yes I did. So, since you know so much about me, why don't you tell us about yourself," Parker glanced at Hardison's computer. "Neal Cafrey."

"Ooh, you were good!" Hardison sounded genuinely impressed as he read from the files that popped up.

"Still am." Neal smirked. 

"Huh, says here that you're dead." Hardison said.

"Aww, Your FBI handler wrote a very sweet message for your obituary." Parker added, reading more information from the files that Hardison had found.

Neal ducked his head and looked away.

oops. Parker thought. She hadn't meant to be insensitive, but that seemed to have hit a nerve. Maybe they had been close.

Parker pulled up a swivel chair and sat down in front of Neal.

"Alright, just tell us why you were running The Oklahoma Little Chucky on our mark." She demanded.

"No, it was a John and Mary scam." Eliot corrected. "You need a pit bull and a wedding cake for the Oklahoma Little Chucky.”

"Well, it couldn't've been a John and Mary scam cuz you need a whole fire station for that one." Hardison argued.

"Oh, I had the fire station." Neal said slyly.

"Ooh!" Eliot, Hardison and Parker all said in unison. They were all genuinely impressed.

"And to answer your question; the same reason as you, I'd imagine." Neal continued.

"Because his company was polluting the surrounding areas, making people really sick and killing all the wildlife?" Parker asked.

"Okay, I guess not." Neal looked taken aback. "Alright, you guys have already figured out half of it.  I faked my death back in America and I fled here. I needed an easy score that would pay well so I could set myself up with a new life." Neal explained. "You guys are criminals, just like me. You understand, so, one criminal to another, would you be so kind as to let me go?" Neal slipped his hands out of the ropes and stood up without waiting for an answer. 

Parker cocked an eyebrow in surprise.  

“I'm very good at what I do.” Neal shrugged.

He was good. Anyone who could slip one of Eliot's knots had to be.

Neal grabbed his hat off the table, flipped it in his hand and placed it back on his head before heading for the door.

"What if..."  Parker said and spun her chair around to face him, "we offered you a job?"

Neal hesitated at the door.

"It comes with that chance at a new life you were looking for. A chance to run your own crew, long term, right here in Paris." Parker added.

she glanced at Eliot and Hardison who both nodded in agreement. It was the same pitch they had given to Hurley when they had set up the Mexican branch of leverage, and now she got to give it again. They had come to France in the hopes of setting up a new branch of leverage in the first place. She hadn’t been sure how they were going to find someone willing to do it, but then along came Neal Cafrey, an experienced grifter looking for a fresh start. The perfect candidate had fallen right into their lap.

Neal turned around. He was intrigued.

"Let's talk business." Parker said with a sly smile.

[faksyan]

12/16/19 :3

ooohh boyy that got really long. lots of mgs rambles under the cut. thanks for the ask!!! very slight nsfw mention in the second one, nothing major.

12) the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

I'll be honest I'm actually still familiar with some of the games only on surface-level (fake fan I know), and I don't think I have anyone like that from those I know well.

Well, Paz, but I talked about her a bit in the last ask already. She is full of rage and loneliness and gets just a glimpse of real affection and friendship and I find a lot of these themes very compelling. And I guess all the women in general, because fandom spaces usually gravitate towards men, and with mgs it's even less surprising. I really, really like Eva in Snake Eater, but that's mostly due to my own interpretation rather than the writing. I feel like her understanding of love must be really interesting as someone who was taught to pretend/actually feel on some level love on command, and I also think it's interesting that she was the one The Boss opened to. I really wish so many mgs women's traits weren't so tightly linked with romance, man. Quiet is also so cool, but she too suffers from being reduced to just that.

I really like The Boss, she's such a interesting contradiction - cold and strict, but also full of love for the while world and ready to give everything she has to make it just that much better. I would love to see in more detail things about her and Sorrow, an actual game with her as a protagonist would be awesome. Strangelove's tapes in pw are absolutely fascinating as well, the one where she's talking to Joy's ai almost made me cry, and she generally has some pretty interesting take on some things. I really liked the part where she talks about how ai would be an amalgamation of people's consciousness rather than of individual's in the future, because that put into words part of why I hate ai-generated images and text that people call art.

16) you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

Well, I can get people liking anything on account of different tastes, so this is more about popular takes I don't really get because of how different my reading of canon is, I guess? Like the idea of bbkaz being abusive to a point where Kaz was having a horrible terrible time every day at every corner. I've seen it in some fics, and kind of get where people go with it, but I think Kaz "almost blew himself up with a grenade so he wouldn't be taken prisoner" Miller would rather die than be treated like shit. He would blow up their shared tent if it ever came to it ya feel me. He is too proud and too impulsive and too much of everything. They respected and listened to each other and I'd say a lot of their issues were kind of more subtle? in a way. What they had definitely wasn't healthy in many aspects, but it was in ways where they both could ignore/didn't feel it was that bad at the moment, that type of thing.

I read through almost the entirety of ocelhira tag on ao3, and i could write a whole list of stuff about them that I personally see differently as that part of the fandom. I'm very picky when it comes to them, in no way those are bad, and I've /seen/ them being executed in a way I enjoyed, I just don't really get them. The main things I don't really see are, as follows:

That they hate each other (next to zero basis of that before the ending of v, and even this can be argued about.)

They would punch each other on the first meeting or shortly after (never seen either of them as people who would resort to violence in a more business-like setting. because that's how I see them approach what they have. Ocelot mainly uses violence in specific scenarios like interrogations and is good at controlling his emotions. Kaz is impulsive but he is a businessman to the bone. Maybe he'd punch Ocelot at some point but definitely not early on. I feel like the main instigator of random CQC is Snake after all, and without him they would figure things out differently.)

They would fuck on the first meeting or shortly after (Ocelot is weird about intimacy and doesn't trust anyone and is a spy who's probably never had friends or lovers, in any meaningful sence of the words. Also he's on aroace spectrum to me. I don't think Kaz would have sex with a person he genuinely despises even if he found them appealing, out of sheer stubbornness. If he hates a person he hates them, same reason why I don't think bbkaz would work in any way past v. Even if Kaz tried to hook up with Ocelot in the beginning, he would probably kill him for a mere insinuation. Give me the intricate details of getting to know a person and figuring shit out, they had nine whole years.)

There's probably more, but this is getting like. super long sorry my bad. And sorry so much of it is about ships, the platonic tags are barren as a desert I gotta write and draw some myself✌️

19) you're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

Vocelot a bit maybe (not necessarily romantic or sexual) because the whole concept of them having a close relationship could go a very fucked-up route (like a bit more than the average mgs level). Not really ashamed, that's why I like it, it has a sort of a Hannigram feel to it. Even in case where they genuinely care about each other, there are still some weird power dynamics and mind games and codependency. I just generally find ideas of brainwashing really unsettling.

Also I really like Huey as a character. am I allowed to say that. am I getting fed to the bears. I can and will elaborate at some point, I just really like characters who are unredeemable impossible hypocrites (hey, that's part of why I'm a Kaz Miller fan) and Huey is just. vastly misunderstood when it comes to what caused him to spiral, none of which helps his case but it's INTERESTING. Instead he's just being reduced to a punching bag without taking a look at what exactly led up to it all. Grantedly, I don't think Kojima thought about it that deeply at all, but it came out as a vivid critique of how society and especially military treats men who are disabled/not "masculine" enough/can't stand up for themselves. to me. and I like that.

[angelosearch]

Tag game for fanfiction authors!

This one has been in my drafts for a while, I forgot where I got it from oops!! Tagging @tr1ck5 @suleikashideaway @gardengalwrites @aleheartilly @mathiwrites @waltzforthemoon @summonerluna and anyone who wants to join in!

Tell us:

The story you're proudest of: It's got to be Eyes of the Storm. It's a FFVIII AU but honestly, I don't think you need to know FFVIII at all to read it. It's magical realism with a lot of focus on place and nature and that's the kind of stuff I've wanted to write in long form for my whole life. I am so proud of it I kind of want to shake everyone I know and get them to read it.

Your story that's gotten the most love online: TECHNICALLY, Chaos Theory, but that's only because I've been posting it for a while and it's 21 chapters. In terms of Kudos per hits, I'd have to go with Silver Anniversary.

Tease a current WIP or idea you're working on: I'll give you two! First, a bit from A New Beginning's sequel (The Sorceress Awakens). This is from chapter one of three, "The Commander Dreams Again."

Squall nodded as though he’d been dismissed and started walking toward the door. “Hey wait son—I MEAN, son-dier! SOLDIER! No, Commander, Commander Squall? SQUAMMANDER—” “What, Laguna?” “Uh.. I just, uh…” Shit shit shit! He already looks annoyed! Gotta change the subject! “Uhh, what’s Rinoa up to these days? I’m surprised you didn’t bring her with you!” Perfect save, hell yeah! Squall looked away, and then to the floor. “She’s just busy, she couldn’t come.” And before Laguna could ask any further, Squall stepped out of his office.

And then a bit from the next chapter of Chaos Theory, "Part IV: The Edge of Chaos | Suspended Animation"

But there was another face there beyond his own. He could see his father’s features across the terrain of his countenance, filling him with a tightening ball of emotions too complex to name, nonetheless untangle.   Most people told him he, luckily, resembled his mother, but Laguna was there, hiding along his brow bone and around his jawline. His reflection reminded him that he had been behind that man’s face, felt the things he felt, thought the things he thought, and it made it worse to realize how much he and Laguna had in common. It had been simpler to just see Laguna as a man that lived up to the shoddy expectations of the people of Winhill, as a guy who pushed him away and let him down intentionally, and hate him for it. Now an entirely different picture had been painted for Squall, and it was hard to reconcile his long-held beliefs and tinted experiences against the formerly unseen reality.

Also, I have this project I've got bouncing around in my head called "Odine Asylum" which hopefully I'll try to put on a page soon.

Your top 3 fandoms: Final Fantasy VIII, Hazbin Hotel, The Locked Tomb!

Your top 3 ships: Squall x Rinoa (FFVIII), Trevor x Sypha X Alucard (Castlevania), Thrawn x Eli (Star Wars Thrawn novels)

Rec someone else's fic: UGH this is SO HARD so I am just going to go with the fic I've read most recently (there were moments that had me cracking up): Dirty Boots.

Pick one!

Fluff or Angst (but why not both?)

Oneshots or longfics

Canon compliance or canon divergence

AO3 or FF.net

[letters-from-dekarios]

[Roux is a human thief who worked for the Guild. He is cold and impersonal on the outside but very affectionate when he likes someone. He romanced Gale but didn't accept the proposal because he had his own stuff to figure out. The letter is written in a scratchy hand, with ink smears and crossed-out letters indicating that it was written rather hastily]

Dearest Gale,

I hope you're doing well. Professorship suits you, I think. I never got to go to school but in my entirely unbiased opinion you make an amazing teacher. I hope you can actually read this, since I know my writing isn't exactly up to snuff, but if you can't then I'm sure you'll spare my feelings somehow.

Baldur's Gate is as busy as ever, although being a hero certainly has its perks. It's weird- people buy me drinks and stuff, now. People know my name and they respect it. Important people want to talk to me, and want my help making decisions.

I don't know if I like it all the time.

Not to be bitter, but must of these nobles would've spit on me a year ago, and the only reason they'll listen to a street rat is because I saved their sorry arses. Oh well, at least I can help some people while I'm at it. Wyll says hello, by the way, but he already writes to you enough, so I'm sure you know that.

I do wonder about your tower, sometimes. Everything you told me made it seem apart from the world, in some pocket of peace that all the chaos couldn't touch. I'd welcome some peace, I think.

I spent my whole life being a sticky-fingered kid, stealing to get by, but you made me feel like more than that. You treated me like a person- a person that mattered.

I'm not good at letters. I know I've been dancing around it for a while, and it only took me so long to write because I was putting it off. I'm sorry about that. But... I still love you. That never went away. I miss having you tell me about anything and everything and nothing at all. I miss having someone hold my hand.

I won't say that I regret my decision- because that would be a lie and I'm trying not to lie so much these days. I needed a little while to figure out who I am what I want.

And... Well, what I want is you. I need you. I need peace. I need to stay in one place, for a while. I understand if our leaving left a sour taste in your mouth. If you want nothing to do with me I won't push you. But if you do want me... Well, I don't own much in the way of material possessions. It wouldn't be that hard to move to Waterdeep.

-Yours, Roux

Dearest Roux,

I am glad to hear from you! It has been awfully too long since we last spoke. At times, I find myself missing the presence you held when we’d camp together. Though I do prefer not having a tadpole to worry of.

Blackstaff is treating me rather well! Though that is no surprise to even the most knowledgeable man. I have taken a quick liking to my work and as most would say, “fit right in”. I walk the halls with the reminder of my history here, and it brings me comfort to remember that I was once much like the very students I teach today. This is about the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever experienced, second only to saving Faerûn.

Baldur’s Gate hasn’t known an ounce of calm peace in decades. But, regardless, they try and feign normalcy after an event as huge as we had conquered. Being a “hero” of sorts is never easy to get used to. I feel as though one can only continue chasing that feeling of “more” as though you must continue with your acts of service to consider yourself worthy of the praise being received.

Nobles spit on anyone they consider lower than they. They’ll even spit on other nobles if given the chance. The opinions they hold in the grand scheme of things should, in all reality, mean nothing. But I do understand the point you draw. It’s an odd experience to have people who’d kill you now kill for you. One does not simply “adjust” to that.

Your words bring a sadness to my heart. The backgrounds of us all were much to be contested with. Look at the likes of Astarion, or Karlach, for example. You, out of all of us, certainly mattered. Without you, I’m sure the rest of us would have either died or been sent back to the hells we came from. I’m sure I would’ve exploded in the midst of the Weave and my memory would’ve long faded without you. I couldn’t be more grateful for your existence and your kindness.

Roux… I have not the words I need to reply to you. What I can say, however, is this; I never stopped loving you. Through it all, I still find myself aching for your presence beside me. I am not mad at you for leaving, I would be a selfish bastard to be angry with you for that. And, quite frankly, I’ve tried to swear off being a selfish bastard after my last consequences.

I cannot blame you for needing time. For needing space. After saving all of Faerûn, it’s only reasonable to need time to understand where you’re at and who you’ve become. It is not within my rights to hold any kind of a grudge after all you’ve done for me. I would wait decades for you, Roux. I would curse the gods for immortality if it meant I’d have you at the end of it all. I would devote my dying breath to your highest altar just to have a glimpse of what could have been.

Perhaps that is idiotic of me. Perhaps you will be thinking I shouldn’t hold onto such a thing for that long. I cannot deny the inclinations of my heart, I never have been able to do that. I cannot tie my heart to yours and cut it off so easily. I am not capable of such an act.

Whatever you have to give, whatever you want to give, all of it will be more than enough. Your association at my side is more than I could ever need in this lifetime and the next. If I am to be reincarnated after death, I shall find you then too. You are all I have ever wanted and all I will ever desire. With you, my breath catches and my heart swells with joy. I have never met a person so comfortable to be around.

You, Roux, will always have a space within my home, my mind, and most especially my heart. Whatever you need, whatever your desire, I shall fulfill it to the best of my ability. However you are, however you come, I will take you in. You are most here in Waterdeep.

And, if it happens to sweeten the deal, Tara misses you, too. My mother has even offered to bake some sweets for your arrival if you do so choose to return here.

I would be more than happy to have you here, Roux. I am not a man who tends to lie on matters of such grave importance, you know that. Write me when you have started your journey to Waterdeep, if you are still interested in coming here, that way I have some time to prepare for your arrival.

Yours in every lifetime,

𝑮𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒌𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒔

text reads: gale dekarios

[jojo-schmo]

Hello! I just discovered your roleswap comic and I'm eating it up, it's so gooooooood. I don't really ship MetaDede personally, but good gods the way you write them bickering and bantering and the near sync when shit gets serious makes me wanna scream in excitement ekdvsiehrhr

AND PRIMAL BANDANA DEE THO

Absolutely my favorite part of the swap. It just makes me crave for an actual Bandana Dee boss fight that actually does him justice. (also the Prince of Dreams/Beasts title itches something in my heart really well)

I'm not sure if it was intentional or if you even know who I'm talking about, but giving Bandana Dee a Scythe at some point (plus some wind abilities) really reminds me of General Gong the Hawkeye from Patapon, what with the whole high-ranking, scythe wielding, wind-adjacent thing. Probably just a coincidence tho, but I personally love it!

Hope to see the next update! :D

(P.S. while I was reading the comic, some of the links are broken or straight up missing. I'm reading from the Tumblr app so it's a bit of a hassle. Just thought I'd let u know :D)

Hello there!! Oh my goodness, what a wonderful ask, thank you so much for telling me all of this! As a person who thrives on Words of Affirmation, these types of comments mean absolutely everything to me. <3

If I may go on a tangent about the shipping thing because I'm glad you brought that up. It's a huge complement to hear you say that because-

The Roleswap comic is not a story about romance. But it is about love.

While I am a personal lover of metadede and it fueled my initial creation of this story, I want to take the Roleswap AU in a different direction from a story that's focuses on a ship where "the main characters act the way they do because they are in love or a couple." A "partnership" like theirs can possibly be interpreted as a build up to a romance. But it doesn't have to be! So there's no blatantly romantic interactions anywhere in this story like what may be found in my non-Roleswap, specifically metadede labeled content (Like kisses, confessions of love, etc.).

Dedede and Meta do love each other, like the other protagonists of Kirby love each other. Kirby, Bandana Dee, all the other Waddle Dees, the Meta-Knights, and the friends they've made over the years. The love between many of them has developed over the entire series! They've all come a long way from fighting each other to trusting one another and even having fun together!

I see the love between the Kirby protagonists as one where they care about and want the best for each other. They may not always understand the other's thoughts and motivations. But they respect them and learn to complement each other's differences. They protect each other in battle. They grow together and learn to bring out the best in each other.

So how could two very different and powerful authority figures like Dedede and Meta come together to save their friends and family, and navigate a huge world and an unknown conflict together? That's the main question I want to present in this story.

Whatever the interpretation of the King and Knight's relationship a reader may have, I'm most happy about the fact that this comic has readers!!!

Anyway!! Back to your ask! :D

Primal Bandana Dee means a lot to me too! The only reason this comic exists is because I also wanted a cool boss fight for him, and I had just finished playing Forgotten Land for the first time. It all just branched out from there. I wish I could just spill everything I have planned for him, but alas! I have a story with a set order to tell! I will say that if anyone is worried about not seeing him until the Winter Horns area, that he will make appearances before that. Just stay tuned!

And hey. This is an AU of an existing story. We know how the canon ending went already. To keep things interesting I have to include some surprises in my version down the line somewhere, right? ;)

I also haven't heard of Patapon so the resemblance between General Gong and Bandee is a coincidence! I did look it up and General Gong looks cool!! I respect scythe wielders, haha. Thanks for telling me! If this is a game I have the ability to play it could be fun to check it out!

New Roleswap update is coming soon! I feel bad that it's been about a month and I left it on a bit of a cliffhanger. But my personal and work life is slowing down enough for me to make more progress on the next pages! Our heroes will get out of the underground tunnel soon! :O

Maybe I can offer this behind-the-scenes peek of Dedede's internal monologue in the dark tunnel as a thank you for the patience?

Finally, big thanks for letting me know about the broken links! I'll sit down on my computer soon and clean up all the links. I sometimes post on mobile and sometimes on web so maybe that messed some things up.

But if anyone needs a non-tumblr reading experience, I've also hosted the story on Comic Fury for a simpler navigation! Link is in the pinned masterpost on this blog, but also here: https://forgottenlandroleswap.the-comic.org/

Thanks for reading this director's commentary! Toodle-oo!

[oddinary4bts]

Hello! I hope you're doing well:)

I've read some comments and this isn't an ask but they're being too harsh on jk for no reason lol

He didn't do anything wrong. He is NOT required to stay loyal when they were never even together. And I'm sorry no hate to anyone really but some of these people are actually either children or they're just kinda immature cause no way they're taking this as cheating 😭

Oc and jk are not and never were together officially. I understand they love each other but they choose to not stay together so regardless of their feelings they willingly both choose to not fight for each other and leave things as it was. It was a good and very OKAY thing for jk to do. Sleeping with other people when you're stressed is such a common thing to do as an adult, in fact I'm glad jk isn't completely stuck and I hope he knows he isn't in the wrong.

I also saw people saying that "just because its not wrong, it doesn't mean it's right". I don't think that fits in this situation. Cause his actions were not in any way bad. He's obviously guilty cause oc saw and knows that he slept with their mutual friend. He loves oc and it's not an ideal situation that he would've wanted to be in so it's understandable it pained him and it's 100% normal to feel guilty and I'd be surprised if he wouldn't be. But he did not do an unforgivable mistake like people are making it seem to be. It was very much okay for a grown man to try and move on from a situation in a healthy way rather than cry over oc for the rest of his life.

And to be fair oc came outta nowhere bru 😭 girl really just showed up after months and expected their situation to be completely fine after breaking things off, not trusting him like he asked and even after reading his letter, she did not contact him. like no??? This is both of their fault that they ended up there but jk is being blamed for the whole thing as if poor guy isn't on the verge of jumping off a building already LMAO and I hope oc won't feel like jk did something super wrong cause she has no say in what he does while they weren't together.

However I do partly understand others points that "How could he touch another woman after what oc and him went through" But regardless of his feelings towards oc, that doesn't mean he can't try to move on or sleep with someone else. So what's the problem? Did people genuinely expect him to rot in his room without thinking about another woman just cause of oc? He's a human being that once in a while of course needs affection and in fact I think it's much more healthy than staying by himself all day and crying about the situation forever yk?

Sorry I did not mean to make it thing long, I could talk about this for ages but I just thought I'd let you know I understand how you're thinking. Cause all I've been seeing is mostly everyone thinking what he did was all wrong and he shouldn't be forgiven, and why would he sleep with someone else when theres oc. when in reality they are literally not together and hasn't been for months. He did nothing wrong by sleeping with Lisa, it's not his fault that oc randomly decided to come back right on the day he was with someone else. I don't see a problem with jks actions at all.

SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK📢

[exsqueezememacaroni]

I'm sorry, for God's sake, I don't mean to offend anyone. I'm just a very distrustful nerd, and I'm always picky. I'm skeptical of these Q&As. I can't help but think we're being tricked. Maybe it's some kind of trolling or prank? Mike doesn't answer any of the questions, I get the impression that his "manager" answers all the questions for him. Why Mike would answer anything at all is not clear. Unless as "proof" that he is supposedly around? No clear explanations about upcoming projects, tours. It's not clear from her words at all if there will be any tour at all? When? Maybe yes, but it's not certain. You feel like you went to a gypsy and she read your cards. I'm surprised Mike didn't make some kind of slippery joke about Trevor, as Mike usually liked to do. Just recently during the Mr Bungle tour Mike was more bold in his statements, joking and flirting a lot with Trevor and calling him a porn star, and in this answer to a question about Trevor's butt he's strangely restrained. 'She' in general it's like she doesn't know anything much about Mike's friends, even Roddy Bottum will give away more information about Trey than anyone else. She hasn't revealed anything new about Mike and Trevor's friendship. (Better go to Trevor's website and read his answers to questions about their friendship, he told you everything there a long time ago, and then "do the math.") She doesn't sound like his significant other that he's in a relationship with, but a fan who knows about him as superficially as we all do. A lot of what she revealed we already knew or assumed. All this crap about him being an Aquarius man and into s&m and being hot and having a great butt, I hear it all the time from female fans. And what are we, the fans from the tumblr, so special that just for us "10 people" he decided to be frank, to answer our vile questions about his personal life? Why would he even waste his time on us? Someone wants to believe that we are the chosen ones, our community is special? I'm sorry, but this is bullshit. And I'm confused by this video and the pig and hippo toys. It could have been recorded and sent by anyone. Just like the "Source" could be anyone, any crazy fan who wants to pass herself off as his girlfriend. Why is the "Source" so afraid of this getting out of Tumblr? [Am I having deja vu?] What's so secretive about it? Nothing secretive was said except that this lady called herself his girlfriend. It's like a Polichinela secret. And more importantly, why is she doing this? Why does she want to talk to her boyfriend's fans on Tumblr? Do she and Mike care what strangers think of them? If Mike wants to be candid, he has the facilities for it, he can host a youtube stream for example, yes anything. And if he doesn't want to, why bother trying to find out something about him through someone else? I'd rather not ask him any questions at all. His life is none of my damn business, I'm just here to talk to other people about him. Sometimes strange things happen here on Tumblr, it has its own atmosphere and some people get too involved, starting to think they are too close to the idol. Sometimes it ends badly. There was already some mad girl on Tumblr trying to pass herself off as Trevor's girlfriend. And the whole story was creepy and traumatized many people. Please be sensible, everyone!

Ahh, thank you, I was wondering when the tumblr drama was going to start! (joking, joking I'M JOKING)

Listen, I am (mostly) glad you wrote in, anon. I've had an account here for just about 10 years now. I've been in the trenches, I've seen some shit. I've scoured the old Mike accounts, I know about the Trevor girlfriend drama, I know about the Titi boyfriend drama...or at least as much as is remaining from deactivated accounts.

So, yes, I too come from a place of skepticism. Everything I've ever wrote here about the Source also comes with the caveat that I've never met her. And you've never met me. And if you want to just truly ignore those posts and treat them as unreality, you can ask me to tag them and block them, or hell, just block me if you want. But I will admit that the turning point for me was that video and the audio I received. Am I 100% positive that this isn't all just an elaborate prank/delusion? No, but like....I'm 99% there at this point. Yes, there is AI, yes we live in an age where deep fakes can get really real, but I think of Mike as having one of those voices that is really hard to deepfake - he's so dynamic I can't imagine AI would do a good job of capturing it...but I will admit I myself haven't tried it to see...I am actually curious and might try....

To the anon in my inbox wondering if I will release the audio - no - I ask the Source and she said Mike wouldn't want it out there...so again you can choose to not believe me in this, no prob.

To address Mike's answers - I promise, in the audio at least, it comes off more like any interview where he's being asked ridiculous questions...why would he answer sincerely? And I wasn't even expecting any input from him at all. He does make fun of Trevor when asked if they were "a thing". I think the question about how he's doing really does throw him.

To address the Source's answers....I actually would be more suspicious if they were more revealing...I know it can come off as knowledge that any superfan would know plus some plausible deniability thrown in but....eh...the way that this has all unfolded, plus some stuff that I will not reveal....it reads to me, personally, as someone who wants Mike to be more out there, for his own comfort, so he doesn't have to be a hermit....that he can be a little more interactive (but fuck.....not fucking Reddit AMA interactive) and if we're all chill about it, may just maybe he'll step out a bit further into the world...

To address the "keep this on tumblr" secrecy - *that is ALL ME* it has nothing to do with the Source. Can you imagine? I'm just like...a person? Do *I* want to broadcast that I might be messaging with Mike's gf that no one knows anything about? That doesn't even come off well in tumblr...if that got to fucking IG? Or reddit (fucking Reddit???)?!

Are the 10 us on here special? Well, ya, actually I think we are...like I've mentioned, I'm only here - I don't have a Mike fan account any other place, and I barely have personal social media elsewhere. I think of this current iteration of Mike fandom here to be really kind, supportive - of each other, and of Mike. No one is really screaming at him for cancelling the FNM tour, no one is saying he's an asshole for not doing hardly any interviews the past 4 years, no one (for the most part) is fucking....staking claim to their Mike pics like we're fucking panning for gold out west? If there is any place for celebrities to hide and mostly quietly engage with fans, you and I both know that place is tumblr.

That video and audio wasn't made for us - they were made for the Source, presumably because Mike loves her and she asked. And she trusts us that little but more, and for that I am grateful.

Listen - I gotta go eat breakfast and teach...this is mostly incoherent stream of conscious thoughts, but like....I've live my whole life trying to find an existence where I am not a sucker, but on the whole I am open to people being kind and special things happening. I haven't fallen for a prince of nigeria scam, but I have received a level of support and truthful revelation from people that you wouldn't think is possible. Like I said...people like to tell me things.

OK for real, gotta go

[here2bbtstrash]

your votes are in! part 2 survey results ✨

i asked, and y'all answered!!! 👀

as mentioned a few times before, the survey is not closed - i won't update it with new works moving forward, but i will keep an eye on it if anyone decides to run back and add votes! so please don't feel like it's too late, esp if you're new and still catching up on the porn (there is A LOT of porn. pls take your time and stay hydrated okay 😵‍💫)

but since it's been about a week, and new votes have slowed down, i thought it'd be fun to do a reveal of the top 10 results as things currently stand! sticking them below the cut - join me, won't you? 🍷

at #10, with 40 votes, we have... moving day! i was honestly surprised to see this one crack the top 10, but i should know better than to underestimate the yoongi hoes at this point. y'all love your delusional long-haired boyfie content, and who am i to deny you that??

at #9 (my lucky number 👀), with 42 votes, we have... it's sweet! shocked to see a fluff fic crack the top 10 honestly, but let's be real, the taehyung hoes are THIRSTY (anyone who follows jai already knows this 😂) - i promise i'll write more for y'all soon, and that the next one will actually feature smut!!!

at #8, with 43 votes, we have... park and ride! (and technically also its sequel, five minutes!) y'all really said give us a part three mother 😭 and jokes on you because i have an idea for a part three *and* a part four for these two. you'll never be free of them lmao!!

at #7, with 45 votes, we have... the spins! i'm happy to see this one here!! i love this couple and i've wanted to do a sequel for them for AGES, though i swear my idea for what i actually want to do changes every few months 😂 guess i gotta decide on one!!!

at #6, with 51 votes, we have... sunday! idk why i didn't expect this one to rank omg!! i don't feel like i write jin particularly well, and i especially thought that level of BDSM would be too much for some 🙈 but i have learned y'all are freaks who like crying during sex.... huh...... DULY NOTED 👀📝

halfway there, time for the big hitters! at #5, with 54 votes, we have... party on you! ahhhhh this one makes me happy to see 🥲 forever AMAZED and ECSTATIC that my most popular fic on this blog is a hoseok fic!!! i want to write a million billion more hobi things this year, and i will certainly see what i can do about circling back to these two cuties. at the very least there shall be more ass-eating in 2023!! 🎉🍑

at #4, with 58 votes, we have... deep end! joon hoes with TWO appearances on the board, we love to see it 👏 i loooove that y'all are down not only for period smut, but for some of the risks i took with using more flowery/poetic language in this one! i had so much fun trying something new, i'd love to revisit this couple and that writing style again!!

at #3, with 59 votes, we have... two in one! y'all. no. i'm shook. wig FLEW, wig in the STRATOSPHERE. say WHAT?!?!?! the first fic i ever posted on this blog, my most self-indulgent work (actually it might not be the Most lmfao but it's UP THERE) - i'm. NUMBER THREE?!?!??! okayokayokay 👀 i see y'all 👀 we're gonna have a verrrrry fun jihope month next month aren't we?!?! 😈

at #2, with 65 votes, we have... the shape of your body! oh man 🥺 i'm almost, like, emotional to see this one rank so high. this fic is so so personal and dear to me, and was a BIG leap for my writing in a lot of ways. the fact that the response has been so overwhelmingly positive, and that so many of y'all read all 24,000 words of that fic and said you want MORE. i can never put into words how much that means to me 🙇‍♀️ it's hard for me to think of a whole plot for a sequel - bc i wrote so damn much already 😂 but lemme see what i can do to at least cook up a drabble or two (if you have ideas, keep 'em in your back pocket for jihope month 👀)

and finally... at #1... with 70 votes... no one is surprised 😂 - it's drip! ahhhhh squirt god min yoongi. we meet again. i will never live this fic down lmfaoooo. and funny... doesn't he have a birthday coming up soon? i could've sworn... 👀💦💦💦

alright besties!!! i'd love to know your thoughts!!! any surprises? any you're happy to see?? anything that didn't make the list that you're about to get out the torches and pitchforks over??? i wanna hear it all, so drop me a comment or an ask and let me knoooow!! 🎤💜

(for me, it's babygirl missing out on the top 10 by two votes... but it's fine i'm fine... 😭)

also can i just say - look at y'all, getting ALL OF OT7 ON THE BOARD??? we fucking love to see it!!! equal opportunists on this blog! yaaaaaaas porn for everybody!!! 👏👏👏

[whysamwhy123]

✨Fic Writing Review 2023✨

Tagged by the wonderful dynamic duo that is @aerodaltonimperial and @perhapswhoknowsvamp and it's very fitting that those two lovely people tagged me because they're a big reason why I wrote much of anything this year! Took me a while to get this done because I wanted to get my last fic of the year out the door first. I'll put the rest below the cut, and fair warning - it's loooooong. This bitch doesn't shut up, so I rambled on. A lot.

Words and Fics

76, 222 words published on AO3 in 2023

15 fics published on AO3 (16 if you count that one kinkmeme prompt I filled and posted anonymously)

2 little tumblr ficlets

Top 3 by Kudos

Voice in the Dark - Hookhausen (not super surprising, considering it was a popular pairing at the time, and it was the fic I wrote for the anniversary event)

Kids These Days And Their Darn Phones - Hookhausen

Half Your Age Plus Seven - OrangeHook (I continue to be incredibly surprised how well this fic did, like...huh?!)

Top 3 by Hits

Voice in the Dark - Hookhausen

Voice in the Dark, Part Two - Hookhausen (how fitting, LOL)

Half Your Age Plus Seven - OrangeHook (Seriously, what was it about this fic that drew people in? More so than any of my other OrangeHook fics? Like, I'm grateful and all but also confused, like this fic is way too long?! And weird about the age difference?!)

Author's Favourite

As much as I'm loving writing OrangeHook now, I think Voice in the Dark, Part Two is probably the best thing I've written? Even though it's also overly long and gets weird at the end (very much did not expect it to go in that direction when I started writing it), I'm actually pretty proud of how that one turned out. I had a clear vision in my head for how each scene would play out and what I wanted to get across, and man, I remember how most of the Hook/Evilhausen dialogue popped into my brain late one night when I couldn't sleep, so I spat it out into a doc and then about a month later when I actually wrote the scene, I don't think I changed a single word? I just added everything else around it, all the not-dialogue parts. And it was just a lot of fun getting to carry on that story, especially as someone who hasn't managed to crank out a proper multi-chapter fic yet. Who knows, maybe I'll return to that world someday...

Fandom Events in 2023

Uh, well, I guess I did the whole Hookhausen Anniversary thing? And...that's about it. I'm pretty disconnected from the fandom at large, whoopsie daisy 😬

Upcoming Projects

Hoo boy.

I have over 5k words of a Ricky/Christian Sugar Baby AU thing written already. I haven't posted it because it kinda needs some smut and that's still not something I can really do. I might post it someday, if I can make something work, or alternatively do what I normally do and put an annoying fade to black in there. Or maybe I'll think better of it and never post it because it's very self-indulgent and I highly doubt anyone else would really be interested or want me to continue it or anything. But I have Ideas for it...so many ideas...

Also, in my ill-fated quest to try and make myself write smut, I kinda started a Ricky/Bill championship celebration fic. Maybe I'll revisit that? Try to get it done?

And then there's that one fic I really want to work on, but have barely started. I've vague-posted about it here before - it's an incredibly fucked-up Dead Dove fic about Daniel Garcia and a Very Bad, Not-Good thing that happens to him, and the subsequent complete mental breakdown that follows. I've had the idea rattling around in my brain for the better part of a year at this point, despite not making much actual progress on it. Every time I think about it though, I have new ideas for scenes or dialogue. I'd like to make it work, but I don't know if I have the writing chops to handle it, plus it would probably end up being super long and nobody would want to read it, so it'd feel like a huge waste of time on my part? And I've had the idea for so long, it's out-dated too. But still, the urge remains...

Oh, and I still have a ton of OrangeHook ideas I'd like to make happen. Some are, of course, about their age difference. Some would (ideally) involve smut. And others... *nervous laughter* Others would likely result in an ''Everyone disliked that'' situation...

Writing Reflection

I was thinking about making a sappy post about this and whoops, here's my excuse! I don't talk a lot on here about my tragic backstory because honestly, who cares? But I will say this - before January of this year, I hadn't written a word of anything in years. Fic or otherwise. I used to love writing, but Stuff Happened and it killed all enjoyment I got out of it, and I thought that's how it would be forever. Then, for reasons I can't even remember, I started reading fic again, specifically in this wild little fandom of ours, and y'all are just so talented that it made my untalented ass want to give it another shot. So...I did.

I remember when I posted my first fic in ages back in January, I thought ''Maybe about three people will read this and no one will leave a comment or anything, but whatever, I wrote a thing and that's something I haven't done in years so that's enough for me!'' And to be honest, I still think that whenever I post stuff now? It's crazy to me that anyone actually reads my stuff and gets some kind of kick out of it. But every kudos and comment floors me and brings me so much joy, I can't even express it properly. I have to say a huge thank you to anyone who's ever read one of my fics, left kudos or dropped a comment. Whoever and wherever you are, you made my day!

And look, I ain't delusional. I know that calling myself a small fish in the fandom would be too generous. But I'm fine with that - because I'm genuinely enjoying writing again and that's what matters most to me. Even though I've also rediscovered how stressful writing can be (🙂🙂🙂) when it comes down to it, there's joy and happiness in my life that wasn't there last year and that's all because I started writing again. And because some lovely folks here decided to let me know they liked what I was throwing out there. The years have not been kind to ol' Sammy Sam-Sam and this year was no exception, but getting to forget about all that shit and write my silly little wrestling fanfiction has been a great distraction and a comfort through this whole year.

So...yeah. Thanks to everyone who's ever commented on my writing, thanks to the folks who follow me on here (I don't know how you manage that though, I'm such an annoying bitch, aren't you sick of me yet?) and thanks to anyone who I've had the chance to chat with about writing and ships and whatever silly little ideas pop into my head (any of y'all feel free to message me at any time, I am always down to blab about whatever blorbos/ideas take your fancy). I'm hoping I can keep this train a-rollin' a little more next year. Still thinking back to when I started writing again, I made my new AO3 account expecting to write Dustjim only, but then I quickly decided I couldn't write those two well enough, and since then I've bounced around a bunch of different pairings, with a few rarepairs shoved in between for good measure. God only knows where my head will be at this time next year, LOL. I'd love to finally be able to attempt some of the bigger ideas I've been cooking up for a while now. Maybe I'll even write a proper multi-chapter fic? We'll see, but this bitch can dream, at least.

Rules:

Feel free to show whatever stats you have. Only want to show Ao3 stats? Rock on. Want to include some quantitative info instead of stats? Please do this. Want to change how yours is presented? Absolutely do that. Would rather eat glass than do this? Please do eat glass, I’ve heard it’s good for your gums.

I'm not going to tag anyone because I'm pretty sure everyone I know who writes has already been tagged? So if you're reading this and you haven't, go ahead and do it! By which I mean, eat glass. Eat all the glass that you want. Accidents happen in the dark.