#this is so awkward lol just shouting into the void

[crmediagal]

I've been MIA from this platform for so long that I'm not even sure how to navigate it anymore...or how to return lol

But HELLO. It's been a minute. More than a minute, I know. And I think I might be back? (Kinda?)

The itch to write again is slowly coming back after years of none. Health problems mainly kept me away for a while...and then it turned into general busy life stuff. That continues but I've also been getting back into reading for the first time in nearly two decades. I'm officially an ACOTAR girlie and this series is ruining me. I'm not through the books yet but I have a lot of...feelings. And opinions. And a quick glance through the tags of this fandom the past few days is making me think I might be in the minority. Ah. That tends to be my luck, I guess lol

I'm craving to write a long, complex Lucien/Elucien fic because OMG I NEED THE INSUFFERABLE PAIN AND LONGING AND NASTY SEX AT THE END OF IT ALL BECAUSE MY FOX BOY DESERVES HIS HAPPINESS DAMNIT AND ELAIN DESERVES SOMEONE WORTHY OF HER.

So, yeah, I think that's gonna happen at some point.

Just happy to even have the creative spark again. It's been a long while. I know I still have fics to finish and, believe me, I still regularly think about them and want to complete them. Hopefully I can sooner rather than later.

For any one of my readers who may see this really random post, I hope you're well. Know that I've missed this space and interacting with you. I hope to start reacquainting myself with my favorite fandoms and ships, both old and new, soon. ❤️

[sillylittlestoryblog]

Keeping me warm

Part 1

Trafalgar Law x Reader

Warning: None I guess. Maybe awkward writing because I wrote this at 3 am while I couldn’t sleep ( it was storming ) and english isn’t my first language. Plus I haven’t written anything in ages so pls don’t judge to much.

Summery: basically just fluffy and angsty thoughts while freezing. Idk lol (I need sleep)

If you however do enjoy this, positive words are great for anyone’s mental health. Have fun.

The howling of the wind was unbearable. The crew members sat close together in the dark cave. It had been two days since the raging ice storm. Of course, no one had planned to stay in this place for so long. But just the thought of going outside into the cold made even the bravest pirates' legs shiver.

After even the stubborn captain of the Straw Hat Pirates had admitted that it no longer made any sense, everyone realized that they would have to sit out this storm.

The cave came in handy. Together with the Heart Pirates, the Straw Hats had anchored on this winter island.

The Sunny had been through a lot and Franky had actually planned to get some material for repairs in the small fishing village. Since only a few days had passed since the last major battle and the Surgeon of death was still busy patching up crew members, his crew was more than happy to take a break. A few days off couldn't hurt anyone.

You remember how Nami had been upset, crying that she would rather have stopped off at a nice summer island or at a luxurious spa. A vacation wasn't often granted to the Straw Hats. You had comforted her and said that a bit of snow could certainly be fun.

And oh how wrong you were.

You regret your words of encouragement as you sat shivering between your friends. An icicle hung from Usopp's nose as he desperately tried to warm himself by the small campfire.

"I'm hungry," Luffy's voice penetrated the silence. He said what everyone was thinking. Sanji was still trying to conjure up something edible from the few remnants that had survived the avalanche. But even the usually so positive cook didn't really know how to help himself.

Bepo and Chopper had suddenly become the most popular crew members. Everyone was secretly hoping to snuggle up in their warm furs and perhaps sleep despite the loud storm.

The only one who seemed to be able to sleep without the warmth of the two was Zoro. Once again, you envied him for having the talent to sleep in any situation.

Your eyes glanced over to the other pirate crew. Captain Law was sitting on a rock, looking into the void. He also seemed to be cold, but tried to hide it. Under no circumstances could he show any weakness. That would only make the situation worse and ruin the group‘s mentality. He scowled at the other captain, who kept shouting for food and jumping up and down. How could he still have that much energy ?

Law just rolled his eyes whenever he thought of the strawhat.

His mind wandered again and he looked in the other direction as unobtrusively as possible. From his seat, he had a good view of everyone. So he could keep a good eye on each member of his crew. At least that's what he told himself.

He also wanted to keep an eye on you.

Trembling, you sat between Nami and Robin. The older one had taken off her dark cloak and wrapped it around the three of you like a blanket. It was a nice gesture, but it didn't seem to do much good. But at least you weren't as stubborn as some others. The cook had refused to lean against one of the other men, preferring to rather run off to the other corner of the cave on his own. He must have been freezing, Law saw him looking enviously at the floor where Zoro had been snoring quietly for hours.

Yesterday, the motivation had been a bit higher. Everyone was sure that the storm wouldn't last that long and that the sky would soon be clear again. But this was the Grandline after all. No one could really predict the weather conditions.

Brook had wrote a little song, strawhat-ya had bounced happily back and forth and the cooks of both crews had roasted fish over the campfire.

You had smiled from time to time.

A warm feeling shot through Laws body.

Your eyes had sparkled in the light of the fire and he had to turn his gaze to you again and again. You were so beautiful.

Before you became part of the friendly crew, it had always bothered Law to spend too much time with the Straw Hats. They were loud, inconsiderate and constantly meddled in other people's problems. Above all, the parties that the rubber man regularly announced were law's worst nightmare. Loud singing, food and booze everywhere and always the strangest of people. He would much rather be in his study or in a quiet library, hoping desperately to escape the chaos.

But this feeling changed abruptly after you became part of the crew. He spotted you straight away. He quickly noticed a new face. And what a face it was. He had wanted to talk to you all evening. But someone was always glued to you, if it wasn't Nami, the captain or Chopper, it was the annoying cook who jumped around you with hearts in his eyes. Asking you for company, mixing you special drinks or turning up with a hot soufflé in one and a bouquet of flowers in the other hand.

Law had been uncomfortable, but he hadn't dared to speak to you. Nico Robin had told him over dinner how much you liked to read and that had only increased his interest.

Yet he hadn't made any effort to talk to you. You probably hadn't even noticed him.

You had noticed Trafalgar Law immediately.

Of course you knew his Wanted poster, as well as the many stories about the captain of the Heart Pirates. Luffy was always talking enthusiastically about Tra Guy and the other Nakama usually had the best stories to tell. Franky once told you how intelligent Law was, when you painted one of the rooms on the Sunny together. Usopp told you how badass his powers were. And Chopper had raved to you about his medical talent.

Since then, you had often asked the other girls about him. With completely neutral intentions, of course.

That's why Nami and Robin weren't at all surprised by the way you looked at him when you first met. Nami had rolled her eyes and laughed: "You look at him like you're Luffy and he's a piece of meat." You had sent her a dirty look, but your body had already betrayed you. Your cheeks were warm and your heart began to beat a little faster. Robin had just giggled and left you two alone.

When you thought back to that evening, your face flushed again. You sincerely hoped that you hadn't made a fool of yourself.

In the cold cave, these thoughts were the only thing that seemed to keep you warm. Again and again your thoughts seemed to wander to him. A glance in his direction couldn't hurt, could it?

Cautiously and not at all obviously, you let your eyes wander.

Your eyes wandered over the body in the dark coat. How you wish you could put it on your own body now.

His dark hair peeks out from under the white cap he always wore. You had to remind yourself of Nami's words two days ago. Maybe she was right. On a warm island, you would certainly have had the chance to see Law without his hat. How much you would have liked to see all of his hair. And you also felt that his eyes were always shrouded in shadow.

Eyes that you wished you knew the color of.

Eyes that always seemed to avoid yours.

Eyes that could never lose focus while in a fight.

Eyes that just swept over your body.

Eyes that met yours all at once.

Your head quickly turned to the side. Was he looking at you?! Just pretend you were doing something else. Had Robin been talking to you? You desperately tried to get your friend's attention. You feel like you've been caught. The familiar feeling of warmth returns even stronger than before. Robin had definitely been the wrong choice for your excuse. She couldn’t have been talking to you, of course, if you hadn't wasted your time ogling Law, you would have noticed how Robin's dark hair had landed on your shoulder. She'd been sleeping quietly next to you for a few minutes.

Damn. Now you were sure. He had caught you. Cautiously, your gaze drifted back.

Law's gaze was also averted but his cheeks were blushed. And his gorgeous eyes had disappeared behind his cap again.

Law's chest was suddenly incredibly warm. Why hadn't he been paying more attention? Of course you'd catch him staring at you. Hopefully you didn't think anything bad of him. Nothing would be worse than that.

You were probably used to being stared at. The cook could hardly take his eyes off you three Strawhat ladies. But had Law just looked at you the same way? As he pulled his coat closer around him, he hoped fervently that his eyes didn't turn into hearts every time he looked in your direction.

With the most serious expression he could fake in this moment, he tried again.

But he hadn't expected your eyes to still be on him. Law was turning as red as a tomato. The warm feeling was everywhere again. And now he really couldn't be sure if his gray eyes hadn't turned into big hearts.

Because you were looking at him. And he looked back.

A small smile flitted across your face.

And Law awkwardly smiled back.

The cold and the storm were long forgotten. While the others were freezing and dreaming of warm summer light or cozy blankets,

two pirates were infinitely warm.

[wangmiao]

Lol it took me an hour to get enough courage and motivation to be back on tumblr and shout into the fandonless void. Anyways, we are getting wax statues for young Ye Wenjie, Shi Qiang, and their creator Liu Cixin in Madame Tussauds Shanghai. The statues will be revealed on June 24th. (Edit on June 24th: there isn't a Liu Cixin Statue, and the poster is a bit misleading I guess. Also to look at the Shi Qiang and Wang Ziwen statues, please click here).

I know what you are wondering. There will not be a Wang Miao statue. Last year, during the Scifi con in Chengdu. Some fans asked about this, and the answer was Zhang Luyi was very serious about portrait rights, so he didn't give permission for Miaomiao's statue to be made. My very personal guess is that he either thought the idea of a wax copy of himself creepy, was too shy and awkward about the whole thing, or just didn't feel he deserved to be there. There doesn't seem to be a senior Ye Wenjie statue either.

OK. Stop now if you are not a Shiwang shipper, because I'm going to talk about the Shiwang agenda in Shi Qiang's poster. Here are the three photos they picked for Shi Qiang's poster:

The first one is Shi Qiang looking for Miaomiao as soon as he enters the very crowded room. The second one is the iconic hug scene. The third one is when they are setting the timer in Shi Qiang's car. I CAN'T BELIEVE MIAOMIAO IS IN ALL OF THE PHOTOS. They even just downright hid Shi Qiang's face in the last one LOL. I can tell whoever made the poster was crying for Miaomiao.

I do like the comment from one fan. They suggested that if Miaomiao is not there, then there should be a "我淼淼呢?/Where's my Miaomiao?" sign right beside Shi Qiang's statue. I mean can you imagine the amount of people visiting while cosplaying Wang Miao?

Now let me bring your attention to the countdown timer on Shi Qiang's poster which is 1184:45:51. We all know Shiwang's timers are in sync at 1018:44:00, and the time on the poster is earlier than that. So it seems to be just a random time. BUT, some fans actually found this time in the show.

In episode 3, Wang Miao is in bed ready to sleep. He is staring at the ceiling, and asks his wife where they will be in 49 days. Then after his wife says that they'll just be here, Wang Miao closes his eyes, and the time is exactly 1184:45:51.

So now the fans are applauding the one who made the poster, because they paid so much attention to the show. And for Shiwang shippers, this just implies that at this time, Wang Miao is thinking about Shi Qiang LOL...Shiwang is really so epic that the shippers are everywhere! I can't believe tumblr is still sleeping on them lol.

[the-town-of-silent-hill]

I was finally able to watch the new SH2 Remake trailer and I want to shout my thoughts into the void. Overall I’m really looking forward to playing this when it comes out!!

The good:

-boy am I glad that James voice isn’t as deep as it was in the first trailer. It’s closer to the original character now and I’m relieved

-the hospital looks so good 😭

-minor detail but I like that they display your location at the bottom of the screen now because navigating those streets could be such a pain in the ass sometimes lol.

-I like how they did the fog! I think the developers did a good job of updating the look but still managing to make you feel claustrophobic even though you’re outside

-the combat is modernized, and I’m happy it doesn’t feel like James is like a military expert who’s super adept in combat. He still feels like a regular dude to me.

-I love that James and Maria will have more commentary/conversations while they explore!!

The concerns:

-I really don’t understand why the recent silent hill games have this obsession with making the other world have this red, gritty look like in SH5 or the movies. James otherworld is very specific to him; it’s dark, dingy, depressing and bleak. It very much reflects his state of mind. From the tiny bits they showed, it doesn’t look like the original and that’s concerning. I don’t want to write off the whole thing because I don’t know if that’s how it will look when it’s released; there’s still a lot we haven’t seen. But I am side eying it a little.

-Angela looks so weird? It’s so strange because all the other characters look pretty decent, but she just looks so…off. Also her voice. I’m on the fence about it because on one hand, she sounds like a teenager who is socially awkward and very distant. But the original was off putting because even though she sounded older, she also had this baby-ish tone to the way she spoke that made talking to her really uncomfortable. So idk. I hope they update her face to be at the same quality as the rest of the cast. Love that they kept her outfit the same though.

-why does Laura look/sound older than an 8-year-old?? Idk if it’s just me but it’s so weird because her face looks super similar to Kathryn Newtons, who’s in her late 20s, and yet she has the body of a child. She also sounds way less bratty and more shy than the original. I’m guessing that’s because the devs don’t want everyone to hate a little girl, but I mean…some kids are just bratty irl, and it made her feel more like a real child. The scene where she locks James in the room with the flesh lips felt like a really abrupt switch from how she was acting before.

-Maria’s outfit? Look normally I’m all for giving female characters in remakes more appropriate attire for their situations (cough, Ada Wong), but Maria is very specifically meant to be hyper sexualized, and it’s not for no reason. She is the personification of James sexual desires that he wanted his wife to have. So making her dress more conservative and taking the flirty tone from her voice is a confusing choice.

Minor nitpick:

-I’m sad the inventory menu is gone 😅

[spacebuck]

i think the objective correct answer for when you have no one specific to chat about a fandom thing with is you should try shouting about it on main, and hopefully someone will eventually come out of the void to shout back to you

but obviously i'm just saying this in all anonymous hypocrisy, I don't do it either lol

i'm in the same boat but that's kind of just the way i live my life all the time lol i've always been too shy to really try to actually get a fandom conversation going with anyone online.

but i hope you find yourself a hyperfixation buddy soon! 🩶

Honestly you are so so right and you should say it ncjsnxnd

I left tunglr for a bit due to some. Life events and trauma. And I have definitely forgotten how to Fandom here lmao. I Def run into the issue of being too awkward to start conversations and I am hyperawareness that the Fandom I'm on the fringes of are Known for being Really Not Great as a whole but the ones who make it on tumble Def won't be the swarms of puritan minors that's for sure jckdncndnc

And hey. If we share a hyperfixations. You can always come yarn even if you wanted to stay anon, this is your blanket permission to do so!! If we do not, I hope you also find a hf buddy too!! 💕

[namor-shuri]

Love your edits and overall page 💘 What other ships do you enjoy outside of Nashuri/Namuri, if you care to share?

Hey 🧡 Thank you for the love, I have fun making them! Lowkey bummed my posts aren’t posting to tags anymore but alas. With the recent "what ships piss you off + what ships do you love" trend going around Twitter, I was just thinking about mine the other day and realized most of them have some sort of angst to them 😅 Outside of NAMOR X SHURI, here are some of my other fave ships over the years [in no particular order] Let’s get into it *cracks knuckles*

- - - - - - - - < + > - - - - - - - -

A. SAM X BUCKY: "Can you move your seat up?" "No."

I have to say that this ^ line reeled me in but what sealed my fate was the offscreen friendship between Antony Mackie and Sebastian Stan. Those damn compilation vids on yt killed me; they are too funny together. I genuinely feel like they aren't even acting when they work together. You can see their friendship shine through, and I think that's why Marvel realized they needed to do something with this goldmine. In regards of the characters Sam and Bucky tho, I enjoy both a romantic or platonic love between them. There's a strong connection there either way full of support, transparency, shared pain etc and these two losers have my heart. Also, I will never get over that scene in Endgame when Steve speaks with Sam and before accepting the shield, Sam looks over at Bucky and Bucky nods in support *ugly cries*

Show: The Falcon & The Winter Soldier

B. FLEABAG X PRIEST: "I love you." "It will pass."

This ship is definitely one of those ships that devastated me 🥴 Their awkward and yet endearing connection was everything. Fleabag’s dry humor and wit just jelled so well with the Priest in such an unassuming and comforting way. She truly found her match, which made the whole thing that much more tragic. The parts where he broke the fourth wall with the audience and questioned who she was talking to took me out lmao. I was heartbroken with how the show ended but in the midst of everything, it felt fitting. I don’t think they should have done it any different. I also find it funny that we never learn Fleabag or the Priest’s actual names.

Show: Fleabag

C. INUYASHA X KAGOME: "Sit boy!"

These two are one of my first ships when I was young so the nostalgia hits hard with them. As an adult looking back tho, Inuyasha and Kagome’s relationship pissed me off the majority of the show rofl. His back and forth with Kikyo was SO unnecessary. They were so aggravating at times that at one point it was a toss up between Inuyasha and Koga for me. Koga was looking like the better man for Kagome. He meant business and knew where his priorities were. But in the midst of it all, Inuyasha and Kagome’s bond just did something for me. I remember younger me freaking out every time Inuyasha lost his shit and went full demon mode when Kagome was in any eminent danger. I was like “that’s love right there” lmao smh. Also the fact that they kissed like one time [twice??] during the entire show was so *screams into void*

Show: Inuyasha

D. LO'AK X TSIREYA: "Outcast - that's all they see!" "I see you."

Shout out to my fellow Avatar fans out there ✌🏾 I remember when the first movie came out, I freaked out and wanted a banshee SO BAD bruh lol. With the second installment and it’s new batch of dope characters, there’s so much to talk about [especially with these two]. They are basically a mirror of Jake × Neytiri, but in a different font? I love how attentive Tsireya is with Lo’ak and how much she looks out for him and his siblings. She was the first person to truly embrace and see him for him. Their love lanquage is clearly physical contact and it's too adorable. I look forward to seeing how their dynamic/ relationship evolves over future films to come. My blue babes 💙

Movie: Avatar - The Way of Water

E. STEVEN / MARC X LAYLA: "I don't need protection. What I need is honesty."

First of all, this show was sick on so many levels! You’re telling me we got to have a Guatemalan-American actor and Egyptian-Palestinian actress play mcu characters in a show revolving around Egyptian gods and legends sprinkling in themes of mental health and family?? To say I can’t wait for the second season is an understatement, but I digress. I loved Oscar and May together on screen. It was funny seeing Steven and Marc go back and forth over their dynamic with Layla and then Layla grappling with the multifaceted differences of the man [men?] she loved. I enjoyed all of the action sequences but I hope we get to see more of their complicated relationship explored in the future. It’s just so fascinating to me. I will never get over Steven kissing Layla for the first time and Marc absolutely losing it lmao.

Show: Moon Knight

F. AMY X DANNY: "Why is it so hard for us to be happy?"

Now before y’all hop on my dick for posting about this show [in the midst of recent controversy w/ David Choe, which f*ck that guy btw🖕🏾] I watched this BEFORE Choe’s shit came to light. I can’t tell you what to do. You have to personally make that judgment call of whether or not you want to support/watch the show yourself. Anywho *fixes clothes* This show is insane. It's hilarious, tragic, relatable, the whole nines. There’s so much to it but these two specifically take the cake for me. Amy and Danny's relationship take a minute to come into fruition but by the time I got to the end, I was hooked. I also just need Ali and Steven to do another project together because their a quirky pair, but their a pair I didn't know I needed until now. It was beautiful to see how despite all of their strife, Amy and Danny truly saw one another’s souls. They were reflections of one another. That entire tripping sequence in the desert the last ep was funny af but beyond deep.

Show: Beef

G. DRUIG X MAKKARI: "My beautiful, beautiful Makkari. Did you miss me?"

I'm going to be real with y’all, Druig and Makkari were the one good thing that came out of Eternals for me [aside from Kingo and Phastos' roles]. I don’t know what it was but I couldn't get into the movie for some reason and what threw me was the fact that I thought I would. They only had like 2 seconds on screen but they were the only thing I could think of walking out that theater. I swear I couldn't get over their charming dynamic. That scene where Makarri thought Druig was killed and starts going ape shit on Ikarus was peak cinema. No one harms her man! It was also such a dope moment to learn later on that the actress who plays Makarri, Lauren Ridloff, is deaf in real life. I bow down to that Queen. These two characters are just *chefs kiss* and I really hope Marvel doesn't mess up a good thing and we get to see their relationship blossom over time in a beautiful way. This Druig ^ line KILLED me. Me and who when?

Movie: Eternals

H. ZUKO X KATARA: "You rise with the moon. I rise with the sun."

Yes Aang x Katara are cute but Zutara? ZUTARA?? *violently bangs credit card on table* It was full of angst, grief, healing, sexual tension, the list goes on. They could relate to one another’s pain with losing a parent and so on. Zuko helping her find and confront her mother’s killer was everything too. Of course she had every right to be pissed at him and the fire nation but it was nice seeing Zuko work to gain Katara’s trust over time. He caused so much pain and damage to the avatar crew so for him to come back and try and rectify things was monumental. This is also one of those shows growing up that had me in a chokehold. I couldn’t decide what element I wanted to bend because all benders were so badass to me [my girl Toph was the mvp tho. Hands down the coolest].

Show: Avatar - The Last Airbender

I. RAGNAR X LAGERTHA: "We shall meet again and fight, and drink, and love one another."

Where are my fellow Viking fans? ⚔️ This show was INCREDIBLE and their love story specifically was so layered and complicated. Lagertha was the epitome of loyal but I love that outside of her dynamic with Ragnar, she was just such a dope character overall. She really held her own and took no shit from anyone, man or woman. Her hands were rated E for everyone. Their love had its huge ups and downs but you could tell after everything, there was still a deep affection there. They would do anything for one another and that was apparent every step of the way. Even after Ragnar’s death, Lagertha still kept the love she held for him in her heart. His dynamic with each character on the show was intriguing but nothing beats their powerful connection. She was one of the few people who got to see all of the real and raw sides of him and that was beautiful. The show was never the same once Ragnar’s character died [which I still don’t understand this monumental writing decision??] but it was amazing nonetheless.

Show: Vikings

J. LOUIS X LESTAT: "I wanted to forget him, and yet it seemed I thought of him always."

I didn’t watch the first iteration of this novel so I was completely new going into the show. I heard about it way after it came out but it did not disappoint. It lived up to the hype 100%. Louis, Lestat and Claudia were such a disastrous trio but I loved the little family they created [before things went south rofl]. Louis and Lestat’s story was intriguing and I was engaged from start to finish. I swear that moment when the reporter Daniel put two and two together that Louis gave Lestat an out, I yelled at my screen lol. Their love was intense to say the least and although certain moments were hard to watch, these two were electric. With that, it was so suspenseful watching Louis and Claudia ban together towards the end and scheme against Lestat to gain their freedom. The whole thing was just so *sighs* *refrains from writing a novel*

Show: Interview with the Vampire

K. BRAEDEN X DEREK: "I’m protecting my investment."

I know a lot of people shipped him and Stiles together [I mostly enjoyed their entertaining dynamic in a platonic way] but Derek and Braeden did something for me. They fought bad guys while being domestic together and younger me ate that shit up lol. Also seeing a black woman be in a type of role and show like this was also 1000/10. More black women in fantastical roles please 🙏🏾 I feel like this was the first healthy romantic relationship Derek was in too and it just had good vibes all around. He truly learned to trust a lover again. The beginning of their relationship was also hot af and that initial “anything you can do, I can do better” cat and mouse back and forth was *chefs kiss* That scene where she was teaching him how to use a gun >>>>> The reboot of Teen Wolf was not my cup of tea + I was bummed we didn’t get to see future Draeden [or their future kids??] but alas. We always have S3-S5 to look back on.

Show: Teen Wolf

L. WOO X JUN-HO: "What if you think of it as dancing the waltz?"

They are for sure one of my favorite ships. Woo and Jun-Ho need to be protected at all costs 🫶🏾 I don’t even know where to start with these two or this show. If you haven’t watched it yet, please go watch it. It’s on my top kdrama list for sure. Being close to people in my life with Autism, it was heartwarming to see how Jun-ho treated Woo. He treated her like a human being. He was loving, empathetic, patient, kind. All of the ways you should be with others in general, no matter how different or similar they are to you. It was fascinating seeing how the show tackled the subject of relationships that involve differing mental conditions and capabilities. The show was such a slow burn with them that when they had their first kiss I LOST it. I was giggling, screaming and kicking my feet in real time lmao. I’m conflicted bc I want to see a S2 but I also want it to stay the way it is. I don’t know how they would continue everyone’s story but if they resume it, I will be SAT.

Show: Extraordinary Attorney Woo

- - - - - - - - < + > - - - - - - - -

I'm realizing a big trope I cling to is "Enemies to lovers". I don’t know what it is about it but it just eats each and every time. It has a certain je ne sais quoi 🤌🏾✨There are a BUNCH of other ships l love but I'll cap it here before this post becomes a whole novel.

THANK YOU < 3

[iggydabirdkid]

I was tagged by @just-a-tiny-goldfish for the WIP Wednesday. (I'm a little late, its Thursday morning for me but i didn't get home till 9:30 last night XD).

I don't have much in the way of drawings, but! I do have the first of a little series of funny Jackass stunt type drawings for Annie and Themmy. And a short snippet from a second part to the Bad Day fic I plan on posting at some point, that I started a bit ago haha.

Will put under a read more as I'm never sure when is enough for just a excerpt lol

-----

You had forgotten how breathtaking the night sky was. Existing in Los Diablos had blinded your eyes to the stars but now you were out in the countryside where the light pollution was virtually non-existent. You’re not sure how you ever lived without this view.

The soft blades of grass are ticklish against the skin of your arms. When the sun disappeared from the sky you had pushed your sleeves up as far as they would go, lowering yourself with care to the ground as you had rested on your back and here you were still. It was quiet and calm and there was nothing to hide from out in this field with your scars exposed and your tattoos glowing faintly staining your view with just a hint of orange. You feel immensely more put together than you did this morning, whether that was from the self-imposed isolation or the fact that you had thrown up an hour ago, you’re not too sure.

You listen to the chirp of insects and the soft whistling of the wind and you know you should head back to the house but it had taken you longer than you were willing to admit to make it out here, and if you were to be honest with yourself (something you’re not used to), you don’t think you’ll be able to make it back unaided. Another reason you lay with your skin bare to the world. You must have drifted for a moment as it takes you a while to hear the sound of movement making its way towards you and you recognize the footfalls before you feel the static wash over your shields. The footsteps cease well before they get close and you prop yourself up on your elbows to regard Julia with an eyebrow lifted. She’s changed clothes to be free of the blood you remember dripping onto her pajamas and why wouldn’t she? Is it just you that cares so little about your appearance?

“Can I join you?”

She raises her voice (not loud enough to be a shout) but there’s really no need to. Maybe she thinks you’re not fully here. Wouldn’t be the first time. You smirk and beckon her over with a jut of your chin before flopping back into the meadow. You turn your head just so, the coolness of the grass brushing against your cheek as you watch Julia lower herself to the ground and sit cross-legged, staring at you. You stare at each other in silence with only the noise of the crickets to fill the void and you surprise yourself by being the first to speak.

“How’s the nose?” you ask and watch as Julia brings a hand to her face, gently prodding the mentioned part and wincing.

“Sore. But not broken. Didn’t know you could hit so hard,” she chuckles and her hand falls back to her lap.

“Neither did I.” You lie well. You've had to for her not to suspect. It’s not like you can tell her the truth. Silence falls again but this time its awkward and you hate this so you open your mouth to break the strange air hanging about you both but Julia beats you to it.

“I’m sorry.” Her brows are drawn close accentuating the lines of age on her face and you can see the way her shoulders are hunched up almost to her ears as she looks at you with that sheepish expression she wears so well.

[saltysatellite804]

idk how to comfort ppl kindly so I’ll just be blunt and honest. sorry your mind is in such a horrible place, I really am. you’ve probably heard/been told over and over before, but continuing to fixate over ppl who you think left you/don’t care for you anymore takes up a lot of emotion, energy, or effort that could otherwise be put into getting to know new ppl in a different fandom who: have no idea who you are, aka you come in as a completely blank slate to them. they don’t hate you. I, as someone who barely knows you or situation, objectively don’t care about these ppl who don’t care for you anymore, especially if they’re bringing you feelings of pain at the very thought. somehow, somewhere, find brand new strangers, don’t mention yourself negatively (wrestle that urge tackle it into the ground), and give them the opportunity to get to form judgements of you themselves. how does one even go about doing that? idk, but for me, all the connections I’ve ever made online (and I Only have “online friends”) were mostly me finding a small fandom or rarepair and then pouring honesty into the comments section of the fics and waiting to see if any of these strangers connect back. the more comments that focus on them and the material—the less I think about myself. and also the more comments, the bigger the chance is that 1 out of those… idk, 50 fic authors reach out to you and conversations get started. insert yourself into other ppls lives and take up space. spend time initiating conversations in spaces where replies actually have a chance of happening instead of shouting into a void that is a void due to the nature of the context—honestly, nobody replies to tumblr texts posts unless you’re a big name fan, nobody ever replies to mine, LOL. kind of personal, but I was totally alone and had neurotic thoughts for a spell, but over the last 3(?) years,a little bit of self-initiative and a little bit of coincidence and a lot of time on ao3 put me in spaces with fandom… friends? acquaintances? that I couldn’t have imagined in 2018 or whenever. I see your posts. I don’t know what to say. I’m also a nobody out here. I don’t know what you need exactly, but obviously there’s a lot of things that you don’t have control over. idk if you feel like everything I’m saying is garbage, in which case I’m sorry… you can just toss this out/delete it. also sorry for the huge block of text! I’m on my phone and formatting is a chore for stream of conscious thoughts. I think tumblr isn’t a good medium for talking to ppl and getting convos started. I never seem to be able to hold one on this app. but also I’m the type of person that doesn’t reach out to other ppl. but that’s not because I don’t care about my “friends.” reaching out is awkward and hard I usually skip past the pleasantries and straight into the point anyway. I’m selfish in conversations; I only initiate thoughts that I’m interested in. but I’ll reply to anyone. but as you can see, I’m on anon bc I’m painfully shy and not sure how you’ll receive this and I’m self-conscious enough to not want you, someone who is mostly a stranger, to hate me. after all, you didn’t seem to respond to that other anon very well. someone reached out to you! but your reply once again emphasized your own loneliness and feelings of neurotic self-hatred/self-deprecation. did you feel any joy at all in receiving that anon? I’m not sure who they are, but they also did the painful, awkward, and hard thing of reaching out to a stranger struggling on the internet. did you ignore the fact that behind that anon, there was a person who was at least a little bit concerned for you? I wonder who they were. do you? I’m no good at this, and I don’t know if anything would help you right now. I don’t have all the free time in the world, and I’m typing this on my commute home from classes. when I get home I’m going to have dinner, do homework, go to bed, then wake up and go to classes again tmr morning; I only reply to texts when I have the energy. I hope things get better for you. or that you, yourself, makes things better, somehow?

I didnt mean my reply as an attack on that anon. I don't really know what to say. I spend so much energy just fighting to get away from the thoughts and its exhausting and sometimes I fail. I cannot just poof them away. It's not like I dont try.

It's hard to just stop thinking about the people I cared about. It's like a gaping hole in me.

I'm sorry for how I sounded.

I dont hate anyone on tumblr dot com. And I dont take anons in bad faith unless they're obviously trolling.

I mean this in a non-aggressive non-blamey way, but it is really hard to be told I deserve happiness from anons or people who can otherwise quickly wash their hands of me. Again. Not blaming anyone. Please do not take that wrong. If my brain would let me, I could be far more appreciative, but it is hard for me and that is why.

I've always sucked at communicating.

Also, non-important, but I dont have any desire to find new fandoms. I do not think I have the capacity to be a blank slate. Nor do I feel particularly like the person who could make friends anymore because of how much I've been hurt. This guilt crawls in and the second I show my ass, it's all over. I've done the dance since I started posting online. It's only lately I've completely lost everything.

And that's on top of all the shit in my real life.

Everyone has their own problems and I really do want to stop caring if I'm alone because that's just how life is for the most part. I do not want to be a burden, and ironically I'm making things worse and turning into one against my own will. I do not know why it's so hard. It would just be nice if I had someone to take my hand and say "let's watch a movie together" or you know. The internet equivalent.

Again. No hate. No blame. I just do not know how to communicate.

[saeyoungs-sunflower]

Is it 5am? Yes.

Have I just woken up in a cold sweat having realised that I have less than 3 weeks until I get my A-level grades? The ones that decide whether I get into uni? The ones that are being decided by my teachers and the exam board because my final exams were cancelled? The ones that I worked my ass off for but might not pay off because I won’t get to properly show my potential and have had multiple problems throughout my courses which may now impact my grade? Maybe.

Have I spent the past two years placing a large amount of my self-worth on these grades? Perhaps.

Am I freaking out?

A little.

[pnjrnk]

hey guys so i have been writing down all the gregstophe ideas ive had over the past few months and im gonna share some here because i really want someone to write them because i am not a good enough writer to pull them off lmao

christophe and gregory hate each other and have an ongoing feud. christophes mom ends up sending christophe to a psych ward because shes tried everything but her child is still misotheistic and rabid. gregory wonders where his best enemy went. word gets out somehow and now gregory feels like a huge douche. he interrogates The Worst Mom to find out what hospital christophe is in, then goes there to visit him. cue a VERY awkward conversation. but gregory is determined to make things right so he visits weekly, which christophe acts like he hates but actually appreciates because gregory is his only visitor!

christophe has a fear of dogs. gregory forces him to come with him to their local dog park for some exposure therapy. “maybe i would feel safer if you didnt make me leave all my weapons at home!” “christophe i am not letting you bring a shiv to the dog park”

“youre 20some years old and youve never kissed anyone??” aka tophe is too busy being a badass mercenary to get laid aka “sorry i dont waste my time with romance bullshit monsieur sex master”

gregory, for some reason, takes christophe to a fancy function at a venue with a garden. gregory knows to keep an eye on christophe but still loses him pretty quickly. yknow, too busy being british and polite or w/e. goes searching and finds him in the garden crouched next to a flower bush. “what on earth are you doing?” gregory asks him. “this bush is in the wrong type of soil,” christophe replies, then proceeds to explain in depth why he knows that and what the gardener could do to improve the health of the plant. gregory just. stands there, caught off guard and very confused

gregorys parents are holding him to higher and higher expectations. he acts like he can handle it but christophe is surprisingly perceptive and can tell that its really fucking with him. he confronts gregory about this, but is so bad at comforting people that he ends up just yelling at him lmao. “you fucking idiot of course you cant live up to what your parents want! theyre elitist assholes who only care about themselves and their stupid fucking social status! youre so focused on pleasing them that you cant see how amazing you actually are! youre not a failure, youre a dumbass!!”

christophe has been in love with gregory for a long time. he finally gets fed up with keeping it a secret so he tells him, 100% expecting to be rejected. like, hes ready to get this off his chest and move on with their friendship. his feelings are more of a nuisance than anything, because he has fully accepted that gregory would never want to date someone like him. but then gregory actually reciprocates, and christophe does whatever the human equivalent of the windows blue screen is

i have plenty more but honestly im pretty sure no one wants to hear these lol. i am forcing them upon you. i am shouting into a void, hoping and pleading that at least one person finds these entertaining. ok bye love u 🤗🤗

[itsclydebitches]

Hi! I was just watching good omens and I came up with some questions, but I didn't know whom to ask, so I was digging around for go analysis blogs and found you. *takes a breath* So, I was wondering if you had any thoughts on why Heaven's camera angles are the way they are. I noticed that, in heaven, the camera tends to focus on the characters' heads specifically, so they fill most of the screen. Either it's a meta reason or a reference to something (like Newt with the Office) that I'm not getting. That's the main thing, but I've also wondered why exactly Aziraphale uses the verb "fraternize" in the 19th century. It seemed an odd pivot from caring about Crowley's safety to Heaven's rules. Thanks so much!

Hello! Omg yes, let's talk Good Omens cinematography.

First, the obligatory Analysis Disclaimer: I doubt there's a specific interpretation that you're just not getting, some singular, "correct" reading of the scene(s). Two years past release, I'm positive the fandom as a whole has come up with plenty of ideas (I mostly hang on the periphery. I'm far from up to date with GO meta), but any and all of it will, by nature, be subjective. Thus, all I can offer is my own, personal interpretation.

So for me? It's about intimacy.

Not intimacy in the sense of friendship, but rather the broad idea of closeness. Confidentiality. Emotion. Knowledge. Understanding by means of literally getting into the thick of these conversations. I love the camerawork in Heaven (and elsewhere) because the camera itself acts like a person — an additional party to these interactions. And, since we're the ones watching this show via the camera, it makes it feel as if we're peeking into scenes that are otherwise private. Obviously all cinematography does this to a certain extent, the camera is always watching someone or something without acknowledging that we're doing the watching (outside of documentary-esque filmmaking), but GO uses angles and closeups to mimic another person observing these scenes, someone other than the characters involved.

The easiest example I can give here is when Michael makes their call to Ligur. Here, the camera is positioned up on the next landing of the staircase, as if we're sneaking a look down at this otherwise secret call. There's even a moment when the camera pans to the right to look at them through the gap in the railing, briefly obscuring Michael from our view.

Here, a standard expectation of any scene — keep your character in focus ��� is done away with to instead mimic the movements of someone actually hiding in the stairwell, listening in on the conversation. It creates that feeling of intimacy, as if we're really there with Michael, not just watching Michael through a screen. The camerawork acts like a person overhearing an illicit conversation prior to falling back on mid/closeup shots. We're spying on them.

To give a non-Heaven example, the camera helps us connect with Aziraphale during Gabriel's jogging scene. It's hard to show through screenshots, but if you re-watch you'll see that the camera initially keeps them both in the frame with full body shots, allowing us to compare things like Gabriel's unadorned gray workout clothes with Aziraphale's more stylish outfit; one's good jogging form and the other's awkward shuffle. However, this distance also creates the sense that we're jogging with them, we're keeping pace.

That is, until Aziraphale begins to lag. Then the camera lags too, giving them both the chance to catch up, so to speak.

Until, finally, Aziraphale has to stop completely and the camera, of course, stops with him. We're emotionally attuned to Aziraphale, not Gabriel, and the camerawork reflects that. Even more-so when we cut to a low shot of Gabriel's annoyed huff at having to stop at all, making him appear larger and more imposing. Because to Aziraphale, he is.

This work carries over into Heaven's other scenes. The closeups are pretty much a given since, whether it's Gabriel realizing Aziraphale has been "fraternizing" with Crowley (more on that below!), or Aziraphale choosing to go back to Earth, the scenes in Heaven are incredibly important to the narrative. Closeups allow the viewer to get a good read on each character's emotional state — focusing on minute facial changes as opposed to overall body language — and that fly-on-the-wall feeling is increased as we literally get an up close and personal look at these pivotal moments.

Compare a shot like this one of Gabriel to the line of angels ready for battle. We don't get closeups on any of their faces because their emotions aren't important. Yes, that's in part because they're background characters, not main characters, but a lack of emotion — their willingness to enter this war without question — is also the point of their presence in this scene. So they remain a semi-identical, nearly faceless mass that runs off into infinity down that hallway, not any individual whose inner life we get a peek at via a closeup.

I particularly like Aziraphale's conversation with the angel... general? Idk what to call this guy. He's just gonna be Mustache Angel. But, getting back on track, his scene has a lot of over the shoulder shots which, admittedly, are pretty common. From a practical perspective they're used to help the audience situate both characters in the scene — you're here, you're there, this is how you're spaced during this conversation — but it can also help emphasize that closeness between them. Keeping both characters in the shot connects them and though Aziraphale and Mustache Angel definitely aren't on the same page here, those shots help cue us in to the unwanted intimacy of this moment. They're both angels... even though Aziraphale no longer aligns himself with them. They're both soldiers in a war... but Aziraphale will not fight. This angel has a list of Aziraphale's secrets, including that he once had a flaming sword and lost it... but Aziraphale doesn't want to admit those circumstances to him. This angel wouldn't understand, even if he did. Intimacy here, connection and closeness, is something discomforting because Aziraphale can no longer embrace those similarities. They put him (and us) out of sorts, so when we get them both in frame, that connection creates tension, not relief.

And many of those over the shoulder shots are given sharp angels, or the camera is placed too close to the "off screen" party. Compare a shot like Luke and Rey to Aziraphale and Mustache Angel. Here, Luke is a clean, solid line on the left side of the screen, just enough there to cue us in to where he is in relationship to Ray, In contrast, Mustache Angel's mustache is Too Close and proves rather distracting. Rey and Luke are connecting here over being Jedi with responsibilities to uphold (or at least, Luke will acknowledge that connection later lol); Mustache Angel is forcing a connection with Aziraphale that makes everyone uncomfortable.

We are too close to him here. He feels too close to Aziraphale too. This whole conversation is upsetting and discomforting, pushing Aziraphale to finally choose which side he's on (his own with Crowley). The shots aren't meant to subtly keep the audience from getting lost and then otherwise be unobtrusive, we're supposed to be Very Aware of this angel's body and how close he's getting to the character we've come to identify with — both literally (he's leaning in) and in terms of forcing Aziraphale to finally make his choice.

When Mustache Angel marches forward and gets all up in Aziraphale's face, the camera positions itself behind Aziraphale in a way that makes it feel like we're hiding behind him, with Aziraphale taking up far more of the screen than Luke does. Like the scene with Michael or running with Gabriel, the camera often likes to mimic a "realistic" response to these events. This angry, shouty angel is getting closer, best take a step back and stay out of sight behind Aziraphale, holding his ground.

These closeups also serve as a nice contrast to the wide and longshots we get of Heaven. It's an imposing place with skyscrapers in the distance, lots of steel, immaculate floors, and endless white. It's overwhelming and it's cold. But then we cut to those mid-shots of Gabriel and Michael, telling us that they're in control of it all.

Aziraphale? Aziraphale is not in control. Not now, anyway. When he appears in Heaven we get a longshot to show off this endless void and he's just another, tiny speck in it. If he weren't flailing around — an acting move that likewise helps sell how out of his depth he is — it's unlikely you'd even notice him. Aziraphale's clothing and hair blends in perfectly with the background. He's forgettable. Easily overlooked. Someone to underestimate. And when he moves, he has to come to the camera. We don't cut to Aziraphale to establish control like we do with Gabriel. He's left to awkwardly shuffle up to Mustache Angel until he's finally come into view.

Yet when Aziraphale makes his decision, he aligns himself with the brightest, most colorful, most interesting thing in the room: Earth. Earth, with all its messy individuality, is the antithesis to Heaven's controlled uniformity and a bright blue orb hanging in the midst of all this white helps remind us of that. Aziraphale rejects becoming one of the identical soldiers and instead literally reaches out for the one thing in Heaven that doesn't fit in.

When he leaves, we get an extreme closeup for the first time. Mustache Angel is pissed and as such we not only get a good look at his face in the aftermath of Aziraphale's choice, but that extreme closeup on his mouth as he's shouting too. It's like he's shouting directly at us, the viewer who is currently cheering on Aziraphale's decision. There's a war, dammit... but we don't care. Not in the way he cares, anyway.

So there's a lot! And I could probably go on, but apparently I'm only allowed to add 10 images per post now (tumblr what the actual fuck if anyone knows a way around this please share!) and I've already had to merge a bunch of images like an animal. So let's awkwardly finish up with the duck pond scene.

...without a GIF because they apparently count as images too 🙃

Simply put, I don't think Aziraphale bringing up fraternizing is a pivot from one to the other — from caring about Crowley to caring about Heaven's rules. I mean yes, Aziraphale is lagging behind Crowley in terms of rebellion and a part of him is, at this point, absolutely concerned with how he'll come across to the higherups, but that worry doesn't stem solely from a (now very shaky) desire to obey for the sake of obeying. The thing is, Aziraphale's disobedience is, by default, also Crowley's disobedience. If they're friends and they're ever found out, they'll both get in trouble. Which, we know from the end of Season One, basically means being wiped from existence. That's horrifying! And it's a horror that threatens them both. I don't think Aziraphale cares about rules for the sake of rules; after all, he started off by giving away his sword, lying to God, is currently meeting with Crowley anyway... this angel has always ignored/bent the rules — established and implied — that don't suit him. Rather, he cares about the rules if he thinks they have a chance of being enforced. If there will be consequences for breaking and bending them. This is still about caring for Crowley (as well as saving his own, angelic skin). If they're found out, Crowley dies. And, as we the viewer learn, Heaven was indeed observing them that whole time. There was always legitimate risk attached to this relationship. Aziraphale's fear, hesitance, and at times forceful pleas to stop this stem as much from Aziraphale worrying about Crowley's safety as they do a learned instinct to obey the rules without question. He pushes to end the relationship because the relationship threatens the only thing Aziraphale cares about more than that: Crowley himself.

As for the term "fraternizing," that's a loaded one! I won't go into a whole history lesson here, but suffice to say it has military roots: to sympathize as brothers with an opponent. That is literally what Crowley and Aziraphale are doing. They are an angel and a demon, supposedly innate enemies, supposedly poised for an inevitable war... yet they've formed an incredibly strong kinship. They've both learned to love their enemy, the thing every army fears because, well, then your army won't fight (just as Aziraphale won't). However, beyond the enemy implications, "to fraternize" eventually took on a sexual meaning: to not merely love as a brother, but to lay with the enemy too, usually women from enemy countries (because, you know, heteronormativity). Nowadays, "to fraternize" often implies a sexual component. I've been rewatching The Good Wife lately and in one subplot, the State's Attorney cracks down on fraternization in his office. He doesn't mean his employees are forming bonds with assumed enemies, he means his employees are having sex on his office couch. So Aziraphale's phrasing here carries a LOT of weight. He's both reminding Crowley of their stations in the world — you are a demon, I am an angel, us meeting like this can have formal, irrevocable consequences for us both — as well as, given the fact that this is a love story, drawing attention to the depth of this relationship. They love one another, as more than just friends. Though whether Crowley's scathing "Fraternizing?" is a response to Aziraphale falling back on the technicalities of their positions, or acknowledging a love he's yet to overtly admit and commit to — or both! — is definitely up for debate.

[flyingcookiegumtruckthing]

loh dub

yeah the changing/literal translations of the name of everyone in the legend of hei movie’s english dub (except hei) is kinda awkward but also consider!

the trade-off is that the rest of the english dub is super good and iirc also the cast is the first all asian/asian american english dub cast of a donghua/asian animation bc i dont think any anime yet even has an all asian/asam cast for an english dub soooooooooooooooooo

give the english dub of legend of hei a try

sauce for screenshot

sauce for cast via imdb

english dub trailer for legend of hei via shout! factory’s youtube

edit: oh yeah since the movie’s kinda small and the dub is new, the full english voice cast list isn’t actually on imdb, i’ll try to screenshot or write it down from my copy of the dvd lol

for example khoi dao (english voice of albedo from genshin and vietnamese american voice actor) is in loh as void but isn’t listed on the page so lol

maybe ill just screenshot/link a bunch of twitter posts bc a lot of the voice actors posted their roles and stuff so lol

[writing-in-april]

Bowling Ball Baby

Franklin x Female Pregnant Reader

(Franklin is MGG’s character from beginner’s luck)

Gif courtesy of the ever wonderful @imagining-in-the-margins

A/N: I have recently become obsessed with Franklin because of @httpnxtt and @sunlight-moonrise so I decided to write some fluff with a dash of angst for him. I also have smut upcoming for this character as well. Thanks to my beta readers @sunlight-moonrise and @definitelynotkatesblog y’all are amazing!

Warnings: Fluff with a dash of angst, marital dispute at the beginning (is later resolved, and a few swear words.

Masterlist Word count: 1.9k (this was supposed to be a blurb lol)

Fighting with Franklin always left me at rock bottom. We both had feisty personalities but still didn’t fight often, usually just scathing quips when we were irritated. On the rare occasions when we did explode into a fight it was full of screaming, crying, and hurtful comments. Our tempers had been close to boiling over for a while now, my pregnancy hormones were making me extremely irritable and Franklin’s feisty demeanor didn’t exactly mesh well with that.

My 8 month pregnant belly felt like I was lugging around a bowling ball constantly, my back felt like it was being broken everyday. I constantly felt like I was standing on pins and needles, plus the baby felt the need to show me just how strong she or he was by kicking me in the ribs.

The fight had started after Franklin came home from work, I was sitting on our couch with my feet propped up and covered in an ice pack to relieve some of the stinging pain. Unfortunately for my poor swollen feet the ice pack did little to dull the throbbing.

“Hey, Frankie?” I called, hoping I could convince him to swap out the thawing ice pack for a frozen bag of peas.

“Not now, I’m busy.” He answered shortly, his back facing away from me, not fully acknowledging my presence. He was usually extra irritable after work; he felt trapped in his job, like it was holding him back from his dream of bowling professionally..

I huffed loudly, not that he could hear it from the other room, doing god knows what. He returned in a rush with his bowling ball bag in his hand, headed for the door, his Big Z Tires shirt hastily thrown on. My mouth fell open when I realized he was leaving for the alley.

“You’re leaving?” I squeaked, watching him while he hastily shoved a bagel in his mouth.

“I’ve got to go to practice” he muffled around a mouthful, sounding annoyed. I always supported Franklin and his dreams of being the best bowler in Little Falls, but this time I wasn’t going to let him escape his responsibilities of our relationship so easily.

“Could you skip today?” Treading lightly by asking softly. “We haven’t spent any time with each other in like a month and even then it was at the alley.”

His face switched from being annoyed to enraged despite my asking nicely, he was still going to get pissed off- figures.

“How could you be so inconsiderate- you know how important this is to me and the whole town!” he yelled. I was spooked but quickly composed myself before replying.

“I’m not being inconsiderate, you're never here.” I stated in a deadly tone, I didn’t want to make this worse by joining in on his raised voice. “I understand it’s the most important thing in Little Falls, but shouldn’t our baby be more important to you?!”

All I got in response was a dismissive scoff. I could feel myself getting angrier, we’d both said we wanted a baby and for the past month he acted like he couldn’t care less.

“You might as well go move into the bowling alley.” I mumbled under my breath, fiery spite fueling my words.

“Even with the pins, it’d still be quieter than your nagging.” he shot back.

“Excuse me?!” Now it was my turn to shout; he just had to continue to stoke the fire increasing in my belly. I waddled my way to stand right in front of him, ignoring the pain of my swollen feet. I didn't want him to wiggle his way out, if he wanted an argument he was going to get one, he was the one who started it after all.

“All you’ve done is whined and complained these past few weeks.” He was acting like a hypocrite, whining and complaining to me about something we both agreed to do together. I had never felt more alone.

“How would you know? You’re never here to spend time with me!” The timbre of my voice cracked as my heart started to shatter.

“Just stop, ok? I get it you’re pregnant but come on Y/N it can’t take that much hard work!” That comment was the straw that broke the camel's back, my anger turned to melancholy as hot tears spilled over onto my cheeks as I waddled away as fast as I could back to our bedroom.

I could hear his desperate voice trying to get me to come back, offering any pleading or begging he could think of, but I wasn’t having it. As I got to our room I slammed the door shut, making sure to lock it tight so he couldn’t follow me. If he wanted to act like a dick, he'll sleep on the couch for the night. Knocks started to hit the door with his voice barely permeating through the wood imploring me to let him in.

Tears fell down my cheeks while I rubbed my belly, all I wanted was for us to be a happy family, but I needed Franklin to be fully committed. Sinking down onto our bed I contemplated where this left us. I almost packed a bag to stay with a friend for the night but I was too tired to go through with it, the fighting had taken all the energy out of me. The mattress cuddled my body but it wasn’t as good as Franklin, which only made the drops fall harder. My sadness deepened when the knocks stopped, the room now a void, offering no comfort to me. Dread sat in my belly as I drifted off into a restless sleep.

~~~

Physically and emotionally I was strung out, I was in no mood to talk or argue so I had been tiptoeing around Franklin all day, his behavior had made me seriously start to question if he was truly invested in our relationship. Once dinner rolled around I padded my way into the kitchen, the baby had been craving some sweets and I was highly considering just binging on candy.

I glanced over to the stove to find a ridiculous sight standing before me. Franklin had his bowling shirt on- he honestly rarely took it off and had about 5 of them. Covering most of the front of his yellow button up was a baby sling I had bought a few weeks ago in preparation, in it sat my old purple bowling ball I used when I was in Highschool. He must’ve dug it out of our closet as I hadn’t used it since our last competition senior year. A wave of nostalgia washed over me as I reminisced about the old team where we’d first met. I gazed at the 8 pound perfectly round ball, weighing down and stretching the fabric directly in the middle, it looked exactly like what you’d think a bowling ball in a baby sling would look- ridiculous.

“I remember you saying you’ve been craving something sweet so I decided to make pancakes for dinner, I even added chocolate chips.” He spoke, breaking me out of my memory. I hadn’t even noticed he was making pancakes, my focus on the bowling ball strapped to his stomach.

“We’re not going to talk about the bowling ball?”

“Well I was being a dick-” I swiftly cut him off. My rage was being stoked slightly by his whimsical attitude, I couldn’t tell if he was trying to cheer me up or was really that thick and couldn’t understand my frustrations.

“Yeah, that’s the understatement of the century.” I’m sure the steely edge to my tone was not lost on Franklin, and I still wasn’t giving him the satisfaction of eye contact.

“Like I was saying- I was being a dick and I was thinking to myself, ‘Frankie she’s carrying the weight of the relationship right now. You want to get inside a woman’s head? You become a woman.’ So I thought I’d join you in solidarity- as an apology.”

Silence filled my part of the conversation as I pondered his words. It certainly was an odd way for someone to make up a fight, usually people bought flowers, chocolate, or go on a fancy date. Franklin, however, always had a way of apologizing in the most obnoxious and ridiculous ways that were incredibly sweet, but also made me want to bang my head against the wall. He had stopped flipping the pancakes, anxiously awaiting my reply to his apology. The slight char they were getting wafted a burnt smell through the air.

“This is the first thing you thought of for an apology?” I giggled out breaking the tense silence, his shoulders relaxed as he let out an audible puff of breath. I may have found this funny but I wasn’t going to let him off the hook just yet.

“Well- you know me, I’m not very good at apologies.” He said in a regretful tone, turning back to the pancakes finally removing the almost carbonized pancake from the skillet. A cringe made its way onto his face after catching sight of the rubbery burnt cake and swiftly chucked it in the trash. “I really am sorry Y/N.”

“You’re saying that now because your back hurts- Am I right?” I narrowed my eyes suspiciously, still not fully accepting this apology.

“No, that’s not the main reason I’m apologizing, but yes, oh my god my back fucking hurts.” His right hand started to massage his sore back as his other poured in the last scrapes of pancakes, sprinkling it with an exorbitant amount of chocolate chips. My mouth was watering at the sight and delicious aroma.

“How long have you been wearing it?” I asked, trying to distract myself from the heavenly scent.

“Like 10 minutes, I totally understand why you waddle now” Flipping over the last pancake, he started to set the table, his waddles were even more awkward compared to mine because of his long limbs.

“Well now that you understand, you’d better be massaging my feet everyday to make up for it.” I sharply stated though I couldn’t help but slip in a few giggles in between. I had been carrying this baby close to 9 months and Franklin could barely handle 10 minutes without keeling over.

“Yes, of course. I promise.” He set the plates of pancakes down on our round table, then pulled out one of the chairs and helped me sit down. I noticed that he had even set up the silverware in its supposed proper place along with the napkins folded into little triangles, he did go all out to make it up to me.“You know, you're the actual god in this family.” He remarked as he slung off the baby sling, relieving the tension from his back. I wished I could do the same.

“I love you, you big weirdo.” I snorted in response. While his godliness was usually referring to his bowling skills, it was nice to have my literal creation and carrying of life inside of me acknowledged too.

“I love you too” He wrapped his arms around me from behind, pressing soft kisses to my neck and rubbing my belly, silently assuring me that everything would be alright.

[gointothevvater]

Theme: The First...

I'm a day late, but that's okay! Better late than never, right?

For context: The first time Pickles and St. Cecilia met after the breakup of Snakes N' Barrels. It's been some time, and while things change, some things stay the same.

.

"St. Cecilia." Pickles's voice was soft, the name sitting strange and bitter on his tongue. He hadn't spoken it in years, though he thought it often. And here she was, right in front of him, her honey-gold eyes locked with his.

"Hey, love," she said, her lilting sing-song accent cutting right through him. It always did. God, he'd missed the sound of her voice.

He reached for her, stopped himself, stuffed his hands into the pockets of his suit pants, where they could do nothing he would regret. "How ya been?" he asked lamely.

With a rueful smile and a shrug, she said, equally lamely, "Well enough, I suppose." She looked away, and Pickles felt a familiar void open in his chest, already mourning the loss of eye contact. When had he become this pathetic? God, he hated himself. "You?"

Pickles wasn't sure what to say. Things were the same as they had been for years. Dethklok was huge, bigger than Stiletto, bigger even than Snakes N' Barrels, but he was sure she already knew that. What was there to say? "Good," was all he could think of. His eyes slid over the other partygoers, but Nathan was too far to call for help, and Skwisgaar was too busy babysitting Toki to be of any use. No way in hell was he asking Murderface; He'd never live it down. "Just got back from a tour," he said, as if she wasn't aware of it. The whole world knew.

"Heard it was a raging success," she replied lightly, a bit of a teasing tone eking its way into her voice. When a suited caterer stepped past, she snatched a flute of champagne from the tray he carried. She lifted it to her lips, thought better of it, then offered it to him. Sounding almost like her old self, she said, "You look like you need this more than I do."

He accepted, of course, downing the champagne so fast he didn't even feel the bubbles. Fighting the urge to throw down the flute, he huffed, "You know me too well." When he looked at her again, she was looking back at him. She hardly looked like the same person. Fifteen years had passed since Snakes had broken up, but somehow she looked prettier now than she had then, dressed in a black suit far better tailored than his, her hair silvery blonde and hanging loose down her back, her heels high enough that she was almost at eye level with him. How was this even possible? Here he was, old and pudgy and balding, and yet she was still gorgeous. He said, "You look good."

She said, "You, too."

He repressed a shiver when her bright eyes slid over him, turning the champagne flute over in his hands, paying special attention to the place where her lips had touched the glass, leaving a little smear of dark lipstick. He swiped it away with his thumb.

There was a long pause, then St. Cecilia muttered, "Christ, this is awkward."

There was nervous laughter in her voice, and Pickles mirrored it, tipping his head towards the bar and asking, "Wanna get a drink?"

"More than anything!" Her laughter was genuine now, and to Pickles's surprise, when he offered his arm, she took it, murmuring, "What a gentleman." She sounded impressed, and Pickles felt his chest swell with pride.

They stepped through the crowd of record execs and singers and musicians to the bar set up against the far wall, claiming a pair of empty stools, and Pickles ordered them each a whiskey neat. While she sipped at hers, he downed his with a great sigh, saying, "Been way too long."

"Since you've had whiskey?" St. Cecilia asked, laughing when he shot her a deadpan look. The sound was like fire, warm and bright and blazing through him. He'd have blisters when they parted, he was sure of it. They'd hurt like hell.

"Since we seen each other," he said, feeling raw and vulnerable. Fucking gay, he scolded himself. He was the most famous drummer in the world, he had a different girl in his bed every night, why did this one make him so nervous? It was fucking ridiculous. Stupidly, he asked, "You got a boyfriend?"

Her cheeks flushed a pretty pink, and he felt his heart shudder, then shatter. Softly, she said, "I do, actually."

He said, "Shit."

He was immensely relieved when he heard Nathan shout, "Pickles! We're leaving!" When Pickles glanced in his direction, he saw Nathan supporting a thoroughly drunk Toki while Skwisgaar had his head tilted back and nursing a bloody nose. Murderface was nowhere to be seen, and that was the most worrying thing of all.

St. Cecilia asked, "Already?"

Pickles tried not to be comforted by how disappointed she sounded, but he failed miserably. "Guess so," he said. He reached for her again, and this time, he went through with it, pulling her into his arms, resting his forehead against her tattooed shoulder. The ink was new, but she smelled like jasmine and cinnamon and cloves, as she always had. Cinnabar, it was called. He'd recognize it anywhere. He pulled away, grabbed a cocktail napkin and a pen from the affronted bartender's shirt pocket and scribbled his phone number on it. "If the boyfriend breaks your heart," he said, handing the napkin over, "call me." As he did, their hands touched, and he pulled away, lest the sparks set him alight. "I'll break his neck."

Smiling, she scoffed, "You would, wouldn't you?"

"In a heartbeat."

"Pickles!" Nathan called again. "Now!"

"I'm coming!" Pickles hollered back, green eyes rolling. "God!" Then, without thinking, he pulled St. Cecilia close again, pressing his mouth to hers, reveling in the familiar taste of her lips.

When he pulled back, she whispered against him, "We can't do this." She wanted to, though. Pickles could feel her heart was pounding against his fingers where they rested at her waist. Her eyes were blown dark with want, and she looked away from him again, lifting a black-nailed hand to push a lock of silvery hair behind her ear.

She was right, he knew, and he slipped away from her, to where the boys were waiting for him. Murderface had appeared now, spitting congratulations at him, and Pickles gave him a sharp elbow to the ribs. Toki found this hilarious, but Pickles couldn't manage a smile. The void in his chest was a bottomless pit now, and he doubted there was enough booze in all of Mordhaus to fill it.

.

Did I just make St. Cecilia more important to Pickles’s backstory than she had any right to be? Yes. Did I make her a possible cause for not only his substance issues but also SNB’s breakup? Yes, I did that, too. Oops? Also points to anyone who guesses who the boyfriend is! Lol

[kaibacorpintern]

#3 and #7 for Some Beast, please!

3. and because i know we’re all egocentric, have you ever made yourself laugh out loud or cry with a fic you wrote?

i haven't made myself cry, but i do laugh at my own jokes, like the moose joke in Chapter 3 or the awkwardness of Kaiba trying to listen to the Millennium Puzzle in Chapter 6 like it's a seashell and putting it on his nightstand eye-down so Yami can't watch him when he sleeps. it doesn't work that way, Kaiba-boy!! speaking of: i also love giving Pegasus zany, ridiculous one-liners for this fic lol.

7. what is you favourite sentence/paragraph? 

i have very special feelings for these sections, the first from chapter 3 and the second from chapter 8. like i love them and i think they’re great. (chapter 3, kaiba being moody in an airplane)

He loved flying, almost as much as being in White Dragon. He loved the speed and the heady power of airplanes and their testament to human defiance: we will not stay on the ground. He loved being thousands of feet in the air, in a place where all the serrated edges and rough corners flattened, save for what the earth itself had brought forward over millions of years of idle shuddering.

Every ugly, miserable thing was invisible from up here. They were meaningless, nameless. So was every good thing, but when Seto woke up just past dawn, to the light-filled void of the sky above the clouds, blue and white and infinite, that did not seem like such a loss. Everything would still be there when he came back to Earth.

If he weren’t so goddamn tired, he would’ve flown the plane himself. Such as it was, he satisfied himself with the g-forces that gripped him around the chest as the plane landed, a feeling he never found unpleasant. It taxied to the end of the runway, the engines slowing to a dull whine.

(chapter 8, kaiba having feelings about romance)

It was the absence of irritation, for so long a reflex; it was the opposite of solitude. Sometimes it was a drowning, the voice in his head forced into the water until all its miserable you’re better off alone whispers were just limp, bubbling gulps. In other moments, it was a washing away, eroding some brittle crust. The generosity of his own laughter surprised him.

At its worst – best? – most powerful, when it kept him up at night, his own skin too hot to wear, it had a thousand different names… none good enough. Dating? Facile, and for other people. Attraction, too clinical. To call it romance was laughable; love, mostly unthinkable. When love was thinkable, it was distant, one of the rare things that made him feel pathetically like a child, surrounded by adults. Not for you, not until you’re older. Even Isis flirted sometimes, with the hot Chilean officer, with a finger twined in her hair and a clarinet laugh. Somewhere Pegasus, armed with a glass of wine, was laughing at him.

special shout-out to when kaiba and yami [REDACTED!] in chapter 7 and i do love chapter 5 a LOT omg i need to re-read this lmao

[all-hallows-evie]

Athenaeum: 7

Warnings: Canon typical Violence is coming into play this chapter, mentions of blood, capture and WORST OF ALL:...I cant write fight scenes for crap. LOL

A/N:...so yeah...shit’s hitting the fan this chapter...not sorry about it, lol

***

Two months come and go and every time a ship lands near the outskirts you feel your heart clench. You did him rotten, what you did was unfair. He was trying to be kind but just like you always do, you ruin it.

You fall back into your daily routine: sorting, mindlessly storing away information that may never be needed again, but the kid is always at the back of your mind no matter how hard you try to push him away.

You hope he is okay.

You hope he is managing to slip through the Empire's grip as whispers begin to turn to murmurs. The Empire is rising from the ashes, attempting to be reborn, but this time it is darker. You can feel it in the atmosphere, the darkness that had clouded the sky during the reign of Darth Vader was starting to clog everything again.

You are terrified for the kid. Maker knows why the Empire wants him, but it is never a good thing to be wanted by the Empire in a way like that; a need so fierce they would be willing to burn down entire towns to find you.

The sun has just set on the horizon and the lamps all around are warming up their golden glow. You sit on an all too familiar duracrete wall, a cup of steaming tea in your hands.

The small girl from the pack of children approaches you with caution, she pushes a long strand of straight auburn hair behind her ear, "When will the baby be back?" She asks fearlessly. 

Your lips press into a line, "I don't know."

"Do you think it will be soon? We miss him."

"I hope so." You respond before you bring the cup to your lips, the hot water burns your tongue. 

The little girl seems satisfied, but disappointed with your answer and sighs before returning to the group. Her little shoulders dropping low, the chorus of “awwww” comes from the other children a few feet away.

You spend the night watching them play in the streets and making polite conversation with anyone who approaches you. You congratulate a newly wed couple as they uncomfortably ask if you might know of anything in your collection that might help them with their first child. You smile and ask them to come see you tomorrow afternoon, you'll be sure to get them what they need. "A gift." You respond when they look at each other nervously, unsure of what they could offer in trade, "We need more innocence in this world."

The moon is high in the sky by the time you wander back to your home. You catch yourself holding the spot on your chest where the child would lay his head when he was here, wrapped tightly against your body, tuckered out after a long night of play.

Sleep evades you that night. 

Something about tonight was bringing out the worst in you. Something about the way everyone around you was starting to carve their way into the universe made you feel...lonely. 

Inadequate. 

Lost. 

Again and again, you feel the urgency that only loss brings out in you, like you want to reach out into the universe and grab a hold of something - anything - to keep you from falling into the void but there is nothing. 

You need to stay busy. 

You don't remember when you pull yourself from the warmth of your covers and pad softly downstairs. The lights of your private archives hum loudly in the silence of the early morning. You slide into your helmet, the cold sticks to the inside spaces making little puffs with every breath you take. 

You start your search, finding files with old wives tales and home remedies, scanning them for anything you can think of that the new nervous parents could need. And when you can't think of anything else, you read past accounts of births in this tiny little town, taking notes on your data pad as you go.

You don't feel your eyes start to slip closed halfway through your research, you don't feel your head drop forward suddenly heavy with exhaustion, you don't feel your entire body curl up to the desk as sleep completely overtakes you, and most of all you don't feel the Mandalorian pull you from your awkward sleeping position on the table to bring you upstairs. You don’t feel him lay you on your own bed, helmet still firmly attached over your shoulders. 

You sleep through the tiny claws pulling themselves up beside you, but when the little warm body curls up under your chin your eyes finally flutter open.

Your hand comes up, landing with a soft plop between the kids ears. "Hey buddy, I've missed you." Your voice is raspy and thick with sleep.

He gurgles, little claws digging into the collar of your shirt. 

"Where's your big beskar friend?" You sigh as you sit up slightly, you hold the child tight against you with one hand while pulling the helmet from your head with your other. It bounces on your mattress as you let it slide off. You look around, running the sleep from your eyes and trying to piece together how you even got back here.

The kid reaches up and touches your chin, a shiver runs down your spine as he shares more memories with you. 

Sand and heat. Double suns high in the brilliant blue sky. 

There was a nice woman there with wild curly hair, you can feel how much she makes him happy. She's fun because she lets me get in trouble. It's not words you exchange but feelings. 

Holding the child in your arms and staring into the inky black of his eyes you can feel your resolve melting away. 

If Mando asks again, you won't say no. You'll leave this all behind...but you've got to tell him the truth first. You hide your worry behind a smirk as you turn to the child, your hand curled into a C shape as you run it down the front of your chest, “Hungry?” 

His little arms immediately spring up as he squeals.

“Not surprising.” You smirk as you inch out of bed, slowly standing with him still held carefully in your arms. 

“I told him to let you sleep.”

You almost jump out of your skin at his sudden appearance, you aren’t sure how long the Mandalorian has been standing in your doorway watching you. “Mother of a mudscupper, I didn’t think you could be so quiet!” You shout, your heart racing up your throat. 

This time he does chuckle at you before disappearing into your living area. You walk out behind him, still holding the child tight. He leans against a side wall, seemingly looking out of your window into the street below. 

“I didn’t think you’d be back.” You say as you place the child down on the thick carpet, he wobbles over to the closest data pad, tucked into your usual place between one of the cushions of the couch. 

“He likes it here. He’s safe here”

“You have a bounty nearby?” You ask instead.  

“No.” he replies, “My offer-” 

“To come with - wait.” You stop before you can finish the thought. 

You hear it before you even see it break atmo, your eyes train on the sky. Mando looks up as well, following your gaze. You murmur it as you see it land in the outskirts. “T-4a shuttle.”

The Empire.

"Fuck, you have to go Mando, and you have to go now!" You scramble away from the window, you snatch the kid from the ground and hand him roughly to the Mandalorian as you both move as far away from the window as you can. Your data pad falls from his little claws, shattering against the floor. The Mandalorian tucks the child safely away in his canvas bag, trying to keep him calm as he starts to cry and squirm. 

"Come with us."

"You won't make it out of atmo alone." You grit, "Go, I can buy you time."

He hesitates, "Why? Why does the Empire want you?!"

"Dank ferrik Mando, we don't have time for this!"

"Tell me why, tell me what they want."

You roll your eyes, your hands card through your hair harshly, annoyed doesn't even begin to describe the sensation that blooms in your chest, "For fucks sake Mando, it's because I belong to them!"

He takes a step back. If you could see his face you would put money on a look of betrayal probably etching itself into his gaze as you spoke.

You rip yourself out of your thin jacket and toss it on the ground and show your arm to the Mandalorian, the red of the ink even brighter than you remember in the daylight. This is not the way you were hoping to have this conversation. 

"You're a deserter."

You huff, "No, life would be much easier if I was. A blaster bolt to the brain and that's the end of that. I am a creation, a monster born and bred for the Empire, they are inclined to bring me back."

He is frozen solid, the only sign of life is his chest which keeps rapidly rising and falling.

You clench your fist, he's running out of time and all he can do is stand there and be shocked by the inhumanity of the Empire, "Please Mando, you need to go."

"They want the kid, something about his blood-"

"Gods damn it, will you please go?!" You were so riled up that you felt the tears starting to blur out your vision.

"Are they making Jedi? Are they making more of you?!"

He was downright impossible. "I was force sensitive when they snatched me di'kut!" You growl, "They can't make us, but they can do other things."

Chaos is breaking out on the streets outside, you can hear screams and the sound of blaster fire. Panic rises up in your throat like acrid bile.

"Look, I don't know what they want from the kid, but please don't let them get him. If he survives whatever it is that they want him for or if he survives whatever they do to him, he won't like himself afterwards."

The Mandalorian is still and you wonder how long it will take for your words to bounce around his helmet before they sink into his head. The kid cries and he finally nods, "How do I get out?"

***

You can hear them coming closer. The sounds of doors being ripped off their hinges as imperial troopers in their white plastoid armor lay waste to the houses of the people you call friends and neighbors grows louder and louder. You are scared, your heart hammers under your ribs and if you don't keep reminding yourself to breathe you are sure you are going to keel over dead. 

The Imperials drag out the men and women from their homes, shouting at them for information.

“Where is the bounty hunter?!” 

“The one covered in beskar!” 

There is no death, there is the force. The words appear in your mind like a message from some nearby god.

You close your eyes and open your door and step out onto the main road, your long handled electro-axe dragging lines into the dirt of the road beside you. You stop in the middle of the road and turn to face the small squad of troopers, a few lieutenants scattered between them, the silver emblems of their caps shine in the sun. 

"The Mandalorian was with me." You call over, your voice cuts through the chaos.

The chaos quiets down for a moment as eyes land on you. Your own gaze lands on two lieutenants in the center of the fray, you can see their eyes flicker down, as they take in the brands on your skin. You grip your weapon a little tighter under their gazes.

"Deserter!" One of them growls before the other holds him back, a tight and sudden grip on his shoulder that stops him between steps. 

The dark haired lieutenant approaches warily. "What is a Praetorian doing in these quadrants?"

You smirk as there is a noticeable nervous shuffle in the group, "You're outside your jurisdiction boys. There is no Empire or New Republic presence here, but if you insist on asking questions about the Mandalorian, you are going to have to deal with me."

"I repeat, Praetorian," The lieutenant shouts as he visibly gathers his courage and shuffles closer, "Why are you here?"

Your eyes scan his face, the small smirk growing into a toothy grin on your lips, "Let me repeat, lieutenant: you have no jurisdiction here, and if you think you rank above me...you are in for a harsh reminder." Your heart feels like it’s ready to burst from your chest, but you swallow down harshly and refuse to let it show. 

His lip quivers and fear rolls off him in tidal waves, he turns to his partner, "Kill them." 

The heat from the blasters is immediate as every blaster attempts to take you out, you ignite your vibro axe, it’s blue arcs of electricity snapping to life. You dodge a couple of shots, blocking the rest with a quick push from the force, snapping it back before regathering your focus and sending another wave before the troopers can get another shot in. 

Your wave tackles the first row of troopers, causing havoc down the next two lines of troopers. Shots ring out in all directions as troopers go flying into each other, you take this moment to jump into the fray, slicing at the splayed out troopers who are still attempting to stand. 

You try to keep tabs on the snarky lieutenant as he melts into the crowd, Imperial troopers pouring down the street en force. A blaster bolt rips through your shoulder, sending a searing flash of pain down your side. You see red as you throw your hand out and catch the trooper responsible by the throat. You fling him bonelessly into the closest hard surface, the sidewall of your own home.

 Before he hits the ground you're already preparing to lash out at the next wave, quickly flipping your axe to your good arm, but you are not fast enough. A trooper charges under your outstretched hand, knocking you over. 

The air leaves your lungs as you hit the road hard on your back. 

The troops lunge forward and you hear distant shouts:

"Bring the e-net!"

"Clear the field!"

The crowd of white and black troopers part and you see the sky darkening as the electric net fills the sky.

"Fuck." You manage to gasp before it lands against your body and pins you to the ground. You hear it hum for a moment before it cracks to life like a lightning strike. Thick arcs of blue electricity fill the air and every muscle in your body spasms. 

Your screams fill your ears, eyes brimming with angry tears as white hot pain tears through you. The pain stops for a moment, just enough time for you to see the silver shine of the Razor Crest break out of atmo at the corner of your vision. Electricity arcs again and your vision is gone behind a wall of tears and a tidal wave of pain. 

You hear the boots around you surge forward in rhythm and then darkness. 

Sweet, sweet, painless darkness.

Taglist: @prettyboyskywalker, @sunshinepascal, @perropascal, @pascalisthepunkest, @bigdickdindjarin, @kyjoraven

<<Back to Master List  II  Chapter 6  II  Chapter 8 (In Progress)>>