#this took THREE DAYS of editing and tweaking before I was happy with it

[bunny-jpeg]

the jailbird

prisoner!simon 'ghost' riley

a full fic based on this post

cw: prison!au, civilian!reader, pen-pals, smut,romance/romantic!simon, domestic, missonary, wife kink, size kink, nudity, tattoo kink, body worship, cuddling

bunny says: like the fic? leave a comment! really like the fic? suggest your own! reblogs are always welcomed!

it started out as a flyer at the bus stop near your house. it was for a service that connected prisoners at a nearby prison with civilians as pen-pals. you had seen the flyer often over the course of work as you went to work.

you honestly felt bad, those people must be isolated. the organization prided itself on giving prisoners a bit of their humanity back by not cutting them off from those on the outside. so on a rainy friday you took a photo of the flyer and filled out the form on the organization's website.

that was how you met simon riley, or as he was called on the inside 'ghost'. what caught your attention wasn't his face scar that ran from under his nose down to the left side of his chin, but rather his brown eyes. how intense they stared into the camera. it was almost intimidating.

but you kept the photo on your desk as you typed out your first letter to send to him. you heard of places who did it through email, but screen time for those could often be limited and to send a physical letter would ensure that it would be sent to them.

the letter started out simple, you asked how he was and if it was okay to ask what he was in prison for. you asked him other questions, like if his health was doing well, what did he do most days while on the inside. you ended the letter with a little information about yourself.

you thought it would be nice to take a few photos and print them out on photo paper to be included with your letter. just so he had a better idea of who he was talking about. once you tweaked the letter with a bit of editing, you printed it out and thanks to the Royal Mail, your letter was sent to him.

you didn't actually expect for him to respond. nor did you expect for the letter to be do detailed. it was almost three pages double sided in neat hand writing. your eyes went wide when you saw the thickness of the envelope with the stamp of approval from the prison for it to be sent to you.

simon sent you a bracelet made of string that had been braided together. he said you were the first person from the outside to reach out since he got locked up. that broke your heart. it only broke further the more you read.

he was a military man who was tossed aside once the ptsd got too intense. he had been between jobs, and it felt like everything was just too much for him. he got wrapped up in large scale theft, while it paid good, you could only rob so many banks before it all caught up. he had been in for three years now, he was thankful it wasn't a life sentence. not much was stolen, and there was minimal violence. he said that his stature alone intimidated enough people that he didn't need to be violent.

you re-read his letters and it wouldn't be until almost six months of speaking that you finally wore the bracelet. when he said, "i want to see you in it, since i can't buy you a ring." you sent a photo of you wearing it and since then you hadn't taken it off.

the letters were nice, you sent them at least twice a week. even though you two had never met face to face, and the only photos you had of him were mugshots, he knew all the gossip in your work place. he knew the names of all your friends, your favourite saturday night treat and how you took your coffee.

he told you he'd be happy to make you coffee every morning before you went to work. that comment made your cheeks burn.

he often called you his 'wife' to the other prisoners. he had your photos on the wall near his bunk. he even kept the pictures where you looked terrible after you tried to cut your bangs one night. he knew the exact location of where your favourite take out was. he said that he was writing down ideas of where to take you once he got out. "i gotta make the missus feel special."

he even made you a birthday card. his cellmate 'soap' even signed it. you knew all about the explosives expert mactavish. when you looked into his case on the news, your eyes went a little wide. this guy was.. something.

simon did admit that 'soap' had a bit of a crush on you. but he said that 'johnny' was harmless and probably just liked the photo of a woman in the cell.

"he hurt ya, there will be no cell that could keep me from killin' him. no god either."

simon remembered everything.

the way he spoke about you and to you in his letters were nothing but soft. while he had to put on a tough guy exterior, his letters were filled with gentle words. like when he wrote out that he loved you in big text on a spare piece of paper so you could tape it on your mirror to look at every morning.

"i want to be what you get ready to."

"i want to be with you when you wake up."

"i want to come home to you every night. please make me an honest man."

you knew he was a trained killer. he was in special forces before his brief stint as a criminal. he was trained to kill, but in the margins of your letters, his love shined through. despite it all, he was capable of love.

and he wanted to pour all that love into you, his (future) wife.

you two would go on to write letters every week, for almost two years. when you got the letter from him asking if he could put you down as a permanent address when he got out, you cried. of course!

it was a cold spring morning, the sky was misty as you stood outside the gates of the prison. your heart raced, you even arrived early in the hopes he'd be released sooner.

and then you saw him.

those eyes. hard and stern, until he caught sight of you. his shoulder visibly dropped and his pace quickened as he made his way towards you. before you could step forward to meet him, he had you in his arms. his strong arms, littered with tattoos, wrapped around you as he held you close to his strong chest.

you held onto him as the air left your chest from the force he held you. you clutched onto his shoulders and choked out a sob. you squeaked, "holy shit."

he pulled away from you, but still kept you in his arms. you swore you saw minimal mistiness in his eyes. he reached to cup your face. he said quietly, "soft... like i imagined."

you beamed up at him, "of course, si."

"your voice is so nice." he groaned as he then pulled you close once more and buried his nose in your hair. he inhaled the scent of your shampoo and relaxed, "i'm home."

you thought transitioning from being the only person in the flat, to having this hulking, strong man in your home as well, was going to be a bit hard. but that didn't matter when simon got you through the door. his hands were on you, he promised on the universe that he'd romance you tomorrow.

but tonight was just going to be the two of you.

you managed to get his hands off you in order to get your shoes off before you led him to your bedroom. he was close behind you, he had a hand on one of your hips. he wanted to be as close to you as he could, you two had spent enough time apart.

you couldn't even close the bedroom door before he was pulling at the waistband on your pants. his calloused, strong hands felt delicate on you. it was like he was going to break you and he had to be as delicate as possible.

"si."

"i know, darling." he said quietly as he started to undress you. with your help the both of you were soon nude in the afternoon light in your bedroom. you tried to cover your chest with your arms but he pulled your arms away and looked at you.

your eyes met and you got up on your tip-toes to kiss him gently on the lips. soon he picked you up like you weighed less than a bag of potatoes.

he placed you on the bed gently when you half expected him to toss you like a shot-put. he admired your body down on your soft covers and soon got onto the bed too.

you reached for him as he pulled you into a tight kiss. his lips were chapped and you could tease the fresh skin underneath. your nails raked at his strong back, that you knew was covered in tattoos.

you wrapped your legs around him and held him. from a moment he dropped to his side and you two held each other. you tucked his head under your chin as you laid together naked.

it wasn't even meant to be sexually stimulating, you both just wanted to feel one another. to hear your lover's heartbeat meant more to you than anything in that moment.

you kissed the top of his head, you felt his blond hair against your face as you soaked in his warmth. you could almost cry from how nice it felt to be so close to him.

after everything, you had your man.

he said in his low tone, "you feel so soft. after everything, i have you. you made every day in the can worth it." he sighed, "thank you." he kissed at your bare chest.

you replied, "i loved your letters, i have them still." you chuckled, "i didn't want to throw any of them away. it made me feel closer."

"well. i'm not goin' anywhere." he looked up at you and smiled, "you're home and i'm finally here." he pulled away and got him between your legs. he rested on his knees and carefully moved you to his liking. he sat there between your legs and waited for your command.

you looked at him and nodded, "yeah, si. you can go." then tightened your legs around your lover. you held your breath as he slowly pushed his cock into you. you didn't realize how big it was until he was fully inside of you.

"are you alright, love?"

"golden."

the two of you moved together. it took a little bit to get used to the size, but the pressure and speed of his movements made heat spread through your body. like two pieces of the same puzzle, you fit together perfect soon after. it was like you two were always meant to be.

you felt so loved by him, it was so sweet. this was your first time with him and you only had a few sexual experiences with others prior to him. but the entire time you knew each other you didn't sleep with others, you wanted to wait for your man.

"that's my good wife." he groaned as he held onto your hips, "i know, you wanted this for a long time. i bet you thought about me when i was locked up."

you blushed and replied, "i did, si. i thought about you all the time, i even had your picture in my office. i wanted this, i wanted to be with you!" you whined a little as his cock dragged against a sensitive spot.

he chuckled softly, "yeah. i thought about my missus when i was locked up. i used to jerk off to your letters, your photos. messed one of 'em up by gettin' my spunk all over it." he licked his lips, "but now i can see it every day in person."

you smiled when he rested his body against you and continued to thrust up into you. you felt the curl of pleasure of your gut get together which each of his heavy thrusts.

the kisses you shared were intimate and hot. the air of your bedroom was warmed as you made love on the bed you would share together. your soft noises together filled the air.

you clenched onto him, you dug your nails into his shoulders. they were so strong and broad that they were much bigger than your hands.

he kissed you one last time as he quickened his pace. the bed moved against your movements as you both climaxed at the same time. it was like a shock to the system, the heightened euphoria before your head felt full of cotton.

you let out a soft groan as your grip on his loosened and you relaxed into the bed. you felt yourself partially get crushed by your lover but he gave a few more earnest thrusts as he made sure that his cum shot to the back of your womb.

he pulled out and dropped beside you. he tucked some hair behind your ear and wiped the sweat from your forehead with the back of his hand. your breathing was heavy, but you were both so happy. to share your first time together felt so special.

you nestled yourself into his arms and held his hand. you exhaled contently then said, "my husband."

he kissed the top of your head, he felt complete, "my missus."

part two

[sea-saur]

Out Of The Way (Omorashi Story)

Ok so I've had this story in my head ever since I saw this post and cranked it out last night/today. I didn't edit it very much, so this is basically a "typed it out, gave it some tweaks and a read over, bing bang boom" kind of deal. Just needed to get it out. Disclaimer: the events in the story are consensual, the couple has done things like this before and any distress mentioned is agreed upon in the context of the story. Also, it's kind of long. Here ya go:

It was a bright Sunday afternoon, and Cyan and Indy were on a date at the mall. They’ve been there for the past three hours, Cyan mostly interested in the bookstore (Cyan finding a graphic novel they’d been looking for, Indy excited about a new horror novel that had just come out), candy shop, and various cute knick knack stores, one of them in which Cyan and Indy both found Pochacco blind bags and, to their delight, pulled their favorites from the set. Cyan was on cloud nine, hazy with love for the day and for Indy.

Except.

Except for the fact that it had been about four hours since they’d last used the bathroom, one hour since they finished a large lemonade from the food court, and half an hour since they started feeling the first inkling that their bladder was starting to fill. They’d decided to ignore it at the time, and maybe see about finding a restroom once they were closer to leaving the mall.

“Oh perfect, here’s the botanical shop, let’s head inside!” Indy said, spotting one of their favorite stores. Indy had a modest yet thriving collection of houseplants and took pride in keeping them healthy. This independent plant store was their favorite spot to pick up soil and other odds and ends, frequenting there so often that they’d become friends with the owners. Cyan loved how well Indy took care of their plants – Cyan wouldn’t touch them, as they were known as a harbinger of death for the poor things. Cyan was better suited for furry creatures to care for than leafy.

“Oh sure!” Cyan agreed, happy to walk through the fresh smelling plants while Indy got more soil for their apartment. They were greeted at the entrance by a waterfall feature – one of those small garden decorations, where the water continually flowed from the top of the stone structure down to the small pool basin. Cyan eyed it nervously, the trickling water reminding them of their own bladder, which tingled uncomfortably at the sound. They quickly followed Indy further into the shop and blessedly, away from the waterfall.

“Violet! Lil!” Indy cheered as they caught sight of the two owners of the shop, a married couple who happened to live just down the street from Cyan and Indy. “Hey you two!” Violet said. “Didn’t tell us you were coming by today.”

“I didn’t know if you were going to be here,” Indy replied. “It’s a Sunday, after all. Don’t you usually have other staff here on Sundays?”

“Yeah, well, two of ours called out sick, what can you do.” Lil shrugged. “How’s it, Cyan?”

Cyan smiled a hello. “S’all good,” they said, shifting their weight and shoving their hands into the pockets of their denim jacket. Their need to pee was more noticeable now, and they hoped that adjusting their stance would help quell the urge while they chatted. It did for a minute, but Cyan soon realized that they couldn’t keep standing still, so they excused themself to go look around the shop while Indy continued to chat.  Unfortunately, that meant getting closer to the waterfall again. Cyan’s hands balled into fists in their pockets, mentally urging Indy to hurry up. The insistent splashing of the water into the basin was a tease to Cyan’s bladder, filling up more quickly now that the lemonade had made its way through their system. They were going to need to say something to Indy, and soon.

Thankfully, Indy finished up their purchase and said their goodbyes to Violet and Lil. “Hey, ready to go?” Indy asked Cyan.

“Yes,” Cyan breathed, relieved to finally be away from that waterfall.

“Where would you like to go next?” Indy said.

“Well, actually,” Cyan started, “could we stop at the ah, the bathroom before we keep going?”

“The bathroom?” Indy asked. They cocked their head slightly, feigning confusion, but Cyan immediately saw the knowing glint in their eye. Cyan knew what that look meant and could only hope Indy would take it easy on them.

“Yeah...” Cyan said, somewhat sheepishly. “The bathroom.”

“What do you need the bathroom for?” Indy asked, still playing innocent. Cyan groaned internally.

“I just, well...the lemonade from lunch...”

“Yes?” Indy prompted, smirking.

Cyan felt a blush start to creep on their cheeks. “Well, I finished it about an hour ago and now I just...have to pee.” They finished their sentence in a rush, their bladder panging as a reminder of that fact.

Indy gave an exaggerated nod, as if they were only now connecting the dots. “Oooh, I see. Well, I don’t think it’s time for us to take a bathroom break yet. It’s only been an hour, like you said, since you had anything to drink. Surely you can wait a bit longer.”

“Ah, but,” Cyan huffed, “I need to – “

“In fact,” Indy continued, “it’s probably a good idea if we got you another drink, don’t you think? You’re supposed to drink so much every hour, whatever that recommendation is, I forget exactly. Either way, it’s definitely time for another drink for you.” Indy took Cyan by the hand and began to drag them back to the food court. Cyan gave a small whine in protest.

“Indy, really, I need to pee – “

“No, you don’t.” Indy replied, their tone seeping with excited yet controlled dominance, “You don’t need to go yet, and any of that lemonade that’s filtering through you, well you’ll just have to hold it like a big boy. One lemonade is not enough to need to go.”

Cyan shushed at Indy’s command, letting themself be pulled back to the food court without further arguing. They’ve played this game before, and Cyan accepted that they were playing again now, although how long Cyan could hold off the inevitable...they were unsure. They were even more unsure when they landed at the soda dispenser at the center of the food court – the kind that’s self-serve for over a dozen brand and flavor options – and Indy pulled a large cup from the stack. Cyan squeezed their thighs together at the sight, forcing themself to take a deep breath and try to steady the splashing feeling in their bladder.

“Hmmm, what drink would you like?” Indy asked, looking over the options on the screen. “Oh! They have Cherry Sprite, how about that?” They turned to Cyan, gesturing with the cup.

Cyan wavered. They did like Cherry Sprite, but the large cup...

“Yeah, Cherry Sprite sounds good,” Cyan replied. “But...how about a medium?” they ventured, hoping Indy would take the bait. They didn’t.

“No, a large. We wouldn’t want you to get thirsty and have to come all the way back here, would we?” Indy added some ice, then selected the Cherry Sprite and pushed the pour button. Bright, bubbly soda started gushing out. Cyan groaned, their need to pee escalating with the sound of the drink rushing into the cup. They shifted from one foot to the other, longing for relief that was a far way off.

“Here you go!” Indy chirped, handing Cyan the now full cup. “Drink up.”

Cyan, knowing there was no way out of this, immediately obeyed, their teeth chewing at the straw while they took a large gulp. The citrusy sweet drink fizzled down their throat, and while admittedly it was delicious, it was also a stark reminder of what was already trickling into Cyan’s bladder. Cyan took a few more sips, which pleased Indy. “There,” Indy said, “doesn’t that feel good?”

“Yes,” Cyan gasped, fingers gripping the cup a bit too tight, “feels...feels good.” It did not feel good. It felt like Cyan was a water balloon quickly overfilling itself to pop, the soda and lemonade sloshing together in Cyan’s tummy down to their bladder. They bit their lip nervously, shimmying their hips from side to side.

“Good!” Indy said. “Now let’s go check out some other stores.”

Indy led Cyan throughout the mall over the next half hour, reveling in every squirm, pant, and whimper Cyan made as they went. Indy loved seeing Cyan grow desperate, their little bladder throbbing until Cyan couldn’t take it anymore and begged Indy to let them pee. And this time, Indy had something a little special planned for when that moment finally happened.

Cyan could barely concentrate while Indy dragged them from spot to spot, their need to pee growing rapidly with each sip of their soda. They fidgeted restlessly as Indy presented candles to sniff, game boxes to read, stuffed animals to feel, their bladder quivering below their belly and sending increasingly urgent signals to Cyan that they needed to go! They needed to go now!

“Indy...” Cyan said quietly, swaying from foot to foot as subtly as they could manage, their free hand hovering over their belly while the other held a now half empty soda cup, “please, I have to pee. Please can I go now?”

“Hmm?” Indy looked up nonchalantly from the price tag they were checking. They eyed Cyan’s potty dance and chuckled. “Aww, does my pup have to go so soon?” they mocked. “You haven’t even finished your soda.”

“Hnngg,” Cyan groaned, glancing at the remaining soda in the cup, condensation dripping onto their fingers and sending tingling chills up their spine. “I c-can’t finish this, Indy. I can’t take it anymore!”

“You poor thing. You’re just going to have to hold it, we aren’t going to the bathroom right now.”

“But,” Cyan protested, “but I have to go!”

“You sure sound restless,” Indy replied, ignoring Cyan’s plea, “let’s go take a seat for a minute by the fountain.”

“The fountain?” Cyan said, incredulous, as Indy took them by the hand and walked them to the main water feature of the mall – a giant white stone pool with water shoots spraying sparkling water in a circular pattern. Merry go round animals were hung form the ceiling above, making it all look rather whimsical.

“Yeah, there are benches here,” Indy said, sitting them down. Cyan immediately began to grind down on the bench, fanning their thighs in and out. The rushing water of the fountain was torture to their sensitive bladder, their own pee splashing menacingly against its walls and threatening to make its way down their urethra. “Isn’t this nice?” Indy asked. “I just love watching all this water flowing around us, so free and easy. And the sounds it makes, aren’t they relaxing?”

“Ooooh,” Cyan moaned a reply, writhing in a desperate attempt to find any sort of relief from the tingling all along their lower belly. Indy’s teasing was making the situation exponentially worse, and Cyan wasn’t sure how much longer they could hold back the flood. “Fuck, I gotta go to the bathroom. Indy, please!”

 “Big boys don’t need to go without permission. You’re just gonna have to handle it.” Indy made no move to leave the bench. “Now let’s rest here for a bit, enjoy the fountain.” They eyed Cyan. “Drink more of your soda.”

Cyan was decidedly not enjoying the fountain. They took a few quick sips from their soda to appease Indy, but their need to pee was all encompassing. They rocked back and forth on the bench, their legs quivering as their bladder sloshed inside them. The sips of that soda felt like electric bursts sliding through them, making their bladder buzz with fullness. It was torture to sit here and do nothing. Cyan longed to be sitting on a toilet instead, where they could finally relax and release all the liquid pent up about to burst –

With that train of thought, Cyan suddenly felt the first drop of pee tingling at their entrance. They panicked, jumping up from the bench and squeezing their thighs together, frozen. Fuck, no, please not a leak! Not yet! They thought frantically.

“Is something wrong?” Indy asked innocently. “Don’t you want to finish your soda before we go?”

“N-no more soda, please!” Cyan begged, crossing one leg over the other and bending at the waist. Their bladder threatened that drop closer and closer to their tip, and Cyan was desperate to gain any amount of control. “Indy, I need a bathroom, now! I have to pee so bad, please.”

Indy shook their head. “Not until you’ve finished that soda,” they replied. “Until then, you keep holding it in.”

Cyan shook their head, unable to fathom putting any more liquid into their already thrashing bladder. Pee rippled along their lower half and they wrapped their arms around themself in need. “B-but I’m going to leak!” they whispered loudly. It was thankfully pretty deserted at this area of the mall, but Cyan was still embarrassed to be seen standing like this in public.

“Not my problem,” Indy replied, although their piercing eyes and upturned smirk indicated that they were certainly enjoying the show. “You’ll hold it until you’ve finished your drink. Big boys should be able to hold two drinks without needing to pee.”

Cyan shivered, deciding quickly to obey Indy rather than waste more time arguing, and guzzled down the rest of the drink. They sucked at the straw until the cup was empty, sugary cherry flavor coating their tongue and sloshing into their belly. They gasped when they were done, “There! It’s gone. Can I please go to the bathroom now?”

Indy mock sighed, but nodded. “Well, really you shouldn’t need to go yet, since you only just finished your drink, but since you did listen very well, I suppose I could let you pee now.” Indy stood up and began moving towards the restrooms located on the other side of the fountain.

I’m going to make it, Cyan thought triumphantly, scurrying along with Indy, thighs rubbing together as they walked. I’m so close to peeing oooh god, oh god please let me make it to the door –

“Closed for Cleaning”

Immediately Cyan’s stomach dropped, and their bladder threatened to burst right there in their pants. The sight of the closed sign outside the bathroom was unbelievable, after their body was so ready to release. Cyan tensed their muscles and moaned, leaning against the side wall. “Indy, Indy it’s closed!” they whined. “A-another bathroom, please, now!”

“Oh dear,” Indy said, sounding much less surprised than Cyan. “It looks like they are closed. Too bad. Can’t you just wait until we get home?”

Home? Home was 45 minutes away, plus the bumpy roads and seatbelts, Cyan couldn’t stomach the thought. They hissed as a sharp throb of their bladder caused them to sway their hips and throw their head back in desperation. “I won’t make it home!” they cried. “I need to pee right now!”

“Well, if you really don’t think you can hold it...I do know where another bathroom is around here.” Indy eyed Cyan hungrily, flashing a shark like grin at the state of them. “It’s a bit out of the way, Violet told me about it earlier at the shop. It’s one that employees will sometimes use if they want to cheat into having a longer bathroom break by walking the distance. It’s always open, unlike the other bathrooms here on a Sunday cleaning schedule.”

“Yes!” Cyan panted. “Anything, Indy, just take me now! Please!”

“If you insist,” Indy replied. They took Cyan by the hand and guided them back across the mall.

Cyan wriggled and danced next to Indy, fighting off urge after bubbling urge to release their pent up piss right there in their pants, all onto the mall floor. After a minute of walking, Indy took Cyan through a side door, one that usually looks like an employee entrance to the back doors of the stores. On the wall inside there was a painted bathroom sign, and an arrow pointing to the right. Indy led a trembling Cyan in that direction, and through a set of double doors leading to –

Another long hallway. Cyan turned to Indy, panicked and confused and drowning in their own piss. “Indy, where’s the bathroom? The sign, it said it was this way!”

“It is,” Indy replied, continuing to walk. “I told you, it’s a bit further away. We have to keep walking. Just hold it, pup.”

Cyan was holding it, they were trying so hard to hold it, but the pressure was too much. They were bursting, their need so bad that they felt like their entire insides were just lemonade and cherry soda, sloshing around inside them like a bottle ready to pop. They whimpered, hurrying along the hallway.

It soon became apparent that Indy was telling the truth about how far away this bathroom was. They passed through three more doorways with signs indicating to go left or right to find the bathroom, but all they kept finding was more hallway, and no relief in sight. Cyan felt wild, animal like in their primal need to release. When they came to a short three step decline in their path, Cyan stumbled their way down, and in their hard landing felt their bladder shudder and a small spurt of pee escaped, wetness blooming on their underwear.

“Ahhh-“ Cyan hissed, freezing in place and shoving a hand into their crotch. Pee tickled their entrance, and Cyan moaned as they fought back another wave that threatened to come out. Their entire lower body trembled to hold back the ocean that was roaring inside them from exploding out. Ooooooh, I have to pee! Cyan moaned internally. I’m going to piss myself! Please, where is the bathroom, I need a bathroom!

“What’s the matter?” Indy asked, looking to Cyan. “Did puppy spring a leak?” Their tone was casual, teasing. Cyan whined.

“Ooooh, y-yes, yes I leaked,” they confessed, bending their knees and twisting their legs together as they bounced in place. “Indy, where is this bathroom? I c-can’t hold it anymore!”

“It’s a bit further this way,” Indy said, gesturing to yet another door that surely led to another corridor and likely not to the immediate relief of a glistening, porcelain toilet that Cyan had been longing for well over two hours now.

“I n-need a toilet now, Indy! Now!” Cyan tried to straighten up, teetering as their piss sloshed back and forth in their bladder, warning of another leak. Their pee hole tingled menacingly, the sensation utterly unbearable.

“We’re going, we’re going,” Indy replied, continuing to walk forward. “Well, you’re not going yet, but we’ll get there. Until then, I expect you to be a good pup and hold it.”

“Ooooh, hurry, please hurry Indy,” Cyan pleaded, picking up the pace with them and squeezing their thighs as they walked. Pee crashed against their bladder walls as they moved.  “I can’t hold it!”

“You’ll just have to find some way to handle it,” Indy replied, not walking nearly fast enough for Cyan’s liking. “There’s nowhere for you go to yet.”

Cyan felt their bladder surge downwards at Indy’s comment, rejecting that fact with the more pressing fact that Cyan couldn’t not piss. They were full to the brim and already starting to runneth over. After passing yet another set of useless double doors and banking another right following another useless bathroom sign, they felt another splash of urine flow down their urethra. Cyan doubled over, bouncing and moaning, practically on their knees with how scrunched up they were, dying to hold it, just hold it a few more minutes, surely the bathroom has to be close by now?

Indy looked down at Cyan’s frantic grinding and moaning and gave them a gentle touch on the shoulder. They were unbelievably turned on, and also impressed of how far Cyan was making it. It’s maybe the longest they’ve held during this game. “C’mon pup,” Indy said. “Get up. Hold it, we’re almost there.”

With a groan, Cyan stood up, and felt a sudden electric current of pure desperate need run up their spine. Their whole body was tingling, their lower belly shaking with the effort of holding back more piss than Cyan had ever held in their life. “Ooooh, I can’t take it anymore!” they cried, making a mad dash forward down the hallway and through the next set of doors, hand shoved haphazardly into their crotch. They could hear Indy’s feet hitting the floor behind them, keeping up. “I’m going to have an accident! I need to gooooo!”

Cyan burst through the next set of double doors, and to their surprise, found themself in an underground parking lot. They had just enough time to register the thought this must be extra parking for employees before their bladder shuddered and a spray of pee escaped past their shaking hand, trickling down Cyan’s thigh inside their cargo pants.

I’m peeing! I’m peeing! They thought frantically. They looked around but didn’t see a bathroom. “Where is it? Oooooh where’s the bathroom?” Cyan pleaded, kneading and twisting and grinding down in a desperate attempt to prevent another leak.

Indy appeared next to Cyan, also looking around for the bathroom. They knew it was in this garage, and after a moment, saw the sign on the door for it on the other end of the parking lot. But before they could say anything-

“I’m going to have an accident! I’m going! I can’t hold it!” Cyan wailed, unable to think straight anymore. They were losing it, fully and quickly, and couldn’t bear to take another step forward without voiding the endless amount of piss that was fighting its way out of them. Cyan grabbed themself and looked around like a deer in headlights. “Indy, hurry, is anyone watching? Is anyone else here?”

Indy knew immediately what Cyan meant, and felt their face flush with arousal. Cyan wasn’t going to make it, they were going to lose it right here in the parking lot. And Indy, excited at this turn of events, was about to let them.

Indy took an exaggerated look around the clearly empty parking lot, hearing Cyan heave a long groan as they twisted like a pretzel, bending practically to their knees before bouncing back up. Finally, Indy said “Yes, pup. You’re all clear. Go on.”

The moment Cyan heard their permission, they whipped themselves out and a spray of pee burst out of them and against the concrete pillar by their side. Pee gushed out forcefully and audibly, the stream pattering down the wall and onto the ground in a puddle. Indy watched, impressed, as their partner emptied hours worth of pent up piss. Cyan moaned loudly, their voice echoing around them, as relief washed through them. It felt orgasmic, to finally let out every drop that had been torturing them all afternoon.

When the stream finally stopped, Cyan tucked themself away and turned bashfully to Indy. “I uh...I couldn’t hold it anymore.”

Indy nodded, a laugh escaping them. “No, it looks like you couldn’t. Poor puppy had to loose it in the parking lot, huh?”

“Heh, yeah..” Cyan said, chuckling a little. “Umm, I feel much better now though, so.”

Indy nodded. “I bet you do. You pissed for so long I thought you might have drank a whole ocean.”

“It sure felt like it,” Cyan said. “I really had to go.”

“Well, maybe next time you’ll make it to the bathroom,” Indy said, pointing to the bathroom across the lot. Cyan followed Indy’s gesture and finally saw the bathroom themselves. They sighed. “Oh, so close. Yeah, maybe next time.”

“Maybe next time,” Indy repeated, giving Cyan a gentle kiss and rubbing a hand across their back. “Ready to go home?”

“Yeah,” Cyan said, relieved. “Let’s head home.”

[cerealforkart]

I made myself these little dress up dolls because everyone’s getting changed all the time, here’s the first batch, outfits pre-episode 13

Design notes under the cut

[part 2] [part 3]

Lincoln

* I would first of all like to thank Lincoln for being shaped like a model (long boy) and thus very easy to dress up

* I forgot that Link needed to tear off his sleeves to make Normal a diaper in lesson 14, so in lesson 11 he grabs a sweater when I assume he goes home between escaping the FBI and returning to school

* Lincoln is so comically tall the Teeny costume (which I just moved from Normal to Link and edited to match Link’s pose) only reaches his knees. It actually looked so stupid that I had to edit it to make the Teeny costume slightly longer in the legs

* Link has two roombas in his room, he’s a clean boy, he isn’t walking around Taylor’s house in his bare feet, he doesn’t trust like that, it’s sock time

Scary

* I actually originally planned for Scary to have more piercings, but I forgot to add them in lesson 1. Let’s just say her mom won’t let her go crazy on the piercings, from what we’ve heard in rad facts (wouldn’t let her get a tongue piercing or learn guitar) that sounds in character

* I wanted to do the Shit Garden logo on Scary’s shirt like one of those metal bands that only people who like metal can actually read, but I only have so much time and patience

* I want so badly to play with Scary’s hair more, but I haven’t really had the chance, I hope there will be more excuses to give her different styles in the future, I like the braided bun for fancy occasions a lot

* Big T-shirt and shorts are peak pyjamas, love it for her. Also, you don’t need to know how long I spent trying to come up with something for her shirt to say

Normal

* Don’t tell anyone but I kind of miss drawing Teeny’s big stupid head every day, it was easy comedy

* I did actually draw a Jimmy Buffet design on the shirt before scribbling over it, you can barely see if you look closely

* I don’t actually have anything to say about Normal’s dance outfit so I guess I’ll just take this opportunity to talk about my Normal design in general. He was the one it took me the longest to land on and I’m still unsure if I’m happy with him, I want his hair to be long enough to just sorta hang and be greasy, but not so long that it will get in his face too much and I still consistently fail on it

* Not much to say about his sleepover fit either. Froggy :)

Taylor

* I had originally planned for everyone to be wearing their bracelets on their left wrists but in episode 8 it’s mentioned that Taylor is wearing his on his right, at that point I think I had only drawn Taylor’s bracelet once so it was easier to just change his and let him be a special boy (also, they keep the bracelets on post-FBI because Taylor never really has an opportunity to take it off and the others wear theirs in solidarity)

*After Lesson 10, Taylor swaps out the crest of friendship from Digimon to wear his dad’s ring of swapping as a necklace, he tends to grab at it when his dad or the topic of betrayal comes up

* I hate Taylor for his dance fit. No longer my favourite son

* Not really a design note but I watched the Sailor Moon dub in three parts on youtube with my little sister huddled around our home computer after school, we’re real OGs

Hermie

* I finally decided to add the Joker makeup to my Hermie design, I found a powdery sorta brush to use for it so now he’s a true clown. Good for him I guess

* You may notice that I’ve tweaked my Hermie design and his colour scheme just a little bit. This is because white Hermie is dead and you know what? Good for him. I also made his hair a little wavier for Scam, you’ll start seeing the updated Hermie design (as if you can tell there’s a difference other than the very slight change in hairstyle) in lesson 16, because I drew the lesson 15 pages before episode 23 came out and I wasn’t going to go back and change them

* Stupid Joker tie. Hate it

* No sleepover fit for Hermie. Tragic. They need to have another sleepover and include him

[noteworthyao3]

Hello there! I am a major fan of Neutral but if you don't mind, I have a serious question for you writing wise. If you ever did a rewrite of it, what would you want to change, and what would you want to keep the same?

Hi!! I'm glad you like it so much omg I don't think I would rewrite Neutral, because from what I've seen over my years reading fanfic, the second an author decides to rewrite their fic (especially before it's finished), both the rewrite and the OG are as good as dead. Writing a fic takes a LOT of time, planning, energy, effort, yadda yadda, and the process of doing that aaaaaaall over again for the same project can suck the life out of you and your joy for creating. Buuuuuuuuuuut I would be lying if I said there weren't certain parts of Neutral I wouldn't be upset about changing. Nothing major, but small things that irk me now that I have more experience. Naturally, longer chapters because the earlier ones feel like they're over a bit too soon, to me, but they got us where we are today so they ultimately served their purpose.

But with that, let's take a peek.

#1 - The Establishing Chapters: I loooove Clockwork and Messer's relationship, but establishing it took three separate chapters before we even get to present day (and there used to be more! but i edited those to merge with the current one now), and over time I've been able to collect statistics on Quotev, and that's where some new readers drop off. It just overstays its welcome. So I think I would merge those chapters together after editing them, and just have the events of chapter 2 and 3 together in one chapter. I don't think I would do that now, honestly though? Because that would set us back two chapters. Chapter 25 would become Chapter 23, and that just...feels weird for some reason.

#2 - My Brother's Keeper and Teacher of the Year Originality: Nothing huge about these two that bug me besides the fact they don't leave a huge impact. MBK sort of does, because it's Messer's pseudo-initiation, but I didn't do much new with it. Same goes for Teacher of the Year. While Sam and Messer bonding a bit was a necessary goal to achieve, and Morticia being an added bonus, I think I could have done more with it to make it feel less like a recap of an episode. I was actually hit with some major writer's block after MBK and I was testing to see just how much wiggle room I could get without overwhelming myself, and that resulted in writing I wasn't thrilled about posting, even right after I finished the chapters. That ultimately led to me going off the rails (haha) with Control Freaks. I found that I enjoyed writing and reading my own writing best when I took the reins instead of using each story beat of the episode as law. It takes more effort, time and creative energy, but I consider that a suitable trade.

#3 - End Note Questions: Kinda wish I thought to add them sooner. I just think they're fun! :3

There's not a whoooole lot about Neutral that I would want to change! Mainly just tweaks to improve and adjust to strengthen the story overall, but besides that, I'm very happy with where we are currently. As for keeping the same, pretty much everything else? Some things could be written with better quality, naturally, but enough people stuck out the writing of my early to mid teens long enough to get here lmao

[makeste]

Lately I’ve been hearing people talking about BNHA’s editor, but I don’t really understand it? Could you please have a go at explaining it?

okay so first off, just a quick overview on what a manga editor is/does for anyone who’s not aware or has only a vague idea. basically, they more or less oversee the manga, and work with the mangaka to give them feedback on the story and the layout and the pacing and so forth. a good editor will make sure the series stays true to the mangaka’s vision, but will tweak things to make sure the story meets the publisher’s standards, and just generally help keep the story on track. (this is a pretty good video to watch to get a better idea of the weekly manga creation process in general. incidentally that’s one of my favorite Youtube channels and I highly recommend the "day in the life" series if you have any kind of interest in Japan in general; it’s really good and weirdly calming and addictive lol).

different editors have different styles and are good at different things; for instance certain editors may be more hands-on and involved, while others might be more chill and laid-back and pretty much let the mangaka do their own thing. the former might pair well with a mangaka who’s just starting out and needs more guidance, whereas the latter might work better with mangaka who already have a lot of experience and are more sure of themselves. a lot of care goes into making sure the editor and mangaka are a good match, and it’s not unusual for long-running series to have multiple editors as time goes on. a good editor can help elevate a series and filter out bad ideas and really raise the quality of the work; bt on the flip side of the coin, really bad editors can and have been responsible for terrible decisions that have all but ruined stories at times.

anyway, so BnHA has had I think four editors to date. most of what I know about them I gleaned from this interview tbh.

Koike Hitoshi, who was the editor from June 2013 to June 2014

Monji Kengo, who was the editor from June 2014 to December 2017

Yoritomi Ryosuke, who was editor from December 2017 to September 2020

and most recently Taguchi Hikaru, who took over as editor in September 2020 and is the current editor today

moving on to the actual ask now at last, so when you say “lately I’ve been hearing people talking about BnHA’s editor”, I assume you’re referring to the fact that parts of the fandom aren’t entirely happy with Taguchi’s job as editor thus far. so those complaints mostly seem to be centered around three things:

the pacing (although to be fair I’ve seen complaints about the pacing being both too fast and too slow, so I don’t necessarily put a lot of stock in this one)

the increased focus on action/fighting

and lastly and most specifically, an increase in sensationalized storytelling in the form of each chapter having some new big flashy draw (sexy new characters, dramatic plot twists, fancy new quirks, etc.), and a marked increase in cliffhangers, whether they fit in naturally with the story or not

these are all things that editors have a lot of influence over, so there’s definitely some validity to these complaints. although to be fair, a lot of these are also very subjective, and we also have no way of knowing which decisions have come from Taguchi and which have come from Horikoshi. for a lot of people though, Horikoshi has obviously earned more benefit of the doubt than Taguchi has, especially since the previous series Taguchi edited, Samurai 8, was a pretty big flop. (though from what I’ve heard, I’m inclined to put most of the blame for that elsewhere; Jump was basically hoping lightning would strike twice and that the series would succeed just from having Kishimoto Masashi’s name on the cover, but the reality was that it really just wasn’t a very good manga lol.) there’s just not a lot there to inspire confidence, basically, and so he’s an easy target on top of everything else. and apparently one of his comments in an interview (specifically, that the story was going to get even more exciting from here on out) further reinforced those impressions of him putting too much focus on making the series more dramatic and action-y to attract new readers.

all that said, my opinion on the newer chapters isn’t really that negative, and for each chapter that I have disliked (which is mainly 307 lol), there’s been a 284 and a 285 and a 290 and a 299, 301, 302, 306, 310, 312, etc. etc. etc. which I have very much enjoyed (with several of those actually ranking among my favorite chapters ever). so I would say that overall he’s actually been doing a fairly decent job. and I mean, if we’re going to start rating all of the editors based on the worst chapters they’ve ever overseen, then the same editor who was in charge during my two favorite stretches of the manga (83 through 95, and 116 through 121) would be ranked at the bottom of my list because he also happened to be the guy running things during the worst stretches of the Basement arc. or what about Yoritomi, who oversaw the Pro Hero, MVA, and Endeavor Agency arcs, but also permitted Horikoshi to torture us with that one mushroom chapter?? all I’m saying is that all of these guys have had their various low points, lol.

anyways though, that’s basically the short (or my version of “short”) version of the editor stuff as far as I know. all in all, just like with everything else that’s controversial in this fandom, some of the points are reasonable and some are less so imo. the cliffhanger thing is a bit annoying because it’s hard to unsee once you start paying attention to it. but for the most part I think he’s done a decent job thus far, especially given the huge momentum shifts he’s had to preside over, not to mention the fact that the transition happened in the midst of a pandemic.

all said and done, I’m pretty satisfied, and especially given how long of a tenure the previous two editors had, I think he deserves more time to prove himself before we start making final judgments. I mean, not that our opinions make an iota of difference anyway lol, but still.

[bucksblr]

#showyourprocess

From planning to posting, share your process for making creative content!

To continue supporting content makers, this tag game is meant to show the entire process of making creative content: this can be for any creation.

RULES — When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag 5 people with a specific link to one of their creative works you’d like to see the process of. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours!

Thank you so much for tagging me @lan-xichens​, I’ll try my best to explain how I made this set from start to finish hehe ♡ and also a big thank you to @suibianjie​ @highwarlockkareena​ @nyx4​ @aheartfullofjolllly​ and you as well Kris for putting this all together! Content creators get a lot less recognition than they deserve for all the time they put into their content, so getting everyone to see the (sometimes excessive) process we all go through to put our content in our blog, I hope it creates a positive change!! 💖

1. Planning

The set in question was actually requested by someone so they could celebrate their friend’s birthday! At first I wasn’t entirely sure if I was going to be able to finish it on time (college is very hectic right now) but I was able to finish it three days before the deadline which was may 1st! ^-^

The first thing I did was decide what characters I wanted to use in the set, I first reached out to the person who requested the set if there were certain characters they wanted me to use but they said they didn’t know enough to really give me any directives outside of the quote. I decided, since the quote is applicable to the entirety of the show, that I would try to put in as many characters as possible.

Thus, of course, came the hunting for scenes. Those of you in the net discord surely know I came into the content help channel a few times to ask for certain scenes here and there, and eventually I had to download an additional 10 episodes to the back then 20 or so episodes I had in my CQL episodes folder.

As you can see I have 30 random episodes of CQL downloaded (slowly but surely getting to the point where I have all 50 episodes downloaded) and I think I ended up using scenes out of at least 20 of those episodes.

I planned out beforehand what characters I would use per gif. I knew obviously I would start out with Wangxian, them being the main characters of the show, and then would work my way down the list. The second gif consists of Nie Huaisang, Nie Mingjue, Jin Zixuan, Jiang Yanli, Wen Qing, and Wen Ning. They’re all family pairings, two being siblings and one being a married couple. The next gifset consists of the Yi City characters, then the fourth gif consists of the juniors, and the final gif has Jin Guangyao, Mianmian, Jiang Cheng, and Lan Xichen in it.

I have to admit though that when I had made the first four gifs I’d forgotten who I would put in the last gif and the when I thought about it the first time around I could only think of Lan Qiren and the very cursed Yaoyang ship 😭 it was only at dinner time that same day that I remembered I hadn’t put Jiang Cheng in my gifset yet and that’s when I thought of the other characters as well.

I had already made my first two gifs when I went to check Hanyi’s blog for layout inspo and eventually I decided I wanted to try a triangle-ish layout, which I doodled below. I eventually ended up changing the layout of the last gif in the final design. It was also the first time I would work with a triangle-ish layout so I was a bit nervous as I was scared it wasn’t going to work out...

2. Creating

I use Avisynth 2.5 and Adobe Photoshop 2021 (the paid version, unfortunately, I need it for school except I didn’t need it this year but I wanted it so I paid for it with my own money ouch) to make my gifsets! I always start out with trimming down all the scenes I’m going to use into three to five second videos and putting them through Avisynth. This time around I did it separately for each gif I made, simply because I needed so many scenes. I would include a screenshot of my “gif vids” and “temp” folders but I’ve already deleted all the videos, which is what I usually do immediately after a set is posted.

I’ll try my best explaining this gif by gif since each one had a different layout!

2.1 Wangxian

I think I had up to five different designs of this gif 😭 it started out with the gif on the left originally being more centered and the quote right smack in the center but somehow it felt a bit too... empty? I changed up the design and pulled the gif over to the right and put the two closeups on the left, the exact opposite of the gif I eventually ended up with. I switched things around one more time and saved the gif as you can see it right now, except I didn’t include the lines yet. It was only as I finished up my fourth gif that I decided this gif needed lines as well so I added them ^-^

2.2 Nie Huaisang, Nie Mingjue, Jin Zixuan, Jiang Yanli, Wen Qing, and Wen Ning

I got the inspiration for the font layout on this gif from this Wenzhou post! I hadn’t tried it before and when I did for this gif I was very happy with the way it turned out :D I wanted to portray that life is a pile of good and bad things, as the quote says, in CQL by mirroring these happy scenes side by side with the sad scenes

2.3 Yi CIty

My first time working with the triangle layout!! Putting in the lines and making sure they would line up with the second gif took me the longest of all actually  😭 I think once I got the line on the left in I just copy pasted it and flipped it horizontally so I didn’t have to fiddle around with angling it anymore :’) my original idea was to get a happy Song Lan scene and a sad A-Qing scene, but when I stumbled upon this A-Qing scene in ep38 I just had to put it in there because her smile is so precious 🥺 Xue Yang and Xiao Xingchen in the center are also supposed to be mirrored, with Xue Yang embodying the “bad things” and Xiao Xingchen the “good things” ! I also think the Yi City characters fit this part of the quote very well!!

2.4 The Juniors

Ah yes, the junior quartet!! :D I had this planned out from the very beginning, that I would include happy versus sad juniors in the “vice versa” part of the quote, and I think it worked out quite well! My first idea was to put the “vice versa” completely in the special font and have it typed out over the gifs like I did with the “vice” but as I typed out the “versa” I realized it had one letter too much to be able to do that 😭😭 it took me a while to come up with how I would position the “but” and “versa” and after some moving around I decided to just place them the way I did in the final gif! For the font, I duplicated the “vice” and added a stroke to the duplicate, then I changed the fill setting to 0% so I could slightly drag the duplicate away from the original layer to create the effect that’s in the gif — also, finding a scene in which Jin Ling smiles is really difficult.... he barely even smiles in the scene I ended up using :(

2.5 Jin Guangyao, Mianmian, Jiang Cheng, and Lan Xichen

The final gif!! I feel like this might come a little across as “I promise I didn’t forget these characters” because they’re a very odd quadruplet to put together, but they were the most important characters left to put in the set! I was thinking of putting Nie Mingjue in here together with Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen, but I did feel he fit more with his brother up in the second gif. Mei @mylastbraincql​ cheered me on making this gif for which I was very grateful :D <3 the layout came to be after I googled “how to evenly split a rectangle in four” because I didn’t want a repeat layout in the set  (*/∇＼*)

2.6 Coloring

For the coloring I pretty much did all of the tweaking on the first gif and then copy pasted all of it onto the second, third, fourth, and fifth gif. This is usually the way I go about my coloring, I will always edit certain gifs if necessary but I don’t think I had to change the coloring much on any of these gifs? Maybe I added in a curve layer here and there, but nothing major! This is really one of my preferred coloring styles, even though I try to step outside of my comfort zones with other sets ^-^

3. Posting

I will always upload sets into my drafts and edit the caption in there as well, clicking on “preview post” a couple times to check everything looks good on my blog as well, before I post a set. However, this time, since there was a deadline and I finished before the deadline, I put this set in the queue so it would automatically post on the 1st of may! Knowing myself, I would’ve forgotten to do so </3

Whew that was... a lot 😭 did it make any sense? Probably not, but it was fun to ramble （ ´∀｀）

I’ll tag

@blinkplnk​ with this set !

@wuxien​ with this set !

@wendashanren​ with this set !

@wanyinxichen​ with this set !

@yibobibo​ with this set !

@mylastbraincql​ with this set !

@sugarbabywenkexing​ with this set !

@yiling-recesses​ with this set !

@jiancheng​ with this set !

Please feel totally free to ignore this if you’ve already been tagged and don’t want to do it again!! <3

[plainbrunettelbl]

ABO (A) Togata Mirio & (A) Midoriya Izuku x (O) Reader Broken Bones and Notebooks

Word count: 3417

Warnings: None. 

ABO (A) Togata Mirio & (A) Midoriya Izuku x (O) Reader Broken Bones and Notebooks

Summary: Mirio finds himself in a hospital. Both Izuku and him start falling for the Omega doctor that takes care of him.

(Full credit to the gifs owner) 

🌻🥦-Izuku had gotten a call while at his agency that his mate was at the hospital. He dropped everything he was doing and rushed over. How did this happen? His mate’s quirk was built to evade attacks so why was his Alpha laying in a hospital bed sporting multiple casts and bandages? 

🌻🥦-His mate was still waiting for a private room to clear up so he was put in the ER. Izu wasted no time tearing open his mate’s curtain and rushing to his side. 

🌻🥦-“Mirio! What happened?” He cried, trying to give his mate a comforting hug without injuring him any further. 

🌻🥦-“It’s nothing, Zuku. I just got a little beat up is all.” The blond tried to smile despite how much pain his body was in. 

🌻🥦-At that moment the curtain pulled back once again. You walked in with a tray of food, wearing a white coat. A happy smile on your face present. You set the tray down on the removable table and put your hands on your hips. 

🌻🥦-“Hello, I’m Dr.L/N, I will be the one taking care of you until you are fit to go back home. I assume you are his mate?” You asked, turning towards the slightly distressed, green-haired Alpha. 

🌻🥦-Izuku blinked back his teary eyes and nodded. 

🌻🥦-“Yes, I’m his mate. Can you tell me how long he will be staying here? Are his injuries really severe?” Izuku frantically asked, worried how long he would have to be away from his mate at night. The thought of going home to a cold bed was already unsettling to him.

🌻🥦-“It seems he has three cracked ribs, a broken leg, a broken arm along with a few fingers. He suffered a blow to the head but his scans came back normal so we are not too worried about that.” You informed, looking at his chart that you plucked from the end of his bed. 

🌻🥦-“Usually he would have to stay here for a few months in order to fully recover but since I am taking over you should be out within three weeks or so.” You hummed, eyeing his X-rays. 

🌻🥦-Mirio beamed at his mate from behind all of his bandages. “See babe! I will be out here in no time.” 

🌻🥦-Izuku leaned down to kiss his mates bruised cheek before turning back to you with a curious look. 

🌻🥦-“How come he is going to recover faster than normal?” He questioned, smoothing a hand down his mate’s encased shoulder. 

🌻🥦-“My quirk of course! I am only assigned to pro-heroes most of the time. Since your mate fits the bill, I am here to help him have a speedy recovery.” You beamed moving the tray of food on the mobile table closer to the pair. 

🌻🥦-“My quirk is unique. It allows me to heal a person by feeding them the food I make. It takes a little time since the food has to digest and distribute my healing nutrients all around your body. Since you have so many injuries it will take a while but you will get there.” You revealed a small bowl of chicken broth. 

🌻🥦-You had made it yourself this morning. Your quirk wouldn’t work if you didn’t make the food within twenty-four hours. So freezing your meals and giving them out to patients wouldn’t work. 

🌻🥦-You were assigned to pro heroes because of this. The higher-ups thought it would be best to focus all your efforts on recovering pro heroes rather than handling multiple civilian patients. 

🌻🥦-“This is it? Just chicken broth?” Mirio slightly whined, his Alpha pouting at the lack of meat. 

🌻🥦-“If you can keep this chicken broth down till tomorrow evening I will see what I can do about getting you some real food for dinner.” You grinned, trying not to snicker at his pouting face. 

🌻🥦-These men might be pro heroes and Alpha’s but despite their intimidating status you Omega didn’t mind their presence at all. It was like she was standing around with an old pair of friends. 

🌻🥦-Maybe it was their calming scents. The blond had a warm scent that reminded you of sun rays reflecting off the ocean. The green-haired Alpha gave off a scent of wet soil and sweet sage. 

🌻🥦-“Thank you so much, Doctor. I’ll be sure to watch him so he doesn’t gulp it down in one swallow. His stomach is an endless pit.” The freckled Alpha lovingly looked down at his battered mate. 

🌻🥦-His Alpha felt a little calmer than when he walked in for some reason but he just assumed it was because he knew his mate was in good hands. It had nothing to do with the sweet scent of fresh bread and ripe fruit coming from the smiling doctor. 

🌻🥦-He brushed it off. His Alpha was just happy his ray of sunshine was okay. 

***

🌻🥦-A few days had passed and Mirio was already looking a little better. The first thing your quirk healed was his head. He was even more bright and smiley now that his headaches were gone. 

🌻🥦-He had proven that he could hold down liquids so he was approved for solid foods. You were sure his Alpha was very excited about the news. 

🌻🥦-You knocked before walking into his room, he had been upgraded to a private room and moved out of the ER. Izuku was sat at his mate’s side writing away in his notebook. You walked in with two trays and a happy smile. 

🌻🥦-“Hello, good morning!” You hummed, setting down the two trays on in front of Miro and Izuku. 

🌻🥦-“Hey, Y/N!” Mirio beamed, sending you a dazzling smile. 

🌻🥦-“Morning, Y/N,” Izuku replied softly not quite looking you in the eye, still not used to talking to females even though he has been a pro hero for years now. 

🌻🥦-“I brought you some pancakes and bacon. There is enough for you too Izuku.” You hummed revealing two plates to feed the Alphas. The tray was nearly overflowing with food but Alphas had big appetites so you knew they would clean the plates no problem. 

🌻🥦-“O-oh you don’t have to do that Y/N. I am sure another patient needs it more than I do.” He blushed, refusing the food. 

🌻🥦-“Nonsense. I know that the new mission you went on took a lot out of you. Plus I have seen you favoring your right hand. I hope you didn’t strain it too much.” You said, giving him a knowing look. 

🌻🥦-He flushed and pulled the food closer to him without further complaint. 

🌻🥦-“How did you get him to do that Y/N? Usually, I have to force him to rest and recover after a mission.” Mirio said, amazed you got his Alpha to comply so easily. 

🌻🥦-“An Omega secret.” You winked, smiling at the two before leaving. 

🌻🥦-Both Alpha’s left in a daze while they ate their breakfast. 

***

🌻🥦-“Come on! We have been looking for an Omega even before the accident. We want an Omega to complete us and she could be the one. Why not ask her out and see how it goes?” Mirio asked, his blue eyes shifting around trying to meet his lover’s emerald eyes. 

🌻🥦-“She is just nice to us because it’s her job. We have no reason to believe she will actually be interested in us once you are out of the hospital.” Izuku let out a small huff, his Alpha was telling him to pursue the Omega doctor but his self-doubt and nervousness were taking over.   

🌻🥦-Izuku’s eyes shifted all over his notebooks page, trying to distract himself from the conversation and the warm flush creeping up his face. 

🌻🥦-“We don’t know until we try. We don’t have to ask her now but just think about it, will you? This near-death experience really made me realize that I want to pursue everything my heart desires. I want to come home to my Alpha and my Omega. Maybe a few pups as well.” Mirio grinned, picturing the sweet scene in his head. 

🌻🥦-His Alpha was already bouncing with joy at the idea. He was already picturing your eyes looking up at him after a long day. 

🌻🥦-They had been on a few courting dates in search of a third partner but they all had ended with neither Alpha satisfied. His Alpha was telling him you were their missing piece. 

🌻🥦-“I’ll think about it, Alpha. We shouldn’t rush things though. You still need to recover. No Omega is gonna want to go on courting dates with us if I have to wheel you in.” Izuku laughed, picturing him rolling in his mate, at a coffee shop, sporting two casts.  

🌻🥦-“Really? I think it will add to my charm. No one can reject these baby blues when I am weak and injured.” He pouted his lips and widened his eyes at his lover. 

🌻🥦-Izuku giggled before leaning over and pecking a kiss on his lips.

🌻🥦-“I guess I can agree with that.” 

***

🌻🥦-“I brought lunch! It has plenty of meat so your Alpha will be quite pleased.” You grinned, opening up the door, Mirio was propped up on the bed. 

🌻🥦-You smiled at the blonde before noticing the greenette was absent. 

🌻🥦-“Where is Izuku? It’s odd not seeing him by your side.” You asked, setting up the tray in front of him. 

🌻🥦-“He had to go to the office for a while. He has been putting off a few things to stay with me so now he has to go in for a bit and catch up.” He said, sending you a big smile, the tinge of sadness was lurking in his eyes. 

🌻🥦-You couldn’t have your best patient getting sad on you. 

🌻🥦-“What do you call a pig that does karate?” You asked, lifting the top of the tray. 

🌻🥦-“What?” He lifted a blond eyebrow. 

🌻🥦-“A pork chop.” You replied, cutting your hand through the air. 

🌻🥦-You were glad your quirk had healed up his ribs or the belt of laughter really would have done a number on him. His loud chuckles was a welcomed sound, the slight sparkle in his eyes even more. 

🌻🥦-“I didn’t know my doctor was also a comedian.” He breathed, clutching his chest with his uninjured arm. 

🌻🥦-“I am many things.” You winked, pushing his plate towards him and setting in the chair by his bed, where Izuku usually sits. 

🌻🥦-“You are staying?” His blond brow went up again, his good hand already picking up a fork. 

🌻🥦-“I have to make sure you don’t eat your whole meal in two bites. I remember your mate saying something about your bottomless stomach. I can’t have my patient choking on me now.” You laughed, pulling out a small notebook from your white coat. 

🌻🥦-You would work on tweaking and editing some of your recipes. 

🌻🥦-Mirio’s Alpha was already purring upon hearing you were gonna stay and keep him company. His human half was delighted as well. 

***

🌻🥦-He had finished his lunch and his mate was still not back. His Alpha was pouting at his other half being gone but something else was bothering him too. It had been a few days since Izuku had given him a good scrub down and his dirty hair was starting to bother him. 

🌻🥦-He was known to take multiple showers a day when he was well. Now that he was injured and couldn’t exactly take as many baths as he pleased he was feeling off. 

🌻🥦-“Y/N could you wash my hair? I can wait until Izuku got here if you feel uncomfortable doing it.” He said, look at the Omega sitting by his bed. 

🌻🥦-“Mirio, I’m a Doctor, washing someone’s hair is the least uncomfortable thing I can do to a patient. Would Izuku be comfortable with it though? I know how territorial Alpha pairs can get.” You questioned, tilting your head. 

🌻🥦-“I am sure he would understand. You don’t have to worry about him going all Alpha on you. We wouldn’t have been going on courting dates to find our third partner if either one of us was easily jealous.” He smiled, strategically letting you know they were poly. 

🌻🥦-For some reason, your Omega purred happily at the news. You shoved her aside and professionally nodded your head and smiled. 

🌻🥦-“Well, that is good to hear. Would you like to do it here or in the bathroom?” You asked, taking off your white coat, you didn’t want to get it wet. 

🌻🥦-“The bathroom. I would like to keep my bed dry.” He grinned, reaching to grab his crutches leaning up against the bed. 

🌻🥦-He had his head in the sink while you intertwined your fingers in his hair and massaged the shampoo in. You took note of is soft hair the moment your fingers threaded through it. 

🌻🥦-You Omega was already sighing in bliss at the texture. Omega’s loved soft and silky things. 

🌻🥦-It seems you weren’t the only one enjoying the feeling. The poor Alpha was putty in your hands. If the chair he was sitting in disappeared he would slump to the ground. 

🌻🥦-You had a soft spot for the Alpha so you continued to massage his head even though the shampoo was already worked in well enough. Izuku walked in while you were doing so, he paused at the bathroom door. 

🌻🥦-Mirio had told you his mate would be fine with it but that didn’t stop your Omega from letting out a tiny chirp. Izuku had been nothing but nice to you. You were a bit embarrassed at your reaction but you knew of about Alphas and their aggressiveness when it came to someone interfering with their bond.  

🌻🥦-During your residency, you had treated a few cases of the unlucky ones caught flirting with a person’s Alpha. 

🌻🥦-Mirio had immediately opened his eyes at the sound. He sat up fast and seemed ready to fight off whoever it was that made you chirp. You didn’t know how he was gonna do that with two casts but it made your Omega swoon. 

🌻🥦-Once he saw it was just his mate he released his breath. 

🌻🥦-Izuku widens his eyes in surprise and put his hands up to show you he meant no harm. 

🌻🥦-“Y-you’re fine! I’m not mad! I know it is your job.” He rapidly said, taking a step back. 

🌻🥦-“You sure do know how to make an entrance, Zuku.” Mirio laughed, leaning his head back in the sink bowl. 

🌻🥦-“I’m sorry, Izuku. I know you wouldn’t hurt me but I have seen way too many Alpha attacks with my occupation.” You nervously bit your lip. 

🌻🥦-He is a Hero and you chirped in fear at him! You felt a flush crawl up your cheeks. 

🌻🥦-“It’s fine, Y/N. I understand.” He reassured, clutching a familiar notebook in his hand. “I’ll just wait by the bed.” 

🌻🥦-You nodded before getting back to scrubbing Mirio’s soft hair. You rinse and conditioned his hair quickly. When you were done you wrapped a towel around his neck and lead him back to his bed. 

🌻🥦-Izuku looked up from writing and gave you a small smile. You flash him one back before taking the towel around his mate’s neck and began drying his hair.

🌻🥦-The Alpha was in a state of bliss again. Izuku would be lying if he said he wasn’t a tiny bit jealous. He wanted to feel your soft hands against his hair too.

🌻🥦-“What are you always writing in that notebook of yours Izuku?” You asked, talking your eyes off the blonde for a second and giving him a curious look. 

🌻🥦-“I have been asked to review a few students from UA and come up with way they could possibly improve their quirk. I am just going over the notes I made and writing down what I think could help them.” He said, lifting his notebook and showing you a sketch of a student’s quirk and small paragraphs going over their strengths and weakness. 

🌻🥦-You were done drying Mirio’s hair so you walked around the bed and peered at it over his shoulder. This student had an ice quirk and could only make the ice stay frozen for a limited amount of time. 

🌻🥦-Izuku had draw lumps of ice that the student was only able to manifest. They reminded you of huge hail balls. It said that the student was working on their arm strength to be able to throw them at opponents. 

🌻🥦-“Mmm. What if the student could shape their ice into a morning-star ball? It would be harder for a villain to ignore if icy needles were stuck in them rather than a chunk of ice bouncing off them.” You said, tapping your chin. 

🌻🥦-Izuku was star struck looking up at you. He was glad you were peering up at the ceiling in thought, not noticing the look of pure awe on his face. When he had gone out on dates with Mirio all the Omega’s seemed to only like him because of his hero status. 

🌻🥦-None of them cared all to much when he started rambling about certain heroes or making notes in the tiny notebook he carried around in his pocket. They certainly didn’t engage and offer any ideas to him. 

🌻🥦-They kinda just ignored him while he scribbled away and focused their attention on Mirio more. 

🌻🥦-He was completely bewitched. A quick flash of him and you cuddled on the couch going over his notes in his notebook while you offer advice every now and then. You asked him about what you could do to add to your meals to help improve them, also taking notes in a small notebook.

🌻🥦-“That is a great idea, Y/N. I’ll write that down. Thank you.” He blushed, quickly scribbling down your idea. 

🌻🥦-He might have been a little hesitant before but now his Alpha was howling at the idea of asking you out. He shot his mate a look and instantly knew his mate was already on board.

🌻🥦-Now they just had to find the right time to ask you out. 

***

🌻🥦-It was Mirio’s final day at the hospital. You were bringing him his discharge papers. You knocked on the familiar door and walked in. Your Omega was already whining at you. She didn’t want that Alpha’s to leave.

🌻🥦-But the Alpha was as good as new. He had gotten off his casts already and the only things left on his body were a few light bruises and scratches. 

🌻🥦-His mate stood by him, helping him put on a cornflower blue jacket. A black bag on the bed told you that he was already packed up and ready to go. They both turned to look at you when you walked in. 

🌻🥦-Mirio was sitting on the bed with his back facing the door so he had to strain his neck to look over. You could have sworn a sparkle was present in both of their eyes when they looked at you. 

🌻🥦-You didn’t want to jump to conclusions so you convinced yourself it was admiration for helping the blue-eyed Alpha get better. 

🌻🥦-“It seems our time has come to an end boys. I can say that besides the corny jokes, you were one of my best patients yet.” You grinned, thinking of all the cheesy jokes he told you. 

🌻🥦-He said he had to outdo your joke by making you laugh harder than he did. So far all he got out of you was a few snickers and chuckles. He made it his life’s mission to see you wheeze in laughter.

🌻🥦-“I don’t think so, Izuku and I were thinking, would you like to come out to dinner with us? We feel like it is time for us to feed you for a change.” He offered, his smile still on his face but you could see the slight nervousness on his face. 

🌻🥦-This offer was clearly more than a simple thanks. Poor Izuku was fidgeting where he stood, not looking you in the eye. 

🌻🥦-Your heart warmed at the two anxious Alphas. 

🌻🥦-“Sure. I would love to.” You agreed, your Omega yipping with joy. 

🌻🥦-You couldn’t wait to see how this turned out. 

This is my first time writing for this pair so feel free to tell me how you feel about them! Thank you for the support. Please reblog and leave a like. Both really help keep me motivated to write. 💛💚

[royallyprincesslilly]

Title: Quarantine: A Love Story{1}

Chris Evans x Reader Mini Series

Warning: Cursing, Plot, Angst, Tiny Bit of Slow Burn

Words: 4.9k

Note: Okay, so this ask/request came in and I was all prepped to write it as a one shot, but I had so many separate ideas that sprang to mind for it and from it. As of right now, I am going to play this one by ear. Hell, I might just keep writing it as long as we’re all in our quarantine/self-isolation. So, it might be one part every week, or I might change it. I honestly have no idea, so let’s start with calling it a mini-series and see where it goes. Thank you anon for the request, hope it’s cool I tweak, twist and stretch this out. I hope you guys enjoy this. Thank you for reading as always!!! ❤️❤️ 

***Loosely Edited/Proofread***

~~~~~~~~~~~

-Pre-Quarantine, Friendmas, December 2019-

  “Hey, hey, hey Y/N in the house!”

 You rounded the corner with two bottles in hand. Once everyone saw you, they began cheering. Most of them rushed you, pulling you in for hugs and kisses. You smiled and chatted with them all.

“You look great!” Tara shouted above the music as she admired your skirt, thigh high stockings and ankle boots.

 “Thank you, Tara,” you squealed while giving her air kisses. “I come bearing the gift of alcohol!!” Those near you cheered their approval.

 You walked further inside the room that was lite up with Christmas lights. December twenty-fourth and fifth were for the families but December twenty-sixth was for the friends. This was the third annual Friendmas celebration, the day your group of friends got together to open presents, eat, drink and be merry.

 From the corner of your eye you saw Scott’s brother, Chris. He was sitting by the Christmas tree nursing a beer and staring at the lights as they danced. Your eyes scanned his body and took in his outfit. He always dressed so damn fresh and his hair was always perfect. Chris looked away from the tree over to you and you saw his jaw clench tightly. Nervousness overtook you and you took a breath. He sure could be intimidating, you thought. Chris’ eyes lingered on you for a few more moments. Just when you’d built up the nerve to go over to him, he looked away and back to the Christmas tree. So much for that, you thought.

From a few months after meeting him through Scott and interacting in the group of friends that he was included in you could have sworn he hated you. When you spoke he was always short with his responses. They were either one word or dull. When he looked at you it wasn’t for more than a few seconds and every time he looked at you his jaw was always clenched as if the mere sight of you pissed him off worse than his role in Not Another Teen Movie. You couldn’t understand it.

 “You okay?” Scott placed his hand on your shoulder as he stood beside you. You looked from Chris and to Scott with a wistful smile before you answered.

 “Yeah. Let’s eat,” you responded before walking off.

 Friendmas was a hit. The food was delicious, the conversation was fun, the presents were great. Everyone had a good time and that included Chris from the looks of him as he interacted with your friends. He spoke to everyone, well everyone but you. He always looked happy, well that was until he looked your way. He even danced with quite a few people, excluding you. You tried not to feel offended but deep down you were. You didn’t know why he hated you.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~

 -Pre-Quarantine, New Year’s Eve, January 2020-

  You were dressed to kill and more than ready to show just what a fine piece of ass you were. After climbing out of the Lyft your phone rang.

 “Hello?”

 “Y/N, where are you? You’re going to miss countdown,” Scott shouted into your ear.

 “Scott it’s not even eleven forty-five. I’m outside, I just got out of the car.”

“Finally, give them the code and they’ll let you in.”

 You walked to the four security guards. All of them turned and gave you the once over.

 “Diplomatic Relations.” It made you feel half like a loser and half like a spy. The guards nodded, opened the door for you and allowed you to pass.

 Once you walked inside you handed off your coat to the girl there that was checking them and stepped to the railing to watch what was happening down below. The space was filled with those who made it to Boston for Chris’ New Years Eve Bash. You recognized a few of his celebrity friends, men and women alike. Everyone was dressed to the nines and definitely cutting lose. From the top of the balcony you saw where Scott was. Just behind him was Chris sitting with Tara, nursing another drink. He looked up and looked at you. His eyes slowly raked over your body. From where you were standing you couldn’t make out the expression on his face. When his eyes met yours again you could make out the clench of his jaw.

 “You’ve got to be kidding me.” You felt your phone go off and checked it.

 MSG Scott: If you’ve posed long enough then maybe come down here where we are. Only if you’ve posed like Cleopatra long enough.

 You snorted and rolled your eyes. Scott always had the flair for the dramatic, maybe that was why you became such good friends so fast after reconnecting almost two years ago. Slowly you walked down the steps and made your way through the crowd. Before you got to your friends a hand gripped your wrist turning you to them. You came face to face with Sebastian Stan. He had a smile on his face, but even under the ever changing over head lights you could tell he’d had a lot to drink.

 “It’s Y/N, right?”

 “That’s right.”

 He smiled as he nodded and gave you a quick once over. “Wow, what an outfit.”

 “You like it?” You spun around to give him the full view. He smiled and rubbed his jaw as he gawked at you.

 “I like it very much. I can see why he’s so conflicted,” Sebastian muttered. You barely caught it but you caught it.

 “Excuse me? What? Who?”

 Sebastian only smiled before he zipped his lips and walked away disappearing in the crowd. You were confused by what he meant and not sure you’d even heard him right. Over the music you heard your name being shouted and you turned to continue your path to your friends. Once in the VIP are they were you greeted them all with hugs and cheek kisses. When you got to Chris he gave you a quick shoulder hug as you pressed your cheek to his. When you did that you could have sworn you heard a groan before he pulled away and sat back down. It sounded as if he was disgusted, or in pain.

 “You look hot, Y/N.” Scott’s partner complimented.

 “Thank you!”

 “He’s right, girl that dress is going to be the talk of the night,” Tara slid in. You smiled and laughed feeling embarrassment flush you.

 “Don’t be embarrassed. Embrace it, you’re hot! Right Chris,” Scott pressed further. Chris looked away from the crowd and back to you as if he hadn’t been listening.

 “What?”

 “Y/N, she’s hot right!” Scott’s partner had a wide smile on his face as he stood there expectantly. Chris looked at you and quickly looked over your outfit. You saw the scrunch of his nose, the clench of his jaw and the look that washed across his face as if he tasted something sour or rancid.

 “Eh, I guess.” With that he walked away and disappeared in the crowd. You stood there stunned. He’d managed to diss you while agreeing to a compliment. You were stunned.

 The remainder of the night was spent with you drinking way more than you should have and dancing like you had no worries. Every song that played you danced to. You didn’t care if it was Hip Hop, R&B, Pop or Country. As long as the beat was good you could twerk to it. No matter where you were in the room you could see Chris and every time you looked at him you felt salty and that salty feeling fueled your party marathon. You refused to pay him any attention, no matter how many girls he flirted with and no matter how frisky that got. You pretended not to care but for some reason, you cared the ball in the pit of your stomach said you did.

 By the time the countdown hit you were more than a little lit. You shouted down numbers beside your friends and a drink in hand ready to toast to the new year.

 “Five, Four, Three, Two, One! Happy New Year! Woooooooo!”

 You threw your hands in the air and cheered along with everyone else. Those who were there with partners kissed and embraced. You knocked back your drink and turned to go to the bar for another. You raised your glass as you got there and slid onto the stool. It was cold under your thighs thanks to your short skirt, but you didn’t mind. A few feet away you saw Chris and Sebastian talking. You rolled your eyes, crossed your legs and turned away as you waited for your drink. After a few seconds you could feel his eyes on you and it made you more than a little uneasy.

 “I’ve been watching you all night. I couldn’t help but notice you didn’t get a new year’s kiss.” You looked to you right and took in the tall brown skinned hottie before you. He looked familiar but you couldn’t tell where you’d seen him from.

 “What’s it to you?” He smiled and you saw the dimples in his cheeks and you couldn’t help but smile.

 “It’s bad luck to go into the new year without a kiss,” he informed. That was a pretty good line, you thought.

 “Let me guess, you’d like to give me the good luck I so deserve.” He opened his arms and shrugged giving you an even better view. He was muscular and dressed nicely. You thought about his offer and found no reason against it.

 “I prefer to know the name of men I put my lips on.” Again, he smiled then licked his lips.

 “Charles.”

 “Let’s see what luck you bring Charles.”

 You turned to him and uncrossed your legs giving him a slim opening to come closer. When Charles stepped into the space you gave he bent and claimed your lips. What started as a sweet, innocent kiss quickly took off once you released he could kiss. Charles placed his hand on your exposed thigh and teased your tongue. Holy shit, you thought.

 Before the kiss ended, Charles nibbled your bottom lip then pulled back. You were utterly stunned. He was literally tall, dark and handsome and could kiss like no one’s business. When you looked at him again he smirked telling you he knew just what a quadruple threat he was.

 “So tell me, what kind of luck did I bring?”

 “The best kind, but I might need more to carry me through the year.” He smiled and nodded. From behind him you saw Sebastian and Chris watching. The look on Chris’ face was one that was not amused. His jaw was clenched and eyes steely cold. You didn’t think anything of it though. After downing your drunk, you nodded to Charles as you stood and walked away.

 You rang in New Year’s with a bang that night, courtesy of Charles.

  -Pre-Quarantine, Valentine’s Day-AKA: Single’s Awareness Day, February 2020-

  “Cheers!”

 Everyone hit their glasses together before they downed their drinks. After you finished the remainder of the dessert before you. You moaned loving the taste of caramel and the fruity flavors. Once the plate was empty you licked the fork clean.

 “Uh, really Y/N?” You realized all eyes were on you.

 “What!?”

 “It’s done,” Scott declared.

 “I know, it’s just so damn good.”

 “Or maybe you were imagining it was something else,” Scott teased. Your jaw dropped and everyone around you broke out in squeals and chuckles.

 “Wow Scott, just wow.” You reached for the bottle of champagne and refilled your glass.

 “What? I didn’t say anything wrong. Why are you even here? It’s called single’s awareness day. You’re not even single.”

 “Says the man who’s booed up as he speaks,” you countered giving him a cocky look.

 “Where is your boyfriend?”

 “He is not my boyfriend thank you very much.”

 “Oh so the fact that he’s been hanging around since New Years and you see him almost every weekend at your place and you going to his place in New York to get the D just doesn’t mean anything?” Your eyes bugged out. He really just shouted you out.

 “Wow Scott, just spill all the tea.” You stood and began to walk away.

 “I didn’t even spill a fifth of the tea. I can definitely spill more, like the fact he sends you flowers every other day with a note complimenting something about you. Or even the fact that he treats you like a queen, or what about the fact that he stays down south until you’ve come at least three times?”

 You gasped and turned to Scott with wide eyes. You were surprised he was spilling all your business. Everyone else was overjoyed, you could tell from their excited giggles and claps. From behind him, you saw Chris still at the table drinking champagne. He looked annoyed but you couldn’t really tell because all you had was a side profile.

 “Okay Scott enough tea.”

 “No, spill some more,” Tara encouraged.

 “You are not even right, T.” Everyone laughed as you sat in front of the TV more than ready to watch the movie.

 “Can we watch this movie already and stop talking about my personal life?”

 Chris approached the group one hand holding a fresh bottle of champagne and the other his glass.

 “Yes can we? We didn’t come here to hear how Y/N is getting some rando’s D,” Chris muttered as he took a seat. For some reason the way he said that rubbed you the wrong way, but you didn’t reply.

 The movie was some rom/com that wasn’t half bad but completely cliché. Usually the group of you took joy in mocking it. It was tradition. This year was no different, you all laughed and cringed at the movie. Every time you looked at Chris he was silent, he wasn’t bashing or laughing, he looked as if he were miles away wrapped up in his thoughts. When you managed to look away and back to the movie your eyes always found their way back to Chris. On one glance your eyes met and for a second you thought he looked sad, but you couldn’t understand why. As quickly as the look appeared, it disappeared before he looked away and clenched his jaw. You wanted to throw the bowl of popcorn you held. You were tired of it, so you got up and began cleaning up. It wasn’t your house, but you didn’t care, cleaning helped distract you.

 “What’re you doing?”

 “Why does your brother hate me?” It popped out, you didn’t mean to ask it.

 “What? He doesn’t hate you,” Scott corrected.

 “Uh, yeah he does. Have you not noticed?”

 “Y/N, Chris doesn’t hate you. Why would he hate you?”

 “I don’t know, he doesn’t even know me. I’ve never done anything to him,” you explained.

 “Exactly, so why?”

 “Who knows. All I know is I get the vibe he doesn’t like me. Remember his comment New Years?”

 “I’ve told you, you’re reading way too much into it. He was drunk.”

 Scott continued to protest and shoot down every exhibit you pointed to in order to show his brother didn’t like you. He offered a reasonable explanation to everything you said. By the end of the debate, you were still uneasy. It really was bugging you. From the corner of your eye you saw Chris looking over with a blank look on his face then he abruptly stood and walked off.

  -March 2020, 11:00AM-

 MSG Scott: Where are you?

MSG: Home.

MSG Scott: Why aren’t you on your way over here?

MSG: I told you Scott, I’m not coming.

MSG Scott: What! Of course you are, this is serious. People are dying.

MSG: I know it’s serious Scott. I am good where I am.

MSG Scott: Come on, it won’t be the same without you.

MSG: It’ll be fine. We’ll text and you have your boo with you.

MSG Scott: So bring Charles, the more the merrier.

MSG: Charles is stuck in New York. He said he doesn’t want to put me at risk since he thinks he’s been exposed.

MSG Scott: So you’re going to quarantine alone?

MSG: Yep. I’m gonna take a nap, later.

 You were serious. You were not leaving your house. This virus was no joke. You tried to fall asleep but every few minutes you tossed and turned. No matter how you tried, you just couldn’t find a comfortable spot. Ten minutes later you were still tossing and turning and about to give up all together. You heard your doorbell and a bang at the door. You tried to ignore it but the ringing soon became obnoxious and persistent. Rolling your eyes you flung the covers off of you and stomped downstairs. When you opened the door there was Scott.

 “Pack your stuff come on,” he said barging inside.

 “Scott, what are you doing here?”

 “You’re coming, there’s nothing to debate.”

 “What!? No, I told you. I am not going.”

 “Y/N, you know for mental health purposes, it’s better if you weren’t alone. We’re all going to be together there, it’s a good distance away from the hustle of the city, it’ll be good. He has enough room. Let’s go.”

 “Scott no. He doesn’t like me. Why would I encroach where I am not wanted?”

 “Oh my god, he brought up if you weren’t coming. He’s why I’m here.”

 That shocked you and had you looking confused as fuck. “What do you mean?”

 “He sent me to get you.”

 You couldn’t believe that. “You’re lying.”

 “No. I swear. Can we stop wasting time? We have a lot to get done before that curfew goes into effect.”

 Scott walked away and began walking to your bedroom as you stood there still shocked. You couldn’t believe he’d invited you and sent Scott to get you. What game was he playing? Was this pity? Was it him playing nice because of the seriousness of the pandemic? You didn’t know.

 After an hour of packing as if the world would end, you and Scott piled your bags into the car and went on your way. The drive to Chris’ house close to the shore was insane. People were acting as if this was the end of days. You saw more than a handful of people carrying an obscene amount of toilet paper. It never seized to amaze you the ability of humankind to spin out of control in the face of uncertainty. After forty minutes, you arrived to Chris’ house and dropped off your bags before you were off again, this time for groceries and supplies.

  -Six Hours Later-

  “So—what’s the plan?”

 “Quarantine and chill,” Scott blurted out. His partner cheered from inside the house.

 “I cannot with the two of you,” you said while rolling your eyes. You continued to pack away the mountain of groceries that the three of you’d bought over the last six hours. Or should you say fought for over the last six hours.

 “I can’t believe what’s going on, this is insane,” you added. Scott and Zach both nodded.

 In a matter of weeks the world and its operations had been turned upside down. The state of Massachusetts was now on quarantine and ordered inside for isolation in order to slow the spread of the virus.

 “So quarantine and chill with the Evans’,” you announced.

 “Why do you sound so scared? My mom loves you.”

 “I know, just—are you sure this isn’t weird?” Scott and Zach looked at each other obviously confused.

 “It’s not weird. You’re being weird.”

 Before you could respond a few cars rolled up the graveled driveway and parked. Out of the cars bounded adults, children and Dodger. Dodger ran to you and leapt up to you. Happily you dropped to your knees to scratch behind his ear and give him the nuzzles he deserved.

 “Hi Dodger, oh who’s a good boy. You are, yes you are!” Dodger excitedly licked over your face making you giggle. He was the cutest thing.Thanks to the lengthy amounts of time Chris worked, Scott was the one to watch Dodger most times and you’d formed a close bond because of how much time you spent with Scott.

 When you looked up there Chris stood holding several bags with a soft smile on his lips.

 “Hey, you made it.” His voice was low and gruff.

 “Uh, hi, yeah.” Chris nodded and walked inside. Like the obedient boy he was Dodger scurried in behind him.

 “Y/N.” You spun around and saw Chris and Scott’s mother, Lisa. Your smile was wide as you stood to face her.

 “It’s great to see you sweetheart. I’m so glad you came.” She hugged you tightly. It was a hug only a mother could give.

 “Yes, I’m here.”

 “We’re glad. How successful were you guys at the store? It was a madhouse for us,” Carly said.

 “Oh my god it was insane. We literally almost had a fight in the liquor store,” you responded.

 “By we, she means her,” Zach blurted out.

 “There was some guy trying to take the last case of whiskey.”

 “Oh please tell me he wasn’t successful,” Shana’s boyfriend groaned.

 “Nope. I grabbed it, ran to the register and guarded it with my life.”

 They all rang out in laughter. They thought you were kidding, you weren’t.

 “Thank god for that, but we’d rather have you over the whiskey,” Lisa expressed with a rub to your back before she walked inside. As Shana and Carly passed they kissed your cheek and as the kids ran by they each gave you a quick hug.

 The next hour or so was spent bringing in a ludicrous amount of food from the cars to then thoroughly wipe off with Clorox and Lysol wipes to then bring into the house for packing out. When you thought about it, there were quite a few mouths to feed so the amount of food made sense. Chris busied himself with Dodger and the kids in the back. You could hear the happy screams and laughter and it made you smile. Every time you’d seen him in uncle mode it warmed your heart. He was good with kids. He’d make a good dad one day, you thought.

 Once you finished everyone scattered to find their rooms. They all knew where they were going to be but you had no clue. Slowly you wandered peeking into different rooms trying to find where your bags were. Every room you went into you found someone from the Evans clan and your bags missing. After checking the last room in sight and coming up empty, you sighed and stood there.

 “Lost?” Before you turned you expected him to have a frown on his face with his jaw clenched. When you turned you were only half right, the frown was missing.

 “Uh, no, maybe. I um—I was trying to find my bags. Scott and I dropped them off before we went shopping.”

 Chris nodded. “Yeah, I saw them and moved them to your room.”

 “Oh, okay. Uh, can you point me to it?” Chris didn’t speak right away instead his jaws clenched and unclenched a few times before he flared his nose.

 “I’ll show you,” he said just before he turned and began walking.

 “You don’t have to. You can just tell me. I’m sure I can find it.”

 “You’re a guest, what kind of host would I be if I just pointed and made you find it. Come on, I’ll show you.” He continued walking down the hall leading you down the stairs. Glumly you followed behind him as he led you god knows where. When he walked through the downstairs to the back of the house you began to wonder just where he put you. He probably put me in the shed, you thought.

 Chris opened the French doors at the back of the house and walked out toward the pool. After a few moments the pool house came into view. It was more like a mini version of the big house. Chris walked around the pool and to the doors. When he opened it he held it open for you to walk in first.

 When you did it was the perfectly decorated seaside cottage. It was bathed in periwinkle and cool whites with the hint of straw. The first thought was who’d decorated it and if it was a woman. Your second thought was why he’d put you here instead one of the rooms in the house. According to Scott there would have been enough rooms for everyone.

 “I thought it would be a good idea to give you your own space incase being around everyone else was too much. They can be a lot especially when you throw in the kids. It becomes a madhouse,” Chris explained.

 Though he explained you still felt a way. The explanation was not enough. You plastered a smile on your face and turned to him.

 “It’s great. Thank you.” Chris studied you a few moments then nodded.

 “You’re free to go anywhere you want, my house is yours.”

 Again, you nodded and kept the smile pasted on. Chris nodded once and turned to walk out. When he did he shut the door behind him leaving you in the open concept pool house. Your thoughts were all over the place. The more you walked around and took in the décor the more you wondered who did all of this. It was beautifully done and gave off the feel of down to earth comfort.

 When you made it to the bedroom you found your bags in a corner. You busied yourself with unpacking your things. If there was one thing you hated it was living out of a suitcase and from how the news was speaking, this quarantine could be going on for weeks. After you unpacked your things in the drawers, closet and bathroom you took a quick shower before getting dressed again to join the others for dinner. You thought not to but you knew Lisa or Scott would come to drag you inside.

 As you approached the house doors you took a few breaths and walked inside and toward the dining room. You could hear voices in a room off to the side and it made you slow down.

 “You put her in the pool house, Chris?” Scott sounded annoyed.

 “Yeah. I thought she’d be more comfortable there.”

 “She’d be more comfortable, or you’d be more comfortable?”

 “She would. I don’t even know what that means,” Chris responded.

 The silence fell between them for a few seconds before Scott spoke again.

 “Did you think that by doing that you maybe hurt her feelings as you’ve been doing since you met her?”

 Your stomach fell. Scott was going to tell him that you thought he hated you.

 “Hurt her feelings? Scott, it’s no big deal. She has more room to herself. It wasn’t meant as anything. I was being a good host,” Chris assured. You didn’t know if he was being truthful or delivering his line like the professional actor he was.

 “I see through you brother,” Scott said before he walked out the door with Chris behind him. You pretended to just have walked in and looked between the brothers. Scott smiled warmly while Chris looked you over once and walked off.

 You had no idea what that was about. Dinner was delicious, Lisa always made amazing food. You’d been invited to family dinners before and how close they were always made you smile. You admired their connection and always had a good time just watching and listening to them. Tonight was no different. They spoke and laughed nonstop. Chris was a different person around his family. He came out of his quiet shell and talked--a lot. You listened to the stories he told and when his face lit up from laughter you felt butterflies in your stomach. His laugh was infectious, and you were beginning to love it more and more.

 After dinner before the kids were sent off to bed, everyone watched TV and snacked, it was the perfect end to a long day. You sat by Carly and Shanna and whispered and laughed with them. From the day Scott introduced you to them there was an instant connection and they always made you feel welcomed no matter what. When one in the morning rolled around the adults began making their way to bed.

 “Who has breakfast duty tomorrow?”

 All eyes fell to Lisa. She must have known it because she smiled widely. “Fine all my children, I can do breakfast.”

 “Thanks mom,” they all said in unison. You smiled.

 “Good night everyone, thank you for--,” you began before they all made a collective loud buzzer sound.

 “Shut up Y/N, you know we love you. There is nowhere else we’d rather you be,” Scott said making you smirk before you full on smiled. Chris caught your eye, he was also smirking. That’s a first you thought just before he clenched his jaw. And we’re back, you thought again before you walked to the French doors in the back.

 It was a felony for a bed to be this comfortable. You moaned and stretched in the king-sized bed. it felt incredible. From the window beside the bed you could see the moon shining in and that was the last sight before you finally managed to sleep. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[miserablesme]

The Les Miserables Changelog Part 8: 1997 Broadway 10th Anniversary

Hello, everyone! This is the latest edition in my attempt to chronicle all of the musical and lyrical changes which the show Les Miserables has undergone over the years. After a few consecutive editions focused on regional choices, we're finally back to official libretto distinctions. Specifically, this edition covers a substantial rewrite that occured in 1997.

To fully understand the circumstances in which this rewrite took place, it is useful to look at some background information. The original Broadway production of Les Miserables was definitely not its most popular production from an audience perspective. The cast tended to be judged as inferior to touring and international productions. Moreover, cast members often stayed in Broadway productions for very long time periods, leading many to question the show's freshness.

Consequently, there was a large-scale firing to the point that, in January 1997, every principal cast member was let go except for Christopher Innvar (Javert). For the next month and a half, the third national tour cast would perform on Broadway.

March 12, 1997 marked exactly ten years since the original Broadway production opened. To mark this occasion (and perhaps to direct attention away from the questionable ethics of essentially firing an entire workforce on short notice), a new cast would officially take over from the third national tour cast on this day. Not only this, but the show which this new cast would perform was freshened significantly (an update that would also be applied to all existing and new replica productions worldwide soon afterwards). The blocking was adjusted to give off more energy, the lighting was digitized and made more complex, the sound effects were made more realistic, the sets and costumes were refurbished and in some cases changed... and the libretto received many edits. Let's get into what actually was changed...

Oh, and as a side note, not all of the changes were made simultaneously. Most were, but a few small edits (mostly musical cuts) were made later in 1997. I suspect that, in acknowledgement of Cameron Mackintosh's reservations prior to the original London productions as well as a warning of what would come in a few years' time, those cuts may have been made in order to reduce overtime costs to crew members. That is only a theory of mine, however; please take it with a grain of salt.

Anyway, let's get our analysis started!

1997 Update #1

The first libretto change (in a sense) occurs during "Lovely Ladies". Granted, this is a change that had already been applied unofficially in the Broadway and West End productions; however, I'm not sure if it was ever used in the US Tour previously. Originally this was the lyrical sequence:

(SAILORS - simultaneously with prostitutes’ lines)

Lovely lady, fastest on the street

Wasn’t there three minutes

She was back up on her feet

Lovely lady, what you waiting for

Doesn’t take a lot of savvy just to be a whore

Come on lady, what’s a lady for?

(PROSTITUTES - simultaneously with sailors’ lines)

Lovely ladies, lovely little girls

Lovely ladies, lovely little ladies

Lovely girlies, lovely little girls

We are lovely, lovely girls

Lovely ladies, what’s a lady for?

The sequence was finally officially replaced with the following exchange (that was more or less invented for the 1992 UK tour):

(PROSTITUTE)

God I’m weary, sick enough to drop

Belly burns like fire

Will the bleeding ever stop?

(PIMP)

Cheer up dearie, show a happy face

Plenty more like you, dear

If you can’t keep up the pace

(PROSTITUTE)

Only joking, dearie knows her place

Interestingly, this officially version uses "Will the bleeding ever stop" as the West End and Broadway production previously did (as opposed to the 1992 "Will the bleeding never stop"); however, it also uses "you, dear" from the 1992 edit, as opposed to "you here" as had been used in the West End and Broadway productions. However, many individuals continued to sing "you here" for many years to come.

In "Fantine's Arrest", Bamatabois originally declares:

You've got some nerve, you little whore

You've got some gall!

The 1992 UK tour introduced the following variation, which had also been used in the West End production prior to this edit:

You've got some sauce, you ugly slut

You've got some gall!

The 1997 libretto combined these two versions into the following line:

You've got some nerve, you ugly slut

You've got some gall!

However, the original "Little whore" was maintained in the libretto as an alternate lyric. I do like how "little whore" actually rhymes with the preceding line ("I won't pay more"), though "ugly slut" does carry more threat. The West End production went with "ugly slut" after this libretto change, while other productions stuck to "little whore" for the time being.

Note that the rest of "Fantine's Arrest" plays out the same as it had since 1986, and did not include any of the other 1992 UK tour variations.

Right off the bat, "The Runaway Cart" is different in this version. The scene now begins with a sound effect of a horse's neigh, a nice little touch that brings one far more in the moment than one might otherwise be (particularly since modern audiences likely wouldn't immediately envision a horse when hearing about a crash). Moreover, the original yell of "Look out! It's a runaway cart!" has been eliminated in favor of more improvised remarks.

The townspeople's remarks mostly are consistent with the 1992 UK tour edit, with one exception. This is how the UK tour lyrics (which were also used in the West End production) went:

Look at that

Stay away

You’ll be crushed by the cart

Don’t approach

Don’t go near

It’ll fall on you too

Oh my god, who is that?

It’s Monsieur Fauchelevent

He is caught by the wheel

Oh the pitiful man

There is nothing to do

The version used on Broadway and in the US tour in the mid-90s was as follows:

Look at that

Stay away

You’ll be crushed by the cart

Don’t approach

Don’t go near

At the risk of your life

Oh my god, who is that?

It’s Monsieur Fauchelevent

He is caught by the wheel

Oh the pitiful man

There is nothing to do

The 1997 libretto cemented the scene as follows:

Look at that

Stay away

You’ll be crushed by the cart

Don’t approach

Don’t go near

It’s that load, it'll fall

Oh my god, who is that?

It’s Monsieur Fauchelevent

He is caught by the wheel

Oh the pitiful man

There is nothing to do

I really like how much clearer in meaning the changed line is, although a part of me still has a soft spot for the rhyme scheme of the UK tour.

The crowd's response to Valjean's plea for help has been changed. Since 1987, this is how it went:

Don't go near him, Monsieur Mayor

The load is as heavy as hell

The old man is a goner for sure

It will kill you as well

The 1997 libretto edited the penultimate line:

Don't go near him, Monsieur Mayor

The load is as heavy as hell

If you touch it the whole thing will fall

It will kill you as well

I suppose the revised lyric makes it clearer what exactly the danger is. On the flip side, though, the line "It will kill you as well" feels a bit less natural. Originally it meant "it will kill you as well as the other man who will be killed"; a fairly natural progression. Now, though, it essentially means "it will kill you as well as falling". This does make sense, but it doesn't really sound like a phrasing any real person would actually use.

The rest of the cart crash scene plays out as it did in the original version (not the UK tour version).

"Who Am I?" starts out differently right off the bat. These are the original opening lyrics:

He thinks that man is me

He knew him at a glance

The 1997 libretto uses these lyrics instead:

He thought that man was me

Without a second glance

The revised lyrics make ever-so-slightly more sense, since "knew him at a glance" implies a degree of correctness that obviously is false in this context. Having said that, I do slightly prefer the present tense of the original, since the fact that this false belief is continuous is integral to Valjean's dilemma. The revised lyrics give it a sense of the past that isn't really appropriate to the context.

Soon afterwards, a small lyrical edit makes the implications of the dilemma itself quite a bit different. Originally, after reflecting on the future employment of his works, Valjean repeated the same lyrics he sung earlier:

If I speak, I am condemned

If I stay silent, I am damned

The 1997 libretto tweaked the remark a bit:

If I speak, they are condemned

If I stay silent, I am damned

Only two short words are changed, yet the substance of his worry is completely different! Originally, Valjean's reservations are based primarily on how he would be viewed if he failed to provide his workers with the employment they need. Now, however, he is much more selfless, and is actually worried directly by their well-being. Much more appropriate given that Valjean is supposed to be such a redeemed man!

The West End production had once given Valjean the "You know where to find me!" line after "Who Am I?" and the Australian tour had given him the line "You will find me at the hospital St. John!" However, these were not official libretto remarks, and at least since 1987 he officially remained silent after his high note. This changed in the 1997 libretto, in which an optional line based heavily on the Australian tour one follows the number: "You will find me at the hospital!"

For the next five years, American productions generally would generally the line while, ironically given the production history, the West End show would not.

Since 1986 or so, the "Confrontation" number began with a bar of instrumentals, before Javert began his "Valjean, at last..." line. No more; the 1997 libretto has him begin singing acapella. Only during the second syllable of "Valjean" do the instrumentals start.

The next edit can be heard during the preamble to "Master of the House". A few lines are adjusted among the inn customers. Originally this is how the scene went:

Landlord over here

Where's the bloody man?

One more for the road

One more slug of gin

Just one more

Or my old man is gonna do me in!

The 1997 libretto made it as follows:

Where's the wretched man?

Landlord over here

One more for the road

One more slug of gin

Just one more

Or my old man is gonna do me in!

I suppose the change from "bloody" to "wretched" was probably intended to make the show more accessible to non-British audience, since "bloody" does not seem to be a word frequently used in America or other countries. (Weirdly though, Thenardier keeps his "always pissed as newts" line from earlier; one would expect the word to be replaced with "drunk" or something along those lines!)

The change in order of the first two lines in the excerpt I quoted strikes me as odd. The original sequence of lines allows "man" and "gin" to form of a sort of off-rhyme, something lost with the 1997 order of lines. Did the writers decide that the off-rhyme was so awkward that it would sound better if they just didn't try at all? Who knows...

What is probably this libretto's most significant change in the entire musical happens right before the "Waltz of Treachery". While the original Barbican run had a rather extensive Well Scene, since the West End transfer the "Waltz of Treachery" just began with Valjean and Cosette's humming duet to the tune of "Castle on a Cloud". A short but lovely little scene was added between Valjean and Cosette in the 1997 libretto:

(VALJEAN)

Hush now, do not be afraid of me

Don't cry, show me where you live

Tell me my child, what is your name

(INSTRUMENTALS)

(COSETTE)

I'm called Cosette

(VALJEAN)

(*spoken*) Cosette...

The usual humming duet immediately follows. This scene gives some much-appreciated context to the "Waltz of Treachery", and to Valjean and Cosette's relationship as a whole. Honestly it feels a little incomplete to me nowadays when I listen to the audio of pre-1997 performances of the show. Valjean actually meeting Cosette seems like such an important detail to include! John Caird agreed with me evidently. To quote page 143 of 1990's The Complete Book of Les Miserables:

"If ever there is an amended English version of the show he would like to reinstate the Cosette-Valjean meeting. 'It was beautifully written - one of the most moving scenes in the show,' he says. 'It was taken out for technical reasons, but the well scene was moving and could have stayed.'"

It's heartwarming to see that Caird got his wish. I do wonder what exactly those technical reasons were, and whether or not the revised staging may explain why it could finally be reinstated.

On the flipside, there is a noticeable cut after the "Waltz of Treachery". After Valjean's "There's a castle just waiting for you", the 1987 libretto has about sixteen seconds of instrumentals to the tune of the number, followed by a reprise of Valjean and Cosette's humming duet. This is in turn followed by about eighteen more seconds of instrumentals, which transition into the "Look Down" number.

The 1997 libretto removes the reprise of the humming duet. Now, after "There's a castle just waiting for you", the eighteen latter seconds of instrumentals immediately play, and "Look Down" begins right afterwards. Although this leads to a more energetic change of scenery, I must say that the Thenardier's inn segment of the show feels a bit unresolved without the closing recollection of "Castle on a Cloud".

After Gavroche's opening lyrics to "Look Down", there was originally a musical sequence which played and then was repeated twice before the argument between the beggar woman and the prostitute. However, the 1997 libretto reduced this part so that it is only repeated once.

The same number soon takes a cue from the original pre-Broadway script. After the exchange between the beggar woman and the prostitute, this was the original exchange (which was still being used in the West End production at the time). Each line is a solo, with the latter one being sung by a male and the other three by females:

When's it gonna end?

When're we gonna live?

Something's gotta happen, dearie

Something's gotta give

However, the Broadway production had changed it to an ensemble piece:

When's it gonna end?

When're we gonna live?

Something's gotta happen now or

Something's gotta give

The 1997 libretto brought it back to solo lines, once again with women singing the first three lines and a man singing the last:

When's it gonna end?

When're we gonna live?

Something's gotta happen now

Something's gotta give

I've already noted in the past that I like the scene better as an ensemble piece. Oh well... It also slightly bugs me that the amount of syllables so much less naturally given that the third line loses a syllable. As we'll get into in later editions of this blog, a lot of producers apparently agreed with me, because a lot of productions slightly edited the exchange!

A more subtle difference is audible later in "Look Down". Previously, the line "Something for a crust of bread in Holy Jesus' name" was sung by the ensemble along with the rest of the "See our children fed..." segment. However, the 1997 libretto changed it into a solo line sung by a single beggar woman (despite the rest of the segment remaining an ensemble piece).

This edit was made to account for a change in staging. Prior to 1997, Marius and Enjolras stood on the ground, and the beggars began surrounding them while singing the ensemble piece. It made since for the entire thing to be a group effort. However, since 1997, Marius and Enjolras instead stand on the second level of the set, where they sing their lines to the beggars down below. The beggar woman with the "Something for a crust of bread" line walks by them on the set's second level, explaining why she along sings the line now.

As a side note, the 1987 Australian tour had previously made this exact same lyrical change. This makes me wonder if that production made a similar staging change earlier.

In "The Robbery", after Thenardier's "No mistakes, my dears!" there is originally a bar of instrumentals before Mme. Thenardier starts singing. Post-1997, she starts singing immediately after Thenardier finishes singing his line.

A change in the music was made to "The Robbery" alongside a staging change later in the number. Prior to 1997, Thenardier's con job was staged with him standing with a cane and hiding his right leg, making him look like he was missing a leg. This strikes me as an odd holdover from the pre-Broadway lyrics, in which the actual substance of his plea reflects his missing leg. However, the 1997 staging made it so that he is sitting down while turning the crank on a music box. The instrumentals to this part of the musical were simplified and made more synthetic in order to sound as though they were coming from the music box. I am not a fan of this change at all; it's far too self-aware for me to take the scene remotely seriously.

A change to "Red and Black" that was already widely used before this point was solidified into the show. Instead of opening with the first chords of the number, it now officially opens now with the sting that was introduced in the 1992 UK tour and which was later adapted into Broadway, the third national tour, and most international productions. For many years post-1997, it can be heard in every replica production.

To quote myself from part five of this blog:

"If I’m not mistaken, this musical addition was placed in to account for a change in staging. Originally the number began with the barricade set sliding off-stage, revealing the ABC cafe set behind it. However, around the time of this tour the blocking was adjusted. Now, the turntable instead revolved at the beginning of this number, revealing the ABC cafe set on the other end of the turntable and allowing the barricade set to double as the walls of the cafe. I believe the opening sting was added to allow time for this slightly more elaborate staging."

An extremely subtle difference occurs later during "Red and Black". Originally, Enjolras sings:

The color of the world

Is changing day by day

However, since 1997 he instead sings:

The colors of the world

Are changing day by day

This is a tiny change, to the point that it took me probably a few dozen listens of both pre-1997 and post-1997 audios to pick up on the distinction. Small as it may be, though, it's a very welcome edit. Given that the song revolves around more than one color (to the point that both colors are literally in the title), I honestly find it baffling that the lyric was ever written in the singular, let alone that it managed to hold onto that version for over a decade!

"Lamarque is Dead" is edited so that its lyrics are now consistent with the 1992 UK tour ones, as well as West End performances after that tour. Originally the lyrics were as follows:

On his funeral day they will honor his name

It’s a rallying cry that will reach every ear

In the death of Lamarque we will kindle the flame

They will see that the day of salvation is near

The time is here…

However, the 1997 libretto made them into what the West End and UK tour productions were already using:

On his funeral day they will honor his name

With the light of rebellion ablaze in their eyes

From their candles of grief we will kindle our flame

On the tomb of Lamarque shall our barricades rise

The time is here…

I generally prefer the revised lyrics, as I've discussed in earlier editions of this blog.

"The Attack on Rue Plumet" contains a couple of edits. Originally, Thenardier sings to Brujon:

You shut your mouth

Give me your hand

Post-1997, he instead sings:

You shut your mouth

You'll get what's yours

This edit was another that was partially made for the sake of a staging stage. In the original blocking, Thenardier and the gang are trying to climb over Valjean's gate, and Brujon would literally be using his hand to help Thenardier out. However, the 1997 staging changes things so that the gang is trying to pick the lock. This is much less of a group effort for obvious reasons.

Additionally, the new lyric has slightly more threatening undertones, given its implications of either positive or negative outcomes depending on how helpful Brujon actually is.

Later in the number, after Eponine's scream, Thenardier's reaction takes some cues from the original libretto. Pre-Broadway, these were the lyrics (which were still used in the West End at the time):

Make for the sewers, don't wait around

Leave her to me, go underground

You wait my girl, you'll rue this night

I'll make you scream, you'll scream alright!

Post-1987, this was the sequence instead:

You wait my girl, you'll rue this night

I'll make you scream, you'll scream alright!

Leave her to me, don't wait around

Make for the sewers, go underground

The 1997 edit essentially combined elements of those two versions:

Make for the sewers, go underground

Leave her to me, don't wait around

You wait my girl, you'll rue this night

I'll make you scream, you'll scream alright!

So the lines remain in the post-1987 form, but they are ordered in their pre-1987 form. I've already mentioned that I prefer the 1987 ordering of things, though the 1997 version isn't bad either.

Compared to the first act, the second one has much fewer changes. The first one comes not until the "First Attack" sequence. Before 1997, this was the students' response to their first victory:

(LESGLES)

See how they run away

(GRANTAIRE)

By God, we've won the day

The 1997 libretto changed it to the following:

(LESGLES)

See how they turn and run

(GRANTAIRE)

And so the war was won

I admit I prefer the original lyrics to this one. Grantaire's revised lyrics lack the incredulous spirit of the earlier ones, and the almost narrator-esque out-of-the-moment quality to his post-1997 lyrics is grating.

Later, prior to "Drink with Me", Enjolras speech is slightly changed. Originally he declares:

We must be ready for the fight

For the final fight

Let no one sleep tonight

The 1997 libretto makes his words as follows:

We must be ready for the fight

For tomorrow's fight

Let no one sleep tonight

Although "the final fight" has a climactic air that "tomorrow's fight" lacks, I suppose it is more realistic that Enjolras would have no way of knowing whether there will be more to come after the next battle.

Grantaire's lyrics in "Drink with Me" are edited a bit. Since 1987, this was what he sung:

Will the world remember you when you fall?

Can it be your death means nothing at all?

Is your life just one more lie?

The 1997 libretto edited it into the following:

Will the world remember you when you fall?

Can it be your life means nothing at all?

Will your death be one more lie?

Not terrible, but in my opinion the previous lyrics were far more effective. It makes much more sense to me for one's life to be described as a lie than one's death. The original lyric implies that the students' deaths are for nothing, and that their lives are meaningless. I suppose that is still the message of the revised lyrics, but they strike me as a bit obtuse for my taste.

That's it for the edits in this part (unless you count the official addition of the "You raised my child in love" and "I'll lead you to salvation" variation in the epilogue, which had already been used worldwide for a few years anyway).

But this did not mark the end of the chapter of the Les Mis saga. As I've mentioned earlier, a few edits were made in later months of 1997. So let's look at:

1997 Update #2

The first variation that can be heard in this version occurs during "Lovely Ladies". The "God, i'm weary..." sequence is originally sung in exactly the same tune as the rest of "Lovely Ladies". However, this edit changed it into a slightly different variation of the tune. In my opinion this is a definite improvement. As I mentioned in a previous edition of this blog, while thematically the sick prostitute scene is more fitting than the scene it replaced, it can potentially feel awkward when it's the sole part of the song in its tune not to feature the phrase "lovely ladies". Putting it in a different tune makes its out-of-place vibe feel intentional. In a way, its slightly different sound cements the idea that the prostitute is sick and is not functioning in the same way she ordinarily would.

The first of a few cuts occurs before "Eponine's Errand". Originally, it begins with a few seconds of instrumentals before Eponine starts singing. However, starting with this edit, Eponine begins singing acapella. Not until her first verse is finished do any instrumentals come in. I slightly prefer the version with instrumentals, but it still works alright.

The next cut happens during the opening barricade scene to the second act. Originally, Lesgles' "They will do what is right" is followed by a few seconds of instrumentals before Marius sings his "Hey little boy..." line. However, this edit removed those instrumentals, meaning Marius starts right after Lesgles stops singing. Truth be told I've always found that scene boring, so I can't say I object to cutting it down by a few seconds!

The last cut occurs after "Dawn of Anguish" and before Gavroche's death scene. The "Drink with Me" reprise after the former number originally is followed by an instrumental reprise of the chorus of "Castle on a Cloud". This is then followed by the closing notes to "Drink with Me". However, this edit makes it so that the reprise ends quickly, going right to the ending notes of "Drink with Me" without any "Castle on a Cloud" chords. I definitely prefer the original; it feels so much more emotional and reflective. I've been told it also holds some context to the original book of Les Miserables, though I don't know much more given that I have not yet read the book.

That just about sums this part up! If I missed anything feel free to let me know, as my goal is to create a changelog as thorough and complete as possible. I plan on making more parts in the near future covering all the changes that have been made in the show up until this day (discounting concerts). Any feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated.

As a side note, both for this project and my own enjoyment, I want as complete a collection of Les Miserables audios as possible. I already have most of what’s commonly circulated, but if you have any audios or videos you know are rare, I’d love it if you DMed me!

Until the turntable puts me at the forefront again, good-bye…

[quickspinner]

Puppy Love

I didn’t actually spend much time editing this one because I barely squeezed my sprints in, but I’m pretty happy with it for what it is!  And what it is, is pure domestic fluff, featuring the return of Bach the deaf dog from my very first sprint fic, Puppy Eyes.

Written for the LBSC sprint fic challenge. If you’d like to join in follow @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers for more information!

Challenge rules:

Pick a prompt and write for that prompt in up to three 15 minute sprints. No writing outside the sprints until you have completed all three! After the 3 sprints are complete, you have 24 hours to edit (which can include some new writing to smooth transitions, etc). After those 24 hours, post what you’ve got! More information on the challenge here!

Prompt: 

“Stop being cute, I’m annoyed at you for making me work.”

Marinette glared at the clear blue eyes that blinked innocently at her. “Stop being cute, I’m mad at you for making me work.” 

Bach tilted his head slightly, but made no other reaction. 

“I guess the one nice thing about having a deaf dog,” Marinette sighed, “is that I don’t have to feel guilty for complaining, because you can’t tell.” She tossed another empty bag of stuffing over her little couch to join the rest behind it, where Bach wouldn’t get tangled up in the trash. She’d get Luka to retrieve the empty bags later. Then she looked back to the fleece in her hands, picked up the needle, and began stitching the last opening closed with the same careful stitches she would have used if she were working on a couture dress and not a dog bed. 

She paused, and then sighed, and then reached a hand out to rub between Bach’s ears. His eyes went all squinty and his tongue lolled out as his tail wagged and he did a little full-body wiggle without actually breaking his sit. “Good manners,” Marinette smiled, though she knew Bach couldn’t hear the compliment either. It had been some work, training him not to jump on her while she worked. They’d had one or two close calls with scissors and needles and other sharp things, and he couldn’t hear her shrieking, “No, Bach, sharp! Sharp!” Fortunately, they’d managed to teach him some manners before he got big enough to make injury unavoidable.

Marinette bit down on her smile as Bach shuffled closer, technically not breaking the rules, as his behind never left the floor, but soon his chest was pressed against her legs and his head was resting on her knee. 

“Oh, not the chin,” Marinette whined, carefully placing the last few stitches. “You know I can’t resist the chin.” She tied off her thread, cut it, and carefully set needle and scissors both out of the way. “Okay, okay,” she grumbled, bundling the large, poofy bed off to the side on the couch so she could bend over and press her lips to the top of Bach’s head, ruffling his ears with both hands. Bach began to wiggle all over, tail wagging wildly, and pant, pressing harder into her now that she was giving him attention.

“You’re so spoiled!” Marinette scolded him in a high-pitched voice. “Yes you are! Spoiled spoiled spoiled! I spent all this time making this for you and we both know you’re just going to lay on the floor, aren’t you? You big goof! You’re going to be glad you have this nice comfy bed when it gets cold outside and that floor is freezing!” 

She pulled back as Bach began to get a little overenthusiastic, making his funny little vocalizations and starting to make little hops to lick at her face. “Ew,” Marinette groaned, but she was laughing. Still, she pushed him away, made sure she had his attention, and signed for him to sit. He did, but Marinette could have sworn he was pouting about it. “Good boy,” she said and signed, and then scratched his ears. His eyes followed her as she picked up the bed, fluffed it out, and then laid it on the floor. “All right, let’s give it a try.” Marinette said and signed, “Come,” and Bach nearly lunged to her, dancing all over his new bed until Marinette gave him the sign for “down.” He laid down, looking up at her expectantly, paying no attention to his extremely comfy new bed, color-coordinated to match the studio.

Marinette couldn’t help smiling. “Well, at least you fit in it. For now. You better not get much bigger, furball.” 

“You could have just bought him one, you know.” 

Marinette looked up at the familiar, warm voice, to see Luka leaning on the doorframe and smirking at her. 

“I could not,” she muttered. “And you know it. Besides, I couldn’t have found anything to match the room half as well.” 

Luka chucked, and reached over the flick the lights off and on. Bach looked around, spotted his daddy, and flew from Marinette’s arms with an exuberant, if slightly odd-sounding, woof. He stopped himself just before he jumped up, but sat at Luka’s feet instead as he had at Marinette’s, his whole body once again wiggling. “Good boy,” Luka said and signed, and got down on his knees to take his turn ruffling Bach’s ears as Bach licked his face enthusiastically. “Ew,” Luka grunted, keeping his lips closed as he tried to turn his face away. He’d learned that lesson the hard way. 

“How was work?” Marinette asked, pointlessly smoothing out the newly-finished dog bed.

“Work was work,” Luka sighed, with a little shrug. “It was okay. Nothing monumentally stupid today.” He grinned. “The only diva in the studio was me, for once.” 

“Ooh, that sounds like a story.” Marinette lifted her eyebrows, and Luka winked at her.

Bach, deciding Luka had been sufficiently greeted, bounced between Luka and Marinette. They both laughed at the wiggly white furball, who despite being rather large for the room, managed to avoid knocking over anything important. 

“Well, wife,” Luka began, and Marinette still felt a little frisson of pleasure at the title, “what do you say we take this goober for a walk? Looks like he could stand to burn off the energy, and I could definitely stand to stretch my legs after spending all day in the studio.” 

“Sounds good to me, husband,” Marinette giggled back, feeling a bit of satisfaction at Luka’s grin when she said it. “But go change before you say anything to him about it.” 

“Right,” Luka got up, and wiped a sleeve across his face with a slight grimace. “I’ll change and wash my face and then we can go.” 

Marinette nodded, and tried not to be too put out when Bach pranced out of the room after Luka, shoving his head under Luka’s hand shamelessly and nearly knocking Luka into the hallway wall. 

Half an hour later they were strolling along, Marinette’s arm linked through Luka’s, and Bach’s leash in his other hand, while the big white dog zigzagged down the sidewalk, sniffing everything in reach. 

“I think maybe we better make a stop at the park,” Luka chuckled, watching him. “He’s pretty fired up.”

“I didn’t take him out as much today as I should have,” Marinette admitted. “I had so much to do. I really only took short breaks to work on his bed for a few minutes here and there when I couldn’t take it.”

“He’ll be fine after a few laps around the park,” Luka reassured her, squeezing her arm against his body lightly. “Some days are just like that. We knew it would be a challenge when he got bigger.”

“We did,” Marinette agreed, pressing closer to Luka, so that he slipped his arm free of hers and put it around her waist instead. “But you just couldn’t resist.” 

“Neither could you,” Luka grinned. “It’s not so bad, though? Even if it was kind of...spontaneous.”

“Stupid?” Marinette said wryly. “Impulsive? Completely impractical?”

“Unexpected,” Luka countered. “Even though it wasn’t the plan. It still worked out, didn’t it?” He looked down at her, and Marinette had to take a moment before she could look up and smile at him.

“It really did,” she admitted, her voice thick with emotion. “I should know by now that some plans just aren’t meant to be.” 

Luka leaned down and kissed her—quickly, because Bach hadn’t noticed their stop and jerked them forward again. 

Luka chuckled as they started walking again. “What’s life without an unexpected turn or two?” 

Marinette snorted. “I certainly wouldn’t know, thanks to you.”

“It’s not all my fault,” Luka reminded her, letting go of her long enough to tweak one of her earlobes. “You came with your share of surprises yourself, you know.”

“You love it.” Marinette elbowed him.

“I love you,” he replied easily, settling his arm around her shoulders. “That’s more than enough to make up for the extra helping of chaos.” 

“I thought a streak of chaos was a requirement for becoming a Couffaine.” 

“It kind of is,” Luka laughed, thinking of his unconventional family. “But it didn’t have to be that wide.” He grinned at her. “Overachiever, as always.” 

Marinette sniffed, putting her nose in the air. “I hate to do things halfway.” 

“Oh, I do know that,” Luka drawled, giving her a sidelong wink. “A little bit of planning, a little bit of chaos, and more enthusiasm than this little body ought to be able to hold.” He squeezed her shoulders. “That’s my wife.” 

Marinette tried to hold back the ear-splitting grin that wanted to break out, the one that was too large for her face and showed too many teeth, but she couldn’t do it. She leaned into Luka and pressed her face into his shoulder, trusting his arm to guide her. 

[tsuisou-no-despair]

Tsuisou’s Theory Time: Three-Way Thunderdome?

So, time for a theory that’s a little bit out there, and yet is still mostly just refining an existing theory that someone else made.

After Episode 14 and the introduction of the Onigari-no-Ryuoh, it’s pretty apparent that there’s more than one looper that’s going to show up and vie for the sword for the sake of their own goals. We’re already intimately familiar with our first looper, Rika. The other looper’s identity is not yet known, but the main theory, expounded on by myself and others, is that it’s Satoko. This would explain a lot about how suspicious she’s been, though the why isn’t clear yet. (Not to mention that Episode 16 makes that whole notion simultaneously a lot more and a lot less clear) (EDIT: Well, Episode 17 pretty conclusively answered this question!)

But what if... there’s a third looper in Hinamizawa?

So, I’m not the first person on Tumblr to suggest that Rena might be a looper - some searching seems to point to this post being the first one at least circa Episode 15, and therefore I’m giving the credit to @bat-itude​ (until further information comes in). The screenshots they took cover the interesting nature of the scene at Angel Mort, and I don’t have much to add there.

So, where is there to cover, then?

Episode 3 - The “USO DA!” Scene

One of Higurashi’s signature scenes got a new and interesting tweak in Onidamashi. In Onikakushi, the scene progresses and gets more and more tense before Rena loudly calls Keiichi a liar. Immediately after that, she gives him a creepy “we all have secrets too :)” before saying that it’s time to head back. (See 7:15 onward in the below scene - I confirmed that it’s basically the same progression in the manga)

Whereas in Gou, there’s something interesting between the accusation and the scene’s coda:

After accusing him of being a liar, Rena gets up in Keiichi’s face and makes an almost desperate statement about how hard it is for her to live a normal life. Then she turns, makes her cryptic statement, and leaves.

Now, others have commented that the things she says are lines from Tsumihoroboshi. Given that the episode immediately after also brings up Tsumihoroboshi-based information (namely, Rena’s devotion to her father), this might just be a breadcrumb, a primer to get the audience thinking five arcs ahead. Indeed, if it wasn’t for Episode 15 putting the idea of a looping Rena into my head, I’d have left it at that.

But it’s still a very interesting choice, tweaking what might be the most famous scene from Higurashi, and it would take on a whole other context if it turns out that Rena’s been trying to be normal for far longer than Keiichi could ever know.

“...and I’ve been trying so hard. I’ve been trying my hardest for so much of my life.”

(Look at the face she makes in the manga. If you told me that was her being absolutely exhausted from living out dozens of horrible Hinamizawas, I’d believe it)

Another thing I like (and it might not be anything, but I like it) is that through this lens, there ends up being a parallel. A looper, venting to Keiichi about their personal frustrations with how their extended lives have been going in their own way, as their eyes become alarming and unnatural...

Other Thoughts:

Mostly I wanted to focus on Episode 3 but I have other thoughts on the idea:

Another episode that takes on an interesting new context is Episode 13. Again, I’d have just left it as Rena screaming at how uncaring and cruel the world is if the idea wasn’t put into my head beforehand. If Rena’s a looper, this could be a mix of that and venting about how cruel and senseless this mystery is being.

(The following is me writing up what looper!Rena would be like and is probably distinctly non-canon)

I don’t think that Rena has anyone like Hanyuu or the witches facilitating her looping. I think she’s like Keiichi in that her memories are bubbling up naturally, except at a much greater level, and she’s hit the point where things start clicking and she hits looper status. She’s ultimately on her own side, but her motivations are “save myself and everyone from the loop so we can have a happy life”, meaning that she’s aligned with Rika barring a change on the latter’s part.

If this is the case, I don’t think she’s anywhere close to Rika’s level of recollection of past arcs. It’s probably a relatively small number of loops and events she’s remembered - it’s just that she’s bright enough to connect the dots and perhaps remembers just enough of what Rika’s said to extrapolate that she’s been in this hell for centuries.

Rena doesn’t have the experience of looping that Rika does, but she also doesn’t really need it. She’s already an expert at hiding her own feelings and understanding others.

A looping Rena with a flawed recollection could go a long way towards explaining why Onidamashi’s smaller changes exist - something as simple as a “hey, we shouldn’t mention Satoshi to Keiichi” to Mion in private would explain why he’s never mentioned, for instance. Ditto for the “needle” prank.

So, what about the elephant in the room that is Episode 4? How Rena could get there despite her looping depends on the source of her L5 (and whether or not it exists). If she’s getting incited into it like those in Episode 15 almost certainly were, she’d have no way of seeing it coming since it’s new, and her memories of Rika’s good-heartedness could be just enough to get her to dismiss whatever’s pointing her at Rika. If it’s just that she’s going through effectly Tsumihoroboshi off-camera... well, she’s not perfect. Looping doesn’t make you inherently immune to Hinamizawa Syndrome, and “think about how to make sure this time loop doesn’t go to hell” probably doesn’t win against “protect my dad” in the moment.

At the end of the day, I think it might end up being Rena going up against Rika’s adversary and possibly even Rika herself if the latter ends up fighting for an unhealthy idea - which, if my Majodamashi-hen theory is right, would mean Rena going up against any combination of Lambda and maybe Bern.

Honestly, the main reason that I’ve had this theory is... well, I like it. There’s something about the idea of Rena, the mascot of Higurashi as a franchise, standing up against part of the Umineko cast and telling them in no uncertain terms to leave her friends alone and let them be happy resonates with me and brings a smile to my face. That’s all.

[lonelyreputation]

What about if you were in danger and the police rescued you? And after a long night you finally see Shawn and reunite with him. What would be his reaction? (Do this like the period one) 🥺 Im just in a cutesy protective huggable softy Shawn mood

hello hello we’re gonna ~tweak this just a tad bc we are #DefundThePolice and put that money into better equipped social services on this blog 

(also it’s a little lengthy, nothing ~too long, but I don’t want it clogging up people’s dash so that’s why I put the keep reading tab on)

 ((also it’s not edited so!!! heads up for chaotic writing!!!))

OKay so Shawn would be on a short little promo radio tour to promote his new song and you would just be back home in Toronto doing what you usually do. But then one day you noticed someone discreetly following you and then you noticed it again and again over the next few days and it wasn’t until you were walking with Aaliyah down a street lined with shops that you noticed that the person had a camera so you nudged Aaliyah “I don’t want to scare you, but I think that paparazzi has been following us…And I've noticed them before.”

And so she would be really concerned and her first question would be “have you told Shawn?” and you just shook your head bc you were used to paparazzi but it was weird that they had been following you ~without Shawn present. Aaliyah thought it’d be a good idea to cut the walk short and lose the photographer, so you were making your way toward your car and out of nowhere the paparazzi jumps out and starts asking you a lot of personal questions and getting into your personal space and you’re trying to be polite, not wanting to give the paparazzi what they wanted––a reaction out of you.

And as you were getting into the passenger seat of Aaliyah’s car, the paparazzi yanked your elbow and you were pulled out of the car.  You were shocked and really really scared and Aaliyah started yelling about how Shawn would press chargers against them and they eventually ran off.  You quickly got back into the car in silence, arms crossed over your chest, as Aaliyah started driving to get as far away from the paparazzi as possible. She kept asking if you were alright, but you didn’t say anything bc you were totally freaked.  You had come across your fair share of invasive paparazzi and crazed fans, but none of them had touched you so violently.

Aaliyah took your silence that you were not handling the situation well so she called her mom to explain the situation to her and give her a heads up that they were on their way to the house. Aaliyah called Shawn next and he answered with a chipper, “Hey, Ley, what’s up? Done spending the day with y/n?” 

You cringed in your seat and Aaliyah offered you a sad smile before talking with her brother, “That’s the thing…there was an…incident.”

“Incident?” his happy voice dropped and you heard him walk away from wherever he was because the sounds of people talking grew further away and all you heard was silence, “What happened?”

“What time do you get in? Aaliyah ignored his question.

“We’re finishing up something now––I’ll be home tonight––Aaliyah, what happened.”

And so Aaliyah explained the situation to Shawn; how you were on a walk and told her about the person following the two of you and how you mentioned to her that it wasn’t the first time you saw them following you. Shawn was silent on the other line for a solid five minutes after Aaliyah stopped talking. You could feel how angry he was through the phone. You could just picture his jaw clenched, fist balled tight by his side, and eyes staring straight ahead with a murderous glare.

“Y/n?”

It was the first thing Shawn said to break the silence.  His voice sounded strained, full of worry, with a hint of failure laced in.  He kept thinking to himself how he failed to protect you.

You didn’t realize how much the situation truly frightened you until heard the sound of his voice and you brought your hands up to your face as you let out a sob. 

“Aaliyah? What’s happening? Is she hurt? What––”

“We’re just pulling up to Mom’s now, we’re safe, she’s just shaken up.” Aaliyah said as she put the car in park.  She reached a comforting hand over to rub up and down your back.

“I’ll be home––” from the speaker phone in Aaliyah’s car, you could hear Shawn pushing through a door and running down a hallway, “Andrew! Andrew, I need to be on the next flight to Toronto––I don’t care––Cancel whatever––A fucking paparazzi physically hurt her I need be home.”

You heard Andrew making some phone calls on the other end and after it was confirmed that Shawn would be home within three hours, the call was ended and you sat in her car crying for a little bit longer.  Once you felt your tears dry out, you and Aaliyah walked into the house where Karen was waiting for you with a cup of tea, one of Shawn’s sweatshirts and an icepack for the bruising that was already starting to show up on your arm.

You stayed on the couch, Aaliyah sat next to you with an arm wrapped around you because she didn’t want you to be alone.  You don’t know how long you stayed on the couch with her, but you heard the door open with so much force that it hit hard against the wall and saw a glimpse of Shawn running right past you and to the kitchen where Karen was.

“Where––She’s here, right? Where––”

“She’s in the living room.” 

You heard his steps pound on the floor as he ran back to the front of the house.  You looked up and saw that his hair was a mess, probably from all the times he was running his fingers through it out of stress, and his shirt was wrinkled and half untucked from his jeans.  Aaliyah gave your shoulder a squeeze before she slipped away and Shawn was fast to take her spot on the couch.

When you felt his touch, your silent façade crumbled and you cried into his chest. Sure, the whole ordeal with the paparazzi left you frightened, but you felt more safe than ever with his arms wrapped around you. 

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you––I don’t know why they thought that was okay––I’m sorry––I have Andrew contacting places to see if they have outside security footage––I’m so sorry.”

Every time you opened your mouth to tell Shawn to stop apologizing bc it wasn’t his fault, you would only cry more, so you didn’t say anything.  When you felt your cries start to dwindle away, you felt your eyes flutter shut, exhausted from what happened during the day.  You felt a kiss be pressed against the top of your head, “Sleep.” Shawn whispered as he kept you held close to his chest.

And even though the situation you had found yourself in that day wasn’t ideal, you knew that Shawn was doing everything he could to find out who the person was that hurt you.  And you knew that he wouldn’t let anything happen to you, he loved you too much, so you fell asleep in his arms feeling as safe as ever.

[adam-t-cox]

Self Publishing Overview

Alrighty,

Time to talk about self-publishing. What is it? How do I start? And why on earth would I want to do all that work?

In self-publishing you are going to wear all the hats. Every. Single. One. unless you pay someone else to wear one for you ie. a professional cover artist or designer. So, this will be very labour intensive for you and take a lot of your time. If you are working full-time like I was going into this, then be prepared for a lot of late nights or very early mornings to get the work done.

You are responsible for every step through the process and the very first one might seem like a nonstarter for most of you, but I’ll explain why its very important later in this post. Here’s the list of steps:

1. Read and understand the legal agreements for each service of each platform you are planning on publishing on!

2. Commission a professional copyeditor.

3. Commission a professional artist or cover designer, possibly both. And get the process started, this could take a month or more to complete.

4. Create accounts with all of your platforms.

5. Create an account with your countries ISBN regulatory body.

6. Get the ISBN numbers.

7. Format your paperback and save it as a print-ready PDF.

8. Order proof copies of the paperback version of your book.

9. Format your eBook and compile it into a .ePub file.

10. Make sure all of your materials for publishing are ready. (All artwork, covers, and text files)

11. Review and make any necessary changes on each format.

12. Publish your work and celebrate all of your hard work. You’ll deserve a weeklong vacation by the end of it.

13. Apply for your copyright! it’s cheap and easy compared to the alternative legal fight you may have if you don’t!

Now I’ll be going into more detail on each of these (excluding #1) in later posts but for now I’ll give a brief overview of what to expect from each one.

First, reading that damned legalese. This is something you want to do with a large pot of coffee, and a giant bag of peanut M&M’s. I won’t sugar coat it, reading this crap sucks. I hated it, but I’m glad I did read it. This is the binding agreement between you and the platform you will be using. It details the terms of the agreement, the rights and responsibilities of each party involved in the agreement, and any penalties that will be incurred if the agreement is broken. The penalty part is for you, none of these entities are going to be held liable for anything that happens to you or your work. Read these agreements carefully! The three platforms I used have agreements that were easy to read, understand, and had nothing I didn’t expect to see in them. One platform, who I won’t name because their legal department can be a bunch of dicks most of the time* was super sketchy in their agreement. It was about three times the length of the others, and basically gave them a lot of rights they shouldn’t have when it comes to your work.

On the positive note, there was some great stuff in there detailing DRM or Digital Rights Management and how each platform would take steps to ensure your work is protected online. Two of the platforms also have programs in place to ensure your book is accessible to libraries around the world, which is pretty cool and great because who doesn’t love libraries. They’re awesome.

Next a copyeditor. This one is easy. You suck at editing, admit it, and move on. Hire a professional and your work will be 10x better.

Probably at the same time as the copy editor, commission a cover from an artist or designer or both. I’ll go into more detail later, but this is important for obvious reasons as it’s the face of your book. Its going to take a while to make so start the process early on.

Next, while you are waiting, create the accounts with all of your chosen platforms. It may take up to two weeks for your account and banking information for payments and tax forms to be processed and approved. So again, get this done early.

Also find your country’s ISBN regulatory body. US: Bowker. Canada: Library and Archives Canada. Create an account and wait for it to be approved. Again, this can take you to two weeks. When its approved request (Canada) or buy (US) your ISBN numbers. You’ll need one for each format you publish your work in. Hardcover, paperback, and eBook all need their own numbers.

Now onto formatting. This is easily a weeks worth of work for each edition (I’m talking outside of your normal life responsibilities here work, family, sleep etc.). My suggestion is once you get back the copyeditor’s notes start this for your paperback version first.

Once the paperback is formatted you’ll need to submit your PDF’s for the cover design and body of the book and order proof copies so that you can check the look. Artwork brightness or colour profile might need tweaking, or the margins may need adjusting. Depending on which country you are in this can be a hassle. Thanks to Covid and the Canada-US border being shut down it took nearly two weeks to get my copy whereas someone in the US could have theirs in two days.

While you wait for the proof copies you’ll need to format your eBook. This process is complicated, and a total pain in your butt, be prepared for the suck. I’ll have a very detailed post on this later on. Long story short: Use Scrivener it’s the cheapest option to get the job done, they have good articles, and the finished product looks great.

Now let’s say you didn’t snap your laptop in half and throw it over a bridge after all of those frustrations and what is now probably months of work. You’ve got everything organized, and ready to publish. What’s next? What are you forgetting? What do I do now?

PUBLISH IT!

Your work will be up for review on each platform, some will go live before others, but it’s done. Congrats. Apply for your copyrights update your ISBN logbook and call it a day. Take a week off, you deserve it.

Now after all that you might ask: Is this really worth it?

Yes, yes it is.

At the end of the day, I am biased on this subject. I loved and hated the process of getting this thing done, but I was so happy when I was holding a copy of my book in my hands after eight years of work. If you want specific reasons how about these:

1. Full Creative Control:

You are in charge and have full rights to do whatever you want with your work. You get to publish it with every little amazing thing you put into your book, and no one can tell you to change it. Your cover art is your choice, the fonts are your choice. This book will feel completely and wholly yours from cover to cover.

2. Bigger Royalties:

As a self-published author you set your prices for each of your works. You also get a bigger share of the profits. Traditional may give you up to $1 if you are lucky and a damn good author. Self-publishing even with your prices sitting well below sale prices in brick and mortar stores you’ll see a bigger margin then that.

3. Bragging Rights:

Self explanatory really, at this point you are amazing, no one can deny that. If they try, stuff a copy of your book in their mouth.

And again, that’s enough typing for one afternoon.

Hope this enlightens you a bit, more good stuff to follow in later posts,

-Adam

P.S. The next post will be focused on starting the search for a literary agent.

P.P.S. *Hint: it rhymes with schnapple.

[jjaeong]

Color-Correction Post (50 Followers Edition).

(Posting this through my laptop because my phone kept crashing when I change the colors or even link the source?)

DISCLAIMER: I am not a professional, this is post was created just to put into perspective how I always tweak the colors in each GIF I attach to my fics. I just wanted to share this because it’s honestly satisfying with the end result (and in celebration of 50 followers).

Before I got into this entire GIF in fics thing, I thought that it was cool how there’d always be a GIF attached into what I’d always read on this site—I’ve observed how it somehow made it easier to get into whatever it was you were reading when there was some visualization attached to it (no matter how lightly written the fic is). And I’ve done this “writing template” with the two borders and the gif in the middle—but I don’t consider the fic on my other account as influenced as this account because it was just literally one drabble (if you find it—hmu lmao).

Also, I think I mislead you guys about my last writing account being back in 2014 (but honestly, I don’t remember any other time than my last drabble in the Summer of 2020—I had a lot of things going on since I started attending University).

But that’s a story for another time.

I just like the idea of incorporating the right visuals in my fics because—other than I don’t seem to have anything else to do (lmao)—I just found it easier to write with what I can see with the imagery, and so I thought that it would be cool if my readers would get to experience the same thing and not just in my head, you know? 

Honestly this sounds so taxing and it looks like I’m putting too much effort into it but.. It’s art? This blog is a passion project that had just been brought to life— something we can always come back to when we feel like doing so.

Anyways, here’s the step by step process of making the GIFS.

One. Finding The Right Visualization.

I’m not strict in finding a source, usually I’d be watching loonatv and I’d suddenly be hit by the scene like—oh, that looks like it’ll fit in this idea that I thought about earlier. But what I am strict about is if I can find a better angle (this goes with the fan site sources and etcetera), because it usually starts from “this looks nice” and should end with “okay, it’s time to write about it” but sometimes, sadly it would end with “I don’t feel that great about the plot idea though”.

But for the series stuff (such as The Heiress which is currently ongoing) it’s harder to find more cinematic shots that fit the mood. I try my best on finding a video that would set the foundation of the fic before going ahead and downloading the videos from a separate online video converter.

I also make sure to take note of the dates, the links and specially the channel name or basically the source because if I found the shot pretty and just took it without giving credit—I admire these non-profit(?) fan sites (I love vantablack’s fan cams of Hyunjin the most) so that’s why I started to include sources. Simply appreciating the craft.

Two. Color Correcting By The Fic’s Tone.

The thing that I honestly do not like the most is the fade(?) effect that loonatv adds to their videos, I’ve noticed how they always applied this because it makes the girls somewhat “brighter” but it takes away their more.. Natural colors. The lighting in this shot was bright enough to somewhat strengthen the fading effect that they put—but the thing I keep feeling upset for is that you lose a bit of the natural setting that the girls themselves make brighter.

So if it’s a light fic, a happy one shot like Rest Easy Love, I’ll Always Be Your Favorite Girl, I added a warmer tone to the GIF.

(I think I corrected it some more after recording this on my screen, but you guys get the point lmao sorry).

And when it’s a more darker type of fic, this is an example of how I envision the lighting would be like The Heiress effect (which I applied to this exact GIF just for comparison). That’s all to it when I CC—just keep in mind the vibe of the fic, adjust the lighting and etcetera, and finally add the effects if you have them.

Three. The Cinematic Border And Final Export.

I found it easier to just adjust the video itself under the border to fit it instead of cropping because it really takes so much space when you crop it. You’d barely get a full decent view so I just drag and adjust it. 

After I’ve finished the video, I then export the file and send it to my online archives or via cable to my phone (when I’m in a hurry). The reason why I upload it on a cloud is that sometimes after I edit the video, I tend to burn myself out so I can’t be bothered to turn it instantly into a GIF.

I use my phone to convert the video into a GIF because whenever I use my video editing software it tends to not upload in this site, and after looking for the reason why—turns out you can only upload up to 15MB of your GIF here—I just convert it on my phone because it’s the quickest when it comes to compressing the file.

Then I open my drafts and attach it there along with my borders, and that’s about it.

At this point I think now you guys know why I take my time to post and follow through my chapters (because I like to wait for the inspiration to hit before I start writing, and that I look for clips that will help me visualize better)—but I just want to say that one day we’ll reach a bigger audience, there will be more people expecting quality from this blog and as much as I’d hate to admit it, I am aware that it will take a toll on me.

But that will never stop me from loving these girls because they’ve been nothing but a positive source of happiness from me—I’ve been through so much last year and they somehow made me feel like myself again, and that’s such a big impact in my current situation right now and this is how I want to express myself in loving them.

I want nothing other than to give these girls a positive light in this blog, and though times may be rough we’d still have these Y/N fics to come back to when we feel like we’re not living the Y/N life in reality.

And I know this is a lot of talk for a small following—but someone out there will always read your notes, no matter how silly it will be there will always be a reader that will like your work even if you don’t feel confident in your writing.

Because if your following is the reason you’re writing, then write for them.

If you’re writing for yourself just as I am—do it.

As long as there is passion inside of you, pursue it. Even if it’s just writing Y/N fics while you’re balancing too many things at once.

Stay passionate, that’s all I truly had to say.

You guys are cool.

Laters,

JJ

>ovc: loonatheworld (171212)

https://youtu.be/eUeFUBy40ow

[doyelikehaggis]

ALL OF THE WIP TITLES YOU POSTED LOOK. SO. GOOD. i'm going to limit myself to three - can i ask for three at once? is that chill? okay well i'm gonna ask anyway and you can choose one/two/all three! so here we go: "High School Musical: The Reunion: Glee Edition", "Prison World Trio", and "Shorpanga Wedding." <3 <3 <3

YOU'RE ALWAYS COMING IN HERE AND MAKING ME LOVE YOU. Of course you can ask for three, I'd have done the whole list just for you ♥️ zhhxhshz okay let's do this!! I'm gonna put a read more because it is Long

"High School Musical: The Reunion: Glee Edition"

It's occuring to me now just how misleading this title is even though it makes perfect sense to me 😭. So, this fic is actually a crossover between The Flash, Supergirl, and Glee! Basically, there's a reunion happening at McKinley and invites go out to both Barry and Kara as, in this universe, they were Sebastian and Marley (with a couple of tweaks). None of their friends are aware of their secret former lives as members of semi-successful high school glee clubs (Iris and Alex are the only ones because, well, they grew up with them)!

And to make it better: Barry and Kara didn't recognize each other either! So, you can imagine their great surprise when they both find out their high schools are hosting reunions on the same day. In the same town. In the same building. Drama ensues! They have some reunions with other ex glee club members, including one Music Meister (excluding one he-who-will-not-be-named for multiple reasons but one being that he was also in Supergirl and I'm not going out of my way to find a loophole in the plot that makes sense for him). Their friends find out! Songs are probably sung!

And here is your snippet:

He can't go. Barry decides it without even opening the email. Or the three Facebook messages, or the two voicemails, or the five texts. They're all from the same person, more or less. One of the messages is from Trent, and he feels a bit worse about ignoring that one than the rest, but he can't because the second he opens a single one of them, it's over.

The date for the reunion is in a week and he's managed perfectly to ignore it so far! If he just waits until the date passes, then he can reply to Trent and to Blaine with profuse apologizes, but he was busy, and he never got around to checking any of his emails or texts, but he really is so sorry to have missed it, maybe they can meet up just the three of them sometime soon? 

A deep sigh is pulled from between his ribs. He slumps back in his chair and closes his eyes, letting himself spin slowly.

"You should go," Iris insists. Barry opens his eyes and catches a glimpse of her across the room, leaning against his desk. Possibly accidentally touching evidence. Totally fine, not a problem at all. "Seriously, it's been ten years! I know that it's not Dalton and technically McKinley wasn't your school, but everyone you went to Dalton with will be there."

"That's the problem," Barry emphasizes, his hands dragging through his hair to grab the top of the chair. "I just... the thought of facing any of them now? After everything, after ten years?"

He just shakes his head, pressing his lips together. His stomach is rocking and he's aware that the spinning probably isn't helping, but he's also afraid that if he stops he might throw up. So he pushes himself with his foot and goes around again, only catching a blur of Iris' exasperated expression. 

"Things are different now!" she tries again. "You've seen Blaine and Trent! Look how much they've changed. Who's to say that it's not the same for everyone else? I mean, you're certainly not who you were when you went there -- you're not him anymore; Sebastian."

"Prison World Trio"

This is, unsurprisingly, a TVD fic. I decided, you know the only thing that could make Bonnie and Damon being trapped in the Prison World more interesting than it already is? If Enzo was there, too. So, essentially, he waits on the other side until Damon arrives because he's actually worried about him, but by the time Alaric has been sent through to the land of the living, the spell has been broken, leaving Damon and Enzo trapped along with Bonnie. Then bam! Prison World! Now, I don't have a clear idea of where I go from there, but I know that it involves domestic shenanigans, catching feelings + old feelings resurfacing with angst and arguments and Bonnie wanting to murder both of them! They will, of course, still meet Kai and that's a whole thing because it's Kai, but I still haven't decided an ending yet.

Stop! Snippet time!:

"Take him," Bonnie says to Damon. "Please. He's your murder buddy, not mine."

"Hold on, I still have a say in this," Enzo tries to protest. "And for the record, I am no one's murder buddy anymore. I wouldn't be here if I was, now would I?"

Damon groans, "Oh my god, let it go, we're stuck with each other now, alright? So, your little grudge isn't exactly going to do anyone any good, and if you haven't noticed, you're not exactly dead anymore, so would you shut up?"

"Oh, well I'm glad to know that my death is a mere grudge to you," Enzo quips back drily, throwing a hand up. "You sure you want me to come with you at all? By the sounds of it, you wouldn't even notice if I was gone, so how about you two go ahead and I'll just be on my merry way."

Unbelievable. Trust Enzo to kick up a tantrum at the most inconvenient of times. Damon looks to Bonnie to share in his exasperation, but she raises her eyebrows and presses her lips together in a clear display of not taking sides. Though her pointed silence and looking away feels a whole lot like tiptoeing onto a side. 

"Are you -- No!" Damon waves his hands. "How is splitting up going to help us? No, either you come with me, or you go with Bonnie. Your choice, but those are your only two options."

"I'm not exactly seeing how you're going to enforce that if I decide on neither," Enzo says with a shrug, and at this point, Damon's thinking he's just doing it to piss him off. Then again, that's usually his motivation. 

"I'll just..." Bonnie gives a vague motion behind ahead of her with an awkward smile and proceeds to try and edge away, "leave you two to it," 

"Wait," Enzo calls to her, staring at Damon, "I'm coming with you."

Damon stares back at him, arms spread. But Enzo just gives him one last look before walking away. Bonnie falters uncertainly and doesn't look too thrilled about this decision either but she just shrugs at Damon like she's sorry, then she goes after Enzo. Leaving Damon standing in the middle of the road on his own. 

Fantastic. Just the way he likes it.

"Shorpanga Wedding"

Title says it all, really, I think. We're at Cory and Topanga's wedding (this is Boy Meets World if that wasn't clear), and Shawn is obviously a mess because the two people he is in love with are getting married, but they don't know he's in love with them, and now his chance to say anything is about to be gone! I'm going to need to rewatch that episode before I can get back to this one because I can't remember a lot of what was said, but I know it's going to be extremely angsty with a happy ending!

Teeny tiny snippet:

Don’t go in. Shawn repeats the words over and over in his head, pacing the hall of the fanciest hotel he’s ever stepped foot in. But he came this far, didn’t he? He can’t let how he’s feeling get in the way of this. It’s Cory’s wedding. And… Topanga’s. His best friends. How can he not go in?

He stops pacing and looks down at the rings in the palm of his hand. If he goes in there, these rings will be on Cory’s and Topanga’s fingers for the rest of their lives. 

Groaning, he clenches his hand into a fist, feeling the rings dig into his palm. He starts pacing again until singing starts up around the corner. Oh god. What does singing mean at a wedding? That it’s over? 

But it can’t be, not without the rings, right? Or did they find replacements? Did they just assume that he would let them down, that he wouldn't show up, so they just went ahead without him?

There’s only one way to find out. 

Taking a deep breath, he turns the corner and walks through the hall. His heart leaps into his throat at the sight of the wedding taking place. Cory and Topanga at the altar together. Nausea sweeps over him, but he bites the inside of his cheek and ignores how disconnected his head feels from the rest of his body as he marches up the aisle towards them. He glances at the stage and notices Mrs Matthews on it, the source of the singing. Figures. 

Every step forward feels heavier than the last, and like he’s a roadrunner heading straight for the exact spot where the anvil is hanging, waiting to drop and crush him. Except seeing Cory and Topanga standing there, ready to get married, has already done that. 

This took me so long to answer but it has been so fun!! Thank you for asking for three at once, you're amazing and wonderful!

[danzinora-switch]

Writing Update

Well, I guess it’s less of a ‘writing’ update and more of a posting update. I had a plan for posting the next 3 chapters over the next two weeks, but since at least two of them still need a bit of tweaking I was feeling like the timeline I had set was a bit too ambitious for myself, considering that Christmas, my birthday, and New Year’s are all occurring during that time.

Then I realized that I’ve been working on this fic since AUGUST.

Like, the very beginning of August (technically late July). This will be five full months that I’ve been writing this. Which I barely realized, holy cow.

The second-longest story I’ve ever written took me three months. And that was rough draft only: I don’t think I did any editing/re-writing on that piece. This story has truly consumed me, and while I love it I’ve realized it’s been on my mind every single day for the last five months. Which is as incredible as it is a lot.

But tonight I’ve been finally able to get into the Christmas spirit, so to speak. Holiday figurings-out are finally all taken care of. December stresses are handled. I feel like I can finally relax. Relaxing does include writing, for me, but I think I need to step away from my posting plan, for a myriad of reasons (some practical, some emotional). I might post the next chapter before the New Year, but that would be it. It’s been a while since I’ve written and just written, without background thoughts on uploads, etc. I’m excited to do that again, especially as I’m working on the climax. Plus, holidays.

So cheers and thank you to everyone who has been following Monsters Among Us thus far; I’m still so ECSTATIC that people are enjoying it, and can’t wait to unleash everything still set in store. I won’t keep you in dire straits for too long, but for right now: Happy Holidays :)