#this took a good minute to write

[broadwaybalogna]

@calderacitylovers : “Prompts, you say?

New Ambassador of the Northern Water Tribe to the Fire Nation is hitting on Ambassador Katara. Suddenly the Firelord can’t take it anymore and is spurred into action.”

I love this prompt sm I pray I do it justice

Please please please send prompts in my asks!! I love y’all’s prompts so much I NEED them. I eat them up. I gobble them. Nom nom nom.

-

Katara was seventeen when Sinjun was sent from the northern water tribe to act as the northern water tribe ambassador in the Fire Lord’s council.

Sinjun was a tall and burly man with an incredible presence. The moment he entered the council room for the first time, he had grasped everyone’s attention.

While Katara had taken notice of the man, she was far too concentrated on her own work to pay him much mind during his first meeting. Other members on the council found themselves helping him around anyway, so Katara pushed the thought of him to the back of her mind.

The thought was pushed back to the front of her mind when he approached her after the third meeting. She attempted to remember all she could about the man who stood almost a foot taller than her.

“Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, correct?” He asked as he approached the girl.

“Yes. And you are Sinjun, from the Northern Tribe? How may I assist you?” Katara always made sure to keep her work relationships professional, making sure everyone saw her as a colleague and equal. She learned early on that the easiest way to be previewed as such was to make no personal connections in regards to her job. Zuko was her only exception to this decision.

“Ah, well-“ the man who was no younger than his mid twenties seemed taken aback, “you helped aid the Avatar in his journey to overtake fire lord Ozai, right? Now, I’ve only heard rumors, but you couldn’t have been older than sixteen at the time, am I right?”

“Well, I was fourteen.” She clarified.

“I see, so that’d make you seventeen now?”

Katara nodded, suspicious of the man’s motives.

“Well, that is admirable. You are truly a woman of fine culture.”

“Ah, thank you Sinjun,” she smiled, still sensing that something was off.

Later that night, Katara brought up her hesitations regarding Sinjun to Zuko. Though it may have just been a ruse to get him to spend time with her.

“And then he said I was a lady of ‘fine culture’. What does that even mean?” She huffed as she crossed her arms and angrily sat in one of the various chairs in Zuko’s office. “Woah, is this new? It’s very soft,” her attitude immediately changed as she felt the cushion from under her.

Zuko laughed at her change in behavior and lifted his head from the note he was writing. “Yes actually, I had it made from the same material your parka’s were made of in the southern water tribe,” he said, smiling.

Katara blushed. “Wow,” she said, readjusting herself to feel more comfortable in the chair, if that was even possible.

“Perhaps Sinjun just meant you are a great representation of the women in the water tribes,” Zuko finally proposed, bringing Katara back on track with her thoughts.

“Hmm, maybe. Something was just weirdly off about him. Ugh, it’s probably nothing.” She rolled her eyes at herself.

“No, I’ll have a couple of my advisors keep an eye out on him. If you say something seems off, I’ll trust your gut.”

Katara smiled, “thanks Zuko.”

“Of course.”

She ended up sleeping in his office while he worked. And Zuko eventually dozed off on his own over his desk.

-

Katara was seventeen and a half when Sinjun approached her asking about her birthday.

“It’s in a few months,” she absentmindedly responded as she wrote a few notes from their past meeting down. Sinjun had made it a habit to approach her every so often. Not often enough to raise a large amount of suspicion, but still often.

“So you’ll finally be an adult?”

Katara paused her writing to look up at him, confusion clearly written on her face. “Yeah…” she finally said, offering the man an awkward smile.

“It’s hard to believe how long it’s been since Sozins Comet.”

“Hm,” she thought to herself. It had been a long while, a little over three years now. She felt much older when she thought about it. She felt the weight of her lost childhood. She especially felt the weight of the world. If she told her younger self that the hardest part of this endeavor would be the politics following their victory, she would have laughed in her own face.

By the time Katara was taken back out of her thoughts, Sinjun was gone. Katara sighed and returned to her work.

That night, she slept in Zuko’s office again, but not before relaying the past events to her friend.

“-But he got me thinking, y’know, about how long it’s been, and how old I feel now.”

Zuko laughed, “you’re not even an adult yet, Kat. how is time already catching up to you?.”

“I suppose it’s the weight of the world,” she half-joked, even though it was somewhat true. The future of the world was literally up to Zuko’s council. One wrong move and everything would go up in flames.

“Yes, but I see it’s made you strong,” he commented, “have you been working out?”

“Just the usual cardio. I go out on runs right out there,” she said as she flexed her biceps, bent her wrist, pointed out the window in Zuko’s office.

They both laughed as they continued to share stories about the past few days.

This had grown to be a common occurrence for each of them. Katara would step into Zuko’s office at some point in the evening and they’d pass out not long after sharing stories and talking with one another.

It was good for them both to have a constant in the ever changing world. It provides grounding for the both of them.

-

It was Katara’s eighteenth birthday when Sinjun tried to kiss her. Well, it was less of a kiss and more of a ‘he leaned in a little too close with his eyes closed and Katara punched him square in the face before she could even think’ type thing.

A few members of Zuko’s council had planned a surprise party for Katara’s birthday and invited the entire council, including Sinjun.

The night went about as expected. They all played games, ate food, forced Katara to not talk about foreign policy, and worked hard to make sure everyone had a good time.

Perhaps somewhere along the way, Katara had made more personal relationships with her coworkers than she originally thought. Or maybe her absentminded comments about her life she said to her council members as they tried to spark conversation while she worked became too personal.

Overall though, Katara decided she would work harder to create better relationships with the people she would be working with for the years to come.

After coming to that conclusion, she decided to get some fresh air outside near the palace gardens. Music from inside could still be heard but she paid it no mind. She took a seat on a bench nearby a fountain that was just an inch too small to keep all the water contained. She took a few deep breathes and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, not a minute later, Sinjun stood before her.

“Lady Katara,” he greeted.

“Hello Sinjun.”

“Why are you out here alone and not inside?” He pried.

“I just needed a breath of fresh air.”

There were a few moments of silence before Sinjun spoke again.

“May I sit with you?”

“Actually, I was just about to go back inside-“ Katara said as she stood up and began to dust herself off. When she looked back up, Sinjun was just a couple steps away.

“Just a moment,” he insisted as he stepped closer to her. Katara felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand as she moved closer.

“Katara..” he took her hands in his own. Katara felt her face contorted into something resembling disgust. But Sinjun couldn’t see her because his eyes were closed and he was leaning in and-

“WHAT THE HELL!”

Katara stepped back and let out a gasp at the older man’s outburst.

“I’m so sorry- you were just there and I was here and then you-“

“I tried to kiss you!? Yeah, that was the point!”

Katara paused her sputtering, “What?”

“Oh come on! I’ve been waiting since you were seventeen for this!”

“Waiting?”

“Yes! Agni, you women are so complicated!”

Before Katara could muster up something to say, Zuko came running out

“Is everything alright? I heard someone yell.” His voice slowed as she approached the scene in front of him. He carefully analyzed both Katara and Sinjun, who were both a mess in their own respects.

“This girl needs to learn how to properly respect men. Especially men who are willing to be patient for them.”

“Patient!? I- since when-“ Katara began sputtering again, now on the brink of tears, clearly unaware of Sinjun’s actual intentions. Even though she had suspected something off about him, she never would have considered that he liked her.

“What do you mean by that?” Zuko attempted to clarify. He started making his way toward Katara who was now sitting back on the bench.

“I mean that I’ve been waiting a year for some mutual appreciation and all I’ve gotten is a punch in the face!” Sinjun exclaimed, “Talk some sense into the southern peasant,” he said as he began walking away.

Katara hadn’t heard the word peasant in a long time. So much so that it had become a foreign fern to her. But hearing it again brought back memories of the war she would’ve preferred to forget. A time when Zuko wasn’t by her side was a time she didn’t want to remember all that often, not after all he had done for her.

“Can I-“ Zuko finally said after a few long moments, gesturing to the seat beside Katara. She nodded her head that was now in her hands as she tried to wipe tears from her face.

“God, I’m so stupid. How couldn’t I tell he wanted more than just friendship?” She internally criticized herself.

“No one could tell.” Zuko said as he placed his hand on her back, rubbing up and down. “One thing I can tell now, though, is that Sinjun’s an asshole who won’t be on this council from now on, so long as I’m the fire lord. Katara chuckled at Zuko’s behavior. “Hey, I’m serious!”

“Yeah, and I’m a turtleduck,” she joked, sniffling a little afterward. “Thanks for coming, by the way.”

“Of course, Katara! I was worried about you y’know?”

“Yeah, I really just wanted some fresh air.”

Katara took a deep breath and sighed.

“It’s a beautiful night. It shouldn’t be ruined by one man.”

The little music that could still be heard from inside was slow. Katara closed her eyes again and swayed to the tempo of the song. After opening her eyes, she turned to Zuko. “How about a dance?” She spoke.

“I- what?”

“You said the night shouldn’t be ruined. A dance under the stars would certainly help make it all the more beautiful.”

Zuko sighed and stood up, offering his hand to Katara. “Sure, whatever. But I should warn you, I missed the years in the palace where I was supposed to learn how to dance.” Zuko said, making a nod to his past exile.

“I’d say you spent a good amount of time dancing around the Avatar, though,” Katara said as she smirked.

Zuko laughed and led her through a (mostly) graceful dance.

Eighteen was certain to be an eventful year for the waterbender. But with Zuko awkwardly stepping on her feet during a dance every now and then, she was sure she would get through it quite nicely.

[dishwasher09]

and they were narrative foils (oh my god they were narrative foils)

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE TELL ME YOU KNOW WHAT LES MIS I WILL CRY IF THE REFERENCE GOES OVER EVERYONE'S HEAD AGAIN PLEASE anywau kunizai as enjolras and grantaire,,, yayyyy

[seongminiz]

warning this is kinda dubcon idk how this fandom reacts to that since for lubityblr im almost the only person writing n i do what i want with it lmfaooo

but if i say ,, puppy hybrid!gyuvin n kitty hybrid!ricky teaming up against u (their owner) bc you're always so mean to them .... basically setting up a trap so the next time gyuvin makes a mess n ur punishing him for it , not even thinking abt where ricky is even though u literally told him to sit there n watch as u give gyuvin a handjob (that hes not allowed to cum from hello ofc) – maybe if he sits there all pretty n behaves you'll let him cum instead of gyuvin .. except next thing u know , you're pushed on ur back n ricky is on top of u , saying smth abt how you're always too mean to them n its abt time they get their revenge on u :(( they'll get u so desperate n not allow u to cum for hours ,, n sure , u could take ur control back but .. why would u want to when even when 'punishing' u for being mean owner they still make u feel so good :((

not to fujo out too much but .. them making out on top of u ..... :3

[svampira]

you could never hurt me

[roseytoesy]

Safe space 3

Sorry this has taken a while to get to. Life got busy and I wanted to really pour some emotions and comfort into this fic. So have this mess of emotions. Enjoy!

A comforting promise

They had found something so hidden and locked away that it was practically untouched other than rubble and dust from the slow decay around it. They were almost giddy with excitement. A way out. The executives elevator. Something only they and a select few could even know about, hidden behind 4 different thick safe doors.  Locked with 3 different scans, a key card, a code, and the omnihand of course. And after all of that, in a room that anyone over 6” would have to duck due to its closet size, was a glistening red elevator. 

EP quietly cheered to themselves, it seemed to still be in working order, with an easy access panel on the side too! They quickly slid the work pack off of their back, pulling out some welding tools and other tools as they got to work ensuring everything could still work. They got the door open and found the open shaft leading up into darkness and same downward, a draft wafting up, smelling of death. Then again with the piles outside the prison and the many corpses they had to pass to even get this deep into the factory it wasn't too uncommon of a smell.

They hesitantly pushed the call button, fingers crossed as the elevator shuttered to life. It came to them and opened its doors. The inside was a pale white cream and dark steel, covered with dust and looking fairly cold. They were about to step on when a yowl startled them. A large Nightmare critter was staring at them, a swarm of smaller critters forming behind them. 

EP yelped as a critter flew past them into the elevator, They grabbed their flare gun and shot, scaring most of the smalls away, but the Simon smoke bigger body did not move, the flare bouncing off its shoulder, a puff of smoky laugher hissing out of its open mouth. EP watched in horror as it got down on all fours and started to breathe in deeply, a seemingly impossible amount of air. They turned back, about to jump into the elevator when they tripped over their own legs. They were never very athletic and they could hear their coworkers snickering echoes. 

“Can’t even walk on the bridge, why the hell did boss think they were a good choice, watch them flail like a damn sad dear.” They laughed as they kicked the rope bridge. Only a small wobble, but EP stumbled hard, hands flying forward and Their hand jamming through the wooden planks, a snap and-

They shook their head remembering the danger they were in and awkwardly dove to the side as the Simon smoke released a fireball. Right into the elevator. EP screamed as it exploded, the shockwave blasting over them thanks to their half cover, the doors melting shut from the fire within, a creaking and screaming crashing sound echoed in the shaft as the elevator plummeted. Before EP could even Scream the Simon smoke beat them to it, as the other toys who got burned turned on him, They all scampered back down the twisting maze of rooms screaming and roaring.

EP sat there, adrenaline pumping and their breathing ragged, they turned to the elevator, slowly approaching it, as if there was some way to undo what had happened. The metal had cooled, a smoldering mass of metal and charred rubble was all it was now. Not even the call button had remained. EP sobbed, startling themselves at their own sound of defeat. They were so close, So close to getting out. 

Over the last week and a half they had helped fix things, built a plan for those who wanted to stay, helped catch and tame some of the critters near safe haven, and created a defense so strong the prototype couldn't even approach without setting alarms and traps off. But What EP really wanted was to leave, ever since Huggy came to life, they just wanted to leave. They weren't a true employee here, they just did repairs around the factory a long time ago, a nobody, as many would remind them. They continued to cry as the horrible memories swirled. Buried vision and cruel voices laughing at them. The sounds of warped laughter echoing in their ears calling them a pathetic piece of meat. 

It wasn’t until they heard some rumbling footsteps and the unmistakable sound of dough squishing quickly. They tried to get up but their vision swam, everything was red… No the smoke. They turned to the elevator and noticed something spewing out of it.  They stumbled away and into the soft hands of Doey. Who quickly took in their state and took them quickly to a nearby padded room. A 'therapy room.' more like an asylum. 

“Hey, EP, look at me.” Doey said calmly. EP still flinched in his hold, the nightmare gas changing their vision, too many eyes and sharp red teeth- they were breathing hard. Doey gently cupped their face, dough covering their eyes, they scratched at Doey before his calm voice was all they could focus on, they followed his guidance to breathe, to relax, that they are safe. Wanted. 

After a few minutes to calm down EP gently shifted in his hold to stand, Doey let them and made sure they were steady before retreating. His orange hand stayed somewhat nearby. 

“Mathew…” EP said quietly, holding the hand. Doey nodded, taking a seat near them, Head lowering a bit to be eye level. 

“Im here, We are here.” Doey said gently. 

“I- I need, I need a hug.” EP says feeling so tired. Pathetic. A voice whispers in their mind. They shake their head. 

“Outside hug or…” He left the question hanging the option there yet unspoken to try and not make things too awkward. Ep thinks for a moment before a soft smile graces their soot and tear smeared face, looking down at Doeys belly.

“Gotcha, Come on in I’ve got you. We’re here.” Doeys voice is soft and gentle as the hands on his belly shift and move, becoming more than just a pattern on his front, thickening enough to dig into the dough and create an opening by pulling the belly dough apart. A small crawl space opening up on Doeys middle. His normal large hands to the sides, like a low hug at the ready

EP can’t help the thankful smile they give Doey who just nods back, eyes closing in understanding. They could see the 3 sets of colors glowing faintly within the crawlspace as they entered. Quickly curling against a wall and patting the yellow head a few times, watching in awe as the dough closed around them. They shifted a bit more in the now enclosed space. 

The yellow head seemed like it wanted to lunch forward for a hug, but orange somehow beat them to it. As soon as EP stopped moving There was a presence wrapping around their front. Orange eyes looking downtrodden and understanding. The look alone sent new stings through EP’s eyes as tears formed. They curled around Orange, Mathew. Kevin staying back and Jack gently hugging a leg, unsure what else he could do. 

EP sobbed about being sorry. For failing and messing another thing up, for being the clumsy ditz everyone always called them. Mathew just holds them. Running a few hands down their back and arms. Assuring them that they didn’t fail, they still found a direct way out. And that they were ok despite the danger. After a while EP just sits back exhausted. Mathew still gently massaging their arms and Jack gently trying to wipe a few stray tears. 

“I just wanted to find us a way out. With the prototype cut off from ever reaching out of the labs, we can finally leave. But all the ways are so treacherous with the rubble and everyone in safe haven needing help.” They looked sadly into their hands. “It was so close... I was so close.” 

“We will help you get out.” Mathew said. Kevin and Jack looked at him surprised. After all it was him that made the tape reminding himself to stay to care for the other toys. 

“You will? But, safe haven, the prison-” EP started.

“Doesn’t matter. If we can leave, We can find a new, safe space. And we wouldn’t be abandoning Safe Haven if we could get everyone.” Mathew reasoned. 

Kevin looked a bit irked at first but just huffed and sank back into the wall. Doey moving toward Safe haven most likely. Mathew and Jack just sat with EP comforting them when the nightmares started to affect them. As they were lulled in and out of exhausted sleep from their adventure.

“Are we really going to leave mathew?” Jack asked, looking at the older personality. 

“I… Yes.” Mathew asked after a moment. It had been 10 years. 10 long years of just surviving, trying and losing so so many friends and resources. And here was finally a way out, not just for them, for everyone they could carry. So Mathew just sat in thought, molding his hand in different ways as Kevin took them all home to rest, to plan. Not like he didn’t want to leave either, but too many times have promises like that turned south. He would talk to Matthew about it later that night. 

He grumbled a bit as he swung from platforms and stretched openings to fit through thanks to their current passenger. But whatever. He would try to ignore how nice it felt to have them there, to feel his brothers other sides care for this person that was stuck down here too. Silently hoping that Mathew would have a good plan for them all.

[hoshiina]

HYOGA. 04

He was actually rather touch-starved, and this was no surprise considering his cold demeanor and stoic personality to continuously train. However, it wasn't until you came into his life that he realized he was. He was never going to admit it, but it was like magic when you first cuddled up against him or slept with him. The warmth he felt from deep inside his heart was an emotion he never knew he had. He craved your touch, yet he struggled to admit it. He struggled to ask for it. 

But not to fret, you’d soon realize. You’d realize the way his shoulders drop and the way he relaxes at your touch. You’d watch his expression soften subconsciously when he has his arms around you. You’d notice how his heartbeat would calm down and lull you asleep when you were by his side. All of which, would make you feel so incredibly special.

So please, don’t forget to hold him tight, because then, he won’t ever let you go.

[witchysniffles]

new year's eve

A/gathario ft. sick A/gatha being too stubborn for her own good. 8.7k words (💀) There WILL be a part 2 to this at some point, but given how long this took it might be a minute lol.

All of this was inspired by @flutterytickles's tags on this post about the idea of a professor AU and a New Year's Eve party, and when I say I took that and ran with it...😳

I am MORE than happy to yap about this AU forever, but really all you need to know for this is that everyone's teaching at a small, liberal arts college in Boston. A/gatha was hired as an English professor, but now mostly teaches American history through literature and print culture. R/io studied environmental science with a focus in botany and also poetry in school, and she took a pay cut specifically to teach at a school that would let her do both. Other than that, I feel like it's pretty self-explanatory. Enjoy!! <3

Please don't reblog to non-kink blogs! Minors DNI.

“So it’s not going to be a party,” Rio said. “At least not according to Lilia. But Alice and Jen will be there, and a few other faculty members and some of Lilia’s grad students, and Alice assured me there will be good food, lots of drinks, and probably karaoke if they can find a way to hook it up to Lilia’s TV. Sounds like it’ll be a good time.”

“Hmm,” Agatha hummed. Rio had her on speakerphone on her desk while she was tidying up her office, using the time that barely anyone was on campus to prep for the spring semester without anyone commenting on how many empty energy drink cans she was hauling out to the recycling bin.

“Well you know how I feel about karaoke,” Agatha said. Rio thought she heard the sound of her clearing her throat, but she chalked it up to static on the line. “But is Lilia actually inviting me or is this you asking me to come with you?”

“Both,” Rio said. “Lilia doesn’t have your number and she figured you wouldn’t be checking your work email over the holidays, so she asked me to ask you. And I would like it if you came with me.” Rio paused. “You know, if you want to.”

There was another little burst of noise on the line—this time it almost sounded like a sniffle—before Agatha spoke again.

“Well, I promised Nicky I’d take him to the parade and the fireworks at the Common tomorrow, but that’ll be over and done by eight.” Agatha paused and this time Rio was sure she heard a sniffle. “Let me talk to the kid next door, see if he can sit in after I put Nicky down and I’ll…”

Agatha trailed off, and Rio frowned.

“You’ll…?”

“Hh-hold on, I n-need—”

Rio could hear Agatha’s breath stutter, and then before she could even process what was happening, she heard what sounded like a poorly-stifled sneeze from a distance like Agatha was holding the phone away from her face.

“Bless you?” Rio still wasn’t a hundred percent sure she was hearing things right, but she still spoke loud enough for Agatha to hear and—she assumed—roll her eyes at. What she wasn’t expecting, though, was Agatha’s shaky voice when she brought the phone back.

“D-don’t,” she started. “I’m not…n-nah…not…hheh’EHTtschu!”

That was definitely, for sure a sneeze that time, and though Rio couldn’t see it, she could tell by the involuntary little groan that followed that Agatha wasn’t happy about it. Whether it was about sneezing in general or about Rio acknowledging it with another, more enthusiastic “Bless you!” was anyone’s guess.

“Ugh, sorry,” Agatha said after collecting herself again. “You were saying?”

“I think you were saying something about getting a babysitter? But, if you’re not feeling well we don’t have to—”

“I’m fine,” Agatha said firmly. “It’s just some gunk Nicky picked up somewhere. It’s probably just one of those twenty-four hour things, I’m sure I’ll be fine tomorrow.”

Rio was pretty sure that wasn’t how colds worked, but Agatha’s tone told her the topic was not up for discussion, and Rio didn’t feel like pressing the issue would be helpful. This was Agatha, after all.

Last spring when they’d first gotten paired up to teach an interdisciplinary studies course on floral symbolism in classic American literature and poetry, Agatha had neglected to inform Rio that she was horribly allergic to about half the flowers they’d be talking about, so Rio hadn’t thought twice about showing up to the very first class with a fresh arrangement of native wildflowers to sit on the podium between them as they took turns going over the syllabus.

Agatha had done an admirable job downplaying her reaction for most of the hour-long class, only stifling the occasional sneeze into near-silence over her shoulder, but the second class was dismissed, she’d dissolved into the single most dramatic, drawn-out fit Rio had ever seen, blushing furiously the whole time and still insisting she was fine when she could gather enough breath to speak.

Rio had run up to her own office to grab her own bottle of Zyrtec, sure the whole time that this was going to get the whole class cancelled, and her partnership with Agatha would be over before it had even properly begun. With the meds in her system, though, Agatha had pulled herself together shockingly quickly to teach her afternoon class, and to Rio’s surprise, not only did their joint class proceed as planned (after a serious, Rio-initiated discussion of what parts of the syllabus Agatha was and wasn’t allergic to—which Agatha was also blushing furiously through—and an Agatha-initiated tacit threat to never speak of the incident again), but Agatha had been grateful enough for Rio’s help to offer to repay the favor by taking her out to dinner.

One thing led to another, and now, nearly a year later, they were dating, all because Agatha was enough of a stubborn bitch about her allergies to not keep antihistamines on her.

Rio had never actually seen Agatha sick before, but she assumed she probably wouldn’t handle that much better.

“Hh-ITSchu!”

Another sneeze from Agatha drew Rio from her thoughts.

“Ble—”

“Not yet, I…he’ETshiu! Ugh, fuck.”

“Salud,” Rio said.

“Shut up,” Agatha grumbled. “I’m fine. Just let me talk to the kid next door. I would never say this to his face, but he’s a total loser, there’s no way he’s got plans. I gotta check if Hanukkah changes anything, but I’ll text you when I know?”

“Sounds good. Love you, and get some rest!”

She could practically hear Agatha roll her eyes before she shot back a, “Love you too,” and ended the call.

Not half an hour later, Rio’s phone lit up with a text from Agatha.

Teen’s free to babysit. Pick me up at 9?

It’s a date, she replied.

~**~

Agatha was already waiting on the front steps when Rio’s overpriced Uber pulled up in front of the elegant Beacon Hill brownstone. Her hair was down, falling in loose waves over her shoulders, and she was wearing lipstick­, which wasn’t unheard of, but the deep raspberry red shade of it made something in Rio’s brain short out, and suddenly her only thought was about how badly she wanted to fuck it up at midnight.

As she drew closer, though, she realized that the lipstick was a distraction—and a damn good one at that—from the subtle little signs of illness on the rest of her face. Her makeup was impeccable, but up close, Rio could see the shadows of dark circles under her eyes, the barely-there pinkish tint at the tip of her nose, the subtle crease in her foundation that showed just how often she'd been—

Right on cue, Agatha scrunched up her nose with a small sniffle, and judging by the way her hands twitched at her sides, she was really fighting the urge not to rub it. Rio would never say it out loud, but she was pretty sure it was one of the cutest things she’d ever seen.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey, yourself,” Agatha said. Those raspberry lips twitched upwards, as Rio wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her lightly on the cheek. Her skin felt a little warm for someone outside in the middle of winter. Rio couldn’t be confident it was high enough to be a fever, but she filed the thought away for later.

“So…,” Rio started as she pulled out her phone to look up Lilia’s address. “How were the fireworks?”

Agatha sighed heavily. “We didn’t end up staying. Nicky didn’t sleep well last night, which meant I didn’t sleep well last night, and we only made it halfway through the parade before he decided he wanted to go home.” Agatha sniffled and scrunched up her nose again. “Poor kid was practically falling asleep on his dino nuggets. I put him to bed and hh’he was out like a li-ihh­-light.”

The slight hitch of her breath drew Rio’s gaze upwards, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see Agatha scratching the bottom of her nose with her thumbnail.

“Oh poor thing,” Rio said, definitely not talking about Agatha; that would be ridiculous. “And how are you feeling? You sure you’re up for a wild party?”

Agatha rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “I think I can hiih-handle whatever Lilia’s got planned.”

“You sure?” Rio lowered her phone and met Agatha’s eyes. “Because we can just stay in, especially if you didn’t get much sleep last night. I hear they’re letting Andy and Anderson drink on CNN again this year, and we could do those Lego flowers from Christmas and just take it easy.”

Yeah, Rio thought to herself; that was a safe angle to approach it from. Asking outright if she was under the weather was a surefire way to get her to dig her heels in deeper, and while Rio was pretty sure that was going to happen anyway, she wanted to make sure Agatha knew she had an out if she wanted it.

As Rio had predicted though, Agatha shook her head.

“No,” she said. “I’m fine. I already missed the baby fireworks, and I don’t even remember the last time I got to go out for New Year’s, so I’m not missing this.” She punctuated her statement by audibly clearing her throat, and she glared at Rio for noticing. “And I feel fine,” she snapped. “Stop looking at me like that.”

“Ok,” Rio raised one hand in a mock surrender. “In that case, it looks like we have a choice between a pretty straightforward thirty minute walk, or we can take an Uber that’ll shave a whole five minutes off that time for…” she refreshed her app and her eyes widened in shock as she wordlessly showed Agatha the inflated price on the screen. “Suddenly I’m thinking it’s a great night for a walk. What about you?”

When she didn’t get an answer right away, Rio glanced up from her phone and took in the dazed look that had settled over Agatha’s features, the way those raspberry lips parted, one hand hovering in front of her mouth as her she scrunched up her nose once more in vain before—“hiET’SHhiew—‘ITSHhyu!” She aimed both sneezes into her elbow at the last second and then sniffled wetly as she rummaged around in her purse for…who the fuck still carried handkerchiefs in the twenty-first century?

“Bless you, bless you,” Rio said lightly, as Agatha blew her nose once, dabbing lightly at her nostrils to keep from completely destroying her foundation. Rio couldn’t help but notice that once she was done, she shoved the handkerchief in her pocket instead of putting it back in her purse.

 “Thanks,” Agatha muttered. “How long did you say the walk was?”

“Google says thirty minutes.”

Agatha gave a haughty sniff as she tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Closer to twenty if you walk like you live here,” she said. “I vote we do that.”

There was a part of Rio that thought about protesting further, but she knew it wouldn’t do any good, and besides that, Agatha was a grown woman who could listen to her own body. If she wanted to push herself for the sake of a stupid work party then who was Rio to stop her? And also, Rio selfishly really did want to mess up that lipstick against a backdrop of fireworks.

“Alright,” she sighed. “In that case, vámanos.”

With a swish of her long coat, Agatha set off down the block at such a pace that Rio had to jog to catch up.

~**~

Lilia lived on the top floor of a refurbished tenement building in the North End that was all decorative brick work and copper patina on the outside, with an interior that looked authentically pre-war. Which war exactly was anyone’s guess, but Rio was putting money on Civil.

The chilly night air had made both of their noses run, and they paused in front of the elevator to collect themselves. Rio pulled the sleeve of her sweater over her hand and swiped briefly at her nose. Agatha, on the other hand, took a bit longer to recover.

She’d been mostly alright on the walk over as far as Rio could tell—the fresh air really had seemed to be a good move—but now that they were back inside the dry heat of the building, it was clearly taking Agatha a second to gather herself. She had her handkerchief out and was running it on one finger under her eyes and around her nostrils, but her nose, it seemed had other ideas.

Her breath hitched once, twice, and she tipped her head back, her mouth just open enough that Rio could see she was pressing her tongue to the roof of her mouth to try to hold it back. It wasn’t enough, though, and Agatha let out a particularly vocal gasp right before she pitched forward with an itchy-sounding “hiih’IIShu!”

“Bless you,” Rio said.

“Ugh, thanks,” Agatha grumbled. “Must be the temperature change. I’m fine.”

She at least had the decency to flush as Rio eyed her skeptically, but before Rio could say anything else, Agatha was slipping the handkerchief back in her pocket, sliding open the metal grille in front of the elevator, and waving Rio inside.

“Can you just promise me something?” Rio asked as the elevator groaned and shuddered its way upwards. Agatha didn’t say anything, but she side-eyed Rio curiously. Rio took a deep breath and flexed her fingers at her sides as she said, “Promise me if you reach a point where you want to leave tonight for any reason you’ll tell me?”

“I’m—”

“I know you’re fine,” Rio said. “And I’ll let you be the judge of your own body. I’m just telling you that if you want an out you’ve got one, no questions asked.”

Agatha considered her words for a moment. Her lips were pressed in a thin line as she ran her tongue along the inside of her cheek, and then she sighed.

“Alright,” she said quietly. “Thank you.”

“Any time.”

The elevator jolted to a stop and they stepped out into a long hallway. There was music and laughter and a scent that Rio could only identify as ‘miscellaneous party food’ wafting from their left.

“I’m gonna take a wild guess that Lilia’s that way,” she said. She glanced over at Agatha who just tossed her hair over her shoulder, cleared her throat, and sniffed once more before nodding in the direction of the sound.

“Shall we?”

Rio hesitated for just a moment, captivated by the way Agatha’s mask slid so smoothly into place. She had hardly realized just how much she got to see when they were alone until suddenly she was faced with the Agatha that was ready to actually walk into the party.

The little signs were still there: the way that her foundation was starting to separate and smudge around the tip of her nose, the way her lips parted ever so slightly so that she could breathe without the air catching audibly on the building congestion in her sinuses.  It was an impressive performance. Frankly if Rio hadn’t seen evidence to the contrary, she might have even believed Agatha’s little act.

Of course, the fact that she had gotten to see that evidence to the contrary at all—even if Agatha was denying it the whole time—was also not lost on Rio. It made her stupid, lovesick heart flutter in her chest just realizing that Agatha trusted her that much. It was also mildly annoying knowing that it would be that much harder to tell if Agatha reached her limit tonight, but they’d cross that bridge when they came to it.

She must have lingered a bit too long, though, because Agatha noticed she wasn’t following and raised an eyebrow at her.

“Are you okay?” she asked, looking pointedly at Rio’s hands.

Rio hadn’t even noticed that she was fluttering her fingers at her sides, but the sudden awareness made her stop and flex her hands.

“Yeah,” she said. “Let’s do this.”

Rio reached the door at the end of the hall first and knocked right below the brass 4F affixed to it. When no one answered right away, Agatha tried the knob and found that it was already unlocked. She glanced at Rio with a shrug before pushing it all the way open and leading the way inside. 

Rio's first impression upon stepping into Lilia's space was that it perfectly answered the question, "What if an eccentric gender studies professor with a fortune-telling side hustle had lived in the same rent-controlled apartment since the 70s?" which wasn't a question Rio had been asking, but it was nice to have an answer nonetheless. The entry way led into a spacious living room filled with squashy, mismatched furniture. Decorative lamps on various surfaces gave the room a soft, warm glow, and there were tapestries and artwork covering nearly inch of exposed wall. It was inviting and a little overwhelming in the same way that Lilia herself could be and Rio found that she kind of liked it.

Her second impression was that she and Lilia definitely had different ideas of what "not a party" meant. There were far more people than she had expected here. She vaguely recognized some other faculty members and a few of Lilia’s grad students and TAs who hung out around her office a lot, but she was only halfway through her second year of teaching, so there were still more unfamiliar faces than familiar ones.

"Soo…," Agatha started, leaning close to Rio's ear as she slipped out of her coat, "Are we sure that Lilia understands what a party is?”

Rio bit back a laugh as the hostess in question rounded the corner. “Did I hear a knock? I thought I—oh, Rio, you came!”

Before Rio could react, Lilia swept forward and enveloped her in a brief, but warm hug that had Agatha pressing herself flat against the wall to stay out of the way.

“Oh, I’m so glad you were able to make it,” Lilia said. It wasn’t until she stepped back that she seemed to notice Agatha. Something flickered behind her eyes for a fraction of a second before her wide smile was back in place. “Agatha, it’s nice to finally see you outside of the office for a change. Did you two come together?”

“Sort of,” Agatha said at the same instant Rio said, “Kind of.”

Lilia raised an eyebrow, and Rio glanced over at Agatha who was starting to get a sort of dazed look in her eyes, so Rio quickly took over.

“We split an Uber,” she said. “Those holiday prices are crazy, but if the alternative is the green line on New Year’s…” she trailed off with a shrug and an eye roll, and that seemed to be good enough for Lilia. Or at least, if she had further suspicions, she was good enough not to voice them.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rio could see Agatha bring her hand in front of her mouth in a loose fist, her thumb resting along her jaw and her first finger pressed against the bottom of her nose. It wasn’t entirely out of the ordinary—one thing about Agatha, the woman was always touching her face—but Rio guessed from the way Agatha scrunched up her nose that it was a little more practical at the moment.

Rio was about to come up with some excuse to try to shoo Lilia away, when someone else called her name from elsewhere in the apartment. Lilia glanced in the direction of the voice and sighed.

“I suppose I should go see what all the fuss is about,” she said. "You two feel free to make yourselves at home. There's food in the dining room, drinks in the kitchen, and I think someone brought some..." she mimed smoking a joint as she trailed off, and Agatha snorted. "If you want to do that, though, just do me a favor and take it outside or on the fire escape. The scent lingers in here like nothing else.”

“Understood,” Rio said.

Lilia gave a satisfied nod before turning on her heel and disappearing back into the festivities.

Rio turned towards Agatha just in time to see her shove her face into her bunched up coat and muffle a forceful sneeze into it. She came up for air with a slightly dazed look on her face, her mouth still open in preparation, but after a long moment of anticipation, nothing else happened. Agatha exhaled with an angry huff and hung her coat up on an empty hanger.

Rio did the same after her, except she nearly dropped the hanger when Agatha suddenly swore behind her. Rio whirled around just in time to see Agatha crush her nose between her thumb and forefinger as she pitched forward with a pair of stifled sneezes that were nearly silent save for a soft, choked off little gasp.

 Rio almost felt a little guilty for it, but she couldn’t help noticing just how different these cold sneezes were from Agatha’s allergic fits. It was a strange thing to think about, but with her allergies, Agatha seemed to have some semblance of control, at least at the start. The tickle tended to be a slower, more torturous build that Agatha was shockingly good at hiding, and the sneezes themselves started off as soft, tickly little things that she was scary-good at keeping quiet. This cold, by contrast, seemed to keep her on her toes, sneaking up on her and then backing off just to come back with a vengeance, and Agatha was clearly already getting frustrated.

Agatha released her nose with a heavy sigh and a wet sniffle, and when she noticed Rio looking at her, she frowned.

“What?” she snapped.

“Nothing,” Rio said. “Bless you.”

That seemed to soften Agatha around the edges for a moment, and she muttered a quiet, “Thanks,” before she brushed past Rio into rest of the apartment. “Let’s find the kitchen,” she said. “I don’t know about you, but I could use a drink.”

Rio rolled her eyes, but followed along anyway. It was less than two and a half hours to New Year’s, but she had a feeling it was going to be a long night.

~**~

When Lilia had said there were drinks in the kitchen, Rio had expected champagne, some prosecco, maybe some kind of fancy Italian wines and some seltzers in the fridge for the grad students. What she hadn’t expected was a downright undergrad-rager amount of boxed wine and a rainbow of Jell-O shots, but now that she was looking at the spread, she realized that yeah, actually, this kind of tracked.

There was indeed an array of random seltzers and cheap beer in the fridge along with a couple of bottles of something bubbly with sticky notes on them warning that they were not to be touched until midnight. Rio grabbed a mango White Claw and turned around to see Agatha debating between the wine and the shots like it was a matter of life and death. After a moment, she reached a compromise with herself in the form of downing a purple Jell-O shot and then immediately grabbing a plastic cup to fill with room-temperature Franzia, because sure, why not?

“Hey, Rio, you made it!”

Rio spun around to see Alice approaching with a beer in hand and a bright smile on her face.

“Of course,” Rio said. “I wouldn’t miss it!” She took a sip of her seltzer and surveyed the room. “Although there are a lot more people than I expected when Lilia told me specifically that this wasn’t a party.”

“That’s Lilia for you,” Alice said. “Anything less than a full-on rager doesn’t count as a party to her. But for what it’s worth, it’ll probably start to clear out by 11:30ish. Most people just use this as a rest stop for a bit and then walk to the waterfront to catch the fireworks. But they’re missing out because that’s usually about when Lilia gets stoned enough to break out the oracle cards and that’s worth sticking around for.”

“Sounds like fun.” Rio hadn’t even heard Agatha come up behind her, but there she was eyeing Alice over the rim of her plastic cup of cheap wine. “When do we break out the Ouija board and start telling ghost stories?”

“Oh hey, Agatha,” Alice said. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she glanced from Rio to Agatha and back again like she was trying to connect some invisible dots. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Yeah, good to see you too,” Agatha said flatly. She took a long sip of her wine, and she held her cup in front of her face a second longer than strictly necessary to block her nose from view as it twitched just the slightest bit. A tense moment passed where Rio couldn’t tell if Agatha was actually going to sneeze or not, but she recovered quickly, lowering her cup and shouldering past Rio towards the dining room. “I’m gonna get some food.”

“Ok, bye, Agatha,” Alice said drily. She shot Rio a look. “I didn’t know you two…”

She trailed off, and the implied ellipsis hanging off Alice’s words felt like a set trap for Rio to walk into. She’d had the feeling that her officemates were starting to suspect something for a while—from the sounds of it there was even a betting pool now—but Rio wasn’t going to give anyone the satisfaction of knowing that easily.

It wasn’t so much that they were trying to keep it a secret—sneaking around like teenagers wasn’t really all it cracked up to be when they were both parties involved were closer to fifty than fifteen—but with a kid in the mix, and Rio being so new, and Agatha’s…well, being Agatha, they just…never really cared to make a grand announcement to their colleagues. At some point it would come out, that much they both knew, but for now it was still sort of thrilling to have such a secret that was theirs and theirs alone.

So it was with all of that in mind, that Rio managed to say, “Lilia’s the one who invited her.” She took a swig of her seltzer and wished she had grabbed something harder. “We just split an Uber here.”

“Ah, sure,” Alice said. “It’s just funny; Lilia’s been trying to get her to come to stuff for years now, but this is the first time she’s actually shown. I wonder what changed.”

“Yeah,” Rio mused as she watched Agatha disappear around a corner. “I wonder.”

“Ok, well…” Alice bounced on the balls of her feet and clapped her hands together as she took a slow step back. “I need to track down an HDMI cord to try to set up karaoke, but I’ll be around.”

“I’ll see you,” Rio said.

She gave Alice a half-hearted wave and then followed Agatha’s trail into the cramped dining room where she found Agatha trapped in conversation with a short woman with a neat blonde bob who Rio vaguely recognized from the…admissions office? Student life? Something like that.

Whatever they were talking about, Agatha hardly seemed to be in the mood for it, but the woman clearly wasn’t taking the hint. Agatha had her hand in front of her face again, the knuckle of her first finger moving slowly back and forth under her nose as she nodded absently, her attention clearly more on her nose than her conversation partner.

If Rio had felt a little guilty about watching before, she felt downright voyeuristic now. From the corner of the doorway, Rio had a perfect view of Agatha’s profile, and she watched with rapt attention as Agatha managed to wrestle the tickle back long enough to interject.

“That sounds great, Sharon, but you see, the problem is that I don’t want to, so…” she trailed off with a contemptuous, open-handed shrug, and the woman—Sharon, apparently—just laughed.

“Oh, I’ll get you one of these days!” She wagged a finger playfully in Agatha’s direction before glancing down at her empty cup. “I’m gonna get some more wine, but I’ll email you once we get back on campus!”

“I’ll delete it,” Agatha called after her in a mocking tone.

She waited until Sharon was safely out of the room before whirling around and coughing into her elbow. She recovered quickly enough, but kept her arm in front of her face for a moment too long. Rio could see her shoulders tense and then release as she smothered a trio of sneezes against her sleeve, each tripping over the next like they had taken umbrage at being held back for so long. “Hiih’TSHh!-h’TSHh-TCHhu!”

“Bless you,” Rio said.

Agatha startled at the sound of her voice and spun around to glare at her.

“I’m fine,” Agatha said through gritted teeth.

“I didn’t even ask.”

“Well you were thinking it and that’s bad enough,” Agatha snapped.

Her voice was starting to take on a more noticeably-congested edge, and Rio found herself wondering if she’d have to put her foot down at some point. Either Agatha was a better liar than Rio had thought if she had been feeling this bad this whole time, or she was going downhill faster than Rio had assumed she would, and frankly Rio wasn’t sure which was worse.

“Is this where the…oh. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

Rio and Agatha both spun around to find Jennifer Kale smirking at them from the doorway like she very much hoped she was, in fact, interrupting something.

“You wish,” Agatha growled. “What do you want, Jen?”

“Maybe to socialize?” Jen said slowly like she was trying to explain the concept to a child. “At a social event? Although I can’t imagine you have much experience with those.”

“Can it, Kale,” Agatha snapped. She took a long sip of her wine and shouldered past Jen on her way back into the kitchen. “I’m not in the mood.”

“Nice to see you too, Agatha!” Jen called after her. She turned back to Rio and rolled her eyes. “You really can’t take her anywhere, can you?”

The question felt equal parts loaded and rhetorical, and given Jen’s…history with Agatha, Rio figured her safest option was to plead the fifth. She ignored Jen’s pointed smirk and took another long drink of her seltzer.

“Well, forget her,” Jen said. “I was actually hoping to run into you here. I heard back from my mother about those old Home Garden magazines we were talking about? She found some of my grandmother’s old issues, and she said she’ll send them out to me next week. I can bring them into the office when they get here if you want to go through them.”

“Oh, sweet!”  Rio had been working for most of the fall on a proposal for a class on Victory Gardens and the development of urban home gardening, and some of the earliest primary sources had proven to be a bit of a bitch to track down. “Yeah, I’ll be in and out of the office the next few weeks before the semester starts, but I’d love to get my hands on anything you’ve got.”

“Cool,” Jen said. “I’ll keep you posted.” She gave Rio a soft smile and looked like she was about to say something else, but Rio took the pause as an excuse to slip away.

“I’m gonna go mingle a bit more. You know, network or whatever, but I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah,” Jen said. “Yeah, I’ll see you.”

Rio grabbed a star-shaped sugar cookie off a platter at the end of the dining table and popped it into her mouth as she slipped out into the living room before Jen could say anything else.

Agatha was across the room, in another tense conversation with a woman Rio definitely recognized from the library, but she couldn’t quite place the name. Dottie? Sarah, maybe? Either way, Agatha saw Rio looking and shot her a sharp glare. Rio took the hint and headed over to where Alice was fussing with Lilia’s ancient CRT TV.

It turned out it didn’t even have an HDMI port, which meant the karaoke idea was getting nixed, but after a little bit of snooping in the cabinet underneath, Rio found a dusty plug-and-play joystick with a collection of old arcade games that was still in working order, and it only took a few rounds of Frogger before a full-on tournament broke out.

Rio lost sight of Agatha as a small crowd started to gather around the TV, but despite that, if she was being honest, she was kind of actually starting to have a good time. As the clock ticked ever closer to midnight, the crowd did in fact start to thin out, and those who were left were mostly reaching a pleasant state of being under their influence of choice. Conversation and laughter flowed easily, and Rio found herself suitably distracted from worrying about Agatha.

That was, at least, until she caught sight of Agatha slipping away from the rest of the party, making a beeline for the bathroom down the hall with her hand against her face.

That got Rio distracted enough that she ran Ms. Pacman straight into a pixelated ghost to a collective groan from her audience, but Rio found herself not really caring. She passed the joystick off to Alice who was going for the high score on Galaga, and picked her way out of the crowd.

“You good?” Jen asked.

“Yeah,” Rio said. “I’m just gonna grab another drink.”

She headed into the kitchen and grabbed another seltzer—a wild berry Truly this time—and made a pit stop in the dining room to grab a couple of those sugar cookies in a napkin before following Agatha’s path down the hall towards the bathroom. She was barely halfway to the door when she heard the unmistakable sounds of Agatha…well, struggling.

“Hih-TSSHhiu! Heihh-hhETshiw!” Rio heard what she assumed was a hand slamming down hard on the edge of the sink, followed by harsh fit of coughing that only seemed to feed back into the cycle as Agatha paused just long to inhale sharply before—“HHET’Sshiu! Motherfucker!”

“Agatha?” Rio knocked lightly on the door with her knuckle. “It’s just me. You ok?”

“F-fuck off,” Agatha growled. Her voice was really starting to go now—it sounded low and scratchy, cracking between syllables—and though she made a point of turning on the water in the sink, Rio could still hear her sniffling miserably.

“Agatha, come on, don’t do this to yourself.”

She got no response to that, presumably because Agatha knew that her voice wasn’t helping her case at this point. Rio checked the time on her phone; it was after eleven now. If she’d known a few hours ago that this was where they were going to end up, she’d have put her foot down at the start. She should have pushed harder when Agatha was still malleable. Now it felt like she was talking to a brick wall. Or a closed wooden door, she supposed.

Just as she was about to get up to go back to the party, she heard Agatha clear her throat.

“If I’b bothering you so mbuch you can just fucki’g leave,” she snapped.

“Agatha, that’s not…” Rio trailed off as Agatha’s words actually hit her.

Oh.

So that’s what this was all about.

“Listen,” Rio said. “I’m not leaving you. Not because of the party and definitely not because you’re sick. You’re kind of fucking stuck with me whether you like it or not, and I’ll give you space, but I’m not leaving you. Take as much time as you need. I’m heading back out to the living room, but I’ll be here for you whenever you’re ready.”

The water stopped running and Rio could hear Agatha sniffle again. She didn’t say anything, but then again, she didn’t really have to. It was enough just for Rio to know she was actually listening. As she started to turn away, she suddenly remembered the cookies in her hand.

“Oh, and I brought you a little something to eat. They’re right out here if you want them.”

There was a narrow little table with a collection of candles and crystals next to the bathroom door, and Rio set the napkin-wrapped cookies on edge before she headed back down the hallway. When she reached the end, she heard the bathroom door open and shut, and when she turned around, the cookies were gone.

~**~

By 11:30, the party was smaller, but rowdier than ever. Lilia, who had been out on the fire escape more than once, was giggling her way through a tarot reading for Jen over the arm of the other couch. There was music blasting from someone’s phone, and a cheer went up as Alice finally broke her high score. Everyone that was left was talking or laughing, and it was easy enough for Rio to slip back into the fray and plop herself on an overstuffed couch cushion without so much as a glance her way.

The minutes seemed to drag by impossibly slow. 11:45 turned to :50, turned to :55, and Rio was starting to think she might have to press her luck and check on Agatha again when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and speak of the devil, there she was. Her hair obscured most of her face so Rio couldn’t get a great look at her, but she tapped Rio’s shoulder and nodded towards the fire escape, and that was all Rio needed to scramble to her feet and follow her.

There was no one out there at this time of night; everyone left was inside, watching reluctantlyas Alice unplugged the game and tuned the TV in to the Times Square ball drop. Agatha slipped out the open window onto the metal platform, and before Rio could even process what they were doing, Agatha grabbed the railing of the narrow stairs leading up towards the roof and started to climb.

“Ok, not that I’m not glad you’re out here again, but what are the fuck are you doing?” Rio asked, trying not to notice just how high above the city streets they were.

Agatha paused and looked back at her. “I wa’t to watch the fireworks.”

She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world, like it had been her plan this whole time, and though Rio hated the thought of setting foot on those narrow, creaking stairs, she had to admit that, yeah, she very much did want to watch the fireworks too.

She followed Agatha, and they both scrambled over the lip at the top. After the hazy warmth of Lilia’s apartment, the chill breeze was a welcome change, and Rio had to admit, the view was nice from up here. Rio checked the time on her phone. Two minutes to midnight, and she swore could feel it in the air.

“You don’t have to kiss mbe or adythi’g,” Agatha said. “I just thought this mbight be dice.”

Ninety seconds to midnight.

“Would you stop me if I did?” Rio asked.

Agatha scoffed. “You’d really risk catchi’g this?”

“What can I say?” Rio shrugged. “I’m feeling lucky this year.”

“But I’b gross.”

Rio pressed her cold hand against Agatha’s fever-warm cheek—oh yeah, she was definitely going downhill—and guided her gaze up so she could take her first good look at Agatha’s face in the moonlight.

Agatha’s bright blue eyes were watering so badly it looked like she was crying, and though her mascara had held up valiantly for the last few hours, it was starting to smudge in earnest now. The makeup around her nose was a patchy mess, clinging to the dry, reddened skin where it hadn’t been rubbed off entirely. Her lipstick had honestly held up surprisingly well, although the edges were starting to get fuzzy. All of that coupled with her irritated frown as she sniffled and wrinkled her nose again made her look so pathetically adorable that Rio could almost melt.

“See that’s the funny thing,” Rio said. “You’re saying gross, but all I’m seeing is the most beautiful woman in the world.”

Agatha blushed furiously, but she let Rio pull her closer.

Ten seconds to midnight.

The air was humming with electric energy. Rio was sure there was nowhere else on earth she’d rather be.

Five!

They could hear the countdown from all directions.

Four!

Agatha swore as her nose twitched and she aimed a loud “Hh-ITShoo!” into her shoulder.

Three!

Agatha sniffled and wiped her nose on her sleeve.

Two!

“Last cha’dce to back out.”

One!

Rio smirked. “Not on your life.”

Happy New Year!

All at once, the city erupted around them, but Rio hardly paid it any mind as her lips met Agatha’s, waiting and eager, and for a moment, they were the only two people in the world. Rio could taste the artificial vanilla of Agatha’s lipstick, could feel Agatha’s poor, abused nose against her cheek as she tangled her fingers in Agatha’s hair and savored absolutely everything about the moment.

Agatha was the first to turn away, gasping for breath that couldn’t break through the wall of congestion in her nose, but she didn’t pull away from Rio’s arms.

They stayed like that for a long moment, foreheads pressed together as the fireworks over the water lit up the night sky around them.

“Rio?” Agatha finally croaked.

“Yeah, love?”

 “I dod’t feel very well,” Agatha said. She let her shoulders drop and rested her head on Rio’s shoulder so that her next words came out even softer. “I thigk I’b ready to leave ndow.”

“Oh, you are, huh?”

Agatha nodded weakly against Rio’s neck. Rio bit back a chuckle and carded her fingers through Agatha’s hair, which just made Agatha press closer. She was for sure running a fever now, but Rio didn’t think she needed to say that part out loud.

The fireworks were starting to die down now. The city that slept by 10pm was already quieting again, and a cool breeze blew across the rooftop, making them both shiver. That was enough to finally spur Rio into action. Despite Agatha’s low whine of protest, Rio took a step back, and reached into Agatha’s pocket to find her crumpled handkerchief. She offered it to Agatha who rolled her rheumy eyes, but accepted it gratefully and set about wiping away the tear tracks and the smudged eye makeup. There wasn’t much she could do for her foundation at this point, but after a moment she managed to pull herself back to some semblance of her usual self.

“Ready?”

“H-hold on.” Agatha held up one finger as she inhaled a shaky breath. Her eyes fluttered shut, her lips parted, and she stayed like that for a long moment, before—

Fuck, I lost it.” Agatha scrubbed at her nose with the crumpled handkerchief in frustration before flipping her hair over her shoulder and following Rio to the edge of the roof to step gingerly back onto the fire escape.

The party was well and truly winding down now, but those that were left seemed occupied with champagne and company, so no one seemed to notice when Rio and Agatha slipped back inside. For a second, Rio almost thought they could make a clean break for it. They’d grab their coats and slip outside, and Rio would text Lilia a brief goodbye once they were in the Uber back to Agatha’s place.

That kind of luck didn’t seem to be on their side, though, because Lilia caught them as they passed the kitchen doorway.

“Oh, Rio, are you leaving?”

Rio stopped dead in her tracks like she’d been caught sneaking in after curfew. She could feel Agatha stiffen and clear her throat next to her.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Rio said with a nervous glance at Agatha. “It’s getting late and—”

“I have to let the babysitter go,” Agatha chimed in. “Rio offered to split a car.”

Her voice was fading in earnest now, but Rio noticed how carefully she was choosing her words so at least she didn’t sound too congested on top of it. Her explanation seemed to be enough for Lilia, who smiled at them both.

“Well, get home safe,” she said. “Happy New Year! And Agatha, I hope you feel better soon!”

Agatha’s jaw dropped and she looked like she was contemplating homicide or suicide or both, but Rio just gave her a shove in the direction of the door and gave Lilia a soft “Happy New Year,” and a shy wave in return.

She grabbed both of their coats out of the closet with one hand while she pulled up Uber on her phone with the other. No way they were doing that walk again tonight.

“Ok, driver’ll be here in three minutes,” Rio said.

When Agatha didn’t respond right away, Rio looked up to see her frozen in pre-sneeze torture, her lips parted, eyelashes fluttering, brows knitting together as she took a breath in, and then—

“Oh fuck mbe!” Agatha scowled and pinched the bridge of her nose hard.

“Oh, pobrecita,” Rio breathed. “Let’s get you home.”

Agatha rolled her eyes, but before she could say anything, the lost sneeze snuck back up on her with a vengeance just as Jen and Alice passed by on their way to the kitchen.

“HHT’SCHiu!”

“Bless you, Agatha!”

“Fuck off, Jen!” Agatha called back.

With that, she flipped her hair over her shoulder, held her flaming cheeks high, and stalked out of Lilia’s apartment, leaving Rio to call out a soft, “Happy New Year, guys!” before jogging to catch up.

~**~

The ride back to Agatha’s place was short and quiet, and even though she hadn’t strictly been invited, Rio followed Agatha inside where Agatha paid the babysitter, kicked off her shoes, and tossed her coat in the vague direction of the coatrack before throwing herself down onto the couch in the parlor.

Rio had been in Agatha’s house more than a few times, but this—Agatha being this miserable in her own home—was new enough territory that she wasn’t quite sure what to do with herself. She shed her own coat and shoes, and picked up Agatha’s so at least they wouldn’t be a tripping hazard later, and returned to stand behind the couch.

Agatha had one hand dangling towards the floor and the other over her eyes like if she blocked her vision, she could pretend the night had gone differently.

“So,” Rio started carefully. “What are you thinking? Do you want me to stay?”

Agatha moved the hand over her face and looked up at Rio with red, watery, exhausted eyes.

“I cad take care of byself,” she said.

“I know you can. That’s not what I’m asking.” Rio leaned over the back of the couch and reached one hand down to brush a lock of hair out of Agatha’s face, curling it gently around her finger. “Do you want me to stay?”

“You’ll get sick,” Agatha whined.

“Again, not what I’m asking. And for what it’s worth, you did have your tongue in my mouth less than an hour ago, so I’m pretty sure that ship has sailed.”

Agatha started to laugh, but it quickly turned into a cough that only seemed to irritate her nose as she quickly brought her hands up to cover an itchy sneeze. “hH-IItschu!”

“Salud, baby.”

“Thagks,” Agatha grumbled. She sniffled wetly and wiped her nose roughly on her sleeve. “Ugh, feel gross! I hate bei’g sick.”

Rio bit back a laugh. “I don’t think most people really enjoy it.” She had moved from playing with Agatha’s hair to scratching lightly at her scalp. Agatha’s eyes fell closed and she moaned into Rio’s touch.

“Let me ask a different way,” Rio said. “Do you want me to leave?”

Agatha’s eyes opened again, and when she looked up at Rio with her flushed cheeks and her sniffly nose, Rio felt like she could melt into a puddle on the spot. The flush in Agatha’s cheeks deepened as she slowly shook her head no.

“Ok,” Rio said. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“Shut up,” Agatha muttered without any bite.

“Ignoring that because you’re sick,” Rio said.  “Now what do you say we get you somewhere more comfortable than the couch so you can get some actual rest, hm?”

It took a few more minutes of gentle prodding from Rio to get Agatha to her feet and up the stairs, but once she was moving, she seemed to be able to handle herself. She poked her head into Nicky’s room before heading to her own room to change while Rio busied herself digging around in the bathroom medicine cabinet.

All Agatha seemed to have was a bottle of Advil, a box of Zyrtec, and a mostly-empty bottle of grape-flavored children’s cold medicine that was missing the measuring cup. Rio vowed to make a supply run in the morning, but for now, the Advil was probably better than nothing. She filled a glass with water from the sink, and then grabbed the allergy meds for good measure and headed for Agatha’s bedroom.

Agatha had already changed into an oversized t-shirt with an ambiguous number three on it, and a pair of worn flannel shorts that were practically indecent. She’d pulled her hair into a loose bun, and she was just finishing wiping off the last of her makeup with a wipe that she tossed carelessly in the direction of the trash can. It missed by a long shot, but Rio thought it was cute that she’d tried.

“Here,” Rio said, holding out the water and two ibuprofen tablets. “You didn’t have much, but this should help keep your fever down.” Agatha took the meds and washed them down without protest, and Rio offered her the box of allergy meds. “I don’t know if these’ll do much, but they might at least take the edge off until I can run out to the store tomorrow.”

Agatha’s cheeks flushed a deeper pink. “About that…”

“What are you…?” Rio trailed off as she pulled the blister pack out of the box and found it completely empty. “Why was this still in the cabinet if you knew it was empty?”

“To remind myself to buy more,” Agatha said like it was completely obvious and not actually one of the most ridiculous things Rio had ever heard.

“Ok, scratch that then.” Rio tossed the empty package into the trash can. “Do you want anything else?”

Agatha shook her head as she set her water on the nightstand.

“Just hurry up and c’mere,” she said, making grabby hands in Rio’s general direction. It was quite possibly the cutest thing Rio had ever seen, and she wiggled out of her nice jeans and into a spare set of pajamas as fast as she could so she could crawl under the covers with Agatha, who immediately attached herself to Rio’s side.

“I’b sorry I was a bitch earlier,” Agatha mumbled.

Rio chuckled as she leaned her cheek against the top of Agatha’s head. “Lucky for you, I kind of like it when you’re a bitch, because I know you don’t mean it.” Agatha grumbled something unintelligible against her neck, but Rio continued, “And because the sooner you get being a bitch out of your system, the sooner we get to do this.”

“Love you,” Agatha mumbled sleepily.

“Y yo a ti, mi amor,” Rio said. She reached back to turn off the lamp on the bedside table and then pressed her lips against Agatha’s warm forehead as she settled back down.

Agatha was already out, her breathing coming in congested little snores that made Rio’s lips twitch into a smile as she felt her own eyes growing heavy. Her last conscious thought before she slipped into sleep herself was that there was nowhere else on earth she’d rather be starting the new year.

[alexjcrowley]

Btw I can't believe all the Hamilton edits with Hamilton the musical, especially to Wait for it but when they're done with Carlos

Like girl be fr if someone is his Burr that's not Carlos that's Nico fucking Rosberg, he owned that role

Carlos and Lewis have had beef for a month because Vasseur gave Lewis Carlos's job, you want bitter soul crushing rivalry that's been destroying another guy's life step by step, that's been booked by Britney since day one

[icewindandboringhorror]

Recent life photos

[homosexual-fanfiction]

i forgot writing is hard </3

[jadelemonadee]

give me a complex rundown of samuels personality in your mind when i say complex i mean complex like 3 paragraphs

shiiiit okay here we go fasten your seatbelts (guys idk if i’ll be able to stretch this shit out into three paragraphs but I DID get the best score on my essay about bottled water for a standardized test soo…,) also im going to be stealing a lot of stuff from genius annotations and other things beware

ALRIGHT HERE WE GO so how i see him personally is just this annoying, stuck up guy who is the #1 george III glazer (/j) + he views himself as above the revolutionists and sees them as these vulgar barbarians who are trying to lead people to “the dark side” (don’t let them lead you astray) BUUUT although he acts all righteous, hamilton pushes him off of that high horse of his (and almost his box…,literally) with his AWESOME EPIC WITTY writing and argumentative skills showing that seabury wasn’t even all that in the first place (and NOT ELOQUENT!!!! cmon man you can’t be acting all high and mighty and then epically lose a debate to someone young enough to be your son HUMBLE YOURSELF BEFORE THAT 19 YEAR OLD DOES IT FOR YOU😭😭) another thing ive noticed is that whenever hamilton speaks there’s little to no instruments in the background maybe showing that he doesn’t even need music for support of his arguments and to completely obliterate samuel (just listen to the instrumental trust…….idk where im going with this alright it’s 12:10 as im typing this part)

okay some other things i want to add are little details about this whole shabang like how seabury’s accent seems almost forced, as if he’s trying to create similarities between him and the beloved figure of his majesty (/sar 😛) and the fact that seabury went by the name A.W. farmer in his papers about the revolution which IN THE MUSICAL could maybe be another example of my previous point since one of the king’s nicknames was “farmer george” (although as far as i know it was used some with political satirists….SAMUEL FCS DO SOME RESEARCH BEFORE MAKING YOUR KING GEORGESONA OR SMTH😭😭😭) secondly i really like the detail that lin had both seabury and the king’s songs both include instruments like the harpsichord + they both use formal vocabulary meanwhile The Revolution People (TM) use more modern slang + instruments in their songs, showing the growing contrasts and conflicts between the loyalists and patriots!!!! so cool we love you LMM anywho also the fact that seabury soon realizes after hamilton starts interrupting him that he won’t be able to beat hamilton with words so he might as well try to physically get ahead of him (pushing the box in front of him ect ect) and then doing his big “FOR SHAME” near the end as a last resort, “modulating the key” as they call it /j (this one was said by thayne himself) lastly just the fact that you can hear the guys making barking and whining noises after hamilton makes his epic mange joke….,,like that’s so silly i love that for them

i did it i technically did three paragraphs ARE YOU HAPPY ANON /j

[brenna]

2024 fic roundup

Thanks for the tag and for making this, @cheeseplants

What fandoms do you write in?

Good Omens

The X-Files

How many words have you published in 2024?

179,059. (HOT DAMN)

What is your greatest achievement this year?

Not sure. I mean, the friends I made along the way? Corny as that may sound? But also joining events and such for the first time.

What are your favourite top three fics you wrote this year?

This is hard! You would make me choose between my children?! Anyway, here goes:

Midnight Ride - I feel like this one just came together beautifully, and I love being spooky and surprising the readers a little. And it's different.

Collaborative Activities - I feel like this fic was where I kind of burst onto the scene? As much as I'm in it. I'm just a little guy. But this sex pollen was my first event, and I am still very proud of it.

Where You Roost - Because it's unlike anything I ever thought I would write, and it came out so well.

I'm going to put Essentially Exactly the Way It Happened as an honorable mention, because it's not done yet. And I am having such fun with it. Also it's XF

What was your biggest pit of despair moment?

I can't recall any?

What have you learned?

That I can have a WIP and not have to immediately post it. That it can sit and no one has to know about it and I can just keep improving it? I'm very impatient usually, lol. To have it written and not share it?! Hard.

Also, the joy of betaing things and having my work betaed.

What fic did you want to do but never made it off the ground?

Agh, so many. I have several ideas vaguely in the works. Everyone always has to hear about how much I want to do an XF/GO Crossover, though. And I WILL. My other ideas are secrets. Shhh...

Did you beta any fics? Any favs you want to shout out?

Oh, goodness. I did so many, and they're all wonderful! I can't choose among them, honestly! No one that I betaed for should feel left out. They're all lovely! I'll put three, I guess. But there are so many more!

Cayuga Blush by asparkofgoodness (this one is a WIP, but I've read ahead, and I promise you, you don't wanna sleep on it)

Intersection: the Kiss and Union: Escalation by anna_bird (counts as one, OK. Don't mind that it's listed as two parts...)

A Season of Whale Song by DrConstellation (I'm only betaing later chapters, but the whole thing is chef's kiss)

What three fics have you read this year that you love?

JUST THREE?! I want to list like everything ever, and I CAN'T. 😭 These are in No Particular Order. And know that I want to list SO MANY others.

Naked and Afraid: Jingle Hell by klikandtuna

Sins of Knowledge by anna_bird

You Don't Need A License For That by WaitingtobeBroken

What ideas are percolating for next year?

All I'm saying is that when the Monster Banger's Bang posts y'all are in for a TREAT. I am so stoked about this one.

I've also got something a little Sci-Fi-esque in the early stages that I'm hype about.

And that GO/XF crossover WILL HAPPEN.

Who do you want to thank?

Everyone?! @kneelbeforeyourdogbabylon for all the fun we always have. All my pals in the sex pollen server. There are too many of you to tag! But all of you! Everyone in Good Omens After Dark that I've recently gotten to meet. Everyone in Do It With Style Events Um, um, um. EVERYONE. This is too much pressure (runs to hide)

Anyone in my tags feel free to join in or in fact anyone at all. I'll tag a few more below. Tag, answer any Qs that suit and play along

(birddog, I'm not tagging you a second time, but also I AM). Everyone in the sex pollen server. @on1occasionfork @waitingtobebroken I don't have the patience or time to tag everyone. If I've ever spoken to your or commented on your fic I want you to do this! It's time for me to get ready for bed so I have to run away!!

[lookninjas]

61.

I will be real with you all right now: my computer is suddenly as slow as shit so this is the best poem you get

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s2 episode 3 "blood" thoughts

here we go! this episode is titled "blood" which did not bode well for me, the girl who hates blood. but i am dedicated and pushed through in the name of our mission.

we open at a post office. sometimes, i think it would be fun to work in a post office.

but alas! our postman has received a paper cut. he licks it up which... can't be hygienic.

and then he immediately gets fired :( this is sooooo unfair

when he returns to his post his machine reads "KILL"!!! my first thought was that this was gonna be a little shop of horrors style thing where an inanimate object tastes blood and Likes it (Which is sort of what happened? but mostly not really)

((side note: need to see mulder and scully take on audrey two))

so it seems that the people are either being told by machines to do some killing or all the members of the town are experiencing collective hallucination...

mulder arrives. i was distracted by his fluffy hair. from the notes: "his hair is fluffy. he isn't saying much at this crime scene but his hair is fluffy"

! MULDER LORE REVEAL ! he played right field! (this was brought up when the policeman mentioned the suspect was on the softball team)

back to our post office friend, who is near a child with a random nosebleed whilst getting some money, and now the ATM is telling him to kill people

mulder points out that these are spree killings and not serial ones <-okay human embodiment of the nerd emoji.

it's a totally normal report on the crimes, no spooky stuff involved, and scully is reading it... until he mentions UFOs and she says to herself "i was wondering when you'd get to that" LMAOOOOO she knows him too well

we see a woman being lured into a dark garage by a mechanic and i thought i knew where this was going but i DIDN'T because SHE gets paranoid and the machine tells her the guy is gonna get her and she freaks out and STABS HIM

mulder arrives to the crime scene with a really funny looking camera. can anyone provide me more information about this camera? i'm curious

anyway, he shows up at the house of the woman who killed the mechanic, and we see another example of his bountiful social skills when he asks to come in and she says "i'm late for work" and he just barges in and says "you can blame me". i love this man so bad it's actually a problem. he WILL get inside of ur house.

but her microwave is telling her to kill him and she pulls out a knife and STABS him and i was yelling NOOOOOOOO! and then the cop he was with shoots her and VERY QUICKLY we get a cutscene to....

SCULLY AUTOPSY TIME!!!!!!

she thinks there's some sort of chemical that is making the people do this

we also see poor wet meow meow mulder's bandaged arm :(

back to the ex-postman, who is seeking new gainful employment at a supermarket in which there are guns for sale in the back, another reminder that this show is set in america. he starts to see evil things in the TV but resists (and it might be related to the blood drive at the store but? it's a little unclear tbh)

mulder running scene! getting his cardio in! the man is dripping in sweat! he sees a guy toss some stuff in a yard and it's... dead bugs?

so who does he take the bugs to? well, the weirdos who previously were consulted for another case: the conspirators at the lone gunman! famous for the one guy hitting on scully and ripping up her twenty dollar bill

so we're back to these freaks and he says he didn't see their latest issue because "it arrived the same day as my subscription to Celebrity Skin"

now, i had an educated guess here based on name alone, but needed to confirm what this "celebrity skin" truly was. a search brings you to an album by the band Hole, and i was like omg!!! we're gonna get an insight into his canon music taste!!!! there is nothing more i LOVE than learning a character's favorite artists <3

but, this cannot be... for the show takes place before 1998, when the album was released... so i dig further

chat, as expected, it is a porn mag. seems to have involved some unethical stuff. mulder: ur a sick man.

the even sicker man who previously hit on scully was like "where's your little friend?" and he counters with "she wouldn't come. she was too afraid of her love for you" and the weirdo responds with "she's tasty"

now i want you to buckle your seat belts for what mulder says next. buckled? secured? sat? everyone is in a safe position? okay. he says:

"you know, it's men like you that give perversion a bad name"

HELLO? hey. hi! quick question <3 what does that mean. mulder a freak confirmed????

(i mean i guess we DID already know he fucked phoebe on arthur conan doyle's grave, which is going to stick in my head forever, but. don't make it worse. sometimes he's such a Man)

anyway the weirdos at the lone gunman think it's related to pesticides. and then mulder asks to borrow their night vision goggles and the weirdest of weirdos is like "only if you give me scully's number!"

cutscene to him using the night goggles

(mulder, if you gave that creep her number, i will NEVER forgive you. so keep that in mind)

he's sitting in a field and it looks so natural, like he really belongs there. bring back sitting in fields. but then he breaks into the orchard and gets sprayed by some pesticides and thoroughly knocked on his ass

mulder's yelling at some guy to take responsibility for the pesticides that he thinks are killing people... a moral crusader serving on the front lines...

scully's here now, btw. she took his blood. which had to be a strange experience. and then she mentions that she FLEW 300 MILES in the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT to come take his blood?

holy shit, mulder. she did that for you and you've been so broody and angsty lately and maybe even gave some dick her phone number. holy shit mulder, do not blow this. you cannot afford to blow this. she is soooo good to you.

anyway, he's seeing the same evil messages in technology the killers were now so that's a bummer

mulder proposes that this is some sort of subliminal messaging thing that is being activated by the fear-inducing pesticides and the cop gets pissed and leaves, to which he says "he's probably one of those people that thinks Elvis is dead"

so that's the SECOND line in this show about him being an elvis truther and i'm starting to think it's not a joke

back to the ex-postman. people are coming to his door to take blood and test for the chemicals in the pesticides and he's going bonkers. he's seeing "KILL" in his calculator, which is how you know things are rough. his watch even beeps and says "KILL" which i think would make a very very very very funny gif if anyone has that.

well, all of a sudden he's missing so the agents go to his house and knock. until.

scully realizes the door is open and just. lets herself in. i was laughing SO hard here. these bitches WILL get into your house. they will NOT wait for an invitation. truly a sign of soulmatism.

ex-postman was running running and they're like omg where is heeeeee he's gonna hurt people!!! scully is once again proving her genius status by saying that if it's a paranoia case, then all these guys in police uniforms need to get out of view.

(there's also this shot where mulder is like. smoldering. and she's behind him and man. height difference content i really really do love you and your work <3)

our crazed ex-postman climbs a tower at a college and is gonna start shooting but he's also hallucinating and laughing maniacally which i described in my notes as "entering his joker era"

mulder runs up and prevents a shootout using some handy jujitsu. neeeeed to see if this man is a black belt. for character driven purposes.

but he says that he knows the guy can't stop and overall it's an eerie situation because you can tell the pesticides are still in his brain as well. and his arm is bleeding again and this makes the other guy go into overdrive.

um. okay.

crisis averted...?

well, you sure would like to think that, wouldn't you? but the episode ends with mulder calling scully, and then HE sees more evil stuff in his phone! and it fades to blackness as her voice is heard through the speaker...

(i love that she knew it was him immediately. despite the silence. and that her train of thought went from "it's scully" to "mulder is it you?" to "mulder, what's wrong?" talk about a connection!)

hope he doesn't do anything too impulsive...

in conclusion: my very surface level interpretation of this episode was that it was warning us to not be controlled by technology, which i'm sure felt more relevant back in the day. but now that i have to click "don't sell my data" when i browse flavors of soup for sale online, i think we might just no longer be the target audience. or maybe it's even more relevant! an argument could be made both ways.

down with pesticides, though! i can get behind that! when's the last time you saw a bee? bring them back!

[rovermcfly]

having seen 5 seasons of the show and having read one novel and a couple of short stories (poirot's early cases) I can say:

I LOVE what they did with the show. the way they expand on the cases to make them exciting and entertaining for television is masterful. and the sensibility to recurring characters' personalities and relationships is absolutely remarkable. they created a wonderful little world (at least for the 5 seasons I saw) that is coherent, entertaining and simply highly enjoyable. 

EXCEPT for whatever the fuck they did with the double clue, where for no reason in particular (except perhaps heterosexual nonsense) they wrote their main character so brutally out of character that I cannot fathom what possessed them. as the ancient proverb goes: 

the reason why, when I watched the episode (before I knew how the case in the short story goes) I couldn't fathom why poirot would do these things was because he wouldn't.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

I've figured out who most of your oc Links are, but not all of them, do you have a list with all of them somewhere? They all seem really fun :)

*squealing* AH YES THANK YOU FOR ASKING :D

I actually don't have a list of them all together, the closest I had was a post I made about their Hero titles, so I'll just do it here! :D

Orik/Link, Hero of Power - Half-Sheikah, Half-Hylian. Raised in Sheikah culture as a warrior, helps protect the royal family. Becomes friends with Princess Zelda as he's often assigned to protect the castle and she's essentially imprisoned there by her father. Falls in love with the Gerudo chief's daughter, Hemisi. Starts to get involved with Hemisi's family, including her father, Ganondorf, but things fall apart when Gan decides to ruin everything and try to steal the Triforce. It splits, predictably, and Link gets the Triforce of Courage. Fights in the ensuing war that breaks out and helps defeat Ganon, using the Triforce alongside Zelda (Wisdom) and Hemisi (Power) to split his soul and seal him away. Despite being engaged to Hemisi, the damage to Hyrule from the war forces him to marry Zelda instead to help stabilize the kingdom. Soft spoken, extremely duty oriented, kindhearted and sensitive with a playful nature that usually stays hidden unless he's with friends. Super light blonde hair that he usually keeps in a top knot, tan skin, red eyes. He has two names, Orik is his Sheikah name given by his father, Link is his Hylian name from his mother. Predecessor to Hyrule Warriors Link.

Link, Hero of Shadow - Whereas the Hero of Power is from the Calamity timeline, Shadow is from the TotK timeline! (spoiler talk ahead!) Same Link, slightly different life. Still half-Sheikah half-Hylian, started his journey as a warrior/assassin of the royal family much younger and met Hemisi much younger. Was officially engaged to Hemisi before the war ever started, and essentially adopted by Ganondorf and Nabooru as a result. Died during the war protecting Rauru from a killing blow from Ganondorf. He died in Gan's arms, begging him to stop the insanity, and then stabbed Gan with a light shard in his chest, which Rauru later used in the same fight to seal him away for 10k years. Is resurrected by Ganondorf's power 10k years later and is under his control, trying to fight against him through manipulation. Much more stoic than his Calamity counterpart, but also consequently more sensitive and childlike - he's been serving as a fighter since he was 12 and is a little emotionally stunted as a result. He is majorly attention starved, and Gan knows this. They both try to manipulate each other to see who wins out. Died when he was 15.

Mystery Link/Sir Edgy, Hero of Spirits - The eldest and most introverted of all the OC Links, he's 25 and 100% Done with Destiny. He went on his first adventure when he was 17, saving the world, and then went on to save other lands and lately help local areas out. He prefers smaller missions, enjoying seeing the impact it makes, but he's honestly just tired and too afraid to lose anything or anyone else. As a result, he self isolates a lot. It's just him and his trusty chocolate Labrador, who he technically named Friend because he sucks at names but he gives her every nickname under the sun, including the Chocolate Chonkster. He originally wielded the Triforce of Courage during his first adventure, and returned it with all the Triforce pieces when he was done. He lives in the woods, avoiding interacting with people as much as possible, until Princess Zelda starts searching for him because she senses danger and accidentally splits the Triforce. She knows she has to find the Hero of Hyrule, but no one knows of Link's location or if he's even still alive after disappearing for eight years. He lives simply and is always on the road. Major attachment issues. When the Triforce splits due to Zelda's mishap, he inherits the Triforce of Wisdom, a fact he keeps hidden, though he laments it's appropriate he lost the right to Courage. Is known as the Hero of Spirits because he can interact with magical spirits, including accidentally reviving Ghirahim (he tried to get rid of the sword by throwing it into a volcano but it bounced off a Goron's head and landed in a hot spring and Ghirahim liked the place so much he stayed there for a year) and meeting the Soul of the Hero. Is very sassy, because dark humor and deadpanning are what preserve his cold, isolated soul. That and playing with Friend. Blonde hair tied back in a little ponytail, lighter skin, blue eyes, with a whisp of hair floating over his forehead and off to the side, and a thin mustache. He's a heartbreaker wherever he goes and he is not a fan of the attention, so he tries to avoid that. Has a fan club in another country when his shirt half tore off during a battle. Doesn't want to talk about it.

Gerudo Link/Fancy Hands - An honorary member of the OC Link club, this boy was named Link to save him from the fate of all other male Gerudos up to this point. Yeah. He's Ganondorf. But he's nice! And he is a massuer by trade. Lives in the same Hyrule/world as Mystery Link. Is dragged into adventure when Princess Zelda goes hunting for the Hero of Hyrule and does so by visiting every single person named Link, which is like... half the kingdom. Link knows of his people's history and tries to keep it on the down low. 100% did not want to dragged into this, but here he is. Will sass Zelda into oblivion as vengeance. He is literally the sassiest Link on this list. He and Mystery Link eventually commiserate and bond over this. Doesn't think himself worthy of the name Link, but admires the Heroes of the past and tries to keep his head down so Destiny leaves him the heck alone. Has loving parents and he writes to them often. Owns a business! The most financially successful Link ever, is decked out in jewelry and half the kingdom adores his work. Might be guilty of tax evasion. 19 years old, dark skin and flaming red hair that he keeps in a braid. Golden eyes, glams himself up with jewelry but he doesn't wear rings so his hands are free for massages. Wears typical Hylian attire.

Lurelin Link, Hero of Champions - A native to Lurelin Village, this Link was born in the aftermath of the Great Calamity. He is the new Hero chosen by the goddesses after Link, Hero of the Wild, was killed by the Calamity. The Hylian Champion stays as a spirit, befriending Lurelin Link to protect him and try to give him emotional support when the time comes. Lurelin is very sweet and somewhat naive, starts his adventuring at 15. He's good at reading people, very empathetic. Adores fishing and is an expert and will talk your ear off about it. Can be timid, doesn't like being in an argument/confrontation with someone. Will fight beasts like a pro, though - he is an adrenaline junkie, he adores adventuring with his spirit friend. Tan skin, black spiky hair that he keeps in a ponytail, optimistic and loving and kind. His biggest challenge yet has been trying to convince his predecessor's father, a bitter and broken knight named Abel, to believe he's the new Hero and tell him where the Master Sword is.