#though tbh you can put any of the three in the middle here—

[transingthoseformers]

I have a jazterwave idea that includes Jazz and Blaster spitroasting Soundwave and Soundwave being in heat

[naomis-daydream]

her favorite place // paige bueckers

summary: paige goes live as she gets her hair done from her favourite person sat in her favourite place.

warnings: none!

a/n: not my best work but I wanna start writing for her and this is the first time in months i’ve flowed while writing so!

✧

the image looked suggestive, or at the very least, questionable to viewers.

as hundreds joined the huskie’s live, they couldn’t help but notice the comfortable position their favorite player had between a pair of parted thighs.

uconnfan what did i click awn…

user3 facing the wrong way tbh

user8 who is that behind her??!

she smirks slightly as her eyes dart over the flood of comments.

“where am i?” she reads, “my favorite place,” she says, scrunching her nose as she smiles.

she knows what she’s doing, you think from behind her, rolling your eyes at her antics.

as if she could hear your thoughts, she stops taunting her growing audience.

“y’all chillll, i’m just getting my hair done. my favorite spot, aka the hair chair, getting my braids. come on now,” she assures, turning the camera at an angle to show you, eyebrows furrowed as you focused on a braid.

she nudges you with her shoulder, nodding at the camera. “hey live,” you say gently, poking your head out from behind paige with a soft smile. in the bottom corner that the blonde was still visible, her lips curled into a small grin as she watched you speak.

“today we’re switching it up a little bit from her normal two braids. we’re doing three on each side pulled into a slick back.”

paige nodded along as she put herself back into frame. “yup,” she popped her lips, “she’s getting me right.”

a low “mm-hm,” left your lips before you spoke again. “yeah, i gotta treat her right after them cruise braids. poor girl was traumatized.”

she whipped her head around at your comment, truinng to look up at you. “hey, i thought we left that in the past, i got set up.”

you giggle as you take one hand to push her jaw forward. “stop moving. then your hair really is gonna be messed up.”

you hear the smack of her teeth as she refocuses on the live, shaking her head slightly.

as you continued, she spoke with viewers about the upcoming season, plans for summer holiday, and traveling, occasionally reading comments aloud to you.

“‘can y/n do my hair next?’ uhhh no, she’s booked. got her for the whole summer actually. right?” she pans the camera to you.

“sorry guys, p comes first,” you say with a feigned frown.

she turns the phone back, shrugging her shoulder. “i could get kayla for you if you want though, for sure.”

you apply oil to the parts in the braided section then smooth you hand along the middle section. “okay, im done with the braids. can you get the brush and gel so i can do the bun?”

“but i’m on live,” she replies, looking at the screen.

you stop, looking at the back of her head silently. really?

paige slowly turns around, meeting your incredulous expression.

“yes ma’am.”

“thank you,” you smile as she gets up, propping her phone up on the glass table in front of you both.

as she turns the corner to the bathroom you lean forward, reading some of the comments flooding in.

wbbluver period suh!! you tell her

huskie4l “yes ma’am” ohh it’s like that💀💀

ice.bradyy made blondie get up real quick

you laughed at a few, responding as you read. “yeah, because I don’t know who she thought she was talking to.”

said blonde walks back into the living area, gel and brush in hand “what’re you in here giggling about?”

“nothin’” you shake your head, leaning back to give her space back between your legs. “just chattin’ with the people.”

she sits down, folding her legs criss crossed as she passes you the products. “what are you guys saying about me in here, huh?” she asks as you push her head playfully.

“oh hush, we weren’t talking about you.”

she hums quietly as you begin brushing her hair back, smoothing over any fly aways or unarmed tangles before grabbing a scrunchie and tying her locks back. you pull her hair through twice before pulling it halfway through the third time and wrapping the excess hair around the bun.

you place your hands on her shoulders, sighing softly, “okay, you’re all done.”

her eyes light up as she sits up straight, “perfect! ayeee, lemme see.” she looks in the camera, licking her lips before they pull into a smile.

oh lord now she’s feeling herself.

“okayyy, my girl got me right! braids by y/n get at her,” she exclaims before correcting herself, “but like i said, i got first priority, you know this.”

you laugh at her softly, gathering the supplies to take em back to the bathroom before a hand stops you.

“wait you can’t leave without saying bye to the live,” she says, wrapping her free arm around your shoulder.

you smile, waving again, “bye liveee,” you blow a kiss, leading to paige blowing one of her own followed by a wink.

“talk to yall later, peace!”

✧

[herecirmsims]

Questions For Storytellers

I have (I think) finally caught up on my list of poses to make, so I wanted to do something a little fun (for me, not for anyone else LMAO) and entirely self-indulgent. I read stories and tell my own over on Instagram, but of course it's harder to post long-form text like this over there.

Special thanks to @freezerbnuuy as I'm copying their post. ❤️

What’s the last screenshot you’ve taken for your story?

This is from the middle of my last post, but it's the last screenshot I took because I went back and added this scene in after finally caving and making my own stupid poses for it hahah.

2. Describe your story in three words or less: Needlessly long tbh

3. Describe (insert character here) in three words or less: Uhhh I'll pick Saxen since he's my MC... wet cat energy (which I think is something @nefaricussims said actually??). Or "90s cocaine chic" as @southernsimmin so beautifully described him. 🤣

4. How did you choose the name of your story? It's called The Cottage because it's... based in and around a cottage. 🥲 I have a very imaginative mind!! 🤣 But also, the cottage plays an important role throughout the whole story and especially in the upcoming finale.

5. How do you choose your characters’ names? My Sim story is based on a novel I never had the confidence to finish - in that version, Sax is an ælf based on Anglo-Saxon belief. I made him a vampire in Sims because that was the only pack I owned at the time, besides base game, and for gameplay purposes I thought vamp put him close to how I imagined him. I now realise I could have easily used CC and my own damn imagination to make him an ælf but I didn't know much about CC at the time, either. 🤣 Because of this, the original story leant into fae lore and the stuff about never revealing your true name. Saxen isn't his real name anyway, but for an added layer it also isn't spelt how you might imagine if you heard it spoken. The same for Thom and Jac who are also characters who came over from the 'original'.

6. How long have you been working on your story for? A little over three years! I have learned soooo much in that time.

7. Whats the biggest risk you’ve taken with your story? Did it pay off? I dunno that I've taken any risks, other than putting it out there in the first place.

8. What about your story are you proud of? I think the fact it exists at all. I've been writing stories since I was a kid, but at some point I lost confidence in myself and have never finished anything/wanted to share it with people because I end up overthinking and deleting it. So I am proud of myself for having maintained a continuous story for three years, and for having other people read it. I think because there was no pressure with a Sims story - with a novel I kept thinking, this has to be perfect and polished so that I can publish it someday. With a Sims story, I'm free to just write the silly tropes I enjoy and allow myself to suck and learn and get better at it.

9. What about your story are you looking to improve on? I read a fantastic article about ma - including pauses in your visual storytelling, space for the characters to sit and breath and reflect. It's ma that makes Ghibli movies so wonderfully distinctive. Being able to make my own poses means that I can show a character's expression or body language in response to a situation, without the need for overlaying text. I'm trying really hard to move away from the "talking heads" style that reads more like a script, and letting the visuals tell the story for me instead. I'm not very good at it because I enjoy my blah blah, but it's fun to try!!

10. Is your story fully planned or are you still working things out? Is there a definitive end? I'm approaching the end of it now, which has been planned for the last three years, so yes - I know pretty much everything that's going to happen. Sometimes the characters still throw a little surprise for me though.

11. Why have you decided to tell this story? Are there any messages or meanings within it? When I got the Sims almost 4 years ago, I had absolutely no idea that there was a) a whole community around it or b) that people used it for storytelling. I'd already made Sax, Thom, and Jac in the game, because I'd wanted to see them come to life during gameplay. Then I discovered poses and started sharing random staged screenshots on Instagram, and became friends with the exceptionally talented TheSimmerKay (now making machinimas!) who showed interest in my silly little characters and suggested that I try telling a story too. I owe her a lot!! As for messages and meaning... I'm very interested in what makes people do the things they do, and how the hero of a story often depends on whose POV we're hearing the story from. There's a fine line between hero and villain sometimes, and a hero acting out of love can cross from protectiveness into control.

12. Do you actually play the game or do you just use it as a storytelling medium? Yep - I have a designated story save, which is the one I take all my screenshots in and which never has gameplay. Then I have a Happy Ever After save for Sax and Fen and another save for for my Globetrotter Challenge Sim, both of which are gameplay only. I think it's important to have that outlet; I can work on my story, make poses, or just play the game, depending on what I fancy.

13. From basic planning to a finished post, how long does that take you? 2-3 evenings. I tend to get everything laid out and text added, then let it sit for a day because I inevitably think of a way to do something better if I give it chance to breath. 🤣

14. Do you have any regrets about your story so far? If you could go back in time, how would you fix these? Not regrets, really, but there are some threads that I put in - fully intending to complete them later in the story - but never did, due to them just not fitting with the story or wanting to try and bring things to an end sooner. But similarly, there are times when I was going to put in a little hint or foreshadowing in and didn't, and then later in my story have wished I had! The tricky part of serialised storytelling is you have to just live with what you have (or don't have), you can't go back and remove or add scenes like you would with a drafted novel.

15. What have been the highlights of creating your story? I've met so many incredible people due to it, oh my goodness. Truly extraordinary Simmers who've shared their time and knowledge with me. We have a little mutual reading group on Insta where we all read and geek out over each other's stories and it's just wonderful. I was honestly shocked when i went to other platforms and realised how much drama there can be in the Sims community. 🤣

16. What about the process do you enjoy? Not that I don't enjoy the process... but I mostly love it when it's finished and I can share it, hahaha.

17. What about the process do you hate? I don't hate any of it... it's a hobby and I do it because I enjoy it. That being said, it does fuck me off when I have multiple Sims in a scene, everyone is in place and has poses queued, and then MCCC Dresser FREEZES MY GAME NOOOOOOOO WHY

18. Choose a song that reminds you of your story:

This is the unofficial theme... specifically this version in Old English, which is Saxen's first language. "It's our destiny then to find love again / Where we failed once before now we'll win"

19. Choose a song that reminds you of (insert character here):

Another one for Sax I guess because he's special. 😌🤣 "But you, a cinder of the fire that's yet to come / Will you just sit and mourn this fragile thing that you've become / Or instead will you consume the very things you can't outrun / Until you finally see all of the strength that you draw from?"

20. Choose your favourite shot from your story so far: Hmmm I think this one, which was me being lazy and reusing a screenshot from an older scene during a flashback-style narration. 🤣 I was trying to achieve something else with the editing but did this by accident and liked it.

21. Choose your least favourite shot so far: Too many to pick from LMAO

22. Choose a favourite character from your story so far: Sax, obviously, he's my lil chew toy/punching bag. But then there's also Idris, for whom I only wish the best. She's going through some trouble right now and I don't enjoy it. It's much more fun to bully Sax.

23. Choose your least favourite character so far: I don't have one! Although Vlad makes me deeply uncomfortable tbh. I find him to be a really creepy villain, and unlike any of my other villains, he's not in any way misrepresented or redeemable. I'm using a makeover version of him by WistfulCastle (I would link, but I don't think he's available anymore?)!

24. Are there any characters who remind you of yourself? No... well. Whenever baby El randomly info-dumps on a niche subject, that's mostly me taking advantage of a captive audience to tell them about karkadanns or medieval torture items or dead bodies on Everest. 🥲

25. What inspirations have you drawn on for your story? I honestly don't know - I can't name anything that I've consciously drawn on, though I know for sure I must have. Funnily enough people have told me things like "oh that's like in Vampire Diaries" or "that's like that part in the Harry Potter films" and I haven't watched either of those, so I think what's happening is we're all drawing from the same well of folklore and mythology and trope. There is occasional story drama about being copied and the thing is... unpopular opinion alert... many of us aren't as unique as we think we are. 😅 What we are unique at is taking a trope and telling it in our own distinctive way. No one else can tell your story quite like you can.

26. Have other sim stories inspired you? I have soooo many talented friends who inspire me to do better when it comes to visuals and storytelling!! @callmedomino is the queen of silent storytelling and a huge inspiration on my journey to discover ma. I really love how well she can tell a story with no words.

27. What genres would you describe your story as? I call it rural fantasy lmao

28. If you could reproduce your story in another medium (movie, novel, comic, etc.) what would you choose and why? I mean obviously I'd say movie because HOW COOL would that be?! Especially an animated one!

29. What would your story’s rating be? (G, PG, M etc.) Ummm probably M because there is the occasional spicy scene. Sometimes three a year LMAO.

30. If you were leaving simblr Simsta and had to choose another creator to continue the story for you, who would you ask? Well tbh I've given Sax and Fen to several good friends already; some of them have them in ongoing cameos in their own stories. I wouldn't ask anyone to continue mine, but I like to think that Sax and Fen could live on in my friend's stories and games if anything were to ever happen to me.

31. Drop some random trivia about your story: When I started I only meant to do short, random vignettes about daily life at the cottage. Somehow it snowballed into a three year epic. 🤣

32. Give a light spoiler: "This is who I am. If I was any other way, I would not be myself."

[bonaesperanza]

More random Captive Prince thoughts, because I feel like being a sadist to all of my mutuals these books are living rent-free in my head right now. These ones are more about the plot and the worldbuilding.

Worldbuilding-wise, I loved the attention to detail, because as far as I could tell all the little details of how a medieval-ish army functions and how you would run it and what you would do with the horses and the supplies and the roads etc. etc. were pretty accurate. I mean, these books are by no means a treatise on warfare (in fact they can be delightfully pulpy, which I liked - I grew up on The Three Musketeers and the Scarlet Pimpernell and similar swashbuckling novels, and I got some of the same feelings here!), but there were details in there that most other authors don't bother to put in or inadvertently fuck up (I love ASOIAF to death but historically accurate it is not), and most of the military stuff seemed plausible enough as well, though again not described in too much detail so you can fill it in with your own assumptions or skim over if it's not something that particularly interests you. And I also loved the architectural details and could imagine everything quite well, but again, as I said previously, this may be because the author spent some time living near where I live so we've seen a lot of the same stuff probably.

Actually when I was first reading it and thinking it was going to be bad I was reading it exclusively for the architectural details lol, I was like yeah, yeah, they're all sucking each other off, but Damen please tell me again how you feel about the tiling?

What I also particularly liked is how the... scale of the conflict I guess? was refreshingly accurate for the "historical period".

The worldbuilding is a mashup of Ancient Greece and medieval France, but what it really felt like to me is a world where the Roman Empire never really consolidated to the extent that it did in our world and Italy went on into the middle ages (because these are decidedly feudal systems) with Cisalpine Gaul having the, well, Gallic culture, while the South had a Greek one. I may be thinking this because I live in Italy and so everything reminds me of Italy, but once I thought of it I couldn't unsee it.

I guess I gotta put in a cut somewhere and now's as good of a time as any?

But anyway, back to the scale of the conflict, the actual middle ages were filled with small and mid-sized countries, and petty local conflicts with family members turning onto each other over succession and stuff, and random small territories going back and forth (well, that's just Europe in general, always, TBH), and this is how it all felt like to me. Actual medieval history has a guy who started a rebellion because his brothers threw a pisspot at him and his father did nothing about it and he felt humiliated, and the war was secretly funded by his mother, so the combination of the small scale with a random local conflict that probably literally nobody cares about outside of the region we are in + everything being so intensely driven by interpersonal drama between insane people felt really authentic to me, like the kind of weird historical moment that would get turned into a funny Tumblr post. And of course the royals did a lot more sneaking around than was probably smart, but I can forgive that for the swashbuckling vibes and also because if Cleopatra could sneak into a palace in a carpet these guys can do whatever they want in my book.

Speaking of the petty interpersonal drama, I also liked the emphasis on how in this system personal reputation and the performance of kingship are king. Usually when you have a heavily political story it's much more based on the quid-pro-quo, "rational actor" kind of politics, but medieval politics also had a lot more going on in the cultural sense (and so do modern politics actually but at least pretending to be a "rational actor" IS the modern performance of leadership), and here you had people dealing political blows through meticulous management of their own and others' political reputations, which was fun to see, especially in combination with so many manipulative bastard characters. Like, how Laurent is manipulated into going to the border just because looking like a coward will lose him more political points than he can afford, and Damen's continued wearing of the slave cuff and instistence on not being served by slaves initially deals massive blows to his reputation, because these are cultures that value heroism, of one sort or another.

(And speaking of heroism, the emphasis on the physical activity-related activities that are the centerpiece of noble life in both countries were wonderful, especially since because both Ancient Greece and the European Middle Ages were really into that in their respective ways and it makes the mashup feel really well-done and coherent in how she tied it together.)

What's notable is a lack of any kind of religion, which felt particularly glaring during the whole Kingsmeet thing - in the real world there would likely be a belief in some kinda curse from the Gods or something similar to discourage the drawing of weapons, but since I'm not really religious and tend not to personally care about religion (while ofc recognizing its anthropological importance) I really didn't care and it didn't diminish my enjoyment of the series.

Still, I do have to say that the ending of the last book felt reeeeaally rushed, and that felt really glaring exactly because the rest of the series had such amazing detail work and excellent pacing and very gradual plot development.

I didn't get the part with the doctor and the letter (why didn't he say anything earlier? how would they verify the authenticity of the letter? Did anyone even have the time to READ the thing?) but I'm gonna be honest with you here, I read book 3 under a heavy fever and it was like 2 AM when I got to that part, so I'm not sure that I haven't missed something that makes it make more sense.

BUT even if that part makes sense, I feel like the Regent was dealt with far too quickly. Like in one paragraph he is in control of everything, in the next they've already beheaded him and that's it. I can imagine in my head that a lot of the nobles were probably already sick of him and took little convincing, that they were disapproving both of his meddling in foreign politics and of his likely grave breach of cultural rules via taking an aristo kid as a pet, or that he initially rationally seemed a better choice over Laurent until Laurent proved himself to be more competent and with a more competent ally, or they already had some hints about what happened that the audience didn't and the evidence confirmed what was inconclusive before.

But I feel like in a series that spends so much time detailing the shifting alliances between the characters and the public's opinion on everyone that matters? I really needed to be sold on it a bit more. Like I really needed some discussion over what to do with the Regent, I needed them to keep him in a cell for a while as they decided whether to kill him (and have the leads scared that the Regent will turn them over as Laurent often does to people), I needed them to consider the evidence just a little bit more, I needed some post mortem with the council members where they explain what was happening on their side of the things. It needed to be MUCH longer and more detailed.

Another thing I wondered at was why the Regent was so insistent to paint Laurent's collaborations with the Akielons as a bad thing when he was... also collaborating with the Akielons? Like he is foaming at the mouth calling them barbarians and accusing Laurent of sleeping with the prince-killer but it feels more like setup for Damen's big declaration of love than an actual political strategy because my brother in Christ, you are literally in the Akielon royal palace, in the middle of Akielos to which you ran after your nephew started a rebellion, with the Akielon king sitting next to you as your equal. Why do you think that you can convince your people that YOUR Vere-Akielos alliance is somehow more morally pure than Laurent's? This was also the right moment to pull out all the patricide allegations that seemed to be going around for Damen, but IIRC he didn't use that as much as he could if at all.

Since there were some Akielons in the room as well, I was also wondering WTF was Kastor doing as the Regent was shitting on his country and calling them barbarians and making it like allying with them is a grave transgression? Why was HE allowing this humiliation? It felt like a very unpolitical thing to do from a character whose strength was in his political acumen (obviously meaning the Regent, not Kastor) and the plot just let it slide by.

I feel like a lot of this is due to this being the first time that the story had to fit within the constraints of a traditional book? So it needed a decisive traditional climax and perhaps it was getting too long for a traditional format, or the author got a bit tired of it and wanted to wind it up now that she wasn't getting regular feedback as you do with serialized publishing, or she prioritized emotional impact over plot logic.

I don't know. I still think they're great books, and the conclusion was emotionally satisfying in the sense that the psychological and interpersonal threads were wrapped up impeccably, I just wanted more detail on the political side. It's still grabbed me like nothing else did for a long time, I can take a mid ending, half of my favourite series will never have one at all because the author wrote themselves into a corner and then died lol.

[rebtrovert-girl]

Celebratory Note: Drunken Honesty

As this story has come to an end, I feel like talking about it a little more since this is my first mid-length fic, made with adapting the story into a modern one, and tbh the first ever long story I manage to finish (for real, I've been writing for as long as I can remember and I have soooooo many drafts, not just about LawBin but other real manuscript but I never manage to finish anything) so this one deserved to be celebrate and talked about by me :D Or, really, I just wanna babbling it out even without any excuse.

Honestly I used to dislike a modernized fanfic of something that was originally set in their own universe. When I first thought of this idea I kinda thought to myself: what the hell???? Very naive if you ask me. Look where I land now, I love writing this so freaking much!

I didn't plan to name each chapter with anything or even idioms at first. It was done because I've been listening to Billie Eilish- Birds of a Feather a lot when I wrote the first chapter and I started to envision the ending with that song. I just knew I needed to name the last chapter with it, or at least I have to kinda insert the song in the last scene. I ended up naming every chapter with idioms just so I can use Birds of a Feathers in the last one. But that somehow helps me a lot in putting the plot point and what I want to have in every chapter neatly. Like in chapter 1: Cat Out of The Bag focus on Robin spilling her secret, and in chapter 2: Beat Around the Bush was used literally in their first meet and figuratively to describe Law's reaction for her confession which is trying to hide from it.

The making of Last Chapter: Birds of a Feather is really the hardest not just because I was in the middle of rushing my assignment that I need to redo, but I also rewrite it three times from the beginning LOL. The thing with me is, when I feel very stuck on some part I just know that something isnt right from the beginning so I will definitely rewrite it :D. I got very stuck on the first two versions and I finally let it be for a few days before I start again. Although the reunion scene was envisioned since the first time I wrote this and as I listen to the song, the build up to that scene was never determined and thats my real headache. I still have doubt about how it turn out even as I post it, but what matters to me was I did manage to finish it the way I want it.

As a non-English speaker, naming each chapter with idioms is a huge deal and has become one of the most fun parts for me. It's huge because I need to find the one that fits the most to describe what happened in the chapter, thus I get to read a lot of idioms and I learn a lot along the way. Definitely a fun excuse to learn more English!

I'm not really a Sannami shipper but I ended up inserting them in addition to Saboala because I want both Robin and Law to have a reflection of how a friends to lovers relationship could be. That's also why I randomly put Law and Sabo together as roommates even though they have almost zero interaction in the canon world. I know in fanfic, writers have the freedom to write characters however they want to, but I don't actually like steering too far from canon. Chapter 3: Greener Grass is the second title I found and I knew all along I want to have these two other ships mentioned in here.

Aside from LawBin, my second ship in OP is indeed Saboala and I've been wanting and trying to write about them for some time. I had drafts of their stories in my file to which I was never able to finish. Their little inclusion in this story is an excuse and open door for me if maaayyyybbbbeeeee I wanna attempt to tackle a sequel/spin-off of this that focused on their story one day (who knows?????)

The story was originally planned to be done in 6 chapters. I had to improvise a bit when I wrote Chapter 4: Skeletons in The Closet that was never part of my plan. In the original idea, Cora and the part where Robin realizes what she did when she was drunk are supposed to be in chapter 3. But as I said in that chapter's note, something came up (real life happened) and I wasn't able to write for a week. If I continue to follow the original plan, chapter 3 would be pushed for another week and it makes me weary. So on a whim I decided to divide the chapter into two, with chapter 3 just focusing on the couple reflecting their relationship with others, and chapter 4 with the revelation of what has been done since the first chapter. I went into a frenzy when I uploaded chapter 3 because I felt bad for not following my original plan. You guys have no idea how grateful I am for the feedback you gave and it push me forward on writing more :D

I have thought about actually writing some smut here in the middle of writing this but then I scratch the idea because; first, I've never write a smut before so I think I still need some practice(?) and second, as much as I like for the two to get hot and down to business, I've never plan on it initially. Mood wise, I feel like it'd be a little forced if I suddenly insert something too sexual. Maybe I'll do that some other time with different stories (?????)

Chapter 5- Down the Rabbit Hole, where Sabo somehow become the MVP was coincidentally came out at the same time as eps 1116 release, which was when Sabo come back to the anime for Reverie arc. It was pure coincidence but a really nice one and I want to keep remembering it!

In writing, there is this saying: Kill your darlings, which means to eliminate the overuse of favorite characters or tropes to cut the unnecessary part. In one of the writing courses I took years ago, they also explain this as a way to not include too many unimportant details, such as a character that doesn't do much to the story and doesn't need to be explained in detail. Again, my take as this piece is a fanfic, I took the liberty to have as much fun as I could with every character I could add to the story. Like Doflamingo, yeah this psychopath has no business whatsoever to be in this light hearted romcom story of Law and Robin. But I wanna have fun with him and my only reason for including him is only so I can write him say in another world he'd die in Luffy's hand (I love irony). That's also why I make them neighbours. It's unimportant but it's fun. The characters might be Oda's but the universe of this story is mine so I'll do as I like it. But in the end, I still tried to limit this thing so the story didn't snowball too big. I hate to add more chapters haha

Saul and Cora's inclusion here is my second favorite take. I just know if I want to write something that can assure Law and Robin did have a good childhood, these two characters need to exist in their story. And I just feel so proud to come up with this two quotes for them:

You are my daughter but you are always going to be a Nico- Saul I bet on your happiness- Cora

I know it's just me being overdramatic (like this whole post is) but I'm proud because it feels like the kind of thing their characters would even say in canon :D

12. I do have some ideas for bonus chapter (!!!!!) but nothing has been written yet and I dont want to make empty promises anymore so for now lets just save it as a surprise when it did happen one day

I think I've talked enough. I write this purely because I want to have this story, but I'm glad to know that there are people who can enjoy it as much. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you so much <3 Honestly when I first started writing LawBin I thought it was just going to be a one time thing, but look at me now! I don't know how long I will be able to write them and have fun with everyone before real life consumes me; but in this moment and time, I feel so grateful that I could share the same joy of having fun from what I like with people who have the same favorites. Cheers to all of us, and hopefully I can greet you with a new story soon! (Idea is always there, I do have my own draft list too, the problem is always the same: TIME)

Full chapter of Drunken Honesty by me (chilldeokjil) is now on AO3!

[struggling-author]

Hey what are your avatar otps besides azulaang?

oh umm… I wouldn’t call them OTPs since that is exclusively Azulaang, but my bi Azula headcanon lives in a variety of ships. Azutara, Azuki, Maizula… not Tyzula tbh because that feels like… imbalanced? and not Tophzula because they are menace-besties but not romantic, but with any of the other girls I think it could be great. Azutara has the enemies to lovers from Azulaang but with more spice and less forgiveness, they‘d tear eachother apart first but that makes it even sweeter if they eventually fall in love. Azuki is kind of different because Suki is more rational and holds less of an emotional grudge, it‘d be difficult for Azula to earn her trust but she would not be openly hostile to her unless necessary. I imagine this one could only happen if Azula is already in the middle or post redemption though, because Suki would not put up with any EtL shit. I guess that is exactly why it intrigues me too, I feel Suki would be more willing to give Azula a chance, more than Katara for example, but at the same time it would be impossibly hard to win her trust and I‘d like to see if Zula can manage it. Lastly Maizula, and I prefer this one over Tyzula because I feel Mai is more capable of holding her own against Azula in a relationship. It’s a complicated version of childhood friends to lovers and I‘m kind of here for it. No idea how it would work though lol.

Aside from Azula ships, I think Zutara is pretty cool and works well alongside Azulaang. Kataang is kinda cool in theory too, but I don’t like shipping Aang with anyone except Azula, it feels wrong 🤷‍♂️ The only other Aang ship I can imagine liking is Zukaang, but I don’t talk about it much.

Oh and I have to give a shoutout to Sokkla, I don’t particularly vibe with it but they’re the sister ship to Azulaang and I do see the potential of the two genius strategists, so if Aang didn’t exist I would definitely ship Sokkla instead. Nothing but love to the comrades over there. 🫶🏼

edit: totally forgot this but I actually also love Tylaang aka Ty-Lee and Aang, it just has absolutely no fandom so it’s hard to get the ball rolling. I just feel they would be such a wholesome bubbly cute ship, and I dig the Ty-Lee airbender ancestry theory so she‘d love to learn all about airbender customs and they‘d have so much fun and probably a huge family 😅 anyway I think party of why I ship this is just because I think these two deserve the world and it represents my wish for them to be totally carefree and happy. you can also add Azula and make this a throuple, I think that would work because you have Tyzula as the polar opposites and Aang in the middle to bridge the gap.

speaking of throuples I enjoy the idea of… Azutaraang? (Azula/Katara/Aang) but it is very difficult to make work. The only way I can see it is if Azula and Katara fall in love first because nothing good could come of them fighting over Aang. or maybe I could see like a stranded on a deserted island AU where the three of them have to work together and learn to rely on eachother… idk, difficult but not impossible.

Oh and I love Zuki too (Zuko x Zuki) …damn I guess I do have quite a few non-Azulaang ships. anyway this is essentially a bodyguard AU and it’s actually my favorite Zuko ship (sorry Zutara) not much to say about it cuz I’ve barely engaged with it, but I love the idea and think they would just work really well together. I also can see this as a throuple with Sokka again. I don’t really vibe with Zukka on their own but if you add Suki then I love it, because Suki deserves two good boys and it’s more fun for everyone involved if those two good boys are in love with eachother too.

final edit hopefully: Sokka Azula Aang is good too, for the same reasons listed for Zuko Suki Sokka, I swear that’s it now. goodbye lol.

[tulipe-rose]

ME REACTING TO DAZAI'S ENTRANCE EXAM PART TWO!! >:D

Previous || You're here || Next

Obvious spoilers ahead!!

White teeth? Well it's a good thing he's been taking care of his hygiene a lot more since his defection.

Man, I feel bad for the HR, they must've been suffering hell for the past three days ಥ⁠_⁠ಥ

How, and why is this not used in fics? Like it's such a delicate, and domestic part of their dangerous lives. Seeing Doppo, and the President in a non work environment with them being so... Idk? More casual than usual? Mini Doppo is openly ranting about his misfortunes with Dazai, and Fukuzawa feeling pretty bad about putting this responsibilities onto him. He knows Doppo has his pride as an agency member, and would never back down from such a challenge. Their student–mentor relationship is so dear to me.

Harbinger of misfortune Dazai? Sounds like a good Yokai!au title for him. He'd haunt the agency members after running away from his responsibilities as a Yokai to bring misfortune upon humans, only to stumble upon an albino boy while on the run. The albino has great cursed energy, if he didn't know any better, he would've believed that he was at least apart Yokai. Turns out this kid was but a middle schooler that attends the same school as that 'detective club', and decides to stick with him for a while. Cue the misadventures of the misfortune Yokai, and an unknowning Yokai of mysterious nature. >:D

SHOUT OUT TO MUSHITARŌ OGŪRI!! OUR FAVORITE BOYY!!!

AUGH OUCH. Imagine them having this conversation when Oda joined in BEAST?!?! Kinda hurts though... This doesn't look like the first time they've had this conversation, and dare I say, they might've had it when Kyōka joined.

This answers... A lot. It's actually interesting to know that Doppo has a limit to how many pages he could use, really puts another dimension to his ability, and it's drawbacks.

I had to screenshot the whole thing, cause how can I not?

Comedy gold, right there officer.

Doppo is so unserious about Dazai, like 'Your pink elephants, they're still flying?' Dazai is just matching the mocking wavelength of the conversation, and be like 'Negative! Purple ones are the flying ones! The pinks are just too boring sometimes! What's with the purples anyways? We're going to exterminate them? They were kind of a nuisance tbh.'

Also Dazai 'Average bozo' Osamu is just HDBWHSV LMAO DOPPO STOP BULLYING EACH OTHER.

Doppo sweetie you are so strong, I wouldn't have lasted in the asylum where you're living. Especially with him as your workmate.

Then perhaps dead apple was a horror story then? Shibusawa's ghost/Ability/whatever the hell that was surely composed at least an email or two.

Of course Doppo isn't scared (⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠)

He is our big, stronk boy 〳•̀⁠ v ⁠•́⁠ ⁠〵

[pink-strawberry-kissess]

Re4 Remake with Leon Kennedy Actor, Nick Apostolides & Heisenberg actor Neil Newbon and Tom De Ville

i’ll only be taking note of anything that i think is interesting but please watch or listen to the whole stream if you want to know other stuff that happens

WHY DID HE (NEIL) POINT HIS GUN AT ASHLEY TO PUT DOWN THE LADDER SJKDFBSKJFS

neil IS REALLY JUST LEAVING ASHLEY BEHIND SJFDSJKSFBS

neil said *middle finger* BYE ASHLEY

i have a feeling he might not like ashley sjkbdfskjfdbs (he’s probably joking)

nick is not going to back seat game lol

they are going to have a bad time, he (neil) is not keeping track of ashley lmao

nick did blow up ashley and kicked her in the head in his own gameplay

“THAT DOG WAS A FUCKING DICKHEAD” 32 minutes in. neil thinks the dog is a dickhead

34 minutes in, nick says “Leon Fucking Kennedy” in an accent lol

question section starts at minute 41

nick is eating oreos again

one of nick’s favourite leon lines are “the bingo line,” and he didn’t want to spoil the other lines since neil hasn’t gotten there in the game yet

in game mechanics, nick did almost none of the mocap for it. he thinks it was done in japan with another team. (almost all internally in japan) (tbh i’m not 100% what he means by this and it’s not clarified) (EDIT: i think he means that anything that wasn’t a cut scene he did not do any mocap work)

nick does not have final say in anything, he was not allowed to change anything at the end of the day

he was allowed to suggest some lines, but capcom gets the final say

47 minutes, he said he vibes with the re4r team a lot and he said he had a bit more fun with this version of leon. he got more collaborative liberties in re4r

nick had been working for leon’s character for 6 years at this point

he was “allowed to be more of a cowboy” minute 49

he said that the building show he’s working on has helped him a lot with gratitude and how it applied to how he characterized leon as well for re4r

nick has been a fan of re4 for 18 years

neil loves how leon opens doors “it’s unnecessarily flexing,” (it actually reminded me of how aragorn opens doors in the lord of the rings lmao)

neil was born in the 70s lol 1hr01 

actually, yeah why does the photo say 1981???? but it’s like more like 1891 maybe it was an error????

1hr07 nick says “leon needs a shower cap” lol

question section number 2 is 1hr13

nick’s fave is double stuff oreos

nick did not do the round house kick in mocap

nick also did not do the death scenes in mocap, he mostly just did the cut scenes. i guess that’s what he means about the game mechanics he didn’t mocap that

he did the facial and voice over for the death scenes though

nick’s favourite death scene is the axe death with the three cracks at the neck

neil’s favourite is the chainsaw through the chest death

1hr17 nick says “miranda, that bitch.” for trying to do one of heisenberg’s line

neil every few seconds, “ashley’s dead”

omg neil is refusing to sell the fish because neil played gavin and oh god i forgot his KAMSKI in detroit become human and one of the things was you can save the fish in that game so he’s refusing to sell the fish in this game lol

1hr30 “I can also sell Ashley Graham apparently, which is worrying.”

andre (va for luis) got luis’s jacket made!

1hr33 neil “IM GONNA LEAVE LUIS TO HIS DEATH CAUSE HE’S A FUCKING DICK.”

1hr42 neil does the leon suplex

nick apparently died at least four times during the first cabin rush scene with luis

1hr48 nick has a feature film coming sometime in the summer! maybe netflix! it’s called aftermath!

1hr57 nick mocap the guy who got squashed by the door (OH I THINK HE’S LYING LOL)

ASHLEY HAS CONSUMPTION SJFKBSDFKJS

ughhh this stopped before mother would’ve showed up lol but here are more questions!

okay nevermind they had no more questions!

maybe next week they might do another session (never mind they’ll figure it out!)

nick’s next convention is maryland may, 26-27, 2023

he’s going to do more streams with more actors!!!! hopefully lily soon!!!

they raided nicole and andre afterwards! :D

[adversary-to-inamorato]

I LOOVE your IGBP AU tbh! :) your story was super cool, I'm so excited for the next chapter, and i love also the way your write it! I'm so into it, i was shocked when SMG4 came back in the loop!!!

Some questions :

--> will SMG4 get out of this loop?

-->How will you portray SMG34, I'm curious abt this haha, since it can be interesting to see how it is put

-->Will each "loop" be the same or be different?

-->To the Previous question, does SMG4 will somehow loose memory, or a character? Temporary or permanently?

-->How many chapters do you think this story will have? (you can skip this question I'm just curious lmao)

-->Does any characters will know abt the loop?

-->Tv hardware? Will be shown, interact with the others? Hmmm

I'm SOOO sorry for all these questions, I'm sooo curious abt your AU, LIKE İ LOVE IT, I LOVE YOUR STORY❤️

Omg omg you're my first ask hgsngsnhn I cannot keep this cool and mysterious persona (that I already heavily failed) anymore RAGHHH iM SO GLAD YOU THINK SO HERES A LIST OF RESPONSES

- Yes he will, this will be angst with a happy ending! I will add more tags and tw and cw the more I add on (I'm not evil I swear)

- How I portray them is based on their current canon personality from what I have observed so far from MAR10 Day till latest episode. BUT with a dash of psychological elements that they (unwillingly) have to face during the whole shenanigans.

(help me these two are stuck in my brain matter it's almost parasitism- but it's actually comensalism)

- the loop will be the same, but it's up to the characters to change or alter how they go through it. E.g: Same place where it all starts, but different endings when they change their actions such as SMG4 didn't make any of those Toad Legs models, the whole meme reaction thing. This is because he is aware of the mistakes he had done and trying to fix it while he still can.

- It's more of a brain-fog kind of thing. (Temporary) Memory loss is quite common with people with depression/developing depression. There will be serious topics in this fic that might be triggering so I would have to warn y'all beforehand because working on this actually made my friends worry about my mental state AHAHAHA

- I'm glad you asked! IM WORKING ON THE INBETWEEN(s) RIGHT NOW AND ALREADY HAD THE MIDDLE AND ENDING DONE. I already posted the introduction. So far 6 chapters and there may or may not be more. I've been working on this since November and it's driving me as crazy as the guy.

Oh, did I ever mention that? Hehe, forget it.

- Unfortunately, no. Mario would probably have a glimpse of what's going on but not entirely. It is about his recolours after all-- I mean guardians.

- n̵̨̛͉͚͎̯̘̮̭͓͇̪͎̘̥̖̱͖͆̽̓̇͜o̴̧̧̡̫͙̥͔̞̼̝̪̝̜͇̜͓͈͍̎̌̇̔̊͂̃̆͑̑̀͑̐́͝ͅ ̴͚̜̹̪̊̉̌̑̎͋̌̕c̷̞̘̬̟̓͂̀̚o̴̡̰̜̜̮̮̘̺̲̰̅̌͂͐́̋̋̕͝m̴̨̡̧͓̱̼̫̝̞̝͎̮̘̜̬̣͙̼͉̣͛̉̈́m̵̡̛̰͎͙̟͙̮̲̪̗͓̰̹̰̪̦͍͕͑̈́̃͂̀̈́̇̾̚ȩ̶̢̡͎̟̻̙̭̰̞̰͎̤̬͔̣͖̗̜̽͋́̆͒͂̑͗̌͛͆͂̽͘͝ͅn̷̩͇̙̳̫̬͓̓̃̾̆͂͋̃͌͆̚̚͜͝t̴͍͙͍̪̩̥̫̥͍̳͒̏̽̑̽̑̀̋̔̈̎̈́̎͊̾̆̑͆̂͂

That wraps it up! AND NO PROBLEM I HAD SO MUCH FUN ANSWERING THEM! and it helps me reflect on what other kinds of stories I should do with these two goobers ( or three! I really love Mario 💓) I hope I can get the next chapter up as soon as possible, if my work doesn't give me overtime again- ugh. I'm glad you love my work! It means that the ungodly time I spent drawing (still unpublished) and writing (also unpublished) wasn't a dud!

Thank you so much for expressing your interest and curiosity, anon! You made my morning a bit less bitter and a bit more better. (Incorrect grammar but this is nsrs). I hope I could deliver up to your expectations!

I hope.

(Might do a fan-fanfiction take on the BR AU a certain artist made though, I do like the concept. But I need permission probably lol so I'll work on that.)

Thank you so much! You really made me feel worth something :DDD

[maedhrus]

took me a bit to get around to but thank you for the tag @unrealwasteland <3

rules: choose any three fandoms (in random order) and answer the questions, then tag 10 people you want to know better

fandoms:

the terror

the silmarillion

asoiaf/hotd

the first character you loved:

as i also subscribe to the "had to rewatch three times to tell these men apart" club, probably crozier ig! something about his ulster presbyterian charm and general poor mood sang to me

maglor because i've always been a massive fan of the sole survivor trope, the more guilt-ridden the better

sansa stark!! my girl!!!!!! she's learning politics but is adamant she won't lose her belief in goodness to do so!

the character you relate to most:

nedward little!! each day is another day of tasks which he completes to middling success. also that simmering, ever-present rage

maedhros i suppose? i don't incredibly relate to any silm character but if i did it would have to be the world's first put-upon eldest sibling

jacaerys velaryon because i am also in a constant state of galled at the audacity

the character you'd slap

cornelius hickey but he'd probably like it. charles des voeux so the slap would result in less overt pleasure (still too much)

thingol because he's fun to torment

the burnt, cremated corpse of jaehaerys i targaryen

three favorite characters in order of preference

edward little (baby girl you gave it all and it wasn't enough), thomas jopson (mummy issues and duty as a curse, beloved), john irving (though very interchangable with crozier and silna tbh)

maedhros (eldest daughter syndrome), maeglin (trapped in a doom of his own creation), miriel (my omnipresent wife <3)

helaena targaryen (sweet girl!! haunted by her dreams!!), alicent hightower (girl you cannot escape the cycle! you are letting it consume you! you are continuing it for your benefit!), otto hightower (diva grandpa)

a character you liked at first but don't like anymore

generally i tend not to stop liking a character but i suppose some of them become less interesting to me?

literally everyone compels me to a certain degree but i suppose john franklin himself?? he peaces out before he can achieve any real revelation

i don't really care about luthien, very sorry to say

rhaenys velaryon. she's fine. it's fine. i don't see her achieving any real depth apart from "i was usurped. i now support rhaenyra unequivocally"

a character you did not like at first but now do

john irving who, at first watch, reminded me of every homophobic churchgoer i've had to interact with. with subsequent understanding he is now my sweet boy and no tongue shall rise against him

idril who i didn't care for at first but now i'm like oh!!! she's politicking!!!! her and maeglin are fighting a game of 4d chess!!

alicent hightower <3 you are so filled with hypocrisy and justifiable rage <3 you have no outlet for this but to cling to this idea of duty <3

three OTPs

joplittle!!! (as is apparent to anyone. there is no room for my manifesto to fit here), goodsilna (because they are sweet and so dear to me), and malving (because they have taken over my life)

russingon (devotion as a curse! devotion as a curse!!!!!!), magolfin (maglor/fingolfin kind of invented out of my mind but compels me in strange and unsettling ways), halenthir (literally brought together amidst war and in spite of doom! what's not to love!)

helaemond (literally doomed to die on the same day. loving your sibling in the incest family but not the one you're betrothed to), sansan (she! changed! him!), jacegan (swore a pact of brotherhood and we kiss about it)

tagging @charlesdesvoeux @abrahamvanhelsings @boogiewoogieweeb @perenial @burrowingregg @boatswainer @ithaca-awaits @erythriina @moonwifes and no pressure as always to do it!

[tof-writings]

Aaah finally someone who's willing to write zeke! I'm obsessed with him. Could I have a short fic/head cannons idk u choose about the f!mc and zeke/ming jing growing closer and finally get together after having to bond with him basically starting from scratch? Tbh any fluff with him is fine aaaa I want more zeke fics in my life there's basically none 😔 xoxo keep up ur amazing work!

Second Times The Charm..

an: I'm so obsessed with him it's insane..I know it said short fic or headcanons but I got VERY distracted and went full on for a fic. I'm trying my best!! It's a good game, but barely any ToF characters x readers.

You searched for months for him..and you met him, using the name of Ming Jing. It was more of a solemn time, for you and Nemesis. You and him were already pretty close before he decided to 'sacrifice' himself for Shirli, Nemesis. What made it worse? He forgot. He forgot himself, everything. It absolutely broke you.

He looked happy here, trying to figure his own past and having his pleasant time in Domain 9. It was a peaceful time as the festival was happening soon. He was confused, confused why you both seemed a bit pained even if happy. It was a happy time, why be pained? It was a shame, a damn shame that he forgot, he was always so stubborn and he wanted to save his sibling no matter the cost, you too.

You and him did automatically click of course, even if a few different changes, you still remember how you two became friends...well, you were mostly found by Shirli and then sorta got along. Ming Jing really didn't understand though, how do you seem so odd? He couldn't place it. You couldn't say a word about his past, it'll overwhelm him and it'll ruin his new life. It was good he was enjoying his time, but he also needed to remember for the sake of you and Shirli.

You spent most of your time with him at the festival, getting along as usual and drinking some tea also. Nemesis was indeed included, as you were a trio in the beginning, you can't just break that. Ming Jing seemed more softer, his tense expression he normally had back then as 'Zeke', gone. Yes, he did seem stern faced at times, but only in such situations.

The main show of the festival was starting, all three walking over to the railing and looking up into the sky. It made you all happy, feeling determined for maybe three different reasons. Ming Jing held your hand, feeling as it was right, and it wasn't really for a romantic reason yet. That was enough to give you hope, hope you can start over, you can maybe help him remember slowly, and you can get the man you loved back into your arms.

During the middle, of course you had to give Nemesis and Ming Jing their moment as Nemesis was his sibling. You could tell he was already close with you, and he knew also. You both had some sort of.. connection, a bond that couldn't be severed even if separated by memories. You will find each other in any realm, right? He found you in the beginning and you found him now, fate seems to put you together, even if there's things in the way.

You and him were fated to be intertwined, no matter the consequences. Both you and him know.

notes: I'm so insane..if you actually want like fluff and romance after having him remember then ask again!! I haven't played through the main quest much..my bad!!

[words-after-midnight]

15 questions tag game

Character interview edition: Gabriel

Tagged by @eternalwritingstudent (I've been tagged three times recently, doing them in the order I was tagged). Thank you!!

I've already done this game for myself (it's here, if you're curious), so I'll let some of my main characters have the floor. First up: Gabriel, the protagonist of my main wip, Life in Black and White. [Note: Gabriel is very emotionally guarded, self-deprecating, and lies habitually. I will clear up any lies that may arise in author's notes.]

Tagging (to do either for yourself or an OC!): @sunset-a-story, @ceph-the-ghost-writer, @winterandwords, @catchingbigfish, @ls-daydreams, @angelsofprey, @frostedlemonwriter, @nanashi23.

1. Are you named after anyone?

No, thank god.

2. When was the last time you cried?

I don't know. I'm not really a crier. [A/N: Abject lie lol.]

3. Do you have kids?

No. Maybe someday, if I can get to a place where I'm stable enough, both personally and financially.

4. Do you use sarcasm?

Sarcasm's the PG-rated version of my middle name, according to a friend of mine.

5. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Eyes, usually.

6. What's your eye color?

Hazel.

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

Both, even though I don't think happy endings are all that realistic, to be honest. Most of the time, anyway. They're nice to imagine, though.

8. Any special talents?

I'm perceptive, I guess? I'm good at reading facial expressions. Not sure that's a talent. [A/N: It's absolutely hand-eye coordination, but he thinks he's "clumsy" because his movements usually aren't ~fluid~ or whatever. Like, he stumbles around and drops shit sometimes, but I'd put money on him beating almost anyone at darts.]

9. Where were you born?

In a hospital. (Non-smartass answer: Scranton, Pennsylvania.)

10. What are your hobbies?

I really like to read, and I play a few musical instruments, but I'm pretty out of practice on the latter since I've been out of school. Other than that, I like hanging out with my friends, playing video games, watching movies, all that good stuff. Sometimes go hunting or to the shooting range. I like going to Borders and on coffee runs with friends. I'll hike or walk around town with friends when I have the energy. Is going on random trips in the boonies blasting music in the truck a hobby? I don't know, my life's pretty boring.

11. Have you any pets?

Nah, my sister's allergic to cats and dogs, so I didn't grow up with them. I'd be down to have one at some point, but I've always worried I wouldn't be that good or consistent at taking care of it, so ideally it'd be shared with a partner or roommate or whatever.

12. What sports do you play/have played?

*cackles* Have you met me? [A/N: He thinks he's terrible at sports. I think he'd be decent at quite a few sports tbh, but he lacks confidence in his own abilities.]

13. How tall are you?

About halfway between 5'10" and 5'11". [A/N: he's barely 5'10". He just refuses to admit that he's a full inch shorter than Jeff (in part because Jeff doesn't him live that inch down).]

14. Favorite subject in school?

English and biology.

15. Dream job?

I don't really have one, to be honest. I'm good at science, so I could see myself doing something in science or in the medical field.

[vaya-writes]

The get to know your character ask game with Slates cousin, the one who got Adalyn the book. ( I forgot her name.🫣 It started with an "r" I think?)

I might take this opportunity to answer all 10 questions since you didn't specify and i love to talk. So, here's a post getting to know Rin (or Rinley).

What's her go to drink order?

I haven't thought much about drinks in this setting to be honest. I don't know if cocktails have been invented and are widespread. You've obviously got things like wine and mead and beer. And because I'm not much of a drinker I can't share much based on Rin's preference for taste. But she does like expensive things, even if she's more than capable of 'slumming it'. I think she'd be inclined to order older wines if she's drinking with family and putting on appearances, but happy to drink mead when she's out among the populace.

2. What is her grooming routine?

When she's alone and in her own hoard/nest is the only time she truly gets to hit all the beats. She'll spend time in her largest form, mostly just stretching and exercising, ensuring her wings and muscles don't atrophy from lack of use. She doesn't get so spend much time in her first and second form due to (REDACTED). Hence why these aspects of care are only managed while she's home alone. She'll clean and scrub and buff her scales, test the membranes of her wings, shine, buff, and sharpen her horns, and clean her teeth. Her hair, skin, nails, and human teeth get plenty of attention when she's traveling. Her polymorphed form is so small and compact that it's easy enough to take care of. She enjoys learning new styles with which to use on her hair; she feels like it's one of the only aspects of her she's allowed to display proudly.

3. What are her most expensive purchases and where does her disposable income go?

She's a bit like Slate in that her hoard isn't specialised. She likes collecting generalised goods and luxuries. She does a lot of travel, more so than most dracanids, almost never feeling comfortable in her own home, pretty much only using her nest in the winter. So most of her money goes towards extravagant foods and lodging, as she likes feeling comfortable and trying out the local experiences wherever she goes. She will spend on clothing, beauty items and books especially. I imagine her most expensive purchases may have gone towards her nest. Think stained class windows, exquisite brickwork and carvings, gargoyles, whatever. I haven't put a lot of thought into her nest, TBH, as none of the story takes place there.

4. Any tattoos or scars?

Her human form has vitiligo, the bright red sort. She has a couple of scars on her other forms, and uses glamours to hide the scars on her human form. They're most noticeable on her largest form. These are from family infighting. It's implied that her father was physically abusive. While I haven't considered the details, I can tell you she comes from a violent and bloodthirsty family, and it's damn near miraculous that Rin's countenance doesn't reflect this. Her family definitely has a reputation and it's no wonder why she sticks to her human form.

5. The last time she cried.

She might have teared up during her mother's passing, or her mother's wedding. But the last ugly cry would have been when her mother took her away from her family. It was a traumatic experience. Her father did not take kindly to her mother attempting (and eventually managing) to flee their clan.

6. Are they an oldest, middle, or youngest child.

Rin had a handful of half siblings from the Red Clan. Three I think. I haven't put a lot of thought into it. I think she was the youngest, it makes sense that her mother would try to remove the youngest from the family. But Rin doesn't like to think back about her older siblings. When she hears passing news of them, it's never good, though some buried part of her still has hope that they'll be okay, that they'll change, that they might break the cycle.

Rin considers Slate to be a better sibling than her original ones, even if he's technically just her cousin in law. She enjoys lording her age over him and acting like a wise older sibling, even if she learns so many new things from just being in Slate's presence (things like patience, peace, forgiveness, kindness, compassion - all traits she was modeled should be shunned as she grew up).

7. Shoes.

God you're going to make me think about clothing and world building :'( I think Rin would go barefoot if she were allowed. She's long lived and desensitised to pain, I think she'd enjoy walking on stone and grass, and feeling things. It'd be a nice sensory experience for her. But during the times when she's expected to attend the Matron's court, she dresses up fancy. Sometimes heels and slippers. Things that are new to human and monster fashion, and pretty. She's pretty flexible with her fashion taste, looking to humans, and new trends, even if her timing is usually off and she doesn't understand what we tend to mix and match. She's fond of boots, heels, and sandals, due to their different looks. She's not often wearing something practical for her traveling though >:/

8. The place where they sleep.

We're going to look at Rin's nest for Winter. Because damn I'm committed to finishing this post. Even if I haven't thought about her home at all >;(

I think that as much as Rin hoards things, she doesn't actually decorate her bedroom much. Or rather, it's a bit understated. Her blankets are soft and pretty colours, as are the pillows and the rest of the bedding. But the walls are plain. The lighting is dim. She loves hoarding books and knowledge, but hardly ever reads in her room.

She has a large space dedicated to sleeping in her true form. Because if she's home alone, she might as well take advantage of the chance to stretch her wings. In her human form she likes soft fabrics and cushions and a downy mattress. In her largest form she's happy with a roof over her head, a fortified position, and a bit of a dug out area to sleep in. Softer stone is a bonus (talking sand, or gravel) for feeling, but Rin doesn't like cleaning it out of the rest of her quarters, so she usually goes without.

9. What is her favourite holiday.

I haven't thought much about holidays in the Drakon Empire. I think she enjoys attending small and local festivals, looking at the culture around her. Especially human culture. She likes seeing how humans have grown and lived past the Empire's original founders. She's not big on Imperial holidays, but practically nobody celebrates those anymore (old timey dragons do). She's filled with trepidation towards the celebrations the Grey Clan hold. It's nice to see her father in law, and her cousin. But she doesn't enjoy spending time with the rest of the family. Though it is a relief that their holidays (celebrating the Matron, or marriages, or coming of age ceremonies) are much more homely than the ones the Red Clan held dear.

10. What objects do they carry around with them.

Little known fact about Rin, is that she has a greater grasp of magic than the rest of Slate's family. She can get along fairly easily by her own wits. Still, when she's traveling for the purpose of looking at human culture, she'll often pack clothes specific to that area, and money. Or just money. Or jewellery, to sell if she's in a pinch. It DOES make her a greater target for robbery, but most people who try to rob Rin tend not to get very far in that. Anyway, she packs light.

-

Now I've gotta remember to add these details to her character notebook.

Thank you so much for the ask <3 Hope I didn't melt your brain with all this information. Thank you for the prompt! Some of these things I had to think hard about.

(I can't wait until people figure out the redacted details of this story)

[number1wah]

rambles on go2

I think GO2 feels a bit off for people (me included tbh) for a couple of reasons. The big one, obviously, is that it's mostly New Material and Sir Terry wasn't around to help write it, so it's only Neil's voice (and I'm sure at times Neil attempting in some ways to channel Sir Terry, which is just an impossible task), so it lacks that extra special spark that only Sir Terry could really bring it. And there's absolutely no way it ever could have, frankly. (A fact I'm certain everyone on set or in the writing room was aware of. Neil is a wonderful writer. Sir Terry was a wonderful writer. Together they made a particular kind of magic that can never be captured again.)

Secondly though, is that it feels like a bunch of side stories. While things do change and progress in many ways there's just this feeling, to me anyway and I think to others that struggled with it, that a lot of it doesn't actually go anywhere in particular. There's a lot of fluff that doesn't fully impact the story that we see currently (but I do think will enlighten us for next season)

Rather than pushing the story forward in some large way it seems more like it's just expanding on what was there. (Which is definitely not a bad thing by any means.) The first time I watched GO2 I had multiple moments where I straight up just said: "Wait why are we doing things? What's the point of this scene???" And a lot of that was Aziraphale and Crowley's 'minisodes' (which tbh i hate the concept of. why call them minisodes when they are interwoven with the episode?? idk thats a rant for another time). Like their whole bit in Edinburgh and body snatching has little if anything to do with the mystery of Gabriel and it's kinda weirdly thrown inbetween the Main Story in a way that I don't think hits the way they intended it to.

Again, It's not that I don't love seeing the backstory of the Ineffable Idiots but it's done in a way that gives you a bit of whiplash I think. The first season put all (or at least most of) the historical flashbacks in a contained episode, with the intent to show just a bit of the progression of this relationship.

Also, as much as I absolutely adore Azriphale and Crowley, this season focused so so heavily on them that the rest of the cast felt so small. Season 1 had a whole slew of characters that you were able to sit with longer, and I think that's missing here. (And that might also be in part due to filming in the middle of a pandemic) You saw Aziraphale and Crowley interact with each other but you also had a sense of the whole world around them and how they interacted with it more, and how the people in the world interacted with each other. Not just the two or three shops on Aziraphale's street. (And thinking of it now they do interact with people in the flashbacks but because they're one off characters for the episodes and not series regulars it just doesn't have the same impact)

Don't get me wrong, I had some issues with Season 1 (particularly some lines by Pepper that felt wild lol) but I think it was more balanced in it's approach to all the characters and their journey.

This also isn't to say that I dislike Season 2 at all, just that on first watch I can definitely understand why some people struggled a bit with it. I think the biggest thing that helped me appreciate GO2 was understanding that this was more of a "bridge" (for lack of a better term) to get to the sequel. That this was just ramping up to get people to that place. (They absolutely could have chosen to jump in to the sequel story and do some creative story telling to fill us in on the important bits and I am very grateful they chose to tell this story and walk with us to that jumping off point instead.) And I think a lot of trilogies struggle with the second part in particular because so often it is a bridge from the start to the conclusion, but this just feels like that x10 to me?? Because the first season is a complete story, even if there's room to grow from that, it's a closed book essentially.

Idk I'm very much rambling here and can't get my thoughts down in a very coherent way.

I do just want to say that I just finished my second rewatch and, again, I so thoroughly enjoyed it, even though I still think it fumbled parts in comparison to the first one. And I'm absolutely not mad at it in any way for expanding on the both Aziraphale and Crowley individually and together. I just think it may sit better with people when the 3rd season is out (fucking fingers crossed so help me) and the story is a complete entity again.

edit to add: I also don't really think TV executives have ever really given us this style of story before. (fucking especially with a queer couple jfc)Where you go from this crazy story of an apocalypse to a story very obviously about love. Like this feels very much like New Territory and I am so grateful to have it, wort's and all.

[chaussetteblanche]

Hello, can you please write some Sevika fluff or angst? There is not enough of fics on her

hi love :) sorry for taking so long, but here it is !! thanks for requesting darling 💕

summary : sevika finds you in an alley getting beat up and helps you out

word count : 1.5k

warnings : violence (but not that much tbh)

Your cheek stung painfully as you stumbled, holding yourself up on a brick wall, the metallic taste of blood strong on your tongue. You spat on the ground, leaving a small puddle of blood glinting faintly in the greenish light emitting from the street lights. The three men laughed darkly, cracking their knuckles as they advanced on you again. You sighed and coughed, painfully pushing yourself off the wall and lifting your fists in front your face, just like you’d been taught to when you were younger.

“Right, who’s next ?” you taunted. You weren’t about to give up even though you had trouble staying upright after two beatings your had barely managed to hold off.

You’d been coming back from work around four in the morning when you’d heard the men laughing. They had started following you, catcalling and insulting you. It made your blood boil but you had kept yourself from answering. No one usually dared mess with you thanks to your job as bartender in The Last Drop. They had apparently not gotten the message that you were under Silco’s protection. They didn’t know what was bound to happen to them if they touched you.

Not wanting to show them where you lived, you led them back to the bar, hoping they would stop following you if they saw other people were around. But luck really wasn’t on your side and the streets were entirely empty. By the time you reached your workplace, they had come too close to you to ignore.

The middle one, a good head taller than you and about twice your weight, stepped forward, smirking.

“You get a kick out of following women home, is that it ?” you spat. He shrugged innocently as he advanced towards you arms swinging at his sides.

“You could say that,” He took the first swing. You avoided it narrowly and delivered a blow to his face. He swore under his breath and reeled back, angrier than before. Your hand was numb now and you dodged a quick punch to your face. He landed a hit in your stomach, effectively knocking your breath out of you. You doubled over in pain, horrified at the crunching noise you’d heard in your abdomen. Seeing your vulnerable position, he smashed his knee into your cheek. You groaned and fell to the ground, holding yourself up with trembling hands. You coughed and saw blood splatter the dirty pavement, rejoining the blood of many others in similar situations.

You looked up at the three men, vision blurry, as you panted and held your side. A horrible thought made its way into your mind : was this it ? Were you finally beaten ? Before your train of thoughts could get any darker, a shadow fell over your body.

“Now what’s going on here ?” a familiar voice asked. You eyes widened when you saw Sevika step into the alley, eyes particularly dark. You let out a breath of relief, the stinging all over your body making itself known. The tall woman carelessly dropped her cigar to the ground, walking towards the men surrounding you.

“You should get outta here, lady,” one of them grunted. “This ain’t any of your business,” Sevika let her cape fall to the ground, chuckling.

“I don’t think you understand what you’ve just got yourself into,” she chuckled before stalking forward. She threw the first punch this time. You envied the ease with which she fought. Like taking a walk. Easy, quick and efficient. Your three assaulters were dead within seconds. Sevika picked her cape back up and fastened it again before trudging over to you, her footsteps echoing in the alley.

“Come on, let’s get you home,” She bent down and put her flesh arm around your ribcage, pulling you to your feet. You hissed at the pain in your ribs, falling into her side as she half dragged you out of the alley.

“They did a number on you, huh ?”

“I had it under control,” you mumbled.

“Sure looked like it, honey,” she scoffed. You stayed silent as she walked you to your apartment. Once inside the building, you painfully raised your head to glare up at the stairs.

“Right, let’s- do this,” you breathed going for the handrail. Sevika barely spared you a glance before picking you up. You gasped, both in surprise and in pain, and wrapped your arms around her neck by reflex.

“Hey !” you cried out.

“Oh please, you aren’t capable of walking up any stairs right now,” she spoke calmly as she carried you up the flights with ease. She showed no sign of struggle, it was as if you weighed nothing. You pouted but said nothing, your breath hitching with pain when she moved too much. She placed your feet surprisingly gently back on the ground once you stood in front of your front door. You leaned your weight on the wall, the pain in your ribs taking your breath away once again. You were surprised she knew where you lived but didn’t think too much of it. She shoved a mechanic finger in the lock and unlocked the door.

“Wha- you can do that ? That’s so cool !”

Sevika looked at you with a raised brown as the door swung open. She wrapped an arm around your waist again and pulled you inside.

“Can you do that with every single lock or is it only particular ones ? Have you tried it on-”

“Even with your ass beat you don’t shut up, do you ?”

“I’m hurt, Sevika,” you placed a dramatic hand on your chest, ignoring the pain it ignited in your ribs. She rolled her eyes and looked around your place, taking everything in.

“It’s a mess, I know,” you tried to veer her away from the books and glasses lying about. “Bathroom’s over there,” you pointed to the old door.

“It’s… nice,” she spoke, still looking around. You followed her gaze.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s fine. The rent isn’t too high, which is good,” You looked up into her grey eyes, wondering what was going through her mind, before her eyes flickered down to yours briefly. She cleared her throat and made her way to the bathroom, still half carrying you.

She swung the door open, revealing your ridiculously small bathroom. No way would the two of you fit in there with how big she was.

“Uh…”

She picked you up and placed you on the counter, next to the sink. You groaned in pain, leaning your head back on the mirror behind you. She raised her brows at you, daring you to say a word. You didn’t, just watched as she pulled out a first aid kit.

“They got you good, huh ?” she asked lowly, dabbing a piece of cotton with disinfectant on it on a gash in your cheek. You winced and hummed.

“Yeah, but you should see the other guy,”

Sevika chuckled. She finished cleaning up your face. You were surprised to see how gentle she could really be, you were so used to see her put her arm at use for violence that you’d never thought it could be caring.

“Take your shirt off,” she commanded. Your cheeks reddened.

“Sevika, oh my goodness, at least take me out to dinner first,” you gasped teasingly. She scowled at you, tugging at the bottom of your shirt.

“Okay, okay, fine,” You started the painstaking task of pulling your shirt off, hissing in pain when it got stuck over your head. Sevika tutted and helped you get it off, throwing the piece of fabric out of the bathroom.

You gasped when you felt her human fingers on your ribcage, trailing down with a featherlight touch before pressing. You cried out in pain, your body lurching forward and lightly slapped her arm.

“Bruised,” she noted, more to herself than to you. “Are you hurt anywhere else ?” She finally looked into your eyes, making your heart flutter.

“No, no, I don’t think so,”

She leaned forward, probably to examine your bruised cheek, and soon your faces were mere centimeters away from each other. You could smell the cigar she’d smoked before and the drink you’d served her that night at the bar. The thin scars of the side of her face stood out against her skin and you resisted the urge of running your fingers over them.

Your eyes met hers, meeting warm steel. Her warm breath fanned over your lips as you wet them. You hadn’t felt yourself moving closer to her. Taking a leap of faith, you brushed your lips against hers. Your stomach exploded in fireworks as you slightly pulled back to see her reaction.

Her eyes were slightly wider than usual as she stood in place, frozen. Then she moved, cupping the back of your neck and placing a hand on your hips. She leaned you back against the cold tile wall, making your skin erupt in goosebumps. You swallowed a groan, of pain or pleasure you didn’t know. And her lips were on yours, strong yet gentle, as if she didn’t want to hurt you anymore than you already were. Your bruised and bloodied hands were in her hair as you pushed your chest up against hers, ignoring the sting it caused. She kissed you gently before pulling away, slightly breathless.

“Uh… I- should probably go,”

You barely had time to register what she’d said before the door closed behind her.

[currently-stanning-bts]

Who Are You -Namjoon x reader-

Namjoon x reader

Category- Angst no fluff

warnings- none, just some angst, if you don't like angst please don't read :) not proof read, so sorry if there are any typos!

Authors note: This really hurt me writing this tbh. But every time I listen to "who" by Lauv ft. BTS, I get ideas about writing something, and since Namjoon is my bias I had to write something with him in it. Don't worry all my Namjoon lovers!! I'll make it up to all of you!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

You and Namjoon had grown up together and were practically inseparable. But that was years and years ago, now you two never talk. When you do, it is always work related. Something had happened, you're not sure what, but something in him changed. You had confronted him about it one day, but he brushed you off.

*Several years ago*

“Namjoon, what the hell?” you said annoyed. It was the tenth day in a row he had ignored all of your calls and texts. Namjoon looked at you, but chose to ignore you, making it seem like you weren't even there. “Kim Namjoon, if you don't at least say something to me, I’m going to be pissed.” you threatened. Still though, he said nothing. “Please, Joon. I just want to know what has happened. What's changed?” you tried speaking softer, but still, he chose to ignore your presence.

*three years later*

Namjoon was still ignoring you, you had tried over and over again to talk to him but he never listened. One day though, Namjoon came up to you during work. You worked at Hybe Corporation, and helped to form new k-pop groups. You were currently in the middle of packing for a trip. You would be a judge on the show I-LAND. You had been looking forward to it all month. You had been given information about the boys trying out prior to the day. You had even picked out two boys you hoped would do great. You picked Ri-ki or more commonly known as Ta-ki, and Nishamura Ri-ki also known as Ni-ki. You were in your office, you had to stop here before your flight because you had left something that you needed. Namjoon knocked on your door. “Come in,” you said, not paying attention to who it was, trying to look for that one important thing.

Namjoon walked into the room, he smiled when he saw you, his heart breaking slightly at how cold he had been to you the past few years. He truly regretted everything, but it wasn’t his fault truly! People had started dating rumors about him and another idol. Hybe threatened to put him on Hiatus if he didn't get cleared up soon. So Namjoon was forced to act as if you didn’t exist. These dating rumors though, there was some truth in them. Namjoon had given you a promise ring many years ago when he first found out you both had feelings for one another. He had promised you that one day you would be together, just not now. His career was just kicking off, plus, if Hybe found out he was dating someone, he could be forced to leave BTS.

Neither of you wanted that for him, so you thought it best to put off your relationship until he could work some things with Hybe out. Try to see if there was a way he could date someone without being let go. So far he hasn't been able to find a way. That was until today. Today he had talked to Hybe again, and they told him that since all of the rumors of him dating someone had left, fans had truly wanted to see him with someone. This person was someone who he was constantly with, and who would it be other than you!

Namjoon cleared his throat. You picked your head up, smiling at the person before your brain registered who it was. The color drained from your face, and your eyes went wide. You quickly pulled yourself together. “Hello Nam-RM,” you quickly corrected yourself, you didn't feel the need to call him that anymore with how he’s treated you the past couple of years. You saw Namjoon flinch slightly at the name correction. “How can I help you? It has to be quick, as you probably know already, I am getting ready to leave for I-LAND.” you said. Namjoon cleared his throat again, “I-I, um,” he paused, taking a deep breath, “I just wanted to apologize for how I’ve treated you these past few years. I want to explain myself-” you cut him off with a scoff before you spoke, “tch, it's been how many years since you started ignoring me? Three? Four now? To be honest, I’ve lost count. I tried talking to you every damn day, but you chose to ignore me. Namj-RM, you looked right at me so many fucking times, and just ignored my existence. Now you expect me to sit around and listen to you ‘explain yourself’” you air quoted him. “Your stupid if you think I’ve waited all these years for you.”

That’s not true. You did wait for him. You kept the promise ring he gave you so many years ago, but your pride and anger wouldn’t let you admit that to him or yourself. It's funny because the thing you're currently looking for is the promise ring. You had placed it down when you had to do a monthly check up on BTS during their dance practice as well as vocal practice, when you got back to your office, you couldn’t find it to save your life. It had scared you, you couldn’t lose the one thing you still kept so dear to you.

“Please baby-”

“Don't call me that. You lost the right to call me that three years ago.” “I’m sorry, y/n please, just listen to me. I swear I never wanted to ignore you, but Hybe had threatened to put me on Hiatus because there were dating rumors about me and some other idol flying around. They weren’t good ones either, it was negative about me. ARMY tried to back me up with it, and somehow they were able to convince Hybe that I could date someone. It created a lot of positive buzz with the good side of ARMY, Hybe will let me date a person of my choosing! Plus!!! ARMY already knows about you, you’ve been in so many of our past Vlives, and vlogs, plus, they’ve seen you in some when you come in to do the monthly reports on vocals and dance! They want us to be together!” he told you, a smile on his face towards the end, before it went away, being replaced with a look of seriousness. “So please, y/n” he walked closer to you, you took a step back but he continued forward. You hit the front of your oak wood deck, and Namjoon was right in front of you. He took your small hands in his larger ones and looked you in the eyes, “please y/n, give me another chance. I swear to you I won’t fuck it up like I did last time.”

You shook your head, “no, Joon, you can't do this. You can't treat me like that then one day decide you missed me and come running back and think I’ve waited for you the entire time. I don't even know who you are anymore. Who are you? Are you Kim Namjoon, the man I fell in love with, or are you RM of BTS, the man that chose his career over his relationship? I need to know. ‘Cause you're not the guy I fell in love with. Something has clearly changed Joon, because you’re not the same, and if I’m being honest…” You paused for a second taking a deep breath to stop from letting tears fall before you continued again. “I really hate it. I’m sick and tired of waiting for you. And now I know that you're not the right one for me.” you felt tears in your eyes before you quickly blinked them away. You looked at the clock hanging above your door. You pulled your hands from him, “look, I have to go or I’m going to miss the taxi taking me to the airport.” You walked to the door, turning back to look at him one last time. He was just as handsome as the last time you saw him, when you were both on speaking terms with one another. “Thank you,” you started, “for coming to see me today, it means a lot. Thank you for telling me this, but just know, we” you motioned to you and him, “we wouldn’t be able to make it out there,” you pointed outside your office door. “I’m sorry RM, I truly am, maybe in another life where you are not an idol and I don't work for your company. In a life where you’re just a normal person, and we met on normal terms. But that won't be us anytime soon. So again, I’m sorry, but we can’t be anything.” and with that, you left, closing your office door on the way out.

Namjoon was left standing there alone. He felt tears form in his eyes before they fell down his cheeks. He walked over to the door and locked it, sliding down it after. In here he was just Namjoon, he didn’t have to deal with the outside world, being an idol, the rumors or anything. He placed a hand over his eyes as he looked up, tears spilling from his eyes. Why did he have to be such an idiot? He ruined something so beautiful just to try to keep that beautiful thing. He had ruined your relationship, the promise ring he gave you so many years ago meaning nothing anymore except for the empty promise he made. He truly fucked up, now he could never make it up.

*present*

You and Namjoon still don't talk, you had blocked his contact information, and you chose to work with a different group within Hybe. They let you work with ENHYPEN. You had hoped Ni-ki would get in and thankfully he did! He did such a great job too! You had also worked with Tomorrow x Together, you enjoyed working with them. A lot of this helped you forget about Namjoon, but part of you still longed to be with him. But you knew it was better this way. You could focus on work, and he could focus on making great music for his fans and the company. Namjoon however still longed to be with you, but he also knew better. He tried to contact you, but you had blocked him. So to ease his ever aching heart, he listened to your old voicemails and read over the old text messages you would send back and forth. He missed you deeply, but he knew he could never be with you, he wanted you so bad it hurt. But you could never be, you had said that exact same thing years ago, and now he believes it.