#we are playing nonstop i think i might die actually

[doobydoobydoowau]

The people tell me "you can't speedrun fitness. you'll hurt yourself and achieve absolutely nothing."

The people are wrong. Behold as I gain god tier muscle and stamina in less time than there is between Trump indictments.

[click4rainy]

Wade Wilson Boyfriend HeadCanons

👽:slowly but surely getting back into my writing 💅🏼 (not proof read just super horny like a clown 🤡 HONKAH HONKAH)

SFW ♥️

★ Wade is a silly guy. So silly in fact, he’ll crack jokes or shoot a sarcastic comment your way—mid argument. “How am I supposed to listen when you look this good right now?” Fear not! Because he knows when to shut up. (When you tell him to)

★ Bro defo has a Roblox account. Not elaborating.

★ Despite his chaotic and reckless behavior, Wade is actually super protective and would go to extreme lengths to keep you safe. And then some. “Hey! Back off! Don’t you fuck with her! Unless you wanna fuck with me too. In that case we’ll need a sit down discussion for—“ “WADE!” “Right—sorry.”

★ Expect big, wild romantic gestures. Like standing outside your window while holding up a boom box. (playing ‘what you won’t do for love’ by Bobby Caldwell) or (attempting at) writing your name with fireworks. (There were definitely ‘unexpected’ explosions)

★ “I know it’s only Tuesday, but I totally, legally rented a helicopter so we can pretend we’re in the aveng—no? Okay…plan B then: Breakfast in bed with (penis) questionable pancakes.”

★ Cuddle bug Wade. Are we surprised? This man lives off of physical touch and affection. Wrapping you up in his arms, not letting you go with a shit eating grin. “Nope, you’re not leaving this couch. We’re practicing the ancient art of Wade Wrapping, which requires at least three hours of cuddles, just sayin.”

★ He is nonstop teasing you. It’s a hobby for him, really. (And his love language) Coming up with silly nicknames for you, challenging you to random games or chores, he’s not below making fun of himself to see you smile either.

★ “Oh-ho? You think you can wipe the track with me in Mario kart? That’s cute.” “Honey—you look fine. Approachable even. Unlike me…” (he says while laying limbless on the bed. Literally….)

★ Uses his dark humor to comfort you in times of ‘what the actual fuck?’ Knowing how to turn even the bleakest of moments into something a little lighter. “Hey, I know life might suck granny tits right now…but at least we’re not in a rom-com where one of us has to die or something worse for the other to grow emotionally, right?”

★ Unwaveringly supportive of you in any conflict. He is going to take your side. Every. Single. Time. Backing you up even if he has literally no idea what’s going on or why. “You said Rick was out of line at work today? Well guess who’s getting a strongly worded letter in the form of interpretive dance in the parking lot?” “Is it Ri—“ “it’s Rick.”

★ Wade loves experimenting in the kitchen with you! Attempting to make meals that sometimes end up in hilarious disasters, followed up by a take out order.

★ He breaks this…’fourth wall’ sometimes. Like looking off into the distance and talking to an invisible audience or camera while addressing you. This dead ass bewilders you at times. But mostly you roll your eyes at his antics.

★ “Can you believe this shit?” He’ll ask, turning to an imaginary audience. “I’m over here being the perfect boyfriend—funny, handsome, protective, all that—and you guys still think Peter Parker is the ‘Ideal Boyfriend’ pffft. Get real.” *turns back to you* “anyway, where were we?”

★ This overgrown man child is a PDA enthusiast. Unashamed of hugging, kissing, or trying to dip you during a playful dance in public. He doesn’t care, he’s proud to be with you and wants everyone to know it. “You know what this sidewalk needs? A spontaneous make out session”

★ One hundred percent would insist on wearing matching or theme outfits. Whether it’s full on costumes or something little like matching socks. “Ta-Da! Matching Taco Cat shirts—no, no. Don’t fight it. This is how we show the world we’re a team. Through peak fashion choices.”

★ Loves movie nights. They’re full of commentary, with your boyfriend narrating or making fun of the movie plots. He’d insist on watching rom-coms or action movies for sure.

★ You’ll receive unconventional love letters in the form of doodles, short jokes, or notes saying “I love you more than The Golden Girls. And that’s saying something. ;)”

★ Wade is a pretty chill dude. He’s not overboard with jealousy. But that won’t stop the man from making his classic (not so jokey) jokes when he feels like someone might be getting too close to you. “Oh, flirting? With you? Cute. Should I go over there and casually mention that I’m the love of your life and also really good with sharp objects?”

★ Beneath all the jokes and chaos, he has moments of genuine, heartfelt affection. Whispering his love and gratitude for you at unexpected times. “I know I never take shit for real. But I’m serious about you, about us. You’re my safe space, the one part of my life that makes sense on this stupid chunk of rock floating in space.”

★ Remembers odd little details about you. Showing it with unexpected gifts that align perfectly with your interests. (Even if they’re a bit off beat.) “I saw this super limited edition action figure of (favorite character). I had to get it for you—don’t ask me how, just say thank you and let’s run—“

★ Randomly belting out terrible renditions of love songs at the top of his lungs, just to get a laugh from you.

★ Acts tough for your amusement, like he’ll pretend to be all macho around your friends to make you laugh. “Yeah babe, I’m like, indestructible. Just gotta…” *struggles to open a jar of pickles* “wait—hold on. This jar is definitely cheating…”

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

NSFW 🍆💦

★ Wade love love LOVESSS making you watch while playing with your pussy. Using his mouth, fingers and all kinds of cute little toys.

★ Tying your hands together, behind your back and sitting you in front of the mirror with your legs spread wide as he slowly circles your clit with a bullet vibrator, nuzzling into the crook of your neck. “You see how fucking wet you are for me, baby?” “Look. At. This~” “did I say to look away? Didn’t think so…”

★ He’s into all kinds of crazy shit—high key an exhibitionist.

★ Fucking you in a theatre bathroom, pressing you up against the stall while he covers your mouth, dipping the head of his cock teasingly into your aching cunt.

★ “I don’t give one shit if someone hears us, I need you. Now.” “Shhh baby, gotta stay quiet if you wanna cum.” “Stay still now…”

★ Eating you out in the back of the car, hands kneading your plush thighs while looking up at you with that knowing, shit-eating grin. Not even bothering to wipe you from his chin.

★ Struggling to keep your eyes on the man, a red flush taking over your face as the vibrations of his groans send shocks of pleasure through your entire body.

★ Fingering you under the table/using a remote control vibrator on you when you’re out having dinner. “Yeah that’s it for me and uh, what about you babe?” He asks nonchalantly, as if he weren’t bumping the bullet to its highest intensity or running his fingers over your panty clad pussy. All the tasty stuff. It’s the thrill of almost being caught for him.

★ Baby girl also LOVES when you take control. Straddling him, tying him up to the bed, slapping his face. He’s fucking into it.

★ F-fuckk~ wan—wanna touch you so bad~” he whimpers, hips bucking involuntarily while you ride him, bouncing in his lap with your hands on his shoulders and his cuffed. “Mmff—need to cum…please, please—I’ll do whatever you wa—aaah, fffuck!”

★ Wade loves to buy you new toys/lingerie sets all the time! He’ll come through the door with a bag full of new things to try out or on. “Oh, come on—put the bunny ears on…I’ll let you do that one thing you like.”

★ Costumes, dressing up, role play. Cops and robbers, Professor and student, Master and pet. He loves that shit and has a lot of fun with it.

★ “You have the right to remain silent, on your knees, now.” He’ll smirk, cuffing your hands behind your back, trailing a finger down your cheek before fucking your face. “Cock hungry bitch, aren’t ya? Such a good girl…” he croons, pulling at your leash.

★ “You call that begging, honey? Hate to break it to you sweetheart, but you’re gonna have to be louder than that if you want me to fuck you silly.” He teases, sending a sharp smack to your ass while prodding at your slick pussy with his shaft, making you arch and whine out for him.

★ If you’re into it, he has no issue with knife/gun play. “How does it feel…?” he purrs into your ear, slowly sliding the cold metal up your stomach, circling your belly button before trailing up your chest, then collarbone, pressing the blade/barrel to your throat/temple. “Scary? Hot? Scary-Hot?”

★ Loves making you squirt, finger fucking you into oblivion, thumb pressed against your clit until you can’t take anymore. “Fuck yeah, baby.” He pants, bringing his fingers up to his mouth and cleaning them with a simple ‘pop’.

★ “Mhhh…” Wade hums in delight before shoving the same fingers into your mouth—pushing past your teeth, forcing you to taste yourself with a groan “You’re so yummy, don’t you think?”

★ If you’re being a brat, expect proper punishment. “Oooh, talking back to me, huh?” He’ll ask, gripping your face with one hand, forcing you to keep eye contact. “Watch that damn mouth of yours, pretty bitch. And keep riding me—I didn’t say stop.”

★ He’ll make you grind your hips until you’re sore. It’s so fucking good it hurts. “Awww, my poor baby…look at you crying and riding. You must be exhausted, hmm?” Wade grunts, bouncing you on top his lap as if you were a rag doll. His cock slamming into you, hitting that sweet spot—never missing a beat. “Keep going—be a good girl and keep going…”

★ Once you’re both a spent, panting, boneless mess beside each other, he’ll shower you with praise and pepper your face with kisses, combing your unkempt hair with his fingers as he caresses your arm.

★ Wade would set up a diy spa in the bathroom for you. Complete with cucumber slices, a glass of wine (or whatever you want) and a bath that’s wayyy too bubbly. He’d try and give you a foot massage while joking “Only the royal treatment for my queen. Minus the actual royalty…those guys were more fucked up than half of Alabama…”

👽:I wanna be SAVED Deadpool PLEASEEEE SLUT ME OUTTTT

[geneeste]

🎶 when you get this, put 5 songs you actually listen to, then publish. Send this ask to 10 of your followers (positivity is cool) 🎶

This is a fantastic ask, and because I love music so much I'm giving you way more than you asked for. XD (I used to do music dumps on LJ, boy I miss that.)

Here's my top five most played, according to iTunes:

Fortress by Bear's Den And a coward might call it a conscience / and a liar might call it the truth / nothing could ever make me more frightened / than the thought of hurting you / how could I hurt you?

This one because I listened to it nonstop while I was writing Reclaim (I really should have called it The Fortress Remix).

Which Witch by Florence + The Machine I'm not beaten by this yet / you can't tell me to regret / been in the dark since the day we met / fire, help me to forget

This is is just so good, reminds me of Sam/Jack, and is (along with two other songs on this list) seminal songs on my playlist for the sequel to A Goddamn Blaze in the Dark. (A lot of these are going to be about that series, because I'm trying desperately to finish writing it.)

Wild Roses by Of Monsters and Men A serpent on a bed of leaves / in the month of May / what do you want me to say? / you keep me still when all I feel / is an aimless direction / when I think I'm losin' connection / I see you

One of the seminal songs for the sequel to AGDBITD. Also just very good.

No Light, No Light by Florence + The Machine No light, no light / in your bright blue eyes / I never knew daylight could be so violent / a revelation in the light of day / you can't choose what stays and what fades away / and I'd do anything to make you stay

This one I was surprised by because I don't think I ever put it on specifically, so if it's played a lot it's just by chance. Having said that, it is on my playlist for the sequel to AGDBITD, my Sam/Jack playlist, and my Faves playlist.

If U Love Me Now by MUNA There's me in the corner / throwing a fit, making a mess of it / don't you love me now? / there's me under the table / hiding from my lovers and my allies / don't you love me now? / it's just a hypothesis or test / that I should not exist / don't you love me now? / there's me in the doorway telling you, please / you should just let me leave / if you love me now

Oof, this one is just pure Sam from AGDBITD. But like, later. You'll see.

These are the last five songs I added to my Sam/Jack playlist (which often doubles as my AGDBITD playlist when I don't want to include the 90s songs, LOL):

Face Down In The Moment by Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats You keep waiting on the night / you keep waiting on your pain / and every moment that you wait now / is a moment slipped away / I think you're gonna have to come out and face / all the fear you can't explain / and all your life, you've been face down / now it's time for you to see

Okay, so there are actually, in total, 3 sequels to AGDBITD and I'm working on them all simultaneously (because of course I am). This song reminds me deeply of the third sequel, for reasons I can't tell you. XD

God Needs The Devil by Jonah Kagen Mm, mm, I'm in love / in a nightmare, please don't wake me up / got a bad case of making bad love / it's who I am, not who I was / but that's life, boy, what can you do? / I need someone, and I need 'em soon / I called the doc and got new shoes / but all roads still lead back to you

Another one that reminds me of the last AGDBITD sequel. For reasons.

(midnight) by Lewis Watson We ran to the border line / where the northern lights flew over us / another cold midnight / but I could lay right here forever / and in distant skies / beyond the trees and rolling hills / we watched the city die / but I could lay right here forever

Just a good, solid Sam/Jack song.

Destroy Destroy Destroy by Transviolet I didn't come here to beg you for what is mine / gun to my head, we've been here a thousand times / and you're scared to death 'cause I'm seeing red / with eyes known to set fires / and I didn't come here to beg you for what is mine

This one reminds of the second sequel to AGDBITD. Again, for reasons. I'm so mean. It's also just a banger.

Your Design by Grace Mitchell Keep calm, color in the lines / no grey, only black and white / big eyes little appetite / long run on a short line / I've been pushed into overtime / it all turned on me on a dime / kind heart with a filthy mind / somebody tell me this is real life

I'm sorry to keep doing this to you, but it's a great song for the second AGDBITD sequel. And of course it's just a excellent song.

Finally, the last five songs I added to my Faves playlist:

Here & Now (Alternative Version) by clay pigeon I could have been your victory, I'll probably be your loss Could have been everything you wished I was not Or every grave detail running through your head Could have been that picture you keep above your bed But I'm here and now

I love a melancholy breakup song.

Heal by Sleeping At Last As I grow older, I hold tighter to a world hell-bent on change / I'd be lyin' if I told you that I wasn't afraid / in the currency of memory, nothing costs more than pain / but you remind me fourteen thousand days or so I'm still okay / you remind me that my body was born to heal / you remind me that my body was born to heal over time / you remind me that my body was born to heal before it dies / you remind me

In the grand tradition of Ryan O'Neal ripping one's heart from one's chest, putting it back better, and making it as though nothing happened, there's this song.

You (feat. Hermanos Gutiérrez) by RY X I woke up falling / and press into your side / your body's an ocean / pull me into your tides

RX Y is a really interesting band in that their songs are often more about the actual instrumentals than the lyrics. This is one of those.

Gone With Your Ghost by Black Match Did I make you happy / or was it pretend? / you know that you had me / but you jumped the fence / did I make you happy / or was it pretend? / 'cause all that we had just / slipped through my hands / gone with your ghost

Another fantastic breakup song. Also a good one for the third sequel to AGDBITD. Oops! Forget I said that.

Cover To Cover by Nathan Ball Take your time / turn back to the lie where I'm hoping to find you / if only to feel bad / there's no need to feel bad / see your eyes, two stars in the night / and my mind's taking over / time is a healer / this time it's hurting

Yet another fabulous breakup song. A companion to Gone With Your Ghost, if you will. Ahem.

[allaboardsubmas]

A Spark of Something New - Chapter 7 (Title Formerly: Bound by Choice)

A/N: So to those curious "Bound by Choice" was a title I came up with at 3am just to name the Google Document. I decided to put in a little more effort! (Also, the chapters now have titles of their own!)

Fandom: Pokemon (Black & White, All Media Types, Legends: Arceus)

Characters: Original Character, Kudari | Emmet, Nobori | Ingo

Rating: Teen Audiences

Summary: Andy has always been afraid of pokemon and what it is that they’re able to do, which makes their life rather hard considering they’re twenty-two, live in Unova, and work in Nimbasa City; which is known as the battle capital of their region. Their closest friend and semi-adopted mother being a former gym battle leader also didn’t tend to help matters.

A panic attack on a subway car they thought was empty, however, leads to them meeting the infamous Subway Bosses and learning that pokemon, while terrifying, weren’t the monsters they had grown up believing them to be. Getting sucked up into the lives of the two Subway Bosses and their best friend Gym Leader Elesa might be even more terrifying than the pokemon, however.

AO3 Link: Bound by Choice

Chapters 8 Immediately Available on Patreon

—

If you enjoy this story then check out my Writing Commissions.

…or, if you prefer, you can just buy me a ko-fi! ☕ …or, if you have a nice allowance, support me on Patreon! 🪶

—

Chapter 7 - Andy Runs Into The Brothers (Again) 

Letting out a massive breath as she slumped back into her chair, Andy looked away from her work computer and instead to where her not quite so new friend was charging her xtrans for her. “Well, little buddy, we did it. We survived the work week.” Andy reached down to give Joltik a few pets, laughing at how he arched into them. “Maybe I should just call you my little outlet at this point.”

Already within the week Andy had found her life changing drastically since accepting the Joltik as her own. First, her xtrans had yet to die, not with her new ‘outlet’ always keeping it fully charged with the stores of electricity he siphoned from batteries and the outlets at work when Andy ‘wasn’t looking.’ Second, she was certainly never lonely. 

The little guy refused to go into his pokeball, to the point the last time Andy had tried to put him in there he had broken out to the amusement of everyone on the train. She had given up after that. It ended up being helpful since her Joltik knew like clockwork when it was time for her to stand up, take a break, or even eat. He was probably the only reason she had eaten today, nipping and playing with her fingers when she tried to ignore her alarms and sparking up a storm until she agreed to eat something for herself rather than just feeding him to distract him. It was… Well. It was the opposite of everything her mother had ever told her when it came to pokemon and what it was they could do. 

“Andy! It seems every Friday I find you here late enough to be part of the night shift!” Ah. Anthony. Her own eternal torment in human form. And here she thought she would need to fear pokemon as her final end. “That energy you have is just something else. Wish I had it!” Oh, here they went again.

Andy nodded along and feigned interest as Anthony kept talking, not seeming to notice Andy shutting down her computer, gathering up all her cords and USBs, and nudging Joltik onto her shoulders- Actually, that one he noticed. “-pokemon of all things! We didn’t think you’d ever get one.”

“Ah. Yeah. He was a little bit of a surprise.” That was another thing that had changed with the addition of her Joltik. It seemed everyone was curious about him, especially since Andy had always been the only one in the office to not have a pokemon. The cons of working at a place that dealt with nonstop information about pokemon. “Well, Anthony, I should probably-”

“Oh, that reminds me!” Damn. She had been so close. “A few of us are making plans to get together over the weekend and visit a couple bars around Nimbasa. Now, I know you’re pretty young and all, but we wanted to extend the invitation…” Oh. Oh, no. Social obligations.

“Oh- Oh! That’s, uh, that’s really sweet, Anthony, but…” Excuse. She needed an excuse. She needed to find an excuse right that second- Her Joltik whined loudly, shivering sharply on her shoulders and making a weak wheezing noise. “Joltik is sick! He’s been feeling under the weather all day and I really need to take him to the Pokecenter and if it’s something too bad I don’t want to leave him on his own all weekend, you know?”

“Of course! Pokemon health comes first,” Anthony nodded seriously, Joltik wheezing again and Andy gathering up the rest of her things. “Maybe another time?”

“Definitely, but for now I should get this little guy seen. Bye, Anthony!” Quickly rushing to the locker rooms, and feeling a spark of fear, Andy looked over to see that her Joltik was bouncing and chirping and no longer shivering and oh- Oh! “Did you just feign being sick so I could escape?”

Andy dropped her cords onto a bench, scooped up Joltik into her hands, and placed a loud kiss on top of his head. “I love you. You are the best pokemon to ever exist in this world.” The squeaking reached levels loud enough to echo off the walls, Andy not even caring and giving him another kiss to the top of his head because he had even reigned in his sparks to make sure not to hurt her and he was so delightfully soft and fuzzy. “You are getting so many batteries when we get home little buddy.” 

Slinging off her lab coat and clip-on tie into her locker, Andy grabbed her fluffy yellow shawl and wiggled it on, snorting when Joltik jumped up to latch onto it. “At least I have the colors needed to go for an electric theme on my fem days, huh?” Joltik gave a little spark of agreement, Andy thanking her sister once again for sending her a shawl made of treated Wooloo wool that didn’t collect static electricity. It was the only thing saving her at that moment. 

“Alright, little buddy, let’s get out of here.” Slinging her bag around her shoulders, Andy made for the gauntlet of elevators once again, feeling much less dizzy and exhausted than she had last time she had stayed hours late to get a batch of work done. Who knew that eating throughout the day really helped? Now if only she could learn to say no when her co-workers asked her to finish up their portion of work… Maybe-

Houndoom. Barking. Andy sucked in a breath and then watched as Joltik jumped off of her and onto the floor, chittering loudly and giving off an array of sparks that had the Houndoom slinking away, a few grumbling noises leaving as he laid down and tucked his head across his paws. The guard — and Andy was right, his name was Rupert — laughed. 

“Wow. That’s the quickest I’ve ever seen him settle! You know, if you ever want a battle…” Ah. Shit. That was another thing that had changed. Everyone wanted to battle now.

“Maybe not this late at night,” Andy joked, making sure Joltik had scuttled back up onto her shawl — she really was getting way too used to him climbing her — before heading for the door. “Good night!” 

Getting out into the street, Andy immediately bathed Joltik in scritches and scratches, cooing at him, “Good job, buddy, you terrified that big mean Houndoom in there.” And had made Andy feel foolishly better at seeing such a little bug stand up to the giant thing. “Ahh… maybe I should register you as an emotional support pokemon. Make everyone stop asking for battles in the battle capital of the region!”

Clamping her mouth shut at realizing she was yelling randomly in public, Andy looked around quickly, pleased that no one was staring at her for her outburst, but, well. It was Nimbasa. They had seen weirder. Putting Joltik back onto her shoulder, Andy sighed and started walking the familiar path towards Gear Station. 

“Tell you what, buddy, I wish I had gone to Castelia City like I thought this job was based in. But no. That’s where headquarters is. Instead we’re here in Nimbasa because it allows for quicker data dump transfers between regions with the way the network is set up!” Andy was pretty certain her Joltik understood nothing of what she was saying, but he was a good listener and engaging with his little chirps and squeaks so it didn’t feel like she was alone in a huge city at night. She really needed to start saying no to her co-workers on Fridays. 

“Next time we say no,” Andy said firmly, breathing in time with the way her Joltik moved from shoulder to shoulder methodically, scuttling around like a metronome that was keeping her sane and distracted from everything else rushing by around her. “Especially with it starting to get so close to winter and it getting dark so late.” Andy was terrified of pokemon, but she was scared of a lot of other things in general. Walking alone in a huge city at night when she grew up in a small little town was one of them. 

At least she had company, now. It made it easier to focus on her breathing to try and keep it even as she rushed down the stairs into Gear Station, eyes trained for the signs and departing times because she was not boarding the wrong train this time. If she did then she had a feeling those twins would find her again and that white one, Emmet, would be a bastard about it. 

Unfortunately, focusing all of her attention on the signs meant she didn’t focus on what, or who, was in front of her. It was definitely her fault when she ran into someone hard enough to almost send them both to the ground, the two scrambling to catch themselves and Andy already spitting out apologies before she felt a hand fist around her shawl and jerk her forward hard enough for her to lose her breath, “Hey! What’s the big fucking idea!” Oh. Oh no. “The fuck I do to you, huh?!”

“N- No-” Andy tried to explain, because she definitely hadn’t meant to start anything, and now someone was holding her in place by her shawl, which was really more of a cardigan type of jacket thing that wasn’t really easy to slip out of since it went over her head instead of buttoning up, and that was definitely the wrong thing to be focusing on when she still hadn’t said anything, and she heard the guy still yelling as she was pushed backwards and her back hit a wall.

“Nothing, right! So you’re just going to be like everyone fucking else and start some shit just because you can, huh?!” The man was yelling loud enough for her ears to ring, but no one else seemed to hear. It was just them. It was just her crouched up against a wall with her mother’s voice ringing out I told you so as she tried to explain and couldn’t even form a single word-

Sparking. 

Eyes snapping to the side to see her shoulder, she saw her Joltik was starting to spark and Andy felt her heart plummet down to her stomach fast enough to make her sick as she hissed out a frantic, “No-!” The man didn’t seem to hear her, still yelling in her face, but Andy could only focus on one thing at a time, and pokemon weren’t allowed to attack humans. If her Joltik attacked him then he could be taken from her, and she couldn’t- Enough people had already left her. 

Andy grunted in surprise as she felt the fist holding her shawl give a rough shake, her attention snapping back to the man. “What? You too good to talk to someone like me? That’s it, huh? Just because I look a certain way it’s okay to just push me around, huh?!” The man, who looked like an absolute wreck and was wearing a very cliche leather jacket, sounded like he was as close to crying as Andy felt. He also didn’t notice Andy’s Joltik jumping to the floor and running off and okay- Okay. That was good. Maybe he would find Emmet and at least be taken care of. That was something. “Just like everyone else!”

Oh. Oh, for- Andy was being accosted by someone with self-worth issues because she bumped into him too hard? Opening her mouth to try and at least explain, and maybe not throw up from stress because she wasn’t all that tall and this guy was and she was having a heart attack- “Well, if it’s a battle you want, I’ll be happy to give you one!”

Whatever amusement or sympathy Andy had fled. Instead she froze, head swimming and feeling disconnected from her body as she watched the man grab a pokeball from his belt, raising his hand into the air. His other hand still had her pinned. She could barely even think, let alone try to break his grip, and if a pokemon was released right here in front of her she couldn’t do anything not even run and- 

She froze.

So did the man.

They both froze because directly above them was the sound of a large creature screeching. Andy barely even realized she was let go, the man stumbling away from her and allowing her to look up even as she tried to stop herself. 

Above her head was a large, angry Galvantula, clinging to the wall and not even a foot away from touching the top of her head. Andy was almost certain she would be screaming if she had the breath for it, listening to it hiss and spit as hairs rose along it’s body, sparks arcing across it and poison seeming to coat it’s pedipalps. A wild thought flew through her head that she at least knew the anatomy of what was about to kill her. 

Before she could even collapse or scream or whatever else her fear response told her to do, she looked at the Galvantula’s head. There, nestled in the fur, was an angrily sparking Joltik. A shiny Joltik- Her shiny Joltik. Apparently he hadn’t been leaving her. He had been getting reinforcements.

Andy couldn’t stop her weak, choked wheeze of a laugh, whispering a soft, “Good job, buddy.” up towards the little guy. Her amusement quickly fled when her attention snapped to movement in front of her, the guy now looking even angrier as he raised his pokeball.

“Fucking bugs. I’ll squash all of ya-!” Slamming her eyes shut, Andy hunched over and hugged herself tightly, mentally apologizing to Lenora for no doubt being put in charge of her funeral. 

Before she could get too far in planning on her ghostly hijinks, however, she heard a much louder, angrier voicer. “That is quite enough.” 

Her eyes snapping open, Andy saw an enraged frown and a hand gripping the man’s wrist tightly to prevent him from throwing his pokeball. Her vision was then blocked by a white coat, Andy slumping against the wall and closing her eyes again and okay. Okay. No ghostly hijinks yet, then. It didn’t seem likely she’d die when the Subway Bosses were between her and any and all possible danger.

That didn’t mean she couldn’t just… mentally shut down for a few moments. Maybe minutes. She just needed a little bit of time to remember how to breathe- Someone was gently nudging her back. Light enough to barely feel it, but enough to get her to take a step forward. The sensation repeated and walking. The sensation wanted her to walk. She could do that. Walking was something she had experience in. 

She really must have had a full mental shutdown because the next thing she was really aware of she was sitting on a train, Ingo and Emmet on either side of her, and her Joltik in her hands and looking up at her while squeaking before giving one of those loud chirps that definitely should not come from a body that small. 

Unable to help herself, Andy echoed it back quietly, smiling a little at the answering chirp before jumping at the quiet laugh from one of the boys.

Before she could say anything, it was Emmet to speak, stating a blunt, “You are causing a lot of trouble.” Andy saw Ingo frown directly at Emmet, but all she could do was stare at Emmet for a long moment before giving a weak, startled laugh. 

“I’m not sure if you’d believe me that I usually try to stay out of trouble,” Andy managed to reply, feeling her heart finally start to resume a normal rhythm now that she was safe on a train between two of some of the most powerful pokemon trainers in the whole region. It was hard to be afraid after seeing what it was they could do and then watching them make dumb jokes. “Are we…?”

“We are on our way to Nacrene City,” Ingo answered promptly, voice as loud and enthusiastic as always. It was starting to be comforting, oddly enough. “Forgive us for our assumptions, but we presumed you were on your way home?”

“You presumed correctly,” Andy smiled, blowing out a shaking breath. “Thank you- Thank you both, for- For that. You’re really good at the whole saving me in the nick of time thing, you know. Ever consider-” 

“Why did you not have your Joltik use an attack to buy you time to escape?” Ah. A man with self-worth issues would not be her downfall. Instead it would be the Subway Boss that had no concept of letting a matter drop and instead rubbing her mistakes into her face. “You are no longer scared of him.”

“It wasn’t- I wasn’t going to- I mean-” Andy stumbled over her words, trying to find the right ones and failing. Ingo, blessed wonderful person he was, tried to direct his bastard brother’s attention elsewhere. 

“Emmet, I’m not certain now is the time to inquire about this.” The tone was the warning one all older siblings used when their little siblings were pushing their luck. Andy was very familiar with hearing it. 

Emmet, however, did not seem to have the same sense of fear that Andy did, instead just tilting his head. “You are not dumb.” Ah. A compliment. How flattering. “Surely you are aware of what moves that Joltik knows. Even a simple String Shot-” 

“Pokemon who attack humans get taken away,” Andy blurted, almost as loud as Ingo as she brought her hands — brought her Joltik — closer to her chest. “If they attack humans then they’re- They’re dangerous. It proves they can’t be trusted and they get taken and- I only just got him and I don’t-” Some sparks against her fingers, gentle and more like the surprise of static shock, had her looking down to where her Joltik was looking up at her. Once he was sure she was looking, he moved to gently nuzzle against her palm. 

The train car was silent, Andy using the gracious seconds to get her breath back and screw her head on straight before looking up at the two. Ingo was frowning, but seemed worried more than anything. Emmet was smiling, but the smile was tense at the corners, like he wanted to say something and was only just holding himself back. Andy appreciated it. 

“Thank you, both of you, for helping. And… sorry. I keep causing you two a lot of trouble, I feel like.” First with having a panic attack on one of their trains and making them accompany her all the way to Nacrene, and now with all this. 

Emmet was the one to respond first, unsurprisingly, sighing loudly and dramatically. “You are a lot of trouble-”

“Emmet!” 

“-but luckily for you we are verrry good at dealing with troublesome situations!” Emmet beamed even as Ingo scoffed and Andy tried to fight back a laugh. The two were so… well. Andy wasn’t sure she had the right words, but they were very hard to feel uneasy or afraid around. 

“It is our job to see all passengers safely to their destinations,” Ingo added on, sounding firm and wonderfully reliable. Definitely Andy’s favorite. “Whether that’s giving them directions or dealing with more… unsavory situations, we would never let a lost passenger stay lost.” Ingo’s lips twitched, a little lopsided sort of smile that was still somehow a frown. “Besides, our friend Elesa has been in much more troublesome situations that we’ve had to deal with.” 

“Her trouble is the worrrst,” Emmet groaned, rolling and dragging out the ‘r’ in the word in a way that was vaguely familiar in the way he did it so often. Vocal stim? Hm. Not her business. But interesting- Hang on, Elesa? Why did that name sound familiar- “More importantly. What is your Joltik’s name?” Shit.

Andy hesitantly looked at Ingo. Frown was there, but something about him seemed amused. No help was coming from there. “Right. Name. Because I’ve had him for a week and I’ve definitely given him a name by this point.” 

“Exactly!” Emmet chirped, sounding scarily like a Joltik himself even as his grin looked like something from a horror movie. “So what is it?” 

“It’s, uh, it’s…” Andy looked around the train car, down at the floor, and then to her Joltik. She might have been projecting, but it also seemed like he was saying I’ll be alright with whatever you give me. It was devastatingly effective. She just- She hadn’t meant to put off naming him! She had just been waiting for the right moment! For some kind of- Some kind of… “Spark.”

The train car was silent again, Andy somehow feeling that Ingo and Emmet both were giving her a chance to change it, because alright, yes, it sounded very childish and like a child’s first pokemon but- But it was. It was her first pokemon and he had brought her life just the spark she had needed, so- Yeah. Yes.

“His name is Spark,” Andy said firmly, looking up to see Emmet beaming and Ingo lightly clapping.

“Bravo! An excellent name for such a stalwart companion!” Ingo sounded so excited and Emmet gave a delighted laugh and for a few moments Andy felt like everything was so good. Emmet, as usual, had to go and ruin it.

“Does this mean you are going to be looking into battling, then?” Forget Anthony being her eternal torment in human form. That honor belonged to Emmet. “It would help you bond to Spark more, and give you more confidence should you ever derail like you did tonight or find yourself in a difficult situation. I would also love to battle you on the Doubles Line one day-!”

It was the most Emmet had ever spoken to her at once and Andy only felt mildly bad about interrupting him. “Absolutely not.” The pout made her feel less bad. “I am not a battler, not in any way, shape, form, or anything.” 

“While normally I encourage passengers to try new things in their life, I find I must agree with Miss Andrea,” Ingo offered, Andy taken aback for a moment because- Hold on. ‘Miss Andrea.’ That was cute. “While as unbelievable to some as it may be, battling is not for everyone, Emmet.”

“Boo,” Emmet pouted, Andy wondering how such a respected and feared trainer could act so… normal. “Brother you are so good with people and yet so bad.” The offended scoff Ingo gave had Andy fighting to turn her snort into a cough. Before she could try to offer any help, Emmet was leaning in, smile sly and eyes gleaming. “Here’s a secret for you, Andy. 

“I can always tell when someone will make a good, strong trainer or when they would give the best battles.” Battle obsessed as everyone else in the world, honestly. Andy was ready to say as much, pausing when a finger tapped her nose, Emmet continuing, “You have that same look in your eye. That look that would make you a great trainer. That look of wanting to see just how far you can go. Just how far you can push yourself to go. Don’t you want to see?” 

Something about the way he asked, about the way he grinned, had Andy feeling a rush of- Of something. Something that was telling her — screaming at her — that she should just let loose, to go wild and fight and scream and yell back at the world that had yelled at her. To take Spark and train them to be stronger than anything that could come their way and fight-

Thankfully, her recent panic attack had made her tired enough that she was able to push it back, instead scoffing, “Ingo is the only reason you haven’t been punched yet, isn’t he?” 

On her other side, Ingo snorted, voice still loud even as he ‘muttered,’ “That hasn’t stopped some people before.” It was the dry tone that had Andy laughing, Emmet loudly whining and pouting and trying to defend himself. 

Luckily, before he could, the train was pulling to a stop, Andy looking up to see Nacrene station and a familiar Herdier and Watchog waiting at the station for her. Andy laughed again, setting Spark on her shoulder and getting to her feet to rush for the door, stopping just in the doorway. 

With Ingo at her back and Emmet grinning at her like that, telling her that she would make a great trainer, for a moment she had felt… confident. She had felt like someone had believed in her and it had been- It had been like lightning. 

Turning on her heel, Andy looked back to the two boys, who were watching her curiously. Andy took a breath and put on her best smile, “Thank you. For both times now and for Spark, here. I’m not exactly a trainer or battler or anything, but-” She heard the announcements to mind the gap. She heard Watchog’s loud call of her ‘name.’ She saw Ingo’s shoulders relax like a worry had been erased. She saw Emmet beam, excitement swirling around him. 

“But maybe I’ll see you two on the Battle Subway one day.” After all, the kid terrified of pokemon having her own that she loved? 

Anything was possible after that.

[j-crow]

how've you been lately dawg 🤔🤔

in the trenches /j

yapping you didnt ask for incoming:

surprising from what you might think of me but ive been really good lately!!

i love the retj fandom but that shit got so miserable and overwhelming and convoluted that i just. gave up on trying to go back. im much happier staying off discord :D

actually i needed a reason to rant about this but oh my god??? i literally NEVER used to be that upset all the time pre-retj discord server. like the version of me in your head is probably SO inaccurate to how i actually am because i am NEVER that upset all the time

like yeah i get really upset sometimes but when i had discord??? WHY WAS I SO SUICIDAL?????

so the conclusion that ive come up with is that discord literally gave me mental illnesses and like. yeah that makes sense actually 😭😭

besides that ive been good besides the constant appearance of a wlw situationship in my life 😞😞

also dont if you ever noticed but i had a crush on your ex 💀💀 (tbf there were some EXTREMELY mixed signals imo) we’re not talking anymore tho

uhhh ive gotten new interests (house md my beloved <33 stupid fucking gay doctors) and read a terrifying amount of fanfiction (probably over 100 fics read the past 2 months not including the 100k+ one im reading rn???? dont bully me pls i know im chronically online 💔💔)

ive been trying to draw more as well but i suck ass at human anatomy and have ultimately decided to just draw animals for the rest of my life atp

also ive been playing the new pokemon tcg game and my entire coding class is literally obsessed with it 😭😭 (me flexing)

also been playing pokerogue!! its fun but i get unreasonably angry when my pokemon die 😭😭

ANYWAYS HOUSE MD!!!!!!!! medical malpractice show 10/10 would recommend watching‼️‼️ ive gotten so many spoilers because my short attention span cant handle more than two episodes a day and im stuck on season one 😭😭

WILSON!!!!!! my definitely gay husband who looks way too fondly at his best friend of ten years to be straight and has had three divorces (canon btw) exploding him with my mind 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

still obsessed with birds as you might be able to tell 😭😭 blog name actually comes from a piece of art your ex gave to me (gatekeeping sorry) it said “the c in jc stands for crow�� and i ran with it

thats u btw /j (thats an australasian swamphen chick also known as a pukeko chick!!! look them up theyre terrifying)

personally one of my favorite photos of them

anyways i still like hamilton and epic the musical surprisingly and i think i can almost recite the entirety of nonstop and the room where it happens (so impressive i know)

and retj my beloved and beloathed </33 so terribly detrimental for my health but im glad i went through that shit tbh

also crazy that its almost christmas??? its christmas eve wtf i forgot

im also working on a 3d animation project with some friends!!! its due sometime in february and im praying i get into nationals for the competition 🙏🙏 i have a backup if the animation fails horribly but my friends dont so!!!! gotta work hard so we all can go to florida and do some tomfoolery

thats about it i think???? unless you want to hear about my school life for whatever reason (im happy to yap about coding but dont ask me about anything else 😭😭)

hope you’ve been well dude!! :D

found this deep in my camera roll 😭😭

[brrrkdslek]

QUADRILATERAL LOVE!

✦ 014 — WONYOUNG STRIPPER ERA⁉️💸🤑

the four girls ran down the streets as they reached a cafe, in front of it was no other than ms jang wonyoung having her pictures taken by yeosang as san stood at the side awkwardly.

"yah, wonyoung!" chaewon marched towards the two as wonyoung immediately scurry behind yeosang. he physically held his breath at the smell of her, "nooo get away!"

the other two girls at your side shared a look before charging to tackle wonyoung to the ground. you decided to go buy a latte inside the cafe since it was early. san watched you walk into the cafe, following like a lost puppy.

as you were about to pay, san slid his card across the counter and flashed you his usual gentle smile. "san! you were there? i didn't even see you." you gave him a warm hug as he returned the hug, he could hear his heart beating through his ears.

you two chat a bit when you were waiting for your latte. "ugh, i can't believe you were the mc! i'm so jealous of the other guys, i wanna mc with you too!" you found it amusing how san whined and stomped his feet on the ground like a baby.

you giggled at his antics and pat his head with him freezing on the spot, "it's fine, besides i can see you everyday if i wanted to, right?" his cheeks reddened as he nodded shyly, melting into your touch.

"vanilla latte!" you jogged over to the counter when you heard one of the baristas call for your order. after you retrieved your drink, you and san left the cafe and started to walk back towards the dorms with the others a few streets ahead of you.

"so... i watched your recent live." your eyes widen as you blushed a bit, looking down. "oh, haha. honestly it was kinda embarrassing to talk about." you turned to look at him, the way he was staring at you made your stomach turn.

"you're staring." you point out, "oh..! sorry- but the live was good, i loved listening to you talk about how you produced and wrote the songs. i almost cried when you talked about the concept and the meaning behind the song and lyrics!" he rubbed the back if his neck,

"really? was it that good?" "definitely! i also think it's impressive how you started making money for your family at 14, personally i would die." he looked at how you became quiet after he brought up your family. "a-ah! i'm sorry for bringing up a sensitive topic, i was just amazed by how well you do things..."

you turned and gave him a small smile, "no it's absolutely okay if we talk about this. i was just thinking, that's all! ask me anything." san swore his heart stopped for a second when you smiled at him. "could you tell me about your brother...?" he saw how your smile slightly dropped at that, "you don't have to! i was just curious since-"

"boomi." "what?" "his name is boomi, he's 11 this year." "that's such a cute name!" he smiled at the thought of a little brother, "which school does he go to?" "ah... he doesn't go to school actually." he read through you really easily, your face said it all. "you don't have to force yourself to talk about it if you don't want to." he pat your back in encouragement.

you were quiet for a few seconds before speaking up again, "no, it's about time i talked about it with someone. chae said it's not healthy if i avoid it all the time, but i hope you won't openly tell people." san reassures you and tells you to keep talking.

"boomi actually suffers from leukemia. it's been a few years since he was first diagnosed," san's expression dropped for a while, just as he was about to speak up, you cut him off. "don't tell me 'i'm so sorry', or 'that's horrible'. i don't want to hear it."

"...is he doing well?" you took a sip from your latte, "currently, yes. the doctors said he might be able to go outside next week, he was so excited and talked about it nonstop when i went to visit him a few days ago." you smile to yourself as the picture of boomi jumping around the garden played.

you looked at him with your pretty eyes, making him flustered for a bit. "he's actually a huge fan of ateez! he was so happy when i brought hongjoong to see him a few months back. he really wants to meet the rest of the guys in the future!" he cocks his heaad in confusion.

"hyung met him before?" "oh yeah! me and joong actually gotten pretty close during my trainee years, we hit it off since we both liked rapping and producing. he decided to take me as his 'daughter' and taught me everything he knew about producing and rapping.

the reason i got this far was mainly because of his help, we talk to each other about our problems and things related all the time! he's a great person to he around and i love making music with him."

san got a bit jealous hearing how close you were with hongjoong, "do you think we could build that kind of relationship too?" you blushed a bit, he looked so much like a little puppy, so cute. "of course! we'll get there eventually." you two walked in comfortable silence as you neared the dorms.

you bidded him goodbye but before you could walk away, san pulled you into a warm hug. "y'know i'm so proud of you, y/n. you've been working so hard all this time, you're literally so amazing...!" your eyes watered as you felt your cheeks heat up.

"thanks... i really needed that." san cooed at you and kissed your forehead a few times before his phone rang in his pocket, "ah, crap! i had practice today and i totally forgot, gotta go!" he planted one last kiss on your forehead before running off towards the company building.

you stood dumbfounded for a few more seconds before you turned and went back to the dorms.

<PREV𖤐NEXT>

©BRRRKDSLEK 2023

[bitterbutblue]

stellaron hunters jumanji au...

welcome to the jungle (i wrote this in five minutes but i might write a follow up in more depth)

how did it even start?

⤷ ratio had found this video game cartridge that he was frankly just not interested in so he gave it to aventurine who was like sure why not

⤷ sparkle lowk probably just disguised herself as sunday for the shits n giggles but then overheard and was like ill play with u

⤷ robin THOUGHT sunday was playing so just went along with it

⤷ now as we know from jumanji the next level some of them dont actually have to be choosing characters to get sucked into the game.. thats how ratio and acheron got pulled in

in the game

⤷ robin decided to go as ruby roundhouse!

⤷ sparkle chose 'shelly oberon' cause of the whole genius part

⤷ aventurine had gone with 'smolder bravestone' cause he was like isnt that funny

and that leaves..

⤷ acheron as seaplane mcdonough, okay fair enough

⤷ ratio as mouse finbar

⤷ ratio was pissed as fuck

⤷ he didnt know how he ended up here and he blamed aventurine, and aventurine was like BRO YOU GAVE ME THE GAME (they are basically fridge and spencer)

⤷ robin was having some fun playing as ruby roundhouse, she never really feels this badass. she feels like she can actually defend herself for once

⤷ acheron is just confused. she convinced herself she had her just lost her memory again and was just in some weird location.

⤷ sparkle was NAWT having fun. hated maps hated reading maps hated whatever -ology shit whatever

⤷ robin was the only one trying to get everyone to focus

⤷ ratio got humbled real quick when he realised he couldn't really fight aventurine

⤷ aventurine basically started doing the roblox man face nonstop

⤷ the first to lose their life is surprisingly ratio becacuse bro was not paying attention and realised he was suddenly moving almost two times slower than usual- got eaten by a snake

⤷ aventurine was having the time of his life being the main character

⤷ sparkle tried to get the fuck out of there by doing her usual scammy scamming but then she realised they were, in fact, NPC characters and absolutely nothing changes no matter how much she bargains or lies

⤷ acheron just stood there like '?'

⤷ its a miracle how they made it out, actually, because god knows they were not focusing aside from robin

⤷ robin actually panicekd real bad when she got down to her last life and acheron was surprisingly the one comforting her

⤷ ratio and aventurine basically fought the entire time (all their deaths happened because of each other, ratio thinks he is too smart to die)

⤷ ratio uses his brain for all the puzzles and just sends robin out to do all the fighting because aventurine was like dawg why me

⤷ sparkle actually tries to be helpful for once

⤷ acheron is still '?'

⤷ when they make it out of the game, acheron is still '?'

[heliads]

everything is blue • conrisa space au • Chapter Four: Friends in Dangerous Places

Risa Ward escaped a shuttle destined for her certain, painful death. Connor Lassiter ran away from home before it was too late. Lev Calder was kidnapped. All of them were supposed to be dissected for parts, used to advance a declining galaxy, but as of right now, all of them are whole. Life will not stay the same way forever.

series spotify playlist

previous / series masterlist / next

Oh, Risa is never going to let herself forget this. As long as she may live, which could be until she’s one hundred standard years old or just fifteen, depending on if she’s actually able to make this work or not, Risa will remember how it felt to strain her valuable lungs laughing so hard she thinks she might die. 

And yeah, she’s been arguing with Connor almost nonstop since the moment they met, but looking over at him now, she can practically feel the line being drawn in the Terran sand. They’re a team now, even if they may not like it all the time. It’s them against the worlds. Team Risa and Connor. Honestly, maybe the Juvey-cops should be right to worry about ferals like them. 

Juveys. See, now that’s got Risa thinking. They were only able to temporarily borrow this tithe because his little chariot of death thought this ship belonged to a Juvey-cop, which makes no sense. Well, there’s something up about Connor, obviously, something bad, but she hadn’t counted on, like, killing a Juvey-cop bad. She can only assume he killed the cop. How else would he get the ship, by asking politely?

And yeah, Risa does believe that there’s no point in playing by the Collective’s rule book now that she’s officially groundsless, but there’s a difference between sneaking off a StaHo shuttle destined for a harvest colony and actually killing someone. Or maybe she can just say that because she’s Risa and he’s Connor, and Risa knows exactly why she’s done what she’s done but she has no idea what’s going on in his head. 

At times, she’s not even certain that Connor knows that. He gets this look in his eyes sometimes, the fuck-it impulse if she were to give it a name, and whenever he gets like that she has no clue what he’s going to do next. He could steal a ship or kidnap a tithe. He could run away from whatever’s keeping him and even convince her to join him in his next plans. 

It’s thoughts like that which make Risa’s laughter finally dry up. It’s time to face the truth, which is that Risa Ward is shooting through hyperspace on a potentially stolen ship with one boy who would definitely turn her in to get back to his divine destiny and another who might just do that anyway, even if it gets himself caught too. All they have tying themselves together right now is the tenuous thread of survival, and Risa has already seen how quickly that can unwind. 

She straightens up, and the tithe must sense that doubt is starting to creep in because he takes his chance the second he gets it. “Look,” he interjects, blithe and irritating, “You really ought to just let me go. There has to be a planet close by, we can all go our separate ways there. You don’t even know who this guy is. Do you really want to leave everything up to him?”

Risa casts a wary glance towards Connor, who looks genuinely affronted that she’s not immediately backing him up. “She knows me better than she knows you,” Connor points out, “and besides, why do you care when we let you go? You’re just going to throw yourself into your own distribution the second our backs are turned. You couldn’t be happier if we all die.”

“It’s not death,” the tithe says primly. “It’s all about life, in fact. I’m making sure that the universe carries on. Without me, yes, but carries on. Isn’t it more important to honor our promise to the worlds than tear down everything around us just so we can keep going?”

“I didn’t promise anything to anyone,” Connor grits out. “Just because your parents have deluded you into thinking that this is normal doesn’t mean that you can kill the rest of us. You deserve a life, kid.”

“Don’t call me that,” the tithe scowls. “I have a name.”

“You haven’t told us yet,” Risa remarks dryly.

The tithe pauses in his relentless staring contest with Connor to toss a stray glare her way. “I didn’t get a chance what with you two kidnapping me. If you must know, I’m Lev.”

Risa nods. She hadn’t yet put together a plan of what to say to whom, but when Connor immediately blurts out that he’s Connor and she’s Risa, she knows that, at least, is wrong. They can’t afford to go shouting out their names to anyone in earshot. She’s an AWOL, and most likely he is too, if not worse. Neither of them can afford a slipup like that.

The tithe– Lev– catches the hesitation in her glance again. For such a small kid, he’s surprisingly good at reading people. Maybe growing up in a big family like that, within a community where he’s constantly watching people to see if they’re going to accept his tithing or try and fail to convince him otherwise, made him need to learn when someone’s his friend or not. It’s a useful skill; she can’t blame him for wanting to learn it.

“Neither of you can get far by yourselves,” Lev tells her. “You might as well just leave me to my own devices. We’re close to the harvest colony anyway. It won’t even take you that much time to drop me off.”

Risa scoffs. “Yeah, and let you call the guards on us while we’re there? No thanks.”

Lev arches a brow. “You’d have no reason to fear the guards unless you’re a distribute on the loose.”

Risa scowls. She hadn’t meant to give that away thus far, but it’s pretty obvious at this point. “So what if I am? Still doesn’t mean I want to go to the place of my impending doom.”

“And impending doom isn’t found with the boy who killed a Juvey-cop?” Lev asks. The thought briefly flashes across Risa’s mind that he would have made a fantastic interrogator had he allowed himself to live past thirteen. Perhaps even a decent therapist. He’s uncannily good at knowing things.

Connor doesn’t seem to like the shift in conversation. “Hey,” he argues, “I never killed a Juvey. I just took his ship. He wanted to take my internal organs, I’d say that’s a fair trade.”

Risa has to cough to smother a laugh. “So you didn’t kill anyone to get this?”

“That’s what I said,” Connor frowns, and this time Risa can’t disguise the rush of relief that cascades around her. He’s not a murderer, at least. He’s just like her. She can’t explain why that makes her feel so, so much better. It just does. 

Lev, sensing that the argument isn’t going his way, presses on further. “Look, you don’t have to like me being a tithe. But can you at least trust that my way is better than whatever dangerous nonsense Connor’s going to try?”

Risa looks at Connor, who’s growing more nervous by the second as he shuffles back and forth in scuffed shoes, and she marvels at the fact that he’d even been able to fool them this long. He’s falling apart at the seams. Still, Risa reasons, better Connor’s haywire guidance than their distribution at Lev’s choice of harvest camps. 

She steps forward. “I’ll stick with Connor, thanks. We’ll go where he chooses.”

Lev stares at her indignantly. “You can’t make that decision. I want to go to the harvest colony.”

Connor, on the other hand, is smiling. Faintly, sure, but smiling. “Too bad, man. You’ve been outvoted.”

Lev has plenty to say about that, but neither of them are listening. Walking back to the cockpit, Connor nudges her shoulder with his. “You sided with me.”

“Don’t take it personally,” she warns him.

He grins. “Too late. I already have.”

Risa rolls her eyes, but if anything it only seems to make Connor’s smile broaden. In the interest of deflecting from his pride, Risa hastily adds, “So where are we going, Magnificent Captain?”

Connor makes a face at the title. “Wherever you set the hyperspace jump, Capable Navigator.”

Risa grimaces. She had forgotten that part. In all the chaos, she’d just blindly picked the first location option that came up. She had no dream vacation destination in mind, after all. Anywhere away from here was good.

Odds are, that’s good enough for Connor as well. She studies the instrument panel carefully, pretending there’s something that needs her attention. “When we get wherever we’re going, I– it’s going to be difficult. Getting anywhere or doing anything, I mean. I don’t have a grounds license.”

The words seem to reverberate in the air. “Neither do I,” Connor admits, then, “Why are you smiling?”

“I’ve never said that aloud before. That I was groundsless. Not while I was free like this,” Risa tells him. 

It’s a strange sort of feeling, being on the run from the law. She had tried not to talk about it with anyone at the State Home back on XXIII, but of course a couple of the kids had broached the subject anyway. Now, it’s almost freeing to admit it. She doesn’t exist in the eyes of the law. Risa Ward has no anchors anywhere. In revoking her grounds license, the Collective has accidentally made Risa more powerful than she’s ever been before.

Connor chuckles to himself. “See, now you’re getting it. It’s exciting to be against the law. In a month or two, you could be a smuggler or something.”

Risa scoffs. “I would never. That’s ridiculous.”

Connor raises a dubious brow. “You’re enjoying all this right now, aren’t you? Trust me, sweetheart, give it a couple of weeks and you’ll be a feral through and through.”

Risa laughs disbelievingly. “Yeah? And what sort of terrible things do you think I’d get up to?”

Connor taps his chin, pretending to think. “Oh, all sorts of awful crimes. The kind that would make all the kids back home tell ghost stories about you. You might exceed the speed limit near an agri-colony by five whole units, or take a synth-apple from a store without paying for it. Maybe you’d even disturb the peace by playing bad music too loudly at night.”

Risa clutches a dramatic hand to her heart. “Now you’ve gone too far. I would only blare good music. My neighbors would appreciate it.”

Connor shakes his head sorrowfully. “See, that’s how they get you. I once knew a guy who said the same things you did. Next thing you know, he was blasting glam hyperdisco.”

Risa pretends to shudder. “Say it isn’t so. I would never forgive myself for something like that.”

Connor wiggles his eyebrows. “You don’t have to forgive yourself forever. Your ears will be someone else’s in just a short amount of time if you give yourself up, you could forget all about it.”

She stares at him, somewhat bewildered. “You’re fascinatingly morbid for someone who wants to live so much, Connor.”

He leans back in his pilot’s seat, smiling quite happily upon hearing what Risa wasn’t entirely sure was a compliment. “You’re wonderfully pessimistic for someone who thinks she’s so much better than me, Risa.”

She furrows her brow. “I don’t think I’m so much better than you.”

“Fine,” Connor says with a seemingly unconcerned wave of his hand, “much more honorable, at least. No one would mistake you for murdering a Juvey-cop.”

He says it bitterly, and Risa can’t help but cringe at it. In her defense, she’d never met him before, and AWOLs with the shuttle of a Juvey-cop typically don’t get them legally, but she’d still made that assumption about him without any justification other than him not wanting her to be on his ship after she snuck on board. And who could blame him for that? Every AWOL is skittish. It’s in their nature.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers. It’s barely audible over the hum of the machinery surrounding them, but Connor still reacts, looking over at her in surprise. For all his griping, he wasn’t actually expecting her to apologize. 

“Yeah, well, it’s okay,” he says gruffly. 

It’s awkward and quiet in the cockpit. She doesn’t think either of them have ever been more grateful to Lev for choosing that moment to try and access the shuttle’s token escape pod, giving them both the necessary out from the conversation so they can leap up from their seats and try to wrangle the tithe back from his misguided attempt to flee to his death. Once Lev has been properly chastised and the escape pod has been appropriately barred from future endeavors, the prior conversation has been all but forgotten. So they’ll pretend, at any rate.

Risa does remember to check their destination, at least. She pokes around the nav computer for a while until she can find the proper setting, then grimaces at what she sees. Connor, who has apparently been watching her like a hawk, shifts forward in his seat the second her expression shifts. “What is it?” He asks warily.

Risa’s eyes flicker to Lev. He appears to be devoting a lot of time and attention to perfecting his scowl in the back corner of the shuttle, but she can’t tell if he’s listening or not. Dropping her voice just to be safe, she continues, “The nav system has automatically rerouted us to a boundary checkpoint. We’ll have to pass through if we want to carry on. Best case scenario, we answer a few questions and they let us go.”

Connor’s face grows long and tired. “And what’s the worst case?”

Risa worries the edge of her shirtsleeve as she thinks about it. “Worst case, they find something suspicious and search the ship. While boarding, they figure out we’ve got a tithe on board who doesn’t want to be there. Lev’s parents have probably put up a notice by now calling for his return, and odds are the sec-ships from the spaceport have stills of our faces from security cameras, so we might have a few virtual wanted posters of our own. If they look for longer than a second, they’ll figure out who we are and then we’ll be right back where we started.”

Connor sucks in a breath through gritted teeth. “Okay, then we try to get the best case scenario to work. Is there any way we can go around the checkpoint?”

Risa shakes her head. “You can’t exit a star system without passing through one, I should have thought of it earlier. My goal was to leave OH-10. We can change that if we want, but–”

Connor waves a hand to dismiss that option. “Out of the question. The longer we stay in this system, the more we run the risk of getting caught. Flying out of here is our only choice. We’ll just have to play it cool while we’re there. With any luck, we’ll get someone hanging on past retirement age who won’t notice who we are.”

Risa presses her lips together in a thin line. “This isn’t going to work.”

“Not with that attitude,” Connor says with a slight touch of humor, although she can tell from the strain around his eyes that he’s thinking the same thing. “And certainly not with Lev’s attitude, either.”

Risa’s lips twitch into a half-smile. “He’s thirteen. They’re all like that. No one will bat an eye.”

Connor grins. “You’re wonderful at plotting. Maybe your life of crime really isn’t that far away.”

Risa rolls her eyes and leans over to swat him on the shoulder. “Give it up, Connor. It’s not going to happen.”

“Whatever you say,” Connor tells her, but he’s still flashing his teeth in that ridiculously proud grin of his, and Risa can’t find it within herself to fight a returning smile.

True to Connor’s hope, the officer at the boundary checkpoint in charge of checking their ship is on the older side, but unfortunately, that only seems to make her more suspicious instead of less. The representative appears on their comms channel once they dock, but only to request that they appear in person to assert their passage out of the OH-10 system. 

Risa and Connor exchange tense, wary glances, but in the end the only thing they can do is file resolutely out of the shuttle and do their best not to look suspicious. They can’t linger inside for too long without drawing attention, but they do manage to at least come up with an alibi and beseech Lev not to blow it for all of them before traipsing out.

The checkpoint official for their designated landing slot is waiting for them when they arrive, impatiently tapping her fingers against the handle of her cane. Her gunmetal gray hair is pinned back severely, and the light from the open hololibrary in front of her gives the silver strands a bluish shadow. Risa watches her flick through several tabs of interstellar transport checklists and shipping documentation as they walk down the exit ramp of the shuttle.

Connor attempts to be suave and/or polite and asks for her name. The checkpoint rep answers him tersely, “Sonia,” and ignores him when he attempts to clarify a last name. From that point on, they descend into a flurry of questions. Sonia asks them what they’re doing, where they came from, what their names are and how they know each other. They came up with a decent cover story while they were flying over to the boundary checkpoint, but Risa can still hear her heart hammering in her temples as she answers as calmly as she can.

Stars, they must look so suspicious. They’re trying to pass off the whole affair as a school project, but there’s no reason three teenagers would ever be trusted to take themselves out of their home star system for something as simple as that. Hell, Risa realizes belatedly, none of them are even old enough to qualify for a cosmic license. There is no reason any of them should be alone flying this thing.

Strangely enough, though, Sonia does not ask about that. In fact, the second either Connor or Risa starts losing track of their story, she abruptly changes the subject to ask about some other nonsensical detail like the date of their last captain’s log or where they intend on fuelling up their shuttle when they leave this system. Just useless info, really, but it looks like she’s really grilling them, and it dawns on Risa that this is all Sonia wants to do, put up an appearance of severity. Risa has no doubt that Sonia saw straight through them the second they landed, but for some reason, this old woman is not interested in damning them.

Not yet, at least. Risa waits with rising nerves for the other shoe to drop, and when Sonia reaches up to close her hololibrary and, stranger still, covers up the badge on her breast pocket with her hand, she’s certain they’re in for it.

Instead, Sonia fixes her with a steely look, and asks, “And how, exactly, do you plan on getting yourselves out of the mess you’re in?”

Risa blinks. “Sorry?”

Sonia sighs exasperatedly. “Both of you can’t keep a straight face for a second. The moment you try to enter any other system, you’re doomed. Two distributes can’t get that far without a good plan, and I’m not sure that you have one yet. Where do you intend to go, and how will you do it?”

Connor glances nervously at Risa, then back at Sonia again. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but–”

Sonia sighs again. She’s quite prone to it, Risa notes with some small amusement, and every time Connor or Risa gets on her nerves she exhales another gusty breath like she intends to blow them both away if she could manage it. “Don’t try to lie to me, boy. I could see straight through you in an instant. Where do you want to go?”

Risa lifts a shoulder. “Anywhere but here. We planned on one of the nearby systems. Metitov, maybe. Or Veon 7B.”

Sonia shakes her head decisively. “Too close. You’re better off finding another system on the outskirts of it all, one that’s much farther from here. You can try–” Risa leans forward a little, shifting onto the toes of her feet, waiting for a hint that might be able to save them, but instead of a clue towards their safety, all she hears is the sudden, ear-piercing wail of a klaxon.

Sonia swears far more copiously than Risa expected and hurriedly checks her left wrist. Circling her narrow bones like a bracelet is a continuous holographic loop displaying the nature of the latest threat to the checkpoint. Risa can just make out the words –ROGUE GROUNDLESS– in whitish blue capital letters hovering in the air before Sonia throws her arm back down to her side with another venomous sigh, this one at least not directed at them.

“We’re out of time,” she mutters, “The three of you will have to come with me, now, if you want to make it out.” Sonia pauses, then stares, displeased, at the space just past Risa. “Well, the two of you.”

Risa furrows her brow and is about to ask what Sonia means by that when she glances over her shoulder to see empty space. Empty space where Lev had just been standing, but the area is utterly devoid of blond tithes at the moment.

Connor’s eyes flash with anger. “That traitorous starspawn. He sold us out. Couldn’t wait to die, then, could he? Had to do us in, too.”

Risa quite agrees with all of that, but they don’t have the minutes to spare standing around complaining. Every second they waste is one that the sec-forces of this checkpoint station have to find them. “We can insult him later. Right now, we have to go.”

Sonia nods. “She’s right. Follow me.”

Connor freezes. “Can’t we just get back on our ship?”

Sonia scoffs. “What, so they can track you in a heartbeat? They know your ship. They know it’s stolen. You’re better off hitching a ride on one of the oversize shipping haulers they’ve got stationed out back. Those things take off all the time and they’re too big for anyone to notice a couple of stowaways.”

Connor still hesitates, but Risa won’t let his indecision screw them over, not more than they have been already. “We don’t have any other options, Connor. We have to go. Unless you want to give security an easier time distributing us?”

That, at least, gets through to him. Connor snaps to it and immediately starts following Sonia, who had already started moving without checking that they were behind her. Despite the cane, the woman walks pretty quickly, although Risa can’t help but wish they were going faster still. She’d sprint if she could, but that would give her away even more than her frantic heartbeat, the way she can’t stop looking around her to see if the sec-forces have caught up to her yet.

Sonia leads them down a few corridors and around several corners, enough that Risa is certain she couldn’t make it back to the shuttle by herself if she tried. Stopping by a control panel, Sonia types in a series of command codes and a door hisses open to reveal a large hangar bay. 

They hurry inside without even waiting for the door to finish moving. Sonia’s eyes sweep the hangar bay until she finds the ship they’re looking for. “This one will take you far away from here,” she announces, “It’ll dock for the night in KAN-5A5. That’s about halfway there.”

Risa frowns. “Halfway where?”

For once, Sonia looks almost sympathetic. “It is going to be a long journey,” she tells them. “It will be difficult. You’ll want to leave. Once you get there, though, you’ll be glad I sent you.”

This time, it’s not just Risa who wants more answers. Connor steps forward, arms folded across his chest. “I’d like to know where we’re going, thank you very much.”

Sonia sighs again, but the frustration is missing this time. Risa is starting to think that the woman might genuinely feel bad for them. She’s been hiding it all along, Risa realizes, trying to push it away, but she cannot help it. Sonia sees two kids who want to live. This probably isn’t the first time she’s done something like this, is it? How many of those kids survived? How many of those deaths will Sonia blame herself for? She’s an old woman. There are plenty of years in which things could go wrong.

“I can’t tell you that,” Sonia admits, “I can’t risk the secret getting out. Just know that they’ll keep you safe. Get out of the frigate undetected in KAN-5A5. Find a man named Cleaver. I’ll signal him in advance so he knows you’re coming. After that, you’ll have to make it there with his guidance.”

Risa nods. “How many kids have done this?”

Sonia rocks back on her heels, and for a moment she is not with them at all but lost deep in memories. Decades of them, perhaps. “Hundreds. Not all at once, but over the years.”

Connor whistles under his breath. “So you’re, like, the guardian angel of the groundsless?”

Sonia’s eyes cut over to him in an instant, faster than a scalpel, and Risa can’t tell if she’s furious at Connor or Sonia herself. “Not in the slightest,” she says, and gestures towards the ship until their questions stop and they get moving again.

There’s a small hatch near the back. Connor climbs in first, then reappears to confirm that there’s enough space for them to hide. He helps Risa in, and they both crouch near the entrance, watching Sonia with wide eyes.

She looks up at them, fingers curled around her cane until her knuckles whiten like bone. “Be strong,” Sonia says at last, then turns and walks back out of the hangar bay. Risa watches until she’s long gone, until even the thud of the cane against the floor disappears like a dying heartbeat, until Connor flinches at a sudden sound somewhere across the hangar bay and hurriedly pulls the hatch closed behind them.

Once her eyes adjust, Risa looks around them. This is most likely a small storage compartment, where tools and cleaning supplies can be tossed and promptly forgotten about until something happens. It’ll do just fine for two AWOLs without a single thing to their names except each other.

Risa takes a careful seat on the ground in between rows of stacked virt-spanners and antimatter vises. After a moment, Connor follows suit. He stretches out his legs in front of them, leaning back against the wall of the ship.

“Think this place’ll be any good?” He asks.

Risa stares at the floor in front of her. “No idea,” she whispers softly. “It’s not like we have anywhere else to go, though, do we?”

She expects him to make a joke about her relentless optimism, but instead he just lets out a slow breath and agrees. “We’ll make it. We have to. And hey, if it ends up being a total nightmare, at least I know I’ve got one person on my side.”

She cocks her head to the side, regarding him cautiously. “We’re allies, then?”

“We’re friends,” Connor says. “I think we get a do-over after all of this. Let me go first. I’m Connor Lassiter, and I’m an AWOL.” 

He holds out a hand, and after a moment of conspicuous staring, she reaches out and shakes it with her own. “Hi, Connor Lassiter,” she says, “I’m Risa Ward.”

Connor squeezes her hand once before letting go. “I have no idea how long we have until this thing takes off. We should probably try to get some sleep or something. I can take the first watch.”

Risa opens her mouth to protest this, but on second thought, the idea of getting some rest does sound rather good. She had to get up early when she left the State Home, although that feels years away, a distant memory rather than something that only happened earlier today. They spent hours in space, and seeing as Risa has no idea when they’ll get a break like this again, she might as well get a little shut-eye while she can.

So she lets her eyes close, and she curls up against the wall of the shuttle as best she can. Sleep comes faster than she thought, and her last conscious thought is that regardless of how this ends, regardless of when she gets caught, Risa can at least say that her life was interesting before it ended. She never thought she’d get an adventure like this. Even if it took her almost getting killed for her life to finally start, well, at least she gets it now. Some things are worth the risk.

unwind tag list: @schroedingers-kater, @locke-writes, @sirofreak

all tags list: @wordsarelife

[pidge-poetry]

In-Flight Edibles, Rowdy Aussie Crowds & The “Sonic War” Of Their Next Album – Here’s Our Foals Interview

Gotta pass that plane time somehow.

Words by Amar Gera | December 6, 2023 | Life without Andy

We catch up with guitarist Jimmy ahead of their trip Down Under…

British rockers Foals are a rare sight in todays music world. The ability to craft commercial and festival-pleasing heaters while maintaining artistic integrity is a feat few pull off, a one that fewer actually make enjoyable. However, it seems Foals have perfected the art of the festival crowd anthem, and thankfully, they’ll be bringing their talents back to Australia over the NYE period for a bunch of shows around the country.

Slated to play the likes of Heaps Good Festival, Lost Paradise, Fortitude Music Hall and more, the run of shows will see the honorary Aussies bring their latest LP Life Is Yours (and its companion piece, Life Is Dub) across the country. Judging by our interview with lead guitarist Jimmy, this could very well be the the last time the album will be played out in its entirety, with Foals’ upcoming album seemingly already in the works. Which makes it all the more important that you catch them at the upcoming batch of shows.

To celebrate their upcoming Aussie shows, wee caught up with Jimmy from the band to talk Life Is Yours, their tips for flying to Australia and more. Check it below.

It’s a pretty busy time for you right now. You’re capping off a year of shows, a new LP, and a pretty crazy festival season. How are the energy levels?

Yeah, they’re pretty good right now. I think it’s because we’ve just had a bit of time off since September. So, we’re okay. We’re ready to do another LP and everything, I think.

Obviously, you’ve been playing music on this level for quite a long time now. After all these years, is the chaos of nonstop flights, shows, and so on, where you feel most comfortable?

I mean, post-COVID stuff is more annoying, like flying, airports and all of that. But yeah, we’re pretty used to it now. The show is such a tiny part of what the actual tour is. It’s all the hustle and bustle, and then a lot of time doing nothing.

Australia is pretty far removed from the rest of the world, which got me wondering, how do you kill time on that mammoth plane ride?

Just movies. If I’ve got my laptop, I might work on a song or something, that’s always pretty good. But then, the battery will always die in like an hour. So, yeah, generally I just take some edibles and watch some movies and enjoy it.

Edibles on a plane?

Yeah, I highly recommend it. I wouldn’t do it for the first time on a flight to Australia. I think that would be horrific if it went wrong.

Are you a window or aisle seat kind of guy?

If it’s below four hours, I want a window. If it’s above, I have to have an aisle because I can’t stand waking people up to go to the toilet.

Speaking of Australia, you’re playing a bunch of festivals and shows Down Under, including Heaps Good. How are you feeling for it?

I don’t know how long it’s been since we’ve been to Australia, but it’s been a long time. So, we’re pretty psyched just to be coming down. And yeah, also Aussie midsummer again, it’s pretty good. It’s a good time to come visit. And yeah, those lineups are pretty good as well. I’m really excited about The Avalanches, I’ve never seen them. That’s going to be cool.

International artists always seem taken aback at how rowdy Aussie crowds are. In your personal experience, how do we compare to the rest of the world?

Yeah, you guys are surprisingly rowdy, considering the tropical setting. Aussie crowds bring this crazy European energy, like the stuff we see in the UK. But yeah, it’s good. I mean, I remember it was pretty surprising the first time we came and played in Australia. We were like, “Oh, shit. They’re actually pretty into it.”

Are there any specific memories from that first time in Australia that stand out?

I always just think of our first show, which was in Adelaide. We played a festival in Switzerland and then flew for two days or something, and then played in Adelaide the night we landed. Then, the same night, Edwin, our keyboard player, had a DJ set as well. And I remember the crowd went nuts for that set. That crowd was basically the only thing that got us through it all.

I also want to chat ‘Life Is Yours’. It’s been a year since that record entered the world. How has your relationship changed with it since?

I’ll tell you what, it’s been a quick year. I’m a bit bummed though. We haven’t played the whole record live, and I don’t know if we’re going to get to it. We’ve only got Australia left to do it. But I wish we could have played more of Life Is Yours.

I think it was a really necessary album for us to make, certainly because of COVID and all of that that was going on. I feel like it was the right thing to do. It felt nice to take our foot off the adventurous gas. We weren’t too pressured on ourselves about making the record. But I see it as a little calming record before whatever’s coming next, which I presume will be an all-out sonic war.

It’s pretty interesting that you followed it up with ‘Life Is Dub’, given that it’s pretty rare for artists to rework a new album to that extent. As a group, what was the reasoning behind it?

That was Dan Carey, one of the producers of Life Is Yours, and one of the guys we work with the most. He’s got his studio in South London and never leaves. It’s kind of a dream. I idolize him in a way because I want to live like that. I want to have my studio in the bottom of my house with my family up the top. But yeah, he was like, “I want to do a dub version.” And it was great.

Actually, I wish he’d gone a bit more out there on it. I haven’t seen him since it was released. But yeah, I really love it. Because I know that he’s got the capabilities to go really far out. I guess he doesn’t want to scare anybody though. But yeah, I thought it was really cool. I want to do more things like that, just in terms of weird releases and alternate versions of stuff we’ve done.

If ‘Life Is Yours’ and ‘Life Is Dub’ were two characters sitting at a bar, what would they be and what would they be talking about?

Life Is Dub probably wouldn’t need to drink any alcohol because it would already be so high. So, Life Is Dub would be on sparkling water or a Coca-Cola and would probably be talking about, I’m not sure, a new piece of musical equipment or maybe a tin hat conspiracy theory. One that doesn’t offend anybody, but it’s just a mystery.

And then, I feel like Life Is Yours would be quite positive and maybe reassuring Life Is Dub about their worries. Definitely would having a couple of drinks, maybe a cocktail. Looking slightly more ’80s than Life Is Dub, I would say. That’d be quite an interesting duo.

Your music’s pretty perfect for crowd singalongs. It’s a really moving thing to see in your lives videos. In terms of songwriting and instrumentation, is there a secret to crafting tracks that resonate so hard?

Yannis does all of the lyrics, but I would say that when you’re writing, there’ll be even just part of a sentence that pops out. And you’d probably be like, “That’s what they’re going to sing.” Because what we always naturally pick up on is slogans or catchphrases that pop out. And sure enough, there’ll be one at the end of a sentence, which the whole crowd will sing. It’s really cool. And then, similarly, they’ll just pick up on something that we haven’t even thought of, and sing that back at us, which is really cool.

You’re also playing a show in Brissy at The Fortitude Music Hall with Declan McKenna, Sycco, Felony and so on. How do you differentiate between festival and the more concert sort of set?

I don’t think we’re doing any sideshows so I’m glad that the Brisbane show is like a sideshow, because they are different. You can play for longer at a sideshow and you can play hard and fast with the set list, just because it’s like a no-pressured scenario. I think sideshows are more for having a bit of fun and connecting with your fans, whereas a festival show is more of a proper show, and it’s got to be a more crafted set list. Also, it’s got to fit into whatever allocated slot you’re playing.

It is a funny thing that I find interesting about festivals and I think its really impressive that all these bands actually manage to pretty much play for the allotted time and figure it out. Like we’ve gone over a few times. We’ve had sound cut by festivals and stuff, and I just find it so brutal that they invite these musicians to come all the way over and if they go a minute over because they’re enjoying themselves, that’s it. They’re like “How dare you?” How dare you encroach on The Killers’ headlines time?” So, yeah, I like the sideshows just because they’re a bit looser.

You’re gonna be ringing in the New Year with us. What are your plans for the big countdown?

I don’t know, but I remember last time we did it in Melbourne we were at a festival. But it was actually quite depressing because we came back off stage really pumped, and there was just nobody around. Everyone had gone into Melbourne. So, we all just want to make sure that doesn’t happen again this time. Hopefully we’ll find a party, you’d think.

Lastly, can you give us a summary for Foals’ trajectory in 2023 and for the year ahead?

It’s all the things. Words like “Exploration” and “Oblivion” are popping into my head. But yeah, we’re just going to have a lot of fun.

Foals are returning Down Under at the end of this year. Be sure to cop tickets to their upcoming Aussie shows here.

[obviously-im-a-boyo]

Lets fucking break this down.

"But why don't we think about it from Simon's perspective?" Why? Why on earth should we take this case of 5 teenage (4 underage) boys being overworked and used for their talent, shot into global fame young, left with mental health and addiction problems, at the hand of this millionaire old man, and consider Simon's perspective? How can you look at a case of 5 boys being abused and think "but what about the abuser? what was HE thinking?"

"Hes an entrepeneur, taking every chance to make the most money" THERE! You admit Simon is a greedy capitalist pig who was looking for ways to make the most money, even if it meant using children with lots of talent to skyrocket his own wallet. How can you say later in the post that Simon "cared about the boys" when he only ever cared about money? He wouldn't let them take proper breaks, they barely SLEPT during the years the band was together, Niall needed a knee surgery he didn't get, Zayn developed an ED just to control SOMETHING about his life, Liam's addiction issues are 100% because of how he was handled in the band. Simon isn't an "entrepeneur" he's a greedy old man who built his pathetic career off using and hurting people. 1D was his best shining example of that module.

The amount of albums and tours those boys put out during those 5 years was NOT normal and no amount of worldwide fame makes it okay. Them becoming famous DOES NOT MAKE IT OKAY. Do you remember being 16, 17, 18? Most grown men can't handle the schedule those children had, and you don't see any of the boys mimicking their band schedule in their solo careers. Once they went solo, they took longer to write songs that actually MEANT something to them, to plan tours at their own pace with enough breaks to be rested and ready for their next project.

Many artists are worldwide famous, many even more famous than 1D. None of them had the schedule 1D had. Being overworked as teenagers was NOT excused by the fame they achieved. They could have reached that level of fame with a better schedule and better care. I firmly believe they would have been MORE famous and lasted longer as a band if they HADN'T been so pump-and-dumped by Syco. Also, in case you forgot, 1D LOST X-Factor. They didn't even win Simon's fuckass show. They became famous ANYWAY, because people LIKED them. Without Simon, Syco, or X-Factor, sure, things would be *different*, but they'd almost certainly be *better.* Those boys, now men, would be happier. Liam might be alive.

There's a laundry list of people to blame for Liam's death, the industry as a whole and the capitalist system among them. Liam was a 31 year old talented man with a whole life ahead of him. He had so much love to give the world. Just because he metaphorically pulled the trigger doesn't erase the people who metaphorically loaded that gun over the years and pushed him to bring it to his head. There are non-famous examples of cases like this, where someone is pushed to suicide by someone else. Just because they killed themself doesn't erase the person who caused it. And no, Simon didn't solely cause Liam's death, but him and his company, and how he handled 1D, played a MAJOR part in Liam's addiction and his untimely death. To ignore that is to be willfully ignorant, and to suck the industry's dick, to be straight with you.

"Simon loved those lads when they weren't in working relationships." No he didn't. I don't care if he cried at Liam's funeral. I don't care if HE thinks he loved them. What he did to One Direction is not how you show love. Overworking and using teenagers for everything they can give for more millions is NOT love. If the CEO of your company made you work the way those boys worked, nonstop, and you developed lasting problems for the rest of your life, only to die at 31, would you want people saying "but their CEO loved them"?

Terrible post OP, absolutely garbage take. YOU need to think logically. Stop trying to play devil's advocate for a rich man who saw and took the quickest chance to use 5 babies.

It’s been a month so I’d like to talk about something. Simon Cowell gets so much hate since the hiatus of one direction and so so much allegations as well, in which I totally can see where they’re coming from.

But why do directioners never really thought about the entire thing from Simon’s perspective?

He’s an entrepreneur, and an entrepreneur is taking every single chance to make the most money off of the opportunity. One direction was his chance. I may be lame and cheeky on this, but if I was Simon I would do the same thing as he did to the lads such as making them to create as much songs as possible, work overtime etc.

“Simon is a businessman, not a charity.”

If Simon didn’t push the 5 young lads to their limits, yes they may be still together, or Liam may still be alive now. But would they ever be THIS big? No. Absolutely not, not even a chance, not even close.

Without Simon, one direction wouldn’t even have THIS fan base in 5 years. Wouldn’t have 5 studio albums out, wouldn’t have 3 world tours sold out within minutes.

Indeed nicole was the actual mother who gave birth to 1D, but without Simon they would’ve been NO WHERE ON THE TOP of the music history.

I’m not saying that I agree with Simon’s actions, but I’m saying that there’s NO ONE. Absolutely no one left to blame for Liam’s death BUT Liam Payne himself.

Also without a doubt, Simon absolutely loved the 5 young lads when they’re not in working relationships.

PLEASE. think LOGICALLY, not GENEROUSLY.

-thrucigarette.

[scaratastic]

My love.

in which how male genshin characters shows their love to you. ( might contain some grammatical error or even spelling mistakes idk i don't proofread cus we die like real men /j )

fluff

Kaeya

many people said that he's most likely to cheat on his s/o when in fact, it is quite impossible for him to do that.

man certainly has abandonment issues after losing both of his dads and his brother. sorry

i personally view him as the type to show you how much he loves you both by actions and words but slightly more to words (?) .

like he'd tease you about how beautiful you look, how gorgeous you truly are etc during times when he just feels like it but there's also time where he just wants to feel your body against his own, arms securing your body while inhaling your scent as you both cuddled before heading off to dreamland.

he'd certainly tease you during random times which will make you get all flustered. this man is full of surprises.

even if he's the type to always joke around and tease you nonstop, he'll always make sure that you know just how much he loves and cherish your existence in his life!

Diluc

he's the type of guy who'd buy you random gifts or give you some flowers that has special meanings behind it.

dinner dates or any type of dates that you prefer. yes, he loves to spoil you.

list all the things that you want, he'll get them for you. even if it is impossible, he'll find a way.

"if you're happy, then i am happy."

he gives everything to you. his love, his trust, himself, literally everything.

he might be a man of a few words and very awkward during the early stage of your relationship but he'll warm up later.

waking up in the morning with him cuddling you hehe

i can actually see him being a bit clingy here, specially when he overworked himself for the past few days. he'll definitely not let you go even if you squirmed and whined, reminding him that he has to wake up or he'll be late for work.

overall a very caring, kind, polite and a bit clingy type of lover. so take care of him please 🙏

Bennett

he would collect any pretty items on his adventures and give them to you as a suprise.

definitely brags about how you are literally so amazing and the best human to ever exist in teyvat to everyone.

"[Name] is just so amazing ! They can fight, they can cook, they can clean—" and so, the list of him praising you goes on.

adventures with him as a date. although he swore that the route that he chose for the both of you to walk through was literally clear a few hours ago, why there's so many monster there now ?

poor boy thinks that it's because of his bad luck. but hey, atleast he got the chance to admire your fighting skills while getting ready to brag about this cool moment of you to katheryne and his friends.

he's just smitten over you okay

Razor

he's clingy.

you can't blame him though, sometimes you just get so busy that you don't have time to visit him in Wolvendom.

he knows your scent and probably recognised the sound of your footsteps so whenever you came to visit, he's already waiting for you on the entrance of Wolvendom.

would escort you to a safe place before asking you to sit as he lays down with his head on top of your leg and buried his face to your stomach.

silently asks you to play with his hair because it's comforting.

okay but just imagine you both in that position beneath a tree, and then you read or tell him a story.

he would grow curious about it and asks questions from time to time. oh, and his reactions are priceless.

like he'd gasp, gets excited when the character from the story that you told him was about to have a good ending and probably huffs and groan when the story did not go well.

picnincs with him mhm. feed him and he's all red. would probably return the favor to you.

Albedo

he probably doesn't allow you to visit him when he's in dragonspine too much because he's worried about you.

but when you do visit him though, he'd ask you to sit down on the chair he provided while lending youb a hot drink to warm yourself up.

this little visit would often turn into study dates. when he sees you curiously observed his movements, he would ask you to come to him as he lends you his notes and explains to you what is his goal and so on.

yes, he won't just leave his job for you. but he'll talk and try to start a conversation with you just so you won't feel lonely and such. what do you expect from a workaholic anyw

would make some things that he thinks you'd like from alchemy and gives it to you.

"it reminds me of you.. so please, take it."

Venti

a date in the tavern.

him flirting like crazy with you as you turned red and shamelessly flirt back. Diluc often kicks your drunk ass and your boyfriend out of the tavern because of this though.

if your're not the type to enjoy alcohol or doesn't like the idea of getting drunk with your boyfriend in the tavern as a date though, then don't worry ! this lil boyfriend of yours got it covered.

would probably try and convince you to sneak out and join him stargaze.

while you're both stargazing, he'd summon his lyre and plays with it while humming a soft tune that'll make the night much more comfortable and enjoyable.

you both would play around like kids afterwards, making some of the monsters notice your presence but venti would take care of them though ;)

during random times, he would just stare and admire you silently.

"have anyone told you that you look absolutely gorgeous ?"

throws random compliments during the most random time. like he'd literally say "you're very pretty you know." after you clear out a hilichurl camp and ofc you'd go like "what"

he's unpredictable. much like kaeya, he is full of surprises. so be prepared of whatever plan that he has in his mind.

njdndjdndjd i still have no scara and no primos i'm about to cry, but anyw should i do this for other characters as well ?

[crystalizedirongoblin]

Hospital Waiting Room (it’s not the place to get a crush)

Rating: Teen Pairing: Will Byers/Gareth, Will Byers & Gareth Tags: Comatose Maxine “Max” Mayfield,  Eddie Munson Lives, He's also in a coma, Pre-Slash, i don't know how to write romance, just so you know, I'm in rarepair hell, No beta we die like Barb, Siblings Will Byers & Eleven | Jane Hopper, Of Course No One Dies, no one dies, Fix-It of Sorts, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence Summary:  It takes Gareth almost two weeks to convince her mother to let him go visit the hospital, another four days to gather the courage to actually do it, in the end he can't make himself open that door. At least he won't be alone in the waiting room, and hey, the guys keep talking about Will Byers, maybe he can say hi? Or, I've been watching @my_ownhell Will/Gareth tiktoks and if no one is writing about this rarepair, I might just have to do it myself.

Read on AO3

It takes Gareth almost two weeks to convince her mother to let him go visit the hospital, and another four days to gather the courage to actually do it.

He doesn’t know what he’s expecting, he doesn’t know what he wants to say, the only thing he knows is that out of all of the members of Corroded Coffin, he’s the only one who’s even going to see Eddie, and that makes him so, so incredibly angry.

He thinks of Carver’s foot on his hand, pressing hard, hard, hard , he thinks of selling Dustin Henderson out and wants to punch himself. Henderson’s a year younger than him, he’s small, way too bubbly to stand up for himself, and he sent Jason Carver after him, the same psychopath that murdered his girlfriend and tried to frame Eddie for it. He thinks how betrayed he’d felt when he saw Lucas with them, of the broken skin above his eyebrow when they said Carver had punched him, trying to get rid of a witness after breaking Sinclair’s girlfriend bones. Had he outed Lucas as one of their club members then? Had he put him in danger?

He tells himself he’ll only work himself up more if he keeps like this, he had no idea of what was going on, still doesn’t, to be honest, but he knows that his friend is in a coma they don’t know if he’ll wake from, that he saved Henderson and that band chick during the earthquake, that he’d been hiding for days before that and Jeff and Grant, who are supposed to be his best friends are nowhere to be seen. So he steels himself, takes the stairs to a surprisingly empty hallway and marches on.

Outside the room where he knows Eddie is there’s two people; Erica Sinclair, curled up on one of the chairs, sleeping, and a guy he’s never seen before.

The guy tenses and turns when he hears him, and he looks incredibly familiar, but Gareth is not sure where from, but he seems to recognize him because he deflates and offers a tired smile.

“Hey” Gareth’s not sure what to do, he’s never been the best at social interactions, that’s why he always admired Eddie so much, even when he was in Middle School and he was just some dude four years older playing the guitar in the bar across the street from his apartment, even when the only reason he ever looked at Gareth was because his drummer had graduated and they needed someone to fill in, and a middle schooler who could hit the drums somewhat on beat was better than nothing.

Luckily the guy seems to notice he’s incredibly lost, because he offers;

“Hey, I’m just waiting for my sister, she’s in with Max, Mayfield. If you want to go see Eddie just know Dustin and Mike are in the room right now” He darts a quick look at the two closed doors, he swears he can hear Henderson from the one closest to him. The thought makes him remember the freshmen talking nonstop about someone else, the Byers kid, the one who went missing a couple years back. He looks older, but definitely the same guy, same bowl cut and everything, what was his name?

“You didn’t go in with them?”

“Ah, not really, I mean, I’ve heard a lot about him but I haven’t met him yet. The guys talk a lot about him but, you know, I’m not really comfortable going in when he’s not awake, you know?”

“I get it” Thinks of going in himself, watching Eddie laying on the bed. At least he could see him alive, but is it really? Is Eddie really Eddie without that manic energy, that constant noise? He sits on one of the chairs.

“The guys talk a lot about you too, Will the Wise, right?” He really hopes he’s right.

“Yeah, they mentioned me?” He looks surprised, Gareth can’t fathom why, the way they talked about him, he was the missing fourth of the whole person the younger kids seemed to turn into some days, knowing what each other were thinking and holding entire conversations without making a single noise, he feels the sudden urge to make Will understand this.

“Mention you? They wouldn’t stop talking about you, they made you out to be so great that for a while I thought you were as imaginary as Henderson’s girlfriend”

“I’ll let you know Suzie is a very real person.” Will smiles at Gareth’s incredulous snort and holy shit he has a nice smile “I know, it surprised us too”

After that, getting to know Will is easy, the guy is incredibly sarcastic and doesn’t hold anything bad, gareth finds himself almost laughing more than once, and the only thing that stops him is the muffled voices on the other side of the doors, Eddie’s and the Mayfield girl’s rooms.

As it tends to go with him, the conversation moves to music, Will asks about the pins on his vest, and Gareth asks him what he listens to.

He doesn’t understand how that’s a sensitive question, but it clearly is, because Will goes silent. He opens his mouth, tries to talk and changes his mind one, two, three times; in the end he settles for

“I haven’t been listening to a lot of music lately” Gareth’s not sure if he should push, but music’s never been a taboo topic before (unless it’s someone trying to preach something non metal to Eddie, then it’s kind of a bloodbath)

“But there has to be something you like more than others, come on, give me a genre”

“I guess I listen to most of what my brother does, you know? So Punk, I guess” He laughs at Gareth’s grimace “Don’t be like that, there’s more than Metal out there, it doesn’t stop being music because you can actually understand the lyrics, you know?”

“Sure, sure, but that doesn’t make them good!”

“Oh my god, you’re a snob”

“I’m not a snob! Have you thought maybe you just have bad taste? Another little sheep listening to The Smiths”

“What’s wrong with The Smiths?” Bless hi, he looks so offended , Gareth bits back a smile

Keep Reading on AO3

[hilarychuff]

The Pizza Artist Formerly Known As Princess

a princess diaries au drabble

inspired by this au graphic; find the first in the series here or read both on ao3 here

The day Jon Snow shows up on her front steps with close-cropped hair and a clean-shaven face, Sansa Stark wants to die. 

She hadn’t processed it at first that morning — she’d practically gone into shock when she’d first answered the door, and then it had been hard to get a thought in edgewise with Arya berating him nonstop for the entirety of the drive to school — but by fourth period, the misery had started to set in. Now, she’s escalated to full-blown despair, barging into Arya’s room so she can dramatically flop onto her sister’s bed.

“It’s not fair,” she groans, throwing her arms over her eyes where she’s laying in a haphazard swoon. “I can’t believe Jon would do this to me.”

Arya doesn’t look up from where she sits at her desk across the room, eyes laser-focused on some video game she’s playing on her computer. She jabs violently at her keyboard, the keys clacking loudly as she swears under her breath, but Sansa sighs in increasingly loud increments until her sister finally breaks. 

“I hate it when you do that,” Arya growls. “And whatever. Get over it. It’s not like he did anything to you anyway. All he did was cut his hair.”

“What!” Sansa shrieks, bolting upright so she can stare unbelievingly across the room. “He did so! And you were saying the same exact thing this morning, by the way! You really owe him an apology, you know. You were being really mean, Arya. Like, meaner than usual.”

“I was not,” Arya sulks, but anyone could hear the guilt in her voice. “But just for your information, Jon’s stupid haircut has nothing to do with you. He’s just… going through some stuff. With his family. Why do you even care, anyway? Doesn’t his freaky preppy makeover mean he’ll finally be popular enough for you to date now?”

“Mean!” Sansa accuses again, pointing a finger. “This is not the plot of an Avril Lavigne song, Arya, this is my life! And now he’s ruined it by shaving his patchy little mustache.”

Finally, Arya looks away from the computer, spinning around in her desk chair so she can glare at her sister. “You’re the one that’s always saying — and I quote — ‘if Jon Snow would just get a haircut and give up on growing a beard, everyone would see how cute he totally is.’”

“And I was right!” Sansa moans, flopping onto the bed again, throwing her arms back over her eyes. “Now everyone knows what I’ve known for the last two years! You should’ve seen the way Margaery was looking at him when Mr. Slynt finally made him take his beanie off during lunch. I bet she’s never even noticed him before in her life!”

“So what?” Arya grumbles. “You’re also the one that’s refused to ask him out for forever. Shit or get off the pot, Sansa.”

“Ew, don’t say that. And you’re the one that told me that it would ruin everything if Jon and I dated.”

Arya gives a noncommittal grunt, spinning back around to face her computer game. 

“Well, you did,” Sansa insists. “Now everything’s going to be ruined anyway.”

“What are you so worried about?” Arya asks in that same sulky tone from before. “Isn’t Margaery Tyrell still dating your heinous ex boyfriend?”

“I mean, yeah, but if it’s not Margaery, it’s bound to be someone else.”

“So if everything’s ruined anyway, why don’t you just ask him out, then?”

Sansa sits right back up again. “Do you mean that?”

Arya peeks over her shoulder, gives a reluctant shrug. “I mean, you should check with Robb first. I feel like he might be kind of pissy about it.”

“But you wouldn’t mind? You’d be OK with it?”

“I mean…. It’s whatever,” Arya says, more mock-casual than actually effortless. “Obviously I still think it would be weird if you and Jon dated. But if someone’s going to date him, it should be you, right?”

“Totally,” Sansa agrees. And then, more shyly, “Do you think he’d say yes?”

Arya groans, drops her head down into her arms on top of the keyboard. “Can we not talk about this anymore?” she moans, her voice coming out muffled. “Isn’t it enough that I’ll have to live with it?”

“But do you think he would?”

Arya shifts so that she can peek over at Sansa with one eye. 

“You’re not really worried, are you?”

Sansa only shrugs, brings her hand to her mouth where she bites down on the pad of her thumb, teeth clenched against the skin as the best alternative to her nail. Other than a minor relapse last fall, she managed to break the habit years ago, and she cements her commitment to it with a fresh manicure each week, but every now and then the temptation feels overwhelming. Her sister just sighs and lifts her head all the way off her arms. 

“I think,” Arya says slowly, voice measured, “that if he said no, he’d be even stupider than Joffrey.”

Sansa nods, forces herself to release her thumb. She wipes her hands on her skirt as she stands, then reaches up to fix her ponytail, all mussed from her dramatics. 

“Totally,” Sansa says. And then again, as if just to herself, “Totally.”

She moves towards the door, and Arya turns fully back to her computer, hands poised over the keyboard and mouse. 

“For the record, though, Sans,” Arya calls over her shoulder, glancing back before Sansa fully steps into the hall, “I’m pretty sure Jon is one of the smartest guys in our whole school.”

—

Jon Snow is a prince. Like, a real prince. Like, a real royal prince set to inherit a whole royal throne one day. Probably even one in a castle. Probably even one with a scepter. That’s what everyone is saying, at least, that he’s the heir to some tiny European country called Valyria. 

Sansa hadn’t understood what was happening earlier when the mob had suddenly surged in their direction, shouting questions and snapping pictures, cameras flashing as microphones and tape recorders and the hands holding them were suddenly shoved between the three of them. They’d been separated by the crowd, her and Arya and Jon all pushed or dragged off in different directions, and it had only been once Sansa finally stumbled free of the crush that she’d even realized it was Jon they were circling, Jon they were following up the front stairs to school. She’d heard what they were shouting, the questions they were asking, but there’d been so many people around, so much noise that she hadn’t really processed any of it until she was sitting in first period. 

By then, the whispering had started, too. 

At first, Sansa wasn’t sure if she believed it. She knew Jon! She’d known him for years. She’d been to his house, met his mom. Had he kept it secret that whole time? How come he’d never told her? Did Robb know? Did Arya?

By the time the bell chimed for her second class, people were saying that the queen herself was on campus, holed up in the principal’s office with half her security team. Sansa had gone so far as faking a period emergency so that she could duck out of gym and sneak down the hall to see just who that meant. And Lyanna had been there, voice raised, visible through one of the windows on either side of the office door as she shouted about something Sansa couldn’t quite make out. But she also hadn’t been alone in the room with Jon and Mr. Arryn. As Sansa walked by, she could also catch a glimpse of at least one more man, one more woman, both with silver blonde hair — and then the towering security guards standing outside the door had meaningfully cleared their throats and she’d scampered away down the hall, ducking into the computer lab so she could frantically Google Jon Snow’s mom. 

But when people had talked about the queen, they hadn’t meant Lyanna. There hadn’t been any search results for her, but there had been for Valyria, and it had led her straight to a Wikipedia page that outlined generations of the Targaryen family history, even included portraits of silver-haired, stoic-faced rulers over the decades. Apparently, the queen everyone was talking about was Daenerys Targaryen, the newly crowned monarch of Valyria. And did that mean the other man in the principal’s office had been Jon’s dad? She hadn’t even known he’d had one. Or she knew he’d had one at some point, obviously, but nobody had ever talked about him before. 

The whole thing leaves Sansa’s head spinning. Jon, a prince. In line for his aunt’s throne. An aunt she’s almost sure he’s never met before. That he might not have even known he had a month ago. 

She’s still trying to wrap her mind around it all an hour later, but everyone else seems to have no problem coming around to the concept. Instead, it’s all anyone can talk about, small clusters of students circled up in classrooms, in hallways, out in the courtyard — and it’s driving Sansa absolutely crazy. Last Friday, most of these people wouldn’t have known Jon’s name, or at least would’ve pretended not to if they thought it would’ve gotten a laugh out of Joffrey or Loras or one of the other popular kids. Now, even they were pretending to be Jon’s friends.

Finally, Sansa can’t stand it anymore when a senior she’s seen around campus a few times bursts into the third floor bathroom, boasting to a friend, “I always knew there was something really cool about him. He’s so dark and mysterious.”

Sansa stuffs her crumpled paper towel into the trash can, spins around on one heel to fix them with a glare. 

“Do you even know his full name?” Sansa snaps. 

The girl stops in her tracks, giving Sansa a once-over from toe to top. “Excuse you?”

“Jon Snow’s full name,” she says, and she can feel her cheeks going hot. “Do you even know what it is?”

It’s just Jon. He doesn’t even have a middle name. But Sansa doubts this girl knows that. In fact, she half wants to see if the other girl will go far enough to invent one for him. The senior doesn’t, though. Instead, she just narrows her eyes. 

“If I knew his full name, then he wouldn’t be so mysterious, would he?”

Sansa lets out an affronted squawk, coming up short on some sort of immediate quippy comeback, then scrambles to regain the upper-hand.   

“He’s not mysterious,” she insists after a beat, at least half a lie. “You just never noticed him before today, so don’t pretend you have.”

The girl scoffs, but her friend laughs, rolls her eyes, steps forward to fix her hair in the mirror. “Whatever,” she says. “Ignore her. Just because she’s little miss princess doesn’t mean she gets first dibs when an actual prince comes along. He’s fair game.”

And that stings. Because Sansa’s not trying to call dibs, she has an actual, honest-to-Gods real date with him planned for Saturday night, and she hadn’t even known he was a prince this morning when she’d asked him out — but it’s the princess part that nearly sends her lip quivering. She clamps her mouth shut so they won’t see, then shoulders past them and pushes back out into the crowded hallway. Outside, she squeezes past the lockers and to the stairwell so she can go hide in the second floor girls’ bathroom instead. 

–

For three days now, Sansa has hardly seen Jon outside of awkward little waves exchanged across the hallways between classes. Ever since the news broke, he’s been mobbed at school, accompanied by his aunt’s security everywhere outside of it. It had been nice, those few days Jon had picked them up in a limo, but apparently those rides are off-limits until his aunt’s people have finished giving them all background checks, and his aunt doesn’t want him to walk anymore either now that the whole world knows who he is. At least, that’s what he told Arya on the phone when he’d called to let them know not to wait for him in the mornings. 

He’s talked to Robb too, called him up to beg him to make Theon stop trying to sell embarrassing stories to the local papers. Each time Theon convinces a journalist or reporter that Jon won the seventh grade spelling bee contest with the word brassiere or that Jon volunteers at a soup kitchen each weekend to serve exclusively shrimp cocktail, he comes up with an even more far-fetched lie to try on the next one. And Theon’s not the only one taking advantage of the media barrage. 

By Thursday, Joffrey has also wormed his way onto the local TV news, promising that his dad’s role as the state governor is going to be super important when it comes to foreign relations with Valyria. He puffs out his chest and insists it’s good luck for Queen Daenerys that he and Jon have known each other so long. He twists his wormy lips into a smirk and says he’s even happy to give Jon some tips about what it’s like to be a public figure. After all, he knows how it feels to have to deal with all kinds of phonies and social climbers who are just after him because of his status. 

Sansa doesn’t want Jon to think she’s one of them. They’ve never spent much time together at school, and she doesn’t want him to think she’s suddenly hanging all over him in public in the hopes that someone somewhere will snap a photo of them. That she’s aiming to end up on the cover of a magazine so she can get discovered. Or so that she can be a princess for real. She doesn’t want him to think she’s being weird, that anything has changed between them. Most of the time they spent together was in the mornings or after school, but with that off limits, with him busy with his aunt and official royal business or whatever — well, Saturday night will be there soon enough, right? She’ll see him then.

Only, when it turns out that Margaery dumped Joffrey because of that stupid interview, Sansa wants to tear her hair out. Because that means Margaery really is going to try and ask him out, and if Sansa dares to even look at Jon at school it’ll become a whole thing, some weird, stupid rivalry, and she can’t take it if people start pitting them against each other as often as they had back when Joffrey first dumped her for Margaery. Especially when she can’t compare, not when Margaery has a driver’s license and a platinum card and two homecoming queen tiaras displayed in her bedroom while Sansa hadn’t even scored a sophomore court sash. 

But it doesn’t matter. It won’t become some sort of public competition as long as she doesn’t make it one. If she just stays away, if she just lays low for one more day, keeps ducking out of rooms whenever Margaery or Jon or Joffrey enters them, then soon enough she and Jon will be on their date and it won’t matter that Margaery has her eye on him. Sansa knows that she doesn’t just like Jon because he’s suddenly famous and cool at school, and she knows that he knows that, too. Right? It was one thing to worry about Margaery making a move back when Sansa was just planning on pining after him forever and there was nothing to stop him from saying yes, but now they have plans — real, solid plans — and Jon wouldn’t just forget about that because someone more popular came along. Jon’s not like that, even if Joffrey was.

If she can just survive the next 30 hours or so, none of this will matter. They’ll have all the privacy they need at the garage, and she can make sure he sees exactly how much she likes him just for him. Not because he’s a prince. Not even just because of his cute new haircut. They’ll finally have a chance to be alone, just the two of them (or maybe his new bodyguard will have to be there too, but she can work with that), and she’s not going to waste it. 

–

The pizza is getting cold. She’d ordered it in advance so she could make sure it was ready in time, so she could make a smiley face on it with M&Ms, but now she’s thinking maybe that was a mistake. Maybe she should’ve waited to order it until he was already here. She doesn’t think he’ll mind, and there’s a toaster oven in the makeshift break room Uncle Benjen set up by the front office if they want to pick off the M&Ms and heat their slices up, but she just really wants this whole thing to go right. 

But it’s fine! It’s fine. Jon’s running late. It’s no big deal. He’ll be here soon. 

Only, another hour later, he’s not. She’s tried calling, but the phone at his house just keeps ringing and ringing. She wonders if maybe Lyanna’s not home. She usually is. She’s usually working on some amazing, abstract art project in the big, open area where they used to park the ladder trucks back when their place was a fire station, but it’s not uncommon for her to have the radio turned all the way up. Maybe she’s working on a piece. Maybe she can’t hear the phone ringing. If Jon’s not answering, that means he’s probably already on his way, right? Right?

By the time another hour has passed, she’s eaten all of the M&Ms off the pizza and most of the cheese. She’d thought she could get away with just little nibbles at first. If she left enough, if she didn’t bite right into a slice, it would still look like a full, regular pizza by the time he got there. She didn’t want him to think she hadn’t waited for him. But now it’s just bread smeared with red sauce, and she’s starting to think he’s not coming. There’s probably a good reason. He probably got caught up doing something important for his aunt. He’s a prince, after all. He’s probably got, like, duties and stuff now. 

He’ll call her tomorrow and explain everything, she’s sure of it. But maybe she’ll give him just 20 more minutes first. 

[dykecubes]

OKOK SO

I should preface this by saying if you’ve been a mcyt fan for a while you probably won’t find anything new here, this is just my recommendations to anyone who might be getting into mcyt for the first time via parkciv, especially if they’re looking for something easy to start with so

If you liked parkour civilization and are looking for something new to watch now that you’ve finished it here are some other movie-length Minecraft videos for you:

1. Slimecicle’s I Beat The HARDEST Minecraft Difficulty

The first of two movie-length videos in the slimecicle cinematic universe, this one starts as a typical modded Minecraft/challenge video, with group of friends getting together to create mods for Minecraft without telling each other what their mods are in order to annoy each other and make the game more difficult to beat. Over the course of the video the four of them ascend to godhood, with their friendship gradually falling apart as they struggle to make it through the game.

This one’s a bit chaotic but it helps that Slimecicle, Condi, Grizzly, and Bizly are experienced DnD players and therefore fully commit to their characters. I love Charlie’s content a lot because of his commitment to the bit and his ability to create extremely compelling characters despite their silliness. My second recommendation is another one of his:

2. Slimecicle’s We Spent 100 Days in a Hardcore Minecraft Apocalypse

As the title suggests this one follows Slimecicle trying to survive for 100 days in a Minecraft zombie apocalypse. Every couple dozen days there’s a new guest and each guest fully commits to a character, from a Florida man to a mad scientist to patient zero to a fucking wizard, they’re all fantastic. It uses a much more cinematic style compared to hardest Minecraft difficulty, the storytelling, acting, and editing are all genuinely phenomenal to me. It’s both hilarious and actually kind of emotional at times, Tommyinnit’s characters just hit different, man.

A warning: this one does have an abuser, Wilbur Soot, in it, his bit is fairly inconsequential so if you’d like to skip it his section starts at around 1:07:08, when Charlie gets his TV, and ends around 1:18:00, when Wilbur blows himself up

Both of these videos are a part of the Slimecicle cinematic universe, you don’t need to watch the full series to understand them but there is some repeated imagery and symbolism throughout the series that might increase your enjoyment of them so if you’re interested in that here’s the full series.

3. Technoblade and Squid Kid’s Great Potato War

So this one might technically not count since it’s a series and not a single video but it’s movie-length (about an hour and ten minutes) and it’s probably the most iconic Minecraft series of all time. This series follows Technoblade and Squid Kid in a race to be the #1 potato farmer in Hypixel’s Skyblock, they take this competition very seriously and the series is filled with sabotage, betrayal, and nonstop potato farming.

This series perfectly highlights Technoblade’s online persona and sense of humor, showing why people love him so much. After this, most of Techno’s other content often referenced the war in some way, and for good reason, a lot of people sort of treat this and his SMP Earth series as somewhat of an “origin story” for him. This war is what cemented his place in Minecraft history and is sort of a legend among mcyt fans to this day.

4. Grian’s 3rd Life: The Movie

This one is much longer and might also be cheating I think because it was also originally a series. 3rd Life is a series where all players have 3 lives, a green, yellow, and red life, they’re expected to play Minecraft as normal but if they die once they become yellow, if they die twice they become red and are then able to attack other players, if they die a third time they are permanently dead and out of the game. While it initially starts a bit more reality tv show-like with everyone sort of messing around, having fun, and forming alliances, it eventually devolves into a full on war roleplay, with characters pledging their undying loyalty to one another and killing for each other. The ending is even surprisingly poetic and emotional. It is entirely unscripted and yet it still has brilliant foreshadowing and recurring themes throughout the various seasons. If you like yaoi, this is the one for you.

Seeing as this is a series with several players there are several other POVs you could watch as well, and a bunch of them also edited theirs down into “movies” like this so they’re easy to watch, however, I would mostly recommend Grian’s, Rendog’s, or Smajor’s POV for 3rd Life. This is also the first season in a series known as the Life Series and is followed by Last Life, Double Life, Limited Life, and then Secret Life, with rumors that a new season is coming soon (though I have to be honest with you the first two seasons are my favorite imo), if you’d like I can give recommendations for which POVs I’d recommend for those seasons as well but for now this is everything I could think of.

I think it’s kinda cool that some people are coming to enjoy mcyt stuff through parkour civilizations and I kinda wanna give yall recommendations for other movie-length minecraft videos that tell stories for those looking for more after having finished parkour civilization but idk

[tinachristeen]

How I think paladin danse joined the railroad.

One hour. For one hour, sole had argued with danse in the depths of listening post bravo.

When paladin danse first heard about the discovery the brotherhood had made regarding his true identity, he fled, knowing the brotherhood would eventually send someone to end him. And he accepted that. But why did it have to be her? Why did maxson have to send the one person danse cared about more than anything?

And why was she refusing to do it?

"I am a machine sole. An abomination to nature. It is your duty as a brotherhood soilder to put me down"

"Put you down? You aren't a dog danse! You are a human man!"

At this point, it had been at least 45 minutes of nonstop arguing, and sole was crying. The tears flowed freely as she attempted, with all her might, to save danse from making a huge mistake. But he wouldn't see things her way.

"I am a product of pure evil. I was not born, I was created in a lab. I am the embodiment of everything wrong with this world!"

"How can you say that about yourself?! What happens when you die, huh? What happens to all the people who care about you?!"

"No one could care about me sole, I'm not even alive. No one would miss me!"

Now they were both screaming at the top of their lungs. Danse's jaw was clenched and his eyebrows were furrowed in an expression of anger. Why couldn't she just do it?! Why couldn't she just shoot him and be done with it?!

"I care about you carter!" He flinched at the use of his name. "Haylen cares about you! She was practically in tears when I left the prydwen to come find you! And what about preston? You think he won't miss you hanging around sanctuary and fixing things in your spare time?! What about all of the settlers you helped?! You gave those people a fighting chance! And you think I won't miss you carter? Do you think I won't miss you telling me stories about the capital wasteland when we set up camp and sit by the fire?! Do you really believe I won't miss talking to you while you are working on your power armor!? Do you honestly fucking think I won't miss your voice? That I won't miss your eyes? That I won't cry everytime I think about you and what you mean to me?! Do you...do you really think I could live with myself? Knowing I could have saved you if I had just tried hard enough!"

Danse didn't know what to say. He had never thought his death would actually affect anyone. He suddenly felt ashamed of being so selfish. Sole had lost her husband and her son, he couldn't put her her through that again. She was right. He had made many friends with the minutemen and the settlers, he even considered preston garvey to be a brother figure of sorts.

The bunker was eerily quiet now. Sole had stopped yelling when she noticed danse's eyes well up with tears.

"Danse?" She asked with caution and curiosity.

He didn't respond.

He took a few steps toward sole and collapsed into her arms. His head resting on her shoulder, sobbing into her black tank top. Sole was taken aback. Of course, sole had seen danse cry before, but never like this.

She vaguely remembered that night in sanctuary on her living room couch, danse seated next to her, playing around with the scope on his rifle. They talked like they always had when danse was working on something. Sole told him about the latest settlement she had helped with preston, a place by the name of finch farm, which had trouble with a special group of raiders called the forged. Sole told danse about jake finch and how jake stole a special sword and left his family to join the forged. Danse's demeanor changed when sole told him about jake.

Before, danse seemed to be in a happy mood, a faint smile playing at his lips while he looked down at his scope, adjusting a loose screw in the bracket. Now, he had a small frown painted on his lips, and he stopped fiddling with the little scope entirely.

"Danse?" Sole questioned, "is there something wrong?".

He was quiet for a moment before responding with,

"Yeah, yes. It's just...I don't remember my family, if I ever had one. Or a home like finch farm. I don't remember having a childhood bed, or a sibling, or even a dog. Nothing".

Danse seemed to become even more upset with each word he uttered. Sole's heart broke when she observed this.

"That doesn't matter danse, not anymore."

Danse lifted his head to look at her. Only now did sole see his eyes, they had a wet sheen to them that reflected in the light.

"You have a family now, danse. You have all of us, the minutemen, I mean. You have your family here at sanctuary, preston, sturges, ronnie shaw at the castle, Even me. We are all your family, this is your home."

Danse let a single tear fall down his cheek and on to his lap. He averted his eyes from sole's, looking back down to the scope that lay on his thighs. He felt embarrassed. he shouldn't be crying about his shitty childhood to sole, she had more important things to worry about than him.

He stiffened a little when he felt sole wrap her arms around his shoulders, pulling him in for a hug.

"When I left that vault, I was confused and heartbroken. My family was gone, it was broken into a billion pieces that were scattered across the ruins of the commonwealth. Until I joined the minutemen, and became their general. I was hopeless until I saved preston and the others from that museum and led them to sactuary to begin a new life. I was alone until I met all my friends. Preston, hancock, nick, maccready, piper, curie, deacon, even you danse. You will always have us, danse. We will always be your family. And this will always be your home, no matter what."

Danse now had his arms wrapped around sole as well.

After a few seconds, sole got up from the couch and gave danse a light kiss on his cheek.

"Goodnight carter, sleep well."

Sole walked to her room, Leaving danse in the complete silence to think. He smiled to himself while a few tears made their way down his face... danse had never heard sole use his first name.

In the morning, danse woke up in his usual spot on the couch to find a note with his name on the coffee table. He opened the letter, and it read,

" danse,

I will be gone for the day, the settlers at tenpines bluff need new water water pumps and crop beds. If you are feeling up to it, sturges mentioned something about some new power armor suits in need of repair, I know how much you love fixing power armor. I'll bring you home some of that cornbread you love from Mrs. Donnavin at tenpines. Oh! And I almost forgot! There is a suprise waiting for you in the bedroom down the hallway, to the right. I hope you enjoy it.

-sole"

After he ate breakfast and got dressed for the day, Danse lifted himself off the couch and made his way down the hallway to the last bedroom on the right. He opened the door, and what greeted him made his heart tingle with warmth.

The walls of the room had been decorated with posters and shelves full of trinkets and bobble heads. Up against the far left wall, there was a neatly made bed with navy blue sheets, and a night stand with a box of fancy lady snack cakes sitting on top. Under the bed was a soft looking rug, and a pair of beat up slippers. On the wall in front of him, was a small dresser with a picture frame and a clock laying on top. On the wall to his right, a workbench lay with tools neatly placed all over the surface, and a chair pushed against it. Last, but certainly not least, a wooden chest sat at the foot of the bed. When danse opened the chest, he found a few soft blankets folded neatly inside.

The paladin was overwhelmed with emotioned. Sole had given him a permanent place in her home, a room decorated with care and thought, like the kind of room a child would have to grow up in. No one had ever done this for him. Of course, he had a room in the prydwen with his brothers and sisters. But it wasn't decorated. It wasn't warm and welcoming, it was cold and bare. It was purely for sleep and storage, not for comfort and enjoyment.

He knew then, that this was his home. And that sole's odd family was his as well.

Now they stand there, Embracing each other in that dingy bunker, danse letting his heart flow through his eyes and onto sole's shoulder.

"What if they don't accept me sole? What if the minutemen Don't want to work with a synth?"

"The minutemen are synth friendly danse. We have quite a few synths in our ranks already," sole said into his ear while rubbing his back.

"How could you possibly know that they are synths?"

Sole sighed and replied, "because I offered them shelter from the railroad myself, carter. Some synths choose to erase their memory to stay safe from the institute, but I offer them a place in the minutemen if they decide against the memory wipe. Quite a few have accepted, and everyone in the minutemen knows about them. There are no secrets among us. We have ghouls, synths, even some robots like Codsworth. No one is left out. We fight for ALL people of the commonwealth. What makes you any different?"

As danse was still in sole's embrace, he had a devastating thought. Is this what all synths felt like? Did they all feel like their identity was ripped from them? All this time, he had been fighting with the brotherhood against ghouls and synths, only to find out he WAS one. He felt like shit now, knowing that he hurt so many living, breathing people. Sole interrupted his thoughts again.

"I am a member of the railroad. I help free people like you, carter. People who were made to be slaves, Human beings that were created to be used as objects. I work closely with the leader of the railroad, Desdemona, and deacon of course. I help synths make their own lives, their own identities, I help them live for themselves."

Danse always knew there was something suspicious about deacon, now he knew exactly what.

"I want you to come home with me danse. I want you to come home and tell Preston everything. I want you to officially join the minutemen. I want you to help me take down the institute and stop their reign of terror over the commonwealth. I want you to have a family, a TRUE family. I want you to have your own life. Your own identity. Please, please, Don't throw away your life when you have so much to live for. I Don't want to have another funeral for someone I love."

Someone I love. That sentence burned a hole in his brain. She...loved him? She loved him, even though he was a synth, Even though he wasn't born, even though he was made in a lab. Danse knew then, that everything Maxson had said was a lie. he knew that synths could love, and feel. He knew that they weren't abominations against nature, but they were human, just like him.

He was human.

He started to think about it more and more. He started to think about how cult-like the brotherhood really is, and how evil it truly is to hate a being that has no control over it's existence.

"Okay. I'll- I'll come home. Just give me a moment."

He held onto Sole for a while longer. She accepted the affection happily.

She rubbed his hair as he cried in her arms. This wasn't going to be an easy transition for him to make, and she knew that, But she would be there every step of the way to help him through it. However, what came next, she would have never guessed in her wildest dreams.

Danse lifted his head and his eyes met hers. And For the first time, she saw exactly how much of a wreck he was. His is hair was a droopy mess from where Sole had been rubbing his head. his cheeks were flushed pink and his beautiful, beer bottle brown eyes were puffy and strained.

"I want to help synths, Like you do."

Sole smiled and cupped his cheek in one hand. Danse visibly leaned into the touch.

"I'll let deacon know. But for now, you need to rest. We can figure the rest out after we eat and sleep."

Danse took sole's hand in his and kissed her palm before interlacing their fingers.

"Let's go."

Sole was so proud of him.

A/n: sorry if this was shit, it is the first thing I have ever written and actually posted. Constructive criticism is very welcome. Also, please feel free to point out any errors. I hope you enjoyed!

[supercorpkid]

Freaky Friday.

Supercorp, Kara Danvers x Daughter!Reader, Lena Luthor x Daughter!Reader

Word Count: 2325.

Your moms are amazing. They’re like your best friends. You can tell them anything and you probably know more about their stuff than you’d like. Still, they are moms. And moms don’t always agree with everything that their kids do. They don’t always understand – like really understand – what’s going on in your life or the things you go through as a teen. No matter how hard they try, or how immature one of them might be – cof cof Kara Danvers cof cof -.

Somedays they don’t understand that you’d rather sleep the day away instead of waking up at 7 on a Saturday to go to the farmer’s market with them. Or that you’d rather go out with your girlfriend and cousin instead of playing board games with them on a Friday night. They just don’t understand you as much as you’d like them to.

And that gives you a crazy idea. What if people just felt what others were feeling? What if when people were fighting you could just point a little device at them, so they would all understand each other's intentions and the fight would just stop? What if you could make the world have empathy?

It takes you a while, but you don’t give up. The thought of having just a little device that could bring such a noble feeling into light, it drives you to work nonstop on it.

“Baby, I’m done for the day.” Lena walks in your lab. You’re face-buried into work you don’t even hear her. She makes her way towards you, and you only notice her when she holds your head on both sides and kisses the top of your head. “Hey, baby.” Lena says softly on your head. “Let’s go home.”

“Oh, um, can I meet you back home? I’m not done.” You say, still too focused on what’s in front of you. Lena sighs, looking tired.

“I had such a long day.” She complains, pulling up a chair next to you, and taking off her heels. “I just want to go home, my love. Can’t you finish that tomorrow?”

“Not really.” You put your protection goggles back on and use your welder on the device. “You can leave. I’ll catch up.” You yell, through the noise.

“And how exactly are you getting home, not-Superkid?” She asks with another sigh. You finish closing the shell and you look at her.

“I’ll walk. Take the bus. Have momma come pick me up.”

“Or-” She takes the device off your hands. “You ride back home with me and come back tomorrow after school to finish this.” You open your mouth to argue, but she cuts you off. “Not another option. Just the single one you have. You have to eat, sleep, and do your schoolwork. Come on.”

“See, you’re the reason why I need to finish this device.” You mumble and she raises her eyebrows at you. You reach for the device, and she holds it out of your reach, studying it.

“And what exactly is this?”

“It’s, I don’t really have a name for it yet. But it’s to make other people feel what you’re feeling. An empathizer, if you will.”

“Oh.” Lena narrows her eyes at you. “Are you saying I don’t have empathy for you? So, me caring about your health and rest is not empathy, huh?” You shrug your answer. “How about you not having empathy for me when I say I’m exhausted, and I need to get home right away?”

“I do! That’s why I’m telling you to leave.” You defend yourself.

“Is that so?” She doesn’t look convinced. “Ok, I’m sold. I want you to understand the amount of pain in my back and on my feet right now, so go on. Finish up.”

Ok then. You make a little change here and there, finish building up the structure and no longer than 30 minutes later you have the device ready.

“Ok, ready to feel what I’m feeling?” You ask pointing the device at her.

“Only if you’re ready for back pain.” She agrees, and you press the button.

“Well, I don’t feel anything.” You hear your voice, and you snap your eyes open at that. You didn’t say anything. Oh, no.

“Mom?” You ask and hear Lena’s voice coming out. Oh, no.

“OH, COME ON!” You look at your body getting up from the chair, but you’re just an outsider looking at it from afar. It’s the weirdest feeling you ever felt. You look at your hands, legs, and shoes. Yep, you’re definitely inside Lena’s body right now. “I just came back from being a teen.” She cries out and you flinch.

“It’s ok. It’s not alien tech, I can just undo this.” You grab your device again and look at it, trying to think.

“Well, I mean, it does feel nice to not feel any pain.” She smiles doing a little weird dance.

“You’re being weird.” You laugh at her, because it’s not always that Lena decides to be weird. You like it. Even if it’s actually your body doing the weird dance.

“I am in my daughter’s body, so I think I’m allowed to.” She studies herself, your body, for a few seconds. She looks up to you, clearly confused. “I’m starving.”

“Oh yes. That’s like a permanent feeling. You’ll get used to it.” You wave her off with your hand. It’s true, you’re always hungry. It doesn’t matter how much you eat, five minutes later it’s like you haven’t eaten all day.

“I hate it.” She complains with her hands over the stomach.

“Well, my back is killing me and who wears heels all the time? Would you die if you wore sneakers to work, someday?”

“AHÁ!” She points at you, victoriously. “See, I told you! Aren’t you just dying to get home?”

“Maybe.” You mumble under your breath, and she puts her hands on your shoulders.

“Don’t mumble, baby. I have super hearing. It’s useless.” She smiles, a little too happy to say that, and you sigh. “You know, I would not hate having this body for another day. But go on, change us back. I know you can’t handle the pain.”

“Excuse me?” You furrow your eyebrows at the challenge. “You think I can’t go a day looking this pretty?” You point at her face -that is yours now- and you see her cheeks getting flushed at the compliment. “As if! You’re the one who can’t handle being me.”

“Being a young superhero whose only job is to go to school? Baby, please. I would kill to be you.” Lena says and it’s out of your mouth before you can even think twice.

“Well, well, well. It looks like you got yourself a bet.” You raise your hand at her, looking smug about it. No way in hell Lena can be you. Not even for a day. “First one to quit has to say that the other one has a harder life and try to make it easier, every time possible.”

“Deal.”

“Wait.” You don’t hold her hand yet. “For it to be actually fair, you have to live my actual life.” She raises one eyebrow at that. “You have to be Superkid.”

“I thought Superkid didn’t exist anymore.”

“Yeah, well. I almost died three hundred times when I was in the body you’re in now. We have to put that into consideration for it to be fair, don’t we?” It’s your time to raise an eyebrow, and you give her a little smirk. Now you’ve got her, she won’t say yes to being a superhero.

“Still.” Lena has her hand up and you hold it. “You’ve got yourself a deal, babygirl. Let’s see you try to survive L Corp with no powers at all.”

“Let’s see you try to survive high school while being a Luthor.” You give her a wicked smile to which she almost shivers.

“Are we telling Kara?”

“Yes, please. I’m not kissing her. That would be gross.”

“Oh, I-I didn’t think this through.” You can see Lena’s mind wheels spinning while she considers the bet and what she’s giving up on.

“Too late. Our deal is on.” You grab her car keys with a smile. “Let’s go home. I need to put my feet up.”

“Oh, you’re not lasting a day.” She mumbles while leaving the lab, and you look back at her confused.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing. Nevermind.” You study her face turning into a devilish smile when she realizes she can get away with lots of stuff by using her powers.

“Ok, don’t abuse it now.” You complain, getting into the elevator to go to the car. It’s only when you’re staring at Lena’s car with the keys in your hands, that it hits you. “Wait, I-I don’t really know how to drive in the city.”

“And I can’t drive with your body because you don’t have a driver’s license.” Lena says and you agree with your head. “Call your momma.”

You just text her that you need a ride, and less than five minutes later she lands next to both of you in the parking lot.

“Oh, hey love.” Kara comes closer ready to kiss you, and you panic so hard the only thing you can do it’s to yell after pushing her face away from yours.

“GROSS! Get off of me.” You duck, making Kara furrow her brows at you.

“What did I do?” You look at your momma, who looks so offended that she might cry because Lena refused to give her a kiss. Poor Kara.

“Explain it to her! You’re me!” Lena says -in your body- making Kara even more confused.

“What is happening?”

“I’m her and she’s me.” You try. She still doesn’t get it, that’s when it comes to you. “We’re Freaking Friday right now.”

“WHAT!” Kara yells in shock. “But that’s our thing!”

“How is that our thing? We never once Freaked Friday before.”

“What the hell are you two talking about?” Lena asks, interrupting your conversation with Kara. “It’s not even Friday.”

“What? No, it’s-” You look at her, confused. “It’s Freaky Friday.”

“Yeah, well, what the hell is Freaky Friday, then?” Lena asks and Kara looks back at her in shock.

“Yep, you two are definitely switched right now.” She smiles and you agree with your head giving her the car keys.

You make your way to the backseat and stare at Lena for a second while you two wonder what to do.

“You go-”

“I’ll sit-”

“Cool.” You go to the front seat with a smile. “I’m the grown-up now.”

“Yes, you are!” Kara agrees, messing with your hair, and it’s Lena who responds.

“Hey, don’t do that. You know my hair is temperamental.” She complains and Kara looks at both of you a couple of times.

“Oh, boy. This is gonna be fun.” She says looking anything but excited about this. “So, how exactly did this happen? Did you guys look into each other's eyes and say, ‘I wish I were you’?”

“No, because that’s ridiculous.” You answer and Kara looks at you next to her, looking very stung by what you said. “I made a device so you could feel what the other person was feeling. It wasn’t intentional for us to literally change bodies, but I guess that was the only way I could feel this terrible back pain mom was feeling.”

“Right. And for me to be starving all the time.” Lena complains in the back. “Can we stop to get some food before going home?”

You smile wickedly at yourself before saying, “We have food at home-” Then you turn your face to her with a playful smile. “Babygirl.”

“Ugh.” Lena rolls her eyes at you. “I didn’t know that’s how you were feeling, ok?”

“See.” You look at Kara. “It’s already working!”

“I see.” She shakes her head agreeing. “And you couldn’t undo it?”

“Actually, I could’ve if I had tried. But there’s a bet going on here, so-”

“So, you two are betting to see who lasts longer?” Kara asks, getting agreeable nods and hums from both of you. She looks to the backseat furrowing her brows at Lena. “And I’ll have to suffer and not kiss you for as long as this lasts?”

“Umm, yes.” Lena agrees, touching Kara’s arm. “Don’t worry, honey. Your daughter won’t last a day in my shoes.”

“I will!” You slap Lena’s hand away from Kara’s biceps -because you know what comes next, and it’s your body she’s in-. “I’ll just change your shoes.”

“It’s an expression.” Lena furrows her brows at you.

“And I made a pun with it.” You put your feet up the car’s glove compartment. “Deal with that.”

“Hey, take your feet off of there.”

You don’t miss a beat when you look back at her. “Excuse me? It’s my car, baby. I can put my feet up wherever I want.”

Kara parks outside your house, and you see Lena running inside the house, leaving you and Kara behind. She opens the door fast, and you see the handle coming off on her hand. You and Kara look at each other.

“You know what? This might actually be good for us kryptonians. She’ll see how hard it is to control ourselves sometimes.” Kara says and you agree with your head.

“I heard that!” Lena yells from inside the house. “I’ll learn how to use the powers; you’ll see.”

You walk inside the house and watch her devouring an entire sandwich in one bite. “I wonder how many times you’ll get grounded before you learn it, though.”

“You’re way too full of yourself.” She narrows her eyes at you, making yet another sandwich. “Let’s wait until tomorrow when you actually have to be me, to see if you’ll still be this smug about this bet.”

“And you’ll have such a fun time in high school tomorrow, babygirl.” You say ironically.

“Oh, boy.”