#what happened to his favorite master and co-master Or Else

[acid-ixx]

Baby bird, angel,,,,,,what else we got?

masterlist !

reblogs and interactions are encouraged and appreciated.

to bruce, you are his precious, sometimes his treasure. he'd even unironically call you his baby in front of the press. and most of the time, if he describes you to his co-workers in the justice league who knew of your identity, he will always say "my child" with a dark undertone that you are not to available for adoption even if it was you who insists that anyone else can take you under their care, other than your actual family.

alfred, in all his years of caring for you, is very much settled into calling you his own child. although it's a given that he refers to bruce's children as a "(young) master", whenever it's just the two of you in the same room, with you needing a semblance of solace, alfred would always grasp your shoulders and comfort you with kind words and affirmations, starting his sentence with "(name), my child."

dick obviously calls you his baby bird and only he has the trademark to do so, nobody else has the privilege and not even your other siblings. he's obviously overbearing, chirping out that nickname in an irritingly higher octave whenever he gets some sort of cuteness overload just by squishing your cheeks. one way to know if dick is in the same room as them is if you hear a man squeal your nickname.

babs, in addition to dick, probably calls you birdy or something cheesy like her little hatchling. you have no idea where she gets those nicknames but she's better in so many levels compared to the eldest because she doesn't often call you those, not unless she's in a really good mood. though you should be scared if she ever calls you by your full, government name; one where wayne is the surname and not your mother's.

jason calls you his angel because unlike his other siblings, you're the only one who has never wielded a weapon against anyone (and if you ever do, he'd pretend like that never happened, excusing your actions for self defense or something else). like a buy-one-take-one package, he always ruffles your hair whenever he refers you that nickname. there's times, though, where he says it in a possessive tone, daring criminals that if they try to even touch a single centimeter of your skin then they'd better pray that his angel has enough mercy to not prosecute him for whatever comes next.

tim doesn't really call you any nicknames, and you're so grateful for that. but what he does have of you are multiple logs of all the times you call him his name or a nickname, deluding himself into thinking you'll always say his name with such a fond voice and a huge smile. and it doesn't take a genius to find out just how easy he folds if you ask him for a favor with a sweet tone, calling him 'timmie' or something cringier. but hey, as long as it gets you what you want.

damian isn't the type to settle for nicknames, but he's the one that often refers to you as "my older sibling", "my blood sibling" and every other term that refers to you as his. he's very much like bruce in the regard that even if he has to share with his siblings, you will always, and always be damian's beloved older sibling. there's times, though, that he would secretly dream of a day where you would be comfortable enough to call him your baby brother.

steph and duke are the most normal ones when it comes to calling you a nickname, resorting to calling you their bro or sis. but sometimes steph loves to tease you by calling you the nicknames babs gives you, to the point that it's now steph who calls you her hatchling in a sing-song voice, and it'd be duke who'll eventually create a tune for your own nickname. the entire melody would then be an established hum for the entire manor and it takes you all your sanity and alfred cooking your favorite dish to not strangle the living hell out of those two.

cass also is another case of your sibling not having any nicknames for you, but she does associate you with the word love, someone who she should protect with all her heart and you'll find her one day calling you that nickname. the longer she becomes closer with you, the more she's bound to call you her beloved sibling, too, just like how bruce calls you his beloved child. and if it's not your name that she tries to call, it would instead be the tune that duke invented.

[devilsrecreation]

Watched the new MAW episode and I HAVE THOUGHTS

Roger Rogers seems like a really fun character, I like him a lot! I know I don’t have the best intuition with fictional characters, so I wouldn’t be surprised of he were secretly evil or a spy for Fear Co. or something. For now, he seems like a genuinely sweet guy :)

Awwwww Duncan you’re such a mama’s boy I love you sm 😭

Unsurprisingly, Monster’s Inc was done dirty by getting a spot near the bathrooms. Though it’s sweet seeing Fritz and Val making the best of it

As an introvert, Val saying “A day talking to hundreds of strangers? This is gonna be the best day ever!!!” made me die inside. I really don’t know how extroverts do it, that sounds like a nightmare

I’m agreeing with Mike. What happened in the last episode was cringy af

Sully being the best mentor to Tylor ever omg

It’s okay, Tylor. I suck at talking too

That purple monster (Terry, I think his name is?) is having the time of his life hfhfhf

Smitty and Needleman are so much fun to watch. Dorky lil dumbasses/aff

No but I actually LOVE the lore we got in this episode. Johnny’s dad founding Fear Co is really cool. Predictable, but cool!

Is it me or is Johnny having a picture of himself behind him just downright arrogant? Or maybe it’s just a celebrity thing and scarers are kinda celebrities in the monster world but idk-

“With all due respect” my ass, he’s being pretentious as fuck

Awww Tylor’s lil wave

HEEEEYYYY IT’S CRAB CAKES! (I’m gonna refer to Chet as “crab cakes” from now on and nobody is gonna stop me)

YASSS TYLOR SHOW THOSE ASSHOLES WHO’S BOSS! YEAH THAT’S HOW YOU DO IT! Nobody picks on my boy. Also that green guy’s “scare” was lame as hell

Poor Sully’s got stage fright

Best speech ever 10/10

Scream + laugh power=chaos. Me likey chaos 😈😈😈😈

That being said, good on Tylor for closing the curtain and not humiliating Sully and Mike

That bathroom scene was too good. Tylor’s comments were killing me

ALSO I REALLY DON’T WANNA KNOW WHAT THIS GUY WAS THINKING 😭😭😭😭😭

Cutter collecting everyone else’s merch is a fun gag. Also her getting hit on not once but twice in this episode is so funny. What a queen.

MIKE AND SULLY’S LAST LINES ARE SO FUNNY HELP. SULLY STRAIGHT UP EXPOSING HIS BFF ON HIS COMMITMENT ISSUES

There’s Johnny again. He’s still off the hook for now but I got my eye on him

I think my favorite MAW background character is the founder of Scare Masters

He says his name is Alistair Clawbottom and I LOVE his voice and design. I like the other old guy from the last episode, but he’s giving steampunk vibes and I’m into it. Also the basement setup he’s in makes me wonder if his company focuses on scaring kids from the basement 🤔

I hope they bring him back

[shebeafancyflapjack]

Second Chances

In the Next Layer, Humphrey and Mary have to deal with a new challenges as parents when one of Silver's spells works a bit too well. Set a while after @idiotwithanipad 's Ascended.

-

One last sheet placed neatly over the final layer of mince and sauce, then a final sprinkle of mozzarella and - Done! He'd done it! All by himself.

Humphrey used the dish towel to mop some of the sweat from his brow. Not the most hygienic but then, back when he'd originally helped prepare meals, no one even bothered to wash their hands. And if anyone in his household had requested a dish like this, the staff would have thought they were possessed.

With the oven preheated, he slides the dish onto the middle shelf. Perfect! Chuckling, he dusted his hands and glanced at the clock. Should be ready just in time for Amy to get home.

Not the first time he's made dinner - which was a skill he had to relearn in itself, along with a lot of other things which came with having full mobility at all times. But it was the first time he'd made one of her favorites. Granted, part way through he'd nearly sliced his finger whilst dicing the mince and had a ptsd flashback, but he moved past it.

Turning to right, there was an awful lot to clean up already. Thank God Amy had thought to put one of those dishwashers in, they were truly Heaven sent. Just to load the damn thing now...

Knock - knock - knock.

Oooh, Amy's early? No, wait. Couldn't be Amy, she has a key. All houses in the Next Layer only open to those who live there or are invited. A handy little magical security device.

Who else would be calling at this hour? He'd had a few acquaintances from his past come to catch up during his time here but folks tended to stick to sociable hours.

Knock - knock - knock.

"Coming! I'm coming." He responds, footsteps echoing through the high ceilinged rooms and hallway till he reached the foyer.

An exasperated Annie stood panting on the other side of his door.

"Oh, 'ello! Blimey, did you run 'ere?" He asked his old friend.

"Had to. Bloody horse won't let anyone ride her except Silv." Annie groaned; "You need to come with me. It's an emergency."

Emergency? In paradise?

"What is it? Has someone arrived? Is it Robin, Kitty?" He hadn't heard any choirs or seen any shining lights.

Annie shook her head; "It not be that, it's...the girls...."

A dread which he hadn't thought was possible to experience in this world suddenly gripped him. Annie was rarely ever so serious about anything.

"What's happened? Are they okay? I thought they were both at yours and Mary's."

"They was - is." She corrected; "As for bein' okay, well...That be rather complicated."

"Ey?" She wasn't making any sense.

"Just follow. You'll soon understands." Annie turned and beckoned him.

Humphrey reached for his coat off the hook. A long red modern day coat that Amy had given him on the first anniversary of his Ascension. Slipping on his boots, he went to follow the ex-Puritian.

"And turn your oven off, ya pillock!" She hollered over her shoulder.

"Right!" He doubled back to dash to the kitchen.

-

He hadn't known exactly what he'd been expecting as he jogged with Annie down the winding path that connected his and Amy's house to the Guppy Cottage as it had become known. Annie had made the matter sound urgent but not to the point they clearly had to sprint back.

There were still things about this other world he was figuring out. Of course, there was no danger of death. But pain was still very much real, even if slightly muted in certain cases. Injuries could occur but were much easier to heal, either if one had enough skill manifesting their desires, or was a friend of someone with certain remedies. His daughter's best friend was keen to master the latter's crafts.

And then there was that whole incident, several lifetimes ago now, where said girl and Amy had nearly been brainwashed and kidnapped into a parallel dimension. Humphrey knew to keep his mind open at this point.

But as they approached the cosy cottage, complete with its stone 'Witches Tower', Humphrey could not hear any cries or yelps of pain. Instead, there was....laughter. Pure and wild and innocent.

Not Amy and Silver. It was the laughter of young children, not teenagers.

"Having guests round? Or babysitting? Christ, they're not trashing the place, are they?" He dared to jape, to lighten the mood.

Annie stopped to cringe.

"Just go inside, Humphrey."

He did so, at her request, able to open the front door without issue. The house recognised him as one with an open invite. Practically family.

Barely had he hung his coat in the foyer when something small and jet black ran past, squealing, followed by Mary.

"You come 'ere rights this instants, ye little beast, I is not playin' games!" She chided whatever had just sped past.

"'Avin fun?" He asked.

"Oh! There you is. 'Bouts time." Mary sighed, hands on her hips, looking as though she'd also ran a marathon. "You ain'ts gonna believes whats happens."

"Annie said it was an emergency. What-?"

Humphrey felt winded as something collided into him, arms around his legs, giggling away. He blinked and looked down, finding himself looking into a pair of two brown eyes - one that seemed to have a squint which causes it to drift - whilst almost over other inch of her was caked in black...paint? Ink?

"Oh! 'Ello down there. And who might you be?" He was hesitant to touch the little one, in case whatever she was coated in got stuck on his hands. She was already possibly staining his shirt and britches.

The child grinned, a flash of white and blank gaps against the black.

"Humphrey, it's me!" She bounced.

Mary folded her arms; "You can't expects him to recognise ye, darling girl. Not when ye looks like ye are abouts to be feathered!"

Darling girl? But the only one Mary called that was...

He blinked down at the girl again. Ignoring all concerns of cleanliness, he placed his hands on her shoulders.

Those eyes. He'd seen them once, in a photo album, so long ago.

"...Silver?!"

The girl bounced on her toes; "Got it!"

Mary reached to take the child by the arm and pull her back. In her other hand, she held a cloth, which she attempted to remove some of the blackness with, using some vigorous scrubbing.

"But....h-how?" Humphrey frowned, baffled.

"Oh it seems my little witchling dids think it be wise to experiment with a potion containins the fountain of youth!" Mary tutted, looking as though she were in a battle to clean her shrunken daughter. "Annie and Is came homes less than half an hour ago to finds them like this!"

"....Them?"

A tiny voice cleared its throat nearby. Humphrey turned his head towards the staircase.

At the bottom of the steps sat a girl, long dark hair, presumably the same age as the tar coated one. Six? Seven? He wasn't an expert with children. Small. This one was, fortunately, not completely covered in black paint. Only a little had stained her hands, it seemed.

Again, he knew that face. Both in his heart and from a photograph gifted to him by Alison long ago.

Slowly, as if in a trance, he stepped closer to the child, who was sat fidgeting with her hands, looking a little shy. He knelt down, meeting her eyes.

"...Poppet?" He asked, dumbfounded.

Amy smiled, blushing; "Hi"

-

Annie had been a lifesaver, putting on some tea. They all sat in the kitchen together. Or rather, he and Annie and Amy were all sat. Mary was still attempting to wash the paint off Silver's face, the child fidgeting and wriggling as if simply being tickled.

"Oh it be no good. I's gonna has to give thee a bath." Mary clicked her tongue.

Until then, she wrapped a towel around the little girl and scooped her up.

Humphrey pinched the bridge of his nose.

"So...how did this happen? You're telling me that Silver cast a spell that turned them young?"

"Not spell! Potion!" Chirped Silver as her mum plopped her swaddled body on a chair.

"Right....and why exactly were you trying to be younger?"

The two girls exchanged looks. A silent code past between?

"Uhh....wanted to be sixteen again and we went too far? Hehehe." Silver grinned.

"Darling girl, this be no time for japes." Mary scalded, gently.

Her daughter abruptly closed her lips.

"We was returnin' from drinks at John's when we dids hear laughter of little'ens coming from my Silver's tower. We goes up and finds these two, halflin' sized and spillin' black paints everywhere." She explained to the befuddled Tudor.

"It's hair dye!" Silver corrected; "Amy's lucky, she didn't need it. I didn't want my borin' brown hair."

Clearly trying to dye hair with the hands of six year olds wasn't easy.

Humphrey snorted and shook his head.

"You girls. The things you get up to." He rolled his eyes; "Now how do we change you back?"

Amy bit her lip. Mary and Annie narrowed their eyes on Silver, who looked down at her lap.

"....They can turn back? Right?"

Mary tapped her fingers on the table, eyes on her daughter.

"Little'en." She said, pointedly.

Silver shifted in her seat; "I uhh...don't know how to turn us back..."

"What?!"

Humphrey regretted the volume of his response as soon as he'd spoken. Both girls flinched in their seats and even Mary seemed to want to move protectively closer to her child.

He shook his head; "I...I'm sorry, I just...Why would you make a potion for this if you didn't know the antidote? Clever witch like you, you wouldn't forget a thing like that."

"I know, but..." the girl shrugged; "This only supposed to be temporary."

"How temporary? When does it wear off?"

"Uhh, that's the bit I didn't read properly." She confessed; "Apparently it's temporary until we...grow up. Again."

"WHAT?!"

This time, Mary did reach for Silver's arm; "Please do stop that, head...whole bit. Sorry, habit. Raisin' thy voice shall not age our girls quicker."

"But this is....I mean, they can't just..." He stammered, flustered, before turning to look at Amy.

She was sat on the chair with her knees pulled up to her front now, arms around herself, looking as though she wished she had her hoodie to turtle into. But instead, someone had given her a long purple tshirt with some funky cartoon girls on the front, and a black pair of leggings and fluffy purple slippers.

Humphrey mentally kicked himself. Him raising his voice was probably putting all sorts of thoughts through her head. Especially if this spell had her mind closer to everything she'd endured as a kid.

He knelt down in front of her, reaching to touch her cheek.

"Are you okay, Poppet? It doesn't....hurt?" He's not sure why it would, but....

She gave him a smile and shook her head.

"Dothn't hurth. Justh...feel funny." That lisp. Oh God. Humphrey felt his heart quiver.

He sighed; "We can't let them have to wait another thirteen years to be their old selves!"

"Why not? You got much else planned while you be here?" Annie quipped and Humphrey threw her a scowl.

"Relax, Humphreys. There be folks with far more knowledge of these crafts than my novice girl." Mary said, side eyeing a blushing Silver; "We shall seeks them out on the morrow and see if there be a way to quicken the process."

"I mean, people do choose their age here anyway. Those who arrive as babies get to grow old and then freeze at a certain age. I did once have a go at reliving my twenties again but...nah. Weren't worth the hype." Annie shared.

He'd never really thought about that. Damn. So many new and strange rules to this place.

Something tugged at his sleeve.

He turned to see Silver having shuffled closer.

"I am sorry, Uncle Humphrey." She pouted, brown eyes wide and sorrowful.

Humphrey scoffed; "Damn you, Silv, calling me 'Uncle' like you know that'll make it impossible for me to be angry." It did make it extra difficult to look at her and see the young woman he'd been friends with for years, rather than just a sweet little girl...same as his Amy.

"Ith not Thilver'th faulth." She spoke up.

All the adults focused on her.

"Ames! You don't...." Silver began but her friend just put her hand up.

"Poppet?" Asked Humphrey.

Amy wriggled in her seat, awkwardly.

"Wath my idea." She confessed; "We were juth in her room, 'avin a laugh. We were...jokin' about you guyth. About how...maybe it be eathier if we were kidth, 'cauth you act like we are anyway...and I athed Thilver if we could...Just for a pwank."

A prank? "Oh, Amy..."

"Ended up merely puttin' a jape on thyselves, little'ens." Mary chided.

Humphrey suddenly remembered his cup of tea, just at the time he needed it. He swigged it back as if it were ale.

"Pleath don't be mad." Amy murmured. "I...I thought it woulth make you happy...."

Jesus Christ.

He shook his head, willing a smile; "I ain't mad, Poppet. And I'm not gonna lie, you are....Well. No other word for it, adorable. You both are. Even Silver, looking like the black swan there."

"Hehehe." The regressed Pagan giggled before Mary playfully poked her in the back.

"I just...Well. Dependin' on how long this lasts, well..." He admits; "I only just got used to living with a teenager. Now a...." He lost his voice as he realised what he was saying.

Amy shifted, bashful.

"Would you prefer that she stay here? Till we finds the cure?" Asked Annie.

Silver immediately cheered; "Yay! Sleepover!"

"No! Uh, I mean," Humphrey took a breath; "Nothing's changed. She's still my little girl. It's just...gonna be a learning curve, Poppet. Having you actually be a little."

"Noth wike I a baby. Can take care of mythelf." Amy stated.

Humphrey nodded. He knew that she could. But that didn't mean she should have to.

Even now, he could see the excitement of the evening crashing down on her little body. One of her feet kept slipping off the chair and her fist was rubbing at her eye.

"Still....I think we should be getting home. I might not have much experience with kids but I know little heads need early nights." He said with a kind smile.

"Do come round tomorrow, we may has more knowledge. And let's us know if there be side effects." Annie said.

Side effects? He dreaded to think what that could add to having his teenager daughter turn back to a small child.

"I intends to give my little'en an early night too, once she hath emerged from this black cocoon she mades for herself." Mary tickled Silver under the chin and the messy girl squirmed, giggling.

"But it's only just got dark, Mum!" She whined.

"You has to lives with consequences of meddlin' with thy forces unknown, darling girl. Now say g'nights to your friend."

Silver and Amy exchanged guilty smiles and waves, along with faint hearted goodnights. Both seemed to hold an expression of saying "we're in trouble".

Humphrey held out his hand for Amy, who seemed to stare at it for a second before letting it swallow up her own.

"Let's get you home, Poppet. If nothing else, what I've got ready for your dinner might make you smile."

The child's eyes widened with excitement and intrigue, as if her current predicament was already a distant memory. Little head so easily distracted.

-

"And....there. Finally. Oh, and look, there be Miss. Silver Guppy hiding under all that paint! Who'd have known?" Mary teased, wrapping the fluffy towel around her daughter once her bath was finished.

The child merely laughed and turned to the mirror.

"My hair's black again though! Can we do the pink tomorrow? Please, Mum, please!" Silver begged, hugging the towel around her damp body.

"It'll be pink when we gets you backs to your normal age!"

"Yeah, but that might be aaaages." She stuck her bottom lip out.

"Good, ye can learn some patience. And consequences for making such silly potions." Mary turned to pour the bathwater out into the drains as there was no plug. Even the water had been drawn from the well and warmed beside the fireplace.

She'd let Silver have some of the magic bubbles cast from the bottle, as Annie had introduced her to them.

"Mum?"

"Yes?" She replied, tersly.

"Are you grumpy with me?"

Mary sighed and lowered the tub to the floor. She turned back to kneel before her worried daughter.

"No, sweetheart. I just wish yous be more careful when practicin' thy craft." She told her, calmly; "Amy bein' the one to conjure up the plan doth not excuse thee."

"I know, Mum." Silver nodded.

Mary took her daughter's little head and kissed her brow.

"Ye be but silly girls. We cannots stay mad at thee. And all shall be fixed soon enough. C'mere."

She gathered Silver onto her lap as she sat beside the fireplace, getting out a comb to run through her wet locks.

The motion and grooming relaxed the child almost instantly, settling back in Mary's arms, her eyelids already fluttering.

"D'you think Humphrey and Amy are okay? He looked really....Uh. Not mad. Scared?" The girl asked.

"Hmm...It mights just be nerves, darling girl. First time takin' care of a little'en...a REAL little'en, must be dauntin' for him." She explained.

"But Amy's no problem? She's good."

"I know. Mayhaps that why he worries 'bouts letting her down. We'll see."

Before Silver could fall asleep on her lap, Mary set her down on the floor.

"I dids create some night clothes for thee. They be on my bed. That where ye be sleepin' till this be fixed."

"But-."

"No buts, I cannots be lettin' a six year old sleep at the tops o' towers. Now run along." She points, with a dramatic frown.

After the girl hurried off, clutching her towel around her, Annie came through the other door. She stood, folding her arms.

"...What's you bes givin' me eyes of th'devil for?" Mary asked.

Annie just smirked.

"You is lovin' this. Yous act as though you be cross but...I sees you lovin' 'avin your little'en be little." She winks.

Mary blushed and did well to busy herself.

"I has no clue what ye mean. It be no joyous matter...."

It was serious. Vitally important that Silver and Amy get their maturity and independence back as soon as could be.

But...until then...if she could find pleasure in little Silver's giggles and tiny affection...was that so bad?

[dollarbin]

Nickel Bin #18:

Tom Petty's Dogs on the Run

I love this song!

Sure, there are some questionable 80's production vibes going on but give me a break: why isn't this groovy track central to the Tom Petty canon? It appears on none of his greatest hits albums nor his live collections, it never merited an Alice in Wonderland video, and it gets zero mention in his biography or in his 4 hour+ filmography. What's more, it's buried in the B-Side of what is, I agree, his most problematic album thematically.

But this sweet mutt of a song deserves some Nickel Bin love.

After all it checks every essential on the T.P. checklist:

There is some seriously surreal storytelling going on here. Tom's protagonist sleeps on the ground, nearly starves, falls off a boat, and then winds up in the arms of a young bleached blonde who coyly lights his cigarettes, makes transcendental speeches and brings him his meals on a silver tray. None of those things have ever happened to me, at least not yet. And I'd argue that a big element of Petty's appeal is our ability to live vicariously through him: the guy, and his stories, are just way cooler than you or I will ever be but he lets us stand with him in his scenes all the same and so we too get the girl, outpace the vampires and sing along with Del Shannon.

This song totally rocks. The beat drives, the keyboards and guitars surge and Tom lets it all tug at his languid yet powerful vocals. Dogs don't just run here, they charge.

Sexy ladies appear! Throughout his career Tom wrote about mysteriously and fetching ladies like no one else. They tend to entrance him, stalk him, get naked in front of him, move in with him, and then disappear on him, sometimes all in the same song. I first heard Dogs on The Run when I was 13 years old; the bleached blonde who understood life and how to ace it blew my tiny mind.

It features a spoken section. Isn't it cool when a singer just drops all pretense and talks their way through a line in their own song? Jonathan Richman is, of course, my favorite purveyor of that genre, and I grew up with Lou Reed's New York and Magic and Loss, in which it's often hard to tell if there is any singing whatsoever. Plus Kris Kristofferson is my distant cousin and he'd tell you he doesn't even know how to sing, rather he just talks in his songs. So I'm poised to always enjoy white men speaking mid-song. But Petty took the talking-within-the-song deal to sweet heights early on with Here Comes My Girl, in which he manages to make us smile while saying that sometimes, I don't know why, thing just seem so hopeless. Dogs on the Run follows in those august footsteps by featuring a few choice snatches of spoken word as Petty quotes his amazing female character. And those parts get me all stirred up. I agree with Tom wholeheartedly: it sure is funny how people crowd around anyone living life without a net.

Meanwhile, Petty sings the hell outta this song. Van Morrison, of course, is the master of white man soul when it comes to riffing on his own chorus. But he's otherworldly in the process; we cannot compare ourselves with Van. On the other end of the white man soul spectrum you've got Bono: we all think we could sing like him, at least while in the shower, but none of us have the bald-faced guts to pull it off. Petty is therefore our happy medium, our ultra-cool alter-ego. Could we sing "like a dog on the run babe," like him? Hell no. But when he does so it sounds just like we think we sound in our finest moments. Plus check out just how many syllables he slips into come down the song's opening line, "well we co-co-come with what was on our backs..." Sing it T.P!

And check out all the moods at work in this song. Like all of Petty's best work deep melancholy is paired with pumped up triumph. This is a sad story he's telling us. But he turns into pure victory. Like a dah-ha-hog on the run. Like a Dog! Like a dah-ha-hog!

And, finally, this song is a big deal platform for vibrant live performance.

Just check it our 8 years before Southern Accents. Nothing is the same here except the title as Tom and Co explore their potential as a Grateful Dead-like jam band.

And here he is shortly after the song finally appeared on record, orchestrating the track with some deep 80's vibes. We've got handclaps, horns and posturing, all captured on some frat guy's shoulder mounted camcorder.

And then, finally, after 20 years of not playing the song, check Petty out as he gets all soulful and thoughtful with the track. Ignore the white guy shlubs in the front row; those guys oughta be ashamed for paying a billion bucks to see Petty in a club and then standing around pensive and dull while this was happening. My face woulda' melted. Petty even busts out a sweet guitar solo of his very own in place of the standard Mike Campbell shredding.

Like a Dog! Like a da-ha-ha-ha-ha-ah-aw-og!

[anjumbai]

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis – Thoughts

“… and though I can hide my cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable: I simply am not there.”

First of all, this is one huge book. I was skeptical of whether I should really even pick this up, will this put me in another reading slump and yada yada. Surprisingly, I managed to finish it in a very short time. The narration style and dialogues are something I found to be absolutely hilarious. Bret Easton is very crafty with the dialogues he constructs and I don’t understand how he comes up with such elaborate and funny conversations. Honestly, I’d research a little bit more about the book and the writer but there is no network in my country as I’m writing this. So yeah, giving it to you raw.

Can I talk about the movie first? I’ll talk about the movie first. I love Christian Bale. He’s one of my favorite actors, a master at his craft and worthy of respect for his diverse set of roles. His dedication to play a role is unmatched. He starred as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho and I’m glad I watched the movie first. The book is written in first person narrated by our P&P executive, working in murders and executions, Patrick Bateman. And every time I imagine a scenery with this guy, pop, it’s Christian Bale’s goofy ass acting popping up in my head and I absolutely love it. Somebody said while working with Bale that during the shoot of the film, he thought that Bale was deliberately acting horrible. He couldn’t understand why and when the movie came out, his doubts were gone. He seemed like the perfect sociopath, trying his best to fit in while being absolutely horrible at it. His deliberate bad acting just made the character Bateman come to life. It was bad acting to the point it was amazing acting. I don’t know, 10/10 for Christian Bale.

Let’s start off with the contents of the book. The book is a series of narration of the events happening in Bateman’s life and his mind by Bateman himself. There are often whole chapters dedicated to Bateman naming designer and luxury brands, describing popular music bands and their history and what their songs mean, there was even a whole chapter dedicated to his panic attacks; considering he is always high on Xanax, Velium or some other drug. Pages and pages worth of creative and witty dialogue, callbacks or just the total unhinged way of how Patrick treats everyone else when he is on bloodthirst mode. So much to highlight. So much to highlight, cause all of it is just so funny. Something like- “What is this continuing inability you have to evaluate this situation rationally?” when Patrick is being harassed by his fellow gay co-worker(who thinks Patrick loves him cause that one time he was trying to strangle him but dude thought wow Patricks in love with me) is just comedic. Or something like – “Patrick, why aren’t you looking at me?” “I’m ignoring you, Luis.” Just makes me laugh out loud. And of course, the movie. Lines from the movie written out in the book and you’re just sitting there Leonardo DiCaprio-ing all over. “He said the thing.”

All jokes aside, it was also a very clever critique of the free market. All the characters are extremely self-centered to the point of obsessive narcissism, where Pat just takes it up a notch. I don’t need to describe some of the scenes from the movie or the book because I can’t. It’s just not possible, the things Bret writes in the book, to put in a review. If you do wanna see an uncensored review, do pull up your Platinum AmEx card and sign up for my patron, where you’ll find exclusive content. Seriously, if you don’t have a Platinum AmEx card you might as well just be gutter garbage. Did I tell you that Patrick just gave me a face care routine that’ll set me back thousands of dollars but it’ll make me feel, quote, “I feel like shit but look great”?

Overall, my thoughts are all over the place and there’s nothing in particular I want to say about this book. It’s just the day to day life of a psychopath who commits heinous and gorey acts of crime, murder and what not. The book is basically him trying to fit in society while also maintaining his bloodlust. The lines “My nightly bloodlust overflowed into my days and I had to leave the city. My mask of sanity was a victim of impending slippage” sums up the book pretty well. He doesn’t necessarily leave the city all the time but rather he leaves his “I work in finance” façade behind and goes full on Ted Bundy all over the city. Graphic and gorey descriptions of his murder, torture, assault is just horrifying to even imagine. The very fact that someone thought all of this and put it in a book is gut-wrenching alone but let’s just say that the book tries to put some heartfelt moments too. Sentences like “I just want to be loved” are spoken out loud by Patrick after he, pretty graphically, cooks a part of a human body for his dinner. Words are written but not said out loud when Patrick feels love from someone. Genuine, heartfelt love that doesn’t want fame or money or anything else from Patrick, unlike every other girl he has slept with. “yet she weakens me, it’s almost as if she’s making the decision about who I am, and in my own stubborn, willful way I can admit to feeling a pang, something tightening inside, and before I can stop it I find myself almost dazzled and moved that I might have the capacity to accept, though not return, her love.” A slight attempt at humanizing a monster, I’d say. Not very successful. And I found it funny that even until the end of the book, I couldn’t tell most characters apart from one another. Just like in the movie, and I think the movie captured that essence pretty well.

Most of what you can know about the story is summed up pretty well in the movie, except that the book delves into much more comedy and, of course, gore. The movie ends at a better note in my opinion, simply because the part where the movie ends is just one of the few final chapters of the book. The movie couldn’t have done well with what the book offered as its ending and well done to the script writers for that. The book is hilarious, graphic and just a really funny mockery of materialism. It’s definitely worth a read but it does drag on without a proper goal or anything. But did I still enjoy it a lot? Yes, I did. 8/10. Hilarious and witty.

Now you know what to do when life is getting you down. Just tell yourself “You’ve got a negative attitude. That’s what’s stopping you. You need to get your act together.” Wise words, honestly.

Big ideas, guy stuff, boy meets the world, boy gets it.

[the-badger-mole]

Black Friday Bonus! Black History Month 2: Electric Boogaloo!

I know, I know, it's March, and Black History Month is over. HOWEVER a lot of people might not realize that today is also an important day in Black history. Today, March 1, is the day that I was born! So, since it's my birthday, I am declaring it part of Black History Month.

Anyway, look at this guy.

This guy right here ^^^

If you had a great childhood, and one of your favorite parts of the summer was having a water war with your friends, then you owe this guy, Dr. Lonnie Johnson, a huge debt of gratitude.

Born in 1949 in Mobile, AL, Lonnie Johnson was the son of a nurse's assistant and a WWII veteran. At a young age, his scientific interest was sparked when his father taught him the basics of electricity. He quickly gained a reputation in his family and among his neighbors for his curiosity and penchant for "tinkering". As a teenager, he attended Williamson High School, an all-black high school in Mobile. In 1968, Lonnie would go on to represent his school in a science fair, where he was the only black student exhibiting. He would ultimately take first place for his entry, a robot powered by compressed air.

That's not why you owe him for your childhood, although, come on! That is really cool!

After graduating high school, he went on to earn his BS in mechanical engineering, a Master's in nuclear engineering,and later an honorary PhD from Tuskegee University (an HBCU). He then went on to the Air Force, where he worked as part of the stealth bomber program, and from there he hired into NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. ...No, this isn't another astronaut (although, he did help get the Galileo mission to Jupiter off the ground...lol!) and was an engineer on the Mariner Mark ll Spacecraft series for the Comet Rendezvous and Saturn Orbiter Probe missions.

All of that is really cool, and would be an insane career for just about anyone else. Still, everything he did before or since pales in comparison to his greatest invention. In 1989, Dr. Lonnie Johnson blessed the world with the Super Soaker.

The Super Soaker (originally the Power Drencher), like most great inventions, was born by accident. Dr. Johnson was working on an environmentally friendly heat pump when, I can only assume, his hand slipped and he drenched some hapless co-worker in an insane amount of water, starting what I hope was an epic water fight in a NASA lab. I don't know for sure that's how it happened, but it seems plausible. What truly did happen is that the Super Soaker became popular almost immediately, and from it's first appearance on toy shelves in 1990, it has a remained a summertime staple for kids of all ages. Then Dr. Johnson when and did it again when he modified his Super Soaker design and gave us what would go on to become the grandfather of the Nerf-n-Strike line.

In 2013, Hasbro- the distributor of the Super Soaker- had to get regulated when Dr. Johnson discovered that they had underpaid him his royalties for the Super Soaker and a few of the Nerf toys. They settled with him in November of that year for $73 million dollars, which sounds like (and honestly is) a stupid amount of money. But considering that Dr. Johnson's inventions has earned Hasbro over $1 billion, they got off very cheaply.

I really hope you've enjoyed these post over the last month. It's been a pleasure for me to introduce you to some figures from Black history that you might not have heard of before. That's all I have for now, but if you learned something new this month, please let me know!

[marshallpupfan]

There's something I've been wanting to talk about for some time now, and due to the fact it's been crossing my mind more and more, I'm just going to get it out of my head. It involves Marshall, his role during season 9, the upcoming spinoff "Rubble & Crew", and why the franchises lately has been leaving me... frustrated.

This will be lengthy, so hit "Keep reading" if you want to see more.

It goes without being said that I am absolutely crazy about Marshall. It's why I created my Marshall Pup Fanatic accounts, why I continue buying his merchandise, and why I even purchased my own mascot costume to wear in parades and such (which hasn't worked out yet, but hopefully in due time). As I've said many times, Marshall is legit my #1 favorite character, and due to just how much I love him, I enjoyed giving back to the franchise by supporting it.

I just wish the cartoon, itself would do the same for Marshall. Nowadays... it really doesn't anymore.

I don't know why, but ever since season 7, it feels like things just got a lot worse for the Dalmatian. Dino Rescue and Moto Pups barely gave him anything, the first half of season 8 ignored him way too much (eight missions in a row... twice), and even the theatrical film stripped him of most of his personality and gave his wipeout, his biggest running gag, to someone else.

Understandably, I found all of this to be frustrating. It's always been my impression that Marshall's one of the more popular characters in PAW Patrol, due to how much he's featured on advertisements, the numerous amounts of merchandise he gets, and the fact that most fans, both young and old, really seem to love him. And yet, his treatment in the cartoon has been so poor. I really don't get it.

And for a while there, I thought there might've been a silver lining to it all; the spinoff. When we first learned about it and nobody had any idea who it'd focus on, I really thought it was going to be Marshall. No other pup was experiencing what I mentioned above, as even Zuma was appearing more during missions for a while there. I figured they were using Marshall less because they were saving up ideas to use for him in the spinoff! Why else restrict him so much? To me, it made sense! It HAD to be him!

Well, you know what happened with that. Rubble was chosen for the spinoff, and Marshall's treatment in the cartoon got worse and worse... just because.

I so badly wanted him to be the star of the spinoff. I felt he deserved it, especially after how the cartoon began treating him. It would've been a fine way to make up for it. As a fan who became a big supporter of both Marshall and PAW Patrol, I felt an odd sense of betrayal, as silly as that may sound.

I guess, if anything, I'm glad later portions of season 8 got better for Marshall after a while. The first Rescue Knights episode gave him so much focus, and I was happy to see him co-star in that Cat Pack short with Leo! Unfortunately, it was short-lived, as things quickly went back downhill for Marshall after that. Arguably, he's at his lowest point yet.

We're currently fifteen episodes into season 9, and his usage during missions has been so unimpressive. Typically, he's only called in to handle small tasks, he's often restricted to backup, he disappears quickly no matter what he's doing, and he's yet to receive much focus, such as Big Truck Pups refusing to call him in as a first responder. I fear Aqua Pups might do the same.

Furthermore, Marshall has yet to appear on a single season 9 title card. The only one of the main six, in fact. You'd think, out of the twenty-six we've seen so far, he'd appear on at least ONE...

I really don't understand why this is happening. It's almost as if Spin Master has turned their backs on Marshall... and as a result, I no longer enjoy the franchise like I once used to. Maybe it's wrong of me to watch PAW Patrol for just one character, but Marshall really did become that special to me. And to see Spin Master treat him like this... it frustrate me, and I'm starting to wonder just how much longer I want to continue supporting the franchise.

Seriously, why stay loyal at this point? Just so I can keep tuning in to see my favorite pup get the same poor treatment? It's clear that Spin Master is shifting their focus, their priorities on Chase, Skye and Rubble, and whatever plans they have up their sleeves doesn't seem to have much room for Marshall (Rocky and Zuma also fit into that, sadly). Do I really need to keep subjecting myself to constant disappointment, new episode after new episode after new episode?

To be fair, it wouldn't be so bad if missions actually gave Marshall something that allowed him to make a difference. Sadly, that's not happening, either. As I said, Marshall keeps getting restricted to small tasks, such as wrapping legs, parking his vehicle in front of sand sculptures, and harmlessly spraying robot cats. Compare that to Chase and Skye, who continuously get tasks that save lives. The difference is like night and day! And I know the cynical answer might be "well, maybe it's because he's clumsy", but that was never an issue in the earlier seasons. Pups Leave Marshall Home Alone, the Pup-Fu episodes, the Ultimate Fire Rescues, Ready Race Rescue... all fine examples of Marshall being quite skilled and competent.

And there's a reason I said later portions of season 8 got better for him. Remember the first Rescue Knights mission, where Marshall was the only pup to stay outside of the castle to stop Sparks the Dragon from attacking it, and then he later bravely leaped up on the beast's back to retrieve the stolen Dragon's Tooth from Claw? It was such a great episode, and a wonderful showing of the skills I've come to expect from Marshall! It was something I was so happy to see, and for a little while, it renewed my faith in the franchise! I was so desperately hoping it'd last... but then season 9 came along and flushed all of that right back down the drain.

It's as if we went from "Marshall is clumsy yet highly skilled" to "just let Marshall do something small, then get him out of there as fast as we can". Just what happened... and again, why?

I hate to say it, but I really don't know if any of this will ever get any better. Again, their priority seems to have shifted to Chase, Skye and Rubble, and I fear this is just how it's going to be for Marshall from now on. I don't know that for a fact, but it's a bad feeling I'm getting. And when I look at the upcoming season 9 episodes we know about so far, none of them seem like they'll change any of this for Marshall one bit.

Is this just how it's going to be for the rest of season 9? Is Season 10 going to continue this poor treatment for Marshall? And will the theatrical film sequel even attempt to restore his personality and give him his elevator wipeout? Truth be told, I'm just not optimistic...

I apologize for making this post so lengthy. For better or worse, it's clear I'm very passionate about Marshall, and all of this is something that frustrates me, especially since I can't seem to find a logical reason as to WHY it's happening. All I know is that, if this continues for too much longer, I may stop watching PAW Patrol. Hey, I still maintain that I'm just as crazy about Marshall as ever... but the franchise, itself? Not so much anymore.

If I do stop watching new episodes, that doesn't mean I'm going to abandon my accounts or anything. I honestly love posting daily pics of Marshall every day, and I plan on keeping that tradition up for as long as I can! Unfortunately, I can't promise I'll be as active as I used to be, such as posting updates on new episodes and talking about what goes on with the franchise and whatnot. I'll probably stop posting Weekly Wipeouts, too. I'm not at that point yet, however, and if I do decide on anything, I'll probably wait until the end of season 9.

For now, I'll continue watching, though only in the hope that things will finally get better for Marshall. I don't expect much, but... who knows, maybe they'll find a way to surprise me and renew my faith in the franchise once again? I hope so, anyway...

[happiness-of-the-pursuit]

20 fic writer questions

Thanks to all of y'all, @read-and-write- @daisymae-12 @inexplicablymine @celaestis1 @kiwiana-writes, for the tags!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

18 including my catch-all for drabbles which I update sporadically

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

77,357

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Red, White and Royal Blue as of right now

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Super Six Take a Lie Detector Test | Vanity Fair

Prince Henry and FSOTUS Alex Claremont-Diaz Answer the Web’s Most Searched Questions

ALEX CLAREMONT-DIAZ COMMUNES WITH HIS ANCESTORS WHILE EATING SPICY WINGS | Hot Ones

Prince Henry and FSOTUS Alex Claremont-Diaz Take a Couples Quiz

10 Things Alex Claremont-Diaz Can’t Live Without

Y'all love a YouTube/scriptfic, plus the Alex bias is showing y'all 👀👀

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes, always, they are the air I breathe, the water I drink, etc. Comments are pretty much everything to me especially at this stage of my writing, I totally get why people with a greater readership may not be able to do this.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't really have angsty endings lol I'm such a fixer; I wrote a drabble where they're elderly and moving out of the brownstone (I hc them always living there) and so that's a bit sad.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

My fics all pretty much have happy endings but the happiest has to be for my 5+1 Water over Blood (five times a member of the Royal family loved Alex, and one time they loved Henry; featuring FirstPrince as uncles). It's so sweet you'll get a cavity.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No and I'm such a people pleaser it would be a Tough Time

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Not really, if it's part of the plot I mostly have made allusions and faded to black. For some WIPs it's genuinely part of the plot so that'll change and I'm probably gonna need some help lol.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Kinda. PJO x RWRB WIP and my PJO x Grey's Anatomy are the closest, but they're not really true crossovers, we just put the RWRB characters in the Riordanverse for PJO and I heavily drew on Grey's as an influence for the other one, but they're not at Seattle Grace.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not to my knowledge, it would be an insane honor though

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

We will never shut up about PJO x RWRB, Super Six and the Siren's Call, which I'm currently co-writing with @read-and-write- and @inexplicablymine and it's literally a life-changing experience.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Percabeth probably wins in terms of length of time (I shipped them before shipping was a thing), but FirstPrince will probably be up there when it's all said and done.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

So I have a doc with an AU of someone else's RWRB fic which is one of the biggest barriers to me making more progress on it b/c I feel weird about that, their story just totally inspired an idea and I had to get it down on (digital) paper

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I'm pretty solid at dialogue and one-liners, especially with funny lines, even though I wouldn't necessarily call myself a funny person. Same with funny titles.

I feel so weird saying what I'm good at, but I also think I'm really nailing Alex's characterization, both inner monologue and his dialogue. I also recently realized I'm pretty solid at writing Nora I think? @read-and-write- and @inexplicablymine will have to verify, they've read that WIP

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Actions, I just want to be like "and then this happened and then this happened and then everything was fixed." I just haven't mastered artfully describing movement between spaces for example.

Also sometimes I'll rush to get to a certain scene because I'm writing chronologically, so then I have to go back and make the middle part of the story better because I neglected it.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I'm...okay. I feel mildly confident in writing Spanish, but I double check using SpanishDict and triple check with @read-and-write-(God Bless You). Anything more than a couple of words/a sentence or two and I'm not there, I definitely try to use English writing structure for the Spanish language which simply doesn't line up perfectly.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Officially: RWRB, unofficially: HP, as a kid I just wrote my own post-canon stories and created tons of fan art

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I'm gonna cheat and say two:

proudest for plot/writing reasons: How well you play...that's up to you (Grey's-inspired fic)

favorite YouTube fic: ALEX CLAREMONT-DIAZ COMMUNES WITH HIS ANCESTORS WHILE EATING SPICY WINGS | Hot Ones (this idea inspired me to write the whole series)

also the PJO AU is probably going to be my favorite very soon

I kind of let these build up so sorry if I missed someone's! No pressure tags but I'd love to see your answers! @raysletters @heybuddy-drabbles @14carrotghoul @sherryvalli @affectionatelyrs @littlemisskittentoes :)

[quackle]

You should share your notes for your DND AU (plz)

LOL sure! gonna leave them under a read more cause i'm painfully wordy. (also apologies if they're all over the place! nothing is concrete, i'm no dnd expert, and i refuse to proofread notes from 2am <3):

the au includes chase and millie as the dms and damien, mk, ripper, and nichelle as the players:

chase is one of the co-dms, much to everyone else's annoyance 99% of the time. he films just about every session just so he can get some money on the side... but he's also really fucking good at being a dm and takes it seriously enough, so everybody just deals with it lol. all enemies and danger zones are his doing. he's all for the plot moving through the most drastic of means, mostly to reel in his channel's audience. he's also not too big on most of dnd's written rules, so he's all for breaking them as long as they bring interesting results.

millie is the other co-dm. she's much more organized than chase and tries to throw the players a small bone whenever they're in a pickle, much to chase's annoyance. but she can be just as evil with what she reveals (all for the plot, not because she's a bad person! she's a good person!) she creates most of the world's characteristics and lore + npcs. she has a huge binder filled with character sheets with current stats + notes about the entirety of the campaign that helps everybody. she's slowly (verrrrrry slowly) learning to not stress about typical dnd rules.

damien plays as everyone's favorite wizard squire. after the unexpected death of his beloved liege and mentor by the king himself, he escapes to the castle to reveal the truth to the town, but he (unfortunately) gets stuck with a party of three reckless weirdos before he gets the chance. as the most experienced player in the party, having participated in other campaigns, all the other players generally look to him for advice. he's the "friendship is magic!" character while everyone else is like "ew pass" (for now... found fam incoming...)

mk plays as an extremely cautious yet extremely deadly changeling/rogue. born and raised in the slums, brought up by a found family of thieves, her main objective has always been on treasures, from golden coins to expensive valuables. her dream is to successfully steal something big from the castle... she just has to find a way to get inside. what she lacks in deception and athleticism, she makes up with stealth and perception. she also makes a mighty good disguise for herself and the rest of the party.

ripper's character is a human barbarian who, after losing his entire village due to the king's commands, is aiming to become the strongest in the land so he can overtake the kingdom. he started off not wanting to play, but chase somehow convinced him and now he's obsessed. he's the wildcard, starting off with a 'not much to lose and everything to gain' mentality. he makes rash decisions that either gets the party into shit or quite possibly the best outcomes. truly the master of big weapons. if there's a chance to look in a treasure chest, he's always gonna try pfft.

nichelle's character is a elven sorcerer with a specialty in necromancy. with a deep hatred of her necromancy roots + her outcasted family, she runs away from her home to pretend to be a bard, using an ancient amulet given to her as a young child to disguise her voice as someone else's so she can acquire fame throughout all the land. (spoiler alert! everyone finds out she's a fraud sooner or later!) while playing, she always gets confused on the rules, but she's damn good at getting into character once she understands what's happening. her charisma points is a saving grace in comparison to the rest her party's stats.

a tldr of the main plot point chase and millie have created for this campaign: they're on the run from the king and have to somehow gain allies by persuading the other leaders from their world about the king's evil intentions. the travel between each town grows more treacherous depending on if the king has already gained his own allies...

[lollybliz]

this isn't going to be nearly as interesting for me to do cus i just haven't written much yet, but is fun to be tagged, thank you ^^

How many works do you have on Ao3? 4!

What's your total Ao3 word count? 13,795 ^^

What fandoms do you write for? atm Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail, and one abandoned bnha fic

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? I do not Have five fics, your honor, but in order it would be 'Adeptus Xiao~,' 'Menu Mori,' 'It Was An Accident-- I Swear,' and 'Not Food.'

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Yes! Partially because as much as I like to leave comments, its a big anxiety thing for me, and when an author responds to some comments but not mine, I get scared that I offended them somehow- I don't want to do that to anyone else. Plus I just don't have many comments at this point fhsdjlhfsdjklfhsdl I've had maybe a dozen original comments ever, lol

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Does it have to be one I posted? I have a wip from Fi's pov of her millenia spent silenced and rusting inside the master sword, watching as master after master died and she could do nothing. Does that count?

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? 'Adeptus Xiao~,' for sure. Although 'Menu Mori' ends with a pillow fort, its intentionally an open ending. I wanted to leave room for more, later :3

Do you get hate on fic? Surprisingly, not yet! I expect to sooner or later though. I write vore, your honor. It'll come eventually.

Do you write smut? Yes ;3

Do you write crossovers? I have not and I have no ideas for it but I wouldn't be opposed to it.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? I don't think so. I did get one of those wordpress bot comments though. And on the least read fic, too lol

Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Also no

What's your all time favorite ship? This is The worst question to ask a chronic multishipper. That said- hm....... probably Gigolas. Am old.

What's a wip you want to finish but probably won't? I do actually have an answer for this one sldjfhlsdfsdhfsdjlhlfhljsd I have a doc running around with a bunch of notes for a potential Ezioleo vore fic set during Brotherhood. its not happening, y'all LMAO

What are your writing strengths? I like to think I describe visuals well, I can make you see the image I have in my head.

What are your writing weaknesses? Fucking dialogue I can't get these little shits to talk oh my god 'Menu Mori' was almost completely dialogue-less and I don't even know how it happened open your mouths, people.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic? I have seen the worst- hello 2016 voltron fic- and the best- hi Sansukh- that this has to offer, and my answer is it depends. If you go to the trouble to do the research, write it correctly, and provide translations either in mouseover or at the bottom of the chapter, great! If you don't, oh god. I've seen enough 'oops, i forgot which language i was speaking in' to last several lifetimes.

First fandom you wrote for? Technically, technically, Jack Blank. I wrote a oneshot on a piece of notebook paper of everyone dying and it all being a feverdream to upset my sister when I was a kid. um.

Favorite fic you've written? Probably one of the ones i haven't finished yet FHSDJLFHSDJLFHSDLSDFHLFHSDJKLF but! am very proud of 'Menu Mori.'

and I'm going to tag... @todorokitops, @phoenixislost, @roryka, and @no-one-told-you-life-was-gay, and any other writers who see this :3 no pressure though

Tag Game! (I found this randomly on my dash)

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers:

I legit found this randomly from someone I don't remember following, but y'know. Here you go

How many works do you have on AO3? 126. I might have a slight issue. Most of them are MHA.

What's your total AO3 word count? 294,834.

What fandoms do you write for? My Hero Academia mostly, Doki Doki Literature Club, OMORI, Miraculous Ladybug once and I have two Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom fics.

What are your top five fics by kudos? N°1: Eraserhead Fanbase (Or How 1-A Grows), N°2: A Child's Spark Light Up The Night, Constant Search For Approval, Suffocated By Refusal, N°3: Don't Blow Until The Wind Does, N°4: Safety, N°5: Moonlight. Apart from the first one, these aren't necessarily my favorites because they're older, but y'know. I might rewrite them a bit, since people apparently like them.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I try to, I often do not. I don't have the mental strength to do it consistently and I don't really know what to say anyways. I'm trying to answer a bunch of them right now though. I do look at them and notices regular commenters.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Oh boy. Probably one in my Dead doves (to eat) series. And then in here... Talking only about what happens and how many people are fucked up by it in the end, Poor Crazy Hitoshi, I'm Choking On Stardust, Becoming a Carcass and save me! (walk away) are probably the worst ones.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Well that's harder. Open, bad or unsatisfying endings are what I do (please don't run away). But I guess Happiness is warm, I'm not dead! And Other Such Entries and a hood and wings might be contenders.

Do you get hate on fic? Maybe once, I think. I delete comments that I find disrespectful, but I don't delete much, so I guess I must be okay.

Do you write smut? Occasionally. Or well, I post smut occasionally. I write a lot of it.

Do you write crossovers? I do not.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? I hope not, oof.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Don't think so?

What's your all-time favourite ship? I'm a chronic multishipper, but according to my works on Ao3, it's bkdk, and according to my bookmarks, it's erasermic. Do with that what you will.

What's a wip you want to finish but probably won't? Oh boy. Do you want to know how many wips I have? Me too. It's more than a hundred. I have no idea.

What are your writing strengths? Uh. Dialogues? Maybe? It's the thing I write the most easily. Maybe mental breakdowns. Someone tell me.

What are your writing weaknesses? I can't write multichapter fics for the life of me.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Depends on the context. If it's a hidden message, a joke, or ultimately unimportant (as in, the goal is to see a character is talking another language and not what they're saying), leave it untranslated in the body of the fic and either put the translation in the notes or don't. Otherwise, I guess either just say X character is talking a different language at Y point, or put the text in italics to signify it's being said in another language but translated in English.

First fandom you wrote for? My Hero Academia, most likely. Or actually, maybe Gravity Falls.

Favourite fic you've written? Ehehe. The author's favorites.

@sillypilled-friendcel @lollybliz @any writer who might see this, feel free to try.

[illusorygardens]

Sifo-Dyas does not take on Padawans lightly. It's a responsibility that comes with all the complications of raising and teaching a sentient through their species' puberty and with his... condition, such a thing is difficult to do without having to, on occasions, lean on his Padawan for support. It could cause the young Padawan trauma, but neither could Sifo-Dyas take on a Padawan also prone to Visions as he was.

So no, Sifo-Dyas does not take on Padawans lightly.

But the Force wills him to take on a Padawan—to take on an Initiate all others have been balking at since they found out about the Initiate's less-than-Jedi mindset and inclinations and the status of his past life. Now, Master Yoda does get along splendidly with said Initiate and Sifo-Dyas imagines that there is no risk to him being sent to one of the Corps, but Sifo-Dyas already knows as well as the rest of them that Yoda is not the best choice for this boy's Jedi Master.

Which is why Sifo-Dyas asked for Dooku's assistance, just briefly. His longtime friend looked rather curious at Sifo-Dyas' insistence to head to the crèche, but relented and assisted him on his way there, only stopping once for a Vision of a time long gone before continuing.

And there sat the Initiate. Xanatos du Crion, formerly known as Darth Vanitas—at least, according to Feemor, who seemed bewildered by the question—sat with a slant line for a mouth, absently flipping through the pages of a book on... ah, Jedi Ethics, Sifo-Dyas pities the former Sith Lord for having Jedi Ethics piled on him every free moment.

Dooku finally asks why it is Sifo-Dyas needed to go to the crèche so badly, and when Sifo-Dyas informs his friend and the crèchemaster that he's here to choose his next Padawan, he gracefully ignored the surprise radiating off of the both of them.

The crèchemaster recovers quicker—it's more than likely that xe's much more used to having unexpected Jedi showing up to unexpectedly lay claim to a new Padawan—and xe gives him a smile and a nod. "Of course," xe says, turning xer back to Xanatos and towards all of xer other charges and gestures to them.

Sifo-Dyas is already shaking his head and meets the eyes of the former Sith Lord, who'd looked up in curiosity, seemingly despite himself.

Xanatos shows a proficiency in the dark side even still and he doesn't assimilate well with the other Jedi in the Temple. Anyone else would assume he's biding his time, but he's clearly just bored with all of the proceedings. He's been... nice, Sifo-Dyas supposes, in his own way, and he's extremely close to three other Padawans—Feemor Sylo, Shaak Ti, and Taron Malicos—and seems to behave himself.

Nobody else would take him, but Sifo-Dyas knows he can be trusted with quite a lot. Already, he's handled extremely sensitive things with great care and discretion.

"Actually," Sifo-Dyas says gently to the crèchemaster who looks at him in surprise, "I already knew who I was coming here for."

He ignores the Initiates whispering at seeing such a well-known Master who's hard to impress come into the crèche, pass them all over, and walk confidently towards the Sith Lord that calls himself their crèchemate.

"Initiate du Crion," he greets warmly.

Xanatos' eyes flicker with surprise before the Initiate straightens himself out, pushes the book to the side, and greets, ever so politely but not managing to hide his genuine surprise and curiosity, "Master Sifo-Dyas."

"I would like to take you on as my Padawan, Initiate," Sifo-Dyas says.

The flecks of gold in Xanatos' otherwise red eyes does not make the sudden calculation of his gaze and less unnerving, but the sudden wariness does. Sifo-Dyas can't say he knows of this Initiate's experiences with Masters—only that he must have had a Sith Master who must not have been kind to him. There have been a few Jedi Knights and Masters who attempted to take on Xanatos as well, only to be turned away after Xanatos unhesitatingly revealed they desired to be Sith.

The people in the crèche seem to hold their breath. They know just as well as Sifo-Dyas why many approach Initiate du Crion and why many no longer try.

There is a moment of brief silence from Xanatos before he demands, "Why?"

Sifo-Dyas smiles at him. It doesn't seem to catch him off guard. "It is the will of the Force that you become my Padawan," Sifo-Dyas says. "That, and I feel as though you should have a Master suited for understanding unconventionally gained knowledge."

Xanatos seems to pause at this. It's clearly not an answer he's been given before, and his eyes only narrow more. He doesn't know if Sifo-Dyas is telling the truth and this is fair. Too many still desire the power and rush that the dark side will give them and to have a Sith Lord in this very crèche proved to be too much for their desires.

The pause lasts longer this time, and there is quiet consideration before Xanatos says, "I'd like to meditate with you before I decide."

Sifo-Dyas gives Xanatos an approving look—there is the acclaimed intelligence and cunning many laud him for. It's not uncommon for Initiates uncertain about their possible Master to request mediation with them, but many Initiates don't know how to gather intelligence through it.

"Of course. Shall we head to the Garden?" Sifo-Dyas prods.

Xanatos carefully sweeps his eyes over the room in a calculated display of nervousness. Then he says, "If you wouldn't mind, Master Sifo-Dyas."

Yes, Sifo-Dyas thinks, the Force is more than correct about this one.

[twilight-orchid]

How The Demon Brothers React After Fighting With Their SO

tw: some angst with resolution at the end, mentions of past arguments, insecurity.

Lucifer:

This man is petty as hell.

He doesn’t do the silent treatment, but he acts like you aren’t dating.

If you need to work on something together, you’re a co-worker.

At RAD you’re a classmate.

Around the house you’re just a housemate.

His poker face is immaculate and it will not crack when you’re around.

If someone didn’t know what was happening, they’d probably think you two barely knew each other.

However, you won’t notice, but as soon as you look the other way his eyes are on you.

He’s used to arguing with his brothers and is no stranger to explosive fights that end with he and the other person not being on speaking terms.

But you’re different.

He tries to go on with business as usual, but he can’t think about anything other than how much he misses you.

Yet, he lets it continue because he just can’t put his pride aside and apologize.

If you decide to sleep in your old room it’ll both hurt his feelings and royally piss him off.

He thinks you’re being childish and will be pretty rude about it, but that’s because internally his blood just ran cold.

It adds a degree of seriousness to the argument that he’s uncomfortable with.

Yes he’s mad, but he can’t lose you.

If you still sleep in his bed, he makes sure to scoot over to the very edge so he doesn’t cuddle you in his sleep.

In fact, the first night after the argument he’d probably put a pillow between you just to really punctuate the fact that he’s still upset.

I’d say it could go 4 days to a week tops without you making up.

After a point though, he just can’t function until the issue is resolved. He can’t sleep, he’s falling behind on his work, and he’s just generally not doing well.

You get called to his office one night and find him at his desk surrounded by piles of paper, disheveled and exhausted.

“MC, come sit down. I’d like to talk this through. Please.”

Mammon:

He’s so dramatic.

You dare defy him? The Great Mammon can’t believe this tiny fragile human would have the audacity.

The theatrics are just a front though.

His ‘The Great Mammon’ act is a mask for his insecurity, one he hasn’t had to use with you in awhile.

Even as the words leave his mouth he regrets them.

He’s going to be very uncomfortable with everything until the argument is resolved, but most of all himself.

He’s learned not to take his brothers too seriously when they toss insults his way, but words have a way of morphing to belief over time.

Internally he is going to be super hard on himself. 

Regardless of if the fight was his fault or not, he’s going to kick himself constantly for making yet another mistake.

He’s over the argument pretty fast. The anger quickly melts into anxiety.

Are you going to leave him? Do you hate him? Did he hurt your feelings? 

That being said, he doesn’t know if you’re still mad and he doesn’t know how to ask. 

As a defense mechanism, he defaults to how he treated you when you first arrived in the devildom.

Calls you human, disregards you, stuff like that.

If you decide to sleep in another room, before midnight expect him to be knocking on the door.

“Oi, MC. You awake? I just - I can’t - *sigh* Can we talk about this?”

If you sleep in his bed, he makes a point of sleeping with his back to you.

Less because he’s actually mad and more because he doesn’t want his image of you as he drifts to sleep to be a look of anger.

Though as soon as he passes out he’ll roll over and tuck you into his arms on instinct.

I’d say any after effects of an argument with Mammon would be resolved in a day, maybe two tops.

Leviathan:

Arguing activates his trolling the forums mode.

Goes back to calling you a normie and contradicts everything you say.

He’s less mad about the argument and more using the bitterness to cope with how upset he is.

He feels like a break up is less of an if and more of a when.

Why would someone as amazing as you settle for weird otaku like him?

Honestly doesn’t understand why you’re with him in the first place, so when there’s a serious argument he assumes its over.

Tbh don’t know how you and Levi would sleep together being that I doubt two could fit in a tub, but any deviation to your routine sends him into a panic.

It’s his reality check that the situation is serious and he needs to fix it NOW.

He’d have trouble apologizing in person. He can’t think of what to say, he stumbles over his words, and he feels like he’s on the verge of a panic attack.

Instead, expect a long ass text message.

He says how sorry he is, how much he misses and loves you, and legit begs you to forgive him.

If you sleep with him like normal, he’ll probably try to make up after laying there for awhile. His mind is going a million miles an hour and there’s no way he can sleep.

Still really has trouble verbalizing how he feels, so give the poor boy a break and take over the conversation.

He hasn’t had a serious relationship before and he doesn’t know what he should do to make it better.

So the after effects will last however long it takes him to read several mangas, watch some anime, and play a few games to see how the characters get over arguments in the story.

Satan:

Satan makes sure not to fight with you over minor issues.

He’s worked tirelessly to tame his wrath and he refuses to feed into it over a minor issue.

Thus, if you fight with Satan it’s a major argument and it’s explosive.

The aftermath isn’t much better.

He doesn’t want to risk blowing up again, so he’s frighteningly calm.

He’s an absolute master of the silent treatment.

He won’t say a word to you until he’s certain he’s calmed down enough.

For the first few days he’ll straight up leave a room if you enter.

For a good while the only way you can expect to communicate with him is through his body language and the expression in his eyes.

Satan’s biggest fear is losing control and lashing out at you. 

He couldn’t live with himself if he hurt you and he can’t stand the thought of you being afraid of him. 

He’s a whirlwind of emotions, so he isolates himself until he can figure out how to deal with it.

Not just from you, but from everyone else too. 

Satan will not share a bed with you for at least the first night.

If he got worked up enough to actually fight, it’s gonna take him time to simmer down.

And he’d rather not risk doing or saying something he regrets in the meantime.

Once he’s ready, he’ll approach you when he’s completely calmed down and has thoroughly analyzed the situation.

He’s considered both of your sides, tried to pinpoint what caused the disagreement to turn into a fight, and made a plan of action to prevent it from happening again.

“MC? I’ve been thinking quite a bit about what happened. Would you please talk it through with me?”

He won’t apologize for the argument if he feels like he was right, but he will apologize for letting the disagreement escalate into a fight.

Satan could go weeks without making up if necessary, but he tries to resolve it within a couple of days.

Asmodeus:

Wants to give you the silent treatment, but is physically incapable.

He can’t stand to have you ignore him.

He’s the type to go back to normal then suddenly remembers you guys had a fight.

“Wait, no! I’m not talking to you! I’m mad at you!”

His biggest downfall is that he’s so stubborn.

If he thinks he was right, he will die on that hill.

There are arguments with his brothers that happened a thousand years ago and he could still tell you exactly why he was right.

But with you, he realizes that doesn’t matter too him nearly as much as it usually does.

If it means going back to normal, he’ll forget who’s right or wrong.

If you sleep in another room, he’s beyond offended.

“What?! Well fine! I don’t want you in my bed anyway!”

Laying in bed alone is a different story though.

He can’t sleep. All he can think about is you. Your face when you sleep next to him, your smell, the feeling of his arms around you.

He 100% cries.

Finally goes and knocks on your door with wet, glossy eyes.

“MC? Can we talk about this? I can’t get my beauty sleep and my tears are wiping off all of my skin care lotion!”

Will throw himself into your arms before you can answer.

If you sleep next to him still, he rolls over and watches you sleep.

It puts him at peace and he decides seeing your sweet, resting face every morning is worth more to him than the argument.

He’ll initiate the conversation the next morning.

I think Asmo could make it a few days if it was a really serious argument, but he will not function well until you make up.

Beelzebub:

Wants to make up immediately.

He doesn’t like to argue, even less so with you.

Whether he was right or wrong, he blames himself. He’ll take all the blame in the world if it makes you happy.

He’ll go make you your favorite food and bring it to you.

If he thinks you don’t want to talk to him, he’ll leave it outside your door and text you to let you know it’s there.

He’s honestly devastated if you decide to sleep in another room.

You guys migrate to your old room when you want privacy from Belphie, but you almost never sleep separately.

Seeing you grab your pillows and march out of the room nearly stops his heart.

He goes completely numb and silent as he just stares at the space you had just occupied.

Like Levi, he thinks this means the relationship is over and he genuinely does not know what to do with himself.

He can’t even bring himself to eat, he just wants to lie there, lost and trying to grapple with his emotions. 

He’s another one who will absolutely cry, but unlike Asmo he will make sure no one knows it.

If you still sleep in his bed, he’s very nervous about it.

He doesn’t know if it’s okay to touch you, what he can or can’t say, stuff like that.

He just lays there stiff as a board not even able to close his eyes.

Honestly the fight would probably have to be resolved before bed. His anxiety just can’t take it.

I don’t think he’d initiate the apology. Not because he doesn’t want to make up but because his confidence is rock bottom in these situations.

He catastophizes and honestly thinks you hate him.

If you don’t initiate the apology soon, Belphie will. He can feel what his twin won’t say, and he knows Beel won’t approach you about it for fear of making it worse.

Belphie will lock you two in a room if that’s what it takes for you to make up.

Belphegor:

The embodiment of if looks could kill.

He won’t talk to you, won’t look at you, basically pretends you aren’t there.

If he must interact with you he’ll roll his eyes and sigh the whole time.

Tries to sleep through any interaction so he doesn’t have to deal with it.

He feels almost betrayed by the fight.

He thought the relationship was stronger than to have such a huge divide, so he’s really insecure about it.

After the first day, the anger has melted away to guilt.

He ‘s not guilty that you fought, but he is guilty about how he treated you after.

Guilt and self-blame have become unwelcome friends at this point. Guilt over Lilith, over his plans to destroy the human world, everything.

But more than anything else, the guilt for the fact that he attacked you weighs on him every day.

He moved past it quickly after, essentially pretending he hadn’t killed you, but that’s because he just couldn’t confront what he’d done. 

He feels like the luckiest demon alive that you forgave him, let alone  opened you heart enough to love him, and now it’s all in tatters.

Another thing to regret.

If you decide to sleep separately, it’ll hit him like a bag of bricks.

“You - what? Where are you going?” 

It’ll take him a second to process what you were doing, but then he’ll roll over and let you leave.

“Fine. Don’t let the door hit you.”

No one will see him for awhile. 

Belphie sleeps all the time anyway, but he just can’t make himself get out of bed.

If you don’t approach him to apologize, Beel will tell you that he’s been nauseous and randomly emotional which must mean his twin is coping very badly. 

Will beg you to go make Belphie happy again. 

If you sleep in his bed still, the argument will be resolved by morning.

He can’t keep himself from embracing you in his sleep, and it’s hard to say you’re mad at someone when you wake up in their loving arms.

It’s hard to pinpoint how long it could last with Belphie. If you don’t apologize first, he won’t let himself be conscious long enough to approach you.

This is both my first hc post as well as my first obey me post so I’m sorry if le boys are ooc. I just got this idea and couldn’t stop thinking about it so here we are.  Especially Belphie, he was hard to me for some reason. Let me know if you guys agree or disagree and if you want to send a request or ask, my box is open! 

[metalandmagi]

Winter 2021 Anime Worth Watching!

Since 2020 basically sacrificed itself to give us the most stacked anime season of all time, I’m currently buried under the weight of almost 20 shows airing per week. So for anyone who’s looking for some anime to watch this winter, here’s some first impressions! I’m speed running my list this time by only talking about the new shows...because otherwise this would be my great American novel. 

If anyone’s interested, I have master lists for both 2020 anime and 2019 anime, because there’s no shortage of fun things to find. 

New Shows!

And before anyone asks, So I’m A Spider, So What? isn’t on here, because CG spiders freak me out.

Cells At Work Code Black: This...less comedic spin off of Cells At Work (made by a different studio) takes the wholesome concept of Osmosis Jones meets cute anime girls and turns it on its head. In this much more depressing version, we follow a rookie red blood cell who works in the body of an overly stressed, alcoholic smoker who puts every strain on the body imaginable. I love Red Blood Cell AA2153 and his co-workers, but man am I glad we get the regular Cells At Work airing this season too, because I need something fun and uplifting after seeing my sweet son go through hell every episode. 

*Heaven’s Design Team: Have you ever wondered how God came up with some of the weird ass animals that live on this planet? Like, what’s the deal with giraffes? And why can’t we have dragons and flying horses? Well this is a comedy about the engineers and designers in heaven creating the new animals that are going to inhabit the Earth. That’s it, that’s the show. It’s kind of in the same vein as Cells At Work, having comedy blend with a surprising amount of educational information. If you want something light and funny, this is the show for you (though I don’t think it needs to have full length episodes). I’m just hoping there’s an episode about how the hell the platypus was created. Also it’s the only new one available on Crunchyroll.

Horimiya: A romantic comedy about a girl named Hori who fits the image of a perfect queen bee and a quiet bespectacled boy named Miyamura who never makes an impression at school. When the two meet by chance outside of the classroom, we see that Hori is practically raising a younger brother by herself, and Miyamura is actually a sweet guy who happens to be covered in tattoos and piercings. This show is an exercise in breaking down the images people have of others in their minds, and it’s a concept that really hits home in a fun and meaningful way. Honestly, this has become one of my immediate favorites. The characters have great chemistry, and I can’t wait to see more of them!

Monster Incidents (Kemono Jihen): When big shot Tokyo detective Inugami is called to a rural town to investigate a series of strange animal deaths, he finds a mysterious boy with the nickname Dorotabo who has been shunned by the other children in town. As the detective gets closer to Dorotabo, he discovers that there may be more...inhuman secrets to the boy than he realizes...and Dorotabo discovers that Inugami has some secrets of his own. This is a hard show to sell without spoiling the first episode, but it had twists and turns that kept me engaged from start to finish. I’m really interested to see where the plot goes, because I thought this was going to be something totally different just from the PV and series summary. If it plays its cards right, this could be a great paranormal detective show!

Wonder Egg Priority: A psychological drama about a girl named Ai who starts having dreams about a mysterious egg that promises to give her what she wants most in the world...a true friend. Before long, she begins to see how the dream world and reality are tied together, and trippy antics ensue. It’s hard to say more without spoiling anything, but I had to go back and add this one in because I made the mistake of thinking it was an OVA when it’s actually a full series. And what a series it’s starting out to be. This anime has all the psychological discomfort of a Satoshi Kon product with the beauty and style of something from Kyoani (even though it’s made by Clover Works). It’s really one of those anime you just have to see to understand.

Sk8-∞ (Skate the infinity): An original skateboarding anime from Bones, featuring a typical sports anime protagonist who takes a new transfer student who has never skateboarded in his life under his wing. Together they compete in dangerous races and take the skating community by storm. The character designs rival Appare Ranman’s in outlandish creativity, and I can smell the main characters’ ship dynamic a mile away (considering they’re exactly the same as the protagonists from Robihachi). If you’re looking for some wild and crazy fun with top notch skateboarding animation, don’t skip this!

2.43: Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu (Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Club): Yes, it’s another volleyball anime. And no, it’s not just a clone of Haikyu. This story follows Yuni Kuroba, a physically built but emotionally weak teenager who finds out his childhood friend Hajime is moving back to their hometown for high school. Yuni discovers Hajime has become an exceptional volleyball player and they join their school’s volleyball club hoping to turn the unknown team into a rising star. If anything, this anime is much more like Stars Align or Free, where the sport is a backdrop for letting the characters explore their personal problems. Or at least it seems that way after the first episode. I went into this show ready to throw it in the trash because how could anything compete against my beloved Haikyu, but I found myself really enjoying the dynamics of the main duo and I’m curious to see what the rest of the team is like.

And speaking of sports anime rip-offs…..I can’t believe I’m including this but…

Skate Leading Stars: The show where the animators clearly wanted to design another throw away idol anime but saw how popular Yuri On Ice was so they decided to make whatever the hell this show is instead. It revolves around a fictional team sport called skate leading, and we follow the world’s most insufferable main character, a former figure skater named Kensei who wants to return to the ice and join his school’s skate leading team after he finds out his childhood rival is going to compete in the sport. Look, this show is just trashy enough to get a certain type of audience hooked, and it mainly has to do with the best boy of the winter season, Hayato Sasugai, the aspiring team “coach” who pulled most of us into watching this show with his punk appearance, snide comments and smug personality. He’s basically the lovechild of Izaya Orihara and Shizuo Heiwajima in a high school sports anime setting. The show treats itself with the perfect amount of sincerity to get away with being absolutely ridiculous most of the time without making you feel like you’re watching it from a dumpster...like Try Knights. You will know after one episode whether this show is for you. All I can say is, Hayato is worth the watch, and I haven’t seen any 3D animation used for the skating scenes (yet) so that’s a win for me. 

Honorable mention:

Jobless Reincarnation ( Mushoku Tensei): Yet another isekai where the main character is hit by a car (big surprise) and gets reincarnated into a fantasy world...but he happens to remember his previous life and narrates himself growing up as a jaded adult. I’m only including this because it looked amazing animation wise, and I love the opening where getting hit by a car and dying is actually traumatic. And I love the protagonist’s parents (who are retired adventurers who just want to bang all the time). But honestly...the main character is the fucking worst, and I don’t know if I want to keep watching it because of how creepy and weird he is. Like...he’s the hit on your fantasy mom as a baby kind of creepy and weird. But for anyone who wants a cool looking isekai that had an amazing PV, it’s worth checking out. 

Continuing Series!

Because the real gold of the season is in all the established anime getting their next seasons, I’m just going to list some of the things that are also amazing and definitely worth checking out if you haven’t already (because I’ve already talked about most of them at some point and don’t know what else to say).

Attack On Titan season 4

The Promised Neverland season 2

Beastars season 2

Log Horizon season 3

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime season 2

Re: Zero season 2 (second cour)

Dr. Stone season 2

Cells at Work season 2

Osomatsu-san season 3 (second cour)

Higurashi New (second cour)

Jujutsu Kaisen (second cour) 

Not to mention all the shows I don’t watch that everyone else loves...like World Trigger (which I have seen quite a bit of, but long shounen shows are too much for me now) Quintessential Quintuplets, and Non Non Biyori. 

So there’s just some of all the anime airing this season. Hopefully, someone can find something they like. Here’s to a great year...well, of anime at least...

[artxyra]

Damian Acting Like A Teenager? Impossible.

When Damian entered the halls of Gotham Academy, the first thing he notices was the change in the dark atmosphere. It felt oddly kinder and more lighthearted. Everywhere he turns, there are whispers focus around the new girl. At first, he didn’t care about the gossip, well, that was until he met her.

It was an unusual encounter, something that he would look down on.

It was the passing period, and she was running down the halls in a hurry as he was walking to his next class, one that he didn’t particularly care for; they bump into each other, causing a standstill in the halls. Everyone wondered how the dark prince would react to their newly dubbed princess of sunshine. They expected a yelling match, which, of course, occurred, but what they didn’t expect was an eventual best of the worst of alliance ever made.

Several months passed since the two had met and several weeks since the blooming of Damian and Marinette’s friendship, and not a single student could say that there weren’t surprised.

The moment Marinette had broken down any (and all) walls that the boy had placed, she was able to make the stoic teen become his age. It started small with a joke here and there; then it progressed into card games followed by video games. To this day, Damian swears that he’ll beat her at a shooting game at one point, to which Marinette would respond with a laugh and an over-the-shoulder wink. The young Wayne swears that he has never blush a day in his life, but the photographic proof on Marinette’s phone says otherwise.

The school soon became accustomed to being Daminette’s playground. At first, the teachers were opposed to the idea, but after seeing how slightly more open Damian has become, they slowly agreed to the concept of allowing the duo to have less strict rules. That and they didn't want to be sued by the Wayne family.

Which now brings us to this moment: Marinette swings on a swing set while Damian practices his form with a katana; don’t ask how he managed to get it past security-- cause there is no answer.

“You know, maybe we should do something wild?” Marinette thinks aloud, looking up to the sky with a mischief smirk on her lips.

Damian doesn’t turn to her; he only sets the blade down to his side. “What mayhem do you have in mind?”

Marinette giggles uncontrollably.

Let’s assume that whatever Marinette had in mind would rule the yearbooks for years to come.

~☾★☽~

Since his partnership with Marinette, Damian has been hiding his characteristic change at home. Surprisingly, it was simple. A few death threats here and there, maybe sneaking out moments every so often. No one at the Wayne cared enough to pay any attention to it. It only then became a shock when Damian left for school along the lines of being late. Alfred had offered to take him to school to which Damian declined and got onto his “normal” motorcycle and speeds off.

“Does anyone else seem to think that Damian is acting strange?” Dick asks, pipping his head down from the ceiling. He’s on the chandelier again. Poor Alfred, maybe Dick should dust the chandelier for him as an apology.

Tim walks in with a large, filled to the brim, coffee mug in hand, “Which one?” He absently wonders, taking a long sip. The dark circles and bags around his eyes explain it all.

“I do concur with Master Richard; the young master has been acting somewhat strange for quite some time now.” Alfred appears out of nowhere, thus starting an array of concerns.

It wasn’t long before Jason came in shouting demands with the head of the household trailing behind him. Alfred reprimands Jason for the yelling as he hands Bruce a cup of coffee.

Not caring enough about the conversation and looking like a madman, Jason shouts, “Look, I can’t explain it, but we’re going to need Demon Spawn for something huge.”

“Uh, why would we need Baby Bird?” Dick asks, dropping onto the floor and twisting his body. “Not that I don’t mind getting Damian involved.”

“Look, there’s no time to explain,” Jason facepalms and begins to push everyone towards the door despite the lack of proper wear they have on.

After several protests and one change of clothes, the Wayne household now stands in front of the gates of Gotham Academy.

“Is it me, or does this place look less you know Gotham-y and full of life?” Tim ponders, narrowing his eyes, as he takes a long sip from a to-go coffee cup with Red Robin’s emblem.

“No, no, Timmy, I see it too.” Dick whispers as Jason struts past the gates and onto the school’s property like a man on a mission.

Bruce sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, “Come on, let’s go get your brother so Jason can stop being Jason.”

Tim shrugs before passing the gates himself, with Dick following him.

Upon entering the school, they could immediately see that it was either a passing period or free time from the number of students in the halls. Some student dared to pull out their phones while other whispers amongst themselves.

Bruce makes his way to the attendance office, where the attendance assistant, Joyce, resides sitting at the desk.

“Hello Joyce, I’m here to pick up Damian. He has a, uh, dentist appointment this evening.” Bruce speaks, hoping that she wouldn’t catch the lie.

“Well Mr. Wayne, Damian is, uh…” After lingering in her thoughts, Joyce turns to someone besides her. “Do you know where Damian Wayne would be at today?”

“Try the art room.” A feminine voice answers, followed by a series of typing noises.

Joyce turns back to the Wayne family and smiles, “He should be in the art room; it’s down the hall to your right, you should not miss it, as it’s in the only hallway that has a series of artwork posted on the walls. Before you go, please sign here."

Joyce hands Bruce a sign-out sheet, to which the man signs and ushers his wards to search for his youngest.

“They’re so screwed.” The same feminine voice speaks, causing Joyce to break out laughing.

It took a total of four different locations for the men to find the youngest Wayne.

First, they went to the art room like Joyce’s co-worker told them to do.

When they got there, Damian wasn't there, but the teacher did show Bruce a couple of Damian's artworks. Bruce couldn't help but feel proud.

While looking around the room, one of the art students told them they last saw Damian playing Pokémon Go near the gym; he was trying to catch a legendary Pokémon that spawned there.

So, of course, after an awkward eye contact with one another, they walk to the gym. Once again, Damian wasn’t there but a different student in his stead. He tells them that Damian was making ice sculptures out of ice cream at the cafeteria. The student then goes on to explain that Damian had some wicked skills with a knife.

Jason, with wide eyes, practically shouted at the student that he was crazy and that Damian would never, and he means NEVER would do something that stupid. The student shrugs it off like it was an everyday occurrence. It was Dick that had to hold Jason back from thrashing the teen. Bruce then apologizes to the instructor for their disturbance, as Tim walks casually behind Dick carrying Jason.

By the time they got to the cafeteria, it was damn near empty aside from a few students still eating. There were no signs of ice cream or the tools that would go into making an ice sculpture. Tim had to ask a few students to see if Damian was in here at some point in time. One of the workers overheard the question and answered him. Evidently, Damian was there earlier making sculptures out of ice cream before handing it out to students.

When they asked the question that has been slowly driving the four insane, the worker replies with: “Upstairs racing on these old colorful scooter board down the halls."

After three locations and no Damian, Tim wanted nothing more but to have a mental breakdown, and he would have if it wasn’t for Bruce holding him up and taking his coffee away.

So, they quickly found themselves on the second level of the school. There was no sight of Damian Wayne, though there were wheel tracks smudged into the flooring.

“Are you kidding me?” Jason shouts out into the ceiling. Thankfully, there were no students in the halls to hear it. Well, that might have been the case if it wasn’t for a teacher to open their door and shh the male. It took every bone in Jason's body not to show the teacher his middle finger.

After a beat of silence and walking down the hall, they overhear a familiar voice.

“Angel, you are desperately in the wrong here. The bear only wears one color, so it has to the color red.” Jason stops dead in his tracks and turns to railings.

The voice was too good to be true.

Looking over the staircase, they find an alcove, and sitting in it is none other than Damian Wayne himself, but he’s not alone.

“I’m telling you, Wayne. Pooh’s favorite color is yellow.” The female answers before taping her fingers as she makes her points, “He loves honey, which is by default a yellow color. He's never seen with a yellow background, and if yellow didn't clash with his fur, he would definitely be wearing it.”

“I disagree. Winnie the Pooh has been drawn on numerous of occasions with red items, not yellow. Case in point, the red balloon, his shirt." He counters. The conversation continues with banters and statements; whether it was true or false is up to debate.

This was not happening.

Tim.exe has stopped working.

Jason.exe has stopped working.

Jaws dropped, a low groaning sound.

They cannot be witnessing this. The most deadliest of the Wayne’s is currently arguing about Winnie, the motherfucking, Pooh’s favorite color.

Bruce has no words. He's practically in the same stance as his middle children. Dick, on the other hand, pulls out his phone and begins to record what remains of the conversation.

No one dares to move or utter out words. This version of Damian is the apocalypse. Nothing in the world is okay.

Slowly, the four Waynes exit the school; no one saw them leave.

Legend has it that Damian never went home that day despite being excused from his classes. When he had returned home, his family didn't utter a word to him. He was meet with either a profusely blinking, unwanted hug or laughter, as they were still in shock at what they just encountered. It wasn’t until a couple of months later that all hell breaks loose. Damian had introduced the family to Marinette.

----

A retouch version of Request #2

[r3inventedd]

How to Master a Champion Ch. 5

Lewis Hamilton x Original Female Character 

Summary: Coming out of the 2021 season Lewis Hamilton has lost all faith in Formula 1 and its rules. He needs a reset, something or someone to make him trust again. Andy Masters has something to prove. She moved halfway around the world for a man only for it to fall apart within months. When an opportunity presents itself to get her life back on track, she takes it without question. But the job is nothing like imagined. 

Warnings: Asshole Lewis at first but he hold out for Soft Lewis / slow burn / co-workers / I know OC’s can be really annoying but give Andy a chance / if any real warning arise later I will update 

Author Note: This is also on AO3 but I figured I would put it here too. Thank you to all of you who read, you make my day x

Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch. 4

Andy did not remember anything from the time she entered the elevator to the moment she met a shivering Marilynn on the rooftop balcony. Neither one spoke for a beat, unsure of what to say or where to start.

“Who else has seen it?” Andy blurted out.

“No one,” Marilynn let out a breath in what felt like the first time in the last ten minutes, “I saw it pop up on Toto’s email and deleted it immediately before forwarding it to you.”

Andy nodded with relief, “That’s good.”

“Andy, no part of this is good. Did you see who sent it? What else was in the document?”

Again she nodded, “A list of complaints about my behavior from Lewis. Apparently I am unprofessional, unintelligent, and power hungry to name just a few of the wonderful things he had to say about me.” Despite the cold, her face flushed with anger.

“How did he find this out? And when did this happen? Why were you arrested for assaulting someone, Andrea?” So many questions were running through Marilynn’s mind. This was the last thing she had ever expected to happen, especially with Andy.

Andy sunk against the wall, slowly falling to a sitting position. Anger, confusion, and shame made up her mind as she thought back to the day. It was not one she wanted to relive.

“I have no idea how he found it. All the charges were dropped within a day. I didn’t even think there would be a record of it,” she felt sick to her stomach.

“But what happened?” Marilynn joined her friend on the ground, her back to the window. She pulled her shawl tighter to her body to protect her from the cold.

Andy was not sure where to begin. It was the worst day of her life, at least she hoped she would never experience such an intense feeling of betrayal and despair again.

“When Ryan and I moved here, our relationship was not in a good place,” she paused to take a steadying breath, “We both knew that things were bad but I was so determined to make it work. Ryan had always complained that I didn’t put the same amount of time and effort in the relationship because of my job. Since I was unemployed, I decided to put the same amount of energy I put into work, into our relationship. So I played the role of the girl I thought he wanted. I went out for drinks and stayed until all hours of the night with the friends he made at work, only speaking when speaking when spoken to and saying all things I knew they’d want to hear. I always had dinner ready when he came home. I even asked his mom for the receipts of his favorite meals.” There was so much disdain and frustration in her voice, but Marilynn knew it was aimed at herself. “If he wanted to have sex, but I wasn’t in the mood I did it anyways. I did everything he liked and never complained when he didn’t reciprocate. I was slowly losing myself, but at least I wasn’t a ball of anxiety anymore.”

“Oh Andy, I had no idea,” Marilynn was ashamed she was not able to pick up on the signs earlier.

“I didn’t want anyone to know,” Andy shook her head vigorously, not wanting Marilynn to feel any guilt. “I was too embarrassed to admit that our relationship was crumbling before my eyes. But it really did get better for a while. One day, I even decided to surprise him at work with lunch for a picnic in the park across from his office. But when I got there, he was nowhere to be seen. I walked around his desk to his computer to check if he had a last minute meeting I did not know about. Instead I saw a reservation for two at a little Italian cafe just around the corner.”

Marilynn looked at her friend with sympathy, knowing what was coming next.

“I knew something was wrong. I knew that he was there with someone but I held on to the hope that it was just a business meeting with a colleague. But when I walked into the restaurant, I saw him with a woman I recognized from the pub we’d gone to earlier in the week. There was no mistaking why they were there. They were sitting on the same side of the booth, cuddled up, feeding their food to each other. When he kissed her, I honestly don’t remember doing what happened next. I think I blacked out.”

Marilynn fought the urge to shout What did you do?  

“The next thing I remember was standing in front of them with two plates in my hand. I must have grabbed two entrees from a waiter and dumped the food all over them. I remember the woman screaming at me as I turned around and walked out the door. Ryan came after me but there was nothing left and we both knew it. He told me he was sorry and I told him the same. That was the last time I saw him.”

Marilynn’s eyebrow reached her hairline, “But did you hit her?”

Andy shook her head no, “The bitch filed an assault charge for dumping the food on her. She claimed the marinara sauce burned her face,” Andy could not help the smirk on her lips, “I was called by the police to come to the station, but before I even got there I got another call that said the charges had been dropped. The next day I found a note from Ryan outside the apartment I eventually gave up that said he’d convinced her to drop the charges and she wouldn’t bother me again.”

Despite the horrible story, Marilynn let out a sigh of relief. She thought Andy had gotten into a horrible fight and beat the girl senseless.

“I’m so sorry that happened Andy, but this can be fixed. Clearly the girl was just being dramatic. No one would blame you for the way you reacted,” her heartbeat was slowing down to a normal pace. They could explain this. It was not a career ending offense.

Sitting next to her, Andy showed no signs of improvement. Marilynn tried to reassure her friend, “Ands, this is not the end of the world. Everyone will understand or honestly we don’t have to tell them. This is not a big deal.”

“Not a big deal?” Andy snapped, “Lewis clearly hired someone to dig up dirt on me so that Toto would have no choice but to fire me. And that list of complaints. I have no idea how I am ever supposed to form a functional working relationship with him now. And honestly, I’m not sure I want to.”

Marilynn felt panic taking hold of her chest, she reached for Andy’s hand. “Do not say that. Andy, you have not lost. That email will never reach Toto. Anyways, those complaints are completely unfounded. Anyone could see that.”

“It’s not about what other people think,” Andy raked a hand through her hair, “I don’t know if I can be in a room with that man, let alone work with him. He violated my privacy and I am not sure that is something I can forgive. “You don’t have to forgive him, you just have to tolerate him,” Marilynn pleaded.

“But at what cost?” Andy questioned, exasperated by the whole situation, “I’m barely sleeping and when I do, he’s there haunting me. I’m terrified to open my mouth around him, even breathe near him. And on top of it all, he wants me gone. Maybe I should do something to finally make him happy and just go home.”

Marilynn twisted herself to her eyes, flinching at the cold stone. She grabbed her friend’s shoulders, forcing her to look her in the eye, “You are not going to let him win. Do you hear me? He does not get to push out after everything you have done. I saw the presentation you put together for his sponsors. You absolutely killed it. You got seven major brands to change their contracts with zero stipulations in one meeting. You were made for this job, whether he likes it or not. At this point, I don’t give a flying fuck what makes him happy. I want to see you happy and thriving at this job. If I have to force happy pills into his stupid vegan smoothies I will. Do. Not. Let. Him. Win.”

Andy heard and appreciated everything her mentor said, but she needed time.

“Give me a night to process everything. I need to figure out what I want.”

Marilynn let go of Andy’s shoulders in defeat. She knew that there was nothing more she could say. Only time would tell if Andy was willing to persevere.

“Take the rest of the day off. I’ll clear it with Toto, make up an excuse about a family emergency or something. Let me know your decision tomorrow morning. I’ll respect whatever you decide.”

Andy nodded in thanks. The two women helped the other get to their feet. Marilynn gave her friend a reassuring smile that Andy could not bring herself to return.

Having nothing left to say, Andy left Marilynn on the balcony to go collect her things. On her way to her desk, much to her chagrin she ran into Toto. He was just exiting his office, no doubt on his way to another meeting. “Ah, Ms. Masters,” any hope that he would just smile and keep walking evaporating, “I heard about your presentation from Marilynn. I must say I’m very impressed.”

Andy gave him a smile that did reach her eyes.

“Have you told Lewis?”

Andy nearly flinched at the name, “Um not yet sir. He has a busy day. And actually I had a family emergency come up so I am going to leave a bit early.”

“I hope everything is alright,” concern flashing across his face. Guilt washed over her for lying to him.

“Yeah, I think it will be fine but I’ve got to help my mom figure a few things out. Help in any way I can across the world,” she shifted back and forth on her feet, wanting to end the conversation and get the hell out of the building as quickly as possible.

“Well take all the time you need. Tomorrow I’ll have Marilynn schedule a meeting between the three of us and Lewis so that you can deliver the news. I want to see the look on his face when he realizes that I was right about you all along.” Andy’s heart broke a bit inside her chest, thinking about the real possibility that she would not be there in the morning.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, Mr Wolff. I appreciate it more than you know,” Andy said. It felt like a goodbye.

“Don’t mention it, yeah? Just thank me by getting our Champion ready for next season,” He gave her a quick wink before continuing on to his destination.

Andy felt tears pricking at her green eyes. She gathered her things as quickly she could, taking the stairs to avoid any more surprise encounters.

As she exited the building she saw Ed waiting for her. She silently thanked Marilynn for calling him. She was planning on walking all the way home if necessary.

She climbed into the car, trying to keep the tears from falling.

“Everything alright, Ms. Andy?” Ed questioned, peering at her through the rear view mirror.

“No,” she sniffed, not having any strength left to lie.

Ed was silent as he put the car in gear and began to drive. Andy stared out the window, watching the rain drops collect on the glass. She never much cared for the rain, but right now she was grateful for gray weather, not sure if she could stand the sunshine.

It was a good ten minutes before she realized that she did not recognize the buildings around her.

“Um, Ed? I thought you were going to take me home,” a spike of panic in her chest.

“Indeed I will,” he took a left turn down a narrow street, “but first I’m buying you a pint.”

…

The pub was small, covered in dark wood and local sporting memorabilia. Local soccer team jerseys were hung proudly alongside Mercedes racing kits. Andy did her best to avoid looking at anything that had to do with F1 as she sat next to Ed at the end of the bar.

Ed had just ordered two pints of beer, which he informed were both for her. Andy cracked a small smile at his generosity, but said nothing. She had no idea where to start and she was not sure she wanted to.

“Since it’s clear you’re not ready to tell me what ‘appened,” he gave her a sideways glance, “I’ll tell you about mine.” Andy was grateful to listen to someone else’s life for a change.

“It started off well, I picked up a charming las and took her to work,” And blushed as she took a large sip of beer, “But it all went to rubbish when I got a call but my son’s school letting me know the little bugger got into scrap with some other lads.”

Andy’s eyes widened in surprise while Ed sighed in clear disappointment.

“You do all you can to raise ‘em right but once they're out in the world, it’s up a creek from there. He’s been having some trouble with a particular bloke that always seems to tear the mick out of ‘im for anything he does. The kid always makes my boy the butt of the joke, embarrassin’ ‘im in front of all ‘is mates. According to Oscar, my boy, the cantankerous little knob was rippin into ‘im for getting friendly with a heavier girl in their year. I won’t go into detail as I’m in the presence of a lady, but the words he used were less than gentlemanly.”

Andy could imagine the horrible things a middle school aged boy could say. That had to be the worst time in every kid’s life.

“My boy was getting tired of listening to the sod go on and on about a young woman ‘e finds quite charming. So the boy decided to give ‘im a right pop in the eye. Of course, the rest of the lads joined in turning it into an all out brawl. The hormones running through these kids' bodies,” he shook with amazement, “It’s a wonder they survive it.”

“I think I barely did,” Andy commented, taking another sip of her drink.

“Only by the skin of our teeth,” Ed chortled, deep and full of mirth. “But I couldn’t just let the boy off without giving him a good talking to. Violence is not to be tolerated in my house.”

“Here, here,” Andy raised her glass in solidarity.

“So I sat ‘im down and I said to ‘im ‘Oscar, you got to learn ‘ow to rise above all the rubbish.’ The lad has got to learn that there ain’t nothin we can do about ‘ow other people treats. All we can do is control the way we deal with it. If we all let one rotten egg control our life, every single one of us would get nowhere real fast,” Ed studied Andy as she shifted uncomfortably before finishing off her first drink, going right to the second. She found the story fit a bit too much with her own situation.

“Ye’ can take it easy on that brew, darlin,” Ed said, a bit bewildered by her large gulps. “It ain’t gonna run off.”

Andy set down the glass, a bit self-conscious of her ability to down a beer.

“Sorry, it’s just been a very long day and that story hits a bit too close to home.”

“Call it a father’s intuition,” He gave her a knowing look, waiting for her to elaborate.

Andy sighed, feeling like she owed it to him after he bought her two drinks.

“I’ve got a bit of a bully myself,” she looked at Ed to see if she could stop there. Raised an eyebrow waiting for her to continue, “It’s actually my boss. From the moment he saw he, was determined to hate me. Which sucked, but I was working through it. Trying to see it from his perspective and have a little empathy for his situation. I spent the last week working on a deal that would keep him from losing some very lucrative deals and it was all for nothing.”

“And why is that?”

“He went behind my back and hired someone to look into my past for anything remotely fire-able. Even accompanied the evidence with a dissertation on why I am utterly incompetent at my job. He can’t fire me himself so he’s doing everything he can to make it impossible for the company to keep me.”

Now it was Ed’s turn to be speechless. “And I know that I should just let roll of my shoulders but I don’t know how the hell I am supposed to be in the same room with him, let alone work for the fuck. Excuse the language.”

“Why do you feel the need to let it ‘roll off your shoulders’?” Ed questioned. Andy took another long chug of her beer.

“Because it’s the opportunity of a lifetime with a company I could have only dreamed of working with,” Andy explained as if it were obvious.

“But you ‘ave to keep working the bugger?” he asked. Andy nodded her head ruefully, fighting the urge to band her head against the wooden bar. “Well Ms. Andy, not that you need my advice, but you should kiss that place goodbye.”

“What?” She was not expecting such a blunt response.

“Clearly that sod is out to get ya.”

“Well yea, but don’t you think I should stick it out to prove to him and myself that I can do it?” This was not the victory pep talk she’d anticipated.

“Why? Just to be miserable for the sake of money?” Ed retorted.

“Because I know that I can do it! Because I’m tired of letting other people dictate my life. Because I did not leave everything behind just to go home empty handed with my tail between my legs.” Andy was growing frustrated with the driver. How could he tell her to give up so easily?

“So it’s for pride?” Ed watched with a skeptical eye.

“No! Well maybe a little. But mostly because I genuinely believe that I can help get him back on track and help him be better than he’s ever been. I know there’s good in there somewhere, I just have to find it.” Andy said in defiance.

It took more time than she would care to admit to realize the knowing smile on Ed’s face was due to the satisfaction of getting Andy give herself the pep talk she needed.

“Oh that was some Jedi shit, Ed.”

Ed gave a great big laugh before ordering one last beer for her and a soda for himself. As she laughed from a joke he made so hard that she nearly snorted her ale, she found herself thanking the universe for bringing her so much pain so that she could meet the man that redirected the course of her life.

…

The rain and gloomy skies had given way to a brilliant blue sky as Lewis walked into the Mercedes office with a spring in his step. He had yet to hear anything back from Toto, but considering that Andy was nowhere to be found the previous afternoon he assumed it had all gone according to plan. He blamed Toto’s pride for the lack of response to the information he sent to him. He did not mind. In fact the fact that his friend and boss was too angry to respond made the victory all the more sweet.

He greeted the receptionists at the front desk with a wide grin. Telling the brunette how lovely she looked in red. Nothing would ruin his day.

“Morning Russell,” announcing his presence to the younger driver leaning against the wall scrolling through his phone.

“Morning, Hamilton,” George replied, looking up in surprise from his phone.

“It’s a beautiful day isn’t it? So much potential in the air,” Lewis smiled to himself as he waited for the elevator.

George's eyes narrow in confusion, puzzled by his teammate’s sudden change in demeanor. The way Lewis was smiling to himself did not offer any comfort.

Once the elevator doors opened, Lewis stepped inside holding his hand in front of the door to keep them from closing. “You coming?”

George shook his head no, “I’m waiting for Andy. Thanks though.”

Lewis’s forehead crinkled in confusion, “What for?”

“We always meet each other in the morning now. She brings me coffee,” he said matter of factly. The lines in Lewis’s forehead deepened deeply bewildered at the statement. He had never noticed the two of them together, certainly not that they had developed a morning ritual. It irked him in a way that he did not understand

“Well,” he prevented his train of thought from going any further, “I’m afraid you’ll be waiting for a long time mate.”

Before George could ask him what he meant, Lewis let the doors close and take him to the third floor. Per usual, his day was to start with training. He would have normally driven with Angela, but she had to spend the morning with her family. Lewis did not mind, knowing that she already sacrificed so much of her time for the sake of his fitness everyday.

He exited the elevator and made his way to drop off his things at his locker. He smiled at everyone he passed. The surprise on everyone’s faces was not lost on him. He knew that he had been somewhat unsavory since the end of last season.

It was never his intention to let his personal feelings seep into the rest of his life, but the pressure he’d been feeling was crushing him. Every person that spoke to him either treated him with pity or satisfaction at him finally being dethroned. Walking into Mercedes for the first time since contemplating retirement was one of the hardest moments of his life. All eyes were on him, waiting with bated breath to see when he would crack. He could not stand it.

When he learned that Toto had brought in an outside person to “work with him,” it made him feel like a broken toy in need of fixing. Then to see that she was so young and inexperienced, it felt like a slap in the face. Not only did he need constant supervision, in people’s eyes, he was such a lost cause they were willing to take a chance on a girl who could not handle the pressure of Formula One. If he needed anyone, it was someone with a backbone.

A smirk found its way onto his lips when he remembered that the little problem had been taken care of and he was ready to focus on getting into the best racing shape of his life.

A voice from the back of his mind reminded him that he still had to answer to his sponsors, would need to start coordinating all of his own meetings and events, find care for Roscoe when he was too busy, book his own flights, and deal with the press all by himself. A tightness in his chest began to form, but he pushed it away deciding that a run would help clear his head.

But that voice was not going away no matter how loud he made his music. He needed help. I wonder how that could have been solved, the voice taunted. Shut it .

[ghostcat3000]

Fanworks Festivus Masterpost 2022

A recap of all the glorious fan-created AU work folks posted for Fanworks Festivus 2022:

MeropeMerope - who took a very strange mood board and prompt from me ["ok. so one of them is a chef, the other is writing a paper or a book, I don't know, in some far-flung locale, here, have some Dreyer and Marker, a little Dickens, etc."] and sprinkled her Meropian magic on it and made something wonderfully vivid and true―go read chapter one of 62 Degrees North.

@peacestew - who made a beautiful edit for the above story, and I legit got caught in a loop of trying to figure out what Isak was doing with his mouth. this sentence reads all kinds of wrong, but seriously, the psychological gesture is REAL yo. apparently, there are more edits coming??? I guess we'll all die then.

Mellibean - a gorgeous Rest Easy-inspired Scandi-Noir landscape.

@kardemama - a favorite exchange from The Boyfriend Experience (co-written with @irazor) in embroidery form.

@laurasztuff - stunning, surprising SKAM coffee art.

@kosegruppie - a supercut of all the subtle ways an annoyed Isak Valtersen can utter the name "Vilde."

@nightlocktime - not one but TWO fantastic edits of the incredible Emma Suárez in Julio Medem's La Ardilla Roja, aka the inspiration for my current story, the red squirrel.

@beyondthedreamline - a sweet slice of Austen's Persuasion in clay form―half-agony! half-hope!

@angel-in-the-city-blog - a sweet graphic of a snow-covered Second Avenue Deli from III. Rondo: Allegretto Moderato.

@heihallohadet - a Warholesque deconstruction of Bart van der Leck's The Cat.

@alterlove2021 - a graphic of Botsak in his dented cardboard box from The Boyfriend Experience.

@teejaysnow - the romantically comedic The Dick Pic Fic - a perfect one-shot from the master of funny.

@ansveni - a sweet pencil sketch of a rainy day feline.

@mrsrobinson11 - exploring what happens when soul mates meet at the wrong time, namely when they're already married to other people. Read the first chapter of Everything Depends Upon How Near You Stand to Me.

@whatwillthegirlbecome - not quite fanwork, but still a beautiful reminder―via the masterful Sharon Olds―of how poetry distills experience in a way that just gets to the heart of things.

@art-vandeley - a beautiful portrait of a beautiful Isak. no one does it like a.

* * *

Thank you so much to all participants! A huge thank you to those of you who gave me offline gifts too. All gifts, whether private or public, were so lovely, thoughtful, and kind. There was a lot of smiling and some misty-eyed nonsense from my end. Fandom has been very good to me.

Part of the fun of soliciting these kinds of gifts is knowing that they will be enjoyed by others. I hope that these brought you some joy as well.

Huge thank you to those who don’t usually do this sort of thing–you have my love and respect.

And to those of you who are pros–thank you also–you're very generous.

If I accidentally missed your entry, please message me. I was out enjoying wi-fi-free nature all day, so it’s quite possible I missed one here and there. I'll be sure to add you.

For everyone else, please go check out these posts and bask in the wonderful talent. And thank you for celebrating my birthday with me in 2022. 😻🎂💗