#which means i'll also need to go back and tag all the times we've talked abt it before at some point..

[thegreatyin]

they know their audience already

[hesbuckcompton-baby]

Better Off - Bernard DeMarco x OFC - Chapter 13

Masterlist | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12

AO3

Summary: As she adjusts to life without DeMarco, Susie finds catharsis with the arrival of a new face at Thorpe Abbotts

Warnings: none

Word Count: 2.8k

Tags: @xxluckystrike @latibvles @footprintsinthesxnd @mads-weasley @joyfulbookreviewmarvelspy @justheretoreadthxxs @blakelysco-pilot

A/N: I'm so sorry this chapter has taken soooo long. I got really stuck on this one for some reason, and I've rewritten this chapter several times, but I hope you enjoy it!!

Hiya Suze

If you get this letter, it'll probably come as a bit of a surprise. By now I'm sure you've got my footlocker - which means you've read what I left inside as well. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that I meant every word, but I'll say it all again if you want. I was nervous when I wrote it. I wasn't sure you'd wanna hear what I had to say, but now I know you'll need it.

I'm alive. I love you. I miss you every day.

I got picked up with Gale and some of the others when the plane went down. We're in a POW camp now, but it ain't so bad. We got beds and food and we're all here together, so I don't want you to worry. There's a library here too, which'll probably be getting a lotta use if I'm here a long while. You should send me a list of your favourite books, I'll see if I can find any of them.

Look after Meatball - make sure he doesn't forget his Pops. I'm only allowed to send one letter at a time, so I left a note at the end of this for my folks. If you'd mind passing on a message to let them know where I'm at, that'd be swell.

I dunno how long this'll take to get to you, but do me a favour and write back as soon as you can. I wanna hear everything, even the stuff you think's boring, cuz knowing you I'll only get a paragraph back if you edit that stuff out.

It's cold here without you. I'm not really a praying man, but I pray this will all be over soon so I can see you again.

All my love,

Benny

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Susie wasn't quite sure how many times she'd read Benny's letter, poking through the words over and over and over again until she could practically recite them from memory. She knew whatever the real number was would undoubtedly be embarrassing - there was mercy in not knowing. No one said a word when she slept with it tucked beneath her pillow.

Dear Benny

I've started calling you Benny now that you're not here. It still feels weird. I went to see my sister Beatrice after you went down, before I knew you were ok. She's divorcing her husband, and we talk on the phone a lot. I think we're doing better. It's nice.

Not much in the way of news to report. We've had some bad missions lately - I hope at least some of them end up where you are.

I think Maeve fancies one of Rosie's crew. Not sure which one yet. Will let you know once I figure it out. She says hi, and also wants to know if you'll sign off on letting her look after Meatball when I'm busy (He's still not allowed in my truck. Not happening.)

I know you can only send letters every now and then, but I don't know how many you can receive. I'll keep writing whenever anything letter-worthy comes up - let me know if you get them.

I hope it's not too long before I hear from you again.

I miss you too.

Susie

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

I love you, I love you, I love you.

Why was it so hard to write down? He wasn't even here - she'd never have to see the way his face lit up when he read those words, imagining them with her voice. Perhaps that was why. Perhaps, as difficult as it was for her to say, Susie could only bear to say it to his face. She stared at the letter in her hands, fighting the sudden urge to ball the paper up in her fist. He deserved more than these words - something substantive and real and tender to keep him going wherever he was. But when Susie reached for those things, nothing came.

With a sigh, she slotted the letter into its envelope.

She squinted against the icy wind as she stepped outside, letter tucked in her pocket, wrapping her coat tighter around herself, knuckled turning red and sore in the cold. Her scarf flapped back and forth, loose strands of hair catching in the corner of her mouth, and Susie almost lost her balance as the weight of another body fell against her, arms flung around her neck as she tried not to skid against the gravel. "Fuckin' hell," She chuckled, Maeve's laughter ringing in her ear as the girl planted her feet firmly back on the ground, falling in step beside her, arms still slung around Susie's neck in a sideways embrace.

"Morning," Maeve chirped, gloved fingers drumming an incoherent rhythm against her shoulder.

"Where've you been?"

"Took Meatball for a walk before breakfast. Saw Blakely - he says we should come by the O-Club for drinks since we haven't been in a while. Oh, and fun news for you," She had begun to smirk.

"Oh yeah?" Susie asked, pulling her scarf up to warm her chin.

"They want you training the newbie today."

Her expression contorted into an immediate grimace at the prospect. "Oh, no, I was supposed to go up to Norwich today."

"Yeah, they've given me that job."

"Are you fucking kidding?"

"Nope. Apparently she's from London."

Susie groaned, leaning sideways with her full weight until Maeve had to stagger to keep upright, a giggle escaping her. "Oh, come on," She whined. "Bet she's never seen a single-track road in her fucking life."

"Yeah, alright, Manchester," Maeve scoffed. "Get off yer high horse."

Shrugging the girl's arms off from around her, Susie snorted, readjusting her scarf. "Yeah, yeah. Just lemme go deal with it, unless you have someone else's job to steal."

"I'm happy just taking yours, actually," Maeve teased, laughing as Susie elbowed her in the side.

"Whatever. Just need to post this letter and then you can fuck off."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The engine of Maeve's truck roared as she pulled out of the ATS depot, heading out on the job that should have been Susie's. As she watched her go, she sighed. She'd never imagined anyone could yearn to go to Norwich, yet here she was. Drumming her fingers impatiently against the back of her clipboard, she crossed the yard towards the furthest garage, where her truck was parked.

A girl was standing awkwardly beside it, staring down at her feet as she tugged at her jacket, which didn't quite fit her properly. Her jet-black curls were pulled back into a tight ponytail, so neat that Susie found herself pondering at how long it must have taken.

She paused, glancing down at her notes. "... Private Banerjee? Yes?"

The girl looked up with a start, clearing her throat nervously. "Eva's fine. But yeah - no, yeah, that's right."

Susie paused a moment, slightly taken aback by her anxious exuberance. "Jesus, how old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"... Right. And you can drive?"

"Mhm. Although they said they're not letting me have a truck for a while."

"Well then, it's a good thing I'm in charge," With a shrug, Susie strolled past Eva and around the truck, patting a hand against the bonnet. "Hop in. Driver's side."

Eva moved before she had quite processed the instruction, pausing after her first step. "Wait. Seriously?"

"That's an order, Private," Susie called as she climbed into the passenger seat, a glint in her eye that suggested she was enjoying this. The new girl slid into her seat hesitantly, slightly put off by this.

"I think we'll just do a lap of the base first, 'n I'll show you where everything is."

"Yes, sir... Ma'am?"

She pulled a face. "I'll call you Eva if you call me Susie."

Eva chuckled. "Deal."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The engine hummed quietly as the truck rested on the side of the road, windows rolled up against the winter cold as Susie pointed out the buildings that surrounded them. "That's the mess over there, and past it's the Officers' club," She grunted slightly, shuffling forward in her seat to get a better view. Eva craned her head, squinting as her gaze followed the line her finger made.

"What's this one?" She asked, gesturing to the closest hut.

"Debrief. You probably won't need to go in there, though."

"What's debrief?"

"It's where they send the flight crews after a mission - go over everything that happened, get a count of who went down, yunno."

At the mention of lost crews, Eva seemed to tighten, her shoulders going stiff as she sat back in her seat, staring down into her lap. Susie watched her for a moment, letting out a sigh. Propping a knee up on the seat, she turned to face her.

"Hey," She offered gently. "I'm not gonna lie to you and say this job's easy, that wouldn't do you any favours. We live around these guys and, yeah, sometimes it's hard not to get attached. You might meet someone who means a lot to you, who you swear you couldn't bear to lose. I've-" Susie paused. "... I've heard that can happen, anyway."

Gnawing at the inside of her lip, Eva nodded, tearing her gaze away from the hands folded in her lap. As she glanced up, something caught her eye, and she paused for a moment, a slight smile curling her lip.

"... Is she your sister? She looks like you."

Caught off guard, Susie looked up, noticing the old photo of Ellie still stuck to the rearview mirror. She felt her hand twitch, fighting that old recurring urge to snatch the picture away, to keep her a secret clutched tight to her chest.

But the thing was, Ellie would have never wanted to be anyone's secret. Ellie's dreams had been far too big for that.

"Uh, yeah. She was prettier than me though."

Eva's smile widened, and Susie couldn't tell if she hadn't noticed her use of the past tense, or if it simply didn't bother her.

"Yeah, mine was too."

The reply caught her by surprise. People always offered condolences. No one ever seemed to understand her. In spite of herself, she smiled. How long had it been since Susie had thought of her sister and smiled?

"What was her name?" She asked slowly.

"Sruthi," Eva nodded. "She was born back in India, and then my parents had me when they moved here. I think when they named me they wanted me to fit in with the other English kids, but I was always a bit jealous of her."

Susie chuckled, nodding. "Mine was called Ellie. She was annoying, but in that way younger siblings always get away with, yunno?"

Eva laughed in agreement. "Oh, yeah - I was always like that. Jumping on her to wake her up in the morning-"

"She did that too!" Susie blurted loudly, suddenly realising she was grinning - really, truly grinning. The pair chuckled, easing into comfortable silence. Outside the window, a group of flight and ground crew wandered past, chatting to one another, bundled in their coats and scarves. A flash of reddish hair marked Charlotte out among them, Meatball weaving between her legs, his leash secure in her hand.

"Why is everyone stealing my dog today?" She muttered, temple pressing against the cold glass as she angled for a better look.

"They let you have a dog?!" Eva gasped, shuffling forward on the edge of her seat as she searched for him.

"Well," Susie shrugged, pausing to rummage in the glovebox for a snack. "He's my partner's dog really - he brought him over from Greenland, but he's in one of those POW camps, so I'm looking after it. He's kinda becoming communal property though."

"Shit, I'm sorry," Eva frowned, accepting a slightly crumbled biscuit as the packet was offered to her, the two pausing their conversation to chew for a moment. "I always wanted a dog."

"I'm more of a cat person. But Meatball's pretty good."

"His name's Meatball? That's, uh-"

"It's a stupid fucking name."

A burst of surprised laughter escaped Eva. "Yeah, it kinda is."

"It's like naming your dog fucking Sandwich, but it was already very much a thing by the time I had any say."

Smiling, Eva propped her elbow up against the door, resting her chin against her knuckles.

"... What's your boyfriend's name?" She asked tentatively.

"Benny. He is the most annoyingly persistent person you'll ever meet in your life, but it's literally the only reason we ended up being friends in the first place. So I s'pose it was worth it."

It fell quiet again, the type of quiet Susie didn't feel an intense need to pierce. She could sit in this for a while. If she hadn't had a job to do, she would've.

"Alright, c'mon. Let's finish up and head back."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The passenger side door shut with a slam as Susie climbed out, clipboard wedged under her arm as she wrapped her scarf back around her neck against the chill, which showed no signs of subsiding as the morning trailed into afternoon. A puff of breath materialised before her as she rounded the truck, coming up to Eva's window as she cranked it down.

"Not much else I can give you to do today, but if you're back here at eight-thirty tomorrow we'll get you on something. I'll speak to the bosses and see if we can get you a truck a bit sooner, it'll just make things easier."

"Okay," Eva smiled. "Thank you."

"Yeah, no bother," Susie shrugged, glancing down at her notes. "I've got some stuff I've gotta deal with, but me and some of the other girls were gonna head to the Officers' club for drinks later if you wanna come."

"Uh... no-"

"Oh, yeah, no worries," She nodded, frowning slightly.

"No, no! Only because I don't drink, s'all. It sounds nice... I was wondering if I could maybe walk the dog sometime? Or come with you when you take him out?" Eva asked sheepishly, suddenly awkward in a way that made Susie fight the urge to smile.

"Yeah, that sounds good," She smirked. "Come by the hut whenever, he's always happy to see people. He has too much energy for me anyway."

A grin creased the younger girl's cheeks. "Alright!"

"Alright," Susie chuckled, patting the truck door with a thud as she took a step back. "Take her into the garage and then you can head out."

"Yes ma'am."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

DeMarco's gloved hands lay folded across his chest, his back propped up uncomfortably against the bedframe, breath freezing in front of his face. With a bored frown, he watched the spider in the corner of the windowsill, working away at its web, spinning each silver thread with a sense of purpose he could only yearn for, sitting there in the cramped hut.

Despite the bodies that filled it, the place was quiet, exhaustion lulling the downed flight crews into silence. It had been weeks since he'd slept well, and he'd never imagined he could ache for the uncomfortable beds back at Thorpe Abbotts until now. The guard dogs barked at all hours of the night, searchlights glaring at them through the windows over and over and over, around and around and around.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there, unmoving, just watching. All he knew was that he didn't have any intention of going anywhere.

The floorboards creaked loudly as Brady hurried in, a handful of envelopes clutched tightly in his gloved palm. The energy in the room shifted, like a pack of dogs whose ears had suddenly pricked. Post came unpredictably, and when it did it always promised to either lift the spirits or crush them entirely.

One by one, Brady sifted through the letters, calling out their anxious recipients.

"DeMarco," He said, holding up a single, battered envelope.

Stillness immediately shattered, DeMarco leapt to his feet, hurrying towards him and snatching the letter swiftly from his grip. The cold numbed his fingertips, even through the gloves, and it was a struggle to tear through the envelope without damaging its contents, forcing restraint despite the agonising need to read whatever words were encased within.

He unfolded the paper, running a hand across his stubbled chin as his eyes scanned through the loops and curls of Susie's handwriting, a grin spreading across his expression as he went. It wasn't until Bucky chuckled beside him that he realised how widely he was beaming.

"What's got you smiling?" He asked with a smirk.

DeMarco let out a breath of laughter, looking up from the page.

"She called me Benny."

[oddp1ant]

Talking here instead of in the tags on this post because. My head is steaming.

This version of Viktor is 1) human and 2) older. In my dream reality, this implies that the de-arcanified version of Viktor we see at the end of ep 9 survives, regains physical form but is forever changed by the arcane = a mage, who eventually travels through time/realities to give Jayce the guidance he needs as a child and in the post-apocalypse wasteland, effectively securing the timeline in which he (and the rest of the world or w/e) survives, making it a closed loop. I like to think Jayce is with him for most of it, both of them figuring out their new magical interdimensional existence together.

Ofc, the take I've been seeing most of so far is that Jayce and Viktor were both destroyed in that final moment. I mean yeah, being at the center of hexcrystal/gem/shard activity like that tends to do that to people, as we've been repeatedly shown, but they were also in the weird metaphysical arcane-space when it happened so I'm honestly not sure the same principles apply. If that is the end for them, I guess mage-Viktor was just a product of some other reality where that was the trajectory for him, who due to his magic was able to see all the infinite Bad timelines and took it upon himself to interfere with this one to prevent them, likely nullifying his own and himself in the process. This is cool too, but makes mage-Viktor feel a bit like a random Deus ex machina since we have very little sense of where he came from or how he became what he is.

I may be delusional, but I feel like there's hope in Jayce's face when he sees mage-Viktor. Seeing him human again, seeing him older (something I am personally in tears over - Viktor getting to grow old ;;;;) seems to give him hope that there's a way back, AND a way forward for them!!! Idk. I'm crazy.

[Screencap credit to @lesbian-sansa]

Edit to add: I guess my mind skipped over the option that mage-Viktor is the post-apocalyptic reality's Viktor, who presumably went full glorious evolution, saw that it sucked, and somehow turned himself back to a human form. I guess that lessens the Deus ex machina issue and is also very cool bc we love a villain who spends a thousand years bored and lonely in the desolate wasteland of their own creation until deciding the only way to fix this involves timefuckery and empowering the heroes to take you down before it can happen. There's something so "go sit in the corner until you've calmed down" about it. Also implies that Viktor had the ability to come back to himself even without Jayce, but not before it's too late. Always preventing each other from stepping off the ledge at the last moment, these guys.

Idk which theory I prefer, I think I'll have thoughts about this show until I die

[beesmygod]

today is webcomics day. i am bea and i make "A Ghost Story" - part 1: pre-gaming

webcomic day is a yearly celebration of the art form concocted by the screentones podcast team as a way for people to see how the sausage gets made. my webcomic "a ghost story" has been running for over 10 years, and yet i still don't think i can say i am good at making a webcomic. regardless, the comic is getting made because otherwise i become very, very sick in the head. today i would like to share with you the process of making a page of "A Ghost Story" from start to finish. either this demystifies the process or will make you think im so cool and strong for doing this 2x a week. instead of reblogging this one post until it gets very long, i will be posting individual updates that i will then compile and post on my personal website. block the tags now if you HATE comics and want them to EXPLODE.

if you have any questions, even things like "what the fuck are you even talking about" feel free to ask. i want to feel confident in what i make again and i think sometimes interrogation from an outside source is really

---

that said, let's get started. wait just kidding i want a cup of coffee first, hold on.

ok now im ready. i have a big glass of water. i have coffee. i have a headset for the parts of work that don't involve typing words. i can't type words and listen to some streamer babble in my ear at the same time, so it has to be instrumental music or nothing. i just took my meds so they should kick in after about 30 mins. i woke up late today, which is weird and annoying. but maybe i can work late instead.

first off, i need to know where i'm going beyond this one page. if i dont know where im going with something, then i usually create something that sucks that i have to deal with later. hold on my internet died, i have to reset the router. ok, anyway.

what's rattling around in my brain is that not only do i have to deal with maxine's current predicament, i am also dealing with multiple plot elements i need to wrap back around to from the previous chapter. luckily, im about to put maxine down for a nap, which means i can get back to those other elements:

i need to finish the exposition from the three ankou characters for this story arc establishing their motivations as the oppositional force in the story. the "villain" is not these three specifically, but their boss. they need to have a loose understanding of what's going on in order to communicate this to the audience. god this started turning into a huge ass paragraph so i'll just keep it short there.

we've jumped back to before jack's horrible day from the first chapter of this storyline so we have to make our way back toward that and then lapping it, which means wrapping up his various open threads like:

feeding victoria and learning something new about her

finding out alice is a very exceptional employee who is getting many awards

watching valdo call lily while interrupting her during something personal to ask her for help with maxine's situation.

jack meeting with valdo and lily the day after they first met so jack can just tell them straight up that lily has 4 sisters she doesnt know about.

help that girl with her poltergeist problem. remember that. i've had jokes for this rattling in my head for like 4 years. im going insane.

and also the fucking tilberi!!! that has a point its going somewhere!!! there's a larger menace here!!!

other things to set up the climax of this storyline. sexual tensions, hints at larger emotional problems not immediately evident to the reader

lots of moving parts. and i feel like im moving in slow motion to get to them. i can see them all weaving together in my head, its the process of putting that onto paper that's proving difficult.

ok that took an hour starting and stopping. -_- let me write the next part as i keep brainstorming on how to approach this page. taking a "rubber duck" approach to this might help. heres an image from the last page i worked on (i have a 5 page buffer rn so the site does not match the finished pages) to get us semi-situated.

also because images will help people understand what skill level we're working with here. i need to be able to communicate an idea to the audience; if the art also looks good on top of that, then that's just an added bonus. but the ability to communicate my ideas is sometimes hampered by my lack of artistic skill or comics language ineptitude. like those speech bubbles kind of fucking suck but at a certain point you have to just hit print on what you're working on in order to keep your already glacial pace.

webcomics is a tightrope act where you're also spinning 4 plates at once. the trick is to keep the audience from realizing how many actually fall or how wobbly they all are. the act sucks but technically its not a failure.

[the-possum-writes]

[Daily Routine]

❥Character: Scorcher (Adventure Time)

❥Tags: SFW, domestic fluff, established relationship, gender neutral reader

 ❥Synopsis: Scorcher's day to day life now that he has a partner to worry and run errands with.

 ❥Wordcount: 1008

❥A/N: While I fill out most of the Marshall Lee requests, I also wanted to write something for one of the mostly forgotten bad guys.

❥Taglist: @foxpearlwilder

With a bounty hunter as skilled as him, it's no wonder he'd knock out everyone in the room faster than you can say Mississippi. Gunshots ring out from every direction like an endless rain of projectiles, but it's never been an issue for Scorcher when he transforms into a cloud of ash that indiscriminately fazes through bullets and chokes a couple of his attackers in the process. Those who caught a glimpse of his entire body only saw bright eyes within dark red before going black. The mission at hand is similar to many others in that it involves collecting the bounty of a wanted individual, in this case a criminal leader who is fully armed and guarded, but it's nothing this veteran bounty hunter can't handle. Throughout this entire ordeal, a phone begins to ring from Scorcher's pocket; typically, he would ignore calls at work, but this is his personal phone, and he is unable of ignoring it because it only means one thing. "Hi honey, I'm at the supermarket and there are potatoes on sale; would you like them baked or fried for dinner?" a polite but indecisive voice on the phone asks.

Scorcher weighs his options even when a bodyguard comes charging at him with a knife, to which he twists the guy's hand behind his back, forcing the blade out of his grasp, eventually shoving the person out of the way as he answers. "Both." His tone is short but firm, unlike the person on the phone. "Alright! I'll see you later. Byeee." The other person on the line hangs up, leaving Scorcher to continue working.

With only confident strides, the bounty hunter entered the boss's office after the last bodyguard was withdrawn from service. He barely opened the door with a side step as a bullet hole bursts into the wooden door beside him, Scorcher unfazed despite his cowering target literally backed right into the corner as he continued shooting rounds at the unstoppable bounty hunter, the empty shotgun clicked pathetically with Scorcher right behind the crime boss with his dagger to his throat

"Please, I'll give you anything!" The boss begs for his life by offering all of his riches and valuables, but nothing is more valuable to Scorcher than a job well done. Well, aside from his other biggest treasure.

He readies his blade for the final strike, but it misses its mark when the phone in his pocket vibrates. Without averting his beady eyes from the mafia leader, Scorcher answers the phone with one hand while holding onto the blade with the other. "Hi honey! sorry to bother you again but can you come pick me up at the grocery store? it started raining and I didn't bring an umbrella with me." the caller asks apologetically. Scorcher doesn't verbally respond but the positive grunt was all the confirmation needed. "Be there in five." he adds before hanging up once more.

The last thing you hear before hanging up on him was a pained shout immediately cut short, you weren't new to your boyfriend's line of work so you shrugged it off as you contemplate the rain right outside the grocery store, shuffling your weight side to side as you wait.

The doorknob shuffles a bit as you nonchalantly discuss your day, he isn't the most talk active person but he's a great listener. "...And then I asked the cashier when would they start selling tangerines and she told me that they should be available by next month since that's when the season starts but if you ask me it should start way sooner with all the rain we've been getting. Either way enough about me, how was your day?" you turn your attention to your boyfriend carrying the groceries with a single arm, not only is he strong but also taller than the average person to the point he has to crouch down before entering your shared safe house. "Good," he states by placing the groceries on the kitchen table. His profession has made him plenty of enemies so he had this house specifically built for you. Scorcher didn't have his height taken into account because it was made just for you, but after you persuaded him that you would feel more safer with him around, he was unable to refuse your request to move in.

"That's always nice to hear." you place your own bag alongside the kitchen counter, mainly the stuff you need to make dinner. You're minding your own business by washing the potatoes your bought earlier but the tall presence behind you grabs hold of the vegetables next to you by the counter, you smile to yourself, placing your hand on his. "How sweet of you but I can imagine you're exhausted from work, let me take care of dinner while you lay down a bit okay?" you bring up in a soft tone that makes it impossible for him to decline, Scorcher leans down to place a kiss on your forehead before leaving you alone with the cooking ingredients.

As the cooking utensils and pots begin to clang from the kitchen, Scorcher takes the chance to take out the crystal-like device from his pocket and project a hologram that looks a lot like a laptop monitor. He then throws himself into the couch and calls his company to let them know about today's work. He also unwinds by browsing social media in general, keeping up with what his colleagues are up to and offering his services to possible employers. You carefully move to the side to get behind Scorcher, but there's no way to sneak up on this skilled man. Before you could react, he whirled around and drew you into an embrace, which made you burst out laughing. "I was gonna say that dinner is ready, do you wanna eat first or take a shower?"

Scorcher nuzzles into your neck, prompting you to laugh once more. He may not talk much but when he does it sends shivers down your spine. "Depends, are you for dessert?"

[runningfrom2am]

on the one screen in my town: four

summary:

mason’s life with drew was absolutely perfect, she was happier than ever; until everything came crashing down all at once.

tags/warnings:

drew starkey x fem!popstar!oc, drug and alcohol use, addiction, death, grief, these tags are not exhaustive, idk i'll add to this as it goes on.

wc: 1.9k

disclaimer!!: this part contains a song which i DID NOT WRITE** this is an amazing song by my mother, taylor swift, called “bigger than the whole sky” (i’ll link it here) so yeah i’m NOT claiming to have come up with the lyrics or any of the song AT ALL it just fit the vibes and this is all for fun :)

series masterlist

masterlists

Drew hears the echoing of their piano through the halls of their Charleston house as he sits in his office, trying to finalize all the legal documents and contracts of vendors for their wedding. It's hard when the wedding has been postponed, many of their deposits no longer valid. Not that it matters to him much, but it would be nice to be able to give them a solid date to stick to.

He sighs as he gets up, tiptoeing down the hall, careful not to step on any creaky floorboards as he gets closer to the music. He presses his back to the wall, wanting to listen without bothering Mason. He peeks inside, and the room is in the state it's been for months- papers and blankets everywhere, clothes and abandoned coffee mugs scattered on every imaginable surface. Her "writers cave", as she had jokingly called it before, now looks just as depressing as it sounds.

"Did some bird flap its wings over in Asia?"

He hears the soft tones of her voice now that he's close enough. She was singing so quiet he could hardly pick it up over the sound of the piano, even being so close.

"Did some force take you because I didn't pray..."

The song Mason wrote in the wake of her breakup with Brady all those years ago has now taken on an entirely different meaning for both of them. Drew can hear the shakiness in her voice, the lyrics just slow and torturous enough to leave her attached to the words. Her mother has been gone for months now, and she is doing better with her grief, but Drew can't help but feel like he's mourning not just the woman who would have been his mother-in-law, but also the woman who was meant to be his wife.

It's a beautiful song, and it does take Drew a minute to wrack his mind for its title, placing a weight in his chest when he remembers just as Mason reaches the chorus.

"Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. You were bigger than the whole sky..."

She plays it slower, pushing the keys down harder, more frustrated that she couldn't get the notes just right as her voice shakes, and more frustrated that the association of the song has changed at all. Drew jumps as she slams her hands on the keys, swiping the sheet music onto the floor and turning on the bench. She freezes when she sees him in the doorway, no longer trying to hide. "Honey, hi.." She sighs, standing up and plastering on a smile.

"Frustrated?" He asks, gesturing to the papers scattered across the floor. He knew she didn't need them when she played, he wondered why they were even there.

"Yeah, sorry." Mason chuckles, walking up to him and sliding her arms around his waist in a hug.

"That's okay." He says softly, planting a kiss on the top of her head as he hugs her back. "We've got that dinner and party tonight, are you sure you want to go?."

"I want to go." Mason insists. It's a casual get together with Drew's OBX cast mates, and they promised they would go. It will be the first time he's seen them since the series finished filming relatively recently, and Mason wouldn't want to take that from him. "Besides, I feel like I'm rotting away in this room. I've got to get out." She chuckles, looking around at the messy space.

"Alright. We don't have to stay long, just make an appearance and talk to a few people and then we'll come back, yeah?" Drew says, not wanting to push her, but he does really want her to go, to get out and see their friends who he knows she's very comfortable with. After all, him and Este have been planning this night for a month now.

Mason nods a little against his chest, pulling out of his arms and gently patting his shoulder as she brushes past him, going to start getting ready.

She's eased herself back into events and public appearances slowly, understanding that life must go on- somehow. Especially when she has so many people waiting on her, looking up to her, even if they've kept what happened almost totally private. Besides their close friends and family, including their friends on the cast- which is the only thing Mason is dreading about this.

"I'm scared they're going to be weird." She says to her fiancé as he drives them towards the restaurant.

"What do you mean?" He asks, tilting his head a little bit as he focusses on the road, one hand on her thigh in the passengers seat.

"I haven't seen them since before mom passed- I just don't want things to be like... different. I don't know." Mason sighs.

"They'll be fine." Drew assured her. "Besides, if you're even a little bit uncomfortable, we'll leave. Just tell me and we'll go, okay?"

Mason nods, swallowing as they pull up to the building. At least it's her favourite restaurant, and she knows she can have her favourite food, if nothing else good comes from the night. They park in the back lot, ready to go in through the back door of the space which is closed to the public for the night. She hops out and grabs her bag from the floor of the vehicle, along with a few gift bags she put together for everyone in the main cast. She couldn't make it to the official wrap party, so she wanted to say congratulations to them all while she had everyone in one place.

Drew wraps his arm around her shoulder as they walk up to the building, giving her a gentle squeeze as the door is opened for them and they walk in. It's dark, and quiet, and Mason chuckles a little in confusion as Drew leaves her side, and suddenly the colourful lights flick on- giving the girl a semblance of vision in the previously pitch black restaurant.

"Happy birthday Mason!" A cheering fills her ears as she processes all their friends standing in front of them as all the tables are cleared. A smile crossed her face and she laughs, shocked too see that this is all for her.

"Happy birthday, love." Drew is with her again, reaching for the bags in her arms. "Here, let me take these..." As soon as her arms are free there's someone throwing their arms around her shoulders.

"It's not even my birthday." Mason chuckles, hugging her best friend back.

"Oh please, it's close enough, Mace." Este replies, rubbing her back. "We just love you, and want you to feel celebrated."

"Thank you, Este." She whispered, pulling away carefully with a weak smile on her face. There was only a few days before her birthday, and she had completely pushed the idea of it out of her mind.

"Now, come on, let's get you a drink!" Este is quickly ushering Mason along, not wanting to give her a chance to overthink anything.

Drew chuckles as they quickly walk off, placing the bags of gifts for his cast mates on a table pushed up against the wall.

"Drew." Madelyn grabs his attention and he turns around to look at her.

"Hey, Mads, how are you?" He smiles, giving her a quick hug.

"I'm good! Thank you for inviting us." She smiles, resting a hand on his shoulder. "How are you doing?"

"Uh, I'm good! Yeah. Everything's great. Well, good. We're going day by day." He shrugs, knowing what she was really asking.

"Good. That's really the best you can do." Madelyn nods, looking over her shoulder at Mason and Este at the bar. "Is Mace doing okay? I've reached out but she doesn't want to talk much."

Drew sighs as he follows her eyes over to his fiancé. "Yeah, I mean, she doesn't want to talk to anyone these days. Please, don't take it personally."

"No, no of course not. That's what I assumed." Madelyn nods, watching as JD and Rudy greeted Mason with a hug, careful of the drink in her hand. "If I can ask, any updates on the wedding?"

Drew shakes his head, looking down now. "Not really. She just wants to keep pushing it back and back."

Madelyn furrows her brow, detecting the frustration hidden in his tone, even with his slightly half-hearted laugh. "She'll be ready one day- but I get it. I couldn't imagine having to plan a wedding without my mom. Forget standing there on the best day of my life knowing my mom isn't there to celebrate with me." She frowns, shaking her head just at the idea of it. "Just, be patient with her."

"I know..." Drew agrees quietly. "I'm trying, truly."

"She's lucky to have you." Madelyn smiles at him, patting his shoulder again.

At that, she walks off to greet Mason, watching her words carefully and trying to be as normal as possible. Este made it so clear to the group before the couple arrived that they need to be mindful about what they say about her mom. After all, they had all written up and signed a card for her when they first heard the news, so follow-up conversation about the topic at her birthday party was hardly necessary.

Mason was quick to hand out the gifts she brought for everyone, and after she opened all of hers, Drew had them sent out to the car while they said their goodbyes. Mason had fun the last couple hours, but just wanted to get home by this point.

They step outside, and unfortunately are greeted by cameras flashing at them from the outside of the makeshift barricade.

"Mason! Did you call off the engagement?" Someone shouts, and she just shakes her head, keeping it down as they beeline for their vehicle.

"Mason! How are you coping with your moms death?" A different voice yells, seemingly upset that they're all just being ignored.

"Just get in the car." Drew mumbles to her, keeping his arm protectively around her side until he could open the door for her, quickly closing it.

"Drew! Does it bother you that she keeps moving the wedding?" He tries to ignore all the shouting as he makes it to the drivers side.

"Drew, are you feeling lucky you won't have to put up with a mother-in-law?" The follow up question comes and he snaps, slamming the door he had just opened to get in and pacing angrily over to the photographer.

"Hey! Watch your mouth or you'll never sell another picture again- hear me?" He shouts, getting up in their face as cameras flash at him from seemingly every direction. "Leave us alone- I swear you'll regret it if you don't."

He shakes out his clenched fist and turns to walk away, not wanting to make more of a scene than he already has. He's quick to get in the vehicle and slam the door again, quickly turning it on as Mason hides the tears streaming down her face with one of the gift bags.

Security blocks off the group of people so they could exit safely, driving home to escape reality for a while again.

taglist: @bookishbabyyy @madelynie, @whore-4-drewstarkey, @slut4drudy, @winterrrnight, @totalswag, @sadfury @fullfledgedemo @rafemotherfuckingcameron, @urfaveluvr, @alimaythings, @chenslucy, @s-we-e-t-t-ea, @tahliac11, @ragingsammie, @suzyheartsrafe, @dee127

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[isca-rambles]

Okay, I've been neglecting this side of things for a long while, apologies. Hope everyone has been keeping okay and enjoying all the wonderful fic and edits etc we've been getting from the community over this long hiatus. Can't believe I'm actually getting nervous about the series starting, but I'm just very terrified of things getting too busy and overwhelming for me in the various fan spaces I'm in. I've only known this fandom in a hiatus so during the actual show will be interesting! Going to throw some of my 'theories' in here but they're based heavily on the promos, trailer, and interviews we've seen so if you're avoiding any of that before the show, I'll pop them under a spoiler tag! ...if I can remember how.

Okay, everyone else gone? Good. Right.

So Lucy is going to be a temporary TO until Celina graduates (poor Celina has been a rookie for what seems like actual years but I guess they're saying it's only been under a year sure okay) and Nolan will take over. Seth, Lucy's rookie, will be eager but very awkward and not fast on his feet. I adore him already but please don't fuck this up for Lucy, Seth. I reckon she'll have to give in and go to Tim for advice on how to be a tougher TO, which he'll happily give her after some flirt-teasing. And Tim, likewise, will have trouble with Miles because he's not technically a boot, he's not going to be afraid of Tim the same way real rookies are. Newly therapised and maybe as part of the small doses, he'll go to Lucy for advice on changing up his TO style a little more. Then we get a wonderful balance of them both using each other's styles. Miles has likely left Texas with his family or just his sister to protect them from a situation or a person. Potentially a DV situation, not that I want to throw that around so casually, but whatever the reason I have a feeling Miles is putting on a big front of being cool and flirty (he will absolutely try to charm everyone, especially Lucy, and Tim will be pissed af) but once things get out, he'll show more vulnerability and humility. Tim will, again newly therapised, be able to connect with Miles and help him one way or another. Or, at the very least, be able to understand why he left Texas and why staying here is important. Onto Lucy and Tim. So I have so many different theories for them. I hope we don't miss too much of them getting back to a more comfortable space with each other, and we at least get to see some of the small doses, but I am glad there's going to be a little timeskip (a couple of weeks apparently?) so we can at least have them talking and comfortable. Tim is going to be so fucking proud of Lucy being asked to be a temporary TO and he will 100% be in her corner, if he's not the one who suggested her to Grey/the captain when they realised they were short a TO. There will be flirting. So much flirting. I mean this isn't a prediction we've seen the trailer and teasers. In terms of the bet, they'll get super into it and very competitive. At some point, whether it's during the roundup or something else, they'll start maybe getting too competitive and either someone nearly gets hurt or nearly fucks up, or someone (Lucy or Tim) gets their feelings hurt. They'll pull back a little, maybe after a talk or a fight, and go a little calmer. I can 100% seeing Tim ending up throwing their bet to 'let' Lucy win, because he knows she needs some wins and he just wants to see her happy. Think of Jake fumbling to let Amy win in B99. I can see Lucy also either trying to give Tim the win or refusing for him to 'let' her win, so she tries to throw the bet too. Their rookies will be so confused and it will be wonderful. Also that scene of their shops pulling up next to each other and the rookies running out? I am 99% convinced that's during the roundup and they both race to a call and get there at the same time, so they make Seth and Miles race for the arrest and winning point. Seth's been potentially fucking up so he's desperate to prove himself, maybe something goes wrong and Tim and Lucy call a tie or truce on their bet. But can you imagine if either one of them wins and they say they don't want their winnings, they want a drink/dinner/date/adult conversation? As for messy Chenford, as in hooking up before they're officially back together, I think there's a good chance of it. I'm happy with whatever route they take tbh, so long as they're back together by the end of S7. Messy, slowburn, small doses, secret dating - whatever, just be happy. For *that* clip, it'll be during the Gala. Tim will get mildly injured during a scuffle and Lucy will offer to patch him up. They'll go up to what is either one of their hotel rooms or a shared hotel room for the Mid-Wilshire crew to get ready in.

Now, by this point they have either hooked up before a few times or they're back together, because Lucy is wearing *the* necklace and Tim would probably not be so bold to look at her like that (while looking like that!) if they weren't already in that place. He's going to let her take the lead so he's not going to try and seduce her without her being comfortable with it. And again, the necklace. She's not putting that back on without it meaning she's ready for the next step with him. I reckon the new necklace we've been seeing will be another gift from Tim, maybe a small dose, maybe just a 'fresh start' kind of thing. Could be something she gets for herself. I don't mind either way. So, for me I reckon a) she'll cave and kiss him and they maybe get caught or they end up in bed together b) they're already back together/being messy and the 'we shouldn't' is because people are waiting for them and they could get caught c) she doesn't kiss him in this scene but they cave like seconds or minutes later while she patches him up. They're going to try to misdirect us and do some fakeouts, it's what TV does, but I have faith that they will be together probably by the midpoint of the season, so I'm trying to stay in my positive era and not doom-spiral. Which is pretty difficult while being in a fandom but I'm staying in this era if it kills me because doom spiralling will probably actually kill me. As for the rest? So, Oscar and Jason will likely be the big plot points for 7a, while the serial killer will slowly make themselves known through 7a until becoming the big plot point in 7b. Speaking of the serial killer for the love of god would you let Lucy and everyone else have some sort of reaction to what happened to her? It doesn't need to be a massive storyline, just her her acknowledge what happened to her. Maybe the rookies notice everyone is super on edge or something. Just let them acknowledge DOD again and how traumatic it was for her and for the people who love her. Of course, my constant beg, let Lucy have better friendships. Not just with Tim. Let her be appreciated and loved and not be constantly undermined or spoken down to. I don't need it to be a massive storyline because I know we won't get that, but let people acknowledge how amazing she is. And someone, for the love of god, point out how she jumped from one speeding truck to another to save another officer. Someone other than Tim be in awe of her, right now. My thoughts on the Bailey/Oscar/Jason storyline? I honestly don't care. I think that Oscar will end up helping our lot in taking down Jason, purely because Jason is not letting him run off into the luxurious sunset like we know Oscar always wants to do. Oscar loves chaos but he likes lighting the match and running the other way. He would not want to hang around for whatever Jason has planned so I can see him swapping sides in a heartbeat if it means him getting off lighter.

Monica? God please no. She will probably be back if the set stuff is for the show and not another, but she better be in the process of being arrested or tried or something, because there is no way that woman (who is wanted by everyone, government and criminals alike) is going to be able to run all the way from fucking Argentina back to LA and not get caught. I will honestly be so fucking pissed if she is somehow back without being imprisoned immediately. Just let her storyline end please god. And do not bring back Blair istg. Aaron, my love. My precious angel. We know he's alive in the universe so I guess either he transfers to another station or he's taking off to pursue another dream or job or something and process all the shit he went through on this show. I really really hope he'll be back for at least the Chenford engagement and/or wedding, but I can't hold my breath on that. I'm so mad he was probably let go of for 'creative reasons' and I know this is how the entertainment business is, but it's ridiculous. Tru and Aaron were blessings on this show. I'm angry. Oh, Nyla! So...god I hope they're not going to kill James. Honestly I don't think they will? Maybe that's wishful thinking more than anything else. I hope it's just something temporary that's painful for her to go through and nothing more permanent. Just let them be okay please. New detective guy? Based on the description he might be making things difficult for Wes in professional and personal ways. I don't believe for a single second that Angela would cheat so it's just going to be Wesley being insecure if they go that jealousy route. Honestly I hope they just have Wes being all insecure and annoyed but then he has to work with the new guy on something and they become best buddies and Angela's just like 'wtf?' because yes.

Umm, what else what else. Lucy promotion? I'm not holding my breath but it'll be ridiculous if being a temporary TO doesn't at least give her a boost towards being a P3 and getting her stripes. I know realistically a lot of the characters waited years to get anywhere promotion wise, but Nolan outranking her just makes me bristle. And I love Celina but Lucy should not be the same rank as her for too long. Lucy is constantly fighting to prove herself to everyone, making all these incredible busts while UC and doing some amazing feats and filling in for every other job at the station when they need her to, but she's not getting the recognition and I'm still annoyed about that. Do better, show. I don't think she'll be a TO permanently, but I don't mind it as a stepping stone for her. I really don't see the show letting her be a detective, much as I want her to have her dream. I have feelings about her being UC long-term and I'd rather it not be a thing for her, if only because it'd impact her screen time. Let her do short term UC and let her figure out if UC is for her before she's back with Tim. It is an important point in their relationship, but I don't want her making the decision just for him. I just want her to realise she doesn't have to keep working towards it because she's put so much time in. It is okay for her to change her path. And honestly I could see her being an amazing Captain or Watch Commander. Let her be in charge. Let her be in the position to make changes and team lead. She's amazing with people. Or let her be a sergeant liaison for the FBI it's a real position I've googled it. I just loved her FBI scenes, okay? And if they're going to maybe have the Fed characters on the show more often since their show was cancelled, it'd be perfect. She can still patrol and still be in charge, and then she'll be out of Tim's chain of command. Hmm...what else. Oh, look, I'm pretty sure Tim's mum is dead or they're estranged. I'm sorry, Eric, but come on. She's never mentioned ever! Though hopefully we'll still get a nice family meal with Chenford and Genny and, of course, our beloved Kojo. I really don't want them to bring Ray back honestly but we'll see. I can't think that far ahead atm anyway. And Lucy definitely looks like she's going through it injury-wise from the bts stuff so please let us have Tim looking after her or being worried for her. Give us the comfort after all that hurt. Make it pay-off.I haven't seen enough either way to judge the season finale cliffhanger. There will be one but I'm not sure if it'll be about Tim getting hurt/kidnapped. It'd be nice to see some feral!Lucy but I also want to see some feral!Tim, before and after they're back together. Idk why he's wearing the suit, maybe just a court appearance. I'm trying to think of other theories I've come up with or agreed with. I guess I'll make a new post if I remember any of them. This is mostly so I can have them all written down in one place if I want to be like 'OMG LOOK I PREDICTED THIS' later, even though all my predictions are like shared by 80% of the fandom anyway. Anywaaaay, ramble over. For now. I'll remember something I want to add in like 5 seconds.

[kuriboo]

Hey i hope you don't mind or find this weird/rude. I just wanted to reach out here because i saw you have this blog linked on another account and i also saw you was the one running that ygo server promo'd in tags awhile back? ( a year or so ago. ) i wanted to check in with you if you're doing well? I know you are probably busy with IRL stuff so please don't feel you have to reply to this at all. before realizing i think i know you from somewhere else i wanted to ask if the server still active and chill? i'm shy in big groups so i wanted to check before considering. I hope you had a wonderful christmas/holiday!

i'll be honest anon i have not been doing so hot.

which is why, i'm not entirely sure what other blog you found this blog on (which is totally fine!) (i have an inkling it might be my rp account but i may be wrong), but there is a good chance i have been dead silent there for months.

to put it mildly, i've been overwhelmed with life. i keep having house issues, there are so many health issues going on between myself and family (i may be looking at gallbladder surgery in the near future, and if not that, i need wisdom teeth removed and i have to find a surgeon that takes my insurance for that still. and that's just me.), house issues, car issues, and work. i love my job. i feel fulfilled at my job. my job is genuinely fun sometimes. however things keep happening (client actions) that genuinely fuck with me. like the guy who keeps getting drunk and harassing my coworkers [but not me? but that puts me in a VERY awkaward situation being hte only staff he'll talk to.]

the amount of stress this has put on me is LARGE. which is why i've basically been silent everywhere besides this account (kuriboo) and the yugioh server. and the yugioh server, i love the people that are there greatly, but if i was not running that server my anxiety might keep me from being active there too.

holiday's been good, though! i took about a week and a half off bc i had pto to use up before losing it at the end of the year (i did work a couple hours on christmas but it was the kind of work that renewed my faith in humanity and gave me christmas cheer), i'm out at my brother's place for a couple more days, i've been spending time with family and things have overall been good this past week and a half, house issues be damned.

all of this to say, i'm positive the account you came to kuriboo from has been basically ghosted by me and i feel so bad and i'm very sorry. i've been so overwhelmed that my anxiety won't let me do a lot of things.

The yugioh server is still active! Honestly, more active than ever. Which is crazy to me, haha. It's chill most of the time. I host poll tournaments on there (we're currently running a yugioh villain tournament) and sometimes we get a little over the top about the proproganda of who we want to sway votes towards (i think a powerpoint presentation is being created) (the last match [pegasus vs spectre] devolved into bribes and ended as a draw anyway), but that's like, not the usual vibe.

most everyone currently active is very nice and chill though from what i've witnessed. lots of writers in the server, and we have an rp section in the server that's fairly active but extremely casual [currently there is a huge rp thread going on named simple rescue. it's not nearly as simple as the name implies.] i do rp in this server, and we all encourage each other with writing projects and do sprints together and stuff. that's not to say there's no artists. we've gotten more artists recently! and i love seeing everyone's art <3 it's a fun creative place and this server is the only reason i've done any writing in the past six months or so honestly.

but i mean like, you don't gotta be a writer or an artist or an rper to join either. it's perfectly fine not to. genuinely, i think it's a cool place to see some art and fics. or just talk about your favorite yugioh series, or to get into some yugioh analysis or whatever. there's a whole squad of us watching go rush (not simultaneously) and we just talk about how much of a roller coaster it is.

it's a good vibe for me, and i hope it's a good vibe for everyone else!

if you wanna join we'd be happy to have you!

[snippychicke]

For the Sake of a Smile (V.2) Chapter Sixteen

Title: For the Sake of a Smile (Revised)

Overall Rating: Mature (18+)

Chapter Rating: M for Mature. We've begun the 18+ content

Trigger warnings: Nothing beyond the child abuse hinted in the series, though we do explore the consequences a bit more.

Main Pairing: Balam Shichiro/Reader

Summary: Hell on earth was your motto for your job. Granted, you were pretty sure earth really was hell, considering the shit you had seen in your life. And the fact your coworker was a child. 

A child named Suzuki Iruma, in fact. A kid who’s life was decidedly worse than yours, but yet he smiled despite everything. It wasn’t long after meeting him that you decided you’d do a lot for his smile. Including summoning a literal demon and signing your soul away.

But as it turns out, hell (The Netherworld, actually) was a lot better than living on earth. Demons were more humane than a lot of humans you knew.

And Iruma’s smile wasn’t the only one that would change your life.

Masterlist | Ao3| Mairimashitai! Simps Discord

"...and then Purson started talking, and he didn't quit," Iruma explained in between bites of food. "He went from not saying a word to talking more with one breath than I thought was possible."

You recalled the lavender-haired child that you frequently saw tagging along with the rest of the Misfit class; he was quiet with an unusual apathetic expression on his face. Yet every time you went to ask if he was okay, he'd disappear into literal thin air.

Now, hearing Iruma's story, it made far more sense than the 'apparition haunting the library' like you had been leaning to believe. 

"And then it turns out he's the Pixie! You know, the mysterious trumpet player?"

You, Sullivan, and even Opera nodded. Everyone at Babyls knew about the trumpet player that announced the end of the school day with their vibrant and usually quick-tempo pieces.

"He has to be part of our musical!" Iruma continued with firm conviction. "Not just because he and Elizabetta need to rank up two ranks, but because he deserves the recognition!" 

His determined expression and conviction was heartwarming and inspiring. However, it was also partially ruined by his cheeks puffed with food, reminding you strongly of a hamster hoarding its food.

Well, maybe not not ruined. But the adorable picture Iruma created definitely outshone his words. 

"Why don't you focus on eating now, and plan later," You offered, biting back a smile while Opera pushed the tray laden full of desserts closer to him. Iruma eagerly accepted the idea and helped himself to some of his favorite pudding.

"What about you?" Sullivan asked, turning towards with an innocent smile. "Anything interesting happened today?"

You stared at your food acutely aware of everyone's attention now focused on you, full of expectation. You had heard the rumors that had circulated when Shichiro was late for his class, which had been the Misfits of all classes. 

You knew that this confrontation was inevitable, but you had yet to figure out how to deal with it. Your instinct was to deny, deny, deny, but… you knew that wouldn't work.

Besides, Shichiro was nothing to be embarrassed about. In fact, just thinking about him fills you with a sense of warmth and happiness.

You just… didn't want to share how far your relationship had progressed over the lunch hour. Even if you replayed it repeatedly in your head all afternoon. And had plans recalling every detail when you had time to yourself tonight.

"I mean, I already told you guys we started courting," You said as you stabbed at the eel-like meat. "So of course we're going to spend time together when we can. We just… kinda lost track of time."  

"My baby girl is growing up so fast!" Sullivan cried happily, as if completely oblivious to how not-so-innocent your words sounded. Or, perhaps, oddly delighted considering his next statement. "Soon, I'll be able to hear the little click-clack of tiny clawed feet running around! And my beloved grandson will be a big brother!"

"Dad!" You protested, feeling yourself turn red at the implication. 

You forced that thought away and glanced over to Iruma, a little worried about his reaction to Sullivan's words. After all, he finally had a family he deserved - and you could completely understand if the thought of having to share his family would cause some… issues. 

You could easily imagine being in his place, and the thought of having to share your newfound family would make you very jealous and even angry. 

Except the boy was grinning excitedly, obviously not at all bothered by the idea. Part of you relaxed as you realized he wasn't hiding any pain or anger at the thought.

But still… "We just started courting! Literally yesterday!" You protested as you turned back to your adoptive father. "It's far too soon to think about… about…" 

Children. Babies. With Shichiro.

Taking his huge girth in a different way. 

"Big brother?" Iruma asked, still obviously excited though there was a slight hint of confusion in his eyes. (And thankfully derailing your thoughts, preventing them from going much farther). 

"Look, Shichiro and I haven't had any kind of discussion about this," You stated softly yet firmly, hoping to end the conversation. "And I really think it's too early to start daydreaming about any kids."

Iruma was persistent as he slowly made his way to your side. "But, if you do… I'll be their big brother?"

You gave him a slight frown, confused by his question. Wasn't it obvious? "Well, yeah? Of course."

You soon ended up being tackled by Iruma as well as Sullivan. You squawked in an undignified manner, feeling rather squished between the two.

And then Opera draped themself over your shoulders; a picture in their hand to show you.

It was a photo of a young boy with white fluffy hair smiling at the camera while holding a small lizard creature towards the photographer. You could barely see long, large, too big for his body chick-feet - which made the picture even more adorable. It took you a moment to realize it was a very young Shichiro before whatever caused his scar.

A small squee escaped your throat despite your best efforts as your maternal instincts reared its head, temporarily overcoming your common sense.

He was just so cute!!! It causes your heart to squeeze unexpectedly, lost in those wide dark eyes both so similar and different from present-day Shichiro.

For a brief moment, you could easily see yourself mothering a few mini-Shichiros; those big feet and fluffy hair and that adorable smile, and then Iruma happily helping out and playing with his younger siblings - because he would be an amazing big brother. He'd be so kind and attentive as an older brother, showing interest in whatever they were playing with and carefully teaching them life lessons....

Oh. Devi. They had successfully corrupted you.

"Now dear, you need to cinch the deal and offer him something in return," Sullivan explained as he finally pulled back, a glint in his eye as if he knew your thoughts. "Show him you're just as serious about being in a committed relationship by giving him an Offering of your own." 

"Wait, what?!" 

--+--

Hours later found you no longer floating on cloud nine, but clutching to a plushie as you hid in a blanket fort that you and Iruma had built in your room.

Ever since Iruma's confession about missing the good part of the old days, you had made sure to set time aside at least a few nights a week for just you and him to spend time together. Which sometimes meant building a blanket fort in either his room or yours, and hiding away with plenty of tea, cookies, and occasionally one of the video game consoles to play.

Tonight though, it was just a flashlight keeping the fort lit and a small army of plushies as you brainstormed on the information Sullivan had dumped on you. 

"I have no idea what to get him!" You admitted with a whine as you buried your face in the pink monster plush, feeling less like a mother at the moment and more like a big sister. But, you didn't exactly have anyone else to talk to, and Iruma seemed unbothered by the topic of conversation.

In fact, he had a thoughtful expression on his face as he mulled over your words, squishing his own green frog-like plush. "I think he'll love whatever you get him, really."

"Maybe," You agreed reluctantly. "But… I really want to, you know, impress him." 

You looked at the bracelet on your wrist, which had mostly returned to its normal state. Shichiro had admitted that it had been an impulsive gift, but you loved the uniqueness of it.

You had to reciprocate. 

To your surprise, Iruma giggled. "Mom, I think you're stressing over nothing."

"They're customs are different!" You argued. "What if I fail some sort of standard? What if I do something that’ll make him hate me? Give him something that's rude, or inappropriate, or--"

"Mom, it's Balam," He calmed you, nudging you slightly and stopping your downward spiral. "He knows we're human. And really, it may be a bit different, but I hardly think it's that different. We've made it this far without any issues!"

You huffed, part of you admitting he had a valid point, but at the same time some intrinsic part of you was defiant and insisting that you were going to screw everything up.

"... have you ever dated before?" Iruma offered after a moment, striking at one of the core issues. You hadn't. You had never really been in a position where you felt comfortable to open yourself to another person like this. Sure there were one night stands and casual hook ups, but none that you had wanted to have a long, actual relationship with. 

Which was a big thing that still terrified you on some level. 

Your silence was proof enough for Iruma. The boy sighed, "And all I know are from books and manga…"

You smiled despite yourself. How have you been blessed with such a sweet boy? "Well, we've both had rather hellish lives until…"

"We were adopted by a demon lord and started living in the Netherworld?" Iruma finished with an amused tone.

"Exactly."

Iruma perked up, "Hey! Why don't you give him something from Earth?"

"How? We have no way of getting back." Though the idea was tempting. Knowing Shichiro, he would be elated with anything from Earth. Even if it was a handful of weeds or something like an ant farm.

"Did you bring anything with you?" Iruma asked, awakening an old memory. You did have your purse with you when Sullivan brought you here. So many months had passed since then, however, you honestly had no idea what might be in there.

You scrambled out of the blanket fort and made a bee-line for your closet. You dug to the back of the walk-in where your earth items were stored in a simple box, with your old shirt and pants lay on top. Opera initially wanted to burn them because of the blood and ink from your Summoning ritual - along with the other various stains - but you had protested enough that they had relented.

It… had been one of your best outfits before. Now, you could understand why Opera wanted to trash it as you looked at it. The outfits you wore when you helped with chores looked ten-times nicer. You wouldn't even want to wear the outfit to muck the nightmares' stable.

It was a stark reminder how much your life had improved.

Iruma reached you after you found your purse and was digging through it. But all that was in there were some cheap sunglasses, feminine supplies (which you no longer needed, thanks to the miracle of magic potions to quell your cycle), a few stray bills and coins (the remains of your savings, now absolutely useless), an old tattered book you had bought at a second hand store (well loved and showing the wear and tear of being shoved into your bag), a couple of rocks you had seen and thought they were neat, a thick keyring full of keys you needed for work, some very dried out bubblegum, and half-used lip balm.

Nothing that struck you as something worthy of a gift. In fact, they felt more like harsh reminders of a time when all of these items meant so much to you. So much so that you had to carry them everywhere. 

Now they seemed so utterly trivial and useless.

You sighed in defeat, slumping against the wall and allowing Iruma to sort through the items. What you wouldn't give for something like a biology book. Or a plant of any kind, even a dandelion or tuft of grass.

Would - could - Sullivan allow you to return just to grab something from your old home? Surely there would be something there Shichiro would love….

"I think the books and rocks would be good," Iruma said, holding the items up. "He would like those."

An argument sat on your tongue, looking at the book-- a cute romance story to be sure, but it certainly  wasn't anything really thrilling. And the three rocks were barely bigger than pebbles but caught the light and sparkled faintly, which is why they had caught your attention.

But, you really didn't have any better ideas. And they were from Earth. Would that be enough?

"...if I can't find anything else," You agreed with a sigh, and hoped Shichiro would feel like the meaning of the gesture meant more than the gifts themselves. 

--+--

By the next morning you hadn't thought of a better idea - let alone find something you thought would be more impressive to give to Shichiro as an offering.

So you tucked the book and stones in a small box, then hid them away in your bag as you waited for Shichiro's lunch period. While the morning was filled with helping various first-year classes prepare for the music festival, it still seemed to drag on as you kept worrying about his reaction.

Would he appreciate the gesture? Or would he find it anticlimactic?

Lunch approached, and you went to the cafeteria to pick-up a meal you knew Shichiro enjoyed before making your way to his Prep Room.

Despite your nerves, his office still felt like a safe and cozy space to you. You set down the tray on the coffee table before heading towards one of the many bookshelves to keep yourself distracted while you waited.

If there was a reason behind his own arrangement, it was beyond you. But to be fair, many of the books here were beyond those in the library as well, focusing on advanced subjects in biology--both for creatures as well as botany.

Though in the Netherworld, the line between the two was far more blurred than with earthly plants and animals.

A small chirp caught your attention. You looked up to the mass of vines covering the ceiling, and saw a pair of yellow spiraled eyes looking down at you. 

"Hey baby," You coo'd up at Nigyul, currently the size of a large housecat, smiling softly as you recalled Shichiro's words from the day before. "Are you standing guard up there while papa's out?"

Nigyul chirped again, and before you knew it; he jumped from the vines, apparently trusting you would catch him. Which you did - as well as have a heart attack while you instinctively clutched him to your chest, the breath knocked from your lungs at the sudden weight.

His wide yellow eyes peered up at you, quite calm and maybe happy as he settled in your arms. "You little devil," You sighed after a moment, letting out a breath you didn't realize you had been holding. "Giving me a heart attack. I am not your papa, I am not used to things like that, okay?"

He merely blinked at you, causing you to sigh once more as you shifted to scratch his head. "You're lucky you're so cute, you know? I would say something about looking like an overgrown weed, but you actually are, so…" He gave another chirp - as if he was agreeing with you, making you grin and give into the impulse to nuzzle your nose against his snout.

"Yes, you're a very adorable overgrown weed. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who's told you that. Knowing Shichiro, he's told you plenty of times as well." 

"I have, actually," Shichiro agreed, making you freeze. You slowly looked over your shoulder to where the demon was leaning against the bookcase; rather amused, judging by the crinkled corners of his eyes.

"How long have you been there?" You squeaked, almost sounding like Nigyul.

"I saw him jump down," He offered, making you blush.

"So… you heard all of that?"

"I did," He confirmed, sounding rather pleased. He shifted and walked towards you, easily wrapping his arms around you to look over your shoulder down at the dragon before he murmured quietly, "I…I really like hearing you call me Shichiro."

Your heart seemed to do a series of flips as he focused on the wooden-dragon. "And you need to behave. No giving our lady heart attacks, okay?"

Nigyul chirped again, leaning into Shichiro's hand when the demon stroked the long wild mane as you struggled with your heart pounding between his admission, the term 'our lady' along with his arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you close to him.

"I, uh, brought lunch?" You offered, your voice still a squeak. "I also kinda-got-you-a-gift." The words came out as a rush as you buried your face in Nigyul's mane, breathing in the musty scent of a forest after a heavy rain in an attempt to calm yourself.

"A gift?" He asked, tone full of surprised happiness.

"Mmhmm," You hummed without moving away from Nigyul. "Um, I guess it's customary from what Dad told me?"

His arm tightened fractionally around you, his voice dropping slightly in a way that sent pleasant shivers down your spine. "An offering?"

"Yeah?"

Nigyul moved suddenly, jumping out of your arms and onto the bookcase before climbing up to the thicket of vines. You had no time to react as Shichiro picked you up a split-second later, easily shifting you in his arms so your legs straddled his waist as you were suddenly eye-level with him.

"You have an offering. For me," He repeated, disbelieving as you automatically gripped his shoulders. 

"Was… I not supposed to?" You swore that was what Sullivan had said, but maybe you misunderstood him?

"No - I mean, yes, that is traditional, I just… I wasn't expecting anything," He explained, flustered. You could see pink creeping into his cheeks above his mask.

"It may not be as grand as you're thinking," You warned, fingers mindlessly striking the feathers covering his shoulders as you avoided his gaze. "I didn't know what to get, and well - Iruma convinced me that giving you something from Earth would be a good idea, but all I have was, well, you'll see…"

Shichiro said your name with such tenderness as his gloved fingers touched your cheek. "No matter what it is, I will cherish it. It's the fact that you are giving me something that means the most to me."

You could see the signs of a smile around his eyes, and hesitated only for a moment before reaching up to unlatch his mask; fingers easily finding the small clasps. You could feel him freeze, holding his breath as you pulled the metal away carefully.

"I-I like your smile," You admitted. "I wanted to be able to see it properly."

The surprised look on his face shifted into a smile you barely saw a hint of before he buried his face in the space between your neck and shoulder.

"Are you…embarrassed?" You said as he continued to hide his face.

"Maybe?" He mumbled against your skin, sending goosebumps traveling down your spine. "No one's said that before."

You softened and played with his hair, knowing he enjoyed that, though maybe not as much as during his molt. "I do," You confessed. "I love it when you smile, and I like being able to see it even more."

Shichiro looked up, his nose brushing yours as he rested his forehead against yours. "Devi, you're so perfect. And whatever you brought is perfect as well."

You rolled your eyes despite the smile on your face and the warmth in your chest, "Shichiro, open it first before calling it perfect. You don't even know what it is."

He shifted you in his arms to carry you instead of setting you down, causing giggles to erupt as he made his way to where the simple black box sat next to the food (that was growing cold, easily forgotten yet again). It was apparent that if you thought his skin-ship habit was intense before, you had been sorely mistaken. He made it obvious he wasn't letting go as he settled on the couch before the coffee table and perched you on his lap.

He handled the box gently, carefully opening the lid to reveal the book and three stones nestled inside. Seeing the simple objects made you feel even more awkward. He was going to realize how stupid and silly your offering was, and…

"Amazing," He breathed as he tenderly took the items out. "An actual human manuscript! And rocks! From earth!"

"It's a romance story," You supplied pessimistically, "And they're little more than pebbles."

"I forgot - you can read this, can't you?" He asked as he flipped through the yellowed pages, which surprised you before remembering Sullivan's spell when you first arrived.

"I forgot that you couldn't," You replied honestly, feeling foolish. Iruma had explained that was the basis of how his and Ameri's friendship started--her fascination with 'the forbidden texts' that she couldn't read.

Which was also a cute romance story, now that you thought about it.

Shichiro was quiet, his eyebrows furrowed as he thought. You enjoyed the serious expression, because it was rather cute and also tended to lead in interesting conversations. "Do humans have more than one language--and I don't mean different regional dialects, but a different language."

"Oh yeah," You answered off-handedly, rather thankful for the topic change. "There's easily hundreds - maybe thousands - of different languages. And there's different alphabets and such too, some of which look completely different from the others."

"But if your world is more peaceful, why use so many?"

You sighed, leaning into him a little more, "That… is a very heavy and philosophical question. But honestly, it's not as peaceful as you dream it to be. We may not have the same threats as the Netherworld does, but it's far from a utopia."

Shichiro was quiet as he rolled the stones in one hand, the clacks echoing through the room.

"Do you wish to return?"

You shifted in his lap, able to see the worried expression on his face so clearly with his mask missing. You remembered the conversation from before, of when you thought about how everything would be better if you did. Not for yourself, but for Iruma and everyone else. 

But now….

"No," You stated firmly, cupping his cheek. "I am so much happier here. My life… Iruma was my only joy back on Earth to the point I gave up everything to find him when he went missing. But here… he's not the only thing that makes me happy. Even if, for some impossible reason, he wanted to return to Earth, I would stay here."

His shoulders slumped with relief, and you realized he must have been worrying about that possibility. You leaned up and pressed a kiss to his lips to try and reassure him more.

He accepted and returned the gesture with a surprising amount of desire. Your hands ran from his cheek, down his neck before bracing against his broad shoulders while his hands settled almost hesitantly - touch feather-light. You were a moment away from reaching his hand to press it more firmly to your curves - desperate for the heavy weight of his large hands - when the scream of the class bell broke the silence.

Ah. Right. You reluctantly pulled away from his lips, though remained close enough your breath mingled with his. "I suppose you have class…"

"I do," He sighed, playing with your hair. "Unfortunately. However, my class is just next door…"

"Shichiro!" You laughed, about to argue his implication before he silenced you with a kiss. His fingers gripping you firmly as you shifted, holding you in place.

"Five more minutes," He stated - or maybe plead - between kisses. And well, you really couldn't argue with that.

Although…. "If you end up late to class again, you know we're never going to hear the end of it." 

--+-- Su-Ki-Ma--+--

"Hey Clara, what's it like having younger siblings?"

The green-haired demon blinked at Iruma's question before grinning.

"It's super-duper fun! Granted, when they're itty-bitty they like to cry a lot, but when they get older you get to play all sorts of games with them! And you can teach them all sorts of things! Like when I taught my brothers how to do the Char-Char dance!" She jumped up to show the other two the dance, though it wasn't anything like the choreography that Kerori was trying to teach them. It was wild and chaotic such that would only befit a fast-pace tempo.

"Why are you wondering about younger siblings, Master Iruma?" Asmodeus asked after politely applauding Valac's dance (though he would refrain from ever calling it that.)

The boy flushed as he scratched his neck. "Just, uh, the conversation the other day at home. I realized that someday, I might become a big brother." His usual smile faded slightly as he looked up at the sky through the canopy of the tree they were lounging under. "I've never had siblings before, and I haven't spent a lot of time around little kids either. So, as exciting as the idea is, I'm kinda nervous about it."

"Oh! Iruma-kins can come over to my house!" Clara eagerly offered. "You know my baby sibs! You can have plenty of practice there!"

"I-I have younger cousins that live with me," Asmodeus quickly interjected, not wanting to miss out on the opportunity. "They would be great practice as well! Not that you would need much, Master Iruma! You've already proven that you'll be great with younger demons."

Iruma turned red as he smiled shyly. "Do you think so?"

"Absolutely!" Both demons exclaimed at the same time.

"No matter what, any demon that has you for an older brother will be highly honored," Asmodeus continued.

"Yeah! And they'll also have me and Az-Az!" Clara clapped. "And we can be their big sister and brother too!"

The thought made Iruma relax into a grin. He wouldn't have to figure out what it meant to be a big brother by himself; he'd have his friends by his side. He'd have you, too. After all - before you had officially adopted him, he had seen you as a big sister.

Along with Grandpa, Opera, and everyone else really. Both Sabnock and Kerori had younger siblings, while Jazz and Lied had older siblings. Surely - between them - he'd figure out how to be a good brother.

[pennkquest]

Hello hello! My name is PK and I'm a fervent enjoyer of non-canon ships. I'm not a fic writer exactly but I've been told "Where's the fic OP" twice now by my friends. So I thought I'd format one of my fic-adjacent ramble sessions for Tumblr!

Pairing: Milo/David [No Sweetheart or Angel, wanted to go easy on myself] [MDNI*] [Let's call this "canon reminiscent /lh]

Word Count: 3.2 K

*(I wouldn't consider this smut by any means but there's a few lines that make me want to add this as a tag)

[As a reminder, I diverge from canon quite a bit with this. This is just one route I could see leading to Milo and David getting together]

My vision for this pair is that they start getting closer in a more than just friends way a little bit after Gabe dies. Not immediately because have some decorum, but it would start during that transition period for David as Alpha. Asher is trying his best to help but is also grappling with the whole Beta thing, so he feels like he's in a complex position. But him and Milo can see that David's not doing great so Milo's like "Fine, I'll bite the bullet" and tries to confront David about it.

At first it's subtle, asking David if he needs help with something, if he wants anyone from the pack to stay after for meetings, if he wants them to pick up a shift so he can have the day off, etc. But David is too stubborn to accept any of it so he keeps brushing them off. This ends up culminating in a "fight" one day where Milo again tries to make an offer that David shoots down. Milo sort of snaps and is like "Alright, what the fuck gives? Why are you acting like you're too good to get help anymore, David?" David says he doesn't know what he's talking about, Milo calls bullshit. It doesn't turn into a screaming match but it's enough of a heated argument that Milo storms out of the den.

In the days following, Milo either calls out sick, switches shifts with people, anything to avoid seeing David. David brushes it off, thinking he's got more important things to worry about if Milo's going to throw a fit. But of course, Ash being Ash means this stuff can't fly for long, so he tells both David and Milo that he needs help with something at an odd time of day and then "coincidentally" doesn't show up. When Milo gets to the den, he's real tempted to get back in his car and leave. It's a mix of still being a little frustrated with David and being embarrassed that this "fight" has gone on for as long as it has. He walks up to David (who was waiting outside for Asher) and is like "Lemme guess, you're waiting for Ash?" "How did you...?" "Fucker told me the same thing."

They do some lighthearted bitching about their friend, which eases the tension. There's a bit of silence and right as Milo gets ready to apologize for speaking out of turn, David apologizes first. He acknowledges that Milo was right in what he said and that he's been struggling with everything changing, but he hasn't wanted it to show on the outside. Milo makes a light jab at David, "Alright well did you really expect that to go over my head? C'mon, David, we've known each other since we were kids. Gimme some credit" To make up for it, the two of them go out to eat, all that's chill. Cut to when Milo gets home, maybe has a drink or two as he's winding down. David sends him a message, confirming he made it home alright (because I've always latched onto the idea that he's super attentive to that given what happened with Gabe). Milo sends David a quick reply and wonders why seeing that message made him feel some type of way (romantic? Who knows, not Milo that's for sure /lh)

Now if I remember correctly, the audio where Angel learns about Gabe, it's been around 3 years since his passing. Keeping this in mind and in the spirit of being canon reminiscent, I think around/after this point is when Milo's feelings for David start to really bubble up. They've been building for awhile, much to his dismay. He's trying to play it cool, but his heart's in his damn throat any time David touches him casually or whenever the two of them are assigned to a job together. And he knows it's getting bad enough where he might lose focus, so he swallows his pride and does what he's been avoiding for months, if not years: asking Asher for advice.

"Alright, look: You and me both know that you had a lil crush on David when we were in high school. How the fuck did you get over it? I'm drowning, Ash." If this conversation is happening on the phone or at Asher's place, cue him yelling to Babe that they owe him 20 bucks (because it's funny to me <3). Asher asks Milo why he wants to get over the feelings so bad and Milo's like "'Cause this is David we're talking about." "So what?" "We've got... history. That complicates shit all on its own." "And?" "....Alright fine, and I'm also terrified he's not gonna feel the same. Happy?" Asher is being the little shit that he is, putting his arm around Milo's shoulder. "Listen. If I know David— And believe me, I do— What ya gotta do is be direct. If he doesn't feel the same, that's one thing. But if you even want a chance, you gotta be straight up with him. If you tried to ask him out casually, he'll just assume you're being friendly because that's what you are right now. Friends." Milo takes all this in and is like, "Nope, just gonna shove these feelings down for eternity." "I'll tell Marie—" "I will beat your ass." He knows Asher has a point though. Any idea Milo might've had could be easily construed as them just chilling as friends. But he doesn't really act on anything for awhile.

Now, before we get into the next phase of this, some added backstory: David had a crush on Milo growing up. I'm thinking a little after high school (won't say college necessarily since I don't picture them in college but like, young adulthood phase). He'd always found Milo incredibly attractive and found his boldness admirable in general. David was constantly thinking about what he had to do for others and how to make the pack look good (since he was the Alpha's kid then the pack Beta). Milo always felt incredibly refreshing to be around. But he figured Milo would never be interested in because David's just himself so he eventually got over it. Cut to that argument him and Milo had a few years back. He remembers that night when they made up because dinner had been fine but all he could do was focus on Milo. It felt nice to just hang out with him without the pressures of being Alpha. And he enjoyed listening to him talk about anything because he always had a strong opinion. I think around then is when his past feelings awoke again but there was a new obstacle: He was the Alpha of the pack. It wasn't like before, things were different. He'd never have a chance to pursue Milo without feeling like he had pushed Milo into a corner somehow. So again, he tried his best to push his feelings down, appreciate and value the friendship he had with Milo and leave it at that. It was enough to just have Milo in his life, even if it wasn't going to go any further.

Back to how these two end up together: the Moonbound Solstice. They're all at David's place, everyone's having a good time together. Milo's chilling, talking to someone from the pack when Asher cuts in and is like "Sorry, just gonna steal him for a minute" "Ash, you can't just— AY okay okay I'm coming" They walk off, somewhere far from the kitchen to minimize the risk of David overhearing. In hushed voices: "Alright, so what's the plan?" "Ash, what the fuck are you talking about?" "Milo, it's the Solstice. This is the perfect time to make a move." "Are you out of your damn mind? This is the last place I should be hitting on— On you know who." "What are you talking about it, it's perfect! The whole pack's here, no one would even notice." "Look, he's already got his hands full hosting the Solstice at his own place for a change. I'm just gonna chill and enjoy the night for what it is." Asher is pouting as Milo walks off, immediately thinking of what he can do to help nudge David Milo's way. (Unhinged alt route: Ash giving Milo a flat so he has to stay the night)

Cut to the end of the night, people are heading out and whatnot. David is subtly trying to get people out because he loves his pack but his senses need a break. Asher (+ Babe, package deal) and Milo offer to stay and help clean, and David lets them since it's only a handful of people. Milo's keeping his cool, vibing to the much lower playing music when: "Babe, what do you mean you have a work call you need to take tonight? Can't it wait?" "Sorry, Ash, I need to be home in the next twenty minutes" "Alright. Guess we're heading early." Milo thinks nothing of it until he makes eye contact with Babe. They smile with a sickeningly sweet wave. Those bastards. Before Milo can try to rope Ash into staying somehow, the two of them are gone.

When Milo and David are alone, Milo tries his best to focus on the task at hand because feelings or not, he's not gonna do a shit job at cleaning so David has to clean up after him. Once the bulk of it is done, David mentions that he needs to grab something from upstairs or maybe says he's going to go change out of his clothes (I imagine he put on something better looking but not as comfortable for the solstice). Milo's chill with that, getting his keys, phone, other personal belongings together. He happens to slip into the kitchen though, stealing a bit more of the food David had made for the solstice. While he's stealing (said with love), he hears very close to his ear: "You can take some home if you want." He nearly punches David, gripping his arm as he tries to slow his heart rate. "You tryin' give a guy a heart attack, Shaw (/lh)" because he legit didn't hear David come back downstairs. "Maybe if you weren't busy trying to steal some food, you would've heard me— Greer (/lh)." Milo rolls his eyes with a grin and there's a moment of quiet when he realizes his hand is still on David's arm.

He lets go, clearing his throat, confirming that it's actually cool if he wants to take some of the food home with him. David says sure, giving him a container to fill (or Milo takes whatever the food came in, not sure what I'm picturing David's cooking set-up to be). David walks Milo to the door (as a good host does) and the two of them talk in the doorway for a few minutes about upcoming jobs, responsibilities, all that formal shit. There's another quiet moment as the two of them watch each other. Inside, Milo's like "Alright, no one else is here. This is as good a chance as any." The second he gets ready to ask David out on a more proper date, David instead says "Good night, Milo" and essentially closes the door in his face. Milo stares for a moment before cursing himself in Spanish (my HC), walking to his car and muttering about how "Of course he was just being polite, what the fuck were you thinking?" On the other side of the door, David is groaning into his hands, face warm as he tries to calm down because he came way too close to making a move on Milo.

Intermission (Wow, you're still reading? Damn /pos): I wanted to think of how to push them closer to a confession before they actually get together and eventually settled on "sickfic shenanigans". Insert deliriously sick Milo whose phone died and he can't find a charger for the life of him so David goes over to his place to check on him. Initially, he's trying to get David to leave because "I can handle myself fine". But that doesn't last long because admittedly, he feels like shit and has been for the past 12 hours. The dynamic quickly turns into Milo convincing David to stay then being so sick his filter is hanging on by a thread (/lh). "Why do you have to go rush off so fast?" "Milo, I have a pack to take care of—" "First off, I'm part of the pack— (cue Milo coughing) And second, they'll be fine without their Alpha for a few hours." Milo's playing it off as lighthearted but David can tell he doesn't want to be cooped up inside alone on top of feeling like shit physically. A little later, when Milo's on the verge of falling asleep (as many do while sick), he's like "Y'know, it's fucking wild you don't got a mate, David. Like look at you. Doesn't make sense" David laughs at first, thinking Milo's sick delirious (which he is, but that's affecting his filter, not the validity of his words). He's like "ay, why are you laughing, I'm serious. Look— if I were ya mate, I'd treat ya right. I'd cook, I'd work extra hours so I could see ya, I'd make sure we're the best dressed wherever we go— not to mention, I got a great dick." David writes this off as Milo being sick and spewing nonsense but never forgets the words. Meanwhile, Milo (after getting over the sickness) is convinced he dreamt saying any of that to David.

Back to the present, David's been a bit stressed with work as of late so Asher suggests the pack take a trip/weekend vacation. He says he'll handle figuring everything out, letting David take a backseat this time. They go somewhere, a resort, a hotel, something that involves people having rooms they're staying in. Everyone's having a good time, chilling all day, night rolls around. David's in his room when he realizes he forgot to pack something— can be anything. Toothpaste, a charger, something for his hair, the specifics aren't important. He texts Asher, asking if he has the thing he forgot and Ash is like yeah. David asks Ash which room he's staying in, Ash texts him the room number. David leaves his room, goes there, knocks and waits patiently. Door opens, and who's standing there? Milo, shirtless and in the middle of brushing his teeth or some shit.

David's checking his phone to see if he went to the wrong room but nope, numbers match. "Asher must've made a typo. I just needed to borrow something from him." "Well, what did you need? Maybe I have it." Before David can leave, Milo's busy ushering him in, closing the door so he can finish brushing his teeth before finding what David needs. They're making idle conversation, talking about what they spent their respective days doing. While Milo's talking, David's kind of staring at his back, not processing a word he's saying. Milo turns around and notices and is like "What? Don't tell me there's a bug on me and you didn't say shit? (/lh)" and David is trying to think of a good cover up. Milo tries to lighten the mood, says he's just messing with David before going to find whatever David's looking to borrow. He finds it, hands it over when for a split second, his eyes land on David's crotch. David leaves shortly there after but all night, Milo's like "...That was a boner... why the fuck did he have a boner?" But again, Milo's mind is like "Nah, I'm reading this wrong somehow."

Now, I'm painting a picture: it's the next day, Ash, Milo, David, few others from the pack plan on doing something together while on the trip. Asher gets there a bit late but is somehow on time compared to David, who shows up minutes after (that man was up all night pining). Ash notices Milo's not here yet and has a devious idea (as always). He asks David to go check on Milo so they can go. "Why me?" "You were the last one here, it's only fair. Now shoo." David rolls his eyes but goes, getting to Milo's room, knocking. He can hear Milo's definitely inside because he's cursing and complaining. He knocks again before the door swings open to reveal a mildly disgruntled Milo Greer (my vision is he's in pants and a white tank with his name chain. The in between outfits outfit).

He asks what David is doing there, David explains that Asher sent him to pick up Milo, Milo's like "What time is it— Jesus fucking Christ." The issue at hand is Milo can't find an article of clothing that he swears he put in his bag. He's been trying to get by with alternative options but none of them look the way he wants them to, which is making him quietly lose his shit. David stifles a laugh, to which Milo lasers in on. "And what do you think you're laughing at?" "You haven't changed since we were kids, that's all." Milo scoffs but admittedly, the sentiment puts a smile on his face. Almost immediately after that moment, he finally finds what he was looking for (tucked under something, irrelevant right now). He starts to get ready, pulling his shirt on, buttoning it up but let's say a button or two is fighting him for whatever reason. Without a second thought, David walks up, buttoning it for Milo. Milo's having an internal moment as a result, staring at David's hands then his face. David finishes and looks up to catch Milo staring. He clears his throat, saying something about waiting in the hall when Milo catches his wrist.

"Can I take you out on a date?" "What?" "I don't know what or where yet, but I just— I know this is probably stupid and I'm shooting myself in the foot here, but Asher's gonna kick my ass if I don't do something so— Can I take you out on a date, David?" David's taken aback. "Wait... so you were serious. That time you were sick. All that stuff you said about being a good mate for me." "THAT WASN'T A DREAM?" Cue Milo letting go of David's hand and nearly cursing himself out, running a hand through his hair because now he's mortified. "I can't believe I actually said all that shit to you—" "Did you mean it?" "Huh?" For the first time, David's not looking at Milo like a friend or pack Alpha. The look in his eyes screams pure, unfiltered attraction. "Yes or no, Milo." Milo's face is hot, "Course I meant it. I'd treat you great if you gave me the chance to show you." David steps closer, gripping Milo's face gently and tilting it up towards his. "Show me." Milo grins before pulling David down to him, the kiss they shared far better than the ones he remembered from spin the bottle games they'd played as teens. This kiss felt deeper and closer than that could ever compare. The moment they break away, gasping for air, Milo's busy unbuttoning his shirt. David asks what he's doing, to which Milo replies "I'm about to savor as much time with you as I can before I have to see Asher's smug face. Unless you'd like to explain how your hair became a mess between the time you left to find me and when you get back?" David laughs before pulling Milo to him again.

So yeah, that concludes this fic adjacent ramble (/lh)! I love rarepairs and rambling, so if people enjoy this, I may format some other rambles as they arise. I think I've got some Sam/David tucked away somewhere, so let me know. If you actually read all of this, wow, okay, thank you (/lh /pos)

[beansterpie]

20 Questions For Fic Writers

Thanks for tagging me @marley-manson! <3

I would tag people but it's late and my brain is tired so literally, PLEASE just adopt this tag meme if you see it and read the whole thing. You have my full permission to say I tagged you, even if we've never spoken lol. Go for it, be audacious.

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

43,487!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Well the posted fic is a Berserk fic, but I have various other wips that I pick away at when I'm bored. Among them include Eyeshield 21, MDZS, RotE, Harry Potter (technically?). Those are the most recent ones anyway.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Chain of Dissent, she's my favorite fic <3 (she's my only fic)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yeah I try to! Though I'll admit uhhhh I haven't updated it in... fucking? two years? god, and so I've been bad about responding to the more recent comments because I feel guilty for not updating in so long :') Really gotta get back to it.

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

None, because I haven't finished a fic yet lol

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

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not so far! I've gotten a couple of comments that come across as unintentionally mildly rude, but definitely nothing that constitutes as hate.

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

Well not so far in CoD, but, ahem, I have written smut in one of my wips lol. Deeply self indulgent but I guess character driven? It's mildly nasty and desperate <3

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

I haven't actually written a crossover (yet. well, recently) but they are a bit of a passion of mine lmao. I love ridiculous crossovers, and I'm talking about "a magical portal opens up and throws characters from fandom A into the world (& characters) of fandom B" type shit. I don't need the ways in which the characters interact to make sense, I just want them to be thrown together and see where it goes from there. Fish out of water shenanigans! Characters questioning their own motivations and idea of life by seeing a world entirely different from theirs!! Just like, fun shit! I also absolutely don't need for the two fandoms to be similar lol. I have a somewhat detailed Berserk/Eyeshield 21 crossover living rent free in my head so clearly anything goes.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Lol no.

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

Nope!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

I'll probably have to say GriffGuts, because it's a ship that's gripped me by the neck for the past 7 years or something, where my interest in it hasn't really waned.

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

Uhhhh, idk? I mean I am DETERMINED to finish CoD, so that's out. And the wips I write in my spare time are just like, things I do for fun where I don't put any pressure on myself over it. I'm not planning on posting them anywhere, and I'm not generally planning on 'finishing' them either. I mean if I do finish one, I might post it, but again, they're low key things that I'm not taking too seriously.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Hm. I honestly don't consider myself a very strong writer, at least in terms of things like prose and sentence structure, grammar, that sort of thing. I think I'm pretty decent at figuring out the direction that I want the story to go, and all the individual steps that need to happen to get to that point in a way that feels organic (at least, imo.) And I like to think I'm pretty good at characterization-- having the characters behaving and reacting in ways that feel like could concievably happen in canon is generally what I'm going for.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Yeah prose, lol. I mean, I don't actually dislike my more.... utilitarian writing style, mainly because I generally prefer reading more direct writing (unless the lyrical writing is really really good), but I do think I could inject some more illustrative details and metaphors into my writing overall. @marley-manson is SO good at coming up with perfect metaphors to describe a situation or feeling, all while perfectly recreating the character's voice, and I really admire that about her writing!

I also want to get better with having characters like, doing things while they're talking. I find a lot of the conversations I write happen between characters just kind of standing around, which obviously is fine but I'd like to construct scenes with a bit more specificity in the future.

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

Wait so like, say in a fic that is otherwise written in English, having a line of dialogue written in Spanish when a character is speaking it? I... don't have strong feelings about it one way or the other I guess lol. I mean ideally the line(s) written in the other language are correct lol, and not just badly google translated or something.

Though you know, now that I think about it, I feel like it would work best between languages that use the same alphabet (which does end up narrowing the possible languages down quite a lot) because that way the reader can still sound out the dialogue even if the don't understand the language, which could emulate what the pov character is experiencing. Whereas if it was a fic written in English, and then had a line written in, say, Japanese, the reader wouldn't even be able to sound it out so it's kind of a brick wall. (Unless there's footnotes, but that tends to be a little more clunky in fic than in a published book with pages).

If the readers are supposed to understand the dialogue written in another language, like two characters suddenly start speaking in said other language and we're meant to keep up with the conversation, then I feel like it's just easier to translate their words in whatever language the fic is written in otherwise.

But yeah idk, I think with intent and good execution, anything can work, but it could also be done in a way that's more annoying than anything.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I think. It was neopets LMFAO. I remember writing a fic when I was like 10 about Hannah (the adventurer) and Jacques (from the maraqua plot comic) as a romantic couple because I was annoyed at the time that there were multiple fics about Hannah and Garin (or whatever his name was, also from the maraqua plot) getting together even though I thought Garin was BORING and they were just shipped together because they were both usuls (which are overrated imho), even though Jacque was obviously better.

... I may have had a crush on Jacques.

But the first fic that I think I posted anywhere was for Xiaolin Showdown lmfao, probably also when I was 10 or 11 or something. I wrote like four separate fics for that show.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Yeah it's CoD lol. It's the longest thing I've written so far, and I'm overall still very proud of it. I'd probably go back and change some things in the first chapter because it reads a little clunky and like, abrupt to me now, but I'm not doing that until I finish the fic. Allowing myself to go back and edit stuff before I've even finished the story seems like a road to ruin lol.

[deathlygristly]

So the kdrama podcast that I used to like so much that I used to subscribe to their Patreon did an episode on Chicken Nugget today.

If you're not into kdramas and/or you didn't watch it, it's a fun little show about a woman being turned into a piece of chicken (not really a nugget but that was the English translation) by an alien machine, and the ensuing adventures of her father and her father's employee who has a crush on her as they try to get her back into a human body.

I was surprised that these particular podcasters were going to cover it, because they generally don't tend to like anything that's much beyond the boundaries of mainstream and acceptably normal. But they seemed to be excited about it and to be willing to actually give it a try, so I decided to listen to the episode.

Yeah, two of them only watched one episode and the third was the only one to finish it, and they were pretty mean about it. Despite asking people who liked it to not be mean to them.

Just personal rambling under the cut.

Then they talked about humor that they do like, and apparently one of them thinks the trope of the show's main couple doing a contrived fall and their lips meeting when they land is supposed to be funny? I've always thought of it as an awkward trope that's a product of trying to show physical attraction and contact in a very conservative culture.

Then they mentioned three shows as examples of humor they like, and I was like oh wow we are completely different and I'm not sure how I listened to you guys for so long without realizing this.

They mentioned Hospital Playlist and Reply 1988, which are by the same creative team. We haven't watched Reply 1988 but we did watch Reply 1997 and the first season of Hospital Playlist, and we were like oh, okay, these people make neurotypical shows for neurotypical people, we don't need to check their shows out anymore. To me and the spousal person, they were extremely boring shows about large groups of neurotypical extroverts socializing with each other, and we didn't get it or enjoy it.

They also mentioned the "banter" between the main couple in Wedding Impossible, which....yeah. We finished it last night and IIRC the spousal person said he'd put it in the "meh" category. Not in the worst shows we've watched but on the lower end. The posts in the tag cover how the gay character was treated pretty well, and the main couple themselves were nonsensical and weird to us. Like why suddenly decide to separate for a year when you were ready to die for each other after one date? None of the dialogue stood out to us, and all I can remember right now is the main dude, who at the time thought the main girl was engaged to his brother for real and not as a beard, telling her that he was going to seduce her? So funny, so smart. /sarcasm

Anyway, yeah, I was correct to unsubscribe from their Patreon and I should probably unsubscribe from the show too. I'll give them a few more episodes though. Plus if nothing else they do provide an interesting view of the thoughts of middle class neurotypical white women about kdramas.

Also an interesting view of where the stereotypical idea of marriage in posts on here comes from, from people whose parents are like the podcasters. Their husbands don't watch the dramas with them or talk to them about the shows much, and two of them shared stories about their husbands being injured and they laughed about it and how upset their husbands got because they didn't seem to care much about their injuries and how they were frustrated because the injury interrupted their drama-watching?

I sent one episode to the spousal person to listen to once a while back and his first reaction was "Do they actually like their husbands?"

Hmm. So on one hand it's interesting social information gathering about types of people that I am not around often IRL but who I encounter a lot online, and on the other hand I can feel myself becoming a hate-listener and I do not like that at all.

[dragonsarecool]

Febwhump Day 16 - On the Run

A/N: When a rogue Eddington comes knocking for medical assistance, an unwilling Julian is forced to tag along with him. Set between seasons 4 and 5.

I mean, I've had more dignified kidnappings, but this goes to a new level.

It took some time to force his eyes open, only to be greeted with complete darkness and a piercing headache. His nostrils were filled with the overpowering scent of pine, and a quick test of his bound limbs led him to the conclusion that he was in a crate of some kind. His lips and jaw stubbornly refused to move, and the faint taste of adhesive told him there was tape across the lower half of his face. Seriously, how big is this thing?! I can't even move my chin-

Before he had time to be properly irritated about the situation, his ears perked up at the sound of footsteps. The lid of the crate was swiftly removed, and after blinking away the sudden influx of light, Julian's gaze narrowed as he glared at his captor. Of course. Who else would it be?

"Hello, doctor."

Julian could only roll his eyes.

"My apologies for the unsavoury accommodation, but it was necessary to ensure you weren't detected. I'm sure you understand," Eddington's voice was dripping with so much sarcasm, Julian could've sworn it was pooling onto the floor. "I also apologise for the crude restraints, but as you can imagine, we couldn't have you making any noise. You talk too much as it is."

Julian gave an indignant sigh in response. Do you mind?!

"Allow me, doctor." Eddington leaned into the crate, hoisting the younger man up into a standing position. He worked his fingers underneath the gag and ripped it away swiftly, smiling as Julian groaned quietly. "There. That's better, isn't it?"

Stretching his jaw, Julian tried not to picture how red and swollen the lower half of his face was. "What the hell is going on?! Why am I here?"

"Why do you think you're here?"

God, he really enjoys the theatrics, doesn't he…

"You obviously need me for something. But surely you've got your own medics in your little group of yours," Julian sat himself on the edge of the crate, his legs still reeling with pins and needles. He took the opportunity to assess his surroundings, which appeared to be the hold of a standard cargo freighter. "Where are we?"

"We're about half an hour from our main base. I wanted to take you straight to our main medical facility, after all."

"Why bother kidnapping a Starfleet doctor?" Julian was genuinely curious. "I mean, you could've easily picked up one from Bajor, or-"

"Unfortunately my 'little group' isn't as powerful as you're presuming it to be," Eddington interrupted, his pleasant demeanour vanishing. "We've, uh…we've suffered some losses recently-"

"The Cardassians found you, didn't they?" Julian surmised darkly. He didn't fight the smirk that crept onto his face. "Guess you and your friends aren't as invincible as you thought. Surprised that any of you are still alive, to be fair."

"We were ambushed during the night. Two of our ships were destroyed-"

"And now you're looking for replacements for your band of misfits. Well, I appreciate the offer," Julian snarked, shifting his numb hands, "but I'll have to decline."

"It wouldn't be forever, doctor!" Eddington retorted. "When you've fulfilled our requirements, you'll be returned to Deep Space Nine. It's as simple as that."

Julian snorted in response. "Oh, that's comforting. A life spent as a prisoner who gets dusted off every now and then, only to be put back in storage whenever they aren't being useful. You might as well put the lid back on and tuck me away now."

"Alright then," Eddington sighed. "We'll have to leave you in here then. Just until we get this virus under control, and-"

"Virus?" As much as he hated to admit it, Julian's curiosity was piqued. "How'd you end up with a virus?"

"Another parting gift from the Cardassians," Eddington's expression took on a sombre look. "They transported a handful of crates onboard during their main assault. None of us noticed them at first. But when we needed to check our supply inventory and started opening them-"

"People started falling ill," Julian thought aloud. "But any trained medical officer could create an antidote. Why did you have to pick me?"

"Well, I thought that'd be obvious!" Eddington spoke in mock admiration. "You're the best doctor I know, after all!"

"I'm the only doctor you know," Julian flexed his fingers, desperate to regain some sort of feeling in them. "I won't be part of this, Eddington, so you better let me go before Sisko comes after you."

"Oh, I wouldn't mind having a catch-up with Benjamin! For your sake, though, it would be in your best interest to cooperate, doctor. After all," Eddington's eyes drifted to the crate, "you've probably been infected too."

Julian's face morphed into one of horror, the colour instantly draining from his face. "What?!"

"Oh yes, didn't I mention? This was one of the crates the bioweapon was stored in," Eddington's eyes sparkled with mischief, his hands dancing along the smooth pine. "I mean, I did get my men to clean it as well as we could before we picked you up, but still-"

"Damn you, Eddington!" Forgetting his current predicament, Julian lunged at his captor, only for Eddington to stop him with a firm hand on his chest. He glared at the Maquis member as he struggled uselessly with his bonds. "The Federation could have offered assistance! Th-There was no need for any of this!"

"I knew I should've left the gag on," Eddington mused quietly. He forced the younger man to turn around, his fingers working quickly to untie his hands. "Stop your rambling, doctor. I'll show you everything you need to know, and then we can get to work."

[trashlord-007]

I guess maybe I will add my unnecessary opinion. If I can manage not to drop my phone on my face for at least five minutes to do so.

First and foremost, not knowing how to talk to people is a huge one for me. I end up just liking the reblogs with comments or tags, which definitely doesn't scream friendly or eager to discuss fandom, but is the extent of what I'm willing to do so I don't seem like I'm squeezing blood from a stone. I don't want to come across as fake with a "omg thank you!! you're so sweet, you're the best, this means the world to me" on every reblog - I know people would appreciate it and it is also true, I appreciate every like, comment, reblog etc, but it feels performative to me.

Secondly, and I am SO SORRY to my EXOLs for this in particular, I have a really hard time answering DMs. Does this have anything to do with anyone else? No. I just feel guilty.

It seems to me that kpop, outside of a few exceptions, is on the decline across the board (ao3 included). I could be totally wrong but even the MV views and likes seem lower. At this point we've come full circle in fandom culture and we're going to be back to extremely dedicated fans holding up the entirety of a fandom on their own backs for the pure love of it. I won't say which KPOP group it was but on AO3 recently I saw literally two people writing for the group. They would occasionally gift one another a fic, and they would average 20 likes or so. They are doing it for the love of the fandom, so even if we face a total decline I believe a sprinkling of creators would and will hold the line (bless you 🙏)

Even in big fandoms new creators will be totally overlooked because Tumblr's algorithm doesn't allow for new people to join the big table. You'd think BTS would be a big draw but the creators already have their fans and people aren't interested in finding new ones or wading through the trash (porn bots, fuck you, and also fuck you to people incorrectly tagging for likes and views) on the tags, so they stick to their tried and true.

I'll leave my last thought to myself because I think it literally only affects me and my aversion to the Mainstream Tumblr™️ mentality and their insistence on vilifying anyone and everyone that doesn't agree with them.

Now that I've finished blah blah-ing, let me just say that more events would be extremely fun but I worry that it might cause you, the host, burnout if people don't actually participate. As you know, I'm a flake and I took a hiatus right in the middle of a Secret Santa event, so my opinion is pretty much mud here since I am one of the folks causing grief, but I worry that you might get discouraged if participation is low. I think you'd need a set group of people who are willing to commit to posting something each time to keep spirits high.

Also ngl, before my latest hiatus (different from the one just mentioned, I am gone a lot it seems), I would note-chase. I was hardly writing for EXO and my passion projects were far and few between. I'd literally try to follow the trends and see who (not even which bands, but which individual members) was getting the most notes and write for them. I burned out so much faster, and it didn't even get me anywhere lmfao because I don't even like to write the stuff people like on here. I'm more happy when I'm being a little weirdo in my own corner, but interaction will never stop being the light in front of an anglerfish.

All of this to say... well, I would appreciate more events and EXO content. My dash is DEAD save for a few SKZ posts. My EXOLs are quiet, they've moved on, they're not online when I'm online so I'm missing their posts. I follow some GIF networks just so I can keep my queue from slowly turning me into a Bang Chan blog. I don't have time to search tags and I don't have the energy to skip over all my filtered posts on my own dash just so I can see a pretty gif or two. I think having active fandom networks or blogs or just a list of potential mutuals would help a lot. I don't really follow people first because I just assume most people hate at least one aspect of what I'm about, so I've fallen into a very limited ecosystem and echochamber of content.

And now I'm starting to realise why people start over and create whole new blogs and personas on here lmfao.

No matter what happens I will support you and I appreciate the effort you're making here. Sorry for hijacking this just to complain, geez, I really shouldn't be allowed to talk. But if I see an event come through I will try to partake. And reblogging other people's works is definitely something I can do so I look forward to it wholly!

The OP message and subsequent reblogs did spark a little something something in me, make my fingers twitch, gave me an itch if you will. A thirst. EXO is my ult group. I should be creating for them. I want to create for them. And so I will fan this ember and hope and pray that this will ignite the fire, drive and desire needed to return to fandom.

So I can't be the only one who's noticed the decline in fanmade exo content here on Tumblr. We've gone from a fandom who's new posts could be measured in hours to a fandom who's posts have days....to weeks....to months....to even years for some specific tags.

We have had 6 solo album comebacks this year, 3 fancon tours, 2 solo concert tours, a myriad of festival concert appearances, youtube videos, magazine shoots, instalives, etc. Yet if you go to the exo tag it's mainly populated by archive blogs. And the nude bots, which....that's a whole other problem on its own. I digress. My point being, the tags, at least from what I've seen (I admit I haven't looked into the shipping tags) are being filled by the same handful of blogs yet given the high amount of source material, no one seems to be doing anything with it beyond archiving it.

Again this could just be because I didn't delve too deep or too far back, but it does have me wondering if part of the reason participation this year was down was simply because there's hardly anyone left.

There's been instances in the past where others have attempted to inject new life into the fandom so to speak, with....varying...level of success. The exo revival project being the first and most successful that comes to mind. I'm wondering what everyone else's thoughts are on the matter and if holding new fandom events might be a way to involve more people year round because I really do want to continue holding this event next year but if things keep going the way they have been there won't be anyone signing up.

Let me know what you think, ideas you might have, reblog this and tag your mutuals to get them involved in the discussion. I have a few ideas that I've pilfered from other fandoms, watch alongs. Fic bingo. Theres valentines exchanges. Fandom sleepovers. Heck I'd set up a Tumblr based scavenger hunt if I thought people would play. Like....we dont have to be monoliths in a placid sea of we don't want to. Fandom can be fun. It should be fun.

[littleoddwriter]

hello it is I! 💜

With that special request 👀👉👈💜 Could I please have Asa/Jesse x reader, where they're in a 24/7 bdsm relationship with Asa as the Dom and Jesse as a sort of support dom? You know what I mean, we've talked about this after all 💜💜

thank you so so so much, my love!! 💜

It's basically up to you what you do with the request, but yeah, you know my ideas 🥰💜

Asa Emory/The Collector x GenderNeutral!Reader x Jesse Cromeans/Chromeskull | (mild) NSFT Headcanons

Hallihallo! <3 Okay, so, to be honest, it's been so long that I can't remember what we've discussed anymore, so I'll just wing it and hope you like what I've done, I’m sorry. :')

notes; Sub!Gender Neutral!Reader; Dom!Asa Emory; Dom!Jesse Cromeans; Dom/Sub Relationship; BDSM Lifestyle; Collars; Implied/Referenced Sexual Activities & Punishment, but nothing explicit.

Taglist: @gnrlkenob @fr0gi-b0y [If any of you would like me to tag you on my writing, you can send me an Ask or DM about it. It’s up to you, whether you’ll be tagged for all of it, or just specific things like Slasher character works, etc. - you just have to tell me that.]

The first thing they bought for you, after you’d discussed everything thoroughly, was a customised collar, which Asa and Jesse paid for together, gifting it to you. It’s got both their names on the tag, and you wear it all the time - it’s decent looking enough to pass as a simple choker for the public eye.

Whenever they’re not at home, the collar reminds you of who you belong to and that they’ll definitely come back to you, which always eases your mind.

Out of the two, Asa is usually more actively disciplining you for your occasional disobedience. He’s stern and relentless, punishing you until he feels like you’ve earned his forgiveness/you’re truly sorry.

Jesse sometimes lets certain things slide or doesn't punish you too harshly for simple mistakes; although it also depends on his mood. When you’re being a brat, he’s usually not very patient with you, which is what you normally aim for with that anyway.

You’re always prepared to get on your knees for either of them, whenever they ask for it (unless you use your safeword, of course).

On some days that’s often, on other days not at all, but you never know what’s going to happen during the day when you wake up in the morning, which all three of you find particularly appealing - they love having such power and control over you.

That doesn’t mean that you never ask for anything. If you feel the need for anything they could provide you with (like getting you out of your head, if your thoughts become too much), then you’re always allowed to make such a request. They always take their time with it and make it as perfect as possible for you.

The balance they have found between their domination styles (Asa being a hard dom, while Jesse is more often a soft dom) works perfectly for all of you; especially because it gives you the right amount of force, mixed with gentleness and care.

[age-of-moonknight]

Our main girl is back friend!!! How are we feeling?

I really really like how MacKay wrote her but I would have liked to see some of her thoughts more explicitly shown. Like, people who know Marlene KNOW that she is ruthless, she was Marc's perfect match (or Steven's if you will) and she goes straight to the point.

But seeing her back with that strength made me fearful for the reaction of people who already don't like her.

In my opinion her whole self visibly softened when Jake appeared and he just... he was so incredibly adorable when talking to her, but she couldn't talk to him in that moment and I feel like it would have been so much better if MacKay had taken the time in that moment to have Marlene actually give Jake a word that was just for him, you know?

Because she said so her self she love(s)ed them and they all love her (!!!! finally !!!!) so I would have seen her show the softness that I saw in her also in the form of words. Mostly because Jake was written in his most adorable form yet.

Also, you know my feelings about Di and Jake and Marc... But, I really loved the fact that Di has her mother's and her father(s) attitude.

I wonder tho, what else might have happened, "or die trying", seemed the only off thing from Marlene but then again maybe we are missing some info 🤔

Also, Marc being like "I will leave the mission behind" for Marlene needs to make people understand that Marc believes in his love for Marlene and wants her back and there is no fighting that. But Marlene knows how much that would mess him up and we know that she knows, but it would have been better if she had expressed that with real words (for the readers, because Marc doesn't need it)

Overall it was a great issue and I can't wait to see more of Marlene and Frenchie, who would surely be as straight forward as Marlene with his feelings.

Eheheheh, I've only just gotten a chance to sit down and answer this (finally), but please believe me when I say that this ask has been sitting rent-free in my head since I got it hahaha.

I, too, am so incredibly excited that we at last got to see a bit of Marlene (and Diatrice too!). It's been four years since Moon Knight (Vol. 8/2016), #200 and the last time we've seen either of them, barring Marlene's cameo in Moon Knight: Black, White & Blood (Vol. 1/2022), #2, but if any author's going to bring back characters from Marc's past, it would be Mr. MacKay....can you tell that I'm still shook he actually remembered Marlene's ex-husband??? xD

But yeah, I see what you mean about wishing Marlene's motivations(? feelings???? internal life????) were a bit more explicit and I continue to be too much of a chicken to actually venture into the "Marlene Alraune" tag for fear of what I might find. Personally though, however, I have had little to no reason yet to doubt Mr. MacKay's handling of this book and I have hope that this might be a starting point from which he can begin to develop both his interpretation of Marlene's character and her relationship with Marc in this new volume and post-Age of Khonshu era.

If anything, as much as I would have also loved to have seen a bit more warmth between Marc and Marlene, I see it as an interesting starting point from which their relationship can hopefully rekindle. The amount unsaid between them did well to communicate just how much distance remains between them even if Marlene's back from France and the number of barriers that have been put up between them (i.e. I'll never be over the symbolism of Marc putting the Mr. Knight mask back on after Jake took it off).

Overall and I'm sure you at least are aware, it would take a lot for me to dislike Marlene; mainly because I find her to be such a fascinating commentary on the "superhero's girlfriend" archetype. She occupies this compelling space where she was never a costumed hero in her own right, yet she for a long time took on a much more active role in crimefighting than I've typically seen. Similarly, I just find how Mr. MacKay wrote her in this annual to be unique in that she obviously has a long history of fondness for Marc, Jake, and Steven, but considering where they're at in their relationship, she doesn't exactly....cater to Marc, she lets him stand on his own as his own man fit to take responsibility for his actions and makes it clear that Diatrice is her priority. I guess, what I'm trying to say is that I would love to see Marlene discussed in the ongoing "women in comics/fiction/etc. are only allowed to be nurturers" debate (even if I'm too cowardly to directly engage with it myself), because, yeah, Marlene is a mother, but she makes it clear that Diatrice is her sole and only responsibility and that she will do anything and reach out to any resources available to her, including Moon Knight, to do that job right.

Anyway, thanks for giving me a chance to ramble on about one of my fave comic ladies. I love comic ladies in general, but *Marge Simpson voice* I just think she's neat. (Now here's to hoping we get a Frenchie sighting soon....fingers crossed)