#yes this is the drama from the post with the POV: when u come home and ur 3 femme wives are fauning over ur butch wife

[eldritcheden]

Your honour, she's Bi

[unbridgeabledistances]

hi y’all<3 here’s a new section of the gallavich as seen from alternate POVs fic, this time featuring lip!!!! (i wanted to wait til after the ✨lickey drama✨ in the new ep before posting, but then i decided against it bc i didn’t want to re-write this lol)

i started to have way too many feelings while writing this so it’s a little lengthy and contemplative, but rest assured it features some domestic fluff/ian and mickey being disgustingly in love- i hope u enjoy<3

--

Lip shuffled into the kitchen of the Gallagher house, opening the fridge door and reaching past the clanging beer bottles to grab a metal soda can on the way back of the shelf, hearing a faint fizz escape as he popped the tab. It was late, the moonlight streaming in across the kitchen through the worn curtains and pooling on the kitchen floor— after Tami had crashed in their bed at the apartment after a long day at work and Freddie was sleeping soundly in his crib, Lip had come by the Gallagher house, without really knowing why. He just needed to clear his head, to get some distance from Tami and all her relentless nagging about moving and apartment hunting and his colossally obvious fuck-up with the bikes— he just needed some space, some less stifling air to breathe outside of their half-packed apartment crammed with boxes lining the walls.

It was funny; no matter how much energy Lip had poured into he and Tami’s first apartment, into painting the walls and agonizing over their kitchen backsplash like it was his first-born son, whenever Lip thought about home, whenever he felt that pit of uneasiness growing in his stomach and he just needed a place where he could lie back on a couch and loosen the knots in his shoulders and breathe in familiar air that would fill him up, instead of the too-clean smell of Tami’s flowery potpourri that she’d placed on the expensive coffee table in their living room— Lip always found his feet leading him across the slabs of sidewalk and past the chain link fences towards the Gallagher house, no matter the time of night. He had only been in the house for a few minutes before he felt the tight-knit something in his chest begin to unfurl— he didn’t even want to start to think about what was lodged there. This had been a crazy fucking couple of months, and he wasn’t going to start getting sappy about selling the house now, not when they were so close. He’d dug a hole too deep this time, and he needed the money. He couldn’t fuck up again— not with Freddie to take care of. No matter what it cost him.

So that’s how Lip ended up sitting at the Gallagher kitchen table at 2 a.m. on a Thursday night, sipping at an overly-sugary pop that was no substitute for what he really wanted to be drinking right now—he could imagine how it would warm the insides of his stomach, how it would cushion whatever weird fucking ache was in his chest right now. But— no. Fuck no. He wasn’t going to do that now. Everything about selling the house, about moving on, was about getting his shit straight— about leaving the bad parts of this sagging roof and these stained floorboards behind him.

Lip slouched in the wooden kitchen chair, scrolling on his phone and finally letting out a breath he didn’t really know he had been holding in all day, when he heard a creaking of footsteps padding at the top of the stairs— too heavy to be Liam or Debbie, too careful and unfumbling to be Frank dragging himself through the house. Lip flickered a glance up from where he was sitting and met Ian’s eyes as he turned the corner of the stairs, his skin looking translucent and overly pale in the moonlight like the ginger motherfucker he was.

Ian nodded his head towards Lip in acknowledgement, like he wasn’t surprised in the slightest that his older brother with a whole ass family and apartment of his own was decidedly squatting in the kitchen of his childhood home, drinking a pathetic-looking can of Dr. Pepper. Ian slid open the fridge door, grabbing a beer and swiftly popping the cap off by knocking the bottle on the side of the counter—and then in an instant it became one of those quiet, familiar nights when it was just Lip and Ian in the kitchen, sometimes letting easy conversations flow between them, but other times, just like this— just sinking into each other’s presence in the silence. Ian’s shadow mingling with the moonlight on the kitchen floor immediately snapped the atmosphere from lonely and self-pitying and stale to something lighter, something familiar—like the worn, buttery leather of a baseball glove that fits just right.

Instantly Lip was brought back to so many nights before this, of he and Ian orbiting each other in the kitchen at night— when they were kids and would creep down the stairs and eat fistfuls of junk food that Fiona had forbidden, or steal warm sips of the open beers Frank had left on the counter. This was where they’d processed Monica’s return, late at night while they passed a cigarette between them and Ian hadn’t tried to hide the tears that were freely rolling down his freckled cheeks, back when they were both just confused kids who clung to each other— this was where they’d processed Frank’s alcoholic meltdowns, too many to count, and all the love and loss and confusion that had passed between these walls, all the collateral damage of living in this fucking neighborhood. And Lip felt a sudden pang in his gut, sharp and present, when he realized that it might be one of the last nights that he and Ian got to spend in the kitchen like this.

Lip immediately shoved the thought down with all his might, a hydraulic press squeezing out any sentimentality. He had to do this— for Freddie, for Tami. He had to man up and move on, even if it meant physically wounding the crumbling walls to ease the pain of the parallel jagged wounds somewhere deep in his chest, or screaming and shouting until veins popped in his neck, so loud that he knew he was radiating his pain outwards like a fucking atomic bomb.

But tonight, Lip had no more fight left to give. He just wanted to let these four walls hold him one last time, without even realizing that was what he had needed until this moment. Ian slid a chair out from the kitchen table and sat beside him, leaning back and dragging out a slow, sleepy breath.

Lip cleared his throat, softly. “Where’s Mick?”

“Passed out upstairs.” Ian scrubbed a hand over his face. “I couldn’t sleep.”

Lip raised his eyebrow, almost involuntarily, and Ian immediately jutted his chin up in a half-nod, an affirmation, as he leaned back even farther and took the first sip of his beer. No, he wasn’t manic and yes, he was fine. After all the years that had passed since Ian was still figuring this shit out, Lip sometimes forgot that checking in on him wasn’t really his job, not anymore.

Lip took another sip from his soda can, a movement to fill the easy silence. “How was your guys’ night?”

Ian shrugged non-committally, his shoulders still slumped back in the chair, his lips puckered around the mouth of the bottle as he stared off into the distance at the peeling kitchen wallpaper. “Eh. It was fine. I dragged Mickey out to try and make more gay friends. Ended up being a mistake.”

Lip held back a laugh, taking a sip from his own drink to mask his smirk. He had ample auditory evidence that Mickey was plenty as gay as Ian, but it was still hard to imagine Mickey leaning into all of this shit— Ian used to wear golden underwear and frequent gay clubs and go to social justice brunches, but none of that really seemed like it was Mickey’s scene.

“Oh yeah? Mickey not the easiest person to befriend?” Lip said it with his eyebrows raised, like the joke was obvious.

Ian looked up at him, like he’d been snapped out of a sleepy train of thought, staring earnestly like Lip’s jab had flown right over his head. “Actually, it was kind of my fault. I was the one who made us leave this dinner party thing we got invited to. They were all talking shit about the Southside, about how they hated their families, and I couldn’t really… connect with them, I guess.”

Lip pondered that, taking a breath and stretching his arms above his head. God, he was sore— he hadn’t even been fucking working, aside from hauling those bikes from place to place to avoid the cops, but all the pent up stress and tension was starting to linger in his bones.

“Yeah, it was the same for me. In college, or whatever. Joaquin was the only person I really talked to, because he got all the shit I was always going through.”

Ian nodded contemplatively—but he was staring off into space again, almost like he was half asleep. Lip took another sip of his soda. He could bring up the house shit again right now—it was all that they’d been talking about for the past few weeks—but for some reason it felt too raw, too intense to bring up right now, like it would cut through this peaceful moment, this island in the vast sea of uncertainty Lip knew he was bringing down on all of their heads. So in this moment, he opted for smoother waters.

“Why’d you guys go looking for new friends, anyways?”

Ian finally broke out of whatever drowsy, pensive trance he’d been in, his lips sloping into a smile. “Mickey kept giving me shit for always doing what you do, after breakfast today. I figured… I don’t know, I just got all pissy and tried to prove him wrong.”

Lip felt the corner of his mouth tick upward at that. “Guess you’re stuck with me.”

Ian grinned, and held out his beer bottle, stretching his arm across the table. Lip tapped it with his soda can with a light “Cheers,” then took the final sip. He crushed the can to a disk on the table, pressing it down firmly with the heel of his palm and watching the sides compress. Ian’s eyes were cast downward at the table, watching his movements.

“How’s stuff with you and Tami going, all the packing and shit?”

Lip turned the flattened can on its side, contemplatively spinning it like a top on the table and fidgeting with it between his fingers.

“Honestly? I’m fucking exhausted.”

He could hear the breathiness as he said it, how deflated his own voice sounded. And Lip knew could make himself say more— he knew if anyone would get it, Ian would.

“It’s just… fuck, man.”

He looked up and Ian was staring directly at him now, his expression unguarded— listening. Listening like he always did in these moments. Lip let out a low chuckle, trying to shield his own vulnerability.

“How’d we get so fucking old? How is this… it, y’know? Finally leaving the fucking nest, or whatever.”

Ian smiled, placing his beer on the table. “I think you already left the nest when you had a baby and moved into an apartment with your girlfriend.”

Lip shrugged, fiddling with the crushed can again between his fingertips. “Yeah. Guess you’re right.”

“And you are the one making us do this, for the record.”

If Ian’s tone wasn’t as playful or as tentative as it was, Lip would have worried that he was upset— but judging by Ian’s still-comfortable slouch and his steady expression, Lip knew he was fine— he was weathering the storm, just like Lip was.

Ian leaned forward.

“Hey. Mickey was giving me shit—but it is true. You’re my best friend, even though you can be a fucking asshole sometimes.” Ian’s lips curved into a crooked smile. “Nothing’s gonna change that.”

Ian’s eyes flickered around the kitchen as he spoke, and Lip heard everything that was unsaid. Even though you’re kicking us out of the house. Even though you’re changing everything. Even though there isn’t a focal point to our lives anymore.

You’re my best friend.

And Lip felt that pang in his gut again, sharp like a dagger.

**

He’d said it before, and he’d had no problem saying it over and over again in Mickey’s absence, up until the months before the wedding— Ian did always go a little bit “loco” when Mickey was around.

Which, fuck him, I guess, for caring about his little brother with an undiagnosed mental illness who was off living in the Milkovich House of Horrors slash meth lab with Mickey fucking Milkovich, the bully with greasy hair who Lip wrote papers for in high school and who now was a literal, actual, godforsaken pimp. Lip had seen a teenage Ian bruised and drunk and curled into himself crying over Mickey too many times to ever think that this shit was a good idea— and years later, when Ian almost threw away everything, almost threw away stability and sanity and his fucking family to follow Mickey Milkovich across the Mexican border, Lip knew he had to say something, even though it was an unspoken rule that he and Ian didn’t really critique each other’s love lives since the Mandy-and-Karen fiascos of years past.

So he’d said it, that day in the kitchen, after Ian had returned on a Greyhound bus and they were still processing the dull pain of Monica’s loss— and Ian had taken the feedback with a closed-lip smile, like his head was somewhere else, as he picked at the corner of the beer bottle label with his thumb.

And then less than a year later Mickey was released anyways, and ended up standing in a tank top and boxers in the middle of the Gallagher living room, when the house was crawling with strangers and Freddie was barely two weeks old— and Lip had taken in a sharp breath, a bundle of hesitant nerves sprouting for whatever the fuck this situation was going to become; but not one that he could really give attention to, with all the other bullshit that was pulling at his focus, like the desperate screeching of his newborn kid and the mascara running down Tami’s face.

Later that night, when he’d had a spare moment to breathe and Tami was finally calmed down and sleeping in their cramped bedroom, he’d run into Ian in the moonlit hallway as he was stumbling his way out of the bathroom, drowsily rubbing his eyes with his hair sticking up. And Lip had stopped him with a whisper, placing a hand to tap Ian’s shoulder as Ian blinked the sleep from his eyes.

“Hey. So uh… I see Mickey’s out.”

He’d seen the defenses immediately raise in Ian’s eyes, like he knew what Lip was going to say next.

“Yeah.” Ian had said it soft, quietly, like he was afraid of someone waking.

You sure that’s a good idea? Lip could feel the words itching on the tip of his tongue, and he was aching to say them again, all these years later— and yes, maybe his head was so wrapped up in his own shit that he didn’t really have the authority to be doling out relationship advice to his little brother right now, but so much of this reminded him of things that had happened in the past, of Mickey Milkovich crashing on Ian’s bedroom floor until he inevitably couldn’t anymore, until the pressure cooker of his presence mingled with Ian’s inevitably exploded— or at least that was how Lip saw it. There were too many wounds, and they were bound to leave scars— Lip was honestly surprised as fuck that the Gallagher house was Mickey’s first stop out of prison, after everything that had gone down between the two of them.

But, for Ian’s sake, Lip tried to reign it in—despite the fact that they’d just been commiserating about “being in love with crazy people” as they crouched on the living room stairs the night before as Ian sipped on a beer, sputtering out a “fuck no” when Lip asked if he was going to marry Mickey (which was an equally as batshit question as if Lip was going to marry Tami). Despite all of this— now that Mickey was back, Lip could see that this was something Ian wanted, that this was something Ian was treading carefully into, one more time. He was definitely stronger now; even Lip could see that.

“He gonna be hanging around here a while?”

Ian had given a gentle, sleepy smile. “Yeah. Think so.”

And Lip had just reached out, and clapped Ian’s sleep-warmed body on the shoulder. “Sounds good, man.”

Ian had walked the remaining length of the hallway, opening the bedroom door— and in the shadows, Lip could see that Mickey was curled on the old, concave mattress of Ian’s single bed that he’d slept on since they were kids— and Ian had lifted the thin blanket and pressed up next to him, the mattress sinking beneath their collective weight, settling in and pressing a kiss to the top of a snoring Mickey’s head without a second thought. Huh.

That was the beginning of Lip starting to realize that maybe, just maybe, this time with Mickey would be different— and it was. As Mickey started to become a daily fixture in the Gallagher house, constantly pinned to Ian’s side, Lip had noticed how something solid had shifted—they weren’t reckless kids anymore, for starters. He hadn’t really seen Mick and Ian physically together since Ian was catapulting off the deep end, in the weeks after Ian had gotten dragged away by the P.I.s and Mickey had gotten locked up for some crazy fucking stunt trying to murder Sammy. Things were too intense then, too technicolor—for some reason, Lip thought Mickey being back meant that they’d return to being that way.

But now here was this guy, placing a gentle hand on Ian’s chest and saying “Woah, wait a minute” to protect Ian from the batshit P.O. that had just barged through the door—and Lip couldn’t help but realize that was something that he would have done to protect Ian, in a universe where Mickey was still behind bars.

After then, Lip just kept seeing it— the ways that Mickey showed up for Ian. Not even in the ways that he used to, like forcing Ian to take his meds back when everything was uncertain and Ian was slipping through their fingers like sand in a sieve; but in a more solid, adult way, in a way that made Ian buzz whenever he was around him, in a way that made Ian happier and lighter. And maybe it was just the sex—part of it had to be the fucking sex, considering how loud they always were— but Lip realized, after a couple of weeks of Mickey’s presence in the house before their whole eventual engagement fiasco, that Mickey was Ian’s friend, in addition to all the other things he was. After all the years of uncertainty, they’d finally grown the fuck up— Mickey was someone who brought out the best in Ian, and it was like Ian had been waiting for this moment, for Mickey by his side, before he could fully and totally bloom.

And it was weird how emotional that made Lip— after seeing Ian as a hollow shell in a jumpsuit pushing garbage cans around a college campus, or pretending to be someone he wasn’t who wore patterned button-up shirts and threw around fucking useless five-dollar words that Lip didn’t understand like “gender identity” and “intersectionality”— Ian had finally made it, beyond being the bruised, scrawny kid getting sexually abused by a creepy 30 year old man in the back room of a mini-mart, or getting high off his ass every night and starving himself to fit into a golden thong, or wearing a baggy janitor suit with dark circles under his eyes and pallid skin. Ian had done that shit on his own, and made himself into something in Mickey’s absence, sure— but so much of him being the full, happy person he was in this moment was because of Mickey, and Lip could see that now.

Ian was himself— he wasn’t a shadow anymore.

And that was why Lip had said he thought he should marry Mickey, in the end— because there was no doubt in his mind that Mickey Milkovich wasn’t going anywhere, not anytime soon.

Lip could still see it now, in the way that Ian was lounging comfortably in the living room, like he had his whole life— but now Mickey was resting just as comfortably beside him. It was a few weeks after that night in the kitchen, and Lip had just pitched the FOR SALE sign in the Gallagher front yard— now everyone was huddled in the living room, for what they now knew was one of their last lingering nights in this space. Liam was sitting next to Lip, pressed into his side, seeking the comfort that Lip knew he needed through all of these massive fucking changes— Franny was playing on the floor and Debbie was sitting beside her, and across the room Ian and Mickey were pressed side-by-side on the fraying loveseat, scrolling through the lease document for their new apartment on the battered laptop. They were murmuring things to each other that Lip couldn’t really make out— but Mickey was pressed against Ian, slouching into him slightly, and Ian’s eyes were light. In his flicker of a glance towards them, Lip noticed that Mickey was playing with Ian’s hand, swiping a finger over his wedding ring, as Ian scrolled through the paperwork and started to read all the contract information out loud— and Lip smiled to himself as he tried to tune out all the sappy bullshit that was going on in that corner of the room.

Ian was going to be just fine.

**

Hour later Lip strode out the door to the front porch, a cigarette he’d bummed off of Ian wrapped in his fist— he didn’t smoke anymore, especially not under the same roof as Tami, but there was something about the gravity of this night, of the flimsy red and white sign rooted in the front yard, that made Lip’s fingertips itch for a cigarette and made his brain buzz with the want of nicotine to dull the sharp edges of everything he was feeling—for smoke to float in front of his face while he sat on the front steps just one more time.  

He perched on the front steps as the sun was just starting to set, the fish-scale shadows of the chain link fence encroaching further and further into the yard as he flicked at his lighter.

He heard a light cough from somewhere in front of him— and saw that Mickey was outside too, blowing smoke out of his mouth and leaning against the fence in the front yard facing the house. Lip nodded at him in acknowledgement, then took the first drag. Fuck, he’d needed this.

“You gonna miss this place?”

 Mickey said it into the open air, like he isn’t really talking to Lip— his eyes were off in the distance, staring at the paint-chipped front façade of the house. Which was fucking bullshit—why would Mickey be staring absentmindedly, almost fucking wistfully, at the Gallagher house?

It’s not like he and Mickey didn’t talk— they definitely did, pragmatically flinging banter across the kitchen to each other at breakfast when coordinating rides for Liam or grocery list items when Debbie was off at work, existing in the same space every morning— and Mickey helped him haul literal tons of iron when he’d helped him steal the bikes, had haggled over his cut. But never like this—never with any weight, never in a way that was this casual, or this familial, about fucking feelings.

Part of that was probably because it was hard as fuck to worm your way into the Gallagher family—as wide open as their door always seemed to be, with people filtering in and out and crashing on hallway floors or the lumpy couch, this house only continued to function because of its nucleus— because of Lip and Ian and Carl and Debbie and Fiona and Liam and yes, even Frank. Everyone else was a passerby, an impermanent blip crossing through the way station; Jimmy-Steve, Sean, Carl’s slew of girls, Mandy and Karen.

Monica.

None of them were Gallaghers— none of them considered this place to be home, or got all the privileges that came with that. The Gallaghers, the real Gallaghers, had seen every one of these people come and go— and something slippery suddenly crept into Lip’s realization that despite all the odds, despite all of his doubts about him—Mickey had chosen to stay close to these four walls just as much as Lip had.

“Mickey’s family.” Ian had said it over a mouthful of bacon at breakfast a few weeks ago, and Lip had immediately shot him down; but maybe there was some truth to what Ian had said, some truth to the oddly unfailing consistency to Mickey’s ten years. Which meant that maybe…

Maybe it was time to make a fucking peace offering, or whatever.

Lip hummed in acknowledgement to Mickey’s question, pulling himself out of his train of thought.

“Hey. Mick.”

Mickey looked up at where Lip was leaning on the porch, his brows furrowing like he was bracing himself for a confrontation. “Yeah?”

“My head’s been too far up my ass the past couple of months to say it, but, uh. I’m glad you’re family, y’know?”

He’d been passively thinking it for months— but he’d never said it to Mickey, never this directly. He hoped Mickey got it, without brushing it off or shooting him down with some snarky fucking comment like he always did. Lip meant it— he was glad, he was grateful, he was ready to let Mickey Milkovich keep being a part of his fucked up familial life. And he hoped that Mickey saw that.

Mickey just rolled his eyes, taking another drag of his cigarette—but he didn’t say anything in reply, not for a moment. And then:

“You’re as sappy as your fucking brother, Phillip.”

[secretshinigami]

Masterlist of Spring Roulette 2020

Thank you everyone for giving this a go. It was a fun round and all gifts are now posted. We will return to our regular method of matching in our next exchange and we look forward to your participation.

Here is a compiled list of everyone’s prompts from this round – thank you for letting us post them, and we hope you guys enjoy them! If you use a prompt, please let us know and we’ll reblog your piece!

Prompts are organized by their submitter, so feel free to ctrl+f to find character-specific prompts.

theallknowingowlagain

Girls’ night with Sachiko and Sayu

Five times Beyond Birthday lost to A, and one time he came out on top

Office AU

A date with Naomi and Raye

What L sees in the dark

L as an actual frog, Light as whatever animal you prefer

hazblogs

Naomi Misora and BB have a fun time looking for clues for the LABB murders, with cheeky banter and Naomi getting a little attached to Beyond

L wins AU, where Light never recovers his memories, but Misa did (following canon). explore how L, knowing that Light is Kira but being unable to either prove it without making Light a criminal, deals with the whole "Light is Kira but he doesn't remember it" situation

Mello is a witch and Near is a vampire he's been hunting for a long time - maybe to discover that he was chasing the wrong target all along

Mello and Near hugging, if possible in casual clothes

Light's mind-shelter, the place in his head he retreats to when the pressure of being Kira becomes too much and he starts to doubt (extremely early in the manga or post L's death)

Naomi Misora and L wearing traditional japanese yukatas at a summer festival

missmomentss

Beyond Birthday going a blind date with A

L meeting Beyond Birthday for the first time

Misa and L have a sleepover party

A switched roles with Beyond Birthday

Sayu is Kira

Mello meeting Beyond Birthday in prison

almostsane-things

DN cast goes to college together, has some unfortunate roommate matches, hijinx ensue

The Kira case from Sayu or Sachiko's POV 

AU where Soichiro actually dies from the heart attack he had in the first arc and Light is accused of murdering his dad.

Lowlightprimed AU: The fight between B and L at Wammy's house at the end of the first arc (BBAL) 

Lidner and Misora go on an undercover mission on Halloween

Near in harajuku fashion(s), creatively dyed hair is a plus

Beyond Birthday dressed as Winnie the Pooh and eating jam out of a honey-pot.

Mourning the death of various DN characters (Who gets large crowds? Who gets one or two heartfelt mourners? Who gets mourned by no one at all?)  

Fake dating sim screenshot featuring character of your choice   

beyondplusultra

Wammy House-era Near, Mello, and Matt trying to give L something for Valentine's Day.

The origin of the "Dear Mello" photograph.

Mikami being catfished by Beyond Birthday.

Anything involving Mello, Matt, and Near hanging out (as friends, romantically, or with one of them third-wheeling is fine).

Sayu giving Light his obligatory Valentine's chocolate at his grave.

Light surrounded by chibi versions of the other Kiras, who are clambering over one another to try and be the first to give him their chocolate.

jeepersjeevas

(Anyone!) Person A comes home during a blizzard covered in snow and all grumpy. Person B warms them up with their pj’s and cuddles

Matt/Mello: They get into a heated argument over something trivial in canon. They say some pretty harsh stuff to each other, but make up later

Wammy’s Kids: In which they all sneak out one night to go to the drug store. Upon discovering they’ve forgotten their money they decide to shoplift, using B as their distraction.

B and Matt as best friends post-timeskip

L hardcore crushing on Misa, and she lowkey liking him back (canon)

Makeshift boyband in someone’s garage. Löded Diper vibes. B’s lead singer

jeevas-exe

mello & matt but they have magical powers au 

fem!light and takada but one of them borrows a book and doesn't return it so they have to find each other au

canon-compliant character study on sayu, post-canon (when Light dies); pre-canon L first getting into the kira case

au where Light and L become accidental roommates because SOMEONE forgot to pay rent 

canon-compliant Mello and Matt find each other between the explosion and the ending

Light and L in some ugly fashion, like dads-on-vacation-in-Florida fashion

Naomi Misora with lots of tattoos!

Rem and Ryuk in human form, with some punk fashion

complicatedmerary

Light and Sayu bake a cake for a birthday surprise party for either parent (Soichiro or Sachiko) of your choice. A lot of family silliness and sibling bickering.

Light and Misa's first official romantic date was a disaster. While it does not shake Misa's devotion, her feelings are hurt.

Death Note is a reality TV show. Yes, there's still a Kira to be caught, but cameras are now involved! The more dramatic, the better!

Mikami and Takada walking side by side out in the winter.

L meeting Wedy and Aiber for the first time.

Demegawa being pampered like the king he believes he is.

babelfell

Reverse!Noel AU (Noel by TzviaAriella): Light won, and threw Near in the cage meant for himself. It's been three years since his victory, and he's starting to get lonely; he goes down to taunt Near. (NOT SHIPPY. Disgusting rivals only, thank u).

Terrace House AU (or 'we all are strangers and have to live together' reality show AU) with the Death Note cast.

Pirate!AU. L is the captain of the ship, and Light is his first mate and plotting a mutiny with his most 'trusted' crew:  Takada and Mikami. It's all going well until Misa hears about the plot and wants in...

Light/Near dating sim CG.

Beach Episode feat. Light and Mikami getting iced drinks under an umbrella.

Kiyomi Takada and/or Teru Mikami in a kimono, having tea alone or with one another.

Anonymous

A holiday at Wammy's House (could be Christmas, Halloween, Valentine's day, etc)

Raye and Naomi's first date

LABB beach episode

Older Light braiding Near's very long hair

Naomi and cats

Spider-Man meme but it's L (from the anime/manga) and L (from the 2015 tv drama)

In a no!kira world, both fem!L and fem!light have a crush on misa. how do they try to impress her?

Beyond Birthday “accidentally” (its totally on purpose, he just doesn’t want to admit it) gets involved with the Kira case, and he and Misa become friends while they both annoy light.

Light Yagami wakes up in his teenage bedroom after he died at the Yellow Box warehouse. He still has all his memories, and it’s exactly one day before he originally found the death note.  

The Kira case ended years ago, the Wammy’s House is shut down. Only very few of the original Wammy’s kids are still in touch with each other. Linda hasn’t talked to anyone from Wammy’s in years. One day, Near knocks on the front door of her atelier in LA.

Light Yagami is for whatever reason a Wammy’s kid. (Pre-canon, so not even LABB has happened yet, and we’re ignoring the timeline, so L, Light, Beyond, and the other Wammy’s kids (Near, mello, matt, linda) are all the same age.) Chaos ensues.

Fantasy!AU. The noble knight Light Yagami was tasked with slaying the “evil” monster Ryuk. On his journey through a fantasy land while trying to find and defeat the beast he meets many people, like the cutesy goth witch Misa Amane, the baker’s son L Lawliet (Watari’s the baker) and his twin Beyond Birthday, or the group of 4 students from a wealthy orphanage (Wammy’s House is the orphanage, Linda, Matt, Mello, and Near are the students).

Misa posing, while Linda is painting her.  

Misa, L, and Light in modern fashion (Misa as an egirl, what fashion L & light wear is ur choice!!)

Misa’s reaction after she used the death note for the first time, viewed through the shinigami eyes. (Maybe she’d also have some blood on her clothes)  

An interaction of Mello and Near pre-canon when they were still in Wammy’s House.

A drawing of the characters mentioned the fantasy!au fanfic prompt, goofing off. (doesn’t have to be all characters, just choose the ones you wanna draw!!)  

Misa Amane sitting in a Wammy’s House foyer with the Wammy’s kids (Near, Mello, Matt, Linda). They’re all the same age, Misa’s also a Wammy’s kid.

Several years post-canon, Near decides to (or has to because circumstances) tell Sachiko and Sayu the truth about Light.

Pre-canon Light and Yamamoto hanging out at an arcade, being early 2000s teens in peace.

Actor AU. Light is a young Japanese actor getting his first Hollywood role under L, a notoriously difficult director who never shows his face. (Not Lawlight, other ships welcome.)

Near and Light playing a piano duet.

Naomi kicking ass in her wedding dress in a Kill Bill-esque fashion.

Ryuk trying to play Switch and struggling to use the Joycons with his huge hands, to Light's amusement.

[blurglesmurfklaine]

Answer the prime numbered questions for the writers' ask meme!

Bold of you to assume I remember enough from math class in high school to know which numbers are prime EDIT: THERE ARE A LOT MORE PRIME NUMBERS THAN I THOUGHT THERE WERE (yes I had to google it I am not a Designated Math Gay)

1. Tell us about your WIP!

I’m currently posting Here We Go Again, which is the sequel to There From The Start where Blaine is the 12th member of the OG New Directions in season one! It’s actually a fic I didn’t realize would end up being so close to my heart but like I finished it the other day and big oof I was a sad girl.

2. Where is your favorite place to write?

Since covid? My room lol

3. What is your favorite/least favorite part about writing?

My favorite part is coming up with the emotional scenes which usually just come to me in the form of dialogue! I’m a total slut for drama or the result of emotional buildup

My LEAST fave part is like... coming up with a story that makes fucking *sense* around those bits lmaooooooo

5. Top five formative books?

(I’m gonna include fic in this)

All the other ghosts

LITTLE NUMBERS CHANGED MY LIFE OKAY

The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series

Perfect Chemistry which was just this trashy romance/drama novel (or maybe it wasn’t that trashy and I’ve been conditioned to think romance novels are trashy bc they focus on women) that got passed around in eighth grade and DEFINITELY started my addiction to love stories

Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult. I think this is one of my favorite books of all time. It’s so fucking beautiful and heartbreaking and I think I need to give it a re read tbh

7. Favorite/most inspirational book?

Oof this is so fucking hard. I’m not gonna say change of heart just bc I already used that one, so... Sing You Home also by Jodi Picoult just... fucks me right up man. And it’s gay. AND ITS GAY WITH A HAPPY ENDING. AND ITS NOT FIC CAN U BELIEVE?

11. What are you planning to work on next?

I’m kind of nervous about my next project actually, because it’s not a type of story I’ve ever tackled before and idek how to summarize it without making it seem like it’s about something it’s not??? Idek I know I’m not making sense lmaooooo

Basically, it’s Kurt and Blaine adjusting to life after being reunited after 7 years. I actually finished the first chapter today! It’s going to be called Amidst the Chaos :) I’m very excited but also kind of nervous bc I also don’t have all of it entirely fleshed out but we’ll see what happens!

13. Describe your writing process

Bro. I have no process.

Jk, recently, I’ve been going to my room, turning off my lights, and turning on my instrumental music playlist (Schubert, my dude, you got me through the last few chapters of HWGA) other than that... I guess I make a rough outline and then sort of figure things out as I go???

17. What things (scenes/topics/character types) are you most comfortable writing?

Scenes: I love awkward/uncomfortable/funny situations. They are my CRACK

Topics: characters discussing their family and friends

Character: I could be wrong but I feel like I’m pretty good at writing Finn?

19. How do you cope with writer’s block?

Take a break. Go for a walk. Read something new. Read something old of mine that I liked. Work on one shots that I forgot about like they’re a pallet cleanser. Go back and try to write and nothing comes to me AGAIN. Force my self to take a break for REAL this time. Wash, rinse, repeat.

23. Most anticipated upcoming books?

I don’t think I read enough books anymore to answer this, but some of my friends are working on things that I am very VERY excited to read! (Yes Brit and Adri this is about y’all)

29. Is writing more of a hobby or do you write with the intention of getting published?

100% a hobby. Cheaper than therapy!

37. Do you ever write long handed or do you prefer to type everything?

Sometimes I do write on pen and paper! I feel like your brain works differently when that happens. Some of my best things have come from writing on pen and paper, I think.

41. Are there any books you feel have shaped you as a writer?

This is gonna sound stupid, but I think the Captain Underpants series had a huge impact on me... HEAR ME OUT: I love comedy, I love to laugh, I love to make other people laugh, and those books were some of the first books that had me CACKLING as a child and I was like “OH WORM?” So I make sure to keep most of my stories light with humor!

43. How do you deal with rejection?

Usually I just bitch about it in private with my friends 😂😂 but I like to think I take *constructive* criticism pretty well!

47. Single or dual/multi POV?

I think it really depends on the story, but overall dual/multi. It’s something I still struggle with on some scenes because I’m like I WANT EVERYBODY TO KNOW THIS CHARACTERS EXACT REACTION AND THOUGHTS but like it just ain’t their time to shine 😔

53. What is the first line of your WIP?

AIGHT AIGHT AIGHT

This is from the next chapter of Here We Go Again:

“He hit her in the face?” Kurt’s voice rang from the other end of the line.

This is from my not yet posted WIP, Amidst the Chaos:

Table five—sriracha sauce, he thinks to himself.

And this one is from one I may or may not tackle (but if I do it’s gonna be called Cruel Summer bc I’m s slut for t swizzle):

In the seven years that they’ve known each other, Blaine has never—not once—liked a single boyfriend Sebastian has introduced to their friend group.

THANKS SO MUCH FOR THIS ASK!!! It was super fun :))) 🥰

[rayliur]

Little Fires Everywhere; Everything I Never Told You

“To say that Celeste Ng’s novels have changed my life is an understatement; her works have saved my life.”

by Ray Liu

Follow me on Twitter for more: https://twitter.com/rayliur

No, I’m not being dramatic. They really did.

I first discovered Miss Celeste Ng through Twitter. I believe one of my friends had retweeted her and her tweet made it to my feed. At the time, I wasn’t an avid reader; I barely picked up a book (and this was in 2016). Fast-forward three years, Ng had inspired me--through her two amazing novels--to write my own novel. But my novel isn’t the focus of this blog post.

See, my whole life as an Asian American was atypically strange. I thought it was just me, an individual who didn’t know how to navigate through life. Somewhere inside me longed to see someone--a successful someone--who represented me in this country. I was born in Manhattan, lived in Brooklyn throughout my childhood and early adulthood, and only recently moved to Queens. But I was born here. In America.

But I never read a single book in all my twelve years of school that was written by an Asian American. And as a Chinese-American boy in his teens, I thought that I could never write a book or even be part of the English/literary realm--because no one would want to listen to my stories. Because I am Chinese.

Of course, after high school, and during my journey of self-discovery, I came across works like Joy Luck Club ... that was it. So scratch off that s after “work.” Just work. I was young at the time, so that was not a book I paid attention to or spent time trying to read it or understand it.

There just wasn’t enough authors who looked like me or understood stories like mine.

Over the years, I’ve dealt with issues--personal issues. And they all stemmed from my oddly dysfunctional family. I’ve tried so many ways to express my feelings toward them and about them, but none of them worked. At least not to the extent I thought they would. And I couldn’t just tell them how I felt at the time because, in Chinese households, you just don’t talk about feelings. In fact, therapy is taboo. I screamed inside every day and night--they just didn’t understand what I was going through; that my identity here in this country felt diminished, on the brink of disappearing.

To say that I never thought about death is a lie.

Then I came across Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng.

“Ng,” I thought. “Interesting. An Asian-American author. Wow.”

It was at the Amazon Bookstore on 34th that I picked up the book. I was so excited. I had heard of Celeste Ng on Twitter, but never put two and two together until I googled her on my phone that day at the bookstore, and sure enough her bio popped up, including her Twitter page which I had already followed. I read the back cover. “Death!” I was immediately hooked.

The book opens with Lydia, who is dead. It’s not even a spoiler, because the whole story surrounds this incident--how Lydia’s family deals with her death and how her death reveals all the secrets that, in time, consume the family until everything falls apart. The title is elegantly designed. The choice of “I” instead of “She” or “They” had me thinking about the overarching frame of the novel. “I” applies to every character--not just one. Soon, I was swept into the seventies, where Ng takes me through a conservative society that frowned upon interracial couples, marriages, and relationships.

The first scene in this novel that stood out to me--made me rage and cry in joy--is the pool scene where Nathan (the oldest son) is bullied by white kids in a game of Marco Polo. “Chink can’t find China,” says one of the white kids at the pool (Ng 90). Ng unapologetically exposes racism in her novel by using Nathan as a target for these bleach-blond, ignorant white kids. I was Nathan. I had been in his shoes and reading this scene made me cry--not because it triggered horrific memories, but because I’ve finally found an author who gets it--who isn’t afraid to tell the whole truth, raw and with zero sugar coating.

Then there was the theme of death and suicide. Just to be clear, I’ve only thought about death--never did I ever try to harm myself in any way. Just like Lydia. SPOILER ALERT! Skip this paragraph if you haven’t read this book and are planning to read it in the near future. Lydia hates her life; she was always the quiet girl who got good grades (the stereotypical Asian) simply because she was afraid her mother would run away from her family, again. Of course, Lydia had nothing to do with Marilyn leaving. Needless to say, Lydia’s parents really fucked her up, mentally. Relatable? Fuck yes! Reading proses and passages from Lydia’s POV felt so real to me, like I had somehow channeled myself into her head. At the end, when she decides to challenge herself--rowing herself out to the middle of the lake--by swimming back ashore, she gave me hope. That, shit happens but you just have to choose to live and know that things will get better. Lydia dies of course, because she couldn’t swim and thinking you can swim is very different from knowing you can swim.

Not only does Ng break stereotypes in this novel, she bends the old narrative of Chinese Americans in the U.S. and points the fingers back at trashy white folks--all the while doing it with grace and perfection.

Little Fires Everywhere, however, had little takes on the Asian narrative. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t make a powerful statement through the lens of Asian Americans and racism toward Asian Americans. I’ll get to that very soon. This novel opens up with the Richardsons’ house burning down. And yes, this story focuses on a (presumably) white family--very privileged and very perfect in white standards. It takes place in Shaker Heights, Ohio, a town that was built on order and strict city-community planning. The streets are always clean and the color of houses all share one Home Depot swatch palette. Then comes the wild card character Mia Warren with her young daughter Pearl. Ng doesn’t specify Mia and Pearl’s race or ethnicity--but photos of the cast had been released by Hulu (due to the novel being picked up as an original series on the platform--congrats, Celeste!)--and I believe Kerry Washington is going to play Mia. With that little tidbit in my head, I read through the novel picturing Mia Warren as a black woman with a mixed-race daughter. It’s a great dynamic, actually. Mia inadvertently becomes the mirror that reflects all of Mrs. Richardson’s (and her family’s) pretentiousness and overly saturated life. That’s the synopsis. 

SPOILER ALERT (again)! Skip this paragraph if you wish to read this book in the near future. Like I said earlier, there’s an Asian-American component to this novel. While drama ensues between the Richardsons and the Warrens, a subplot underlines the novel. Bebe Chow, a Chinese woman from Hong Kong (I believe it was HK), abandons her few-month-old child May Ling in front of a fire station. The city claims the orphan and hands her over to the McCulloughs, who could not have children because of infertility. Bebe puts her life back together again and decides she wants May Ling back--who now goes by Mirabelle, a white name given to her by a white family. Toward the end of the novel, a large chunk of it is dedicated to the court case that decided May Ling’s fate: to go with the McCulloughs or be returned to her biological mother. During that legal battle, Ed Lim comes in (Bebe’s attorney). Ed Lim is my favorite character, so my review here is clearly a little biased. Ng creates Ed Lim to be someone who breaks the stereotype of Asian men. Ed Lim is “six feet” tall, “lean and rangy” (Ng 258). Wow. Ng is a literary god. As Bebe’s attorney, Ed’s job is to win the case of course. He questions Mrs. McCullough regarding how she plans to raise a Chinese baby girl. McCullough replies that she would learn Chinese herself: but she doesn’t even know the difference between the variety of Chinese dialects (Shanghainese, Toisan, Mandarin, just to name a few). Then, McCullough shoots herself in the foot by telling him that she buys Mirabelle a lot of toys--namely a teddy bear. Oh, no--not just any bear. Because Mirabelle is Chinese, McCullough got her Chinese baby a fucking panda bear. I laughed so hard at this point. Ng is a genius. But what’s most important and to be taken seriously in this scene is when Ed Lim asks if Mirabelle has any dolls, you know, because most girls in the nineties had wanted to play with Barbie dolls. McCullough, confident and chest-puffed, answers him. “We buy her dolls ... one of them closes her eyes when you lay her down...” (Ng 261). This was when I knew exactly where Ng is going with this: the eyes. Ed Lim asks McCullough what the color of that doll’s eyes is and she says, “Blue” (Ng 261). He proceeds to lecture her, telling her that the Barbie company does not manufacture Chinese or Asian dolls. There is no doll that represents May Ling. Ah, America. Fucking up children of color since 1776. And Mirabelle would lose touch with her heritage as she grows older. A young impressionable girl without any understanding (real understanding) of her identity is dangerous. Just when I thought Ng was planning on drilling through her novel with the focus on a white and black family, she crashes through the fabric of her story with THIS! Only a true legend and storytelling extraordinaire can do things like this.

In conclusion, Celeste Ng is my hero. Her powerful proses articulate the issues of racism and cultural stereotypes in America, and the [inner] human psyche--all through the telling of interpersonal and small-scale stories--that majorly impacts the world we live in.

I hope you all get a chance to read both of her books. I would definitely recommend starting with Everything I Never Told You. I love her writing style in both novels. The debut novel interchanges between past- and present-tenses, which is refreshing. And Little Fires Everywhere is written in all past-tense, which helps the reader focus more on the story.

So like I said. These books saved my life. Ng gave me relatable characters that I absolutely cannot find elsewhere and plots that had me white-knuckle through both books. I truly hope that schools across the country add at least one of her works into their curriculum because it is THAT IMPORTANT.

Below is an excerpt from Little Fires that I tweeted earlier. It’s pretty self-explanatory. It entirely captured my current situation with my familial issues. And thank you Penguin Books for retweeting it!

(p. 294, 2019 ed.)

(From Twitter)

Thank you, Celeste! Thank you, Penguin, for picking up her works to publish.

Thank you for reading my thoughts on these two works.

Now, off I go, back to writing my own novel.

Ray

[davidcbrighton]

hi, do you have any good molliarty fic recs? :)

Of course! Below are some of my personal favorites. Also, you should definitely check out @whyimmathere​‘s recent Molliarty post. It’s got lots of fics and the links at the bottom lead to her huge personal collection of Molliarty stories scoured from the internet. It’s a fantastic resource for any Molliarty reader and I’m very grateful for her dedication to this ship.

In no particular order:

Say Something Ordinary by TheWormThatTurns

Chapters: 6/6Words: 5485Rating: Teen And Up AudiencesWarnings: No Archive Warnings ApplyRelationships: Irene Adler/Molly Hooper, Molly Hooper/Jim Moriarty, Molly Hooper/John Watson, Mycroft Holmes/Molly Hooper, Molly Hooper/Greg Lestrade, Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper

Additional Tags: Happy Ending, Unhappy Ending, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Alternate Universe

Summary:

Soul mates exist. They know one another, if they meet, by the words on their flesh. The first words they will speak to one another. Molly Hooper is one person amongst millions, if not billions, born with a banal remark on her skin. True love is hard to find. AU. f/f & f/m, mostly the latter.

The Molliarty in this story is only one chapter, but I enjoyed the whole piece very much. It even has a bit of Jim POV!

Daddy by the sublime mime

Chapters: 1/1Words: 643Rating: TSummary: “Let’s play our favorite game.” Jim says. “Let’s play pretend.” -a little dribble, in which Jim is very alive and very angry with our favorite pathologist-

A shortie, but I liked it. Bit of violence in this.

I love you as I love… by CalicoKitten

Chapters: 1/1Words: 3584Fandom: Sherlock (TV), His Dark Materials - Philip PullmanRating: Not RatedWarnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive WarningsRelationships: Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, Molly Hooper/Jim MoriartyCharacters: Molly Hooper, Jim Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes, Mycroft HolmesAdditional Tags: Alternate Universe - Daemon, Daemons, Molly is a BAMF, she’s also not as innocent as everyone thinks, Unhealthy Relationships, Death ReferencesSummary:

Molly knows Jim Doyle (because that’s how he introduces himself, hands sweating and shaky, stuttering in the cafeteria) is bad news as soon as she sees his daemon grin.

That doesn’t put her off him. If anything it makes her say yes all the more quickly.

Fantastic story that makes good use of both source canons and also mythology. Knowledge of His Dark Materials is not necessary. There are a few grammar/word usage errors but don’t let that put you off—the story is so enjoyable it doesn’t matter. I’ve read it many times.

I O U by retorica

Chapters: 8/?Words: 20761Rating: MatureWarnings: Graphic Depictions Of ViolenceRelationships: Molly Hooper/Jim MoriartyCharacters: Molly Hooper, Jim Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes, Eurus Holmes, Sebastian Moran

Additional Tags: Psychopath in Love, Loss of Innocence, Molly is his queen, molliarty - Freeform

Summary:

“Are you in love, Jim? Has sentiment overcome your faculties?” (4x03 flashback compliant)

This story. It’s a WIP. Slow to update but so, so good. It’s sort of set in canon? Canon-themed, maybe? I’m not sure how to describe it, honestly, but retorica really amps it up here. Beautifully written and the author shows zero fear of taking turns with the plot.

What Sober Couldn’t Say by ribcage

Chapters: 1/1Words: 4603Rating: Not RatedWarnings: No Archive Warnings ApplyRelationships: Molly Hooper/Jim Moriarty, Molly Hooper/James MoriartyCharacters: Molly Hooper, Jim Moriarty, Toby the Cat (Sherlock)Additional Tags: Drunk Texting, Texting, Happy Ending, molliarty - Freeform, Inspired By Tumblr

Summary:

“(11:23 pm) Drinking again

(11:24 pm) And since it makes me too sad to go on my blog anymore thanks to you, I figured it’s only fair you become my new place to vent

(11:25 pm) You’re probably not receiving these messages anyway so no harm no foul

(11:25 pm) Right?”

Molly drunk-texts Jim over the course of several months.

They say that nuance is lost over text, but Molly’s pain is very palpable here. A large part of this story is comprised of text messages, but the author writes well and the medium works here. Bit of a happy ending. Love this one!

Junior by ll_again

Chapters: 1/1Words: 1907Rating: Teen And Up AudiencesWarnings: No Archive Warnings ApplyRelationships: Molly Hooper/Jim MoriartyCharacters: Molly Hooper, Jim Moriarty, Toby the Cat (Sherlock)Additional Tags: Jim is a cat person, Post-Episode: s01e03 The Great GameSummary:

So what’s a beleaguered pathologist to do when the UK’s Most Wanted turns up to visit her cat?

Lovely writing and ll_again just portrays Jim and Molly so beautifully. This one is a little more lighthearted than some of the other stories here. If you like sexual tension and humor, you’ll love this. It’s great!

A Bedtime Story for a Madman and a Queen by sillythings

Chapters: 5/5Words: 17411Rating: T

Summary: Moriarty stops by to tell Molly a bedtime story.

This might be my favorite of all time. Hauntingly beautiful. The author’s portrayal of Jim is so good it’s stunning. The storytelling here is masterful, and spins stories within stories. It’s dark and loving and just wonderful. Strong Sherlolly theme in this one.

Power in Potentia by sovery

Chapters: 1/1Words: 1268Rating: Teen And Up AudiencesWarnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive WarningsRelationships: Molly Hooper/Jim Moriarty, Molly Hooper & Jim MoriartyCharacters: Molly Hooper, Jim MoriartyAdditional Tags: feminist reclaimation of the text, Fairy Tale Elements, Vampires, darkish, (it’s all about the ish)

Summary:

Molly does not imagine that this is how Jim expected their confrontation to go.

Bit of formatting issues in this one, but it’s so well-written it’s worth the read. Not exactly a relationship fic, but I loved Molly in this. A good, dark story.

The Fox by Anarfea

Chapters: 1/1Words: 3767Rating: ExplicitWarnings: No Archive Warnings ApplyRelationships: Molly Hooper/Jim Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, Sherlock Holmes/Jim MoriartyCharacters: Molly Hooper, Jim Moriarty, Sherlock HolmesAdditional Tags: Missing Scene, Season/Series 02, Anal Play, Anal Sex, Dirty Talk, Masturbation, Oral Sex, Sexual Fantasy, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Vaginal Sex, molliarty - Freeform

Summary:

“Close your eyes and pretend I’m Sherlock Holmes,” he murmured. “I don’t mind.”

Oh, the smut. In character, well-written smut. Fantastic story. 

Nameless by Ridiculosity

Chapters: 9/?Words: 37733Rating: MatureWarnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive WarningsRelationships: Molly Hooper/Jim MoriartyCharacters: Jim Moriarty, Molly Hooper, Sherlock HolmesAdditional Tags: Soulmates AU, i… don’t know, Angst, Lots of Angst, Psychopath Moriarty, normal molly, molliarty - Freeform, lemon tarts, this is so trashy

Summary:

The first name was expected - even welcomed. The second, on the other hand, left much to be desired. And Jim would never understand what it was about it that was compelling. [Soulmate AU: On one hand, the name of your soulmate, on the other - your enemy. Molliarty.]

WIP. On the surface this is sort of a funny story. I smiled a lot reading this. On occasion, though, it delves into pathos, and it’s very effective. I like a bit of pain in stories and this delivers. Well-written and enjoyable. 

The Rose Point Manor by BookishTea, Roz1013, stbartsmolly

Chapters: 6/?Words: 17923Rating: MatureWarnings: Graphic Depictions Of ViolenceRelationships: Molly Hooper/Jim Moriarty, Molly Hooper & Meena, Sherlock Holmes & Molly Hooper, Molly Hooper & Original Female CharacterCharacters: Molly Hooper, Jim Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Mycroft Holmes, Meena (Sherlock), Greg Lestrade, Sebastian Moran, Mike Stamford, Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s), Jim Moriarty’s Mother, Jim Moriarty’s FatherAdditional Tags: Mystery, Drama & Romance, Dysfunctional Family, Family Secrets, Alternate Universe - Victorian, Post-Episode: The Abominable Bride, Mark Hooper - Freeform, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Love Letters, BAMF Molly, Molly Hooper Appreciation, Explicit Sexual Content, Explicit Language, molliarty - Freeform, Possessive Sex, Jealous Sherlock, Possessive Behavior, Haunted Houses, Possessive Jim, Female Friendship, Female Protagonist, Abandonment, Past Child Abuse, Emotional Manipulation, Sexual Tension, Murder, Aftermath of Violence, Violence, Minor Sherlock Holmes/Molly HooperSummary:

A young woman struggling in an unjust society takes a break from the theatrics of pretending to be her male counterpart, Mark Hooper, and decides to relax at the quiet but foreboding Rose Point Manor. There she comes to a realization that something far more sinister lurks there than at her morgue back home.

WIP. Still in the early stages but I just love the setup here. Mystery? Paranormal? Epistolary writing? Count me in. Can’t wait to see what’s next. 

Quite a few of these authors have multiple stories, so I have linked their profiles too so you can check them out. 

[aspiestvmusings]

TMS S3: GROUP B

THE MASKED SINGER SEASON 3 

GROUP B/ GROUP 2: (contestants 7 - 12)

EP 3x04: CLUES & MORE: RECAP for remaining 5:

SPOILERS BELOW!!!

FROG

CLUES:

Location: Hollywood (CBS?) Lot: 1920s street/building 

VISUAL CLUES:

His clues video is done in black & white (like a 1920s silent film) 

B&W image: MIB sitting on a bench, on a street, as newpapers are being thrown at them (by a paperboy)

Newspaper: The Daily Ribbit (price: 5 cents) 

Newspaper headline: Frogs are jumping! Frogs are jumping!

Newspaper headline: Tadpole plucked from large creek!

Newspaper article subtitle: Toad’s crazy ride begins! 

Newspaper photo credit: Frog joins The Masked Singer 

Newspaper article [this is a nod to the detectives among us, viewers]: TEXT HERE LATER “So there was this tadpole just swimming along, doing its tadpole thing, thinking “Hey, life is pretty good!” Who needs legs anyway?” Then one day it was swimming near a horseshoe and mustve felt lucky. It waived it’s little fishy tail and swam faster than ever and the metamorphosis began in the blink of a frog’s eye. Good bye tail, hello legs! “What arethese weird spongy things in my body? Oh, lungs! Cool!”  The tadpole became a frog, but seriously are you actually  reading all this? Did you pause on me? Are you hoping for more clues? Or should I say hopping for more clues? Well here’s a frog joke: Why are frogs so happy? Because they eat whatever bugs them! Hahaha. Sorry, that wasnt a clue, but hopefully there’s a kid in the roomto enjoy it. I’m impressed you’re still reading this small print. Back to the frog: it really did have a wild, wild ride. Though it did have some interesting eating habits and I'm not just talking about dining on flies. By the way, have you seen slo-mo videos of frogs using their tongues? Pretty fascinating. Okay, you’ve made it this far. I’ll just tell you the tadpole who became a frog is the celebrity we all know and love who goes by the name” [ARTICLE ENDS HERE] 

Sign on the wall of the building “arrow pointing to the left” 

Papar bags on the ground next to the bench with “Leftovers” written on it & “leftovers” from one nag have fallen out...to the ground. 

The frog’s shadow behind the window/glass is seen using his tongue to catch/eat a fly on the glass

Poster on the (office) floor: 1996 Games: 1000-Meter Leap Frog

The frog & MIB doing dance moves on the street (as he comes out of the building) 

Old school michrophone with the “LIKE” sign on it. 

Dollar bills on the “counter”: 100 dollar bill +  5 dollar bill + 1 dollar bill (100 + 5 + 1 = 106 dollars) 

AUDIO CLUES/VOICE OVER:

“News Flash: My metamorphosis has been anything but typical.”

“I leapt to stardom as fast as the lightning bolt.” 

 “Never had a chance to evolve my image, and do things my way.” 

“I was slitherin with the big frogs from Jump-Jump. Just had to fit in and survive.” 

“But now I can write my own masterpiece” 

“Showing this new side (of me) gives me butterflies in my stomach.”  

“But I'm ready to drop the hammer, and sing my face off.” 

ON STAGE CLUES:

Song choice: “U Can’t Touch This” by MC Hammer 

Look/Costume: Frog is wearing a purple suit & a yellow/purple checkered tie. He has a matching hat with a feather (1920s “gangster” style) & “Gatsby” style shoes. 

Stage: Moves around & dances a lot, while rapping. Very energetic. Touches the brim of the hat during “questining”

Height: Short. Seems around 170 -173cm = 5 feet 6 inches 

Build: He’s small, but athletic. 

Mic hand: Right. 

Talking: “I feel free, baby! I came here to win it all, baby, that’s what I came to do - win it all!”  (when answering "How does it feel to dress up as The Frog?”)

GUESSES:

Shad Moss aka (Lil) Bow Wow (rapper/singer/musician) - for me the dance moves confirmed it’s him, cause I am not super familair with his voice alone. But last  year when many suggested he could be "The Rottweiler”, I looked him  up, and the dance routines he and his kid do in several of his posts leave me with no doubt that it’s him. I would not have gotten this one from the voice alone. 99% chance 

POSSIBLE MEANING OF CLUES.

TBA LATER [SEE: LISTED CLUES & YOU’LL KNOW ANYWAY] 

Paper bag “Leftovers” = Doggy Bag -- his artist nme was/is Bow Wow + it’s the title of one of his albums (Doggy bag)

Mic + Like sign = Like Mike 

106 dollars = he hosted the”106 & Park” music vid show

KITTY

CLUES:

Location: many clips used from Georges Méliès silent film(s) - “Astronomers Dream” watch on YT 

Silent film era style clips from a (movie) theatre

VISUAL CLUES:

Most of her clue package is in black & white, in “silent cinema” style. Lot of footage from the time films were first made & lots of references to the film of that time. 

(Stage) Curtains opening

B&W: People watching the performance though binoculars. 

B&W: Audience clapping (during the performance) 

Kitty Mask appearing on each lens of the binoculars. 

B&W image: a group of men coming to the stage, in one line...as we see it from the audiences POV. And Kitty Mask appearing in front on them...as the only in COLOUR image that has been added to it. 

B&W: (Astronomical) Observatory with a telescope pointed at the Moon. There is a globe in the room. A stand with drawings and shapes (geometry) on one side & a blackboard with AB + CD = [more math...which I can’t type in here...for reasons] An old man/astronomer in a wizard hat is sitting on a chair, reading a book. Then gets up to write something on the blacboard. There is a coat of arms on the back of the chair. - a clip from Georges Méliès "The Astronomer's Dream" (old film from 1898)

In colour:  Kitty walking to center stage - alone on the stage, in an ampty theatre 

B&W: The Moon with a face being blown up - a clip from Georges Méliès "The Astronomer's Dream" (old film from 1898) 

Blinking dressing room lights (a wall full of them) in the background of Kitty Mask 

A glass jar/bottle of milk  + a glass of milk...with Kitty mask sitting on top of he glass...as milk is poured into it.

B&W: Pirates sword-fighting on an old ship deck. 

Kitty doing the CATwalk... with greenish-blueish lights in the background...

A (big) glass rose shattering to pieces as it falls to the ground... with rose petals fling everywhere... 

AUDIO CLUES/VOICE OVER:

“In all my wildest dreams I’d never imagined I’d be here where I feel at home among the weird and the wonderful.”

“It’s almost like this show was made for me. -- A little bit of heaven where I can wipe the slate clean as the purest snow.” 

“Sometimes it feels lonely, because people don’t think of me as the person I’ve become, but the person I once was.”

“But now under these light - among the cream of the crop - I get to start from scratch.”

“And just like a Kitty will always find a way to nuzzle into your heart, Tonight, for my big debut, I'm going for high drama...as I show you why I'm the pick of the litter”

ON STAGE CLUES:

Song choice: “Dangerous Woman” by Ariana Grande 

Look/Costume: Burlesque/(Vegas) showgirl costume - sparkly dress with straps, and feathery skirt + feathers on top of the head (inside a small crown”, and added to that are sparly silver boots. Wearing a leotard under the dress (it seems to be a  Red Silver Tabby cat). Kitty mask with different-coloured eyes (heterochromia) - one blue & one brown. The costume has a kind of Satine from “Moulin Rouge” feel/look to it. 

Stage presence: Dancing sensual “Cabaret” chair dance while singing. Her backup dancers are dressed as “Chesire cats” 

Height: Short, looks around 155-163cm =  5 feet 1 to 5 feet 4

Build: Petite. Very small & slender. 

Mic hand: Alternates between left & right 

Talking: “I am being somebody that noboby has ever seen before, and its always been inside of me, so... it’s great!”  (when answering “Whats it like being The Kitty?”) 

GUESSES:

Sarah Hyland (actress) -- the voice & the stage presence remind me of her...the most, though alost none of the clues fit her (rose for BF & drama for being on a popular mock series with lots of “drama”...are the main ones fitting her) 50% chance 

Emma Watson (actress) - several clues fit her, but I am uncertain about the voice being a good match

Chloë Grace Moretz (actress) ...so many clues seem to reference to the movie “Hugo” she was in...that was a “tribute” to Georges Méliès...

Kate Bosworth (actress/model) - she has heterochromia + several clues fit 

Mila Kunis (actress) - she has heterochromia 

Lily Rose Depp - I am not that familiar with her voice to make a definite yes/no decision, but several clues match - pirates connection through her dad & French connection though her mom. She starred in a film titled “Planetarium”... and in the Vanity Fair’s “Secret Showcase/Talent” she did has a very similar oldie feel to it...like the clue package has 

some/any “former” Disney actress, who is now in their late teens to late 20s

With this Mask I am more confused than I have ever been with any other mask...any season. Some fit the voice, some the stage prsence, some the clues. But none seem to fit (to me/to my knowledge) them all. And I still cannot decide on the voice..even after re-listening/watching. I really need that 2nd & 3rd song to make up my mind. 

POSSIBLE MEANING OF CLUES.

TBA LATER [SEE: LISTED CLUES & YOU’LL KNOW ANYWAY]

TACO 

CLUES

Location: (Restaurant) Kitchen 

Location: Hollywood (CBS) Lot: streets/parking lot 

VISUAL CLUES:

MIB dressed as chefs (in buffed up/sumo suits) preparing food - tacos

The taco lying on the plate as MIB chef adds some seasoning to it 

VHS tapes...on the counter 

Anchor (nautical.. ships anchor) on a plate 

A (solved) Rubik’s Cube on top of a bowl filled with lemons/limes. 

Fresh food in the fridge as the door is opened (salad, peppers) - a red trolley (tramcar/streetcar) is on top of the food 

The MIC chefs adding more seasonings, and then ketchup to the taco. Writing TACO as a decoration on the plate, next to the taco, with ketchup. 

The taco jumps off the plate, and onto the kitchen floor, adn starts running away..as the MIB chefs run after him (with ladles in hands)...He runs out of therestaurant...and onto the street

The MIB looking out between large TMS door and waving for Taco to come their way...and the Taco running into the studio...as the doors close just in front of the chasers

Sign next to the TMS mask logo doors: Studios 36 & 46 Main Entrance [arrow pointing to the left]

Sign on the wall inside the TMS studio doors: Stage 46 [arrow to the right] 

AUDIO CLUES/VOICE OVER:

“Like the comfort food I am, I’ve been a confirting part of your lives for decades” 

“I’ve got plenty of seasoning & I'm in a good place, but my routine can get a bit mild, so I'm here to bust out of the buffet...and spice things up.” 

“To enchiladas and beyond!“ 

“Here I go...as fast as I can.” 

“I want to be the last mask standing.” 

“I just hope I don’t fall apart out there.” 

“Time for Taco Wednesday.”

ON STAGE CLUES:

Song choice: “Fly Me to the Moon” by Frank Sinatra 

Look/Costume: Dark green suit under a taco suit/costume. Cherry tomato for a head. Ketchup bottle for a mic. suits in the background. 

Stage presence: Moon & stars theme: Big Band with starry suits. Swing music style..very 1960s Sinatra vibes. 

Height: He’s around 170cm = 6 feet (about the same height as the host, Nick)

Build: Tall-ish & lean-ish. 

Mic hand: Right 

Talking:  "This is how  dress normally! No(w), the weirdest thing about this experience is being ignored by everyone, cause they don’t know who I am. For the first time (in my life) I feel invisible!” (when answering “How is his normal life different from being on TMS?”) 

GUESSES

Tom Bergeron (TV show host & comedian) 99% chance 

Tim Allen (actor/comedian) 0.5% chance 

Tom Hanks (actor) 0,5% chance 

Though the voice at times makes it seem as this could be the actor (and comedian, and writer, and artist) John Lithgow and/or the clues at times make it seem as this could be the actor Ted Danson...it cannot be either of them. They’re just too tall to be the person in that costume. 

POSSIBLE MEANING OF CLUES

TBA LATER [SEE: LISTED CLUES & YOU’LL KNOW ANYWAY]

VHS tapes =  America’s Funniest (Home) Video’s - he hosted the show..for years

The trolley = the exact trolley/model like in “Mr. Roger’s Neighbourhood” +the 2019 film about him - hesang a song on the 2019 films “soundtrack”

“...as fast as I can” = the title of his (autobiographical) book is “I'm hosting as dast as I can” 

MOUSE 

CLUES:

Location: Football field 

VISUAL CLUES:

The Mouse holding a megaphone & gicing orders through it to others (shes the boss of them all)

MIB dressed in dark slacks & yellow jerseys + wearing helmets...ready to play some “american football”

One MIB is dressed as a cheerleader - with pink tutu skirt & golden pom-poms...cheering them on...

There is a dark football helmet with the US flag on the bench next to the Mouse Mask

The Mouse standing on top of a car/trcuk tire...that’s on the foorball field 

Whiteboard with game strategy on it. Title: Bang Bang Formation. Football field drawin under it...with each players moves indicated. 

The four cardinal directions: N for north, S for souts, W for West & E for east (in a different colour!) on each side of the table. 

The MIB athletes doing push-ups..with The MOuse standing on top of one of their helmets

The MIB yellow jerseys say “Wariors” & their numbers are “19″ & “79" 

The MIB athletes tackle the trainign equpment the mouse is standing on, making her fly, and (crach) land of the grass

AUDIO CLUES/VOICEOVER:

“Just like a mouse I’m small and cute. But don’t let my size fool you, because my presence is larger than life. ” 

“I’ve always been a leader in my field, really.” 

“I wrote the Playbook.” 

“But as much as I love calling the shots, and showing everyone who’s the boss, I also love having a walk-on role to play.” 

“They say: “Don’t sweat the small stuff.”  But now that I'm putting myself in, you should. Because I never accept anything less than gold.” 

“So, to all my copetitors, you “cheddar” watch out” 

ON STAGE CLUES:

Song choice: “Get here” by Oleta Adams 

Look/Costume: Pink-ish mouse costume, wearing a long fairy skirt/dress (with flowers in front) & fairy wings on the back. 

Stage presence: Static. Sitting during both the performance/singing AND the “panel guessing” part [indicating she’s older and/or has a health issue and/or it’s done just to fool the viewers about her height...and hence the line “don’t let my size fool you” in the clue package] 

Height: Shorter than the host, Nick. Seems about 170- 175 cm = 5 feet 5 iches to 5 feet 7 inches  tall. 

Build: “Normal” ...to smallish

Mic hand: Right 

Talking:  “Not being able to talk. Yeah, you know, I’m a chatterbox. And I love talking and they always tell me...that I can’t say anything to anybody.” 

(when answering the question “what makes this experience different from her day-to-day life?” 

POSSIBLE MEANING OF CLUES:

TBA LATER [SEE: LISTED CLUES & YOU’LL KNOW ANYWAY]

Warriors 19 & 79 = 1979 [the year, the number] = This is  the year, when her album “Dionne” was released.

Gold (pom-pons) in her clue package = many of her (her bands) albums/songs have gone Gold. 

GUESSES:

Dionne Warwick (singer) 90% chance 

I dont really have other guesses. I was conflicted for a bit during the original airing, cause it looked like she was wayshorter than the host, but thats cause I did not pay attention to the fact that she was sitting the whole time. So my confusion “that’s D.W.s voice, but the height excludes her... cause she is a bit taller than that” was over as soon as someone pointed it out to me, and I was able to re-watch & see that she sat not only during the Q&A, but also her performance. 

BANANA

CLUES:

Location: Football field 

Location: Party/Tour bus 

VISUAL CLUES:

Four small fruit-shaped “hobbit houses” - one pear, one stwarberry & 2 watermelons...behind a white picket fence + theres a bicycle nxt to the fence 

Banana sleeping & “yawning”  outside, on a grass (football field)... on a blanket

A cowboy hat next to the sleeping banana 

A tomato & a blowfish next to the sleeping banana 

MIB texting “Banana! Where R U?” to him..on an orange-coloured phone 

All kinds of veggies and salads + a banana peel..on the grass. The MIB “walking and texting”, and hence not seeing the banana peel & slipping on it & falling down next to the blanket 

The Banana sleeping under the blanket...with two dressed in green “cowgirls” sleeping on either side of him. The Bananas clothes/costume is on the floor/grass next to them...so he’s “naked” under the blanket 

All kinds of veggies lying around the blanket, on the grass õA

A blue (dog) collar on the grass next to the blanket

Banana partying on a tour bus with the two green creatures

Banana dancing on the table...

AUDIO CLUES/VOICE OVER:

[Banana sleeping on a football field & getting a text “Where R U” from MIB] “What? Where am I? Oh, no, I’m late for the stage! Aaahh” 

[12 hrs earlier] “Ugh, I cant believe I overdid it last night. You’d think this was my first rodeo.”

“I’m the banana because I'm tough on the outside, but a total smoothie on the inside. And a hoot to have at parties. Am I right, ladies?”

[getting up from under the blanket] “Help me get dressed, dadgumit.” 

"I cant wait to peel back my layers, and show I can use my voice in any environment.” 

"I just wanna see you smile.” 

ON STAGE CLUES:

Song choice: “A Little Less Conversation” by Elvis Presley 

Look/Costume: Yellow costume suit & a banana head with banana peel for a collar

Stage presence: Very energetic, moving around & dancing a lot. Ends the song with an “Iron Man landing pose”

Height: He’s around 180cm = 6 fee (around the same height as the host, Nick) 

Build: He’s tall & lean

Mic hand: Right 

Talking: “[chuckles] Technically... No. My kid. -- I’m getting ready to work out -- she hands me a banana, and it’s a sign. So here I am - The Banana. And I’m peeling it. I’m peeling the music.” (when aswering the question “Did you always want to be the Banana?” 

GUESSES:

Bret Michaels of “Poison” (singer/musician) - those denace moves! and stage presence just give him away. 

POSSIBLE MEANING OF CLUES.

TBA LATER [SEE: LISTED CLUES & YOU’LL KNOW ANYWAY]

Cowbvoy hat = he wars one quite often (its kind of one of his trademarks) 

Blowfish = they are poisonous & “POison” is the name of his band 

The MIB slipping on a banana peel & falling = Bret famously fell once during Tony Awards in 2009

Blue Collar = he has a pet clothing line + his daughetrs name is Bleu 

ELEPHANT

First mask to be voted out in ep 4! 

I am sad, cause I really liked his performance. But I get it...they’re all really equal, so it just depends which voie/mask has most “fans” in the audience that day/moment. 

The clue package video hinted at a sportsman (athlete: skateboard, acrobatics, parkour, snowboarding...or similar..based on the MIB choreography). An individual sport, not team sport. The blue birds hinted at his company name + kinda his last name, too. 

What people shoul’dve picked up, too were: his “limping” as he entered the stage. His “sliding to his knees” on stage (a move in his sports...to protect from falls). And... even though it was most likely just about “he's moving to the beat of his own drum” with the drums/drumming, but Id like to think that is was a nod to his role in that “Guitar Hero” add, where he & 3 other famous athletes played band members...and he was the drummer.

<<<<< THIS IS WHAT GOES ON IN MY HEAD AFTER EVERY TMS SHOW/EPISODE. THIS IS HOW I CATEGORIZE THE INFO I HAVE INTO FOLDERS IN MY MIND. THIS IS HOW SPECIFIC I AM, AND HOW INTO DETAILS I GO. THIS IS HOW MUCH I PAY ATTENTION (while, most likely, missing a ton of more hints that I’ll only notice during re-watch) I JUST DECIDED TO WRITE IT DOWN…FOR ONCE.

As promised, I’ll be doing this for the first episode of each group (3x01 for group A, 3x04 for group B, and in a few weeks 3x07 for group C). But that’s all I’ll be doing. Those three. Cause I have no time or energy to write it all down each week.