#rip my potential interest in AM...

[nightsintodaydreams]

m. i read ihnmaims and watched a bit of a playthru of the game. i couldn't really get into it 😔

[foolscapper]

She's gonna be 78. I mean, she likes the things any lady her age likes. She likes, um... hand creams and — puzzles.

[wisteriaclaw]

why does my aunt get me YA fantasy every christmas

i think she gets me books she read and enjoyed but. i. am not very interested in ya fantasy.... like ive enjoyed some of them but its so hard to make myself read them.........

pls get me more xenofiction. wolves of the beyond was the BEST gift i have ever gotten. do you think im too old for xenofiction. i am making a wolf comic. do you know i am making a wolf comi-

[willow-dino]

RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT

During the last episode / all the Aaravos resurrection stuff, I was thinking how Claudia was using Aaravos as a father figure, an older magic male figure she can put her trust in (she shouldn't girl gET OUT) , someone to guide her and tell her what to do after Viren's death.

She went to Katolis to find her dad just so that she could decide what to do with her life for herself. And when she found him dead, she fell back on her and her father's original task of freeing Aaravos. In doing so, she's now using Aaravos as someone to guide her. I don't know if she's actually done an Big action that was for herself, besides saving family members from death so she isn't alone. (I don't remember a lot of past seasons so I could be wrong on that one)

Knowing now that Aaravos was once a father, and cares so so so much for Leola - who gave humans dark magic, if I'm following the dialogue correctly - they have such potential to have the worst pseudo-father-daughter-relationship of all time.

Sooooooooo I can't be the only one who noticed they both have purple undertones in their hair.

The parallels just keep adding up with the mage fam's daughters and fathers, Claudia really is just Leola's stand in for Aaravos.

[miniseokminnies]

homemade dynamite ��- c.hs

☀︎ pairing: chwe hansol/vernon x fem!reader ☀︎theme: actor!vernon, director!reader ☀︎ w/c: 8k ☀︎ warnings: 18+ MDNI, fluff, smut, strangers to co workers to lovers, Vernon causing problems for his boss, deeply inappropriate use of a lake, semi public sex, fingering, multiple orgasms, unprotected sex (that's a no no), semi-public sex, dry humping, angst if you squint, feelings of being lost ☀︎ a/n: written as part of the That's Showbiz, Baby! collab put on by @studioeisa and @diamonddaze01 - make sure to check out the full collab masterlist and find your coworkers! this fic directly alligns with @chanranghaeys ceo lee chan fic! thanks all of my people who had to hear my near daily crash outs about this insane vernon fic i wrote, can't thank them enough: @seungkw1, @lovetaroandtaemin, @haologram, and the entire cast of That's Showbiz, Baby! as always likes, reblogs, AND COMMENTS are greatly appreciated! enjoy!

From: souldirector@gmail.com To: vchwe.business@sebong.outlook.com Subject: Interest in Audition 

Hi there! My name is Y/N L/N and I am a film director.  You may have seen my work at the Diamond Film Festival last month.  I am currently in the process of casting my next project and thought that Vernon could potentially be a great fit in the lead role.   I have attached the audition script and a brief synopsis of the storyline to this email. Please let me know if this seems like the type of project Vernon would be interested in, I would love to see what he brings to the character!   I know this is potentially a busy time but if there is interest feel free to ask any questions! I will be holding auditions on June 30 at the Maestro Event Space! Regards,  Y/N L/N Director  

“Absolutely not.” Vernon had hardly finished reading the email before he heard the stern voice of the CEO in the doorway.  

“Why not?” Vernon challenged as he leveled his gaze at Chan and slumped in the old computer chair.  His fingers found a peeling piece of fake leather and he began to pick at it.

“We need to focus on getting you in projects with bigger names,” Chan eyed Vernon ripping up the chair.  “Not working with nobody directors who are making a movie with a cast of two.” 

“Damn, you even read the synopsis?” Vernon clicked his tongue.  “Wanted to be informed when telling me no, huh?”   

“Vernon,” Chan sighed.  “Don’t be like that, I just want what’s best for your career.” 

“Do I have any auditions coming up?” 

“Well–” Chan blanched under Vernon’s scrutiny. “No.” 

“Well, maybe I do now.” Vernon pushed away from the desk and pushed past his boss.  

You let out a sigh of frustration as you backspaced the email in front of you for the sixth time.  It had been four days since you emailed Vernon’s business account with no response.  Time to expand your search and reluctantly not have all your eggs in one basket.  Hence the attempt at emailing Jeonghan Yoon, another actor you could see playing the part.  

However, you had your heart set on your leading man being Vernon Chwe, so this email was not coming together.  Sure, you could just copy and paste the email to Vernon and change it a bit but…that was for him not Jeonghan. In the middle of your seventh attempt at getting it right your computer pinged with a notification.  An email from Vernon.  

From: vchwe.business@sebong.outlook.com To: souldirector@gmail.com   Subject: Re: Interest in Audition  Hey Y/N This project seems like a really cool concept.  See you on 6/30.  - V

You deleted the email to Jeonghan.

You straightened out the extra copies of the audition script for the millionth time since you set them out five minutes ago.  To say you were nervous was an understatement.  This was the first time you had held auditions with confirmation a certain actor would show up, instead of just a small glimmer of hope.  You weren’t sure what to do with that confirmation.

Preproduction for you was always a one woman show, you were the only one you trusted with your vision after all.  Soul Meets Body was no exception, this movie was something you had been passively writing through your past projects, just waiting for the right time for it to come to life.  The cast was small, the team was small, but the story would make a big impact if all went according to your plans.  Vernon had agreed to audition, so your plan was going really well so far.  You knew you wanted to be a part of this since you saw his acting a few years ago.  

A quiet knock on the door pulled you out of your thoughts.  

“Hi there,” a young woman peaked in the door.  “I hope I didn’t interrupt, I just wanted to make sure I was in the right place!”  

“Yes, I’m ready for you if you’re ready for me!” You plastered on a smile. She shuffled into the room and handed you her resume. Taking a deep breath she began the monologue you planned.  

People filtered through slowly throughout the day.  Some impressive, and some not so much.  You had a book full of notes by the time the last hour of auditions rolled around.  There weren’t many people who showed up, but enough to give you some options.  You glanced at the clock and nervousness panged in your chest.  Vernon had not shown up yet. 

You rose from the table and began pacing the length of the room.  There were a few actors that came today that could play the role.  Casting someone else would change the feel of the project, but it wouldn’t ruin it.  Even so, your thoughts began to spiral through potential matches in the people who auditioned today.  

Someone cleared their throat behind you. 

You whipped around to see Vernon in the doorway.  

“Am I too late?” He fidgeted with the sleeves of his button up shirt. 

“Absolutely not!” 

From: souldirector@gmail.com To: vchwe.business@sebong.outlook.com Subject: Official Offer  Good Afternoon! I am extremely excited to offer you the role of Adam in my upcoming project, Soul Meets Body! Should you accept, filming begins on July 20, 2025.  Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to discuss this offer further.  Please accept or decline by July 10, 2025.  Looking forward to hearing what you decide! Y/N L/N  Director 

 Vernon spun in the office chair as his coworkers filtered into the board room.  The monthly meetings were new, some futile effort from Chan to make everyone feel united or something. 

“Good morning Vernon!” Seokmin, the A&R, beamed at him.  Vernon delivered a half-hearted salute to the man, his coffee hadn’t kicked in yet.  Following Seokmin, Mingyu and Minghao burst into the room, quietly bickering, probably about something Mingyu posted on the company social media that wasn’t quite image appropriate. Seungkwan was at Mingyu’s heels yelling something about public image being everything.  Mingyu effectively ignored his reprimands and beelined for the coffee maker.  Seungkwan plopped down in the chair next to Vernon.  

“Can you believe that guy?” He hissed.  Vernon chuckled at his friend’s dismay.  

“Yeah I can actually, didn’t you help hire him?” Vernon pointed out.  

“That’s not the point!” Seungkwan sat up straight. “The point is that he–”  His rant was cut short by Chan entering the room with the CFO and clapping his hands loudly.  The CFO scurried into a seat next to Minghao.  

“Alright everybody!” Chan started.  “Today’s agenda is pretty slim, just focusing on updates for the upcoming month.” He gestured to Seokmin, “Let’s start here.” 

“Well! Things are exciting here in the A&R world!” Seokmin began. Vernon tuned out quickly, he didn’t really care to know the inner workings of the company, just as long as he was getting jobs.  All he had to look forward to right now was seeing you again and the start of filming.  He had looked up the location for filming on his phone last night before bed, out in the woods somewhere, outside a rural town about an hour’s drive from his apartment.   

He thought about how your hair would look when the sun caught it, about you behind the camera.  He leaned his head back onto the chair, the ceiling tiles stared back at him.  He sighed in the fluorescent lights.  Maybe several months out in the woods would do him some good.  Away from Mingyu’s burnt coffee and Seungkwan’s dramatics.  He just needed to figure out how to not act like a total loser around you.  

“Vernon?” Chan’s voice cut through his swirling thoughts.  

“Hm?” He sat up to see everyone staring at him.  

“Your updates?” Chan narrowed his eyes.  

“Oh, uh,” he adjusted his posture in the chair.  “I start filming a new movie in two weeks.” There were murmurs of “congratulations” around the room.  Seokmin was beaming at him again.  

“Yes,” Chan said through gritted teeth.  “So we won’t be seeing much of Vernon for the next few months, everyone wish him luck.  He was adamant that this project was something he wanted to be a part of.”   

After a few more mundane announcements Chan dismissed the meeting.  Everyone began filtering out slowly.  As Vernon rose from his chair he felt a hand circle his wrist and tug him back down.  He fell back into the chair and looked over at Seungkwan.  

“Is this that director you’re obsessed with?” 

“Define obsessed.” Vernon avoided the question.  

“Seriously.” Seungkwan deadpanned.  

“I wouldn’t say obsessed.” Vernon shrugged.  “I admire her work and her ideas.” “So you’re in love with her.” Seungkwan rolled his eyes.  “Try not to make a fool out of yourself for once, okay?” 

“Good morning everyone!” You beamed at the complete cast and crew.  “Welcome to the first table read of Soul Meets Body!” There were cheers around the room.  You made eye contact with everyone who gathered to help you make this movie.  “We’re going to do just a casual table read today, just to get a feel for the project and the people involved.” 

You sat and began reading the scene setting directions in your script.  You felt his eyes on you, even without looking up you knew he was watching you instead of following along in his own copy of the script.  

His voice rang out as soon as you were finished reading, his first line coming out of his mouth as if this was the role he was born to play.  You smiled to yourself as you listened to Vernon and Leah work through the scene for the first time as a team.  Stealing a glance at him, he was focused, professional.  The highlighter you provided was perched in his fingers delicately, he twirled it absentmindedly every so often.  

Eventually, the script was read front to back and people were mingling in the room.  You watched everyone with a smile on your face.  

“Here you go.” Vernon’s voice came from beside you.  He held out the piece of paper with his name typed on it to you.  “Thanks,” you placed the name card on top of your own, starting a pile.  “Great work today.” You smiled. 

“Oh,” he chuckled, “Thanks, the script is so cool, I’m excited.” 

“Well thanks for being a part of helping it come to life.”         

Filming started a few weeks after the table read, and everything went better than you could have imagined.  You weren’t sure what to do with all the excitement of this dream coming true for you.  Leah and Vernon had a natural chemistry about them, you could believe their story, even though you wrote it. 

You packed up your supplies as the rest of the crew thinned out and headed out for the day.  The boxes of supplies, props, and your cameras piled high and you contemplated how you would get it all to its rightful places.  

“You need help?” Vernon once again was at your side, also eyeing the large amount of your supplies.  

“That would be great actually.” You sighed.  He nodded simply and picked up a few stackable boxes.  You slung your camera bags over your shoulders and grabbed the remaining box.  “My cameras and stuff will go in my truck but the boxes go in the cabin!” You called out to him.  

“Got it!” He affirmed from in front of you.  The two of you made your way to the cabin and he pushed the door open with his foot.  He set his boxes down and then turned to take yours.  His fingers brushed yours as you let him take it off your hands.  

“Thanks, that would’ve taken way longer without you.” You sighed, patting your pockets looking for the key to the cabin.  You found it in your back pocket.  

“Oh no worries, gotta help your director where you can.” He shrugged and shuffled out of the cabin so you could lock up.  “I was really excited when you emailed me, you know?” He confessed, kicking the gravel under his feet.

“You were?” You tried to level your voice, you didn’t want to sound like some weird fangirl.  

“Oh yeah,” He smiled at you as the two of you made your way toward your car. “I kind of don’t shut up about how much I like your stuff.” 

“God,” you blushed.  “I emailed you because I think your acting is so perfect for this.” “I guess you could call us a couple of fans, then.” He smiled at the color in your cheeks. 

You straightened the blanket slung across the back of the couch.  That wasn’t right, you took it off and threw it more casually.  A whine of frustration escaped your lips, this had to look realistic. 

“Are you okay?” A voice piped up behind you, making you jump.  You spun around to see Vernon in the doorway to the cabin, two coffees in his hands.  

“You’re early.” You clutched your chest.  

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” He said softly, taking a few steps toward you. He held out one of the coffees to you.  “I was up so I thought I’d provide your caffeine for the morning.” He looked between you and the coffee.  “I just guessed what you’d like.” He smiled sheepishly. 

“Thanks,” you smiled back at him.  “I’m, uh, set dressing.  I usually do this alone before anyone gets here.”  He nodded and you took the coffee from him.  He began walking around the couch scanning the blanket.  

“You’re trying to make it look lived in?” He looked up from the scene at you. You nodded back at him.  “Let’s try this then.”  He set his coffee down on the small table at the side of the room and sat down on the couch, wrapping himself in the blanket.  You stared at the back of his head and pulled out your polaroid camera. 

The sound of the shutter broke the momentary silence in the cabin.  Vernon threw the blanket off of his shoulders onto the back of the couch as you threw the small photo into a drawer of the prop hutch.  Vernon picked up his coffee and gestured to the blanket.  

“I feel stupid, I could have done that.” You carefully returned the camera to its carrying case.  

“Sometimes you just need a new perspective.” He smiled.  “What’s this?” 

“Oh, it’s just a polaroid camera.” You looked up at him.  “I like to take pictures and hide them around for me, or someone, to find later.  Kind of like a physical reminder of memories I guess.”  

“You have such a wonderful mind.”    

“Rachel, you know I love you, please just talk to me!” 

You watched Vernon and Leah through the monitor as they played out the scene in front of you.  Vernon was more perfect for this part than you could have imagined.  He brought a creativity to each scene that was so distinctly him.  

When you cut, you invited the two of them behind the camera to watch the scene.  Vernon pushed his hand through his hair and let Leah walk over ahead of him.  You were satisfied with their performance but Vernon requested one more shot.  He felt like he wasn’t as natural as he could have been.  

Throughout the rest of the day he stole glances at you whenever he could get away with it.  He was so impressed with your dedication to your craft.  You dressed every scene yourself, you knew how you wanted everything to look, sometimes pieces he would have never even thought of.    

“Oh let me help you!” Vernon rushed to you after filming had wrapped for the day and took the box of supplies from your hands. You sent him a thankful smile and picked up another box.  “Where are we taking these?”   

“The back room,” you tilted your head toward the cabin up the access road.  He nodded and started up toward it.  You followed him up.  He set down the box inside the cabin and reached for the one in your hands.  

“Need anything else?” He asked sheepishly.  

“No, I don’t think so.” You looked up at him.  He shuffled his feet on the gravel road as the two of you walked away from the cabin.

“Okay well,” He smiled as you approached your car.  

“I might stay for a bit,” you blurted out.  “If you want to keep me company?” He nodded enthusiastically.  The sun was starting to set as the two of you walked further along the road.  You could see the lake from the outskirts of the forest where the gravel makes way for a small one lane road, your production shut down traffic access for the month it will take to film.  No one really came out this way anymore so it wasn’t a hard sell to the small town.

“Excited to film in there.” Vernon stated simply, nodding toward the lake and stuffing his hands in his pockets.  You followed his gaze.

“Yeah,” You chuckled.  “You might freeze your ass off.” 

“Worth it, as long as you get the shot.” He looked back to you and winked.  You couldn’t help the blush that spread over your cheeks.  He watched you squirm for just a moment before continuing forward, onto the road.  “Tell me something I don’t know about you.” You blinked at the sudden change in subject.  

“Oh, um,” you thought.  “I know a lot of constellations.” You shrugged.  

“Teach me?” He looked over his shoulder at you.  Sure why not you thought to yourself and gestured to the road in front of you as you sat down.  You sat cross legged as Vernon occupied the space next to you. He leaned back on his hands and stretched his legs out in front of him.  

“So,” you started.  “Those three stars,” you pointed toward the sky. “They are the handle of the Big Dipper, which expands into Ursa Major.”  Vernon nodded quietly beside you, shuffling closer so he could see where exactly you were pointing.  You could hear his breathing, slowing now because he was focused. 

“Wait,” he whispered.  He scooted behind you. “Do you mind?” You shook your head and he tucked himself behind you.  He spread his legs so you were nestled between them and once again stretched them out in front of you.  “Show me again.” His breath fanned across your neck as he leaned his chin on your shoulder.

“There,” you were sure he could hear the waver in your voice.  He followed the line of your arm with his eyes and searched the sky for the three stars you were referencing.  

“Oh I see it!” You could hear the smile in his voice.  “And that connects to Ursa Major.” You nodded, pleased that he remembered.  “Ursa means bear.” He stated, you weren’t sure if he was telling you or reminding himself. 

“Oh you speak Latin now?” You teased.  He shrugged behind you.  

“There’s lots you don’t know about me, yet.” Your stomach swirled at the implication. 

“Okay, tell me something.” You twisted slightly to try and look at him.  He chuckled and wrapped his arms around your waist, effectively preventing you from turning fully.  You tried to steady your breathing, surprised at his boldness.  You felt a bit like a teenager, not like an adult who is making the breakthrough movie of their career.

“I think my boss might hate me,” His low voice rumbled through you.  

“What?” You laid your head back onto his shoulder and stared up at the night sky, the stars winking at you through the trees.  

“He was really against me doing this project.” He admitted quietly.  “It was an argument up until the first day of filming.”  You stiffened at the confession. He rubbed soothing circles into your shirt.  “I’m Lee Chan’s problem child, always have been.” He sighed.  “Doesn’t matter that I’m older than him.  He always has his tabs on me, very much wanting to keep my career linear.”   

“What do you mean?” “He’d much rather I not take risks.” Vernon admitted.  “I don’t think of you as a risk, I know how good you are at what you do.  Chan does not.” 

“I feel like a lot of people don’t know.” You mumbled, a feeling of inadequacy settling in your stomach. 

“What are you talking about?” His grip on your waist tightened.  “You are so talented, your work is some of my favorite stuff.”  

“But getting started was a risk.” You told him.  “My parents are still worried that it won’t work out, but what would I do if not this.” You closed your eyes.  Vernon had this way of making you so comfortable that you were able to admit your fears.  

“I think you’re doing just fine.” He whispered as he moved his chin from your shoulder.  “Y/N you’re so talented and you have such a unique way of telling the story you have in mind.” 

“Sometimes I wonder if there’s anyone out there who understands my vision.” You wriggled out of his grasp so you could turn to face him.  His hair was falling into his eyes and he was looking at you like you hung the stars in the sky just to teach him about the constellations.  “But I think you do.”  

“If I didn’t believe in you or this project I wouldn’t have worked so hard to be a part of it.” He moved closer to you, like the two of you were magnets and he might die if he wasn’t touching you.  His fingers gently moved your hair behind your ear and lingered there. “Y/N, can I kiss you?” 

You nodded dumbly.  

The kiss started slowly, tenderly.  His lips moved tentatively against yours, evident that he had been thinking about this for a while.  He cupped your cheek with his hand. You reached out and tangled your fingers through his hair, pulling a small noise from Vernon’s throat.  He pulled you closer and deepened the kiss, he swiped his tongue against your bottom lip and you opened up for him.  He licked into your mouth, he tasted like tea and vaguely like tobacco.

Vernon moved his hands to your waist, fingers slipping underneath your shirt ever so slightly.  His calloused fingers dragged roughly on your soft skin, you shivered at the contact.  He continued to move closer to you until he was laying you back gently.  Your head settled on the road and Vernon’s weight was on you.  Everywhere was Vernon, everything was him, you weren’t sure you cared.  

He moved to attach his lips to your neck.  He left sloppy open mouth kisses from below your ear to your collarbone.  There was a distinct dull ache between your legs, you attempted to press them together to get any kind of relief but Vernon was there instead.  He returned his mouth to yours and experimentally rolled his hips into yours.  You whined into his mouth, encouraging him to continue.  

“You sound so beautiful when you make that sound.” He grunted above you. He continued to rock his hips into yours, weakly stimulating your clit.  It wasn’t enough, but it would do.  Pleasure mounted weakly in your belly as his cock grew hard in his jeans.  He buried his face in your neck, you could feel his short breaths on your skin.  

For a moment he pressed his hips down and let you grind up into him. The friction against your cunt was delicious.  You rolled your hips faster, chasing a high you weren’t sure was coming.  Too many barriers.  Suddenly, he brought his hips back to yours with a snap.  

“Vernon,” you whined breathily. 

“Hansol,” He breathed to you.  “Call me Hansol.” He nearly begged.  

“H-Hansol, more, need more.” His hips sputtered at your request and he languidly rolled his hips into you at a quicker pace.  If you felt like a high schooler before, it was tenfold now.  You would feel stupid about how quickly you hurtled toward the edge with nothing but some dry humping, if the hard press of his clothed cock didn’t feel so good.  

Vernon felt the bite of the stray gravel on his knees, but he didn’t care, not with the delicious sounds of the beautiful girl writhing underneath him.  He’d tend to the bruises tomorrow.

You furiously flipped through your copy of the script, the pages all dog eared and highlighted.  Vernon eyed you from the opposite side of the small couch on set.  He watched you grow more frustrated as you went back and forth between pages. 

“Hey.” He called out softly.  You glanced over to him, catching his warm gaze.  Vernon lightly pulled your legs over his lap.  “What’s going on in your head?” An exasperated groan left your lips and you let your script fall over your face as he pulled you closer.    

“I need something besides lighting to visually cue the shift in time.” You grumbled from beneath the papers.  “Like, the scenes after Leah dies will be blue toned, but you can’t just look the exact same…”  Vernon hummed.  You peaked out from behind the script.  He was staring off into the distance, clearly thinking.  

“I could shave my head.” He shrugged.  You scrambled up, the script fluttering to the floor.  

“What?” You blinked at him.  

“I could shave my head.” He repeated, as if it was obvious. He dragged his fingers soothingly over your exposed legs.

“Like,” you shivered at the gentle touches. “A buzz?” He nodded.  “I couldn’t make you do that.”

“I suggested it, Y/N.” He chuckled.  You leaned forward and captured a piece of the hair framing his face between your fingers.  Vernon watched you carefully consider his hair, pushing it out of his eyes.  He saw the shift from yourself to director of this movie in the way your eyes narrowed at him.  

“If you’re sure…” You mumbled.  He nodded dumbly, willing to do anything to make this project successful.  Your eyes flicked to his lips and back to his hair. 

“I’m sure,” He licked his lips.  “I want this to be the best movie you’ve ever made.” 

“Seems like a selfish desire, Hansol” You leaned closer to him. 

“Maybe I’m a selfish man.” He cracked a cocky smile before lightly pressing his lips to yours.  You melted into his touch and allowed him control of the kiss.  He parted your lips with his tongue and began exploring your mouth, not unlike he did out in the road last week. 

You began to attempt to pull away but he tangled his fingers through your hair and made a noise of protest.  Vernon was not ready to let you go.  You allowed him to lick into your mouth and deepen the kiss.  His mouth tasted like tea.  

“I have clippers at my place,” he whispered as he moved to plant searing kisses on your jaw.  

“Today is your last scene for the past.” You stated breathlessly.   He hummed in affirmation against your skin.  

“Come over and shave it tonight.” He mumbled.  

“Me?” You nearly shrieked.  He pulled back to look at you fully.  

“Yeah?” He cocked an eyebrow at you.  “Who else?” 

“Anyone else!” You placed your hands on his shoulders.  “I’m a film director not a hair stylist!”    

“It’s a buzz Y/N.” He deadpanned.  “Besides, you're pretty good at everything.” 

Vernon’s apartment was pretty much what you imagined it would be.  His living room walls were covered in posters for various movies, some of which featured your own name.  He wasn’t lying when he said he was a fan because you weren’t even sure where he would have gotten these.  His laptop was on the coffee table with a pair of headphones still plugged in, like he had rushed out this morning.  

He kept the place lit with only lamps, the overhead lights pretty much collecting dust.  There was a feeling of comfort and warmth that was so distinctly Hansol.  You watched him move through to the kitchen.  

“Where did you get this?” You wondered out loud looking at the theatrical poster of your latest release.  

“Uh,” he rubbed the back of his neck.  “Don’t worry about it?” “No seriously, I’ve been looking for it.” You turned toward him.  

“Oh my God, if you need it, you can have it.” “Nah, it looks better here than it ever would in my agency.” You winked at him.  He blushed and wandered toward the kitchen.  You turned your attention toward the rest of the posters and his collection of DVDs.  

“Wanna order take out?” He called to you, pulling back from the refrigerator once he realized he really needed to go grocery shopping. Filming wrapped for the day about two hours ago, it took the two of you that long to clean up and get to his apartment. Tonight was the first time the thin wall of professionalism had come down, you were nervous.  

Vernon appeared from the kitchen, grabbed your hand, and pulled you next to him on the couch.  “It’s okay, Y/N, nothing has to happen,” he rubbed circles into the back of your hand with his thumb. “You’re just here to shave my head and maybe eat something.” He smiled at you.      

One meal and several stolen kisses later you were standing in his kitchen, clippers in hand. You ripped a hole in a trash bag and shoved it over his head.  He made a muffled sound of surprise and turned toward you.  

“To catch the hair.” You stated simply.  You dug in your bag and pulled out your camera.  He eyed you and you watched him through the viewfinder for a moment before snapping the picture, catching it as it printed out.  “Before.” You stuck it in his silverware drawer.  

He sat down in the chair you carefully pulled into the center of the room and spread another trash bag under. His brown eyes looked up at you expectantly. “Ready?” You asked, nervously. He nodded up at you. You took a deep breath and turned on the clippers.  The machine vibrated ecstatically in your hand.  Moving toward him you squeezed your eyes shut.

“Open your eyes, babe.” He tried to sound nonchalant, but the nerves were evident in his tone.  Your eyes popped open.

“Sorry.” You replied sheepishly.  The clippers connected with his head, your eyes stayed open, and your tongue popped between your lips in concentration. Vernon’s eyes were locked on you for the entire process, just like when you’re in director mode, the care you put into everything was obvious.  Vernon felt lucky that you put this level of care into anything to do with him. 

You ran your hand over his skull.  “It’s done.” You muttered.  It was almost unfair, how good he looked with a buzzcut.   

The water was up to Vernon’s waist, still he waded further.  You watched the water creep up his shirt above the water. Peaking at the screen on the camera you called out to him, 

“Vernon! You can stop there, framing looks good!” He turned back toward the camera, toward you, and flashed a smile and a thumbs up.  

You called action and watched him transform from your Hansol into the character you crafted, partly for him.  He delivered his lines to the woods surrounding the lake, screaming and splashing.  This scene was a pinnacle in the movie, Adam was seeing his wife’s ghost and desperately trying to get to her, just to find she wasn’t real.  After Vernon finished his scene you would have Leah in the lake.  The film will be layered over each other to give it a disjointed feeling.  

You had never seen Vernon act in a scene like this before, you were almost nervous going into today, but he blew you away.  He truly had a passion for this work, and for your movie.  You weren’t sure how you struck such gold with the two cast members you found. 

Vernon got his shot within a few takes, he scrambled out of the lake and took the towel from the shore.  Leah met him at the edge of the water.  

“It’s warm, don’t worry about that.” He laid his hand on her shoulder and she laughed.  She began to wade into the water, her white dress pooling around her.  Vernon joined you behind the camera.  “Got it quick, just like I said.” His voice was low so that only you could hear him. He watched Leah get deeper in the water through your screen from behind you. His hand found your hip.  You stiffened under his touch, so casual in front of everyone.  

“Leah!” You called.  “I have the framing! You’re good!” Vernon dropped his hand.  

The sun sunk below the horizon, casting golden hues on the surface of the lake hours later.  Most of the crew had packed up and headed home a few minutes ago.  You carefully detached your camera from the tripod and packed it in its case.  Then, you turned to fold up  the tripod only to find Vernon already starting the task. 

“These going to the cabin?” He asked.  

“Yeah, but I was going to stay out here for a bit.” 

“Want company?” He put the folded tripod with the camera bag. 

“Yes I do.” You declared plopping down onto the sand near the shore.  He chuckled behind you and shuffled behind you.  He held you the way he did a few weeks ago when you taught him about the stars. His arms snaked around your waist.  

“Over halfway done, how you feeling, Madam Director?”  

“Ew.” You giggled.  “I feel good about the movie, you and Leah are more amazing than I could have imagined.” 

“I meant it when I said I wanted this to be the best movie you’ve ever made.” He rested his chin on the top of your head. 

“I’m a little scared of what happens after though.” You admitted.  “I’ve been working on this for so long, where do I go from here?” “I think everything will work out the way it should.” Vernon assured you, the double meaning wasn’t lost on you.  

“Do you want it to work out that way?” You whispered.  

“Absolutely, as long as it’s what you see for yourself.” A silence fell between you, it was comfortable and introspective.  The implications of the brief conversation settled on the two of you like a blanket, shutting out the rest of the world.  

You turned towards him and held out your hand.  He let you pull him to his feet and lead him to the water.  The moon was high in the sky and casting shadows across his face. He caught your gaze and held it as he sank to his knees in front of you. A quiet gasp escaped your lips.  He chuckled as he broke eye contact to tug on your shoelace.  

“You’re terrible.” You sighed and stepped out of your shoes and allowed him to take off your socks.  

“What did you think was about to happen, baby? You have all your clothes on.” 

“Hasn’t stopped you before, Hansol.”   He stood back up and crowded your space.  His lips brushed yours just barely.  

“We’ll see.” He whispered before crashing his lips against yours.  Your arms wrapped around his torso and pulled him as close as you could. The sand was cool on your feet but the heat of Hansol was all encompassing.  His hands slipped underneath your shirt shamelessly. He swallowed your breathy noises as he dragged his fingers up your rib cage toward your breasts. 

He lifted your shirt over your head quickly and returned his hands to your skin.  The want ripped through your body faster than you expected.  Your hands found the button of his jeans.  Hansol kicked off his shoes to allow you to easier get them off.  You tossed them up the beach toward your bag.  His large hands covered your breasts and kneaded the flesh over your bra.  

“You’re so beautiful, you know?” He breathed into your mouth.  His fingers ventured back and found the clasp of the bra. The fabric fluttered to the ground, you felt exposed but you weren’t sure you cared. He stepped back briefly and his eyes raked down your body as he took off his socks.  His shirt came off quickly after.  

He stepped closer to you and hooked a thumb under the band of your underwear. Kisses peppered down your neck until he reached your collar bone.  He began to suck deep bruises into the skin there.  Slowly, his fingers swept against your cunt experimentally.  You moaned at the slightest contact.  Hansol smiled against your skin and dragged his fingers through your folds.  

“Hansol, please.” You whined. The calloused pad of his finger slowly began to circle your clit.  You nearly jumped out of your skin at the delicious contact.  He slipped your panties down your legs and allowed you to step out of them.  Carefully, he pulled you against him, your back flush against his chest.  His clothed cock was hard against your ass as his fingers returned to their ruminations.  You felt like you might have exploded at this alone. 

His fingers slowly swept through your folds again before dipping shallowly into your entrance.  You moaned at the intrusion, encouraging Hansol to push in further.  A second finger found the spot inside you as his thumb met the delicious bundle of nerves.  You were hurtling toward your high embarrassingly fast.  Your hips bucked slightly to meet his pace.  

“It’s okay, baby, I got you, you can let go.” His gravelly voice rumbled through you.  You could feel him rutting helplessly into the swell of your ass through his boxers as the thread in your stomach snapped and your vision exploded into a million colors.  He held you through the after shock of your orgasm and slowly removed his fingers from you. 

“Take these off.” You reached behind you and snapped the band of his boxers.  You started up the beach toward your bag as he all but ripped them off of his body.  He watched your body bathed in moonlight return to him with your polaroid in your hand.  “Memories worth keeping?” He chuckled as he let the water touch his toes.  

��Yes, if not this, then what?” You asked, raising the viewfinder to your eye.  You saw Hansol, completely bare just for you, lit by only the moon, in the small window. The shutter snapped.  Running up the beach, you grab the photo before it falls to the ground and you put the camera in your bag and you set the developing picture into the bigger camera bag which let less light in.

He reaches for your hands as you return to him.  You allow him to guide you into the lake slowly.  His eyes never left yours as he guided you deeper and deeper.  The lake was not too deep even in the middle, so Hansol could touch the entire time even when your toes left the floor.  He held you so tenderly and protectively.  

“Come here,” he whispered and pulled you even closer.  You wrapped your legs around his trim waist and he held you there.  His eyelids drooped with desire as he leaned in to press a soft kiss to your lips.  Slowly the kiss became more and more heated.  His tongue explored your mouth, even though he was confident he could map it out from memory by now.  Your hands toyed with the barely there strands at the nape of his neck.  “Do you want to try something with me?” He asked, his eyes fluttering open.  You nodded, too afraid to break the moment.  

He adjusted his grip on your thigh and guided his hard length to your entrance.  You watched the droplets of water dripped off of his long eyelashes as he slowly sheathed himself inside of you. You heard yourself gasp before you realized you were doing it, the stretch was absolutely delicious.  

“Oh, Hansol,” your voice was breathy and your eyes fluttered closed as he held you tightly and began to fuck up into you.  You felt every single drag of him against your walls.  

“You feel so good,” he whined.  “Feel like you were made for me.”  His pace slowed, an agonizing attempt to make this last longer.  You buried your face in his neck, the water licking your cheek as he began to pound into you again. The sound of your moans and breaths were too close to his ear, you were going to drive him wild, as if you hadn’t already. You wrapped around him, he was surrounded by you, and he wasn’t sure how he could keep his hands off of you in front of everyone after he has had you like this.  

Hansol felt the sting of teeth against his earlobe.  His thrusts became erratic as his high suddenly mounted.  Fingers pressed into your thighs almost painfully you whined, but only because it felt good.  Your second orgasm bubbled in your belly and you reached down and began to stimulate your own clit.  You felt like you were out of your body, the pleasure too much.  Hansol’s hips sputtered and with a choked sound he began to release thick white ropes inside of you.  Your orgasm crashed into you quickly after he began to fill you up.  

“Oh my God, Hansol.” You mewled unabashedly as the pleasure wracked through you.  Hansol thrusted weakly under you as you rode out your high.  He kissed your hair as you began to come down.  Slowly, he pulled out of you, a feeling of emptiness spreading through your body.  

“C’mon, let’s get you on solid ground.” He cradled you against his chest and carried you out of the lake.  

Vernon sighed and ran a hand over his buzzed head.  He still wasn’t used to seeing himself in the mirror without his hair.  This was his first day back at the Sebong building since you shaved his head in the middle of his kitchen.  He was nervous.  

The sound of the bathroom door swinging open made him jump and scramble to get the beanie over his head.  

“Hey,” Seungkwan offered as he saw Vernon.  His eyes grew wide as he took in the appearance of his friend who was trying to hide the glaringly obvious change.  

“Oh Hansol,” a wicked grin spread over Seungkwan’s face.  “Lee Chan is going to kill you.” 

“Shut up Kwan.” Vernon grumbled, pulling the beanie down over his ears.  “He won’t even notice.” He said firmly, trying to convince himself.  

“Sure, Sol,” Seungkwan chuckled, planting his hand on top of Vernon’s head and shaking it a bit.  “He’s waiting for you with Minghao in the boardroom, good luck.” 

“Fuck.” 

Vernon strode into the room, a thinly veiled air of panic behind false confidence.  He plopped down in his usual chair, the one with the peeling vinyl, and leveled his gaze at Chan and Minghao.  

“Vernon!” Chan smiled at him.  “Just who we were wanting to talk to!” 

“Yeah, and I would have never known if Seungkwan didn’t find me in the bathroom.” Vernon slumped and crossed his arms over his chest.  “What can I do for you?”

“Oh, uh, I’ll cut to the chase.” Chan leaned forward.  “I have it on good authority that there might be something going on on set. Care to share?” “Nope.” 

“Vernon.” Chan said with a warning tone. “Are you–why are you wearing a beanie? It’s July.”

“I wear beanies, Chan.  Nothing weird about it.” 

“What did you do to your hair?” Chan pressed nervously.

“That’s not what this meeting is about, is it?” Vernon replied coolly.  

“Just tell him you shaved your head so I can do the part of my job that doesn’t involve wrangling you.” Minghao spoke up.  Vernon sent him a glare from across the table.  “You aren’t exactly good at secrets, Vern.” 

“You’re supposed to be on my side, Hao.” Vernon slipped the beanie off his head.  

“Oh my God.” Chan buried his face in his hands.  “Why did you do that?” 

“Movie demands.” Vernon shrugged.  He wouldn’t dare tell Chan it was his idea.  

“He shaved his head.” Chan muttered to Minghao who rolled his eyes.

“Mourn my dead skin cells if you want, but can I go?” Vernon asked hopefully.   

“No!” Chan sat up, “We haven’t even talked about what we’re here for! Vernon, are you having relations with your director?” 

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.” Vernon looked between Chan and Minghao.  Minghao seemed disinterested in this dispute.  

“This could turn into a PR nightmare.” Chan retorted.  “If it is true.” “I guess we’ll never know.” Vernon pushed away from the table and stood.  

“Stop fucking your director.” Chan insisted.  Vernon stopped in the doorway to the boardroom and looked back at his boss.  

“No.”  

You flipped open the lid to your big camera bag and clapped your hand over your mouth.  Vernon, who shows up early every day now padded over to you to see what was wrong.  He peered down into the bag and laughed in disbelief. 

“That’s my dick.” He stated.  

“Yeah no shit!” You hissed and slammed the bag closed.  He thought you were cute when you were flustered like this.  He reached over, opened the bag, and plucked the polaroid from its place on top of the camera. 

“Here,” he ran his hand over your ass and slipped the small photo into your back pocket.  “For safekeeping.”  You gawked at him in disbelief as he rose to stand and greet his makeup artist as if nothing happened.  You stared at the back of his head until he was out of your sight. 

The cast and crew convened in front of the cabin about two hours later.  Everyone was looking at you, waiting for you to say something.  

“Well,” you started.  “Today is the last day of filming.  I want to thank each and every one of you for believing in this project. I can tell just how much everyone cares by the work we have all done over the last several weeks.” You smiled sadly at everyone, eyes lingering on Hansol.  “Let’s make it another great day guys.”  Cheers exploded from the small crowd of people and you finally felt like you were where you were supposed to be.  Various members of your small crew came to give you hugs and congratulations and then the work started.  

Leah and Vernon never let up until the very end, they both gave their all.  You watched Vernon talk tenderly to the sky in what would be the final scene of the movie.  His emotions rolled over him in waves, tears falling from his eyes.  You couldn’t help your tears from falling behind the camera.  What next? 

“Cut!” You called.  “That’s a wrap on Soul Meets Body.” Your voice cracked.  Vernon was running to you. His arms encircled your waist and he lifted you off the ground and spun you around.  You could hear the cheers from everyone around you, finally everyone being able to see the not so well kept secret in front of them.        

One Year Later…

“Are you ready for this?” You asked, smoothing your hands down the sleeves of Hansol’s suit jacket.  

“I am, are you?” He smirked.  “They’re going to ask about it.” “Let them.” Leah, Vernon, and yourself stepped out into the light.  It was a small premiere, so not too intimidating but this felt more intense than any other premiere you’ve had in your career to date.  

“Y/N, as the director, was there anything driving your passion for this project?” An indie film journalist asked quickly before anyone could get a word in.  

“Y/N!” Another journalist called.  “Is there anyone in particular in the cast or crew that made this movie such an important one?”

“I can’t say much,” you started.  “But I can assure you, this movie was made with a lot of love.”

[cornfieldsrambles]

YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO INFODUMP PLEASE TELL ME ABOUT WIGGLY'S SIBLINGS???? THAT HE APPARENTLY HAS????

omg ok SO

Meet the Lords in Black. Charming, aren't they?

Yes, Wiggly does indeed have four brothers who all do different things, so I'll cover them one by one, in order of introduction (since we've already met each of them in Nightmare Time at least once). BTW Nightmare Time has a fuckton of lore in it that I won't go into here, so even though I am about to spoil significant parts of it for you, I do recommend watching it, it's really good and if there's enough interest they might make a third one!

(Also you might notice they're all in doll form in this picture. This is how we knew them up until NPMD introduced us to what I call their Tumblr sexyman forms. Which are rad as hell by the way.)

So you already know Wiggly. That little green fucker, Wiggog Y'Wrath, the Capitalist Cthulu who does uwu-speak and starts a cult by invading people's minds. This will become a bit of a reoccurring theme with these guys. He's also the only one to successfully start an apocalypse, and the only one to have attempted to birth himself into our reality. (Or is he? We'll get to that...) He does seem to have some kind of dominion over the other LiB, as whenever all five of them show up there's always emphasis placed on him, like in NPMD where he does most of the talking while his siblings occasionally butt in.

Now for Bliklotep. Blinky seems to have slightly lower-scale ambitions than Wiggly, but don't let that fool you. Eyeball Boi is still incredibly dangerous. He runs an amusement park, WatcherWorld, deep within the Hatchetfield Witchwood. But it's not for the amusement of the patrons. Oh no. It's for Blinky's own amusement. Once you step inside, every insecurity, every shred of potential conflict will be ripped to the forefront, turning people against each other to the point of trying to kill each other until he's fully infected their minds. It's implied that, if not all, but a significant chunk of the workers at WatcherWorld were once patrons before having their minds taken over by Blinky. He's also implied to be the thing in Trail To Oregon that Jack Bauer sees during his venom-induced hallucination, as Blinky is referred to as "The Watcher With 1,000 Eyes", which is exactly what JB says he sees? Making Blinky the only LiB to induce a Starkid crossover. My headcanon is that the Dikrats founded Hatchetfield. But regardless.

Next up on the roster is Tinky. T'noy Karaxis, the Time Bastard. You may be wondering about that one line in NPMD where he recognised Pete as a Spankoffski, and said he "could have the whole set in his toybox". Has Tinky gone after Pete's relatives?

Well. Um. You know Ted, right? Yeah, his name is Spankoffski. He's Pete's big brother. We actually got the surname reveal before the brother reveal, lol. And that's not the only reveal we got about Ted. Our boy Teddy Bear has this whole entire tragic backstory and it turns out he gets fucked over in literally every timeline! Isn't that fun?

So, to summarise an entire episode: Tinky makes travel fuckery happen, Ted wants to go back in time to fix his life, accidentally goes back to before the time machine was created and gets stuck in the past, literally. Tinky is watching and laughing at the whole thing, then shows up to blow Ted's brain to smithereens with his weird little magic box, the Bastard's Box, where he stores all the people he toys with. Anyway Ted eventually catches up with the present by aging, except now no one knows who he is, he's... actually I won't spoil that. But once he dies he ends up eternally trapped and tortured in the Bastard's Box. Yaaay.

Fast forward to Nightmare Time 2 and we get introduced to Nibbly, in possibly the most unexpected way imaginable. He's revealed to have been behind a whole episode literally right at the end of said episode, and even though it was kind of foreshadowed, it hits you like a freight train in the best way. Remember when I said Wiggly was the only one who tried to birth himself into reality? That was kind of a lie. Nibblenephim can sort of do that anyway. Every year, he can possess a bunch of carcasses and create a living form to walk the earth for one night. He also has a cult of followers who provide him with the carcasses, as well as a sacrifice to feed on. There's a little more to it, specifically with how the sacrifice is chosen, but again, I'm trying to spoil as little as possible. Go watch Nightmare Time. Nibbly also seems to have a "pig" motif, and his theme song, The Nibbly Ditty, is a banger, easily my favourite of the three LiB theme songs we've heard so far.

And finally, we are introduced to Pokotho, in the very last episode of NMT2.

Except no. We were formally introduced to Pokey there, yes, but we've seen his apocalypse already. Long before NPMD, before Nightmare Time, even before Black Friday.

Yeah, remember me saying that Wiggly was the only one to successfully start an apocalypse? That was also a lie! Pokey already did that, and he did it without ever showing his masked face. Remember The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals? The blue spores that came down in a meteor and turned everyone into singing zombies? That was Pokey's doing! That's his blue spores! That's his apocalypse!

This also provides an explanation for why blowing up the meteor didn't work. Emma and Hidgens were right about the hivemind thing, but wrong about the location of the central brain. It wasn't the meteor - the meteor was just the vessel which carried the spores to Earth. The central brain was sitting safely up in the Black and White, laughing as Paul blew himself to smithereens. The central brain was Pokey, the Singular Voice, the most uncompromising of his brothers. The one who hates every voice that is not his own, hence the hivemind and making all of his zombies speak in HIS voice.

Anyway in NMT2 he's happily collecting musical zombies by taking on a human form and infiltrating a fighting ring of superpowered children until he has enough to kickstart another apocalypse. (Don't question it, we're almost done). He also calls himself Otho, not Pokey, making him the only LiB to have two different abbreviations of his name. Hannah is also there (remember her? Lex's little sister?) and she is like incredibly important to this whole thing, she has a super powerful mind, but that's a whole other thing.

But I did mention Hannah for a reason. Because you said "Wiggly's SIBLINGS". And while the Lords in Black are always referred to as brothers, they do have one more sibling. A sister. A Queen in White. And her name is Webby.

Yep, Hannah's imaginary friend isn't imaginary, who could have guessed? She's benevolent, always trying her best to combat her brothers' antics, but given that there's one of her and five of them, this is a bit of an uphill battle. Webby doesn't have a full name that we know of, nor does she have a doll. We don't know much about her. And she may not be all-powerful - but then again, neither are her brothers.

Infodump concluded. Hope this helps, it was very fun to write.

[imtired-likerllytired]

The correct opinion on the Bats and their pulling skills (and ranking them in order- based off of literally nothing)

Bruce Wayne: somehow? Eternally pulls. Like at biblical levels it’s shocking literally every person he has been with has been out of his league and they’re all so so down bad

Tim Drake: how the fuck?? Did you do that? Like Tim is pretty, hella pretty, face card eats, devours all that? BUT like how??? Tim gets like 10 people obsessed with him? After about 5 conversations? It’s actually like so impressive it’s concerning

Dick Grayson: have you seen that face? Dick doesn’t pull out of his league bc no one is out of his league. But like bro PULLS. Bro got starfire that’s it that’s the pinnacle of pulling. The ultimate victory. (Loses points bc he has so so many relationships that read like he’s mid divorce and I’m supposed to assume they’re ‘ just friends’ and also bc whatever the fuck ‘you were always the trophy’ was Richard control your harem oh my god)

Jason Todd: this man isn’t pulling at all, people are fucking chasing him and he is running the hell away (respectable game but as soon as HE is interested he FUMBLES bro)

Babs: honestly based off of vibes I would put her a lot higher but DC nerfs her so so hard. Like I can see the potential I can see so so so much potential please. I’m enjoying DickBabs rn but like come on SHE could have people starting WARS over her

Cassandra Cain: she is only this low bc WE ARE WAITING COME ON CASS, DO IT FFS

Stephanie brown: same fucking reason LOCK IN AND PULL CASS ALREADY ONE OF YOU MAKE A FUCKING MOVE HOLY SHIT GOD DAMN CHRIST. COME ON I AM ROOTING FOR YOU

Damian Wayne: honestly handicapped by his family so so so hard rip Damian you could’ve pulled but you are your fathers son and accidentally fell for a murderer Godspeed soldier

[birdyisthewordyy]

Foaming from the mouth I NEED a Daisuke x reader so bad 💔

Can you write a scenario where reader is an intern for Anya and keeps extra disinfectant and supplies away from Jimmy because she knows he’d use it wrong? (Great example being the cocktail he made for Swansea) That way she’d have it to treat Daisuke when the vent injures him 🙏🙏 THANK YOU 💫

YES… this idea is so cute and has angst potential I am obsessed

Daisuke immediately bonds with you over both being interns

He pretends to get hurt a lot so you give him extra attention

That one scene from SpongeBob where he’s like

“I need…..a tailor…..BECAUSE I RIPPED MY PANTS!!!!”

Will make little gifts to help you or make your job easier

Listens to you talk about the human body and is always interested

“So why do we even need an appendix again?”

When he gets hurt you’re panicking

Tries to calm you down through gritted teeth

“I’m….fine.”

Is not fine

Feels awful for making you cry

Holds your hand while you treat him

“I can save you! I can—I can do something!”

You sound almost like Jimmy

“It’s okay (name).”

Realizes he never told you how he felt

Kisses you with blood still on his lips

[denpadokei]

Is this how it should be?

This isn’t how it should be-!

static miku from a gif by rice deity ofc

rambling + better off worse (VocaCircus) flower in the spoken for stage below (tw - ketchup?)

also rice’s art. ignore how they have no shadow I’m horrible at editing I do this with my notes app-

I highly recommend you read the comments, I was just gonna point out the other utau girls, the gunshots and potential tattoo reference in “shaving off the numbers” taken literally. And of course the “Go for a Perfect?”. I think this comment phrased it really well.

The fact she’s not there at the end screen (that I am using for both of my images) is as concerning as it could be hopeful.

also I think I accidentally made static miku giant whoops

MORE:

- I’ve already said it but this song gives me such dread. I love it and it’s perfect but I was sobbing on the floor for hours bro. I mean I may already be mentally unwell but shush. I don’t even relate to it in the slightest

- do you think they’re all going to be 4:04

- I wish the silly bit in the intro was on streaming services. I hope it’s in a potential album ver. Assuming this project is an album. Do you think they’ll all begin with S.

- I love how they’re going with cartoon mascots in specific styles so far. What could be next?

- I actually don’t think the next song is gonna be Neru. I think they’ll save Neru for the end and complete the triple baka trio then. Not sure who to expect in between. Kaito? Meiko? They even got quite the history with fame, especially Kaito. I kinda hope for Fukase. “He was the meme man of vocaloid. And this is him now.” Maybe the Utaus in this? Xin Hua OR Xia Yu Yao? That Chinese Miku “Rip off” Dong Fang Zhi Zi? Utatane Piko? The REAL mascot boy, Ryuto?

- I said it when static came out, but I have no idea how it’s going to feel in the future when these songs are staples of vocaloid. Where are we going from here? I thought we peaked at mezzy, it’s a little overwhelming- Good, of course. And they’re ENGLISH songs. We need a new “vocal synth songs every fan should know” at this rate. Maybe solely for English ones.

- would this have been as popular as static if it came out first

- I’m kinda glad it’s not, static is a little happier and less triggering than this.

- I feel this could NEVER really outdo or be the next Static either. It’s not got that weirdcore, creepy edge. It’s not unnerving in the same way. As I mentioned, I absolutely LOVE the way they’re doing this.

- can JamieP CALM DOWN for ONE SECOND and stop making BANGERS

- I really hope this isn’t the truth directed to the audience/a cry for help from the producers- I know better off worse was kinda like that- I doubt it is. I uh I really really hope it isn’t.

- the way the chorus isn’t built to be a chorus if that makes sense? Like it sounds more like a verse, so in the final chorus there’s this constant feeling of “we haven’t reached the peak yet” especially since the peak is at the bridge. I think it’s reflected most in the horns (my favourite part of the song!). And the way the bridge isn’t very different from the chorus! The way each line is the start of the chorus but not quite hitting it! Just like the feeling that she’s not good enough! And the way that actually transitions into the final chorus! Sorry this doesn’t make any sense.

- again, no clue how they do this. I’m very interested on how it goes from an idea in someone’s head into this. Does the concept come first? Or the music? It’s so extremely impressive. It’s like they got the branding everywhere immaculate, the vibe, but the viewer experience is never negatively affected by that gggfrdffgghhdr

- each of the song pages on the flavor foley start with an emoji, and the one for spoken for is 💖 which is my favourite emoji 😭

here’s some ramblings from the nightcord about vocaloid in general

thanks for reading

[alynnia]

Sylus x Rafayel (x MC) ramblings

The fujo came out of me with this one. After my little karaoke blurb I had an epiphany and had to get it out of my system. I'm no writer but I like to write. The below is litterally brain vomit of ideas and situations spilling out as they come and they're free to the public to play with. These two have quite a bit in common and potentially have chemistry? I dunno, could be my fujo goggles.

MDNI because the last section is lewd. Nothing explicit just options of how I think the sexual part of their relationship might be.

Both bonded to MC

•Sylus, through a shared soul and Raf through an eternal bond. Both of these continue through lifetimes. So imagine Rafayel's shock when courting MC he gets two instead of one. Does he just love half of her soul or all of it? Now we don't know the exact timelines of the myths if they all share the same universe and same Philos, but let's say they did. Sylus' soul sharing with MC came first so when Rafayel bonded with MC, he was unknowingly bonding with Sylus as well. He would be reluctant in this set up, believing that MC was the one he is tied to and only her (this is true of course but we are playing pretend here) but why does he feel a similar pull from Sylus? The fiend is nonchalant about it outwardly but I can see him teasing the fuck out of fish boy. " I guess that makes me your 'beloved' as well but...I don't bow to gods, puppy. I end them. " and then gives him a few smug paps on the cheek. This likely results in a fight MC has to break up and it happens often.

•They would both try and show each other up with showing affection to MC, but Sylus would always include Rafayel in his gifting. If he buys a dress for her, he's buying a suit for him. If she gets a ruby necklace, he gets ruby cufflinks. While MC can have any color jewels she wants, he defaults to red gems. After a while, Rafayel takes notice that the crow boy likes to "mark" them with rubies as a subtle way of telling the world the two of them are both his. It's hard to say if he's doing this as a show of dominance or something more but the way Sylus gives him a satisfied smirk/smile when he sees them both wearing matching onyx and ruby brooches makes his eye twitch and his heart skip. Sensing danger between them, MC would excitedly suggest that Sylus wear one too so all three could match, a subtle way on her part to say they are all equal here.

•When talking to MC about Rafayel, he uses "our".

"I think our husband is throwing a tantrum again~"

" I am NOT your husband. "

" Tch, aaw. Tough luck, you're stuck with us both. "

" Then I want a divorce. There's got to be some way to break out of this, a loophole or a spell to break this curse... "

" You hear that sweetie? Our husband wants to break up with us. Maybe he's not as devoted as he says. "

" N-not her! JUST YOU! You are the curse that defiles our sacred bond and I will not stand for it! "

" And how do you plan to do that? Hm? Rip our very soul asunder? That can't be good for either of us, puppy~ " And he's just smirking the entire time with an arm around MC. " But if you insist, I may know someone who can help you. Very experimental, has not had one survivor yet. But! You seem to be very set on tearing her apart...are you willing to take the risk~? " He just loves challenging gods and seeing Rafayel seething is just too precious.

Both rich as fuck

•As someone else here on tumblr mentioned, Rafayel is spoiled prince rich and Sylus is mafia rich. Raf seeing Sy spend money like it was nothing takes these acts as a challenge on his own wealth. He'll offer to pay for things with a smug smile and Sylus lets him do it without a fuss, merely raising an eyebrow then smirking. Neither let MC pay for anything. This ends up frustrating Rafayel after a while. Why doesn't he say anything? Is he just going to let him pay for it all? Greedy crow. ):< Finally fed up, he confronts Sylus saying that he should pay him back with interest. Raf doesn't need the money but it's the principle of the matter! Sylus is just…

"Alright, if it will shut you up." and points him to a page of restraunts on a tablet he was looking over. Rafayel figures he's being asked where he wants to eat on Sy's tab so he chooses the most expensive establishment. The kind you need to make a reservation for a year in advance. He's already planning to order top shelf, the highest priced items on the menu and exclusive private seating for all of them. Sylus looks over the selected place and scoffs, " Pompous. " A little later when Rafayel is expecting to go out, Sylus just slaps down paperwork in front of him and tells him to sign it. What is it? Essentially the transfer of ownership of that place he chose. Apparently it had already belonged to Sylus and now it's Raf's. " This should cover it, yes? "

Both are mythical creatures

• Raf being a mermaid (God of tides) and Sylus being a dragon (Bringer of Ruin) Gods create, fiends destroy. Sy is for the skies and Raf for the seas. They're both beings of power and forces of nature.

• Being the dragon he is, Sylus would likely keep all of the art he doesn't put away or keep track of. It comes from the need to hoard treasures and because the fish is terrible with leaving his work all over the place. Don't get him started on the paintbrushes he keeps stepping on. Thomas would think him a life saver for keeping things organized and available but Sylus would charge him every time he wanted to retrieve work from him. So Thomas is left with the choice of dealing with Rafayel or paying a stupid amount of money to Sylus to bypass the anguish.

•On the flip side, After Raf has seen Sylus' treasure trove of gemstones, he would also just so happen to pick up jewels from museums to add to his own collection. Ones Sylus possibly have never seen or heard of due to their connections with Lemuria. Sylus would make a comment about Lemurians crying pearls he heard once, baiting Rafayel and of course the mermaid can't help but confirm he's able to do this. (They both know what they are by this point) But isn't that a dangerous thing to admit to a greedy dragon? Perhaps Sylus should lock him up and force him to cry to obtain such beauties. But he figures he doesn't need to. Rafayel himself is enough of a rare treasure to keep after all. He would say this right to his face without flinching, as if it was just common sense. He pins another ruby trinket to his lapel to which Raf would find himself blushing then storming off somewhere. He would like to see those scales though. They sure are shiny and our Sylus likes shiny things.

• Sylus walks in on Rafayel in the bath and sees his mermaid tail for the first time. He's enamored but doesn't show it on his face. The mermaid is squawking, telling him he shouldn't enter when someone is in here without knocking but Sylus just ignores him, grabbing what he needs and is about to head out. The mermaid did catch those eyes looking at him in a particular way, wondering why he doesn't ask about the tail.

" So...you're not going to say anything about this? "

" Should I? "

" You've just bore witness to a rare sight, the scales of real Lemurian in his full glory. You would be a fool not to admire. "

" Oh, in that case do forgive me~ " turning around casually he takes wide steps and looms over the tub, his shadow cast over the Lemurian's form, " Then allow me take a closer look... " That's when Sylus runs his hands over the glistening tail, face unchanging as he studies it's quality. This envokes the wrath of Raf smacking his hand away, " No one said you could touch! " Sylus removes his hand but smirks in response. His gaze lingers on the glittering on the mermaid's face before rising up and heading back to the door, " I've seen better. "

" ......WHAT? Where?! No you haven't! Who else has-! " the door is already shut and he's gone.

• What if Sylus took MC's place in Rafayel's myth? A fiend finally captured, tied up and thrown into the ocean. We have hints that Sylus may not know how to swim so perhaps this is his weakness. Rafayel comes across this strange drowning creature who isn't quite human but curious to know more. He cuts him free and planned to just let whatever happens to him, happen but Sylus is quick, desperate to live and be out of this water. Having heard of the Lemurian tales he grabs hold of his savior and tries to steal his breath with a kiss, biting his lip in the process just like MC did. And you know the rest after that. Would make an interesting AU I think but would divert from the myth a looot from there. Still could be a fun ride. Raf can show him the ocean and Sy could show him the skies.

A weakness and a fear

•I don't think Sylus can swim. There's an Abyssal Chaos situation that hints at this and it's living rent free in my head but he does have a pool so who knows. I'm going with the idea that he can't swim for this. So...Sylus would almost always get the one-up on Rafayel, teasing and bullying him but when it comes to water, the fish finally has the upper hand here. Sylus would never admit this weakness out loud to anyone but MC. If they went to the beach he would just stay out of deep areas and Rafayel would take notice. Being a cheeky one and in his element, he'd somehow get the drop on him and pull Sylus over into the deep side to see what happens. Also for revenge. But Sylus isn't reacting the way he thought? This big tough guy is actually going to drown if he doesn't do something. He could be rid of him finally, let the man drown and have MC all to himself. He watches him sink, feeling a twinge of satisfaction but just as he's about to take off, the mark on his chest lights up. It can't be helped, can it?

After "saving" him, Rafayel tells him it's about time he learned how to swim. It's an essential skill and it's a crime to not beable to appreciate the beauty of the ocean. Sylus, surprisingly to Raf, agrees. " Then you should teach me. It's the least you can do after trying to kill me. " Not that it would work I think. How far does his immortality go anyway? Que montage of the two of them in the water together.

• Rafayel has a fear of cats. Sylus likes cats. After all, their beloved MC is their kitten and he's raised a lion cub before. The Lemurian god is offended that he would call MC such a horrid nickname as it's essentially calling her a demon. Sy quickly picks up on the fear and like the earlier scenario, tries to tease him with it. Though it's to a lesser degree in the form of just bringing strays for MC to take care of in front of him. If she's loving the cats, there's no way Rafayel can say no to her. Sylus knows this and pushes it further holding a kitten to his face, " To think a mighty god could be felled by such a small creature. " This prompts Raf to suck it up and slowly but surely start to confront his fear of cats, Sylus happily "helping". Que montage of the two interacting with cats from kittens to tigers.

Break out?

• Sylus doesn't believe beasts should be in cages and Rafayel hates the way humans treat animals. One night, after getting drunk and arguing which leads to a bet, they set local zoo animals free or something. They will never be caught.

Music

•They would share playlists and talk shit about each other's taste but still give genuine listens. Sylus prefers records and buys one for him just to prove how much better it sounds in this format instead of digital.

•They go to the opera together. Sylus is enjoying himself but Rafayel has some harsh critisms. He can do better. Sylus would ask for a demonstration and he says it would kill him. Crow boy sees that as a challenge because well, he can't die. So perhaps he could be one of the few who could listen to his death song without dying and appreciate it. It'd still probably hurt, but maybe it's worth it? Would be funny to see Sylus wheezing in Rafayel's arms, bleeding from his ears and still tell him his singing was shit just to rile him up. It's a lie, but picking on him is too much fun.

•Singing together. See the Karaoke blurb.

If they were in a relationship (Lewd bits)

•OT3. MC is far too important to them and their own connections would be their shared loved for her. They'd prefer to be seperate with her at first but over time Sylus would be the first to invite him together with MC. Rafayel is going to say no the first couple of times (it's not offered often) but eventually warms up to the idea if only to prove to the other that he can perform better than him. Then it becomes another game of chicken when Sy leans in closer to Raf with MC in the middle. Sylus will give looks, light touches in passing but won't be the one to give in. Not because he doesn't want to, but because he wants Rafayel to be absolutely sure he's into it and he gets a kick at making him buckle. Which he will and of course, Sylus obliges letting Rafayel think he's the one that "won" in this. MC is happy to see them get along.

•The longer this OT3 relationship goes on, the more likely sometimes it would be just the two of them while MC is off on a mission somewhere in the world that takes days to complete. At this point they're used to it and the roughness becomes more gentle and tender. Well, Sylus almost always had been the more gentle one and Rafayel the more agressive and it only took them being alone for Rafayel realize it.

• They would be competative in bed but even when bottoming, Sylus more often than not has control and directing Rafayel. Telling him there's no need to go easy on him. Raf will always fight for control and sometimes "win" but he melts too easily and loses himself in the moment. His most dominant side comes out during a certain season which is a pleasant surprise for Sy. They're both waking up with scars but Sylus more so. He doesn't let them heal quickly just to show off the result to Rafayel when he wakes up.

" Are you not proud of your work? " Oh he is proud. Embarrassed seeing what he's done to him and the memories of the night flashing in the back of his mind, but proud. Another win for the fish, "conquering" such a large man. Snatching Sylus by the chin, he'd give a warning with a hint of slight concern for his bird boy, " It would be wise not to forget what I can do to you. "

" Do what? These little marks? " He brushes them away with his evol, " Oh no. Look, they're all gone. I guess you'll have to try harder. "

And now I wonder if Rafayel could end up leaving a mark on him that not even Sylus can heal through his god mode. 🤔

•Playing with the headcanon of Sylus' draconic habits and urges being active in his current life, I wonder if they would "sync" up. Honestly it sounds dangerous, Sylus may very well eat the guy. Literally. That's for the tragedy enjoyers. For the degenerates…4 swords, eh? Okay on the tamer side of things, I can see them taking it out on each other to spare the worst of it from MC. Locking themselves away just to go all out. But back to degeneracy, she'd probably end up peeking out of curiosity and end up dragged into it. Rest in Peace girlie. 🙏

•So what would a dragon/mermaid kid look lik-

OKAY OKAY I'M DONE. IT'S OUT OF MY SYSTEM. DO NOT PERCEIVE MEEEE!! But really though, this was fun. Is this 1k words? I have no idea.

I think this is how you tag people? @crutoyu @turkeysamwichh

[necrotic-nephilim]

anyway the most frustrating thing about Gretchen Felker-Martin's upcoming Red Hood run is how it feels next to impossible to express potential concerns over the run without immediately having your take bandwagoned and twisted by people who are running with the most bad faith interpretation possible of every single thing she says or does and refusing to give even a shred of a benefit of the doubt to a comic that, i cannot stress this enough, *is not out yet.*

i recently posted about my tentative excitement for the run and by and large, i do stand by what i said in that post. i still think GFM's novels are great works, i still think Beast World wasn't the worst Jason comic, and i still think the concepts for the run sound interesting. but given her recent interview and some reason bluesky posts, my excitement is certainly more hedged, i won't pretend otherwise. but it's wildly frustrating to see people twist her words in the worst way possible and share out of context screenshots of the interview they clearly haven't even read. how am i supposed to expect this fandom to read her run with an open mind if they can't read an *interview* to form their own opinion? any shred of valid criticism/concern is immediately muddled by misgyony and transphobia and people doing full on acrobatics to make assumptions about GFM and her run. am i concerned she hasn't read any Red Hood comics or Huntress comics? yes. am i concerned her frame of reference for Helena seems to be that god awful Birds of Prey movie? yes. and am i concerned that she doesn't seem to understand the root of either of these characters? also yes.

but given the fact these two characters literally cannot get any worse? i don't know what you think GFM is going to do, exactly. Jason and Helena have both been at rock bottom for characterization for literal decades. and i can't help but feel male/cishet writers don't get half of this heat for their garbage takes on these characters that set them so far back in the first place. GFM's run might be great, it might be garbage, but it's likely not going to be able to return either of these characters to their "peak era" that fans worship, which atp, was nearly 20 years ago, which seems to be the only thing fans of either character want in order to be appeased and not rip GFM to shreds.

i just can't help but feel like this fandom is setting GFM up to be this generation's Devin Grayson. ie: the queer woman who is their lamb to slaughter to lay every bad writing/character choice for the next ten years onto, regardless of her control and/or involvement of the choices. with the even deeper irony being that Devin Grayson's mythical Nightwing run was *actually good*, most people just either didn't read it, or read only the notorious highlights in incredibly bad faith. it seems like GFM has no room for mediocrity here. unless her run is literally perfection, you're all going to rip her to shreds for it and jump at the bit to be transphobic/misogynistic in ways that aren't even subtle.

[witchlingcirce]

I do kinda wish Tatiana was overall a better villain and character because I think she has the potential to offer alot of nuance but… she’s just kinda meh.

Anyways to *not* be a hater I think Tatiana is the most effected Lightwood sibling from there fathers abuse and neglect. She’s also the only Lightwood sibling to have never met there mother. And on this note: it means the only warm Tatiana has ever felt, is from her abusive father. In SOBH (and some parts of CP2) it implies that Benedict was shaping her into this role to only be a wife and also to gain certain powers for the Lightwood house. Her marriage to Rupert (which to Tatiana is her only source of happiness) was something malicious made from Benedict.

And on this note: her story in CP2 is also just a nightmare story. She’s SIXTEEN and PREGNANT and her husband was just murdered RIGHT after there honeymoon and than also her father (IMO the story sets it up that this is the family member she’s the closest to) is also murdered. Like hello??? Is this not a nightmare?

Anyways; I’m not really trying to say that Tatiana is a good person and the statue of kindness, because she’s not. I just think her story could have been a more interesting take on the cycle abuse, which could have made a good parallel that her brothers, Gideon and Gabriel where able to break it, while Tatiana could not. The way she treats Grace, moulding her into what she wants and what she needs is exactly what Benedict did to her. I mean Grace in CHOT is very reflective of Tatiana in cp2 too as well.

Anyways RIP Tatiana Lightwood you could have been cooler villain

Also, this quote that she says in the midnight heir is like the epitome of her characters and I really like it —> “My husband is dead, my father is dead, my brothers are lost, my home was stolen, and the Nephilim had no power to save my son. I was everything I was ever asked to be, and as my reward my life was burned to ash. Do not speak to me of easing my pain. My pain is all I have left. Do not speak to me of being a Shadowhunter. I am not one of them. I refuse to.”

[tossawary]

I don't have a solid plot attached to this idea, I don't currently really have the desire to drop everything to go write "The Hobbit" fanfiction, but for a while I've had the idea of *gestures vaguely" some post-canon story (probably some form of fix-it) taking place before, during, and after a grand dwarven opera performance in Erebor.

Because I am absolutely certain that the Lonely Mountain had an absolutely stunningly beautiful Royal Opera House (and plenty of other, less grand performance halls) that, at the city's height, was putting at least one show every single day. Orchestral symphonies, operas and operettas, dramatic plays, dance performances... you name it, they had it and more. The various cultures of Middle Earth evidently ADORE music, dwarves absolutely included. The Company all bring instruments to Bag End to play and sing themselves off before their quest!

Also, beyond the music side of things, with how dwarves are named as master crafters? Smiths and toymakers and magicians? No way that they did not have some of the most gorgeous costumes, sets, and effects on the planet. Dwarves would go WILD with their articulated stage puppets, I know it.

One of my biggest issues with the film trilogy is that it failed to deeply explore the Company as people who had lost their home, beauty and culture included. Smaug not only killed countless people, entire families, and leave many of the survivors poor and desperate, the dragon went on to hoard their heirlooms and life's work and leave these priceless gold treasures UNUSED. It is an additional heartbreak to imagine Smaug tearing through Erebor neighborhood by neighborhood, house by house, so that he could tear out every gemstone in, say, mosaic made by someone's grandmother that sat above the breakfast table every morning. To think that Smaug in the aftermath tore magical lanterns off the walls, the sort that might have been decorated with animals or flowers, to make some daycare walkway just a little more cheery for the children, and in his greed left a dead city in the dark.

The live-action movies put both Smaug and the Balrog in these... absolutely enormous chambers that serve somewhat unclear purposes. The king's treasure vault and a former marketplace, I think? (Moria has been raised by goblins, I can forgive the emptiness.) It's a quick visual depiction of Thror's uncontrollable gold lust to give him a Scrooge McDuck room, sure, instead of anything with an actual organizational system (normally, I assume dwarves are big on sorting their vaults if they have one). Super big columns and hallways and staircases do somewhat effectively communicate the "lost glory" of Moria (I am very fond of these movies!!!), even if I also think it's not as interesting as it could have been. And the other obvious purpose of big, open warehouse-like spaces is 1) it's easier to animate the big creatures moving around in them generally and 2) it allows the films to show off the full-bodied visual spectacle of their big creatures.

But I think it would have also kicked ass to put Smaug in Erebor's former Royal Opera House or something, some enormous theatre decorated across generations. That could be big! The ART (statues, fountains, banners, windows, general architecture) that you could put on the exterior, which has had its face ripped open for the dragon to get inside? The ART that you could put INSIDE (mosaics, murals, and more) as Bilbo sneaks inside? Ohhh, you could include so many potential lore references with thematic relevance!

Also, Bilbo could get jump-scared by old articulated stage puppets or something. IT'S THE DRAGON-! Oh, no, it's some old opera prop. (Yes, we're talking more about an actual adaptation of "The Hobbit" rather than fanfiction concepts now.)

Sure, there's raw material treasure and coins hoarded here in this place, but there would also be musical instruments and toys and household tools and cookware and fancy dishes, wedding jewelry and anniversary gifts and family shrines and festival costumes, fountain statues and street lamps and mailboxes and business signs, and other evidence that people really LIVED here. These are all ordinary objects that Bilbo recognizes from the Shire.

We could tie these objects directly back to objects we saw featured in Bilbo's home early in this adaptation, which he was trying to "protect" from the dwarves during their "That's what Bilbo Baggins hates" song. There are half-burned portraits of people's late parents here too. Did he think that there weren't any dwarves who made doilies or handkerchiefs embroidered with flowers? Of course they made things like that too.

It's perfectly symbolic to, say, place Smaug's bed in an area like the king's throne room. The dragon is now the King Under The Mountain. But I think it would be deliciously haunting to have the throne room of Erebor be empty, the throne half-broken, the silver stripped from the walls and moved elsewhere, because Smaug doesn't care about Thror's old audience chamber. What's a dwarf king to a dragon? He burns the same as all the others. The dragon has instead made his bed in a beautiful public place of art and culture that was for the people, by the people, surrounded by the lovingly crafted belongings of the ordinary people he killed. Gold is gold to a dragon whether it's in a coin or a candlestick.

I think if you really want to sell one of the key messages of "The Hobbit", which in my opinion is: "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." then you ought to throw yourself behind EREBOR being a place where food and cheer and song had value, not just the Shire. Thorin isn't lost at the end because he's a dwarf and dwarves don't value such things, but because he as a specific person who makes the mistake of weighing pride and gold over people, and he comes to regret that on his deathbed.

So, back to the fanfiction idea, I think that Erebor had music again in it as soon as dwarves started living in it again. It will take decades and decades before the Royal Opera House is half as splendid as it was before, and there is a performance there with beautiful costumes and puppets and sets comparable to those that came before, some traditional historical show that is part of specific seasonal holiday for dwarves. But that very first winter, when the future still looked grim, I think the dwarves cleared out a small stage and cast the roles of this traditional musical retelling of their history among them, based on who knew the parts best, because they aren't just miners and smiths and soldiers, and there was music again in Erebor that winter despite all the damage that the dragon did.

[vintagerpg]

In 2023, I covered Rogues’ Gallery, a supplement that is, for my money, one of the very worst in the 2E D&D era. It does have one good quality. Not a redeeming one, really, but an interesting one: it is the first D&D product that I am aware of that used loose leaf for something other than monsters. Now, again, this was totally squandered by using it on utterly boring NPCs. But the concept was intriguing.

Here we have Treasure Chest (1994), a collection of 16 adventures printed on 32 sheets of loose leaf. Each page has an illustration — the DM sheet usually has a map, the player sheet something useful to the scenario, usually a view of an important object or scene, a la Tomb of Horrors. The flip side of the DM sheet crams everything needed to run the scenario into a single page! The reverse of the player sheet is a little under-utilized, usually presenting a brief info box and some rumors. Even though that bit underwhelms, this is an excellent experiment in form.

Results are kind of mixed, to be honest. Some of the art is neat and evocative. Some…highly cringe. Pretty much all the art involving photography troubles me, though I like the ones involving modeled landscapes and buildings. In terms of substance, the one-page format enforces brevity — most of these are little more than a single adventure location and some loot. Yet they seem somehow more than the Lairs books — a lot of them use their space to get surprisingly strange (particularly love the rug with a spiral staircase depicted in the weave that is actually a gate to a labyrinth). All of them invite the DM to extrapolate and improvise. It’s a neat product, one with much more potential — folks should rip it off!

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Little Miss Sunshine 1

Warnings: non/dubcon, stalking, and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

Characters: Nick Fowler

This AU is called Watcher Anonymous and will include different series for different characters. This is our introduction to Nick and Cloudy.

Summary: a bored man needs a new light in his life.

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging ❤️

Nick's eyes stray across the street. He's distracted. He shouldn't be with the tall beauty across from him and her sparkling sapphire eyes. She's stunning to look at but he has to admit her conversation is as dull as the tablecloth. He tries not to let it show. He nods and mutters something about the earrings she keeps bobbling her head to show off.

He swallows a yawn. It's a nice restaurant, the food's always good, and yet he feels so nonplussed by it all. He lives the high life. A nice house, beautiful women, an exciting job. None of it hits anymore. It's all so boring.

Even when he's away on some mission, he doesn't feel much. It's all just so ordinary to him. He does his job and he does it well.

His eyes wander again. He's hungry. That's it. They ordered fifteen minutes ago and the wait is making him restless.

He tilts his head as he watches the girl in her hot pink jacket. He's never seen denim that shade before. Her faded jeans are tattered around the ankles and she wears a pair of heavy boots that were likely once a shade of rose but now no more than a dingy grey. She stands on the curb, watching and waiting down the road. The bus comes this way. The patio looks out on a busy street but today, the lively traffic only feels like a nuisance.

She raises her chin to see over the cars. She perks up then unhooks her large knapsack and brings it around the front. She shoves her arm inside and searches inside as she looks down. She rips her hand out and several items go flying over the pavement. She bends to pick them up as the bus nears the stop. Despite her efforts, she's too slow. The driver doesn't see her and drives past.

She stands, clutching a transparent pouch and her pass, her heavy bag weighing down her other arm. She waves helplessly and tries to chase the bus down. It doesn't heed to her nor does the cyclist heading in her direction. She barely avoids the collision and her foot slips off the curb. She lands in a heap between two bumpers.

He frowns as he watches her. He twitches, ready to get up and jump over the little fence onto the sidewalk. Pedestrians pass her by without a single look. Kelly says his name and he looks at her with a 'huh'.

"Pathetic, isn't she?" She looks across the street and snickers.

He shrugs, "seems like she's having a bad day."

"She's an idiot." She insists.

He grimaces and leans back. "You think so?"

"Sure, I mean. Look at that colour. It's not good on her complexion and she's got that bag overloaded. Can hardly blame anyone but herself--"

"She seems busy. On her way somewhere."

"Oh, I'm sure," she snorts and rolls her eyes. "She really looks like the popular type."

"You know what, I'm not too hungry anymore," he says.

"What?" She scoffs.

"Yeah, waiting kinda turned my appetite." He takes out his wallet and counts the bills. He folds them and lays them on the table. "It's on me. You can give mine to a friend or take it for yourself."

He stands and grabs his jacket from the back of the chair. She gapes at him.

"This isn't about that weirdo across the street?"

He sighs, "no, you're just kind of... not interesting."

He tweaks a brow and turns on his heel.

"Nick," she squeals after him. He doesn't stop.

He struts down the street and crosses at the lights. It's only then he glances back. She's making a scene, crying at the table. He can't remember why he asked her to come to lunch. She has nice legs but she just laid there when they hooked up last week. It was just another thing that had grown stale on him.

He makes his way along the other side. He keeps his distance until Kelly storms off, engrossed in her phone as she angrily texts whatever enabler responds first. He nears the girl in the pink coat. She sits on the curb. She's deflated. Her bag is in her lap as her legs are loosely crossed as they hang off the edge.

Kelly isn't wrong, just not in the way she said it. The girl isn't pathetic or stupid, just a bit down on her luck. He feels a pluck in his chest, the most he's felt in a long time. He's always been the person where everything just sort of goes his way. This doesn't seem to be very different. After all, life brought this curious figure into his life for some reason, right?

He passes her and takes out his phone, using the front-facing camera to get a look at her as he does. She's young. Judging by the keychain on her bag, she's attending the local college. Makes sense. She probably doesn't need a man his age circling her.

He crosses the street again. He looks at her and a wrapper bounces off her head. She looks back at the litterer as they don't even notice their offense. She huffs and gets up. She checks her phone. She grabs the wrapper and puts it in a trash can nearby.. She drops her shoulders and sets off down the pavement. She might be down but she hasn't given up.

Neither has he. Not yet. He thought he was done, that he had everything, but he's so wrong. He just wasn't looking in the right places; at the right people.

[supercap2319]

Y/N let the water wash over his body as he let out a small moan of pleasure. His muscles were tense from today's training session with the Young Avengers. They had potential, but a long way to go.

Just then the front door of the boys' locker room opened, and Teddy Altman walked in with a fluffy white towel around his waist, and when he saw Y/N, he smiled. "Hey, man. Mind if I join you?"

The male hero nods. "Sure, Teddy."

Teddy drops his towel to the ground, revealing his chiseled chest and abs, before sitting next to Y/N under the warm water. He lets out a sigh, his muscles relaxing under the steaming water. "Man, training is getting harder every day."

"That guy always goes hard." Teddy smiles, thinking about his boyfriend. Teddy moves closer, his shoulder brushing against Y/N's. "So... have you always wanted to be a part of the Young Avengers?" His eyes meet yours, showing genuine interest in his answer. "I have. You? I'm sure it was a surprise to find out you were the son of a Kree soldier and Skrull princess."

His expression turns thoughtful, his shoulders relaxing under the water. "Ha, you can say that again. My parents' history is... complicated. But it's made me who I am today, and I wouldn't have it any other way." Teddy said.

"Yup. Green and all." Y/N smirks, running the soap over his chest. Teddy chuckles, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Yeah, the green is definitely a part of who I am. But hey, being a half-Skrull, half-Kree hybrid has its perks." He glances over at Y/N, his gaze lingering on his soap-slicked skin.

Y/N catches him looking. "Something wrong?"

Teddy quickly averts his gaze, a faint blush creeping onto his cheeks. "Nah, man. Just... you're really buff. Like, seriously jacked. Is that from your mutant genes, or do you just hit the gym a lot?"

"Before I joined you guys, I used to train with Captain America to control my powers." Y/N explained. "Captain America, huh? No wonder you're so ripped. That dude is a total fitness guru." Teddy watches as Y/N continued to wash himself, his eyes drifting back to his muscles. Teddy swallows hard, his heart pounding in his chest. "So, Y/N..."

"Yeah?" Y/N asked, rubbing green shampoo into his air.

Teddy hesitates for a moment, his mind racing with thoughts he shouldn't be having. But the sight of his wet, muscular body is driving him crazy. "Do you ever, uh, need help washing hard-to-reach spots?" He asks, his voice coming out a bit shaky.

"Why, you offering, Altman?" Y/N teased.

A mischievous gleam sparkles in Teddy's eyes as he leans in slightly closer. "Maybe I am." His voice drops lower. "Besides, we are teammates. Helping each other clean up is practically standard operating procedure, right?" He reaches out one hand, pretending to casually gesture towards Y/N's shoulders.

"That would be a good thing of a fellow team member to do." Y/N agreed, turning his back towards Teddy.

Teddy gulps as he helped Y/N wash his back.