#AUGH WHY AM I WRITING THIS ALL IN THE NOTES THIS IS WHY MY BRAIN IS MUSH!!! WRITE ACTUAL POSTS VALERIE!!!!!

[littlestpetship]

sooorrys for not posting much today... i had to catch up on some schoolwork 0_0 and ive been having trouble forming coherent thoughts about f/os :,( my brain is just mush!!! hoyoverse i need kuni content again Pretty plz.....

[sister-lucifer]

i cant aNON ANYWAYS. IM INSANE OSWALD/READER GIVE ME. GRABBY HANDS. NOW.

SEX. AUGH. ME WHEN I. IM DYING BUT. BRAIN IS SAYING SOMETHING LIKE. READERS HIS ASSISTANT AND SOMETHING. HAPPENS? I DONT KNOW I AM TIRED AND DISTRACTED

PLEASE VENT CRAWLER IF YOU HAVE BETTER IDEAS I AM OPEN TO SUGGESTION PLEASE 😭😭

The Secretary 

Oswald Cobblepot A.K.A. The Penguin x Male Reader 

Reader uses he/him and has a penis 

Genre: Smut 

Summary: Oswald finds out his favorite employee has a crush on him, and decides he deserves a reward for his hard work. 

Content/Warnings: Oswald is oblivious, Oswald’s creepy dirty talk, Oswald can’t flirt or be sexy to save his life, blowjob(reader receiving), inappropriate workplace relations, office sex, Oswald bends you over the desk, a wee bit of biting, one (1) spank, some hair pulling, only sort of proof read (lmk if you spot any typos!)

Like my writing? I take requests! NSFW or SFW for any fandoms in my bio! 

Also, please reblog! it’s free, takes two seconds, and really helps me out 

Notes: Pretzel you absolute fool. You’re lucky I love you. You can have a little Oswald sex as a treat

Oswald Cobblepot was certainly an interesting man, even if “interesting” had a completely different meaning depending on who you asked. 

To you, interesting was attractive. It was powerful, but not just in the vein of his enterprise; his power was in his presence, in the very blood that ran through him. His power was in his strategy, in his cunning, in his ruthlessness that shone through at just the right times. 

God, what a man. 

And you were just lucky enough to snag a secretary position for that man. 

Although you thought you’d been more than hiding your little crush, it had been painfully obvious to everyone; everyone but Oswald, of course. No one had EVER had a crush on HIM before, how was he supposed to know the signs? 

The way you lingered in his office with a friendly conversation, the way you always had a coffee ready for him, the way you seemed to always have an excuse to be near him…

…Those could all be perfectly normal friend things! 

Although, Oswald wasn’t completely free of blame either. He often found himself wondering about you, what you did when you left work, if you had a partner to go home to. Something about that last part always ticked him off a bit, but he couldn’t place what. 

It was completely normal for him to worry about his best employee, right? Besides, he wouldn’t know a crush if it slapped him in the face, not to mention that the last time he loved someone it ended…less than favorably. 

The possibility of romantic involvement never once crossed his mind. 

That is, until a rather frustrated Mr. Penn was called to his office, muttering something about your poor performance. 

“Mr. Cobblepot,” He began, quickly closing the door behind him. “There is a rather urgent matter that I must bring to your attention.” 

Oswald sighed, sliding his feet off his desk and glaring daggers at Penn as he walked over. 

“Urgent, Penn? Really? You said the broken hand dryers in the bathroom were ‘urgent.’” 

“I mean it this time, Mr. Cobblepot. It’s about…” Penn paused, leaning in and lowering his voice as if he were afraid someone was listening. 

“…your secretary.”

Oswald stood quickly, straightening his tie and adjusting his jacket. 

“The secretary? Did something happen to him? Is he alright?” 

“He’s fine, Mr. Cobblepot, but I’m afraid he’s having trouble fulfilling his duties.” Penn couldn’t help but let his frustration slip through a bit at his boss’s obvious show of favoritism. 

Oswald quirked a brow in confusion. 

“What do you mean? He’s been working just fine. Why, just yesterday he stayed late to help me with my paperwork.”

“That’s just the thing, Mr. Cobblepot!” Penn sighed, adjusting his glasses. “He’s been working excellently for you, but he’s been neglecting his other duties, and I think I may know why…” 

Oswald returned to his seat, resting his chin in his hand as he waited for Penn to continue. 

“I-I think—and, apologies if this is, um, presumptuous—that he maybe, might have a sort of…crush on you—“ 

Oswald’s eyes slowly widened, and suddenly his heartbeat was so loud in his ears it made it hard to listen to Penn. 

“Wait, wait, wait!” Oswald interrupted, “What the hell are you talking about, Penn?” 

“W-Well, forgive me sir, but it’s quite obvious. It’s been the talk of the office for the past week! Have you ever noticed how much time he spends in your office? O-Or, how he spaces out when you’re around? He’s practically attached at your hip, sir, and it’s affecting his work.”

Oswald merely nodded, eyes falling to his desk as he processed the words. He wasn’t really sure how to react. On one hand, this was very exciting, knowing that maybe you too had been thinking of him. On the other, it made him nervous and a little embarrassed to think about how improper he had acted around you, wondering if it damaged your view of him. 

“Now, Mr. Cobblepot,” Penn continued, “It is up to you how you deal with this, but I suggest that you do something.“

“Yes, yes…I’ll be sure to, um— look into it. You may leave now.” 

“B-But Mr. Cobblepot, I also need to tell you about—“

“I said you can leave. Now.” 

And with that Mr. Penn was scurrying off, Oswald’s sharp gaze following him until the doors closed once more. 

Oswald leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling as he pondered. Was there really a solution here? He wasn’t really worried about your work performance, of course, but now that he knew that you were into him he was worried he would make things awkward. Just thinking about you being here was making him nervous!

He knew that neither of you could just turn off your feelings, and it would be unfair to ask you to do so. It would be even more unfair to fire you, so that was certainly off the table. 

Could Oswald even afford a relationship right now? Someone of his status and reputation certainly had a target on his back, and it would put one on yours too. But no one needed to know, Oswald could

keep a secret if you could…

He quickly shook the idea from his thoughts, his mind wandering to less than savory places much too quickly. One thing was for sure, though, he needed to talk to you.

Oswald waited until the next day to summon you to his office. Your heart skipped a beat when you heard the request, and before you knew it you were up and out of your chair. You were always happy to see Mr. Cobblepot, and you made sure to bring your clipboard in case you needed to take notes.

“Mr. Cobblepot?” You called as you knocked on the door. 

“Come in,” He replied, eyes already locked onto you as you stepped in as if he had been looking at you through the door. 

“Good morning, Mr. Cobblepot!” 

Your cheery tone was an unexpected but welcome surprise. Even Oswald had to return your smile. 

“Good morning, secretary. How has your day been?”

“Just lovely, Oswald, thank you. Even better now that I get to see you. How about you?”

Oswald stared at you from across his desk for a moment, a pink tint crossing his cheeks. 

“Oh, uh— I-I’m just fine, thank you.” 

There was a brief period of awkward silence as Oswald collected himself, tugging down his sleeves and drumming his fingers on his desk as he stood. Finally, he cleared his throat before he spoke. 

“So, as I’m sure you assumed, there is something I need to discuss with you.” 

“Yes, sir?” You replied as you readied your clipboard and pen. 

“It’s about your work performance.” 

Oswald could see the way your expression dropped. It made him feel bad for using such ominous wording, but he didn’t want to move too fast.

“It has been brought to my attention that you tend to…neglect some of your duties. Is that true?” 

You paused, letting out a sigh. It was true, really, but you didn’t want to just stay that. You knew how touchy Oswald could be, and you simply couldn’t afford to lose this job. 

“W-Well…” You began, carefully considering your words, “I thought I had been doing decently, but i-if I need to do more…” 

“Don’t lie to me, secretary.” 

His harsh tone made you flinch. You merely nodded, holding your clipboard against your chest.

“I have also been informed that there is a sort of…rumor going around about you that may be related.”

“…Rumor?”

“Yes. A rumor concerning…your, um, feelings…towards me…” 

Your heart skipped a beat. Did he know about your crush? If he did, was he mad? Would he fire you? Or worse, have you killed? And if he didn’t know, what sort of horrible gossip had been going around that he felt the need to call you in for it?

“W…W-What do you mean, sir?” 

You were frozen in place as Oswald began to move, slowly making his way around the desk toward you, the click of his shoes loud as gunshots in your ears. 

“You know what I mean, secretary. I was blind not to see it until it was brought to my attention. It’s flattering, really, how much time and effort you put into…how did he describe it? ‘Being attached at my hip?’” His voice was like velvet on his tongue, nearly putting you in a trance as he reached forward to toy with your hair.

“I-I’m sorry sir, I never meant to—“

You were quickly silenced when Oswald put a finger to your lips. Your cheeks felt unbearably hot as he leaned in, merely staring down your face for a long while. 

“Let me ask you something,” Oswald began, not moving from his close proximity, making you gulp and grip your clipboard so hard your fingers hurt. 

“Do you think such feelings are appropriate for the workplace?” 

“…No, sir,” You admitted. You cast your gaze downward in shame.

“I didn’t think so. Now, let me ask you something else…” 

You trembled beneath his gaze, flinching when you felt his hand on your shoulder. 

“…Can you keep a secret?“

“W…What?” 

The sound of Oswald’s hands slamming down on the desk on both sides of you made you yelp, your clipboard and pen falling to the floor before promptly being kicked away. 

“Can you keep a secret, secretary?” 

You were sure Oswald could feel the heat radiating off of you. Even as you nodded, the entire situation was so surreal you were unsure if he had really said what you’d heard. 

He leaned in even further, if that was somehow possible, his face mere inches from yours. Your shaky breath fanned over his skin. 

“Something wrong, secretary?” He growled, voice low and deep. 

“Oh, not at all, sir,” You replied in a heavy breath. In an impulsive moment of boldness you closed the gap, allowing your lips to meet his for just a moment before you pulled away again. Your eyes scanned his face, waiting for his reply. 

Before you knew it he was practically devouring your soft lips, holding your face and forcing his tongue down your throat. It was sudden and uncoordinated, but that was always part of Oswald’s charm. You gladly welcomed the rough advances, throwing your arms around his neck and pulling him in as close as you could. 

His restless hands ran up and down your body, looking for even an inch of skin, but that was easier said than done with your work attire. 

He pulled away with a huff, turning his attention to fumbling with your belt and work pants. You decided to help him out, undoing the buttons on your shirt but not getting the chance to take it all the way off before he was done. Your pants and belt clattered to the floor, your now rock hard cock straining against your boxers. Oswald felt you up shamelessly, groping your bulge before moving on to your now exposed chest and midriff. His hands ran over every bit of skin they could find, touching everywhere he could reach, his callouses leaving your skin tingling.

“Oh, Mr. Cobblepot—“ You stuttered out, only to curtly be corrected. 

“Oswald.”

“O…Oswald…” You echoed, relishing the feeling of his name on your tongue. He pulled you into another kiss for just a moment before he was moving onto your neck, tugging on your hair to keep your head back.  He wasted no time getting to work, sucking and biting until every part of your neck and shoulders had a mark or bruise. 

“More, Oswald—!” You pleaded in a raspy whisper. He bit down hard on your shoulder, making you arch your back and let out a broken moan. When he finally pulled away from your abused flesh, you were panting. 

You both took a few moments to catch your breath. You brought Oswald down to you, pressing your forehead to his in a tender show of affection. Your free hand moved to grip his wrist, guiding his hand to where your cock throbbed in your boxers.

“Oswald…I-I need you…” 

You had hardly finished your sentence before he was on his knees, ripping down your boxers and making your erection spring up against your stomach. You sighed in sweet relief. 

Your boxers were quickly discarded and pushed away along with your pants and belt to be forgotten until you were done. Oswald was clearly eager, wrapping a hand around your cock and immediately sliding the tip past his lips. 

“O-Oh—! Oswald…!” You whined, gripping his hair. He was never one to be patient, and you wouldn’t expect anything else. 

You didn’t notice his free hand sliding up your leg until two of his fingers were poking at your entrance. They pushed in without warning, causing your hold on Oswald’s hair to tighten and making him moan around your length. 

You whined through gritted teeth as he forced his digits in deeper. His movements were less than coordinated, often clumsy and certainly without a steady pace, but you didn’t mind. It didn’t matter when he could hit so deep inside of you. 

More and more of your length disappeared into his mouth and down his throat. He took in as much as he could, even if he had to force himself. He didn’t care when you were moaning above him. 

He soon added a third finger, each thrust somehow hitting even deeper than the last. His fingers curled just right, hitting all your sweet spots even if he had no idea what he was doing. He spread his fingers as much as he could, trying to ready you to take his cock as much as his paper-thin patience would allow. 

The way you whined his name and pushed him onto your cock only encouraged him. He used every trick he could; he made a show of moaning around your length, the noises sending vibrations through you, and flicking his tongue over your sensitive tip. 

Soon you could no longer grip his hair; instead you had to brace yourself against his desk to keep steady. Your nails dug into the underside of the desk hard enough that Oswald could hear the scraping, but he easily drowned it out with his own lewd noises.  

“Oh, Oswald…! P-Please—“ You stuttered, legs trembling beneath you. “Please, more! I-I wanna cum…” 

Oswald couldn’t give a verbal answer, but he didn’t need to. He’d taken so much of your length he couldn’t go any further, his nose bumping against your navel. He swallowed around you, taking great delight in the way you shuddered at the feeling of his throat constricting around your twitching cock. 

A fourth finger prodded at your entrance and eventually slipped in, ripping a high pitched moan from your throat. It felt like each thrust of Oswald’s fingers hit deeper than you ever thought possible, and it made your head spin.

“Oswald, I-I— I’m gonna cum—“ You choked out, “I-I wanna cum in your mouth, please—!” 

Oswald gladly obliged, using his free hand to steady your hips now that his mouth could do all of the work on your cock. Your moans began to grow louder despite your attempts to stifle them; at first you were worried that someone outside may hear you, but the closer you got to your release the less you cared.

You hardly even managed to slur out a warning before all at once you were releasing down his throat. Oswald almost choked, but he made himself stay until you were completely done. Even then you were still calling out his name, even if it was fizzling out into a whisper. 

Finally he pulled off, releasing your cock with a wet pop. He slowly retracted his hand, admittedly leaving you feeling a bit empty. His hands found your hips as he stood, and soon he was pulling you into another kiss. You could taste yourself on his lips. 

This kiss wouldn’t last long, though. He had prepped you, and now it was time for the main event. 

“Over the desk, secretary.” 

It took a moment to process the command. When you did, though, you were turning around so fast you nearly fell over. You pushed back against Oswald, and you could hear his breath hitch. 

“Now, now, secretary…” He hissed through his teeth, gripping your hips to keep them still. “Remember your place.” 

You nodded, making sure to keep still when he pulled back to unbuckle his belt. You were giddy with excitement when you heard it clank against the floor, and then the shuffle of his pants and boxers as they fell shortly after. 

He was on you in a second, shifting the desk with how eagerly he pounced on you, wrapping his body around yours. He was grinding against you shamelessly, spewing filth into your ear under his breath. 

“You— You, little secretary, should consider yourself lucky—“

You could practically hear the saliva pooling in his mouth; he was almost drooling over you. 

“So lucky to not only be in the presence of Oswald Cobblepot, but to be allowed his pleasure?!” His voice was high pitched and raspy, as it always became when he was particularly excited. 

“You, my secretary, have no idea how lucky you are!” 

His ego was spilling over, unimaginably inflated by the way you shivered and mewled beneath him. You wouldn’t dare argue, though; you were quite lucky, after all. It was painfully obvious that Oswald was not exactly charismatic, and definitely no Casanova. He wasn’t close with anyone, and up until just recently had been much too paranoid to hold a relationship, not to mention he didn’t find himself particularly attractive. His ego was massive, sure, but fragile, and even the slightest bit of criticism could set him off, often leading to a self esteem spiral. Anyone else would have been pushed away long ago. 

You, though, found his rough exterior to be the source of your intrigue. You’d imagined scenarios such as this one many times, but no fantasy could ever amount to the real thing. Oswald was inexperienced and overzealous, a bit inconsiderate even, but it was perfect that way. 

It showed through more than ever when he was suddenly pushing into you without warning. You would have screamed if the sound hadn’t been caught in your throat. 

Something like a breathy laugh that turned  into a moan managed to make its way past Oswald’s lips. His breath was warm in your ears, his nails digging into your skin as he forced his length into you. He had to stop to catch his breath once he had filled you completely. 

“God…I-I’ve never felt…like this before…” 

“You…You doing alright there, Oswald?” You asked in a heavy breath. The question was genuine, but there was a bit of teasing behind it. 

“Mind your own, secretary. I-I’ll be fine…” He muttered in reply. He shifted a bit behind you, making you squirm. What was he waiting for?! You needed him to pound you now. 

All of a sudden you could feel him pulling back, and you braced yourself against the desk. He didn’t go very far, but he didn’t have to when he was shoving back into you with full force. You yelped, the entire desk shaking beneath you and causing a few things to fall over and onto the ground. 

“Oswald—! A-Ah—!”

He wasted no time starting slow; he was thrusting into you with all his strength, and for a long while without proper pace or rhythm. That didn’t mean it wasn’t just as enjoyable, though. Not knowing when he would fill you again was incredibly exciting. 

“You like that, baby?” He growled against your neck. You nodded in response, mouth hanging half open as you panted. 

“Words, secretary!” 

Oswald emphasized his point with a spank, making you jump. 

“Y-Yes, Oswald! More, please!” 

“More? Already?! I didn’t realize my secretary was such a whore.” 

You brought a hand up to cradle his face, rubbing your cheek against his. 

“Only for y-you, Oswald…” 

His eyes widened for a moment before a sly grin broke out across his face. The quickest way to Oswald’s heart was to feed his ego. 

“Oh my, already so obedient…I think I’ll keep you.” 

He reached up to yank on your hair, even harder than before, making you hiss from the pleasurable sting. He was soon at your neck once more, biting and bruising any small spot he had missed before. 

Your nails scratched and dug deep into his desk. If you were anyone else in any other situation, you would get an earful for vandalizing his expensive mahogany. This time, though, Oswald wanted those marks to be there; he wanted a permanent reminder of when he claimed you as his own (not to mention no one else would notice it, which was a welcome plus). 

“O-Oswald—!” You choked out. It was getting harder to form words each passing second. 

“Oswald…n-need…need you to t-touch me—!”

His hands slid around your front, starting at your chest. He toyed with your nipples, delighting in the way you mewled when he pinched them just right. 

“Touch you where, secretary, hm?” 

“M…M-My…”

“Spit it out!” He punctuated his sentence with a particularly hard thrust, practically forcing the words out of you. 

“M-My cock—! Please, please touch my cock, Oswald!”

He couldn’t help but laugh a bit, his chuckle coming out as a sickly sweet, high pitched giggle. He gladly fulfilled your request, his warm palms sliding down your torso until he could wrap a hand around your length. 

You tightened around him at the feeling, your sensitive cock twitching in his hand. It was a bit overwhelming when paired with the way Oswald was jackhammering into you, but you wouldn’t have wanted anything less. 

As badly as Oswald wanted to keep you like this until the work day was over, he couldn’t hold himself back when your tight hole was clenching around him so deliciously. He picked up the pace with his hand, hoping to push you to your release before his. 

Just when he had found a steady pace and some semblance of coordination, he was starting to lose it again. All he cared about now was finding his climax, and he was much too busy with that to worry about his rhythm. He left no spot untouched, that was for sure, each vein on his cock scraping against your walls. Soon you weren’t even processing each individual thrust, unable to feel anything besides the pleasure that shook you with each of his movements. 

You were weak in the knees, relying fully on the desk to support you or else your trembling legs would surely buckle beneath your weight. Your pleas for more had long dissolved into pathetic moans, but you didn’t need words when Oswald seemed to know exactly what you needed. 

With your release fast approaching, you managed one last request. 

“Oswald…I-I want you…to fill me—!” 

He groaned against your neck, his iron grip on your waist faltering for just a moment. 

“What was that, secretary?”

“I want you to cum in me, Oswald! Please!”

“Oh my, so needy.” Oswald scoffed, feigning annoyance despite the shake in his voice. He would happily oblige, though, under one condition: 

“Cum for me first.” 

You were more than ecstatic to agree. Your tongue lolled out of your mouth in your overstimulated state, and Oswald was quick to pull you into another sloppy kiss. 

You tried to warn him before you came, really you tried, but he refused to release your lips. That was okay though, because the way you writhed beneath him and the way you desperately whimpered into his mouth was more than enough to tell him you were close. 

All at once you came into his palm, practically screaming into the kiss as it spilled out past his hand and onto the floor. He would have some poor janitor clean it up later. 

Finally he was forced to pull away from the kiss to breathe. You arched your back into him, tensing around his cock as your orgasm washed over you. His low grunts grew louder and louder until he was drawling out long, broken calls of your name that were hardly more than drug-out moans. He was humping you like a dog in heat, far more sensitive to the pleasure you brought him than he would ever admit. 

He gave no word of warning before he came either, merely one last tug on your hair before you could feel his warm seed rushing into you. With your last bit of energy you managed to scream his name for him as he filled you with everything he had. 

His thrusts didn’t stop for a long while after, not until he was completely done and was forced to slow to a stop from the overstimulation. Even just the feeling of you tightening around him nearly made him yelp. 

You went limp against the desk, your entire body weak and sweat dripping down your forehead. You were sore, exhausted and sticky, not to mention you could feel Oswald’s cum leaking down your legs and into your socks, but you couldn’t have cared less. 

“Oswald…” You rasped out, “Are…a-are you okay?” 

“Oh, I’ve never been better…you’re the best secretary I’ve ever had…” 

You admittedly chuckled at this, patting his cheek and giving him a quick peck on the lips. 

If Oswald could’ve stayed nestled deep inside you, he would have. Unfortunately, he was only a man, and his entire lower body was unspeakably sore. He made himself pull out, and it took all of his willpower not to collapse onto the ground. 

He cleaned you up as best he could before sitting you down in his chair, laying your discarded clothes in your lap before going to put his pants back on. 

“Stay here. I’ll go get you a towel and some water and whatever else you need, ok?” He planted a kiss on your forehead as you nodded. He began to walk away, but before he left he turned to say one last thing: 

“Oh, and remind me to give you a big fat promotion first thing tomorrow.” 

[misc-obeyme]

there's always a thousand ideas rattling around in my brain, and my notes app is getting filled with one line prompts for mostly art ideas but could also turn into mini fics

I'm still hung up on boxer mammon and I think. I will pick up my sketchbook today after going grocery shopping. Drawing faces is what's holding me back, and the idea that I wouldn't do the characters justice is what holds me back from writing (have not written since my wattpad days). The closet thing I have is dialogue blurbs in my notes app.

mammon is always on the brain SORRY. but like, thinking about merchant/jeweler mammon and a royal mc. And Mammon has ridiculous prices or excuses for why he can't sell (thinking about aziraphele from good omens and his book shop) but mc visits his stall every day (possibly in disguise?? or with a guard), and one day manages to trade a royal jewel for something in his collection (i am such a sucker for royalty in general and knights and AAA)

or thinking about Solomon and mc making potions together for the first time, and Solomon encouraging random things to be added just to see the end result (my mc is naturally curious and shares a single braincell when paired with solomon)

OR mc their first year in the devildom and possibly going to barbatos for advice on ingredients to use, what's human safe, and easy dishes to experiment on so they don't poison themselves. which makes me wonder how much human stuff is readily available and if mc can go grocery shopping in the human world with barbatos (domestic activities), or if they had to send him with a list (like when there was a retreat at the demon lords castle and everyone got to make dishes from their home)

sorry for getting carried away, this was the longest ask ever akdjdj, was just hoping to share some ideas and maybe some things that could bring back the creative spark AAA SORRY BYE LOVE YOU AND YOUR BLOG 🤣🫶

- ✨ anon

Please do not worry about ask length, ✨ anon! My responses tend to be lengthy too lol! So don't apologize because I love it!!

Augh, I totally get what you mean about the ideas... I am plagued by them all the time lol. It's finding the time to actually use them for anything that's usually the issue.

I hope you did do some drawing in your sketchbook! I can't speak to difficulties with art, but when it comes to writing, you can't let yourself worry about doing the characters justice.

I used to care a lot about how I characterized everybody. I was always so nervous about writing for Mammon in particular that I just didn't a lot of the time. But the truth is, every writer will characterize them differently. And your interpretation of them is just as valid as anyone else's! If it's less about that and more than you're concerned about your skill level, well, unfortunately there's no way around it. You gotta write to get better at writing! You can always start with characters you're not as concerned about if you want, but I find it's usually best to follow the inspiration! I believe in you!

Also don't worry, I love Mammon, so I don't mind hearing about him lol! And OKAY I looove Good Omens! I read the book a long time ago and then re-read it several times before the show came out. And then the fandom exploded!! But it's been amazing. Er anyway, getting off topic here, which is that I love the idea of jeweler/merchant Mammon who can't bear to part with his merchandise alksdfjf- I also love knights, I have a whole medieval AU brewing in my brain meats that I would write if I had any kind of time. Royal!MC showing up like I bet I have something you can't resist... I'll get you to trade me something from your wares!! I also like the idea of MC trading a kiss for something of his and he agrees because he's surprised to find that he's willing to give up his expensive object for a chance to kiss MC tee hee~

Solomon being a menace is something I'm always up for! I like the idea that he would encourage MC to do that, but also knows enough about the ingredients himself to know that the things he's suggesting aren't dangerous. Like he doesn't know what adding this herb will do, but he does know that it won't explode in MC's face lol. Though I also like the idea of Solomon and MC just being chaotic potion gremlins and adding anything and everything just to see what would happen. Like when MC is powerful enough and Solomon feels confident that MC won't get hurt, then they're both going all in.

I kinda think ingredients from other worlds are not readily available, since it seems like Simeon and Luke kinda go through this thing where they're trying to learn to cook with Devildom ingredients. Which means that Barbatos likely has a way of procuring those ingredients when he needs them. I absolutely love the idea of going human world shopping with Barb. I'm just gonna put that in my own personal headcanon. Whenever MC says in the game that they're gonna cook some human world food or at the retreat and everything, that also means a shopping trip with Barbatos. I wish I understood why I would want to do that so bad, but I really do. Imagine taking him to a human world grocery store. Like if he said to me that I should take him wherever I normally go, it's like okay lemme take you to Aldi and Walmart lol. But then I'd be like listen, if we can go anywhere though, we should really go to Costco and Trader Joe's. I never go to Costco because I don't have a membership. Because I am shopping only for myself and I don't need fifty pounds of anything lol. And there is no Trader Joe's in my town, the nearest one is over an hour away.

ANYWAY I love all your ideas!! I hope you find the motivation and confidence to pick up drawing and/or writing again! I have no doubt that whatever you create will be amazing!

[weird-dere-writes]

Alright you know why I'm here! Ichidere college au lore let's go!

Wooooooooo!!!! 💃🏾✨

More Ichidere lore in the College Byakujas universe >:))))))

I like to think that after that time he was kind enough to help me look for you when I was lost, I just couldn’t stop thinking about him. I could be doing just the most mundane thing and he will pop into my head. Even more so than before when I was simply crushing from afar.

I will be brushing my teeth and his voice will pop into my head and then I’ll accidentally make myself gag. I will be filling my car up with gas and start thinking about how he walked me off campus after I gave you your thing, and then I will have spent a little more money than intended when i come to and look at the little screen on the pump. Casually eating lunch and thinking about how stronk his arm looked when he raised it to scratch the back of his head and I bite my tongue about it and sob cus OW MY TONGUE.

Like I have only experienced the man for at most a couple hours that one day but I am an entire mess lmao.

Quite licherally spinning him around on a rotisserie in my brain and I cannot control it.

AUGH and when you let me know and you Byakuya have noticed my fondness for him I am lowkey bashful when I’m with you guys going around campus. Cus I feel like y’all are always looking and me and wondering if I am looking to see Ichigo (which I might be sometimes, but y’all don’t have to know!!).

Now I am just casually hanging around the school even though I haven’t started attending yet. But! With you and Byakkun’s help I have started the process of applying. Because it’s a little late, I’m unsure if I’ll make it in but my fingers are crossed! Would be cool to graduate the same year as (what is hopefully) my college sweetheart like the bestie and her Byakkun 🫶🏾.

Ichigo also thinks about our first time meeting from time to time, though nowhere near as much as me since he actually has stuff to focus on with his internship and prepping for his first grad year starting soon.

Specifically he thinks about how I was almost about to cry when he found me. Like you said, he’s polite! So he didn’t say anything then. He was glad he was able to get along well with me and help out to make those watery eyes go away. Sometimes tho he finds himself wondering if he’ll see me around on campus again by chance. He hopes if he does that I’m not so upset.

He doesn’t like to see anyone sad, but he felt something a little different when he thought about me specifically. He wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because I was your friend? And you were sort of an extension of his mentor Byakuya to him?

One time he’s working with Byakuya on something. And it’s on something a little more to do with your expertise. As you’re drafting up a little paper to help Byakuya you realize because of my Psych degree I might be able to help with a part you’re a little unsure about. We were hanging out at your house at the time having a little sleepover, so I was also able to write some notes of my own on the sheet.

Byakuya brought it with for the project. Ichi knows Byakuya’s handwriting, so he figures he didn’t write this reference page they were both looking at from time to time. He asks who did, to be told that the purple ink is in your handwriting, and that the pink ink is mine.

Byakkun goes back to working but Ichigo is looking at the paper for a moment, blinking to himself. When Byakkun steps away, Ichi is lightly stroking places where my handwriting is. He thought my writing was pretty…

Lmao also thinking about if something goes wrong with Ichi’s car, so you end up volunteering me as his ride and i wanna KILL U CUS HOW COULD U DO THIS TO ME!! IM NOT MENTALLY PREPARED FOR THIS PLS 😭. At first it’s a lot of the three of us (me, you, n Ichi in the back). But then you start making moves. Insisting Ichi sits in the front with me (“Oh I just need to go through my bag and it might get messy!”). And then eventually you just yeet all together and start getting rides with Byakuya, leaving me ALONE. And you’re smirking about it but I am a WRECK cus I’m so silly about him HELP. This point is when he and I exchange numbers since we no longer have you as a middle person.

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH

Your matchmaking is VICIOUS but i know it’s out of love lmao <333333.

[cubedmango]

live slug reaction (aka naina watches the cm movie after midnight and provides long and dumb and unnecessary commentary) (there be spoilers inside. tread w caution and all that jazz)

THE BOOOKK i wonder if we'll get to see the pages eventually.

also remembered my au i based off it...... i gotta dig it up

the recap aka watch how hard can i cry abt krdcs story despite having it seen it like 50 times already

adachi cringefail compilation in reverse so true

HELP ME WHYARE THEY SITTING LIKE THATSHHDHD. they are just sitting . five feet apart cause theyre not gay

ROKKAKU. I LOVE YOU BUT WHY ..... who was he trying to call anyway .....

their fucking faces i cant do thsidjbfjsjd those shifty ass side glances im losing it theyre so NERVOUS IM YELLING

ADACHI MY BELOVED AUGH HE DIDNT EAT ...... and them both laughing AUGHHH theyre my everythingggGGGG

HAHAHAHAHAHA HE REALLY WAS JEALOUS OF THE CHICKEN NOODLES i thought ppl were kidding but no . oh my god

ALSO.! KUROSAWAS ROOM IN DETAIL FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!! taking notes for No reasons

obsessed w how adachi so Obviously checks to see if their feet are touching and kurosawa, Aware of the powers, just does not see it

theyre so cute fucking hell.....

OHHH GIMME GIMME TIME LETS GOOOO

oh the camping trip ough. . .. would pay to be the fish just to watch this sappy ass shit irl

theyre both so dumb theyre literally made for each other i swear

Kurosawa. What Is Wrong With You. Stop Thinking Things Ur Scaring The Little Man

unrelated but omg the shots are sooo pretty i love the waterfall one....

NOT THE 'LOOKING AT THE PERSON WHILE SAYING "ITS BEAUTIFUL"' TROPE NOOOOO IM WEAK

hh.. h h n . h . . hands.. Hands

THEYRE SO CUTE (counter: 2)

OFFICE GANG IS BACKKK i missed them...... ms fujisaki my queen most of all

WHAT IS W THAT GAY ASS STARE ACROSS THE OFFICE U GUYS HELLO

ADACHIS ROOM !!!!!! sorry i like it a lot seeing it again is like seeing an old friend.......

"for us to be together forever" WHAT IF I THREW MYSELF OFF MY BED !!!!!!!!!!!!

"i wished for our happy days to last forever" AND WHAT IF I PARACHUTE JUMPED OFF A PLANE!!!!!!!!!!

also dear god knowing what happens next as they say this is . it Is.

ah . its them. tsugemina.... ha ha one part of the show i didnt rlly miss

my 'kurosawa actually cares a lot abt rokkaku when hes not busy being jealous of him' agenda REAL and CANON

THE BESTIES ok i did miss adachi and tsuges bestie-isms . they are so funny

MINATO? THEY WERE TALKING ABT DRINKS MY DUDE .......

the og soundtrack in the bg ......... Yeah

ADACHI LOOKING AT KUROSAWA LIKE THAT GUYS I CANT DO THIS I CANNOTTTT

THEYRE SO CUTE FUCK OFF (counter: 3)

comedic genius w that cut from adachi hoping for them to be together all to finding out abt the transfer

rokkaku... i am looking at him .....

ADACHI BEING GOOD AT HIS JOB SOOOO TRUE

noooo noooooooo noooOOOO NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

THE FLASHBACKS NOOOOOOOOOO MY POOR HEART

seeing all the times kurosawa sacrificed what he wants for adachis sake ....... girlie who allowed this im so

Ah. Kurosawas Face..... Bros I Cant Do This....

THE BRIDGE !!!!!!!!!! THE™ BRIDGE™!!!!!!!!!!!!

KUROSAWA STOP FAKING STOP IT IM SHAKING YOU STOP ITTTT

SONS OF BITCHES FUCKING HELL THIS ANGST AAAAJAJJHDHBD. .JDJJE. DYING

KUROSAWAAAAAAAA

ep 1 parallel..... eats it up. definitely giffing this later Yeah

OUGH THE DISTANCE THE SLIDING SHOT THING (???? IDK I DONT KNOW FILM THINGS) THE DISCONNECT BETWEEN THEIR WORDS AND EXPRESSION OUGH OUGHHHH

A. AAA .A A.A..A. THIS IS JUST BEGINNING OF EP12 AGAIN WHY

hey that reminds me of the evil fic idea i was gonna write after watching the movie :)

Also. just noticed i have been talking in caps too much. sorry but 1) its late my brain isnt working 2) i gotta yell man

NEW FRIENDS who is He ........ who are all of they i need to know for fic purposes

THE PEN FUCK OFF NOOOOO . HE LOOKS SO SAD I . . .... . .. .. .HUGS HIM

adachi my talented brilliant genius amazing son . thats it thats the point

adachi my son hey hello. i understand jps toxic work culture but please. dont do that

so many pretty shots of kurosawa but he looks so sad in them..... this is his burden

adachi, alone, walking past couples/ppl in pairs..... poetic cinema

O NAGASAKI APARTMENT i am Perceiving 👁️👄👁️

kurosawa running to get his phone...... someone fly this man to kyushu Right Now

ough kurosawa pov. . always promising w angst as always

HE WAS LYING........ MY GUYS U GOTTA COMMUNICATE

THE BGM IS SOO GOOD BTW HITS SO HARD i think this is a leitmotif but brains too wack rn to recognise which piece its from

FUCK. THE PEN FUCK EVERYTHING AAAAAA WHY DO THEY DO THIS S

Looking. At the Apartment. Tidbits and Things and Blue Theme (very good and perhaps meant to match kurosawas place) but also adachi why is it . like this

47k yen flight bro............ call me unromantic bc i would not unless Absolutely Necessary

aha. foreshadowing.

oh my god okay its happening . gif

adachi jesus okay no stop stoppp go sit down please im begging you

Ah.

yuta 'jumping to grave conclusions' rokkaku strikes again . in his defense he probably didnt know anything but man

AGH. G GHH J N .. J N J JJ KDJDJD . GOOD GOD

A. . OOF . OKAY i fucking forgot abt that dream oh goodness . adachi i am psychoanalysing ur brain now

not remembering phone numbers he just like me fr

WAIT SHIT FUCJ OH . OH

SAYING THIS AGAIN. THE FUCKING RELIEF ON HIS FAAACEEEEEE IM UNWELLLLL

they hugged there btw im declaring this canon rn

fucking Finalllyyyy they Talk

"i nearly lost it" imagining his perspective and. H. . . ... hsj.. kj. ikk.w..d..

"i thought id never see you again" Who ...... why ................ to hurt me ...????? personally??????????

smashing a rock over my head during adachis lines

JESUS. CHRIST. KUROSAWA .......

OH MY GOD OKAY ITS HAPPENING . GIF (REMIX)

HANDS. PASSING AWAY NOW THANK YOU.

guys . what the fuck (<- rendered speechless)

parallel 2 !!!!!!! lets go!!!!

AH I SEE NOW. THE CARESSING. WOW......

ok a complaint here. honestly there wasnt enough use of the magic to even feel like it was missing tbh ? like it got mentioned and plot device-d but we barely heard any actual thoughts so the lack of it felt exaggerated imo

ITS THE SCENE ITS THE EDJDJJ JJHDJE BACK HUG WAUGH

aaaaand we're back to the THEYRE SO CUTE'S (counter: 4)

unrelated but how did the carpet not stain

PULLING MY HAIR OUT. THEIR PROMISE. SCREAMING

omg the besties <3 ignoring the tsugemina tho lol

HEEEEEEE omg he looks adorable..... also wow damn that was a fast time skip for 8 whole months lmao

THE FRIENDSHIPS. ACTUALLY LOVE THEM SO MUCH....

ROKKAKU I LOVE YOUUUUUUUU HES SOOO SWEET

the student becomes the teacher.....

haha . foreshadowing :D

THEY ARE. SO FUCKING CUTE (counter: 5? i think? slowly losing count)

also complaint 2 a bit suddenly but arent the subs a bit off...... not that i know any jp but i feel like they arent exactly right at times

THE ICONIC PYJAMAS RETURN also omg kurosawa avoiding the topic ohhh i wanna squish his cheeks so bad

THE SWEET LIFE DAYDREAM OUTFITS RETURN....... also the fucking choir playing every time kurosawa goes into his. . Adachi Mode. so good

PICTURES TIMEEEE PARALLEL 3

kurosawa meets the in-law (food truck guy)

OH THE MAIL SCENE AAAWWWWWWWW STOPPPPPPPPPP

guys i cannot. the matching everything. chores list . fucks sake. this is a scene from a fic i swear

my 'kurosawa is Not a morning person' agenda. real and canon

kurosawa scrunkly of all fucking time like there is not a more scrunkly chara ive seen in my life i love him so much oh my god

hey have i mentioned how cute they are yet . no? ok here it is. They Are So Cute (counter: 6 or something)

KUROSAWA CARES ROKKAKU IM TELLING YOUUUUU

oh what does that say on urabes laptop

(unrelated. had to pause here bc i felt a tiny earthquake and that scared the fuck out of me oof,, anyways back to the brain rot)

rokkaku and fujisaku u both are So real

ah them again.... looking at the besties Only

Hehehehehehe Adachi Got Plans

closing my eyes sorry i dont care abt these two at all ,,......

oh my god tsuge cursed...... king shit

ADACHI UR BRAINNN MASSIVE HUGE MY GENIUS SON..... HES PLANNING FAR AHEAD ALREADY SOBBSS

"i want to have a life with you forever and for always" this. .this. the. Head in my Hands. how am i supposed to cope with this . Hello

AAGHHGGH HUG !!!!!!!!!!

i heard the legends of the resume. i did not know it was this intricate. kurosawa my guy what the fuck

taking notes tho. hm yes birthday same as manga kurosawa..... hmmmm yes mari Is his sisters name...... hmmm past jobs (?). hope someone translates the whole thing

boy abt to pitch himself as adachis boyfriend like a stationary product. u know what? unique. points for creativity

WAIT THE REASON FOR APPLY HELP ME DNDJEJDJD THIS MAN someone please please translate this oh my god

KUROSAWA LORE!!!!!!!!!!!

oh my god mari got lore too yesssss good for her

why did they reduce kazuyas number of kids.... was it an actor casting thing

OH ADACHI FAMILY !!!!!! LOOKING INTENSELY

kurosawa.......... hes so determined....

AWWWWW IM SO HAPPY FOR THEMMM best family i care them 🥺🥺🥺🥺

"welcome to our family" SOBBING SO LOUD

omg the shogi scene....... that indirect asian family brand of acceptance....... love to see it

YEAHHHH YEAHHHHHHHHH THIS IS WHAT I LIKE TO SEE !!!!!!! (refusing to think abt the next part)

chuckles. uh oh.

HEY ITS THAT SCENE . i didnt know it happened here oh

mont blanc again hehe

kurosawa did we not learn. did we not learn from the nagasaki part. my man

PARK!!! PARK™!!!!!! PARK PARK ITS THE OUUHHHHGHHGFFD [passes out]

somehow every speech adachi has given this movie has felt like a goddam punch to the stomach . Pain

losing count of the parallels there are so many Sooo Many

THE BGMMMMMMM ITS THAT ONE SONG

WAIT SURPRISE HUG OH THAT CAUGHT ME OFF GUARD. FUCK THEYRE SO CUTE (counter: i dont know anymore)

preparing my hands to be thrown later

the contrast of their houses is soo interesting me like adachis parents house being small and traditional vs kurosawas parents house being bigger and modern

and smth smth yet adachis family being more accepting of them despite that ....... Looking

saw ppl being like 'why did they bring irl problems into silly gay show' and yes i understand but also 1) this happened in the manga 2) i feel like this is kind of necessary ? not just from a realism perspective but for the storytelling??? like the point is to show adachis growth using hurdles and to show how he gets over them so without a serious scene like this i dont think his chara development would hit as hard

YEAH LIKE THAT. JUST LIKE THAT. HOW BEING W KUROSAWA MADE HIM BRAVER TO TAKE ON CHALLENGES

oh. he said it. well guys it was a good run for my online presence im going to go lock myself in my bathroom for the rest of my life now adios

OK GOOD THEY BROUGHT UP HIS SELF IMAGE AND PERFECTIONISM ISSUES . ITS IMPORTANT TO ME

"but then i met adachi. he accepted me as i am" bro i cannot. ep 7 abt to kill me next time i watch it on god

THEY DONT REGRET IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TELL HER

adachis chara dev actually my fav thing on my planet for reallllll its insane how far hes come its incredible to see. and honestly for all that i relate to him it really makes me feel hopeful tbh...

HES CHANGED!!!!!!!!!! just repeating lines atp bc i have nothing to add but i must emphasize. Very Important

LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOO mama kurosawa i hope u get over ur fears entirely and then u and adachi can bond for the rest of time

"i believe your lives are yours to live" Yeah. Yeahhhhh yeah

OH MY GOODDD OKAY ITS HAPPENING . GIF (THE THIRD) (GONE RIGHT)

the growth from magic-dependent adachi in ep11....... Cries

this scene i saw already and yet. yet. . . Oh............... Wow.........

Hands.

The Bgm. normal about this . very

HANDS.

WHY WOULD THEY MUTE IT EVIL FUCKERS LET HIM SAY I LOVE YOU I NEED TO HEAR IT FOR MY MENTAL HEALTH

HUG!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TEARS IN MY EYES KUROSAWA TAKING THE FALL THSISI ISSO .. ..... GUYS

THEYRE SO HAPPY I CANT I LOVE THEMMM

intro parallel .....................

DORKS. WHY ARE THEY SO CUTE (counter: ???? still not enough times)

OH FUCK OH JESUS OH MU GDIIDJDJD

YES IVE SEEN THIS ALREADY. SEVERAL TIMES. YES IM STILL LOSING IT IMMENSELY . THANKS FOR ASKING!

complaint 3: why is adachis fucking wedding suit not fitting him right. huh

AGH. AGH. AAUAUSHHSJJJVJJKKE [taking emotional damage] HHRAAAHHAGGGFGHH

THE MUSICCCCC THE MUSIIIICCCCCCC THIS ISNT ALLLOWWEDDDDD

. BESTIES IM . ... ... ... OH MY GOD.................. I DONT HAVE WORDS ANYMORE. THATS IT.. ......

THE BOOK NO STOPPPPP DONT DO THIS TO ME IM SO WEAK

(i want that drawing by the way. as a painting. framed on my wall. for art purpose)

where is this location btw i would like to know of anyone has an idea

HANDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SWINGING HANDS

well. ... .. .. im super normal after this. i swear (biggest lie told)

SHINOOONNNNNNNNN YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

if u guys havent read the lyrics to it yet please. please. they are insane.

its 3 am. no thoughts brain kurodachi. this was so worth the 7 months wait. i am filled with serotonin

i did not say anything coherent or deep at all but maybe ill make a discussion post later if i can get my thoughts in order

but first. when i get my hands on that hd rip i am going to make So many gifs u guys are gonna be sick of me i promise

anyways yeah um . .. ....... krdc will continue to be my personality for the rest of the year please look forward to it <3

ALSO . IF OTHER PPL HAVE ANY THOUGHTS THEY WANNA SHARE W ME PLS FEEL FREE id love to discuss (and/or scream in all AAAAAAs) the movie too :D

ok im going to sleep now good night

[idlecreature]

the buried fic comment from hell (it's so long i'm SO SORRY, I GOT EXCITED)

DEL.. I WASN’T SURE IF IT WAS APPROPRIATE TO LEAVE A LONG ASS COMMENT ON UR BURIED FIC IN PUBLIC….. SO I’M DROPPING IT HERE i’m so sorry in advance this is about to be a mess,, i’m so fucking emotional right now

((the review under the cut is in response to my fic which can b read here))

okay first –

The mental image of tiny gangly Barnabas and Jonah crouched with their hands in the dirt….. is so fucking cute?? I could feel Jonah’s jealousy just burning off of him. You had me right away. Fuck. You know how to open a story and I’m deeply envious, I’ve always struggled with it. Also, you threw in that little hook:

Despite what Jonah believes, there are some things that just can’t be explained in words.

Barnabas’ voice is so fucking good… guh… you know. I didn’t much care about Barnabas in any deep way before I joined the Jonah server and you guys have all just completely GUTTED me, I can’t believe how much I care about this highly-strung bastard,, he is so GOOD. HE’S SO GOOD???? HE’S SUCH A SWEETIE. LIKE. BARNABAS FEELING GUILTY AND HORRIFIED THAT PEOPLE ARE GRATEFUL TO HIM AND WANT HIM AROUND???? AAAAAAAAAA. And the melancholy aspect, too, which I imagine is how Mordechai was able to relate to him, get attached to him… Barnabas being bitter about how useless his tears are while he’s crying anxiously at the prospect that he might not be able to help those families after all…….

All of those scraps of Barnabas’ letter to Jonah made such EXCELLENT transitions, holy hell. Again I am inspired by your storytelling prowess. I am taking notes, for whenever my ability to write longform fic returns from war. This one was my favorite, made my heart clench:

A good world starts with a good person and a few choices that are made with the heart—

He’s so earnest I’m going to weep ;_; Barny.. you can’t make Jonah a better person he’s AWFUL,,

(Side note, super digging that I can indent stuff, block quoting makes this SO much easier.)

Also really digging that Jonah doesn’t have as nice a reputation as Barnabas… Jonah is the bad influence friend lmfao. AND JONAH’S CAT… I LOVE HIM…

And then you delivered a swift blow straight to the religion kink, as promised… “There’s something undeniably old testament about Jonah; the fire and fury of creation, the self-annihilating stare of Lot’s wife.“ LOSING IT I’M LOSING IT… WHAT A WAY OF DESCRIBING HIM God, here I thought I couldn’t possibly be more attracted to this bastard man. I am aghast at myself.

LOSING IT EVEN MORE OVER BARNABAS STACKING TEACUPS ON JONAH’S HEAD???? Why must you make them so fucking cute oh NO this is going to hurt isn’t it. ((This was the note I stuck in the Word doc while I was reading it and I thought I’d leave it as was for your enjoyment))

“Taking cues from your dreams?” Barnabas replies. “You know only the desperately mad do that?” 

“Or desperately inspired—savants and prophets and visionaries.”

And then you continued to try to kill me… Jonah thinking of himself as a prophet……. hhhhh canon-typical overambitious zealotry I’m HERE FOR IT………

“Are you trying to make me angry with you by playing the devil’s advocate?” 

“Just testing you,” Jonah says in his alloyed voice, silver-and-honey-gold. 

Del I cannot stress enough… My religion kink………. It’s been SO VERY ACTIVATED.

“Your morality has only ever been a thin cover for your shame.”

OUCH, JONAH, JESUS

Every bit of their dialogue was so familiar and tinged with bittersweetness and I owe you my entire life… Sincerely. Ugh. Like, how you described Barnabas’ internal angst about it later on – when he’s thinking of Mordechai, and he refers to "his many dog-eared fantasies” about Jonah it just really vividly conjured the thought of he and Jonah having a sort of? Queer solidarity, ESPECIALLY having grown up together. And that makes Jonah’s flash of betrayal at Barnabas not wanting to be SEEN with him that much more agonizing, personally. Like. I’ve had that happen to me more than once in real life. And much as Jonah is a piece of shit who is absolutely manipulating him………. still, ouch. Ouch. (Barnabas’ thoughts on the company Jonah keeps also made me wince. You did an AMAZING job with all of the internalized shame and frantic rationalizations, hooooooboy.)

The Lukases being colorblind is such an interesting piece of lore by the way I love it????? Now I have. Some questions, about Peter. Mordechai’s characterization in this is so fascinating to me. I’m enTRANCED by how you reverse-Uno’d it so that Barnabas was the reason Mordechai lost himself to the Lonely… the power dynamics……. so tasty. Ugh. And all of the sensual descriptions, especially of that first visit Barnabas had at Moorland house?? I didn’t clip any because I would have ended up clipping the whole fucking thing. It was aching, haunting, beautiful, holyshit. Their romance is somehow more fucked up than Barnabas and Jonah’s…

Also, I was so eager to read this I skipped the tags/warnings and completely didn’t realize Mordechai was going to be an actual vampire so that was a VERY fun surprise lmfao.

Barnabas feels like he’s close to learning something about violence and desire, how close they are, how the wires can get crossed.

THIS QUOTE IS EVERYTHING TO MEEEEEE ugh I’m having an aneurysm over how Jonah managed to fashion Barnabas into a creature that could understand him by gifting him to Mordechai for a while… letting Mordechai crack him open at the points where he was already brittle and experience an influx of some of the true darkness of the world. Just a tasty taste. That way when he discovers the truth of Jonah’s occult interests he won’t run away, because he’s already got his own fingers in the mess. He’s already given himself to one horror, why not Jonah? Shave some of the shine off of his morality, make him nice and gray so he won’t contrast so much with Jonah… And satisfying his curiosity at the same time. Two birds.

Oh, also, still sobbing about this line:

he realises that he doesn’t want to wear any colours that Mordechai can’t properly see.

EVERY TIME I let my guard down for ten seconds you smacked me with more of Barnabas being the most precious bleeding heart in the universe!!!!!! He aches so much for the people he’s trying to help and he hates people like Mordechai but part of him also wants to save Mordechai, somehow… maybe recognizes the parts of him that are like these people, still. Nearly faded but not quite gone yet. And as you’ve already established, Barnabas simply cannot let things go. Can’t disappoint people… can’t leave them when he could be doing something. Anything. Augh, FEELINGS.

Of course he knew Mordechai and Jonah were friends, he’d just temporarily believed in a sane and fair universe where things like this don’t happen. 

AND YOU HAD SUCH A PERFECT BALANCE OF HUMOR… This could have been such a feelbad fic, and tbh it still would have been spectacular. But you always eased it at just the right moment to keep it from going off the rails into irretrievable deepdark territory. Fed me little soft moments so I’d still be vulnerable enough to have my HEART RIPPED OUT LATER…

I’m not super interested in the Buried canon-wise but I love how you’ve written Barnabas’ natural affiliation with it… so subtle but powerful? (Of COURSE Jonah was jealous, lmao. He had to work so hard and he’s still not on Barnabas’ level. There’s some kinda beautiful commentary on ambition versus goodwill in there somewhere but I’m too busy nursing my battered little heart right now to articulate it.) It wove its way in and out of the rest of the plot so naturally, too. For some reason it compliments Barnabas’ temperament as I read it in canon just… so well. Was there a discussion about this on the server, and if so, PLEASE tell me about it sometime I’m so fascinated.

Jonah wasn’t even present for a lot of the fic but his characterization was so INTENSE and luminous, Christ… I know I already praised it a bit but. Woof. I wasn’t expecting to get a taste of his POV at the end and I was so excited I kicked my feet (my cat was very disgruntled) like, this line!!!

Now, he thinks there’s some truth in those false statements, in the lies we tell and why we want to be believed.

GOD, YOU’RE REALLY GONNA GIVE ME FEELINGS ABOUT JONAH AND FUTURE-JONAHLIAS IN THE SAME FIC?????? EVIL… I’m so so so fucking here for it, oh my God, Jonah with an amplifying anxiety disorder, THE PRICE OF IMMORTALITY… too bad the Eye doesn’t let you see the future, Jonah, lmao… the line “immortality just made his anxiety turn nuclear” is SEARED into my brain now, I am NOT accepting canon to contradict this ever again. I’ve always wondered how Jonah’s neuroses might have worsened in two entire fucking CENTURIES and I love the way you wrote it. I am fucking. Losing my mind.

There’s so many other things I could comment on, like. The brief but glorious Jonah-grinding-himself-off-on-Barnabas’-thigh shenanigans. Was incredibly hot, and Mordechai’s poor fragile heart breaking, and Barnabas telling Isabel that it’s fine to call him Barny…….. I’m hhhhhhhhHHHH fuck, fuck, fuck. I’m just!! I am incomprehensible!!! Everyone told me this fic was amazing but it’s fucking amazing, Del, what the hell. I’m never gonna be the same after this. The end was SHOCKINGLY sweet and I have WHIPLASH.

………… So, now that I’ve made you read a novel. Hah. Sorry. My point is. I loved every bit of this. It deserved heaps more praise but my eyes are starting to cross. Thx for sharing :’) 

Love,

Tony xx

TONY. TONY THIS MEANS EVERYTHING TO ME. FIRSTLY I’M SO GLAD YOU LIKED THIS. SECOND OF ALL, THANKS TO YOU I’LL BE SCREAMING FROM THE ROOFTOPS FOREVER HAVE YOU ANY IDEA HOW THIS REVIEW HAS AFFECTED ME? IT’S THE BEST FEEDBACK I’VE EVER RECIEVED IN MY LIFE I FEEL LIKE A FIRSTGRADER GETTING THEIR FIRST GOLD STAR I FEEL ON TOP OF THE WORLD LIKE I COULD THROW THE JEWEL OF THE SEA OFF THE SHIP AND LEAN OVER THE RAILINGS BECAUSE YOUR ARMS ARE AROUND ME TONY IT’S BEEN MONTHS AND THIS REVIEW HAS BEEN A FIREPLACE KEEPING ME WARM THROUGH THE WINTER MONTHS I LOVE YOU DEARLY FOR THIS YOU ARE AN ABSOLUTE CHAMPION IF YOU WERE IN FRONT OF ME RIGHT NOW I WOULD FRENCH KISS YOU WITHOUT HESISTATION UNTIL THE BOTH OF US HAVE RUN OUT OF AIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCKING BLESS YOU TONY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[gumnut-logic]

Need (Part One)

Title: Need

Part One

Author: Gumnut

8 Mar 2020

Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS

Rating: Teen

Summary: We need to do what we need to do.

Word count: 1944

Spoilers & warnings: Season 3

Timeline: Sometime after the end of season 3

Author’s note: This last week saw my muse completely fry under stress, mostly from work. I didn’t write for something like five days. I couldn’t write. It was bad. Nutty was a frazzled mess. So, when I did start writing, I didn’t care what I wrote as long as I managed to get something down on the page after being unable to for so long. So, we have the beginning of another fic. I have written and completed Part Two and am into Part Three so there is more to come, I promise. This does not mean I’m abandoning any of my other WIPs, I just need to be kind to myself or I’ll end up writing nothing. This is better than nothing, trust me. I hope you enjoy it anyway.

This is in answer to the ‘brain trauma’ prompt from the whump prompt list. Many thanks to @sofasurf for the suggestion and the plotwork chat ::hugs you::

Many thanks to @scribbles97​ and @i-am-chidorixblossom​ for the read throughs and reassurance.

Disclaimer: Mine? You’ve got to be kidding. Money? Don’t have any, don’t bother.

-o-o-o-

 “Dad, I’m over eighteen. It’s my leave, I can do what I want.”

It was said calmly, without malice, but Virgil still frowned as he walked into the comms room.

“Regardless, Alan, I still don’t think it is a very good idea.”

Just as equally calm and considered. Their father was standing near his desk frowning at Alan who was in the sunken lounge not quite glaring up at his father.

“It is safe, Dad. The track has the best safety record on the planet.”

“It is still car racing, Alan.”

“I fly a rocket. How can racing a car be more dangerous than that?”

“It isn’t the car. It’s all the other cars that complicate the matter.”

“That’s what makes it fun!”

“Alan-“

“I really want to do this, Dad.” A swallow. “And I’m going to. I’m sorry.”

Virgil watched as his father straightened, his expression stiffening. “I only want you to be safe, son.”

Alan climbed up out of the pit and approached their dad. “I know.” A hug was offered and the older man drew his son into his arms.

Only Virgil could see the desperation in his father’s expression as he scrunched his face up behind Alan’s shoulder and the engineer realised neither of them knew he was there. Virgil had the sudden urge to backtrack and get out of the room before they discovered him.

Too late.

A pair of grey eyes opened and caught sight of him and widened just slightly.

Father and son parted. Alan, still unaware of Virgil’s presence, looked up at their dad. “I’ll do you proud, I promise.”

Their father looked down. Quietly. “You already have.”

A nudge and Dad indicated Virgil’s presence.

Alan jumped.

And so he should. This was a discussion that had already occurred between Scott, Virgil and Alan on several occasions. Sure, now his brother was eighteen and technically he could do what he wanted, but Scott had forbidden it multiple times already.

“Oh, hey, Virg.”

“Alan.” He put everything he needed into his little brother’s name.

Dad frowned.

Virgil narrowed his gaze to the young astronaut. “Scott is working on One. You should go give him a hand.”

“Virg-“

“Now.”

Whispered. “FAB.” He slunk out of the room, his expression one of dread.

That left Virgil with his father.

“Hey, Dad.”

The older man turned back to his desk and poked at a holographic file. “Good morning, Virgil.”

“How are you feeling today?” He couldn’t help himself. He probably shouldn’t ask but his concern for his father was a physical thing that gnawed at him in the dark.

Those broad shoulders tensed up.

No, he really shouldn’t ask that question every morning. Damn.

“I’m fine, Virgil. You don’t need to worry.”

“I’m sorry, Dad.”

His father turned slightly to look at him. “It is understandable, but you really need to worry less.”

Virgil snorted. “Habit.” Scott had been worrying him for a lifetime. Dad was just a bonus round at this point.

Of course, that word earned him a frown. “Have you had breakfast?”

“Was on my way down.” When he heard his little brother wrangling his way into getting what he wanted. Scott was going to strangle him when he found out.

“Mind if I join you? A little brunch wouldn’t hurt.”

“What time did you get up?”

The grey glare hit him between his eyebrows and he threw up his hands in defence. “Okay, okay, no more questions about your health.”

“Your Grandma already roasted me this morning. The two of you are going to need to coordinate.”

He had to snort at that.

The two men trotted down the stairs to the kitchen together, rustled up a rather indulgent meal and decided to partake it out on the patio. For once in his life, Gordon was not in the pool, so they had the glorious morning to themselves.

He didn’t fail to notice that his father couldn’t help but stare up into the blue of the sky as if he couldn’t believe it was that colour.

Virgil focussed on his coffee and its gift of sanity, its warmth crawling into his belly and booting his brain.

“Has Alan been driving long?”

An arched eyebrow in his father’s direction. “Not really. He learnt a couple of years ago with Parker, like all of us, but he doesn’t get much of a chance to upkeep the skill.”

“Then why...?”

“He has a thrill-seeking friend. Brandon Berenger.” Initially, Virgil had thought it a great thing for Alan to hang out with the teenager. Scott had his reservations, but had agreed that living like a monk on an island in the middle of the Pacific was not healthy for any of them. Alan found a friend, so he spent time with him.

The problem was teenagehood.

The arguments were inevitable.

“Alan is not stupid, he just wants acceptance with his peer group.”

A wiry smile curled his Dad’s lips. “I remember that.” It slipped into a grin. “Do you still maintain all those piercings?”

“Daad!”

His father held up his hands. “Hey, I did warn you, but you were just as determined.”

Virgil glared at him over the rim of his coffee cup.

“The purple hair was particularly entertaining.”

“Oh god.”

His father snorted and laughed. “Don’t worry, son, we all look back and groan. Trust me.”

“Sure. I bet you were as sharp and as perfect as Scott.”

That earned him an arched eyebrow. “What gave you the idea that Scott was perfect?”

“Uh, the grade average and the air force uniform?”

Another snort.

“What?”

“Not my story to share.”

“Oh, c’mon, if you’ve got dirt on Scott...”

“Of course, I have, Virgil. I’m his father.” The grin was genuine. “It is my prerogative to know all the embarrassing things about my children.” But then the grin faltered.

Virgil reached out and grabbed the older man’s hand. “There is plenty more to come. I have no doubt that Alan will screw up multiple times between here and his twenty-first. Enough for a movie marathon, Dad. You’re here now, we value that more than you can know.”

A shaky exhale. “I’ve missed so much, Virgil.”

“We’re still here. We still love you. It wasn’t your fault.” He had said those words so many times in the last year. At his father’s bedside. In the dark of night after nightmares. He had done his best to reassure, to reinforce the man’s confidence.

The irony was that the father he knew before his stranding wouldn’t have taken so much notice of his son’s opinion. Their relationship and most definitely been father and son. Now the relationship had changed. Jeff Tracy wasn’t as strong as he used to be. He had been shaken, he doubted himself, thrown by what he had missed and didn’t know about his sons. Grandma was there for him, but it was with Virgil, not Scott, the man was willing to discuss some of his concerns.

Virgil was both grateful and worried about this state of affairs. He helped in any way he could. Caught between a sometimes frantic Scott and an injured father, it was a challenge. But if they needed him, he was there.

Of course, that was the very moment his comms went off.

“Hey, Virg, have you got a spare hydrospanner?”

Virgil rolled his eyes and thumbed his collar. “Gordon, where is yours?”

“Uh...”

“You know if you put them away when you’ve finished with them, you tend to be able to find them next time you want them.”

“Augh, yes, Mom.”

His father raised an eyebrow.

“You borrow mine, it goes back when you are finished.”

“I know the rules, Virg. Where have you stashed it. I’m in your workshop and I can’t find it.”

“Gordon-“

“I’m in a hurry, Virg. There’s coolant leaking all over the deck of module four.”

“What the hell, Gordon?”

“Kill me later, spanner now.”

Virgil shot an apologetic look at his father. “I’m coming down.”

“Virg-“ He killed the connection.

“I’ll be back in a moment, Dad.”

The eyebrow was still raised. “Take your time. Sounds like you’ll need it.”

Virgil glared at him and stalked his way down to the hangars.

-o-o-o-

Virgil loved his aquanaut brother, but although the fish could manage maintenance on his ‘bird, anything more complicated and he really needed a hand. Virgil was quite happy to be that hand on most occasions, but a little more notice would have been useful.

He left the aquanaut scrubbing the deck of module four and headed back upstairs to finish his breakfast.

He actually enjoyed moments with his father. They had connected in a way since he had come back that hadn’t been possible before. And he cherished it.

Of course, it hadn’t been perfect. He never expected it to be, but to have the chance to talk with his father in any way was such a blessing, he could only value the opportunity.

So, he was a little disappointed when he heard his father talking to someone else as he approached from the kitchen.

“You should be proud. He is so much like you.”

Virgil stopped where he was. Who?

“He has your eyes and your kindness, and such strength.” His father sighed and Virgil slipped quietly closer, trying to see who the man was talking to.

The patio was empty except for his father.

“I don’t know if I can do this, Lucy. I don’t know... I try to be their father, but they don’t need me anymore. And Alan...”

The lone figure fell silent and for a moment, his head dropped to stare at his hands in his lap.

“Alan is a young man I don’t know. I love him, honey, and I know you do, too, but I don’t know him. I’m trying. He’s trying. But...love, it’s hard.”

Virgil’s eyes widened and something in his heart snapped. “Dad?”

His father startled and spun in his seat. “Virgil?” But instead of embarrassment or worry, a grin split his face. “Did you save your brother?”

Virgil blinked, his whole emotional state sideswiped and struggling to right itself. “Uh, yeah, we got Four’s temperature regulation system back in one piece. I’ll need to restock our coolant supplies on our next run.” His father had been speaking to his mother. “Dad, you okay?”

Those grey eyes narrowed into a flat stare. “Haven’t we already had this conversation?”

“Uh, yeah, sorry.” His heart was thudding in his chest.

His father frowned. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, Dad, sure.”

Those grey eyes assessed him in a way eerily similar to his eldest son. “Gordon difficult?”

“Huh?” He blinked. “Oh, uh, no. He tries. I have to give him credit for that.”

“That is all we can ask of anyone.” Those eyes were still staring at him.

“Yeah. Uh, I need to speak to Scott. What have you got planned today?”

His father shrugged. “More catch up. Gordon has me for more rehab this afternoon.”

Virgil nodded once. His father was reading mission reports and Tracy Industries updates, slowly coming up to speed on what had happened over the last eight years, realigning himself knowledge-wise as his body slowly did the same. “See you at lunch?”

“Of course.” The frown deepened. “What is it, Virgil?”

Virgil straightened and took better control of himself. “I’m fine, Dad.” A blink. “Take it easy.”

Those grey eyes rolled in their sockets. “I couldn’t do anything else with you around, could I?”

Virgil’s smirk was forced.

“Love you, Dad.”

His father sobered a little, a small smile curling his lips. “Love you, too, Virgil.”

A soft smile, and Virgil turned and fled.

-o-o-o-

End Part One

Part Two

[irkimatsu]

Well, I guess Ichi Day is as good a day as ever to kinda vent about Ichi stuff.

TLDR I still whole-heartedly ship myself with Ichi, I still love him to death... but I’ve been feeling weird about interacting with content that can help me appease that side of me, and I know no one owes me their comfort, but it’s making me feel weird about myself, like I have a horrible itch that’s socially inappropriate for me to scratch

Mentions about the fact that yeah I ship a BLMatsu ship under the cut, since that’s the crux of this whole thing, I don’t go into much detail but the ship name is just out there, waving in the wind

I’ve been growing more and more afraid that people are gonna believe that I’ve lost romantic interest in Ichi... it’s not true at all! I still adore him! I still have my plush, I still dream about cuddling and kissing him and touching his body all the damn time! It hasn’t died at all! I love him, love him, love him!

...but I haven’t been posting much content about that recently, not original or reblogged... I’ve been... afraid to. Generic stuff has mostly been fine because the OP almost certainly doesn’t know who I am (though if I ever became aware of a DNI I’m violating I’d stop), but with Ichi-specific content, where the OP definitely knows about what I admitted a few months ago and why it’s an uncomfortable thing to put out there...

I know people don’t owe me access to their content! I’m determined to respect all DNIs! I don’t want to muscle into a community that doesn’t want people like me!

But... people like me... I still love IchiJyushi, too... I never dream of Jyushi “winning” instead of me. It’s always either totally platonic in that specific iteration; one-sided on Ichi’s part but he’s made enough peace for it to not interfere with his relationship with me; they got that out of their systems before I ever entered the picture and Ichi has again made peace; or maaaaaaybe poly but that really doesn’t work for me romantically, even if I don’t have to feel that way for Jyushi, I just can’t share Ichi romantically for more than a brief scenario for the sake of his happiness, sharing is best left in contexts that don’t belong on Tumblr anymore. I can easily ship that and Irkimatsu on their own terms, keep them in their own boxes that don’t cross-contaminate too much. If anything, IchiJyushi is my way of entrusting Ichi to someone who I’m sure loves him as much as I do in those instances of the multiverse where I don’t exist; it’s not me losing, it’s me not wanting there to be any outcome where Ichi isn’t getting the love he deserves. (Okay, yeah, I didn’t need to be so weird about that, but the shipping heart does what it will, I suppose. I tried more acceptable Ichi ships. They didn’t do it for me. This is the one canon/Ichi ship that made me feel anything worth a damn.)

But if you ask me which ship I prefer - Irkimatsu, IchiJyushi, or even throw JyushiHomu in there - I don’t know! I love all the options! They’re all good options! Options where people are getting the love they deserve!

So I can’t say, oh, I really prioritize Irkimatsu, IchiJyushi is just a backup, so that means I can still play in the self-insert community, right? Even if the ship was totally innocent and fine, I’d feel a little off about caring so much for it... add in the fact that I can imagine, even encourage, my beloved F/O to pursue something so ill-advised, and I feel even more off. Maybe not off to me personally, but off enough that I shouldn’t be inflicting myself on a community that would find that unforgivable.

And it’s just... been lonely, recently. Sometimes when I see a good reader-insert post with Ichi, or just an attractive drawing of him that stokes my emotions for him, I get excited... and then guilty for emotionally interacting with a piece possibly posted by someone who would rather people like me didn’t see it. Pardon the hyperbole, but I feel like poison that can degrade whatever I touch. And that should be fine - like I said, no one owes me access to their thoughts. But it’s been making it harder for me to engage with Ichi in the ways that I’d like to, and it sucks.

I know I brought it on myself, but it sucks.

I’ll consider myself a self-insert shipper with Ichi until the day comes that I don’t care about Matsus anymore. (This may be never, or at least not until the show can go a year or two without new content.) But a member of the self-insert shipping community... I dunno. I know I shouldn’t. Those feelings must stay in my head, where they don’t put the discomfort of “one of those people feels the same way about Ichi that I do” onto other people.

(It might also be worth noting that a friend has recently gotten me tentatively into another Ichi ship. It’s one that stays in high school, runs the gamut between “casual relationship that Ichi enjoyed but it just wasn’t meant to be” and “asshole who strung him along and broke his heart”, and could easily be torpedoed by the movie because I don’t actually know the other guy’s personality, but it’s there. How many Ichi ships can I have before “I really do love him and am happiest when we’re monogamous” becomes hollow?)

I guess... I’m jealous, not of Jyushi, not of Ichi’s high school partner, but of other self-insert shippers who managed to do this “right”. I tried doing it right. It hurt my relationship with him in the end, like I was denying his happiness - and mine. He didn’t like it when I lied to myself about what I wanted to read and write, and he never expressed discomfort about my shipping, because damn it the Ichi in my head does feel that way about Jyushi, so...

Augh, I don’t know. There’s really nowhere I can talk about this, since these two paths just shouldn’t cross. I’m feeling adrift recently. I dunno.

Reading this again makes me feel a little unhinged, talking about Ichi like he can provide any actual input... but that’s how my brain interprets it. God bless autism, I guess, or whatever it is that’s causing this.

I love Ichi, Ichi loves me, please never doubt that, even if I can’t say it out loud much anymore.

[reesewestonarchive]

10 questions tags

so in my absence I ended up with something like... fifty tags? a lot of tags. and they’re now all in my reading list and I’m going to draft them all so I can read and reblog and reply and whatnot, but holy shit, you guys keep busy.

I’m not tagging back because this is really long haha

tagged by @sleepy-and-anxious for questions

Do you have a writing routine?

noooooo lol. I don’t even write when inspiration strikes, haha. 

Early bird or night owl?

usually I’m awake at night? but having a scheduled job that needs me at eight am tries to put me to bed at a more reasonable hour haha

Who is your least favourite oc? Tell me about them.

...ooh. jon, probably, though even he has badly-justified reasons for doing what he does. maybe one of his clients, because there’s no good reason for them doing what they do, just that they do. (also I just... don’t like to talk about them haha)

How do you come up with plot ideas?

who knows! how do I come up with anything? I consume a lot of media, and it used to be that any time I’d watch a movie I’d be hit with inspiration. now my anxiety doesn’t let me watch a lot of movies so there goes that idea

Do you make playlists for your wip?

I do! oftentimes they suck or have very flimsy ties to my wip but hey

What software/type of document etc do you write on?

pages, evernote now apparently, also notes, because before I had pages on both my phone and my computer I wanted the cloud to help me keep shit straight. I used to email it to myself if I wrote on my phone... that was not fun haha

Do you like to gush about your wip or keep it secret?

a little of both? from the roof of my mouth gets talked about a lot. shadowed’s a little more secret just because it’s darker and I’m concerned no one’s going to want to hear about it?

If you could pick one song to describe your wip what would it be?

everlong :p

Did you make a writeblr for any specific reason?

I just wanted to connect with other writers? and it’s been great, up until my own bullshit made that difficult haha

also tagged by @writerachel

what are your top 3 favorite movies? 

can’t hardly wait, back to the future, and... oh. I blanked.

do you listen to music when you write? 

not usually. from the roof of the mouth is the first time I’ve been able to in a while, at least stuff that isn’t instrumental.

who’s your favorite character from any book you’ve ever read? 

oh. um. ...that’s a very good question.

what’s your favorite line from your current wip? 

less of a line and more of a passage, but when Nakoa uses the ‘dicey’ pun on dice’s nickname. also the ““I love you,” he says, and his voice holds steady.”

which of your current wips would you want to be a movie? (IF YOU HAVE ONLY ONE WIP: what book would you want to turn into a movie?)

well. that’s a good question. uhh.

do you have anything/anyone in your life that influences/inspires your writing? 

other writers here, and I’m lying if I don’t say raven specifically haha. otherwise, I mean, not really? I don’t write based on my own life because I get anxiety about it. 

starbucks or dunkin donuts? (I HAVE TO KNOW I’M SORRY!!)

I drink dunkin donuts coffee at home so I guess them? haha

can you write anywhere or do you have to be in a specific place? 

nah I can write anywhere. apparently my favorite is when I’m trying to fall asleep though

worst book you were forced to read in school? 

the alchemist. I also don’t care for to kill a mockingbird, and I read it twice for school

do you have any pets?

I do! some kitties!

tagged by @quill-and-ink-writer

What is your favorite time to write?

at night, hahaha.

Is there a book you would rewrite? If so, how?

I feel like I’ve been asked this before, and honestly... I don’t usually think like that? like I read books and usually they’re either good or great, ‘cause I don’t finish books I don’t like haha

Have any specific authors influenced your work?

I’m sure they have but I couldn’t name them.

Where do you draw inspiration?

from other media, other writers. I already mentioned one in particular up there :p

What’s your style/voice?

...? I don’t know?

Which of your OCs could become your best friend?

oh. um. I think I’d get along well with dice, or aero. nakoa’s probably too rowdy, haha. otherwise, there’s a character in autumn moon I’ve yet to introduce that’d fit the bill.

What’s the last book you read?

our bloody pearl by brynwrites which was way better than I expected (which isn’t to say that I didn’t expect it to be great but I was enamored through the day as I read it)

Are you proud or anxious when other people read your writing?

anxious, hahaha. I am never proud.

Do you nail down a character’s personality before you write, or do you prefer to let it grow in the story?

I try to nail it down. nakoa was supposed to be way more laid back and chill and his story was much less heartbreaking, but alas that’s what first drafts and rewrites do to you

Where’s your favorite place to write?

in bed, apparently

also tagged by @trevorparece

Standalones, trilogies, or behemoths of a series?

if I’m writing it, standalones. if I’m reading it, I like things that have more than one installment, because then it gives more opportunities for other people to get into it and then I can live in the world a little longer :p

What is your favorite line of your own writing?

oh, man. I don’t know. I write a lot of garbage.

What would your book’s epigraph be?

I’m really irritated that I can’t answer this question because it’s a very good question

How about its movie poster slogan?

AUGH THIS ONE TOO

If you were going to challenge yourself to try something new, what genre would you venture into?

scifi, lol. I already am trying it. it’s not my forte.

Who’s the first person you show a draft to?

me! just me. I don’t usually work in drafts so I’m nervous about it.

Is there an idea (be it plot or character or world) you’ve been tugging along since childhood, just waiting for the right moment to use?

nahhh. I either write them down and forget, forget them, or start writing them.

What’s the first creative thing you remember writing, and what did you learn from it?

something about aliens, or possibly a fantasy book that was meant to be a series? honestly--that it was easier to write than I thought it was.

What’s the strangest characteristic you’ve taken from real life and given to a character (could be yours or someone else’s)?

oh, I don’t know, haha. I don’t do this consciously. I’m sure I’ve done it, but I wouldn’t know I did it :p

Choose your fighter: Enemies to Lovers, There’s Only One Bed, or Pretend Dating Makes Real Feelings.

PRETEND DATING. fake dating is my most favorite thing

and @editedandwrittenbyhannah

How old were you when you started taking writing seriously (assuming you do now)?

guess it depends on the definition of serious. if it means publishing, it’s been back and forth because I don’t always want to publish, and I don’t always think everything I write could BE published. if it means attempting to write true to characters and plot and whatever, then... always?

How old do you think is the best age to start writing and why?

whenever. if the story’s in your mind and your heart, then put it to paper. you can always grow older and change it, if it needs to be, but there’s no such thing as ‘too old’ or ‘too young’ to start writing.

What is your ideal setting for writing?

in bed, before I fall asleep, lol. this is a popular question :p

What is the weirdest thing that has ever gotten your writer brain going on overdrive about a new idea?

oh. I don’t know. I don’t question inspiration these days, haha.

Do you edit before you post your writing to tumblr?

sometimes. actually, no, usually. and then I forget that I edited it. and it doesn’t make it back to my draft. don’t be like me.

What blogs have inspired you AND/OR motivated you to write? Tag ‘em so they know what they did for you.

@forlornraven @indecentpause @infinitelyblankpage @riftversus @lavenderas @theshadowsofthenight, but also, kind of the entirety of writeblr as a whole is good. I dig this community and watching everyone craft their stories has been kind of incredible. I don’t know writer people in real life, so the internet’s kind of how I find them, and I haven’t had a community of sorts since I was in high school. it’s nice to see everyone so determined and in love with their own work. reminds me it’s okay to not hate my stuff.

Who is your favorite tumblr writer?

...look I’m just gonna say I mentioned them by name already :p but the ones I mentioned in the question just before this are equally as awesome.

I just realized technically I mentioned all of writeblr. look how that works out :p

What is your favorite topic to write about? Read about?

I don’t know, I like contemporary fiction, stuff that’s realistic to write about because it’s the world I most know, obviously, and I’m used to reading about lgbt+ characters and a lot of the times those aren’t in genre fiction--at least not mainstream genre fiction)

or they weren’t, anyway.

but I like scifi too.

How old were you when you read your favorite book for the first time? How many times have you read it since then?

I don’t know that I have a favorite book. if it is, probably room, and I don’t really know lol

List 3 songs that you would NEVER listen to while writing because they’re too distracting for any reason at all.

all of them. ;;

[feverhalo]

Blah just rambling about irl stuff

lmao oh my god i feel so useless today

I’ve been out of it tired like all day and just kinda hazed out (probably from running high on anxiety for like 4 days straight hovering just below anxiety attack status p much the whole time. Yay crowds and new places :| )

and just i am.... wow

im really glad i dealt with the school’s accessibility services already because im just *extended fart noise*

ive been half watching/half listening to stuff all day, making a record amount of silly typos and not catching them until way late, and coffee barely touched my caffeine needed headache and yeah now im just like. opening and closing the same tab 4 times because I keep forgetting to do the gotdamn thing I opened it for.

I’m glad i checked out the accessibility stuff tho, because I will get extra warning if we need to go off campus, have an ‘in’ for councilors and the like if i need to talk, I can choose to write in a test center if I find the class anxiety inducing/cant concentrate, I won’t have to do the whole “no wait seriously I need to have this juice box, stabby bits, and sugar with me I’m diabetic augh yes i am serious” song and dance X number of times (they drafted an email with me while I was there), and I’m on a list to have an assessment for stuff (to see if they can do anything else with my anxiety/depressive episodes/ocd????[ive known about this apparently being like a thing for me for like 2 months now and im still baffled] and see if all the jokes my friends and family made my whole life have any basis in reality [like do i rly have some sort of brain thing along the lines of memory issues or adhd])

and I’m gonna have the option for note-taking assistance/recording/access to slides in case I miss something if I step out/have to leave because of X, Y, or Z causing me distress/anxiety.

So thats.... actually making me pretty hopeful. Because I feel like a lot of my anger and resentment and shitty attitude and crappy attention/behaviors in high school was born from frustration and like fear?? And thats why I am such a goof because I was like. “I’m either a goof on purpose or an idiot and people will think I’m an idiot either way SO-!” [proceeds to doodle, daydream, write/read, play videogames, wander the class, talk too loud, crack jokes, or brood on my desk and just stare everywhere except where the teacher was teaching- unless i liked the class in which case i was all in unless I was having a bad day]

...........

yeah it making more and more sense why people make those jokes and ask if I’ve been tested as time goes on (and i continue to just. function like a shitty teenager even though I’m 26 now)

[ahiddenpath]

Digimon Adventure Tri Stage Play Reaction

Guys, this is not an analysis: this is my feels and obnoxious comments while viewing the stage play.  My initial goal was to use these notes to make an analysis, but they’re too funny/stupid/wow to hide from the world.  I typed these notes in real time, stopping the play whenever I had a thought.  It’s the closest I can get to having you watch me watch the stage play without using videos.  I will write an actual meaningful post soon, but for now, have a confused and jumpy/unpolished blob of feels.

The other thing I want to say is that I didn’t edit this after I wrote it, except for surface editing (grammar, spelling) and clarifications (mostly adding more names).  So if I formed an impression at some point, that’s what I really thought in that moment; I didn’t go back and change it.

That said: this will completely and totally spoil the stage play.  SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS!  Read on below the cut (if you dare; it’s almost 4K words long and full of images).

Hidden’s Digimon Adventure Tri Stage Play Reaction

I am immediately not buying that Mimi wouldn't want to camp in the bungalow.  Isn't this the kid that went to Tokyo Tower instead of patrolling Tokyo because the tower has AC?  I guarantee she'd whine an hour in about wanting the bungalow, but wouldn't allow Koushiro to point out that she made this choice for all of them x__x

 Did Mimi just... just throw the laptop?  How bratty can you get?  I... wow, I really hope they don’t treat my Mimi so poorly the whole play.

From Sora's speech, I can see that nostalgia will be a major theme here, which, to be fair, is appropriate, lol!  Nostalgia is pretty much why we’re here.

TAICHI! It’s so good to see you get your big bro on again, lol???  Hikari:  "I'm not a kid who needs to wait for you to walk home with me."

 Taichi: "What?  Why not?  WHAT'S WRONG?!  CONFIDE IN ME!"  He’s so aggressive and clumsy about it, lol??

Taichi:  "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A STUBBORN BLOCKHEAD."

Jyou, amiably: "You, of course! Wait-"  I'm like 15 minutes in and I have already decided that Jyou is my favorite (not surprising lol).

Jyou:  "YOU ARE IN DANGER, TAICHI.  I HAVE NEVER SEEN YOU STUDY."  Oh lord, Jyou is bashing Taichi with the stone of foreboding. Is Jyou okay?  Is he quite sane?  He isn't, is he.  Do you see that gleam in his eye?  No, no. He is gone and gone indeed.  Jyou’s actor is A+++

Annnnnnd oh hey, it's Yamyams doin' jamjams!  I can dig that bass, is he actually playing?  Oh hey, he's gonna sing for real, he's-  Oh my god, stop!  ABORT! He's terrible, hahahaha?!?!?!  IT BURRRRNSSS!!!  

OH MY GOD HIS BAND HATES THE BAND NAME AND THEY'RE SPEAKING TO HIM IN FRENCH WHAT IS THIS

Wait wow what is this weird ass vibe between the bros?  Teeks is accusing Yams of not visiting...  Did Yamato have that habit to start with?  Hmm...

So Takeru says, "I don't want to see us go our different ways."  I've mentioned it over and over, but this feeling is so important to me.  It's something I want to write an entire fic around.  On the one hand, it's such an easy topic, given the subject material. On the other, it's where my brain keeps going.  So... Let's see what happens!

Also:  Takeru:  "Stay hidden, Patamon!" *puts Patamon on his head and skips offstage* Takeru, sigh...

OH SHIT IT'S ETEMON, saying Taichiiiiihehehehe like a creep ass creeper.  He done got beef, too.

Annnnd we cut to everyone reacting because Mimi has no supplies (did you all not bring any?). What I like here, though, is that Jyou can at least talk to her without getting shut down.  Poor Kou-chan -__-

Koushiro: "We're amateurs, is there anything we should watch out for?"  OH I DUNNO, MAYBE ETEMON IN A HAT AND A VEST god damn I know this is supposed to be funny, but they all look like idiots- 

Koushiro: "That old man had a feminine way of speaking"  Says the dude being portrayed by a male actor FOR THE FIRST TIME-

Koushiro: "Taichi-san, you're the closest thing to a caveman we have-"  Ah, bless.

(At this point, my husband is pointing out while playing Destiny that the puppeteers do really good digimon voices, and I'm explaining that the digimon voices are pre-recorded, lol).

ANNNNND Mimi is whining for supplies that she forbade people to bring.  I am shocked.

Jyou is talking about how he wants to help digimon by being a doctor, by saving and protecting, and my heart is growing three sizes.  Best Chosen, y'all.

But oof, the atmosphere got so heavy...  Why do these kids refuse to talk about what they want to do???  Jyou remains refreshing.  Also, I'm just noticing how Koushiro turns his entire body around every single time towards whoever is talking?  He leans in, too.  It's both cute and unexpected (I would expect much more reserved body language, but I get that this is a play and that's what you do).

HAH!  Only Jyou can see the shooting star because he's the only one with his shit together!  I love that, lol!  (Also, is that really Tailmon's voice actress?  Hmm...)

NO, ETEMON HAS KOU-CHAN, BAD TOUCH, BAD TOUCH although really it's painful that we're still pretending they can't recognize Etemon.

Koushiro can't read the room...  Well, at least that's familiar, lol!

(At this point, my husband is asking what I think, and I'm stuttering over how annoyed I am at the ‘not-recognizing-Etemon’ gag.  My husband is laughing at me and saying I'm at a loss for words. Thanks, love.)

HOLY SHIT did Hikari and Mimi just use the tired "scary stories" trope to bring up the Dark Ocean? I'll give 'em points for that.  I AM INTRIGUED, let's go!!!  Oh.  Oh, they broke it off.  They're not doing anything with it.  That's... sigh.  Thanks, guys. (Caterpillar Sleeping Bag Mimi is cute AF tho).

Hmm, right now I'm thinking that Mimi's actress is so lovely and so lively and really feels like Mimi, but...  I also can't stand how they wrote her so far.  Throwing Koushiro's computer, talking over him, not allowing him to point out when she's contradicting herself, immediately requesting the supplies she forbade people to bring...  This stuff annoyed me in Adventure, but she was 10 and in a situation I would have strongly struggled to handle.  But now she's literally...  Making problems for everyone...  For nostalgia's sake...  At age 16? I'm so torn, lol, because the acting is so good but ahhhhh...  Let's see how this develops...

Hmm hmm, I'm listening to Sora talk about how she doesn't wanna grow up, either... Darling, you're already quite grown up, lol!  Lovely lady. I love how the digimon puppeteers echo their puppets, I can't get enough of watching Agumon's puppet and performer while Sora speaks.  They really did a great job!

I think I'm about an hour into this, maybe a little less?  45 minutes?  So far all that's really happened is that we've established that the characters want to be together as Chosen Children, and that with the exception of Jyou, they aren't emotionally or mentally prepared to seriously think of a future beyond that.  I'll be the first to say that this a compelling and interesting topic, and it's something I've wondered about for them, but...  Shouldn't... more things... have happened by now?  Hmm...  I understood that this would be an issue from Sora's very first bit of dialogue.  No one in the audience needs this much expansion and repetition, particularly with so few new ideas and so little momentum so far.  Tri is intended as a love letter for fans of Adventure, yes?  Mostly adult fans?  We don’t need this much repetition to understand, we truly don’t...

Ah!  Now Yamato is talking about Jyou and how to become an adult, finally dropping some new ideas in.  Love ya, Yams.  And ahh, man, Taichi is just... screaming all of his lines?  The actor is so sweet and cute, but the delivery...  I'm pretty sure it's supposed to reflect that Taichi is putting up fronts like nobody's bidness, though.  Yamato ain't buyin' it (Yamato is Almost Best).  I really want him to grunt, "Tell the truth or shut up." XD XD  GRUNT GRUNT.

 Augh, god, I can't take this tho?  Literally EVERY TIME someone tries to say something that will move the plot forward or inject some vulnerability into this play (except for Papa Jyou), they change the subject.  I'm about halfway through now and this has to be at least the 10th time we've been blocked from useful information and deeper thoughts with this method.  Tri suffers from this same issue, though...  Their plot is such that they can’t sustain tension if issues are faced in a natural way, so they CHANGE THE SUBJECT or DROP A LEAD or IGNORE A LEAD, etc, etc.  Here it's mostly saying, "Well what about you?" or screaming someone else's name, which...  Subtle???  Ah, Taichi's latest method of not saying anything is to ask Yamato to play his harmonica...  Oh my god, he's playing Walk on the Edge!  Okay, okay, you got me, stage play.  Hahaha, I remember Yams being better at playing a harmonica, tho!!!!  (I keep picking on this poor dude who is asked to do all of the awesome shit Yams can do, sorry my dude).

Taichi:  Should we sleep?

Yamato:  Let's talk some more.

Taichi: (shit!  fuck!  He remembered I'm dodging-)  YES BECAUSE HE ISN'T AN IDIOT EXCEPT WHEN ETEMON IS ONSTAGE OMG SOMEONE HELP ME-

Ahhh, and they fade out...  With no forward movement.  THANKS.  I mean we established mood, touched on Taichi/Yamato’s relationship, and set up the problems that will be address later (I assume), but...  It’s so drawn out...  

And now Koushiro is drawing on the ground with a stick, bless you, are you trying to compute something? Sigh...  Ah, bless, Tentomon is intervening, haha! 

But...  As right as Ten-chan is, he's also... Wrong? XD  DON'T TELL YOUR FORWARD MOVEMENT MACHINE TO POWER DOWN!!!  Annnnd yes!  We're an hour in and SOMETHING IS HAPPENING!  I am so ready for something to happen. (Tony: "Can we handle the stimulation, though?")

Oh god, the kids freaking out over their partners acting weird, Gabumon's stage hand collapsing... God, right in the feels, I'm almost mad about how easy it is to get an emotional response this way, lol!  We just love our babies too much, lol!

Wow, Yamato lost it at Kou-chan...  You know, we think of Taichi as carrying a lot of pressure (and rightfully so), but Koushiro carries just as much, as we saw in Kokuhaku.  He's not magic, Yams, he needs his tools, and he doesn't have 'em. Related:  Although I don't much care for how it happened, I definitely would love to read/write/see a story where Koushiro has no computer and has to adapt, though.  I'd also love to see one where a new tech wizard appears and he questions his role, but that's a whole' nother thing.

EWW OH MY GOD DON'T UNDRESS ETEMON MIMI WHAT THE HELL, bleeeeehhhhhhh...  Oh god, he thought his outfit was obvious...  Well, you see Etemon, somewhere in the last 6 years, the kids completely lost their ability to read situations x__x  (I get that this is a joke, I really do?  But???)

 Oh huh, so they're claiming Etemon wandered the Dark Ocean for 100 years?  Didn't he...  Come back in Adventure as MetalEtemon?  Is he referencing his second defeat?  ?????

OH GOD POWER RANGER ETEMON WHAT IS HAPPENING.  Haha it's kind of cute that he's like, "Eh I don't know these two (Hikari and Tailmon).  I don't think Metaletemon saw them?  But honestly I don't remember.  I think he was around Jyou and Mimi mostly?

Wait shit are we seriously doing the actual conflict part WITHOUT JYOU AND GOMAMON?  I am so mad right now.  I kind of feel like they'll burst in at some point???  I hope...

...Etemon has a song and dance number.  I am rolling on the floor in pain with the Chosen.  I'm doing it, guruguru mawaru-  No, NO, YOU PUT TAICHI DOWN-  Goddamit how many bad touch jokes do I have to make-

 OH THANK GOD, is Jyou coming back?  THANK YOU DIGI JESUS!  (Tony: "Wait is your favorite back? Did he leave?  It sounded like he wandered off and now he's wandering back in again."

Gomamon: "YOU'RE BEING GROSS JYOU" honey, oh child, you ain't seen nothing yet.  Oh bless him, he's so happy, can we just watch Jyou bounce around in joy please and no more singing power ranger monkeys?  I take back my complaints about nothing happening, haaaaaaaaaaaalp me Senpaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiii

Oh lord Etemon's back WHELP.  Oh shit, oh shit that Obon joke, THAT'S THE BEST JOKE IN THIS PLAY, isn’t it?  We can't beat that.  Should I... leave?

Taichi, in Etemon's gross ass digital Wonder Land:  "What's wrong, Hikari?"  WHAT'S WRONG?!  WHAT COULD POSSIBLY BE-

(My husband has informed me that I'm growling.  He tells me that, when we were watching Gravity Falls and Mabel tries to tempt Dipper and the others to stay in the perfect imaginary world Bill made for her, I said, "What is she, Satan?  Tempting them to stay here in comfort instead of facing danger to save everyone?"  This is a similar scenario, and it's one of the few things I didn't like about Gravity Falls and OH NO, TAICHI IS THE MABEL OF THIS SITUATION, HELP!!!!  Oh thank goodness, Taichi's done with this too, whew, okay, okay, breathe, stop growling).

Oh God, the Agumon puppet looks dead without the puppeteer, that's actually really awful? These puppets are amazing, guys.  I cannot say enough good stuff about the execution with these puppets.

Hmm, Taichi just begged for mercy, and Etemon is unimpressed...  Reminds me of the fandom after Saikai.  I wonder where they'll take this...

HOLY SHIT Taichi is losing his shit!  I won't say that all of that stammering and dodging earlier is accounted for here, since most of the characters did it to some degree, but it's nice to see the payoff within the same piece (instead of waiting months for the next Tri film and forming your own conclusions in that time period).  I'm actually happy to see a screaming breakdown like this...

Man Koushiro speaks SO QUICKLY, dude, slow it down!!!  Ahhh, he says that we're granted whatever we want here, so Etemon is probably trying to trick us by having us hear Jyou.  SOMEONE IS THINKING USING THEIR BRAINSSS I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!!

JYOU IS HEREEEE TO SAVE THE DAAAAAAYYY THE NEW DIGI JESUS, JYOUUUUUU!!!  (And while I 100% agree that you should be cautious, Kou-chan, c'mon, he arrived saying that you made his phone go off on the train and it made him feel awkward, that's pretty much proof that it's Jyou, lol!).  OH AND NOW KOU AND YAMS ARE ROASTING JYOU, classic.

Koushiro finally takes a stab directly at the heart of this...  It's not even about being children and avoiding adulthood; it's about not wanting to leave August 1st.  I realize exposition is Kou's job, but I didn't expect him to be the one to lay it out after all of this dodging.  I’ll be honest, I’m so pleased with Koushiro in this stage play so far?  I love how he moves, I love how quickly he speaks, I love that he’s able to come out and say this.  I wasn’t into the way the play used him spouting off numbers to indicate intelligence, but that’s a nitpick compared to the ground they gave Koushiro here.  

JYOU.  JYOU.  EVEN IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, KOUSHIRO, I BELIEVE IN YOU.  He continues to be THE BEST, I am in awe, I bow before Jyou.

OH MAN is Jyou gonna work his awkward magic on Yams?  Where's my freakin' popcorn.  Oh, well, hell.  Yama said he... doesn't wanna talk.  *rubs forehead*  Great. Entertaining.  THIS IS FUN I AM HAVING FUN *curls up and cries*

Okay so now Taichi is freaking out and Koushiro is trying to talk to him (roughly 70% of this stage play is someone trying and failing to talk to someone else).  But I really like what Taichi says here- "I have nothing to hesitate about." We all know this isn't true; Taichi is hesitating all over the place right now.  Let's see where this goes!  (Please let it go somewhere this time, lord above).  WAIT- WAIT-  ARE YOU SHOWING ME KOUSHIRO POINTING FINGERS AT TAICHI'S BULLSHIT AND SAYING "I'VE BEEN BY YOUR SIDE FOR SIX YEARS!!" AND THEN CUTTING AWAY?!?!??!?!?!?!?  RAAAAAAAHHHH is this an aneurysm?  I think this is what an aneurysm feels like.  You can't drop lines that good and then CUT AWAY FROM IT GOOD LORD IN HEAVEN-

Sigh, tsk, groan. Hikari, Teeks.  Whacho got for me?  Whoa, I swear Takeru has been a second away from sobbing ever since Etemon revealed himself.  You... you okay, buddy?  Can I, uh, get you anything?  I love how much Hikari has her shit together in contrast.  Oh, and Takeru is about to say something usefu- ohhh, another cut. God, I have a headache.

Hmm, Sora and Meems are cracking, too...  Sora says, "It was simpler when I was everyone's mom.  It's not like me to decide on someone or something."  I really need to hear Mulan's Reflections in the background right now...

Mimi saying "I want to do SO many things!" is refreshing my soul.  I know she's one of the most shippable Chosen, but honestly, if not for the fact that she has a kid that is clearly biologically hers, I would assume that she's too busy doing EVERYTHING to have a family.  My headache recedes just a touch.

Hmm...  I actually really like what Sulky (Yams) is trying to say here.  "I don't want to be with everyone because I'm Chosen.  I want to be with Gabumon because he's my friend," basically.  Part of me sides with Jyou- dude we all get that, it's not a shameful secret- but another part of me...  Deeply appreciates that Yams can separate his duty as a Chosen from his bond with his digimon.  Gabumon is his best friend, his number one.  It doesn't matter if Gabumon can't fight, if Yamato can never digivolve him again. It doesn't even matter that he's a digimon.  It just matters that they're friends, and that they be together somehow, which may seem a more tenuous position by the day.  ...Now I'm sad.  Well played, stage play.  This moment is wonderful.

...Annnnnnd now Yamato is overacting to hell, and I'm laughing instead of thinking and feeling, was that supposed to happen?  Sigh. I still don't understand why he has to be SO SECRETIVE about it, but I mean...  That's our Yams??? 

And now we're back to Kou and Taichi, and they're pulling at each other's throats, as they will, and honestly this is the only "NOW KISS" moment for me, but where was I-

In all seriousness, I really like that the person to finally, FINALLY get the truth from Taichi is Koushiro.  That's how it often was in Adventure too, yes?  But I almost feel like Taichi's breakdown here is a reflection of what fans said in Saikai.  Taichi in Adventure always took action (although he grew so much during Adventure, I'd argue the version of himself he's referencing now wasn't there by the end of Adventure?). He can't fight in Saikai because he's concerned about hurting people/property/the tenuous relationship between humans and digimon.  He can't take action...  But the ability to see that is an indication of growth, not regression.  Will he understand that here?  

Ok god, Agu-chan is dropping some truth bombs...  And the way he and his puppeteer crawl...  I swear these goddamm puppets will be the death of me.

Agu-chan, can you do me a solid and STAMP THIS ALL OVER EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE KIDS PLEASE AND THANK YOU?!

HOLY SHIT IS THAT A METALGRAYMON PUPPET?!  THEY HAD THAT SHIT ALL ALONG AND THEY BRING IT OUT WITH 20 MINUTES LEFT?!  WHAT WOT WOOOOT?!??!  I cannot believe I'm seeing this.  And I love how heavy and cumbersome the huge puppet feels.  Like, I always felt like Metalgreymon would be huge and slow, right?

Etemon, I was done with your shit a LONG time ago...

WAIT he is admitting that he was Metaletemon previously. So... when... exactly did he fall into the Dark Ocean?  Sigh. This is one of those "Let it go, Hidden" things, isn't it.  Uh, wow, I am totally unfamiliar with Kingetemon.  That's... a... thing.  

The use of screens and images in the stage play are really fun!  It must have been awesome to see this show in person O__o;;

OH SHIT, Yamato arrives in a cloud of smoke, that's how you KNOW shit is gonna go down!

OH MY GOD OMEGAMON ONLY GETS A HEAD OH MY GOD I'M DYING (Tony:  "HEY do you know how big that thing's supposed to be?!)

KOUSHIRO IS WEARING THE GOGGLES I'm down.  HIDDEN IS DOWN!  REVIEWER DOWN!!!!

HOLY SHIT JYOU'S "A" ON HIS MOCK TEST WASN'T REAL okay this is also a Good Joke, I applaud. Also I am LOVING sassy Koushiro in this? His way of being sassy is to do it in a way where you're not quite sure if he is trying to be a butt or not, which is 10000000% yes lol (In contrast, Izzy is intentionally awful usually lol).

Annnnd I was right from the start; Jyou is carrying this entire thing, lol.  Oh my god, the delivery on this?!?!??!  AMAZING.

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA. LAUGHTER.  THEME SONG.  DRAMATIC POSE.  I THINK THIS IS THE END SHOT YOU GUYS.

 Now the actors are coming out to speak!

THIS.  LITTLE.  SHIT. I love him?  I...  I love him. The snark is strong in this one. I... he is so... so beautiful.  I...  I think I might be in love?  (This at least indicates that I wasn’t alone in thinking the computer toss was too much???).

YAMATO’S ACTOR JUST SAID "DON'T SAY GOODBYE," Well played, son.  I like the cut of your jib.

 AHHHHH OKAY OKAY I have no idea how I’m going to analyze this.  My surface thought is that this play features a lot of the emotions and inner thoughts of individual characters that can’t fit into Tri, and that (I personally think) Tri suffers from a lack of.  Because there isn’t really ship bait and maneuvering around a new character and plot, we’re able to see relationships that feel much more familiar to Adventure than we often see in Tri (ie, Taichi worried about Hikari, Koushiro worried about Taichi, etc).  As you noticed, I’m very unhappy with the way the play pushes the payoff back as far as possible, cramming it into an AMAZING twenty minutes or so...  But I loved those twenty minutes.

Also, Koushiro feels waaaay more like Koushiro than he does in Tri, except for Kokuhaku.  As your local insane Koushiro fan girl, I am standing and applauding and screaming and crying.  NO PERVY KOUSHIRO.  NO FASHION DISASTERS.  Just Koushiro being supportive and apt and sweet and trying so hard.  I am refreshed.  I am younger.

And the passion and love and energy that went into us, so visibly in human form...  I can’t describe how wonderful the actors and the puppeteers were.  And even though I kind of hated Etemon, his actor was incredible.

So the stage play has amazing points and really irritating points, but on the whole, it’s my second favorite thing Tri has given us (following Kokuhaku).  I will try to write about it more smart-like soon!  If you got this far...  I’m in awe, lol!  High five, my friend!

[gobblewonking]

I drew these like 5 years ago but I never posted them anywhere because 5 years ago I was embarrassed that I was really into “Pacific Rim but the nerds turned into monsters.” I’m not embarrassed about that now (anything can be improved with “and also they turned into monsters” as far as I’m concerned) so here’s my designs. Newt is pretty much @alienfirst​‘s kaiju!newt design because you can’t improve on perfection and Hermann is some unholy combination of Karloff and Slattern with some wings thrown in for the Space Champion.

Oh also I got some fanfic to go along with it, also written like 5 years ago and never finished!!

“Human-Kaiju Mutation Observations day, erm, seven? Doctor Geiszler has convinced me to use his backup recorder to continue document the process, as it has become clear that my hands and fingers are quickly on their way to becoming unsuited to typing and I can’t, quote “write everything on a chalkboard” even though I’ve never used my chalkboards to create any sort of permanent record for my experiments.”

“Those digital recorders can only hold about 200 hours worth of voice memos, Hermann, at this rate you’re going to run out before you even start describing the changes to your stupid face let alone the rest of what’s going on.”

Hermann sighed, but didn’t further acknowledge Newt’s interruption. “The changes of the last week can be read in my typed reports, but to recap, I was quarantined in the lab after displaying a marked change in skin texture. Doctor Geiszler’s mutation was discovered with the discoloration of his mucus membranes, but as my coloration appears to be leaning towards the warmer end of the spectrum as opposed to Newton’s blues and greys, the start of my...changes...went unnoticed.

“Fortunately, it has been decided by both Marshall Hansen and the medical team, that even though New--Doctor Geiszler and I are undergoing an unknown and potentially dangerous mutation caused by an as-yet-unknown mutagen of probable kaiju-origin, quarantine procedures have been changed for our unique circumstances. We aren’t allowed to leave the K-Sci labs, but I don’t believe either of us particularly want to.”

“Where else would we go, dude? You got someplace you’d rather be than right here?”

“As Doctor Gieszler is the most-qualified scientist in the Shatterdome to assess and study our situation--”

“--most-qualified scientist in the WORLD.”

“--and I now share a great amount of his knowledge on the subject of xenobiology thanks to our haphazard Drift, we have been allowed to be the leads on our own study, rather than being studied by a less qualified member of the medical team, who, unscientific aside, wouldn’t know a sensory frond from their own arsehole.”

Hermann coughed and tried to regain his composure. Ever since his drift with Newton, pieces of the other man’s personality had been bleeding through, and that little outburst was definitely Newton’s unprofessional influence, not Hermann’s. Definitely not Hermann’s.

“Ahem. Moving on. Physical changes so far include: shift in texture and pigmentation in the epidermis. Skin is mostly a pale greenish-yellow, shifting to a deep red at the forearms and lower legs. I’ve heard Doctor Geiszler compare his own coloration to that of Leatherback or Otachi for reference, so I suppose I could compare my own to that of, say, Karloff, or Meathead. I do not appear to be growing scales like Doctor Geiszler, but the skin is very thick and tough, and it is becoming harder and harder to collect samples via needles and scalpels.

“Changes to my musculature and skeletal structures seem to have begun, my arms appear to be lengthening throughout both the humerus and the forearm. Hardened growths have begun to emerge from various points, including hips, shoulders, elbows, and face, head and scalp. My hair is not long for this world, I am afraid.”

“Mention your leg, mention your leg!”

“I, erm, seem to have regrown much of the lost muscle from my right leg, and no longer require the use of a cane. In fact, after preliminary testing it appears that,” Hermann paused, his professional facade beginning to falter, “it appears that all signs of multiple sclerosis have been eradicated. I...unscientific aside: I am not sure how I feel about that. M...more testing is needed.”

Hermann clicked off the recorder and sat down heavy on the beat-up couch on his side of the lab. He hadn’t expected that to take so much out of him, but there was something about speaking the changes out loud as opposed to writing them down that made them much more real. He had to gather his thoughts before he threatened to break down. Newton noticed his shift in mood and limped over to him.

“Hey dude, you okay?” Newton’s transformation was farther along than his own, and the changes to his musculature and skeletal systems were beginning to make it very difficult for him to move around. His feet were changing, and it was obvious now that he was growing a fairly large tail. This had confused the man’s balance and center of gravity, causing him to keep overbalancing and using his arms for locomotion.

“No, Newton, I am not okay. Everything hurts and we are turning into monsters. I can only assume that this little adventure will end in the loss of our sense of self to the kaiju hivemind.”

“You don’t know that! There’s no evidence to support that! That’s not on the record!” Newt yelled the last bit towards the turned-off audio recorder. “Besides, the old hivemind is behind the breach, we’re the only ones that would be part of any new hivemind anyways.”

“As if sharing a brain and sense of self with you is any less frightening.”

“Aw, screw you too, buddy.”

“I just wish--nnnggg!” whatever Hermann was about to say was cut off suddenly as he threw himself forward on the couch, doubling over. Every muscle in his body clenched as an immense pressure bloomed in the back of his head. He found it hard to breathe, hard to move. He tried to suck in a lungful of air but it only came to him in short, shallow wheezes.

“Woah, woah, hold on buddy,” Newton was on the couch beside him in a heartbeat, scaly blue hands gnarled with sharp claws wrapped tight around Hermann’s shoulders and chest pressed up against his back. “Shh shh shh, you’re okay you’re okay, this will pass soon, you can get through this. Shh shh shh.”

Hermann wanted to say something sarcastic at Newton, but the other man’s touch and presence was helping. He knew what was happening, it’s not the first time his body had seized during this ordeal. It preceded a bout of, well, “mutating” was the best they had to describe it at the moment. It had happened twice now, he knew it wouldn’t last and it (hopefully) would not kill him. He moaned in pain as it felt like something started sliding out of the back of his head that he desperately hoped wasn’t his brain.

Newton was quiet and continued to hug Hermann with as much pressure as he could muster until the last of the seizing had subsided. Finally Hermann’s muscles relaxed, and he gasped and panted as he was finally able to breathe. Hermann felt something drift onto his pant leg, and cracked open an eye to see what looked like a clump of hair.

“Okay, don’t panic, but um...remember that note you took about your hair?”

Hermann jerked up at that, making more hair flutter down, but Newton kept him still.

“No, no, stay put, I said don’t panic, take a deep breath.” Hermann closed his eyes breathed deeply through his nose. He slowly lifted his hand and tenderly touched the back of his head. The protrusions had grown by what felt like several inches, all over his scalp, and it seemed like hair follicles were just not on the menu for whatever it was that was doing this to him.

“Do I even want to look at a mirror?” He sighed heavily as he brushed some discarded hair off his shoulders and then his pants. He noticed that his hands had changed, too. His pinky fingers were significantly longer than they had been just a few minutes prior. He’d have to reassess himself and report the new changes.

“Ugh I WISH I could figure this thing out!” Newt finally released his grip on Hermann, satisfied that the worst of it was over for now. “If it was just me the changes would make more sense, I’m obviously taking after Otachi, and since I had direct contact with her cloned child I can form some kind of connection there. But you--!”

Hermann had gotten up off the couch and moved over to pick up the hand mirror he kept on his desk these days. He steeled himself before looking into it, not sure what to expect. The first thing he noticed of course, were the protrusions on his scalp, growing upwards in thick, but similarly-shaped deep blue chunks. The resulting texture and contrasting color could almost suggest hair. Almost. His other facial features had changed too, as his already-sharp cheekbones were even more pronounced now, as were the other angles of his face. Dark red, almost geometric-looking lines had appeared under his cheekbones, traveling down his chin. His face was still recognizable, like Newton’s, but undeniably alien. He wasn’t sure if it was Newton’s thoughts in his head or his own that made his features remind him so much of Karloff, the first kaiju taken down by a jaeger. His jaeger. Brawler Yukon was the first successful jaeger, and he had written its code. But obviously that was all just a--

“--coincidence, right?” Newton finished his thought. “It has to be a coincidence. Doing math at a kaiju isn’t going to magically turn you into a mini-kaiju. Right?? Otherwise there’d be more of us??” Newt was pacing back and forth now, growing increasingly agitated as he limped around unsteadily, trying to talk his way through this.

“Why us? Why is it just us? Augh, what is causing this!” It was Hermann’s turn to comfort, as awkward as he was at it, by placing his hands onto Newton’s shoulders.

“We’ll figure it out, Newton.”

[lillaxtrigger]

The ghostly maid: Soul School Switch

Trevor was starting to awaken from his slumber. He noticed that he was not in his bedroom ,rather someone elses. When he looked around, the bedroom was not as big as his, not to mention not as furnished. "What the...this isn't my bedroom." he said outload. "Huh. Voice sounds a little different". He saw a mirror in the room and saw the reflection was a little off. Trevor looked in the mirror and saw Pike in the reflection. "What the..." he said as he moved his arms around. The reflection moved with him. He finally understood what was going on. "I'm inside Pikes body! How!?". Trevor saw a piece of paper on the side of the mirror. He pulled the note out and read it out loud, saying "Dear Trevor, By now you probably figured out that you are in Pike's body and are panicing. Don't worry. I just switched the souls of you and Pike, making it to where both of you can live out eachothers daily activities for a single day. Love, Jewely.". Trevor stopped reading and said "She can just do that? Why would she do that!?". The boy noticed that the back of the note had more writing. He continued, saying " P.S. I did this because of the argument you both had yesterday.". Trevor put the note down and said "Argument?". He thought back to the other day. Trevor and Pike were watching a cheesy, old school sitcom about school, while Jewely was cleaning in the background. "Jeez. This show is stupid. This is not what school is like at all." Pike said. "Yeah. This is...This is dumb. I mean they don't even spend most of the time in actual classes. It's just in the halls or in the cafeteria." Trevor said. "Yeah, and the food should be way worse.". "Don't you mean better?". "What the- No! What are you talking about? Cafeteria food is supposed to be next to inedible.". "Not where I go. The food I eat at my school is amazing.". "What are you...Oh yeah! You go to a private school.". "Private school? My schools not that private. It's out in the open." Trevor said. "No, I mean...(Sigh) Look. There are two kinds of schools. First and most common, there's Public schools, where kids like me can get an education for free. Then there are private schools, where rich kids go. Private schools tend to be...how do I put this?...higher in quality." Pike explained. "Oh, that's what it means.". "Honestly, I'd kill to get in a private school. I bet they're so much better than where I go to school at.". "Eh, maybe not. Things are kind of hard in school for me.". "Oh yeah. It must be real hard going to a school whose quality is much better." Pike said sarcastically. "Hey, all I'm saying is that it's not all sunshine and rainbows as you make it out to be.". "Well, public school isn't as good as you might think either. You wouldn't last a day in the public education system.". "Well, I bet you couldn't last in private school either.". "Well, how are we gonna go to each other's schools?". "We can't. The sad fact is that we can never end this argument because we can assume each other's lives.". "Ugh, let's just drop it.". Jewely thought to herself for a moment, until she got an idea. Back in Pike's bedroom, Trevor said "She thought swapping our souls would work? That's a much better idea then I had. I was just gonna have us go home in each other's clothes. Guess I'd better get dressed." Trevor said. The boy looked in Pike's closet and saw that his friend did not have many options in wears. "Uh, little empty. No matter. I can manage.". After getting dressed, Trevor went downstairs and saw Pike's mom. "Hi 'Mom'. What's for breakfast?". Oh sorry, Pike, sweetie. I haven't gone to the grocery yet. I'm afraid all we have is cereal." she said. "Cereal? Where I find this 'Cereal'?". "...In the cabinet.". Trevor looked in the pantry and saw a rectangle box with an orange bird on it. He looked inside and saw a bunch of brown balls. He reached down into the box and pulled one out. He slowly ate the ball and realized that it tasted like chocolate. He then started to shovel down the cereal. "Oh for goodness sake, Pike. Use a bowl." the mom said. Trevor got out a bowl and poured the cereal into it. As he was eating, the boy said "A little dry, but I kind like it.". "Aren't you gonna pour milk into it?" the mom said. Trevor stopped eating and looked at his bowl of cereal. After pouring milk into the bowl and continued eating. "Oh, that's way better! Even the milk turns chocolate.". The mother looked at her son with concern and said "Pike, honey. Are you okay?". "Uh, yeah. I'm fine." Trevor responded. "Well, you might wanna finish eating. You're gonna be late for the bus.". "Bus?". "Just get going.". The bus stopped at the drive way and Trevor slowly approached. He saw the bus driver and he said "Come on kid. You coming on or not?". "Um, Okay." Trevor responded. He got on and saw a bunch of other kids on the bus. As he walked along, someone stuck his leg out and made Trevor trip. Most of the kids laughed at him. "Ugh. I wonder how Pike is doing with his morning routine." Trevor said. Pike was in the dining room, eating a full plate of breakfast. As he was eating, he said "Oh man, this is gonna be great. Stepping into the shoes of a rich kid for a day. Today's gonna be awesome!". Jewely floated in front of him and said "Well I'm glad your pepped up, bright and early. I hope your enjoying you are enjoying your breakfast. Maîtriser 'Trevor'.". "Oh I am. Give my regards to the chef. N'kay, Jewels?". "Certianly. But you might want to finish eating soon so you can get dressed.". "Alright. Guess I'll pick something out of Trevors closet and-" Pike said, before Jewely cut him off, saying "Actually, we already have your uniform ready for you.". Pike stopped eating and said "...Uniform?". Pike got into a school uniform, saying "Ugh. This is so itchy. Do I really have to wear this all day?". "Not all day. Just for the school day." Jewely said. "The collar is scratching my neck.". "Imagine having to wear this nearly every day. Now you need to get to the limo, post haste. You don't want to be late.". "Limo!? I get to go to school in a limo!? Aw yeah!". Pike said. Then started jumping up and down in glee. Trevor got off the bus and said "Well that was unpleasant. It was just 20 straight minutes of screaming kids.". He got inside the school and said to himself "I just realized something. I don't know what classes I should go to or when. How I am I gonna get to my classes?", then put his hands in his pockets. He noticed something in his pocket and pulled out another note. He read it, saying "Dear Trevor, By the time you pulled this note out, you will probably be confused as to where you should go. Don't worry, I've written a schedule of all of Pike's classes and where they are at on the back of this note. Hopefully, you won't get lost. Have a good day at school. Love, Jewely.". Trevor looked on the back of the note and saw that what she said was true. All of Pikes classes were on the back of the note. All where and when to go. "Huh, neat.". Trevor walked around the school, looking for his class. "Let's see. English class should be right around this hall. Man, it's awfully dirty around here." he said. "Hey Pike!" someone said. Trevor suddenly got pushed onto a set of lockers. He looked behind him and saw a group of big teens in front of him. "You got my money?" the biggest teen said. "Eh...who are you?" Trevor asked. "Are you dense? I'm Greg, remember?" the big teen said. "Okay. What money?". "The money that you're supposed to give me, you idiot.". "I didn't know I was supposed to give you money.". "Well you better have it by the end of the day, else I'm gonna kill you. Got it?" Greg said. "Alright, just let me through. I'm gonna be late." Trevor said, then walked off. "I guess the hallway are less kept in public schools.". When he got to the classroom, Trevor looked around and said "Woah...These are a lot of students packed in one room.", then took his seat. As Trevor was listening to the teacher and answering questions, he thought "This stuff is easy. Why is it so easy? I guess because that the teacher has to accomidate for so many different kinds students, they have to keep it easy. I wonder how Pike's morning routine is going.". As Pike got out of the limo, he noticed the outside of the school was clean and kept. "Wow, this place is much cleaner. The grass is mowed, there's a flower garden, no trash on the lawn. I could get used to this.". "Well, well, well. If it isn't Lord Trevor." someone said. Pike looked behind him and saw a well dress and pompous boy with a fancy cane. Pike said to the boy "Hey...you...How are you?...". "Do you not remember me?". "Should I?". "Augh. The nerve. It is I, your sworn rival. Baratone!". A moment of awkward silence passed before Pike broke it by saying "Uuuhhh...Look Tony. Can I call you Tony? You seem like a really interesting guy. But I gotta get to class. I'll see you later, okay? Okay." as he walked off. "He...forgot me...and after everything we've been through. He will pay for this.". "What a weirdo. Now if this schedule Jewels gave me is right, then the door to history class should be right around...here." Pike said. Pike got it to the classroom. He looked around and said "Huh, not many students here.". "Is there something wrong with that, Mr. Trevor?" the teacher said. "Um, uh, no. Not at all.". "Good. Might I suggest you take your seat so we can get started with class.". "Sure, sure." Pike said, then walked the only seat that wasn't taken. He looked around and saw that some of the students were snickering at him. "Geez, some of these guys are really judgemental. It's alright, just don't focus on them. Focus on the teacher." Pike thought. As the lesson went on, Pike thought "I am completely lost. This is too much information at once to handle! I feel like my brain is going to explode. And this is just a single lesson. If I don't get out of here soon, I feel like I'm gonna-", then the bell finally run and he quietly said "Oh thank god." He bolted out of the classroom. After running, Pike said to himself "I hope lunch comes soon." After breezing through half the day, Trevor made it to the cafeteria. He grabbed a tray and said "The food here can't be as bad as Pike said.". Then some low-quality food plopped on his plate. "Um. You got something...better." he said. "Well, I'm sorry your majesty. This is the best we got. Now move along." the lunch lady said in a sarcastic tone. When he took a seat amongst the lunchroom. A boy with glasses sat next to Trevor and said "Hey Pike, what's up?". "Uh...who are you?". "It's me...Jeff...we've been friends for like two years?". "Um...Oh, oh yeah. Jeff. (Guess it didn't cross my mind that Pike has other friends than me.) Hey, can I ask you something? Why do I owe Greg money?" Trevor said. "Do you owe Greg money?" Jeff asked. "I don't think so. But he says that I do.". "Then you don't. He's just saying that just to try and rob you.". "Alright...What's with this food? I think it's moving." Trevor said. Looking at the stuff that was supposed to be food, Trevor saw it moving very slightly. "It's always like that. Are you feeling okay, buddy?" Jeff said. "Yes, I-I'm fine.". Trevor picked up a spoon and scooped up a big clump of food. He slowly put the food into his mouth and started to cough. Jeff roughly patted Trevors back, making him cough up his food. As he caught his breath, he said "How can anyone eat this? How are they legally serving this? How can they call this food?". "Well, why do you think most people bring bagged lunches? Come to think of it, why didn't you bring a bagged lunch?" Jeff said. "I guess I'm having an off day. Could...could you share some of yours?". "Sure pal. Although, I don't really have much.". Jeff shared his lunch with Trevor. Pike was at a lunch table, awing at the glorious platter of food that was before him. "Aw man. Those classes were brutal. But it might be all worth it to try rich people food." he said. Pike grabbed a chicken nugget and dipped it in ketchup. He took a bite of the nugget and was shocked by the taste. "Oh my God...This single chicken nugget is more delicious then nearly all of the stuff that my family buys at the supermarket. The sad part is, that food after this with never satisfy me ever again. Guess I have to make the most of this." Pike said. The boy savored every bite as if it were his last, but dropped his spoon when he saw something that caught his eye across the hall. It was a girl with long, scarlet hair and the face of a cherub. He started to approach her, but stopped when some other girls led by a girl with brunette hair got to her first. He listened when she said to the red head "Hello, Jenny.". "What do you want, Burnadette?" she said. "Oh just to ask you something. Why is a girl, born of a rich family, trying to get in the basketball league?" Burnadette said. "Why do you care?". "Oh, it's just, that it's not really normal for a girl like you to do.". "Well what wrong with that?" Pike said. "Um, who are you?" Burnadette said. "I'm Pi-...Trevor. My name is Trevor.". "Well, Trevor. I'm guessing you might be new here, so let me lay down some rules. Most of the kids that go to this school are decendance of wealthy families with large corporation and companies. They will go and inherit those companies. So people like Jenny here should stop wasting their time with petty games like basketball and learn to be a successful businesswoman. I'm just trying to help her.". "Well, what if she doesn't want to be a businesswoman?" Pike said. "Well, how do you expect her to keep her fortune then?". "Well, you said she was trying to get in the basketball league, right? Do you know much sports players make a year? Millions of dollars!". Some of the girls were shocked upon hearing this. Bernadette scoffed and walked away, with her gang following behind. "Why did you do that?" Jenny said. "Well, I...I just can't stand people like her. Thinking that they know what people should become.". "Whatever. I don't need some boys help.". "First off, I didn't know that help was gender specific. Second, I wasn't helping. I was just giving my opinion on the situation.". "Fine, is that it?". "Actually, I was hoping I could sit with you.". "Why?" Jenny asked. "Well, because I think...I think you're...Can I just sit with you? Please?" Pike said as he blushed."I guess." Jenny said. "Awesome. Let me just grab my-" Pike said, but saw that his tray was empty. "What happened!? I had a tray half full of food here!". "Wow, you really are new here. You shouldn't leave your food alone here. Passing people will take bits of your lunch until nothing's left." Jenny explained. "Good Lord. The people in this school are the worst.". Tell me about it. You want me to share some of mine?". "I'd like that. Actually, I came over because I wanted to ask you something?" Pike said. "What is it?" Jenny responded. As Trevor walked out of the cafeteria, he said to himself. "That was some the worst food that I've ever had...Jeff was nice though.". He then bumped into a familiar figure. "Well if it isn't Pike. You got the money you owe me?". "No. I don't. In fact, I don't owe you any money. Period." Trevor said. "Are you sure about that?" Greg said as he cracked his knuckles. "Yes.". Greg wound up and threw a punch at Trevor, but he dodged and countered by punching him in the nose. After he was knocked back onto his friends, Greg touched his nose and saw that it was bleeding. The bully growled as his friends approached. "Uh-oh." Trevor said. Trevor was running in the halls, trying to run from the mob of bullies. "When I get my hands on you Pike, you are so dead!" Greg shouted. "I really should buy Pike some better shoes. These ones are falling apart. Maybe I can give him a pair of mine." Trevor thought. After turning several corners, jumping down some stairs, and going through several doors, Trevor managed to put enough distance to hide. The bullies couldn't find him. After the coast was clear, Trevor came out and said "That is it! I can't take it here anymore! How does Pike put up with this every weekday? I don't care if the day is nearly over. I'm out of here!". Pike finally got home at the mansion. As he walked in the living room, he said "Hey Jewels, I'm home. Today was pretty great.". "Oh I hope it was." someone said. Trevor was sitting on the couch, waiting along side Jewely. "Oh hey, Trevor. What's up?". "Pike, I think it's about time things go back to normal." Jewely said. "Now hold on a minute. Let's not be to hasty. Maybe we can keep this going another day or so...maybe a week.". "Oh no. Pike, don't do this.". Jewely disappeared and Pike said "I'm just saying that maybe we should let this go on a little longer so that the aspects of each others lives set in and we can really appreciate what we got." Pike said. A blue hand came out of his chest and pulled out a small blue light. The boy fell unconscious. When Pike woke up, he saw that he was not in Trevor's body anymore. Rather, he was back in his own and vise virsa. "Pike, why?" Jewely said. "It's not for what you think." Pike responded. "So you didn't want to take my body so you can live my life of luxury?". "No, I just wanted to have your body of a little longer because of I what I did in it.". "What?". Just then, violent banging could be heard at the front door. Jewely looked out through the window and saw Greg and the othr bullies, trying to knock the door down. "He's in here. I saw him go in here." Greg said. "Jeune maîtriser Trevor. I believe there are some rugged gentleman wanting to enter. Are they friends of yours?" Jewely said. "Oh no! How did Greg find me here?" Trevor said. "Greg is after you!? Why!? What did you do in my body!?" Pike said. "What did YOU do in MY body!?" Trevor said. Suddenly, the alarm rang out. "Now what?". Jewely looked out back and saw Baratone with several dressed men outside. "I believe monsieur Baratone wants to have a word with you." she said. "Tony? Why is he here?" Trevor said. "I may have heard him swearing his revenge on me." Pike said. "Why? What did you do to him?". "I don't know exactly. He said something about being your rival and that you two have been through some stuff.". "He not my rival. He some dumb blowhard who full of himself.". "Well what do we do now? We have a group of angry bullies in the front, and some pompous jerk with his goons in the back. We're pinned.". Both of them tried to think of a plan, with Pike saying "What if we just call the police?". "That may work with Greg, but maybe not Tony. He'll just pay them off." Trevor said. Then Jewely chimed in by saying "Trevor, if maybe so bold as to act. I have a solution.". "Sure Jewely. What did you have in mind?" Trevor asked. "Just look out the side of the building and watch." she said, then flew off. The bullies were trying to breakdown the door. Jewely stood to the side and whistled to get one of the bullies attention. "Hey, I saw something in the corner." he said. The mob followed. Jewely flew to the other side and grabbed the attention of one of Tony's goons. "Hey, boss. I saw something fly by just now." he said. "Follow it." Tony said. Trevor and Pike were looking out the side of the mansion. Jewely phased in and said "Get down!"."Why?" Trevor said. "Just hide and watch.". All three of them hide while watching out the window. The group of bullies and Tonys entourage intersected. "Excuse me. young ruffians. You wouldn't happen to know if the young man of this residence is home, do you?" Tony said. "He he. What's with the stupid cane. Are you a short old man or something? (old man mocking tone) Look at me. I can't poop right.". Greg said. "How dare you. This cane has been passed down in my family for generations. It is the pride of my family. But I don't expect a bunch of peasant to understand.". "Peasants! I'll show you who's a peasant!" Greg said, then tried throwing a punch at Tony, but one of his goons stopped him by punching Greg in the nose. "Ah, come on! Again!?". Both groups started to fight, throwing punches and kicks left and right. "Oh, I get it. Greg would likely set off Tony's attitude and get into a fight." Trevor said. When they stopped fighting, both groups were exhausted to the point where they could not move. "Well that all worked out well. But what do we do with them now?" Pike said. "I'll put them out at the front gate." Jewely said. The maid went out to get them out of the yard. "Listen, Pike. I'm sorry about saying that public school was easy. Even though the classes are a breeze, the social structure and security is down right insane. And the food is out right inedible. It actually got me to be thankful that I go to a private school." Trevor said. "Well, Private school isn't exactly a walk in the park either. The food is nice, but the classes are hard as cement. And most of the students are judgmental jerks who think they're better than everyone else.". "Yeah...But the day wasn't all bad though. I like Jeff. Maybe you can introduce me to him sometime.". "Yeah, and Jenny pretty great too.". "Yeah, I- Wait, who's Jenny?" Trevor asked. "Oh yeah, I forgot. You see the reason I wanted to stay in your body for a bit longer was because I met this really awesome girl at school, and I kinda asked her out on a date." Pike said. "You What!?".

[thezombiemamma]

About a month ago, my amazing friend Young Ajummah and I were wandering around KCON NY, talking about this and that and as we were wandering around the Prudential Center in the sweltering heat, an idea came to us. We both realized that while we both shared a passion for Korean music, we had both chosen to focus our passion on more specific areas. Where Young Ajummah is pretty much an expert on all things R&B, hip hop and indie, I’m more of an idol group uhh…

Ajummah: Aficionado, lol. We shouldn’t call ourselves fangirls or fanatics (even though we are). Aficionados sounds much better.

Zombie: That works for me! At least it makes me sound a little less crazy… Hahaha!

Anyway… Realizing we’re both aficionados in different areas, we thought it might be fun to get together once (or twice) a month and talk about different artists/groups, as a way of sort of expanding our musical horizons. And so our Tater Tot Music Talk was born!

Why Tater Tots, you might ask? Well, because compared to the big potatoes in the world of Hallyu content creators, YA and I consider ourselves to be nothing more than tiny tater tots.

Ajummah: So why did we start with Monsta X and Millic? Because the sun aligned with the planets and created this perfect…. Actually Zombie had just returned from Monsta X’s concert and had a special moment during her hi-touch. I need to live through her. PLUS I knew next to nothing about the group and was currently going gaga over Millic’s new album. We decided it would be best to trade information.

Zombie: So trade we did! Or maybe I just got a bit carried away with my post-concert fangirling, which is probably really what happened. Sorry about that!

Ajummah: It’s quite alright! I have heard of them before and know of like, 1 song. I need to learn more about them. Also I want to tell you all about Millic because he is so amazing and he doesn’t sing or rap or…well we’ll get to that, lol.

Zombie: Hahaha! I love that we both have so much to fangirl over! Though you might end up regretting that you said you ever wanted to know more about Monsta X… Don’t worry, I’ll try not to fangirl too much. *falls over laughing* Pretty sure I’m gonna fail in that department but let’s give it a go anyway, shall we? I think it’s time I introduce you to the seven ridiculously amazing bias wreckers, otherwise known as Monsta X…

I’m starting with Shownu because he’s my original No Mercy bias and I will always love him no matter what.

He’s also the leader of the group, an incredible vocalist, a lethal dancer and the cutest munchkin ever. He also has arms you can actually climb on and I swear, someday he’s gonna kill me.

Ajummah: Oooh he’s very handsome! These photos…

Zombie: Right!?! He’s the one I made eye contact with at the concert and made smile like a shy puppy because I made a heart at him. HE WAS SO CUTE!!! Augh! He’s such a sweet teddy bear! I just love him! Have I mentioned how much I love him? Because I really flipping love him!

Ajummah: Lol!

Zombie: Okay, moving on… This is Jooheon…

He’s my other favorite. He’s the main rapper of the group, a songwriter, lyricist, producer… You name it, he probably does it and he’s just amazing. At everything.

Ajummah: Do they take lessons on how to take pictures like this?

Zombie: See!?! Amazing at everything! Including taking pictures! Hahaha! He has the incredible ability to be both freaking adorable and insanely sexy. Which, honestly, I don’t know how he does it but he does and really, it’s just not fair. His dimples kill me. His smile kills me. His songs kill me. His rapping kills me. He just kills me. In every flipping way possible. And I love him for it. At the concert he admitted that he was the most “romantistic” of the group and I died because I can totally see that about him. The other members said it was because he writes such sweet songs and you know what? He totally does! In some ways, he kinda reminds me a little bit of Zico, but sweeter. And when he sings… Oh lordy! I melt. What is it about rappers when they sing? I just can’t handle them when they do that! It’s like my friggin’ kryptonite! And so is Jooheon… ㅋㅋㅋ

Ajummah: I like the blonde picture.

Zombie: I love him as a blonde *siiiggghhhh* It’s my favorite look for him and, of course, he was blonde at the concert so I was dead. Dead. Dead. All night long. Dead.

Ajummah: He’s probably young enough to be my child but he looks so handsome here!

Zombie: He’ll be 23 in October so he’s not that young. Well, not young enough to be your kid anyway.

Ajummah: Okay, good! Oooh maybe I can teach you about Millic since he just came out with the best album I’ve heard in a while.

Zombie: Yes! Maybe you should jump in with a little Millic now before I end up spazzing myself into a frenzy… Though maybe it’s a bit too late for that. Hahaha!

Ajummah: I think you should keep going.

Zombie: Okay, then! This is Kihyun…

I can’t even with him anymore. Not after the concert and the high touch… Just… Nope! You can see why I always thought he was an adorable munchkin though.

Ajummah: Pink hair. The pink hair looks very nice on him.

Zombie: That pink hair is my absolute favorite and also just so darn deceptive! It makes him look cute and innocent so you fall for him because you think you’re safe. But then, when you see him in real life, you find out he’s not an adorable puppy! Oh no! He’s a darn sexy, flirty, gorgeous little angel-voiced bias wrecker! AUGH! At one point during the concert he decided that he needed to flash his abs, just to make sure I (and everyone else in the room) was really good and dead. Needless to say, it worked. He’s always been a favorite of mine but now he’s a favorite in a whole different way… Little punk! Haha

Ajummah: Oh I like glasses on him.

Zombie: Glasses are a particular favorite of mine. I don’t even know why. I mean I wear glasses every frickin’ day! It’s not like they impart any magical power when I put them on and yet, when these darn boys wear them, it’s like they become irresistible! What gives!?!

Okay, moving on…

This is Minhyuk and I love him too. He always makes me smile.

He’s so funny and goofy and kind of a punk but in a fun way. At the concert he said he was the bad boy of the group and NO ONE believed him. He’s too sweet to be a bad boy! lol

This is Hyungwon…

He wasn’t there last night because he was recently diagnosed with cellulitis and he’s being treated at home instead of touring. He’s a fantastic dancer and always seems to be pretty quiet but since he wasn’t at the concert, I can’t say anything about him for sure. All the members missed him a lot and kept apologizing for him not being there but no one was upset. We all just want him to get better soon.

This is I.M. He’s the maknae and the other rapper of the group…

He lived in the US for a while when he was a kid so his English is pretty good but he had moments when he’d forget a word in English and just be so adorable trying to figure out what to say. He was wearing his glasses during the high touch and I just wasn’t prepared for that level of cuteness. All thoughts went flying right out of my brain! Imagine that!

And this is Wonho…

He’s pretty much everyone’s favorite. Mostly because he looks like an actual god. (Hello muscles!) He’s super sweet and has a great voice and is an amazing dancer and is just completely swoon-worthy in every way. Jooheon actually stopped the show every time Wonho took of his jacket because the crowd would cheer so loudly they couldn’t go on. It was so funny. Jooheon was just like “okay, let’s all stop and cheer for his muscles” and we would and then the show would go on. Beyond his muscles, he’s a beautiful person, inside and out and his smile and touch will make your feel like life is worth living. I swear, my hand in his was more than I ever expected in life and it was wonderful. Even if I did forget to breathe.

Ajummah: I feel like I need to take notes. What song do you suggest I listen to from them? The only song I know is “Hero.”

Zombie: “Hero” is good but they have so many other songs… It’s kinda hard for me to pick just one so here are a few videos for you; just to help you get started…

This is their newest track so it’s probably the one you’d hear people talking about the most right now. It’s the track they added to their latest album repackage. This next track is the one they named their world tour after and I absolutely love the choreo for this one. That’s why I went with this video over the original MV.

I love the choreo for this one!

Ajummah: Lol, okay I will check them all out

Zombie: This is one of my favorites

It’s not exactly a Monsta X song but it’s written by Jooheon and performed by him and I.M and Sam Ock and it’s just so sweet, I can’t help but love it. Plus Jooheon sings in it and that kills me. And it’s about coffee… sort of… so how could I not love it? lol

Ajummah: Okay now it’s my turn to fangirl. I think the only thing Millic has in common with Monsta X is that their names both start with M, lol I apologize for random acts of spazzing in advance.

Zombie: Bwahahahahahaha! I’m pretty sure you already know that spazzing is something you’ll NEVER have to apologize for! At least not when I’m around. lol

Ajummah: I’ve known about Millic for a while because I like the music crew he’s part of (Club Eskimo which Dean & Crush are a part of) but he recently came out with his album called Vida.

Zombie: Okay, so Dean and Crush I know and I’ve heard of Club Eskimo… That’s a start, right?

Ajummah: Good start! I saw him when Crush came to the States last year (on my bday no less) and I remember commenting that he was my new favorite but I was drinking a lot at the time and well…you know my brain.

Zombie: OMG! Was Millic the DJ for Crush’s U.S. tour last year!?! Gah! If you say yes I’m gonna feel totally stupid! I was at that show in Chicago and didn’t even realize this was the same guy!!!

Ajummah: I felt the same way. I am sticking to my story of alcohol clouding my brain, lol But also they didn’t do much with promoting him, so if you didn’t read the fine print, you wouldn’t have known.

Zombie: Hahaha!

Ajummah: Anyway after listening to his music on YouTube and buying the album (support good music people) I went fangirl mode and have been searching the interwebs for everything about him. Of course he’s baby. 24 y/o but I won’t hold it against him. He’s a dj/producer and is on the HIGHGRND label. What does this mean? No rap, no singing, just really good instrumentals but his album has a lot of features on it.

Zombie: I’m all for solid instrumentals.

Ajummah: I think you should listen to Paradise which features Fanxy Child (Dean, Zico, Crush & Penomeco). It’s a very chill R&B song, perfect for summer in my opinion. My favorite song on the album besides that one is Treasure Island. I don’t really know the artist singing the lyrics but my goodness he and Millic make a great combination.

Zombie: Oooh! You just put Dean, Zico & Crush together in the same sentence… I’m sold!

Ajummah: There doesn’t seem to be much about him compared to what you told me about Monsta X.

Zombie: Well, he is just 1 guy and Monsta X is 7…

Ajummah: True. But I wish there were more on the internet about him. He did release a video interview where he talked about his time in the States and how he learned how to create music. That was a recent interview though.

Zombie: I’m gonna have to go check that out! Especially now that I know I’ve already seen him in concert once… *smh* Also, “Paradise” is amazing! You’ve successfully convinced me that I need more Millic (and Fanxy Child, ‘cause OH MY WORD! That’s a fantastic combo of greatness!) in my life and you only have to have me watch 1 MV! I think that’s a pretty solid testament to how great this music is!

I suppose we should probably wrap this up but before we go, I have to ask… Did my over-enthusiastic love of Monsta X (combined with an unhealthy dose of post-concert feels) scare you away from this idol group or have I convinced you they’re at least worth a listen?

Ajummah: I’m definitely going to listen to them more now. I mean besides “Hero” because that is truly an awesome song.

Zombie: Isn’t it though? *sigh*

Well, I guess that’s it for the first edition of our Tater Tot Music Chat. If you have anything you’d like to add to this conversation, feel free to do so in the comments below. Ooh! And if there’s anyone you’d like us to talk about in the future, just let us know. Until next time, be sure to check out Young Ajummah’s website and be sure to follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Also, before I go, I have to give credit where credit is due. To to all the amazing fans out there who share all their photos with the world, I have to say thank you for sharing your work with the world! What would the rest of us do without you? You’re the best!

Tater Tot Music Talk: Monsta X x Millic About a month ago, my amazing friend Young Ajummah and I were wandering around KCON NY, talking about this and that and as we were wandering around the Prudential Center in the sweltering heat, an idea came to us.

[gumnut-logic]

V. T. Green

Title: V. T. Green

Part One

Author: Gumnut

24 - 25 Aug 2019

Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS

Rating: Teen

Summary: “Did you discover this, Brains?” He frowned. There was something familiar about this. Maybe they had discussed it recently. 

“Oh, no, this is V. T. Green. The man is brilliant.”

Word count: 1946

Spoilers & warnings: None.

Timeline: Standalone

Author’s note: This is one that I have been meaning to write for some time. I hope you enjoy it :D

Disclaimer: Mine? You’ve got to be kidding. Money? Don’t have any, don’t bother.

-o-o-o-

The world was blurry as he let his head slide on one hand and stared out through the kitchen window. Gordon was in the pool, swimming his morning laps. The sun had yet to rise and Virgil had broken several laws of physics rising himself. This time of day should not exist. But then it didn’t, because it wasn’t day yet because there was no sun!

But no, supersonic big brother wanted to do some special training today. Training that for some reason had been scheduled at sunrise.

It was possibly important, likely scheduled just to get his ass out of bed at this godawful hour. Occasionally there were some issues with having your brother in command. Brotherly love only went so far, brotherly snark had more mileage, and Scott did have that twist of his lips when he announced the schedule.

Four pairs of eyes had immediately turned to him and his return glare had been insufficient to deflect the amusement that followed.

But it was okay. It was fine. He had his own skill drills up his sleeve. Two am would be convenient for him next time, definitely. After all, they all had to keep their skill sets up, didn’t they?

In the meantime, it was black coffee and repeated attempts to focus on Mateo. Mateo was distinctly blurry, and dark and,,,,

“Hey, Virg!” Alan whacked him on the back.

His face nearly ended up in his coffee. “Alan? What the hell?”

“And good morning to you, too, big bro. Ready for this morning’s run?”

He stared at his bright and peppy, yes, peppy, youngest brother. Augh. “Go away.”

“Aww, did the big bear have to get out of bed a little early?”

“Alan...”

“C’mon, Virg, it’s gonna be fun. A race around the island, wind in your hair, blood pumping...it’s gonna be awesome.”

Virgil stared at him, his brain slowly picking up that something wasn’t quite right. “Alan, why aren’t you comatose?”

“What do you mean, big bro?”

A slow blink. “You hate mornings almost as much as I do. Who are you and what have you done with my little brother?” His eyelids drooped all of their own volition.

“It’s called prepared, bro. I’m in it to win it.”

Virgil’s eyes narrowed. “Are you on something? Because if you are, Scott’s going to kill you, and once I’m awake, I’ll resuscitate you so I can kill you again.”

“That’s violence, bro. It’s cool, I promise.”

An arched eyebrow that almost hurt. “What did you do, Alan?”

“Nothing. Well, nothing you aren’t already doing.”

“You drank coffee.”

“Noooooooo.”

“What did you do?”

“A little caffeine is all.”

The arched eyebrow flipped into a frown. “How much?”

“Enough.”

Virgil’s back straightened. “Alan.”

“I’m fine, bro, I promise. I know what I’m doing. I’m not stupid.” A blond frown. “Besides, it’s not like you don’t do the same with your coffee after coffee after coffee technique.”

Virgil’s lips thinned, but to be honest, the kid was right, he didn’t have a leg to stand on. But... “You’re not yet an adult, Alan.”

“Yet, I take the responsibilities of an adult, Virgil.”

“Your body isn’t fully mature!”

“Well, thanks for that, Doctor Virgil!”

“You have to look after yourself!”

“Hard to do anything else when I have four brothers mother-henning me all the time!”

“We worry about you!”

“Well, don’t! I can look after myself.”

“Alan!”

“Virgil!”

“Hey! What the hell is going on here?!”

Virgil found himself looming over his little brother, one brain cell after another slowly catching up with what the hell was going on. Bright blue eyes were staring up at him defiantly, his little brother’s shoulders tight and fists clenched at his sides.

Virgil forced his own fists to uncurl. There was a reason why he preferred not to see this time of day. Disturbed sleep disturbed his calm, his control, and things like this happened.

Scott loomed over the both of them and Virgil took a step back, slumping back onto his seat and hulking over his coffee almost in a pout. “Better ask Alan, he’s the one being stupid.”

“Speak for yourself, Virgil.”

“Both of you, shut it.” Scott could glare with the best of them, but Virgil had exhausted what little energy he had and ignored him. “Alan, dosed himself with caffeine.”

“Virgil!”

He could feel the laserbeams shooting out of Scott’s eyes switching targets and landing on Alan. There was no satisfaction, just blergh. Here we go.

And sure enough, Scott started in on his little brother. There was, of course, shouting. Virgil idly wondered how come Scott got to yell and he didn’t. But then Virgil didn’t really like yelling anyway.

Coffee. Its warmth drifted down his throat and spread into his bones. Oh god, he needed it. Maybe a second one after this? But then the word ‘caffeine’ came up amongst the explosions beside him and he reconsidered. No need to become a target himself.

He let his foggy mind drift a little. It was all his fault really. He could have gone to bed early, but he had made the mistake of getting into a discussion online with an engineering idiot. The topic had become heated, chemical formulas launched like bombs and laced with reactive equations enough to take out half the engineering community. In the end, he’d thrown a hissy fit and sat up to three am writing up his argument. He’d chucked it onto his blog with a great deal of satisfaction and was looking forward to rubbing it in the man’s face.

Just as soon as he could boot his brain.

Coffee, give me strength.

Gordon wandered in at some point, a damp towel around his neck. Being Gordon, he prodded the      conflagration in progress and got burnt. The argument became three sided.

Virgil considered snoozing on the counter.

Then he hit on the idea that he could possibly sneak back to bed. He stood up slowly.

Brains bounded into the room, tablet in hand. “Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Brilliant, so b-brilliant!”

The argument came to a sudden halt, four pairs of eyes turning towards the engineer.

The engineer didn’t notice, eyes glued to his tablet. Max bounded in behind him, whirring excitedly. It was the robot who prevented the distracted Brains from walking into the kitchen counter.

“Oh, thank you, M-Max.” His eyes didn’t leave the tablet. “Did you see the p-polymer ratio? Amazing! Such elegance. You know, I am quite d-disap-pointed that I didn’t think of this myself. The applications are going to b-be in-numerable.”

The distraction was enough to break the fuel lines of the argument and Scott settled for a final threat, Alan a final glare and Gordon, a snort of derision. The moment to escape was lost and Virgil slumped where he sat.

Damn.

“Virgil, you going to eat before we run?”

Alan was right, Scott mother-henned.

“Maybe.” Ugh, c’mon coffee kick in. He needed operational braincells.

Scott was peering closely at him. “Earth to Virgil.”

“Shut up, Scott. You got me up at the ass end of the day, I’m here. Don’t expect much more.”

His brother grinned, and Virgil had the odd urge to thump him. Just because this was his element, didn’t mean he had to be a smart ass about it. “Your next physical is going to be hell.”

The grin faltered. Aah, that’s better. Hmm, perhaps his brain was slowly booting. Go, coffee.

“Virgil! You h-have to see these equations. They are brilliant!”

What? Brains’ tablet shifted the remains of his coffee to one side and Virgil found himself staring at a series of numbers that made little sense at this time of the morning. “Brains, looks great. Can I review them later? I’m not all here yet.”

The engineer didn’t appear to hear him. “Look at the polymer decay to reaction ratio! This is a self-healing polymer!”

Huh? He frowned and forced himself to focus. The appropriate neurons clicked into place in his brain and suddenly what he was seeing made sense.

Shit.

He grabbed the tablet, eyeing the equations and spinning calculations in his head. Brains was right. This was perfect. The polymer would be able to self-heal with the application of a mild electrical current. Give it a pattern to follow and it would populate and keep it populated, even after disturbance.

“Did you discover this, Brains?” He frowned. There was something familiar about this. Maybe they had discussed it recently.

“Oh, no, this is V. T. Green. The man is brilliant.” There was that word again. Brilliant.

But it still took a second for it all to click into place.

V. T. Green was his blog. V. T. Green was his pseudonym online, used for obvious reasons to keep his identity hidden. The blog had been for amusement originally. A place to stash his favourite music and art, but at some point, he had found himself venturing into engineering circles and getting into discussion with the online community. It made for interesting discourse and he was able to keep up to date with some of the latest innovations. Not that he could share his own much and IR was well ahead of the majority of the world thanks to one Hiram Hackenbacker, but on occasion he would fiddle with ideas and make suggestions. It was also a great place to postulate out-there concepts.

The equations on Brains’ tablet were Virgil’s.

“Where did you get these?”

Brains was full of far too much energy for this time of the morning. “Green p-posted them during the night and they have h-hit the world by s-storm.”

“What?”

Brains frowned at him. “Haven’t you heard of V. T. Green, Virgil? He is o-one of the leading engineers on this p-planet. I have been f-following his b-blog for over a year n-now. You r-really m-must check it out.”

“Um, must have missed that one.”

“H-how could you m-miss such an important s-site? I know you k-keep up to date. The man is at the centre of a massive discussion about polymer cohesion and decay. Last night, Coloncous in Spain had the nerve to challenge him in the most ridiculous manner. I was so close to cutting him off myself, he was embarrassing us all, but Green replied with this. As expected, it is a brilliant explanation and Coloncous had no choice but to concede and crawl back into the hole he should never have come out of in the first place. He was a fool to think he could go up against Green. But this solution has so many possibilities. Do you realise this could be integrated into Two’s cahelium hull and she would be able to heal damage midflight? Four would be able seal herself in an underwater emergency. So brilliant.”

Virgil stared at the engineer. He didn’t think he had ever heard Brains say so many words in a row. And his stutter had disappeared two sentences in.

“What did you say about sealing Four, Brains?” Gordon’s ears had obviously pricked up at the mention of his ‘bird.

Brains’ attention was immediately drawn to the aquanaut, his verbal diarrhoea spilling all over Gordon and freeing Virgil.

Taking the opportunity, he pulled out his phone and brought up the website.

Shit!

He had notifications enough to clog his inbox. Due to the early hour, his phone was still on silent and he hadn’t heard any of them. A quick glance identified several prominent names and universities.

Shit. His eyes widened.

He glanced up at his family who were now eagerly discussing safety seals for Thunderbird Four. Even Scott’s eyes were wide and enthusiastic.

Shit.

Um.

Yeah.

He needed more coffee.

-o-o-o-

End Part One

Part Two