#I won't talk about logistics. I won't

[rainybraindays]

Thinking about that scene where Mami, who knows full well that Homura can't die without her soulgem being shattered, tries to stop her from shooting herself in the head anyway, and I'm being completely normal about it.

[stolligaseptember]

literally so funny when stoncy all get back together at the end of season 4 again and how both steve and jonathan bring back a new boyfriend in tow

[hairmetal666]

Read Part One here

cw: implied child abuse

Eddie's coming over for coffee. Not Eddie with Nancy and Robin or Eddie with the kids. Just Eddie.

They haven't been alone in 9 years and now Eddie is coming over for coffee.

They're friends, of course. After Vecna they didn't have much of a choice, but they've never talked about it--that they used to be something.

After Steve kissed Eddie goodbye for what turned out to be the last time, they didn't see each other again for months and months, except for a devastatingly fleeting moment in the Family Video parking lot. And the next time after that, Eddie's pinning him to the wall of a rickety boathouse, a broken bottle to his throat.

What's going through his mind, his body, at that moment is relief. For days, weeks, months, he ached for Eddie's touch again, and even though he was in danger, he relished in the push of their bodies together. Thought, if this is how he dies, he won't mind going.

But they don't talk about it, about them, because Eddie is on the run and Max is going to die, and they have to save the world, so there's no time. In the aftermath, it's the least of their worries, and now it's been almost a decade and Eddie is coming over for coffee.

The thing is, it's not like Steve has been pining away for a love long lost in the intervening years, and neither has Eddie. They've both had longterm, serious relationships; Steve almost got married. But for Steve...Eddie is the one that's lingered, the one that knocks around his ribcage on late sleepless nights, the one that makes him dream of what might have been. Because Steve truly loved his other partners, but Eddie--nobody will ever compare.

Someone is knocking a rhythm at his front door, and he can't stifle his smile even as his heart runs riot in his chest.

"Hey, man," he says, remarkably nonchalant as he takes Eddie in. Still beautiful, still brimming with energy; his smile wide and dimpled, bouncing on his toes.

"Harrington!" Eddie grabs him into a quick side hug, slapping his back. "Since when do you wear glasses?"

Steve chuckles, touching the horn-rimmed frames. "Oh, god, Robin forced me to get them back in '87? Too many concussions." He touches his forehead. "I usually just wear contacts."

"It's a good look," Eddie says. He's very much not looking at Steve, eyes roaming around the Chicago apartment he's been to many times before.

He watches as Eddie spots the display of his own books, index finger slowly slipping across the spines in a way that makes Steve remember when those same fingers would slide down his spine. He stifles a shiver, turns towards the kitchen.

"So, how's New York? How's the book coming?"

"Livin' the dream." It's not flippant, not like how most people mean it. Eddie leaks genuineness, always has. "The book though...it's a little rough."

Steve sets the coffee maker going, brings fresh pastries and a couple plates over to the table. "I can imagine. It doesn't--it doesn't have to be the same, you know?"

"Yeah, if only I hadn't written three other books leading up to the evil mind wizard," Eddie chuckles. He grabs a croissant and tears it in half. "It'll be alright, Harrington. I'll figure it out. I lived through it the first time, after all."

Steve doesn't remind him that he almost didn't, that they almost didn't. Instead, he pours coffee, listens as Eddie talks about how to fictionalize the worst month of their collective lives.

He splashes milk into Eddie's coffee, taps in three scoops of sugar. He carries it to where Eddie waits, still talking about the logistics of Vecna-slash-Henry-slash-One in his novel, but his words abruptly stop as his hands wrap around the porcelain.

"Steve?"

It's only then that Steve realizes what he's done--made Eddie's coffee like he took it back then, made it without thinking, totally on muscle memory, when the best of his mornings were spent in Eddie's arms.

His cheeks glow crimson and he grips at the back of his neck. "S-sorry." He says. "It--is this still how you take it?"

"Yeah." Eddie's eyes fall from Steve's face, his own cheeks pink. "It's--yeah. Still the same."

"I'm sorry--"

"--Steve, I--"

They don't laugh. They both stop speaking and look at each other, faces still red. Steve thinks there's nothing for it but to get it all out now.

"I'm sorry, Eddie." He takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry I never came back. I'm sorry I didn't explain why. I'm just--really, really sorry."

Eddie's eyes are hooked on the table top, fingers twisting and twisting his coffee mug. "Can I--why? I waited and you--why?"

Steve swallows, but it gets stuck in his throat, and now he's the one who can't look up from his hands.

"My parents got home early," he manages. "My dad, he was waiting for me. I guess one of the neighbors thought it best to tell them who I'd been spending my time with."

Silence falls over the table, and he chances a look up at the man across from him, the one whose knuckles bite into his lips, whose eyes shine with unshed tears.

"You should've called me. You should've--you could've stayed with us. We would've kept you safe."

"Eddie, I couldn't. I physically couldn't," the admission costs him so much.

"Steve," Eddie chokes on his name, voice nothing but anguish. "Did anyone--You could've--you were all alone."

He shakes his head. "Robin knew. She snuck through my window to take care of me, but my parents--I couldn't--" This time the words really won't come. "We made a plan. We started that job at Family Video, and we saved up our money."

Now, Eddie's face is creased with grief. "Sweetheart, I'm so sorry."

Steve shakes his head, smiles despite the wreckage around his heart. "You have nothing to be sorry for, baby. I left you with no explanation. I broke your heart. And--and--" He thinks, what does it hurt to say it at this point. "I love you. I love you so much. I convinced myself you were better off without me, that we could have a clean break and you could get over me."

Eddie's hands cover his face, muffle the sob that slips out. "Get over you?" He whispers. "There's never been one like you, sweetheart."

He slides around the table to kneel at Eddie's side. "Hey." Deep brown eyes stare back at him, Eddie's face wet with tears. "It's always you, Ed. Always. I didn't want to say anything, if you had moved on, but--"

There's not really any transition from them talking to them kissing; Steve slips into it like he did all those years ago, when he first asked for Eddie's kiss. Their mouths slot together, their bodies fit like they always used to, perfect puzzle pieces. Steve's knees give out at the first brush of Eddie's tongue, and they collapse into a heap on the kitchen floor. Even then, they don't part.

Eventually, Steve does break the embrace, face flushed and hair a disaster, glasses hanging off one ear. "Okay, trying to be responsible here. Should we take a pause, go on a date first? Slow down?"

"Nine years isn't slow enough?" Eddie's pupils are blown, hair frizzed around his head.

"When you put it that way," Steve can't help but laugh. "I just want to do right by you, Eddie. Make up for--everything."

Eddie grins down at him, that sunshine beam smile where his dimples pop. "Tell you what, how bout you take me to bed now, and I'll let you take me on a date tomorrow?"

"Oh, you'll let me?" Steve rakes a hand through Eddie's mane of hair. "I don't think you'll have any choice."

"You sure about that, Stevie?" Their lips are so close, the brush with every word.

"Uh-huh," Steve's having trouble keeping his eyes focused, overwhelmed by the sheer force of Eddie Munson. "Never letting you go again, Ed."

Surprise! Part 2! I genuinely had no intention on doing a follow-up, but so many of you asked so nicely that it gave me this idea. Sorry if I miss anyone in the tag list and thank you for reading! @everywherenothere @tiny-enthusiast @emma-elsa-0000 @fuzzyduxk @moonythepluviophile @anaibis @rhapsodyinalto @bunk12bear @tillystealeaves @velocitytimes2 @s-trawberryv-eins @marklee-blackmore @ignoremyworld @its-a-me-a-morgan @goodolefashionedloverboi @starman-jpg @djohawke @adaydreamaway08

[flowerandthesongstress]

complaints I've already seen about Coral Island, a new Indonesian kickstarter cozy game: the barman selling a ruined dish is an uncalled-for jab at restaurant workers! cats shouldn't hang out outdoors! eew, this woman shouldn't display her pregnancy stretch marks! where are all the kippot! why is everyone in such good shape! preposterous! this partially deaf character talking in caps lock is triggering me! no one in doctors without borders would be that tattooed, this dreadful representation is literal murder! no doctor would forget her paperwork at a library, for that matter! why is a japanese fisherman talking like a scottish pirate, this is inaccurate!

meanwhile in the game: I freed a stone statue from a magical underground prison and he put an enchantment on my hoe. his brother asked me if I liked figs is he flirting. my hippie boyfriend is heartbroken because his bucket-wearing pet duck is sick but shhh watching tv will heal him. last night when I talked to the outdoors cat she mentioned that she has a crippling fear of birds and thinks of getting therapy. a stem academic looks like a kpop idol and is getting enough sleep. he wears his astrophysics degree all over himself like a linguist would have worn alphabet necklaces, just to spite his dad but it's not working why is it not working ah shit it's working. mermaids hired me as a janitor. it's not pro bono I'm paid in diamonds. my neighbor is worried that his shiba inu went back to rejoin the mountain whence it came from. a turtle won't let me pass until I serve her spaghetti. I'm fighting capitalism with a literal scythe. the local blacksmith is asking my opinion regarding a legendary battle hammer and if it's worth the logistics hassle. it's been a year crabs are still dancing in celebration their zeal is admirable but their choreography could use some work. this giant monkey covered in two layers of meta wants to sell me a nostalgic souvenir. I know it because he sent me a polite letter. how many propaganda flyers can I fish out of this pond a challenge. I barged into a local lab and upended a barrel of seaweed over intricate circuitry now my flowers are five percent prettier. the scientist at the lab attached a mermish translator to my diving suit via the power of coffee. hold on I'm doing meal prep for next week let me finish putting ectoplasmic slime on okra

[echos-gal]

ok i'm rapidly losing hope that Tech is still alive, and this sucks because it was basically the top thing i desperately wanted from this season. i wanted to see him survive. so here's my exhaustive and embarrassingly long list of reasons why he SHOULD still be alive, and if he isn't, why it was a missed opportunity. obviously no hate to the writers or anything, i love them dearly for creating this show!!!

(if you're a "Tech should stay dead for the stakes/so someone in SW stays dead for once/i hate delusional Tech stans" person, kindly keep scrolling, this ain't for you)

SEASON 2:

right from the start, Romar connects with Tech and calls himself "a survivor." HELLO???

in this same arc, Tech breaks his leg in a fall which he survives. he continues to walk on it, fighting off troopers to save Echo & Omega, showcasing his persistence and grit.

one of Phee's first lines is "better late than dead," and we know she shares a connection with Tech. she flirts with him later in this scene. it would be a shame not to reuse this line, i'm just saying....

Cid still owes Tech for racing for her in Faster. we see Cid looking miserable as she betrays the batch in Plan 99, so her playing a part in his rescue/comeback would be a nice way to show her growth. (i'm afraid there isn't enough time for this, though- as much as i thought a Cid redemption was on the horizon!)

Phee and Tech's departure is awkward, and although we have some context from season 3 (they talked more than we realized), the scene would do best if reconciled in person imo. it felt like it was setting up for something, and feels weird to leave hanging.

"don't go running off with any pirates or smugglers" could not have just been a throw away line. it set up for him to do exactly that. how fitting would it be if pirates or smugglers actually did manage to pick him up before the empire made it to the railcar crash site?

Hemlock's retrieval of the goggles shows that he sent a team to look through the wreckage. he thought there was a chance Tech survived, and may have him.

i won't go into the logistics, but big falls ARE survivable. in star wars especially. we have no idea what was below the layer of clouds/mist Tech fell through.

SEASON 3:

this is mostly CX-2 centric. their armor is very similar: the jaw/mouth shape, the hexagons over the ears, the rectangles on the chest, and the pouches/pockets.

"domicile." that is all.

CX-2 uses technology more than the other operatives we've seen, and he gets past the encryption on Phee's ship with ease.

"who are you?" was enunciated in the exact same way Tech says it to Trace and Rafa, which i definitely think was intentional.

CX-2 stops to use his rifle scope in the exact same spot where Tech and Phee stood to let down the ladders in the sea surge on Pabu.

he survives a waterfall plunge on Teth, which appears to have fooled Rex's group into thinking he'd died. the writers could have killed him off there and sent a new operative, but they chose to stick with CX-2 pursuing them to Pabu.

it's worth noting that while this CX is designated as "2," Tech's CT number is CT-9902. he is associated with the number even on a visual level: he's a dual-wielder, he wears goggles, he salutes with two fingers.

FROM A STORY PERSPECTIVE:

firstly, i am sorry and i LOVE the writers, but if you want people to accept a character's death, you've got to show his family and friends' grief. we saw no reaction from Crosshair or Phee, no tears from Hunter or Echo. it feels like fans were sadder about Tech's death than the characters in the story.

Tech seems to have been mentioned more in the second half of season 3 than the first half, which works if they want to bring him back in the finale.

the finale is called "The Cavalry Has Arrived." i really don't think you can have the cavalry (aka the bad batch) arrive without every member present. i also don't think it would feel right to play their theme without Tech there. idk, that feels incomplete!

we saw no body, and Hunter received Tech's goggles not from a trusted ally or friend, but from Hemlock. this calls into question the legitimacy of his claim that the goggles were "all he could salvage."

Tech alive and being held on Tantiss would provide a nice parallel to Echo in the first mission where we meet the batch, in TCW. and [ep 14 SPOILERS] we see that Echo is currently looking more like his TCW self, with his earpiece removed.

feels kinda sour that a character who a lot of people related to as neurodivergent representation would die just a few episodes after having a deep conversation with his sister about it.

likewise (and as a white woman i can't speak for WOC), from what i have seen, Black women are rarely the main love interest of a series! Phee is the ONLY love interest in this whole show, and it would suck to just cut off that romance before it could really become something. a lot of people wanted to see TechPhee become canon.

CX-2 is the one who destroys the marauder. it works well storywise for its pilot to have been the one to do that- the person who worked so hard modifying it, flying it, and teaching his sister to fly it. i'll be lowkey pissed if it turns out some random dude blew it up.

it's also CX-2 who invades and sets fire to Pabu. this is emotionally gripping on its own, but if he is Tech, it's even more so.

we have no idea what the operatives go through. Crosshair isn't telling, but it clearly put him in a really bad place. if Tech underwent this conditioning in his post-fall injured state, there's a chance he could come back from it. Emerie is probably the key to this, if they take the CX-2 route.

this show is all about a family trying to stay together as the Empire desperately tries to rip them apart. seeing the whole family together again - even if not everyone survives - in the finale is the satisfaction that the show ideally would go for. the last time they were all together was the season 1 finale. that was about 2 years ago in the show's timeline.

leaving Crosshair and Tech's final interactions be where they parted on the Kamino platform also feels off. Tech was the one who really vocalized the need to rescue Crosshair in season 2's finale. Crosshair, in the meantime, has changed significantly as a person. Tech's comment about Crosshair being "severe and unyielding," and unable to change this facet of his nature, is incorrect. leaving Tech dead would mean that he never gets to see this change in Crosshair, which makes me feel like a deflated balloon.

FROM MY SELFISH PERSPECTIVE!!!

give me Tech with cool scars and slightly disheveled longer hair. this is such a good opportunity for the creators to give him a sweet new look!

we never got to see Tech without his goggles on, despite Phee constantly referring to his eyes. he definitely doesn't have them right now (they're in the Archium), so we could get Mister Big Brown Eyes if he's alive. it's another missed opportunity if not, imo!

the goggles being placed in the Archium was a beautiful scene that makes me tear up whenever i think about it. it's symbolic, it's bittersweet, and it's exactly where the goggles belong. but was it closure for me? not really.

Tech is a character who became a LOT of people's favorite in season 2, including my own. why kill off a fan-favorite with an entire season to go?

yes, i desperately want a Rex and Echo series. yes, i want the batch to cameo in it, and yes... that includes Tech. making up for lost season 3 Tech content 😎

the finale will feature the zillo beast, and Tech loves the zillo beast. FREE HER! REUNITE THEM! he would love to witness her rampage.

FROM A "SURPRISE!!!!!" PERSPECTIVE

it seems like most people think Tech is either CX-2 or dead. it would be a great finale twist if we DID get CX-2's identity, it's NOT Tech, the audience loses hope, and then he shows up. i think this is actually plausible given the other assassin schematics Hemlock was looking at in Point of No Return. Tech might be in Hemlock's grasp, but not an active operative. having an enhanced clone to toy with is something Hemlock would want to keep under wraps. we see him step out of the assassin chamber at the start of that episode - if Tech is anywhere on Tantiss, i think it's here.

i think the writers have expected us to have all lost hope by now, so his finale reappearance would ideally come as a shock. the finale is almost guaranteed to be a very long episode, so we really might have quite a bit of time to explore his return, if it happens.

secret 16th episode: i know, i'm putting my clown makeup on as i type this. but the previous 2 seasons each had 16 episodes, with a two-parter finale. season 3 is just 15, with a single episode finale. TBB formally ends may 1st, so what if we get a may 4th surprise episode detailing how Tech survived? (that or an epilogue leading into a new series, which i think is more likely actually!)

[kiwi-cult]

PARSELSCRIPT!!

Hi. This is mostly for the people from Discord but tadah! I'm finally making that Tumblr post I've been talking about for months.

(Warning this will probably be very chaotic)

To anyone new who sees this: me and some friends made an alphabet for Parseltongue from Harry Potter, aka Parselscript. I'll take you on a little journey to explain my process and give you some tips, should you want to start writing it.

Disclaimer: I wanted to make this script usable for the writer I made it for (Isalise loml) so it's less of an actual language and more just some characters to represent the Latin (or ‘English’) letters. Like a cipher. It is not realistic. If I made this realistic I'd have to add all sorts of things to indicate body language and smell etc and also have to figure out what sounds Parseltongue actually has etcetera etcetera. No.

Alright.

It all started when we started talking about Parselscript in a Discord server and I asked my friend Ava to visualise the script because she seemed to have a clear vision of it, so I could use it to go from there.

That's how we got this.

I think we all wanted to go with something flowery for some reason, so we did.

After this I just messed around with brushes and shapes in Procreate for a while, tweaking things and trying to make it more writeable. I ended up with something like this (still a rough draft).

It may look a bit like random squiggles at first, and it kinda was at this point. As you can see there's also a lot of added dots and lines, which can be a bit hard to remember and I see you wondering what it looks like without them.

Well here it is.

I showed this to the people I brainstormed with in Discord and we decided to go with the more complicated version because it looks better lol.

This is one of the final versions.

It says: "Hello, my name is Kiwi Cult. I made this script after reading a fanfic called Terrible, But Great written by Isalise the loml on Archive Of Our Own."

Now, to talk about some of the (boring) logistics.

It is read from left to right, top to bottom.

Every separate combination of squiggles you see above is a separate word. Every word is made up of a starting character, one or more letter characters and an ending character.

The very first character you see in the top left corner, with the three petal looking thingies, is a silent starting character that indicates the start of a sentence. Not word: sentence. The end of the character, that little circle thingy, is a comma. So, the first combination says: "Hello,".

Then, the second combination starts with a kind of hook going down and right. This is also a silent character and more meant as an interpunction, that's why you don't pronounce it. It's kind of just a way to start the word when there isn't anything special about it (aka it's not the start of a sentence, a name, an exclamation or a question. But every character is special in its own right🥲). The same kind of hook can be found at the bottom of the combination, except going up. It has the same use, basically just a way to end the word when there isn't anything special about it. Now, you might ask: why does it go right and not left?

We talked about this a while, because I wanted the direction to have some kind of meaning. We wondered about gender, tone, blah blah all kinds of complicated things but in the end I just wanted this script to be writable so I chose to have proficient writers in Parseltongue make their hooks go left and beginners have their hooks go right.

Now, you might notice that I end my words with a hook going right. That is because I don't see myself as a pro in writing in Parselscript okay? It's hard!😭💀

Now, other than the character indicating the start of a sentence, the circle, and the simple hook, there are a few other characters to start or end a combination (don't worry I'll show them all to you at the end, you won't have to use your imagination for long).

We have a character to indicate a name. Now, the rule is: name indicator over start of sentence indicator. So, if you start a sentence with a name, you'll use the symbol to indicate a name, NOT BOTH. (That's not even possible but I don't even want to see you try and butcher my child).

There is a character to indicate a sentence that would usually be followed by an exclamation mark (!), but at the start of the sentence. Then you’d end the exclamated sentence with a period.

The same goes for a question mark (?): put it at the start of a question, not the end. Again, it wouldn't even be possible to use it at the end of a combination but I DON'T EVEN WANNA SEE YOU TRY.

Finally we have a period (.), which looks a bit like a flower with four petals. You do use this one at the end of a word, and it is always followed by a start of sentence indicator or a name indicator. I know people are rejecting capitals these days in their typing but I don't wanna see it. If you start a word after a period with a hook I will find you.

So, to put it all next to each other, the symbols we have are: -start of sentence indicator -name indicator -exclamation mark (!) -question mark (?) -period (.) -hook (direction depends on efficiency) -comma (,) (direction depends on efficiency)

I didn't make adjusted characters to indicate a capital letter like we do in the Latin alphabet, meaning that the only things you can kind of 'capitalise' are the start of a sentence and the start of a name.

It is also slightly phonetic. Emphasis on slightly. I made separate characters for almost all characters in the Latin alphabet, so you can just write your word normally with Parselscript characters. The only difference is that I made only one character for the 'f/v' sounds and that there is no 'c' character. If a word has a 'c' in it, you'll have to use the character for a 'k' or an 's'. Also a ‘q’ can be made with ‘k’ and ‘w’ etc.

A few examples: -character=karakter -parselscript=parselskript -crazy=krazy -science=siense

-quiz=kwuiz

I know it looks a bit confusing, but I trust you guys' ability to read context clues and figure out what someone means when you try to decipher Parselscript.

Now, for a word like 'phonetic' or 'decipher' I don't really care whether you use the separate characters for 'p' and 'h' or just the one for the 'f/v' sound. You do you.

I also don’t use any double letters because they basically sound the same and it looks ugly but if you want to use double symbols feel free.

I also made some numbers that do not look like they fit with the rest of the script but I promise you that's just because you're not used to it yet. Our own numbers don't belong with our alphabet either because we nicked them from the Arabs (I think, don't quote me on this) but we don’t notice that either.

Tadah. (Yes I know it’s out of order I told you this was gonna be chaotic af)

Other than that, feel free to ask me questions if I've forgotten anything or if you're wondering about anything. I can't guarantee that I have a good answer because I might not even have thought about it myself, but I can always try to come up with something. I am one person, I'm afraid I haven't been able to take everything about a script into consideration.

Now, without further ado; here is the key.

No, your eyes didn't deceive you: there are two versions. The first has a bit more loose squiggles than the second one. I realised that when I was writing physically, the second version was much nicer to write, so it is kind of like Simplified Parselscript. I haven't decided yet if I'm gonna put some lore behind it or not yet. But I included the og one if you're a tryhard and wanna take it on.

Now, if you're gonna start writing it yourself, here is the stroke order.

I tried to make it as clear as possible but please ask me if you're confused on anything.

Red is the starting point of the whole symbol, the arrows indicate the direction to go in, x marks the start of the small extra's.

Now, I'd also recommend writing on some type of paper with vertical lines like this if you're gonna do it physically.

You can just turn a paper with normal, horizontal lines a quarter to get vertical lines. Also, do NOT write in between the lines. They are meant to help you keep the start and ending on the same line so you don't start going into crazy directions while writing. So, start your sentence symbol or hook or whatever in the middle of the line and try to keep coming back to that vertical line after every letter. As you gain more proficiency you'll probably go straight into the next letter without going back to the line all the time but I think this is a good starting point.

I also recommend writing with a fountain pen or something else that flows well because it’s easier to write that way.

Here is another rough draft I made on physical paper to get a feel for it. As you can see this draft had a lot more different starting characters and ending characters so just ignore that. Hope this motivates you a bit or smth.

Lmk if you want me to post a video of me writing in this Parselscript.

Also please let me know if you know of someone else who's also made a Parselscript because I tried to look for it on Tumblr and Twitter etc but I couldn't find anything.

I also feel like there’s a big mistake I made that I realised the last time I worked on this script but I’ve forgotten it now so if you find out please comment or dm or anything💀

Also feel free to use in your own fic, tho a little tiny shoutout in the a/n would be nice :) I’m @/kiwi_cult on Ao3, @/slvtr_ on Wattpad, @/kiwi cult on ff.net, @/slvtr.1 on TikTok and @/.slvtr on Discord.

Credits:

@natis-balamnimaja @asterialvia and @/zee (who unfortunately left the server and I don't know the Tumblr @ of) for brainstorming with me and @isalisewrites for inspiring us and making the server we discussed this in. Check out her profile and her Tomarry time travel fic if you have taste.

Okay bye :) tell me if I forgot anything.

🥝

[divinelydecreed-custommade]

He's got a girlfriend anyway

Hey my loves, I wrote this ages ago and now see it reads like a Matty Healy blurb😭 there aren't any names though so it's really just a silly little story about you & your pretty boy bestie and the "will they/won't they hookup" energy that surrounds your not so platonic relationship. also - you're both in the like 19-21ish age range if you care about that for the visual

content - cheating adjacent (you might feel like its full blown cheating depending your moral compass lmao - proceed with caution if you're not here to read about that), pining fallingforyou vibes

You end up in his lap in the backseat of your best friend's car. It's purely logistical. You're both small and openly affectionate and it just makes sense for you two to cuddle up in the corner to leave room for your friends with longer legs and broader shoulders - although you probably would've ended up in the same position even if the backseat were totally empty.

You've been mistaken as his partner and he yours more times can either of you care to count. It might be because his fingers are always laced through yours when you're walking through town, or because your legs tend to find themselves draped over his when you inevitably sit next him on the sofa. Just about an hour ago your new drunk bathroom soulmate was saying how jealous she was because her boyfriend never wants to dance with her like yours was all night. You laugh it off with a "yeah, I love him!" Because you do. In a platonic way. Of course. Since he's got a girlfriend anyway. She's new and you like her well enough, but she couldn't come tonight and old habits die hard. So now your back is against the car door and your right side is against his chest. His left arm is wrapped around your waist and his other hand is resting on your leg, keeping you steady as your friend takes sharp turns on the drive back.

You're both tired after a night of drinking and dancing and one of your hands is lazily playing with his curls while the other is tracing the fingers resting on your thigh. He's gently dragging his blunt nails down your back and everything feels nice, and easy, and comfortable. You could easily fall asleep surrounded by the scent of smoke and cologne clinging to his clothes and skin with the quiet music playing from the stereo. He shifts a little beneath you and you end up tugging his hair a little harder than you meant to. You whisper an apology in his ear but he just laughs softly as he continues to lean forward.

At first you think it unintentional - the way his lips just barely brush your neck - but that thought quickly leaves your head as he trails kisses down to your collarbone. You're still combing your fingers through his hair and pull at it again as you feel his teeth grazing the base of your throat much too lightly to leave a mark. You turn closer so you're almost chest to chest in the confines of the backseat and feel his lips curve into a smile against you. You trace your fingers down his shoulder to rest above his racing heart, satisfied that he seems as effected as you.

He's getting bolder, easing his hands under the hem of your top running across your bare back and ribs as the car comes to a stop at its first destination. You move to open the door once you realize you've made it to his already and hop out first, allowing him to follow behind you. You stand on tiptoes to hug him goodbye for the evening as his housemates head for the door, expecting him to say sleep well, or see you soon, or anything but what he actually says:

"Y'wanna come up?"

It shouldn't shock you as much as it does. You pull back enough to look at him with a furrowed brow, giving him the opportunity to say he was messing and take it back but he doesn't.

"I don't think Connie would appreciate that, love."

"Shit - I didn't mean to - sorry..fuck." He trails off.

"Forget it, just go to sleep, yeah? We'll talk in the morning if you want."

He quickly nods, "Yeah. Yeah, okay."

You squeeze his hand and press a kiss to his forehead before you leave and get back into the car. Now that the front seat is unoccupied, you slide in next to your best friend who simply says "The fuck was that?"

You wish you knew, but you just shake your head and press your fingers to your temples, looking down at your lap. "I dunno - he's drunk."

"Mm, maybe." She says, sounding wholly unconvinced. "He's always been so into you though."

"Yeah, well. Apparently not that into me." You say it and look over to her with a wry smirk that you hope ends this line of questioning.

It does - the next thing she asks if you wanna get fries on the way back to your shared apartment. Now that is a question to which you will always know the answer.

this is my first time sharing any writing on this acct - feel free to engage if you like ❤️

[judesmoonbeauty]

Fairytale Final Assessment 1st Anniversary SE: Jude Jazza's POV Chapter 2 ཐིཋྀ

Fan translation only. Not 100% accurate. Please expect grammatical errors. Cybird owns everything. Feel free to re-blog, but please do NOT post my translations elsewhere.

Translation notes are marked with *** Alternate translation is marked with/// Hour Glass Banners Credit: @/natimiles ཐིཋྀ

I glared at Kate at a distance where the tips of our noses touched.

(Ha…….Really, not good.)

(Her eyes.)

Despite being pinned down and being shown the overwhelming difference in power, Kate’s eyes never gave up.

She glared at me too straight on, with a glow in them. 

(……Ah, something like this happened before.)

She was kidnapped on my birthday, and had collapsed because she didn’t leak any information about me.

When I saw her injured, my core went completely cold. 

FLASH BACK TO HIS BD STORY

Jude: As ya said, I'm threatenin’ ya now.

Jude: But ...... I could snap your neck in an instant. Besides, the people I'm dealin’ with won't even hesitate.

Jude: If you're aware that you're being pushed away, I'm sure a smart young lady would know what to do.

Kate: I would have stayed out of it if I could have.......

Jude: But?

Kate: Every time we go on a mission together or escape from a predicament, I realize various things and change.

Kate: I don't mind that kind of change in myself.

FLASH BACK ENDS

I don't remember being kind to her or taking care of her carefully.

There have been times when she looked at death.

She has learned so much that she can no longer be called a “naive young lady.”

Despite this, she is a brazen woman with annoying eyes who maintains her clean side even when she knows of dirty maliciousness.

(I know I like this girl.)

(It’s interesting to see the fighting spirit that comes from her, but…)

(If I don't kick her out now... one day...she’ll die.)

(Then, why don't I draw the line here?)

I put my hand around Kate’s neck and squeeze it tighter than I did that day.

Kate: …..Ts…….ah.

Jude: I told ya before that when your carotid artery is constricted, ya instantly can't breathe.

Jude: Are ya scared? Is it painful?

Jude: If you're going to give up here, I'll make it easy for ya, but what are ya goin’ to do?

Kate: Oh……ugh.

Jude: I can't hear anything. Could ya speak more clearly?

When I applied more force and tried to knock Kate unconscious, Kate’s arm suddenly pushed me away.

Kate: Cough….cough……

Jude: Ha, you’re so powerful.

Kate: Again, please!

Jude: ………

(This girl, really?)

After that, Kate kept coming back to fight again and again.

Perhaps Ellis couldn't bear to see it, and suggested another game, 

Even so, I still ate many episodes…..***

Kate: …….

Jude: Ha, ya look exhausted.

Jude: There's no need for me to sign the consent form. Why don't ya give up quietly and pack your things?

Kate: There's still time until today ends.

Kate: I won't give up until you sign it.

Ellis: Kate…..

(She really is a stubborn woman. There's no end to it.)

It's not that I didn't imagine this would happen.

Jude: I don't want to be with ya forever. Let's go settle the matter. 

Kate: This is the port where you manage the logistics depot, right Jude?

Jude: As ya know, we rent our warehouses to others with interest.

Jude: There was a man there who was making a living doin’ bad business.

Kate: I'm sure... something like that happened before, right?

Kate: He was using Jude's warehouse for human trafficking...a man with a bowler hat!

Ellis: That's when Kate was with Jude for the first time.

Jude: What a good memory!

Kate: I was attacked and almost killed, so even though I hate it, I will never forget it.

Kate: So, since you brought me here, you're trying to make me do something, right?

Jude: There’s a guy who has done something similar to that man in the bowler hat.

Jude: He’s got some classified documents hidden somewhere in a warehouse up ahead.

Jude: Get me those classified documents and then we'll talk. 

Kate: I’ll find the classified documents that’ll benefit you, Jude.

Kate: If I find them, will you sign it?

Jude: That’s what I’m sayin’.

Jude: I’m not patient, I’ll only wait until midnight.

Kate: I understand. Your promise is absolute.

Ellis: Kate, so you want me to follow you?

Kate: Thank you, Ellis. But this is my game, and I'll do my best on my own.

With that said, Kate ran away from the scene.

Ellis: A guy doing bad business in a warehouse who is hiding classified documents. Just like the one I killed yesterday……..

Ellis: Jude, no way!

Jude: No, of course not. There is no such person or classified document anywhere.

Jude: She’s gonna keep looking for something that's not there, and at midnight, I'm gonna call it a night.

Ellis: It's like Cinderella in bad taste.

Jude: The best fairy tale mistake.

Lighting a cigarette, I inhale the smoke deeply into my lungs, and exhale.

(Now she’s washed her hands from Crown with this.)***

(This is a happy ending. It's a lukewarm happy ending that suits her.)

He tossed the shortened cigarette to the ground and stomped it down with his foot.

The on-site supervisor came running towards me, the color of his complexion changed.

Supervisor: Mr. Jude, why are you here? I’ve been trying to contact you! 

Jude: What happened?

Supervisor: You remember that guy you sent to the lab for illegal human trafficking here before.

Ellis: Is that.….that's the guy in the bowler hat who Kate was talking about earlier, isn't it?

Supervisor: That man escaped from the lab and attacked a weapons store. He killed the clerk and stole a gun...

Supervisor: As he was escaping he said he was going to kill Jude Jazza!

Jude: ………

Supervisor: The man's goal is revenge against you. Please run away and hide yourself quickly…..

FLASH BACK

Jude: We had a contract that said you couldn't buy or sell humans, right?

Bowler Hat Man: I'm hoping you'll let me off the hook there.

Bowler Hat Man: Well, even poor people can sell at a good price.

Bowler Hat Man: It'll line your pockets and clean up this docklands cesspool that is the Port of London.

Jude: ……….

Bowler Hat Man: You, who love other people's misfortune and money, will let me off the hook, won't you?

Bowler Hat Man: If you agree, your lover will be returned to you unharmed.

FLASHBACK ENDS

(He’s seen Kate’s face.）

Jude:…..Damn, how bad can her luck be?

Supervisor: Oh, hey, Mr. Jude, where are you going?

Ellis: Jude!

Running through the bay, I opened the doors of the warehouses with a fine-tooth comb.

(……Where the hell is she?)

Then I heard a noise in one of the warehouses.

When I opened the door to the warehouse, I found-

[Previous] [Bitter End] [Premium End] [Master List]

***HELP! I could not t/l this line to save my life! It’s a simple sentence (?), but it literally said he was consuming editions. I managed to t/l it into “episodes” after a lot of research. I believe he is implying that because Kate keeps coming back to spar with him, he is comparing each fight to an episode and consuming it as his win and her loss??

*** 足 denotes leg or foot. ��� denotes cleansed, scoured, wash. So, I decided to nix leg/foot and use hands as an alt since westerners are more familiar with that term.

[buckleyreid]

If they've been dating for at least a month I feel like this is probably something we won't be getting unfortunately but I would kill to have a scene resemblant of the one where Buck is drinking his green smoothies because of the sperm donation and Hen asks about it and he says he's "keeping the tank full" and they basically have a conversation about how he's sexually frustrated.

Now imagine that, but instead it's Buck telling Hen about how him and Tommy haven't had sex yet and, while he appreciates how considerate Tommy is and the taking things slow of it all, he's not really the celibate type and he very much feels like jumping his boyfriend every time he sees him.

I need Hen to make fun of her new baby bi a little bit like the big sister that she is and then proceed to give him advice on it, or ask if he's put any thought into the logistics of it, which then could maybe send Buck into a bit of a spiral because... has he?

I just need to see him fumble his way through it in the most comedic way while Hen watches with loving amusement (bonus points if she fills Karen in on it) until Buck actually sits Tommy down so they can have the big talk which inevitably leads into a fade to black moment.

Is it too late for this? Maybe. Will I keep making up scenarios in my head? 100% yes.

[respectthepetty]

What should we call it now?

If were not enemies, do you think we can be friends?

Sailom started escorting in episode four of Dangerous Romance.

And it already caused some tension between the boys.

But just like his fellow Slut for Christ, Only Friends' Ray, Kanghan can and will throw money at any and all issues. Sailom won't directly accept money, so Kanghan arranges an alternative - hiring Sailom again AND forcing him to live with Kanghan.

And this IS an issue. (all I'm seeing is red & blue)

Kanghan doesn't like the idea of Sailom having to eat with rich clients for money.

Or talking with clients over the glow of candlelight.

Probably because it scares him to think that the client will ask for more from Sailom than just the job he was hired to do.

Because if this is about money, Kanghan has it.

Sailom escorting sooner in the show, makes me confident that Kanghan will be even more pissed when Sailom goes back to it.

And Sailom would go back to it if he doesn't have another client buying up his time.

Without tutoring, the boys did not talk to each other, and Kanghan was in his feelings about it.

Instead of sparking a friendship with Sailom after tutoring had ended, Kanghan made their relationship transactional once again, which would seem really nice sense he knows Sailom needs money, BUT . . .

Kanghan never attempted to be friends with Sailom. Kanghan, who plays soccer, signed up for logistics rather than sports, so he could possibly work with Sailom at school. Why the ritual when he could just be friends with Sailom? Because even if Kanghan wants to be friends with Sailom, he doesn't treat him like a friend.

I think Kanghan likes Pimfah, but this quick exchange is interesting when applied to their dynamic:

Kanghan was taken aback by Pimfah's statement (because he thought she was trying to define their relationship, possibly), but this question has come up before and was directly about Sailom and Kanghan. But in the style of Bad Buddy, what are Sailom and Kanghan?

They aren't enemies anymore, but they aren't friends. Kanghan wants to take care of Sailom, pay for fancy meals for him, spend time with him, eat snacks with him, and live with him, but they aren't boyfriends.

So what are they now?

Sailom called Kanghan his friend,

but for Kanghan?

Pimfah originally asked Sailom for tutoring, so he would have gotten money (if this were just about money), but Kanghan eliminated that funding source just like he did with Sailom's other tutoring clients in episode two.

Because Kanghan's isn't just buying a service from Sailom (tutoring); he is buying Sailom by forcing him to move in, and playfully asking him to feed him and massage his back. And both Name and Kanghan mention this type of job being "easy"

And Sailom is good company for a client.

Kanghan didn't give Sailom any other option but to keep him company.

Kanghan isn't Sailom's friend. He doesn't want to be Sailom's friend. He is a client, and until Kanghan changes his mentality, he is going to continue thinking that his money has power over Sailom. But without his money, what use does Sailom have with him?

None.

And that's what scares him.

[thoseboysinblue]

Trustfall

Part 1

Christian Pulisic x reader

You are one of Christian's closest friends in London, but maybe both of you want a bit more.

Word count: 4500+

Warnings: Fluff, swearing, mentions of oral sex, this part does not contain smut but the next part does :)

Song Inspo: Trustfall by Pink

Requested: No

Author's note: This one has been sitting in my drafts for well over a year, so let's pretend for a minute they are all still playing for Chelsea :) There will be a second part coming soon!

You are standing in the family and friends waiting area chatting quietly with some of the Chelsea staff about the match that had just ended. Things had not gone in favor of the Blues, and even with a fair amount of decent chances towards the end, they still lost by one goal.

You notice as a few of the players start trickling in, moving to speak to their family and friends. You make eye contact with two of your best friends and excuse yourself politely from the conversation you were involved in. Both of them greet you with a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek, but they aren't who you are looking for, and they both know it.

"He's still in the locker room," Mason says quietly. "He won't talk to either of us," Ben adds, "maybe you can go..." he trails off. You nod and the three of you leave and make your way back towards the changing room.

Your friendship with the three boys started when you took a job with Chelsea managing logistics for travel and player hospitality. The three of them had quickly pulled you in, adding you to movie and game nights after noticing that you spent a great deal of your time alone when traveling with the team.

What started out as hanging out in hotel rooms for away matches eventually evolved into the four of you having regular dinners and nights out. The boys appreciate that you understand the world of footballers lives, but that it never seems to matter too much to you, often joking with you about how quickly you had friend-zoned them.

In all honesty, you had friend-zoned them rather quickly and obviously, not wanting to cross any boundaries with your job. However, you'd always had a soft spot for one of them. You did wonder if he could possibly feel the same way, but dismissed it thinking he had better options and you were just happy to have him in your life in whatever way you could.

"We'll wait here," Mason says as you reach the door to the locker room, "he should be alone in there by now."

"Blow jobs always help after a rough match," Ben says to you with a wink.

"Really, Ben? That's the advice you have right now?" you say slapping him playfully on the chest.

"We are just friends" you say, feeling yourself blush.

"Sure you are" the two boys say in unison as you roll your eyes and turn towards the door of the changing room.

"Christian?" you say barely above a whisper as you peek your head around the door. You glance quickly around the room, confirming that you are indeed alone as you make your way over to him.

He barely glances up to acknowledge your presence as you move closer. Once you reach him, you stand in front of him, the top of his head resting against your stomach as he stares at the floor. "Tough game tonight, you played hard" you say as your hands find their way to the back of his hair, lightly scratching his neck and scalp.

He sighs and relaxes into you a bit, loosely wrapping his hands around the backs of your legs. "I played like shit, y/n, missed some sitters, we could've won, you don't have to sugar coat it" he says dejectedly. "I'm not sugar coating anything, you did play hard, you had some unlucky misses, but others did, too," you reply, "no one blames you, it's not all on you, Christian."

"Ha, tell my social media that" he says, finally looking up at you. "Fuck those guys, half of them couldn't make a pen even with no keeper in the goal", you answer, shaking your head at his harsh words towards himself.

He shifts a bit, pulling you into his lap and leaning his head against your chest as he toys with the zipper on your track suit jacket. You wrap your arms around his shoulders, lightly dancing your fingers along the top of his arm as you both sit in silence for a few minutes.

The two of you have always been somewhat affectionate towards one another, but this, this closeness, is new. You wonder if he could hear your heart hammering away in your chest, as butterflies erupt in your stomach.

"You'll recover from tonight, you'll keep training hard, and you'll do better next week. I know you, and I know you won't let tonight define you," you said quietly placing a kiss to the top of his head.

He nods against your chest, knowing you are right.

"Did you drive tonight?" you ask as he delicately strokes his fingers along your side.

"No, I rode with Chilly" he answers.

"Want me to give you a ride home? Maybe cook some dinner and keep you company for a bit? you question him, God knows I can't leave you alone with your thoughts and social media tonight," you chuckle. "Yeah, I'd like that, y/n" he says quietly giving you and appreciative squeeze.

"Chilly told me to offer you a blow job" you state matter of factly, giving him a bit of a nudge. "I bet he did" he answers with a laugh. "There he is, at least I got a bit of a laugh out of you" you grin back at him. "Come on" you stand up, grabbing his hands and pulling him off the bench and into a hug, "let's get you out of here, you can shower at home."

A few minutes later, you emerge from the dressing room, Christian following closely behind you after pulling his training jersey back on and swapping his boots for slides. You give a small smile to the two boys leaning against the wall waiting on you as Christian gives them each a fist bump.

"Gonna take this one home and make sure he gets something to eat". They both nod and exchange a few reassuring words with Christian as you all make your ways to your cars.

As you and Christian start towards his house, the drive is mostly silent. You turn on your playlist that has slowly been infused with few of his favorite country songs. You hate to admit that you have started to enjoy them as well, but it warms your heart when you hear him quietly humming along as you continue driving.

Once you get to Christian's house, he lets the two of you in and makes his way upstairs to shower. While he is showering, you head to the kitchen to try to sort out something for dinner.

When he returns, he stands in the doorway to the kitchen watching you as you cook and sing along to the music you turned on to drown out the silence in the house. Caught up in the moment, he is in absolute awe of you and incredibly thankful that he has someone like you in his life.

You somehow always know exactly what he needs without him needing to ask. You notice him leaning against the doorway and offer a small smile, "it's pretty simple, but I've made some pasta with chicken and vegetables" you tell him. "Had to make due with what you had here, you need to make a grocery run, Chris."

"Sounds perfect, and yeah, I know." You fix your plates and slide them across the counter to where he is sitting opposite from you. "Beer?" you question, pouring yourself a glass of the wine he keeps at his house for you. He nods as you slide the bottle over to him, walking around the counter to sit beside him.

"Thank you, y/n" he smiles at you. "Of course" you reply, tapping your wine glass to the top of his beer as you both settle into your meals.

You finish eating, making small talk about his family and what the next couple of weeks of travel with the team was looking like, both of you moving around to clean up from dinner and putting the leftovers away in the fridge.

"Want to stay for a movie?" he asks, not quite ready for you to go home just yet. Of course you don't mind staying as the two of you move to the couch in his living room.

You settle down in the corner of the L-shaped couch with your legs outstretched in front of you, getting comfy under a blanket. Christian moves to sit close to you, leaning into you before eventually laying on his side with his head in your lap and wrapping one arm around behind you while the other drapes across your legs.

One of your hands instinctively moves to lightly scratch his head while the other rests comfortably over his side. You aren't sure how much of the movie either of you are actually watching as you catch yourself admiring his relaxed appearance for longer and longer periods of time.

You can't help but stare at his features, light freckles decorating his skin, long eyelashes, those dark brown eyes that you feel like you could get lost in, and the slight stubble along his jaw.

He isn't really paying attention either, he is too busy daydreaming about how he wishes this could be the norm for the two of you. Quiet evenings together just enjoying one another's company sounds perfect to him.

As the movie ends, he sits up and stretches a bit, you doing the same. You stand up and fold your blanket back up to place over the back of his couch, assuming he will be ready for you to leave so that he can get some much needed rest.

He moves to stand in front of you, taking the blanket and placing it on the couch before grabbing your hands, "stay with me, y/n" he pleads quietly, "I really don't want to be alone" giving your hands a squeeze.

You wrap your arms around his waist, pulling him into a hug as he settles his arms around your shoulders pulling you into him tightly. You nod against his chest, "whatever you need" you answer him your stomach doing flips.

You embrace one another in silence for a few short moments, before you look up at him and grin "this isn't the part where you ask me for a blow job is it?" "No" he chuckles in response "not tonight anyways" he says with a wink.

Christian takes your hand again, leading you up the stairs, when he turns towards his bedroom, you stop.

"Am I not sleeping in the guest room like usual?" you ask, hoping you already know the answer.

"No, I said I didn't want to be alone, didn't I?" he replies leading you into his room.

As you step nervously into his room, he walks over to his wardrobe, pulling out a t-shirt of his for you to sleep in before heading to his en-suite as you follow him.

He pulls a fresh toothbrush out of the drawer and hands it to you along with the shirt. He quickly brushes his teeth leaving you to do the same and giving you some privacy to get yourself ready for bed.

You take off your make up as best as you can, brush your teeth and hair, and pull Christian's shirt over your head. Giving yourself a few moments, you take some deep breaths in an attempt to calm your nerves.

"What's the big deal?" you think to yourself. The two of you have shared a bed on a few occasions before, when you'd found yourselves too drunk to drive home from nights hanging out at Ben's or Mason's, Christian insisting that he wasn't putting you in a taxi or Uber late at night.

But never has he asked for you to stay with him, in his bed, definitely not when you were both sober. You eventually give yourself enough of a pep talk to emerge from the bathroom, the t-shirt he gave to you barely skimming over the tops of your thighs.

When he hears the door open, Christian looks up from his phone, his eyes dancing over you as his heart beats rapidly in his chest. He pulls the duvet back slightly, inviting you to slip between the sheets of his bed.

He places his phone on the table beside the bed, turning so that you can face one another. Both of you lay there staring into each other's eyes but leaving a bit of space between you, neither of you quite sure if you should make your move.

"I hope you weren't on twitter" you say with a slight smile. "Nope, just answering a few text messages" he grins back at you. "I don't need you kicking my ass for being on social media tonight".

"Good, because you are right, I would kick your ass...it's bad for your mental health and you don't need that shit in your life" you reply. "You're right, I don't need it, I've got everything I need tonight, right here" he answers as he moves a bit closer placing a kiss on your forehead.

And there they are, the butterflies again. You are a bit taken back by his words and actions and not quite sure how to respond. You take one of his hands in yours and pull it to your lips, placing a gentle kiss to his knuckles. "Night Christian" you breathe. Night y/n" he replies, thank you again for everything." You give his hand a little squeeze before the two of you slowly drift to sleep, his fingers still intertwined with yours.

As your eyes flutter open in the early hours of the morning you realize that sometime during the night, you turned over and were now sleeping with your back pressed against Christian's chest, his arm draped across your torso and your fingers intertwined. You can tell he is still asleep from his slow and steady breathing.

You shift slightly, unsure of what he might think of your current sleeping position should he wake up, but you feel him pull you further into him and he places a feather light kiss to your shoulder.

Is he awake then? Or is your imagination getting the better of you? Does he know you are awake? He starts softly snoring again, letting you know he is still sleeping and you slowly fall back to sleep as well.

A couple of hours later, you wake to the sound of Christian's alarm blaring from his phone. You feel him reach over and grab it from the side, never loosening his grip on you, snoozing the alarm and tossing it onto the bed beside you, giving you a little squeeze.

"Sorry, y/n, i didn't mean to over step", his words trail off as you turn over to face him. God his morning voice is sexy, you think to yourself.

"It's fine, Christian, really" you answer barely above a whisper while you nuzzle your face into his neck.

"I must say, it's nice waking up to someone" he says as his fingers scratch lightly along your lower back.

"Mhmmm. Just anyone though?" you counter, tilting your head back slightly to make eye contact with him.

Not just anyone, you, it's nice waking up to you, he thinks silently as he takes in your features. You continue your silent stare off, both of you hoping the other will make a move.

Christian glances down at your lips, then back to your eyes, then back to your lips again, his lips slowly part and he runs his tongue along his lower lip leaning in towards you slightly, but you are interrupted by the sound of Christian's alarm going off again.

"Fuck sake" he mutters, the moment now shattered. "I've got to go to recovery this morning" he grumbles.

"Ok, I'll get ready to head out then" you say back quietly. He answers, "No, stay, sleep in a bit, we can order lunch when I get back".

"This bed is comfy, I could sleep here all day I think" you answer him, pulling the duvet up around you a bit more as he turns to get out of the bed. "Settled then" he says, leaning down to place a lingering kiss on your cheek.

He showers and gets ready to leave, stopping to take another long look at you sleeping soundly in his bed. Before he leaves, he crosses the room and leans down on the bed, brushing your hair behind your ear and placing a kiss on your forehead, he whispers to let you know he is leaving and will be back in a few hours.

After sleeping for a while longer, you eventually wake up and check some emails from your phone, quickly making sure there aren't any issues with this week's upcoming travel before placing your phone on the charger next to the bed.

You quickly shower, pulling your hair back so that it will not get wet, brush your teeth and head to Christian's wardrobe for some fresh clothes.

After settling on one of his hoodies, you make your way down stairs, leaving your legs bare, hoping to entice him a bit. You are standing in the kitchen making a cup of tea when you hear someone coming through the front door.

"Chris, is that you?" you call out.

"Well, well, well, Mase, what do we have here", you hear Ben say from behind you. Slowly turning around to see them eyeing you up and down, noticing your attire, or lack thereof.

"Nice hoodie", Mason quips.

"Shut up, both of you" you say back, your cheeks burning crimson.

"Where's Christian?" you ask them as you push past to head back up stairs in search of your joggers.

"He was right behind us, but he stopped for a phone call right inside the door", Ben replies.

When you make it to the bottom of the stairs, Christian is standing there on the phone. His eyes widen when he sees you rush up the stairs, but he keeps talking as he quickly follows behind you.

When you reach his room, you grab the joggers you'd worn the night before and pull them on quickly hearing him end his phone conversation as he walks into the room.

"Y/N, I'm sorry, I sent you a text to let you know they were with me, but I guess you didn't see it."

"It's fine," you mumble not looking up from the floor, "I should've been dressed anyways". He moves over to you, placing two fingers under your chin and tilting your face upward to look into your eyes.

"Don't be embarrassed, y/n, I'm a bit pissed that they are here, I'd have told them to fuck off if I'd have known what I was going to come home to" he says with a soft smile.

"I don't know what I was thinking, we are friends, I know that," you answer quietly. He pulls you into a tight embrace, kissing you lightly on the top of the head, "friends, yeah," he says but there is a slight bit of disappointment in his tone.

"I'm going to get going, I'll bring your hoodie back later this week," you pull away from him and go back downstairs.

You find the other boys to tell them bye, both of them grinning at you with raised eyebrows. "Don't guys, just leave it, please" you whine.

"Fine, y/n, we'll harass him about it once you leave," Mason answers with a chuckle.

As you leave, Christian joins you near the door to see you out. "You really going to leave me to fend for myself with them?" he says with a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Yep" you answer playfully, fiddling with the strings on his hoodie. "Nothing happened, nothing to explain to them, right?" you shrug.

"Yeah, but it clearly doesn't look that way, does it" he answers you.

"No, probably not, I'm sorry," you breathe out as he hands you the tea you made earlier that he has transferred into a travel cup.

"You don't have to apologize" he says leaning his forehead against yours as he pulls you into a hug. "Alright, really, I'm going to go" you say standing on your tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek.

"Have a good afternoon, Chris."

And with that you get into your car and go back to your apartment, leaving him standing by the door, wishing he'd pulled you in and kissed you.

As soon as Christian walks back into the living room, Ben and Mason begin interrogating him about you and last night.

"What happened?" "Did you finally pull your finger out of your ass?" "Tell us you did something, anything?"

"No guys, you know we're just friends, nothing happened," he answers with a groan flopping down on the couch.

"You're an idiot" Ben smirks.

"She doesn't stand around my kitchen in nothing but a hoodie and knickers, mate," Mason adds.

"You know you are not friends with her like we are," Ben shakes his head at him.

"She slept in my bed, I might have woken up spooning her" Christian adds with a slight grin.

"Bruh, come on" Ben says, "if she didn't seem bothered by that, then you've got to know she sees you as more than a friend."

"I don't know, I'm terrified of fucking up somehow", Christian tells them rubbing his hands over his face in frustration.

After a while, the conversation moves on to other things, but Christian's mind keeps wandering back to you.

At your apartment, you try to take your mind off of everything. You take care of some cleaning and preparing for the week ahead, before settling down on your couch with a book. After a few hours of trying to entertain yourself, you give up and text the boys in your group chat, trying to act as normal as possible.

Y/N: I'm bored. Anyone have plans tonight? Can we please do something? 😇 Ben: yeah, I don't have plans, movie at my house then? Mason: I'm in, you know I'm bored, too. Christian: I can't, I've got dinner plans. Ben: Weird that you didn't mention that earlier 👀 Christian: Forgot about it honestly 🙄 Mason: lucky girl 😅 Ben: so, meet at my house at 7 then? I'll order food Y/N: sure, sounds good Mason: 👍🏻

A couple of hours later, you arrive at Ben's house. Mason is already there and both boys are standing in the kitchen snacking on some things Ben had pulled out while waiting on your food to arrive.

"Hey, y/n" they greet you, both giving you a quick hug.

"Hey, what have I missed?" you ask, hopping up to sit on the counter.

"Not much really, what about you, what have we missed?" Mason asks, subtly nodding towards the hoodie of Christian's you still have on.

Throwing an eye roll at him, you frown "nothing, you've missed nothing" with a sigh.

"But you want it to be something don't you?" Mason pushes.

"I don't know, I have no idea what he's thinking. And then I'm worried about all of it. What if he really just wants to be friends and that's it?" you answer, rubbing your hands down your face.

"He definitely wants to be more than friends, y/n, and you do too. You don't come our houses to keep us company and cook for us after a loss. And you definitely aren't sleeping in our beds. Have you seen they way he looks at you? Do you really think he would look at his friend like this?" Ben says while showing you various pictures he has taken of you and Christian over the months.

The three of you eventually move to Ben's cinema room once your pizza arrives, spreading out along the sofas, the boys noticing you aren't really in the mood to share your usual banter with them.

Ben: CP, man, come get your girl. She's over here at my house, wearing your hoodie, and being all mopey. Christian: Really 👀 Ben: *sends photo* yes, really Christian: OMW 🏃🏻

When the movie you were watching half heartedly is nearly over, you hear someone coming up the stairs to Ben's cinema room. "Are you expecting someone?" you ask. "CP said he might come over, it's probably him" he replies. And just as he finishes his statement, Christian walks into the dimly lit room, coming over and settling down next to you on the sectional and pulling the blanket you were using to cover himself too.

You are sure you didn't do a very good job of hiding the excitement on your face when he arrives and now, with him sitting so close to you, you feel like your heart might beat out of your chest.

He quietly asks you a couple of questions about the movie you are watching, his hand searching to find yours under the blanket that is covering you. Once he finds it, he intertwines his fingers with yours and gives them a squeeze, causing your stomach to somersault.

After the movie finishes, they boys ask Christian about his date from earlier in the evening. You sit silently scrolling on your phone, pretending that you aren't listening.

Christian's hand drifts to your thigh, drawing shapes still hidden by the blanket. You relish the slight touches he is giving you, but don't care to hear about whoever he was entertaining earlier in the evening. "Friend of a friend, nothing really, she is just a girl someone from home thought would be a good idea to set me up with" he says giving your leg a reassuring squeeze.

"So not interested in seeing her again?" Mason asks. "Nah, you know how it is, within 5 minutes she was asking the usual 'how many cars do you have?', 'what's it like living your life?', ordered the most expensive wine and meal on the menu," he scoffs.

"That's shit," Ben answers, "hate it when they act like we aren't normal people, too".

You drop your phone into your lap, looking at all three of them "you all know you deserve better than that, it's ridiculous that people can't see beyond all the bullshit and treat you like people rather than objects to be collected."

"And that y/n, is why you are worth more than your weight in gold" Ben smiles at you.

"Sorry guys, I just hate that it's like that for you, you deserve better, all of you," you said standing up and stretching.

"I think I'm going to call it a night" you tell them, "I'll see you guys in the morning." You hug each of them before you let yourself out and drive home.

"Chris, why aren't you going after her, you know you want to" Mason presses him.

"I don't know man, what we have is nice, what if I fuck it up?" Christian replies.

Ben counters, "just don't fuck it up, get out of your own damn head and go make her yours. I've never seen two people make heart eyes at each other the way that you two do. She was moping around here knowing your were on a date. Just like you did the last time she went out with someone besides us".

"She's friends with us man, she's definitely more than friends with you, or should be anyways," Mason adds.

"Alright, alright, I get it, I guess I should probably get going, need to go get my girl" Christian grins at them. My girl he thinks to himself, she should be my girl.

Tag List:

@chilwellspulisic @neverinadream @masonspulisic @pulisicsgirl @swimmingismywholelife @lovelynikol16 @nyctophilic0vitnir @lunamelona @tall-tanned-tattoo @lizzypotter14 @bracedes

[sytokun]

A lengthy thought wall about the recent RT shutdown and DillonGoo Studios' interest in acquiring RWBY - I speculate and entertain some hopium about the pros that could come with it and why all in all, impossible it may be, it's probably the best shot we have for RWBY.

Some rwde cause it mentions Shane's letter and nobody likes that.

I've been reading a lot, a lot of the various discussions around RWBY's fate and Dillon Goo Studio's (henceforth shortened to DGS) interest in acquiring it. Here's my overall evaluation everything so far:

This goes without saying but this is obviously an optimistic take on the matter, I wanna talk moreso about the pros rather than the logistics of whether DGS can afford it, whether you think it's just clout-chasing, etc.

Dillon's a former RWBY animator and a fan of Monty's work. No matter what you think of Monty's style of action, in the greater public sphere, RWBY is known and liked precisely for that and largely that alone, period. Only RWBY fans who are already invested in the show will mention story or characters - for the majority of people, i.e. future RWBY fans, the action is the main selling point, and DGS clearly can deliver on this.

Dillon himself is at least amicable with most of CRWBY and likely open to negotiate with them given prior work history. For any other media corporation, consulting the old IP holders of a defunct company is a minor formality at best or even a laughable waste of time. And if you want to bring up a certain almost 10-year-old letter and the person working with Dillon who wrote it, there are plenty in the comments section who would agree with me that it's not as big a dealbreaker as one might think, given the company the letter largely condemned is well dead and buried. I won't go further into that matter.

DGS is very community-oriented - they're very intimately familiar with 3D animation and produces creator-friendly content like the Goo Engine which helps future animators inspired by RWBY to make similar anime-style 3D content. Every single RWBY fan animator whose work we enjoyed benefits from this acquisition - all of whom can grow into future animators for the series, intimately familiar with its trademark action style.

DGS is probably the only genuine fan of RWBY that has a remote chance of acquiring the IP with the express motivation of using the IP creatively. This can be clearly seen in the steady improvement of their animation content over the years and desire to push the medium. All other candidates are corporations whose motivations with RWBY are, more likely than not, going to be entirely financial (not necessarily a bad or unhealthy thing, but it's a factor).

If RWBY stays under WB or given off to Crunchyroll? They have no stake in RWBY beyond pure business. They have no interest in what's best for RWBY or its growth, only how it will be most profitable or recoup the losses from RT. The only companies I can see being more creatively invested in RWBY are ArcSystem Works who implemented RWBY in Blazblue Cross Tag Battle, or Shaft that animated Ice Queendom, but those are both Japanese companies unlikely to go all-in on a foreign IP - especially given that these studios usually adapt other IPs, not buy them outright.

DGS is invested in RWBY. Their entire studio's style is built on RWBY-esque action animation. Acquiring RWBY more or less guarantees it'll become their main flagship series and their main investment, whereas with WB, Crunchyroll or other big platform, RWBY is nowhere near prolific enough to be much more than another shelf-filler in their library. At worst, Warner archives RWBY for eternity and at best, they only bring RWBY out for tie-ins and crossovers to prop up their larger DC properties. Why give RWBY the spotlight when they own the likes of Justice League and Looney Tunes?

DGS may not be the most plausible choice, but it's clear that unless some big company like ArcSystem Works or something throws their hat in the RWBY ring, DGS is far and away the people's favourite, even gaining approval from JJ Grelle (Tyrian's VA), who quite notably refused to reprise their role for Rooster Teeth.

DGS is still very much an indie studio which IMO RWBY has flourished the most under, the time period where it retained a certain unpolished energy that made you invested in watching it improve and grow. I don't want to watch a RWBY that uses its precious time under a new studio to just go by the numbers and coast by on its existing fanbase. I want to watch a RWBY that grows, innovates and takes risks, that impresses and draws new and old fans in the way it does for every single person that has watched the Red Trailer for the first time.

I think a lot of folks have a preconceived notion that RWBY has to continue on the exact same production value as V9 left off, but that never had to be the case. I think a return to a much more subdued production with smaller teams focusing on strong individual episodes over large overarching narratives will be healthy for RWBY and more easily invite new fans, which it sorely needs if it wants to stay afloat this time around.

Whether this means a continuation to V10 or a reboot I don't know, but I know I'd rather take a RWBY that a new studio respects and will produce in a way that fits their strengths and limits, over trying and overreaching themselves to make something work that even Rooster Teeth failed to, or over no RWBY at all.

That's the crux of it: the worse alternative is no RWBY at all. CRWBY and especially us as a fandom are in no position to be picky when that's the alternative. There's no such thing as a perfect deal, but this is about as sweet as they come. If the only hurdle is WB's refusal to sell, then that's on Warner. If the only hurdle is affording the IP, I, many others and no doubt other associates Dillon Goo Studios knows are likely to help them meet that price.

I do wanna stress, despite my optimism, I'm not asking to stake all our hopes on DGS as the saviour of RWBY, god no - the last thing I want is a weirdo Monty 2.0 cult and I doubt Dillon would want that either. I'm not saying the RWBY they'd make will be perfect or be equitable for everyone either - some compromises must be made and professionally speaking, whoever owns RWBY next has no legal obligation to make V10 or bring back anyone from CRWBY. Any such action is solely on the graces of the new IP holder and at the end of the day, I think whatever creates a healthier, longer-lasting future for RWBY should take priority over our sentiment or attachment.

But as things stand right now, if DGS isn't just farming Twitter likes and is honest-to-god serious about acquiring RWBY, and no better candidate presents themselves, this is about the best option we have right now, and I myself will be ready to help and contribute in whatever little way I can. Because I know the very real alternative is either a complete gamble on yet another faceless media subsidiary, or watching RWBY rot behind a vault for the next decade or more.

[runawaymarbles]

9-1-1 fic recs

because if I do nothing but read 9-1-1 fic for a month solid I feel like I should. Since my bookmark notes are all spoilers. Buck/Eddie unless specified otherwise.

to your front door by hammersmiths | G | 3k

Buck and Pepa are bridge buddies and Pepa is happy to arrange everyone's lives.

i'm headed to the mountains by hammersmiths | 8k | G

a.k.a. Abby Clark does deserve rights

pick me, choose me, love me by trysetmeonfire | T | 9k

It is some kind of hell, it seems to me, to be forced to choose one irreplaceable thing over another. Buck and Chris get stuck and Eddie has to get one of them out first.

brick by spqr | E | 10k

9-1-1 fic I read and loved before I knew anything else about 9-1-1. Post lightning strike, Buck and Eddie are not at all on the same page.

i love you, ain't that the worst thing you've ever heard? by rarakiplin (gmontys) | T | 10k

"Because, Evan" is actually a love confession, but Buck's with Taylor. They handle it great.

the stick-around by derryfacts2 (winchysteria) | T | 10k

Buck is bleeding out. It's surprisingly funny.

Ace of Hearts by glorious_spoon | T | 10k

The poker night was a date but Buck doesn't realize it until later.

darlin', i'm just tryin' to tell ya by archerincombat | T | 10k

The station adopts a dog that has cancer and Ravi has some feelings about it.

still by brewrosemilk | T | 10k

Eddie is standing on a bomb.

the light's been out though, baby by hattalove | M | 15k

There's a video of the shooting.

like a hole in the ground by clytemnestra | T | 15k

Buck shares his feelings but they still don't know how to communicate.

maybe love won't let you down by sibylsleaves | M | 15k

Buck tells Eddie he loves him; Eddie thinks he himself is terrible at relationships and so he dodges the question. Things are OK until they aren't.

False Start (timing’s everything) by Morgane (smilla840) | E | 16k

Buck and Eddie hook up, and then Buck gets back together with Taylor. Ouches all the way down. It's great.

i would like a place i could call my own by maybeamystery | E | 17k

Buck and Eddie hooked up at the end of season 3. It does not make things better.

find a way to you (if it kills me) by foxwatson | M | 20k

Buck doesn't realize he has feelings for Eddie until Eddie lets Linda set him up. They both suck at coming out.

stay soft; get eaten by eddiediass | T | 20k

Ramon Diaz is dying.

every time we stop talking (the universe starts screaming) by withmeornotatall | M | 20k

Buck is being reckless, Eddie's pissed about it, and Natalia is asking a lot of questions about everybody's trauma.

where there's smoke, there's fire by wakeupnew | T | 24k

You're really not supposed to be secretly dating your coworker. Luckily, they have a union rep.

into the fire by brewrosemilk | E | 27k

Cheating fic (complimentary); Buck and Eddie sleep together. It's messy.

Tick Tick Boom by ChasetheWindTouchtheSky | 30k | T

Buck's having a breakdown; he's not talking to his parents; he doesn't tell Maddie this but he does go to drag brunch.

I Kinda Fell Half In Love (And You're To Blame) by orphan_account E | 33k

Eddie is dating Ana and Buck can't figure out why he doesn't like it. Also, Chris is trying to return to school after COVID and they're really stressed about it.

the going water and the gone by trysetmeonfire | T | 30k

Eddie is lost at sea and presumed dead. The logistics of death are complicated and custody isn't as easy as saying you want your platonic bro to raise your kid without telling anyone.

i don't swim and you're not in love by hattalove | T | 30k

Eddie is dating Ana, Buck tries to get over himself, and there's a sewer leak at Abuela's.

listen to you breathing (is where I wanna be) by Yavilee | T | 40k

Buck goes down in an earthquake and is missing, presumed. He and Eddie leave each other voicemails.

everything (nothing) has changed by bizarrestars | E | 50k

Buck goes to therapy, tells Eddie that he's in love with him but he's going to get over it, and Eddie has a meltdown for 50,000 words except this is from Buck's POV and Buck's an idiot.

across our great divide (a glorious sunrise) by catchingpapermoons | M | 50k

Buck and Eddie go to couples therapy in s5 and I? Cry.

a blaze in the dark by woodchoc_magnum | E | 117k

Buck gets caught up in Natalia, Eddie starts dating someone else, it goes about how you'd expect. Hurts in a delightful way.

tell me about despair by hattalove | M | 150k

THEEEEE Eddie Diaz fic.

just to be with you by woodchoc_magnum | M | 150k

Buck and Eddie keep their relationship secret for months and it turns out it's hard to come back from that.

The things we lost in the fire by SunSpell80

Buck's uncle molested him when he was a kid. Buck's relationship with his parents is complicated in a way that doesn't villanize them, but is still messy as fuck. I am rotating it in my brain. (Note: the author presumably wrote this before we met Buck's parents in canon, but got tired of changing the names a couple chapters in.)

[mixelation]

reborn au: sometimes tori should be allowed to win. as a little treat

iwa fails team 4, which is just funny. i was debating minato just promoting itachi bc he'd have the missions for it, but actually i think it'd be funnier if he went and took a formal exam in a way that somehow pre-empts deidara from doing it? idk how that could work, but i think it would be Fun if both deidara and itachi won the tournament in their exams, and for that they'd have to take them separately

(it might make more sense logistically if itachi was like "why do i care? i'm an ANBU captain. i already have the paycheck/security clearances" and then deidara solos the next exam and itachi is like ".....wait i can't let him win" and solos the NEXT one. but also i think the laws of the universe are such that itachi should advance first, because it would piss deidara off)

anyway the point is. tori applies for R&D immediately and spends all her free time slinking around & then complaining she's not allowed to do her own projects

minato after she's tried some insane manipulations to take over R&D: (squints at her) yeah, because you're a genin. just apply to be a chunin?

it has not once occurred to tori she could be promoted the regular way. she's used to just like.... infecting a space, like a fungus. and then people get used to her enough that she gets to do what she wants.

tori: what is rank to a fungus?

deidara: what the fuck are you talking about? just take the exam. you'll get a raise and then we can afford a nice ass apartment together

anyway tori signs up for the next chunin exam feeling extraordinarily like she's doing some sort of weird undercover mission. she's not a ninja in her mind, she just plays one on tv. then kushina is like "ohohoho so are you going to keep up the team reputation and win the tournament???" and tori is like ".....no?" but both deidara AND itachi make the same joke

tori: i think you're really overestimating me 8|

it's not that tori doesn't think she can't take on any task they might throw at a chunin, or that she won't pass. akatsuki had her doing missions as a civilian, okay, she can handle chaos and responsibility and the associated danger. she just never, ever picks "fight" as her first solution to a problem... and the chunin exam tournament is just a fight. there's no changing parameters or redefining your win condition to force the outcome in your favor. it's just.... a fight. which she's iffy at

kushina: oh, i get your problem. your baseline is whack

tori: no no, i'm pretty sure there's lots of thirteen year olds that could beat me up

kushina: do you know what makes a ninja good-- like, actually good? it's not being the strongest. it's being able to go up against someone who's stronger than you and winning anyway. and a lot of people won't ever be able to do that, but you definitely could

so tori goes and takes her exam and it turns out the average thirteen year old sucks!!! she wins easy!!!

tori: what the FUCK

then she goes home and is like "i won? i don't get it??" and two weeks later she's a special jounin* because minato wants her to have the associated permissions

minato: go on, go do fuinjutsu reearch to your heart's content

tori: ;^; i am going to make the MOST forbidden technique

minato: please don't

*special jounin in my mind is for people who have a specialized jounin-level skill but don't qualify for a full jounin promotion, because those people need increased security clearances and shit compared to a standard chunin. it's not EXACTLY a rank between chunin and jounin because there's a lot of variation in abilities within in it... like at this point tori would basically be an average chunin in terms of combat but also capable of making up s-rank techniques on the fly

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA for kicking someone out of my D&D campaign for reasons not entirely related to the game?

This is long but the context is important I swear.

About a year ago, I (30X) tried to assemble a D&D group with my coworkers. After a whole lot of fucking around, the guy who was going to DM moving across the country, and a bunch of people quitting or getting fired, it ended up being me as the DM, my brother, a few other people who I met through a different campaign, and one guy who used to work with me.

This guy, J (23M), had a lot of personal problems when he worked for us, most of which contributed to him being let go. He had a lot of family issues that led to him missing a lot of work (and I mean A Lot. We have a Very good PTO system for the US that basically amounts to accruing one day off for every 50 hours you work, earning more the longer you stay with the company, and more allowance for attendance infractions than any company I've ever heard of in the states). He also had a lot of interpersonal issues with some of the employees, one in particular, K (21F), with whom he had some kind of situationship. I try not to get involved in work drama, so I don't know all the details.

J also has issues with money, transportation, and depression/suicidal tendencies. I'm not judging him for any of those, as I have experience with them as well, but he has been leaning on me pretty heavily around every time we hang out to play D&D. I would cover his 120$+ Uber rides home, which he would sometimes pay me back but sometimes not (if I couldn't afford it once a month, I wouldn't do it, but he insists he's going to pay me back; since he has lost yet another job I am not expecting it at all and don't hold it against him really, but I do think it's kind of shitty to insist you're going to when you clearly won't be able to), pay for his food, work with my family members to get him home, and let him crash at my house to avoid ordering an Uber. He also messaged me when he was feeling suicidal - bad enough to be institutionalized after I sent him the number for the suicide hotline. Again, no judgement, but it made me uncomfortable because I struggle with the same things. He seemed bothered that I told him I wasn't able to talk him through it, but that may have just been the crisis talking.

After all that, we come to a game session that involves more than just navigating dangerous spaces and fighting off wild animals. The rest of the party does fine, but J really botches the social interaction part, despite everyone telling him what he's doing is a bad idea and me doing my best as a DM to communicate that he should change tactics. He does not change tactics and instead doubles down and goes full murderhobo, which is not the kind of player I'm interested in playing with, something I thought J understood from previous conversations.

My original plan was to say something to the table at our next session about removing themselves from the game if the themes weren't something they were interested in engaging with, but then I get some additional info today about J and K.

Apparently J has been incredibly possessive towards K - someone who, again, he was not dating in any meaningful capacity - for weeks or months, to the point that she has blocked him on social media off and on. And then this past week, J has sent her screenshots of her location, contacted her ex who she still lives with for logistical reasons, made him upset to the point that K thought he was going to kick her out of his apartment, and harassed K's brother to try to get her to talk to him again. K is seriously considering taking out a restraining order against him at this point. J has also been updating his social media to imply that he is going to kill himself.

To say this behavior raises some red flags is an understatement. Clearly J needs help, but as a regular guy, that's really not something I'm able to provide beyond sending mental health hotlines, and I don't feel comfortable being his support system in the way he obviously needs.

All that said, I feel like I might be an asshole for kicking him out of the campaign full stop, because he's been really excited to play this whole time. But the combination of all this really worrisome, potentially dangerous behavior and the mundane reality of him just being a really annoying player kind of has me at my wits end, so, WIBTA?

What are these acronyms?

[despazito]

hey! I was wondering if you ever watch clints reptiles - he just posted a video about marcupeal phylogeny and specifically mentioned thylacines, and talked about how theres been sightings in new guinea? i was just wondering about your opinion, since you just posted a new thylacine drawing and i know youre very interested in them :D

idk, the fact i haven't heard all that much buzz about this theory from the zoologists i follow on twitter makes me doubtful by default.

i'll be honest i'm pretty skeptical of this new guinea claim because of dingoes and new guinea singing dogs.

the popularly accepted theory for the mainland extinction of the thylacine and likely tasmanian devil was competing pressure from dingoes.

clint mentions all of this, but he leaves out the fact that dingoes arrived on the australian continent from the north and studies indicate that dingoes may be descendants of more basal new guinea singing dogs. that would likely mean imo that the new guinea thylacine population, if anything, would be the first to suffer the consequences of canine encroachment.

only on the island of tasmania where absolutely no dingoes were ever present sheltered a 100% verifiable thylacine population by the time of european colonization. to my knowledge, the most recent solid physical evidence of thylacines in new guinea is still several thousand years old. so to me it seems that dingo/wild dog distribution and thylacine distribution mixed as well as oil and water. If there's thylacines in new guinea, it would have to be some enclave free of dogs.

i know the topography of new guinea can give refuge to very cryptic animals, and as clint said the relatively low human population and no european persecution is a plus. i won't disocount local indigenous anecdotes because they've been proven right with other species once thought extinct, but like where are skins or bones or footprints?

also i feel like clint really really oversimplified the cloning process thylacines would require. he makes it seem like it would be simple because we have their whole genome sequenced and have specimens under 100 years old to work with. the thing is, cloning a mammoth is simpler than cloning a thylacine even though they went extinct millenia ago, because mammoths still have a close living relative.

a cursory look at google tells me wooly mammoths and extant asian elephants last shared an ancestor as recently as 6 million years ago, they both belong to the family elephantidae. thylacines however were the last living member of their own family, thylacinidae, which diverged somewhere around 25mya from the other dasyuromorphs. scientists don't really have a close living relative to work with. clint says the complete genome means we wouldn't have to "stick frog DNA in there" to complete it, but the thing is with cloning you have to start with a frog/living DNA sample to tweak it into a thylacine!! until we can 3D print an organism out of thin air with proteins and acids, there has to be a template sample of living cells whose nuclei we can tamper with. and the less related they are, the more DNA has to be overhauled

if you wanna learn exactly how much of a logistical nightmare it's gonna be to clone a thylacine, this lecture explains it way better:

the takeaway analogy is that cloning a thylacine is the CRISPR equivalent of doing a puzzle of a clear blue sky, not having the box to look at for any reference, and about half the pieces are doubles of other pieces (because most DNA is junk code that does nothing). it's like next to impossible and i still have more faith in de-extinction than a rediscovery.

so yeah, i guess i'm a bit of a thylacine doomer. but i do want to believe, just temper your expectations. to me a win would be a single engineered thylacine cell by the centennial of their extinction lol.