#I’ve been singing this alternative version for weeks now

[happypeachsludgeflower]

There’s a hobbit fanfic that’s called Shot in the Dark and istg every time I see the name I start singing it to the tune of Shot Threw the Heart by Bon Jovi

…I keep in my tabs specifically for that purpose…

[smokescreenimusprime]

Hi hi! I’ve been reading your smokescreen stuff and I had a thought. Specifically, a thought for a sort of, alternate version of the early crash AU. Smokescreen crashes early, but he crashes in the middle of nowhere and is damaged. He goes into stasis for a while, and when he wakes up the only system he can use is his holoprpjector. (He’s also stuck, buried deep underground in the middle of the Nevada desert, so that’s no fun either)

But he has his holoprpjector, and spends the next several decades just…vibing around Jasper. Then, he meets Jack. And they’re roughly the same age, so they hit it off. (Tho Smokes always has to explain why he doesn’t eat, or drink, or seemingly use the bathroom, and all kinds of other fun excuses to keep Jack off his trail). But then the Kids get involved with Team Prime, and suddenly Smokescreen is being confronted with Cybertronians for the first time in decades (possibly even for the first time in centuries).

And now he just has to figure out how to tell the bots what his deal is. (He doesn’t like being buried and may or may not have developed an intense claustrophobia.)

OOOOOOOOOOOO I REALLY LIKE THAT 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

I hope you don't mind but my brain went kinda insane with this thought and low key came up with a mini fic plan for it so-

just. Smokescreen slowly fitting into the little human society built above him. Going to their schools, working their jobs, living their lives. Maybe the first few times he lives the lives, he isn't perfect. He'll slip up and forget certain details about himself, or he'll be a bit too fast or strong and in such a small town rumours spread quickly

In his first lifetime as a human, Smokescreen kept to himself. He acted the way he always did, but kept to himself and watched from afar to learn more about humanity. He enrolled himself at Jasper High, got a job, bought a small apartment to call his own and did his best to ignore the pointed rumours and whispers from behind his back. For as amazing as humans could be, at times they could be just as cruel as the bots back home

it's a lot of stumbling and learning and making mistakes and he doesn't have any friends, but it's a step up to being alone in the quiet dark of his stasis pod, so he'll take it. He lives through his human's life, working, creating, starting hobbies, and so much more. The freedom to do things just for the sake of doing, of being allowed to pursue any job he chose without legal limitations, of being able to draw and paint and sing without countless rules and segregations preventing him....... it's freeing in a way he didn't know he'd been restricted

his 2nd life went much smoother, with a lot of the Nuances Of Being Human having been figured out. He had some difficulties "faking" his death since driving off into the desert with all his belongings then returning in the same vehicle with the same belongings would raise more rumours than he'd like to deal with, so he ends up packing all his important things and trinkets into boxes, gets a moving company to take them away, "dies" (he just messes with the settings on his holoform and waits for his body to be buried/cremated before dissipating it), moves in a few weeks later with a new identity and has the same moving company bring his stuff back

his 3rd life was more of the same, and not a whole lot stood out. He socialised better with other humans, but most of the bonds had had were kept at a bit of a distance. The fact he couldn't go super far from Jasper severely limited his hang out options since it's not exactly the entertainment capital of the world, but he makes do

his 4th life was actually cut short, which he's endlessly salty about. He managed to make it to his late 20s/early 30s, and this time around he wanted to experiment a bit. Specifically, he wanted to try street racing. Human cars were really starting to get interesting, and he wanted in. It had been far too long since he last raced, and while he wasn't going to be the one on the road, being behind the wheel was the next best thing. And he's damn good driver too, one of the best in the circuits around Jasper, and he dominates the local races for years

........but yeah it doesn't go so well in the end. Smokescreen's avatar ends up getting into an accident, one that he'd definitely not be able to get away with survival and ends up having to cut things short. It was a mad scramble in the next few days to get his stuff somewhere safe, and he unfortunately wasn't able to get all of it. It took him almost three months to cool off enough to make another human. It's was..... definitely difficult recognising so many people with them not recognising him, but he managed

but then something interesting happens nearing the end of his 5th life

Smokescreen had gotten some new neighbours. That in itself wasn't anything new, he got new neighbours all the time. They were a young couple freshly married and nothing that really garnered extra attention. Smokescreen did end up running into the wife at the grocery store a few times, and that's how he ends up learning her name

June Darby

he sees her around a few more times and they make pleasant conversation. At times, Smokescreen thinks they might even be friends, but he's hesitant to put a label on it It's been so long since he's had a friend, he doesn't want to scare her off

and things are nice. They talk over coffee and walk through the park together, enjoying each other's company. June tells him about her life and Smokescreen tells her about his human one. They have fun, laugh, make jokes, and when June gets pregnant Smokescreen is ecstatic to meet the kid

but then...... then things took a turn for the worst

Smokescreen had never liked Mr.Darby. He had his suspicions, had his gut feelings, but never had anything other than that to go off of. He doesn't even know what about the man made him feel so uneasy, just that something about him, about how June would take every opportunity to get out of the house, about how she always looked so tired in a way medical school couldn't explain.......

everything comes crashing down one night. At 11pm he hears yelling outside his house and frantic banging on his door. He's on his feet in an instant, and he's horrified what he sees

June, crying and shaking with a bruise on her cheek and Mr.Darby trying to drag her away

in that moment, Smokescreen forgets he's supposed to be a frail old man and punches him so hard the man's jaw shatters

June spends the night with him. He gently guides her to the guest room and keeps watch all night. Sleep was simply a formality at this point, one he was more than willing to forgo for her safety

it was easy enough to get Mr.Darby to back off. Smokescreen had accumulated quite the fortune over the (technical) generations he's lived on Earth, especially since the food and water bills he paid amounted to almost nothing, and it was more than enough to pay for any legal fees to get the man arrested and evicted. June was of course still very shaken up from the whole ordeal, but Smokescreen doesn't hesitate to let her know she's welcome for as long as she'd like

and then June just kinda...... never ends up moving out. The trial kept her on edge and busy, then she had to get caught up on all the schooling she missed, then Jack was born, and while she always intended to move back it just...... never happened. And it wasn't like this was a bad thing, Smokescreen's home was more enough for the three of them, and neither minded being roommates. It was...... honestly comforting, having someone there

but Smokescreen knows he's running out of time. That he's only going to be able to realistically be around for so long before his age will start to draw attention, and as much as it kills him to abandon June and Jack he doesn't know what to do

so he stats planning for his next life, more than he has for every previous one combined, and for the first time, he decided to tie these two lives together

before, he always avoided any relations at all. It could become suspicious and lead to people poking their noses where they don't belong and asking questions he wasn't prepared to deal with. But….. he couldn't stand the thought of being forced to watch June and Jack from the sidelines. Of them not knowing him in his next life

it had been a few years since everything had gone down when Smokescreen finally puts his plan into action. The plan had been to tell June he needed to take care of some “Family Business” he’d thought was taken care of before his time ran out. That he wasn’t sure if he’d be back, he could feel that he was running out of time, but that no matter what he loved June and Jack

Jack was 7 years old when he said goodbye, and that memory would be burnt into his brain for the rest of his life. How Jack clung to his pant leg asking him not to go, how June's eyes got so big and shiny and how her hands would shake. It tore his spark to pieces to see them like that, and it just convinced him further

he left almost everything he had to the two of them. Aside from a small box of his most personal and important things, he left everything else to June in his “will,” including the house and all his money, which she at first tried to reject but Smokescreen was stubborn and insisted

And then he gets in his car with a tank full of gas and drives far off into the desert

it takes 3 weeks before he comes back, and it was the longest 3 weeks of his life. He wanted to rush back, wanted to be with June and Jack again and he was worrying himself sick over what could be happening to them, but he forced himself to wait

In his 6th life, Smokescreen is the most honest with himself he’d ever been since his 1st life. His holoform is what he thinks is comfortable and he makes himself as young as he can get away with (a newly 15 year old) because he wants as much time as possible with the two. His personality is who he truly is without any politeness or experimentation because above everything he wants to be as open and honest as he can with these two. He starts thinking of ways to describe his life, his Cybertronian life, in a way that would fit as a human because he wants them to know him, not a puppet he created

When he shows up in Jasper things…… go as he expected. Driving up in his “old” car definitely got some whispers and June’s suspicion was almost painful, but well within everything he planned. Smokescreen was ready to play the long game for this, anything it took to be a part of their lives again

he claims to be his previous life's great-nephew. That one of his grandparents and his old life used to be siblings, but had a falling out leading to his old life moving to Jasper and cutting all contact. A few weeks ago, Smokescreen had reached out to his "great-uncle" since things with his own parents weren't....... going super great and his grand-uncle was really the only family he felt would be sympathetic. However he over estimated just how much his grand uncle was willing to do for someone he didn't even really know, leading to him recommending Jasper as a place to stay and driving all the way to where he lived to give him his car

he also mentions that his grand uncle had talked about June a lot in the days before he died, and he could tell he really loved her (not in a romantic way). He'd already said his "last goodbyes" weeks ago, and while he did make sure they knew how much he cared...... he still feels like he hadn't said enough

after things slightly calm down after that, Smokescreen then gets ready to leave. After all, he's still technically a stranger to them and he's already accomplished his goal of making contact....... but then June insists he stay the night. After all, he's a 15 year old and she can't in good faith let him sleep in his car when she has a perfectly good bed available

reluctantly he accepts, but makes it clear he's going to make plans to move elsewhere. After all, this is June's home now and he doesn't want to intrude

.......but just like when he first took June in, his moving out never happens. He ends up being enrolled in school, babysits Jack when June's shifts run longer, help prepare food and before he knows it, they've become a family once again

a few years later when June asks if he'd like her to adopt him he nearly cries

from here, my thoughts are a bit more scattered. I have a couple misc ideas which I'm not fully sure how to go about but want to include somehow:

after he graduates this time, Smokescreen ends up working at the library for both a change of pace and some nostalgia, and he's really good at it

when Smokescreen left his 5th life, he gave Jack a little pendant he'd made some years back with Alpha Trion's symbol on it. Sort of a way to remember him by, and Jack rarely takes it off. It's eventually noticed by the Bots which sparks a bit of curiosity about Jack's older brother

Smokey is just as much in the dark about the Autobots as June is, however he'd had suspicions for it longer. Not specifically Cybertronian Interference, but defiantly that there was something going on

during the whole MECH Thing, Smokey ends up getting kidnapped in the house. However, things don't go as planned because Smokey isn't at all limited by normal human limitations. Initially they tried drugging him and knocking him out, but he only goes down when they hit him with a high powered taser which ends up REALLY fucking with his holoform which unfortunately gets their attention

the Autobot Base is thankfully just within Smokescreen's range, and he looses his SHIT. Unfortunately they can't free him just yet on account of the whole ass town on top of him, but the fact multiple someones know he's down there...... yeah he starts crying a bit

during the S2 finale, Smokescreen ends up being the one to stay behind in the base since..... well, he couldn't leave anyways. Might as well make sure everyone else can escape

[jmdbjk]

The air is different...

All my thoughts and ramblings have been piling up. I have had to resort to just jotting down notes. Some stuff is already outdated because: already resolved or already happened. Time is moving swiftly yet at a snail’s pace. 2025 is still an eternity away. Yet...

I was talking to my friend the other day and I remarked “it’s like there's been this paradigm shift since (Jin enlisted)... Jin is handling weapons on the daily, Jimin is blonde again, JK is too skinny, Tae eating Mexican food, we're speculating about Yoongi driving military generals around like some sort of movie plot (because we were)... it's like an alternate universe or something.

In this au fic, Jin becomes a sniper on special ops teams. Except during a mission he gives away his position when he starts laughing his windshield wiper laugh. Or better yet, he uses his windshield wiper laugh as an audible secret signal to his fellow green berets...the enemy never suspects... 

Once Jimin enlists, he becomes South Korea’s own version of Mata Hari, exotic dancer turned spy and infiltrates North Korea and returns with the news that their ramyeon sucks. My god, they don’t even put eggs in it. And as I said, Yoongi ends up driving military generals around. Strangely, he’s the chauffeur that won’t shut up and gives them a more simplified and rational viewpoint of how ridiculous this all is. They actually listen. He is also in high demand making individual regiment OSTs. You know, the things they chant while they are doing marching drills...there she was just a walkin’ down the street singing do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do... 

Anyway. Humor is a coping mechanism and last couple days have been very emotional. Someone please write that fanfic asap.

Let’s talk about Slender Jungkook... He’s turned into some sort of mysterious Slenderman of BTS. This gluten-free-meat-restaurant-protein-heavy diet has made him a lean mean bunny. It’s sort of startling to see slim JK juxtaposed next to the others. Especially Jimin who appears to be getting bulkier. Kookie is not filling out his puffer jackets and baggy pants...or even slim pants, as much as he used to. 

Okay, here’s the deal, I understand there is content in the bank supposedly to last us until 2025... we’ll see... but I already know I am not buying Legos, special coins or Korean postage stamps. Those don’t count as content or merch. Just sayin’. I know they tried to tempt us with Cookie Kingdom nonsense but that was a washout for me.

What we did get: Indigo merch... we got Jack in the Box merch, we got Wootteo and The Astronaut merch... you know what that means? We will be getting merch for Jimin’s album... and everyone else’s as well. Jimin, if you’re reading this, I will pay money for a nice flowy robe-like garment that screams “Jimin would wear this while lounging on his couch wearing nothing else.” And jewelry, hell yes. Give me some dangly earrings that Jimin designed please. If he comes out with some sort of leather merch, the implications...(closes the door on my imagination before things get out of hand, so to speak.) 

Jimin... I beg of you, please design a robe like this:

The thought of stuffed animals and pillow cases as his merch... I hope not. 

I know this was days/weeks ago but WTF Yoongi? He is channeling 19th century rakish scoundrel here.

And Tae’s fo-fo and how he’s definitely catering to the wimmins. Swooning could be heard across the planet when his fo-fo hit the internet. I saw someone say Tae was not channeling Darcy, he was more of a Willoughby. If you know, you know I guess. What got me was the horse... the ultimate phallic symbol.

Now Taeyang having Jimin feature on a song for his upcoming album. I don’t know BigBang except for some negative things I’ve read. I do know who G-Dragon is. He supposedly has an apartment in the same complex with Joon and Jimin? I might be wrong about that. So we supposedly get to hear Jimin on Taeyang’s song in January. I’ll take anything. We’re desperate here. 

I know this post was all over the place but that’s how I’ve been this last week or two. This time of the year also does not offer any calm respite either. 

We have even more changes coming. The air is already different with our Jinnie’s military service started. The past was honestly the best, but we need to look to the future, to their future when they return to us in 2025. They will be different. We will be different. Hobi, Jin and Joon have shown us artistically how much they’ve grown this year. We supposedly still have four more artistic efforts coming before the end of 2023. And we have six more enlistment days coming.

My feelings are still raw. I know they were all emotional but my heart is still aching. I have no better words to say about being able to see all of this unfold in front of my eyes than I’m grateful to be part of it, even with how intensely emotional it is. 

[inkandpaintleopard]

Ooo, so 🎶Skid and Skiddad then?

As you may know, I associate Skid with music like South and generally think of South as his theme song alongside Scary Swings, and now whenever I hear music that sounds even remotely like South I just think of Skid. It’s also been a sort of subheadcanon of mine for a bit that Skid is the slightly more spooky month obsessed one, but for some reason Pump is better at spooky music (Spookeez the song). And of course I’ve stated before that Skid also sings Eerie and Pump does the music, and Pump sings Shiver and Skid does the music.

So then one day I was listening to B-Side Redux Shiver and I just thought something like “lol evil Skid” because my brain has to generate alternate storylines for everything, and then as I was thinking about that I realized;

B Side Shiver is a scarier, darker, more powerful version of the original. It’s mysterious, it tricks you, it’s the spooky week Big Bad. Also people like to think of Monster adopting the boys anyway.

If I associate the original Shiver with Skid, it only seemed right to me that I associate the boss fight Shiver with his dad.

His dad has two music themes to me: sort of tribal sounding music (cult in general) and whatever Skid inherited. The first thing I got from the first song I heard and thought could be a Skiddad song (Come Along by Cosmo Sheldrake, last verse in particular. I mean COME ON DUDE-) and now I just think of him and the cult whenever I hear music like that.

Oh damn that was a lot-

Meh two characters twice the info

[independentartistbuzz]

GAMING MUSIC ARTIST THEFATRAT REVEALS THE BEGINNING OF HIS EPIC SAGA WITH A HEARTENING NEW SINGLE “OUT OF THE RAIN”

Coming off the high of his recent hypnotic single “Monkeys,” gaming music legend TheFatRat, popularly known for his immense online following of over ten million fans, has released his new single “Out Of The Rain.” The irresistibly hopeful new single features vocals from breakout alternative electronic singer-songwriter Shiah Maisel and culminates with an exciting brass-filled ending.

The tune begins to reveal the much anticipated beginning to his epic saga and is now available on all DSPs and streaming services, and is free to use on Social Media like YouTube and Twitch, true to TheFatRat’s tradition to make his songs available for creators without the hassle of demonetization.

Listen in here: https://open.spotify.com/album/2lz42JvrrwvTr4yKYpODLY

With his second release of the year, the go-to-artist for Esports brands like ESL and Dreamhack has returned with an inspiring single dedicated to people going through a hard time. “Out Of The Rain” is a song that acknowledges our continued perseverance, even when things get hard. Fans may have noticed that the artwork of TheFatRat’s releases are connected and tell a cohesive story. Now, “Out Of The Rain” and the following songs will provide fans with the much anticipated beginning of this epic saga both through the artworks and the lyrics telling the story of two siblings; a girl with her younger brother, living under dire circumstances in the slums of a futuristic city, hoping for a better life.

“It’s a song about hope…We all have been in circumstances that feel unbearable but at the same time impossible to escape from. The song is about how you keep going and stay alive in such situations.” - TheFatRat

Known for his production and leadership in the gaming community, with his music being used in popular video games like the top-grossing Dota 2, Rocket League, Rolling Sky and Game For Peace, you can instantly hear the subtle influences of his tried and true sounds on the track. Opening with a bubbly beat paired with a lighthearted drum sequence, the diverse sounds lead to a one of a kind listening experience as the song goes on. As the energy of the music escalates,  the bass drop approaches and listeners get the feeling that if this was a video game they are preparing for the boss battle. “The hardest part in “Out Of The Rain” were the drums,” said TheFatRat. “The drums in the first demo were ok, but didn’t quite have the bounce I was looking for. I ended up working over two weeks, full time, every single day to get them righ

With Queens, NY born alt-electronic singer-songwriter Shiah Maisel’s strong vocals accompanying the beat, listeners are exposed to a truly unique audio-sensory moment across the song. Shiah has amassed over 110 million streams on Spotify alone through his very diverse music including popular songs like “Really Love You” feat. AFROJACK, “Not Coming Home Tonight,”, and collaborations with Laidback Luke, Kayzo & more.

"When Christian first showed me the song, I instantly knew these lyrics were ones that I wanted to sing. With such a deep and inspirational message that many can relate to, the world is in a vulnerable place, and the hope the song brings is very needed today…I’ve looked up to [him] for many years, and to be able to record with Chris in the studio was a dream come true. Everything flowed perfectly, and I’m so excited to inspire the world with this special song.” - Shiah Maisel

TheFatRat started 2023 off with a surprise, giving fans his own deep vocals on the long awaited track “Monkeys.” He capped 2022 with his December release of “Back one Day” featuring NEFFEX, the vocal version of his globally trending instrumental “Xenogenesis,” which had accumulated over 250 million TikTok views and participation from celebrities such as Nick Kroll on The Tonight Show, Lil Nas X, and massively popular YouTuber Collins Key. Prior to that, TheFatRat released “Ghost Light,” the seductive and saxophone-heavy trap-leaning collaboration with award-winning K-Pop band EVERGLOW.

TheFatRat’s highly-anticipated lore-filled debut ten-track album PARALLAX was released in September 2021. As is still a tradition, each song from the album was premiered on YouTube followed by an interactive Discord chat hosted by TheFatRat with collaborators and thousands of his fans. The album, artwork, and lyrics from PARALLAX tell their own cohesive story filled with imaginative characters and fantasy settings that have been referenced in his past projects, with each single sharing new chapters of the story. This lore is a huge interest for his rabid fans, who speculated wildly on online forums about the meaning of each release and guessing what was coming next.

[captainkirkk]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

A collection of fics I’ve read (/reread) and thoroughly enjoyed in the past week-ish from all kinds of fandoms and genres.

TUA (Old Guard AU)

time is a clever invention by buddhaghost

“Klaus, it’s time to come home,” Diego says. Klaus laughs again, bright and loud and decidedly unamused.

“And where is that, exactly?” He asks, twirling the chord around his finger. “Last I checked, my home was destroyed in Jerusalem, around, oh, I don’t know, 5 B.C.?” He giggles. “5 Before Me.”

He can practically hear Diego roll his eyes. “The manor,” he says, sounding like he’s talking through clenched teeth. “You had the visions, you know –”

“Yes,” Klaus says, cutting him off sharply. “Yes, I saw that delightful young boy get riddled with bullets, and then saw him gasp back to life, so cliché, I thought, why not give him an interesting rebirth, like getting eaten by a shark, or run over by a lawn mower, or electrocuted or something –”

“Klaus,” Diego bites out. “We have to get him. He’s one of us now.”

Or: The Hargreeves are not the Umbrella Academy; they're the Old Guard, a group of immortals just trying to keep their family together.

BNHA

in any version of reality by redrobin1989

A villain with the ability to rewrite life changing moments tries to prevent Deku's rise by altering All Might's fateful meeting with a quirkless fan. But some paths are not easily diverted and some fates cannot be rewritten.

In every reality, Yagi Toshinori will always find and choose Midoriya Izuku.

Clone Wars

 let's sing a song full of hope, full of pain by eynn

Part 1 of i can't go back and lose it all

Shaak Ti is the first to Fall. How could she not be? Plo Koon is next. He never regrets a moment of it. From there, it only escalates.

Stranger (In A Strange Land) by AssassinOfRome

RotS AU where after failing to rescue Palpatine from the newly youthful Dooku, Anakin has to juggle defending the Republic, protecting Padme, and the weight of his own destiny. And with his padawan expelled from the Order and his master seemingly gone, The Chosen One will have to make do with what has been left behind - a scared and secretive Apprentice Kenobi, with the body and memories of his sixteen year old self.

Saving the Galaxy just got a whole lot smaller.

Suicidal Misunderstandings by nevertheless_turtle

 Obi-Wan scarcely a few years into his desert exile is (quite unexpectedly) thrown back in time to the height of the Clone Wars. This is in fact so unexpected that he reasonably (if incorrectly) assumes he is experiencing a spice-induced hallucination. After enjoying spending time with his lost loved ones, he decides he really needs to wake up before he dies of dehydration. When intense meditation fails, he tries to break the illusion through more...EXTREME measures (check the tags). Panic from all parties ensues.

I thought I fought this war alone by stonefreeak

Obi-Wan is thirteen years old, just about to start learning Ataru from his Master.

Obi-Wan is sixty-one years old, dead and one with the Force since four years back.

Obi-Wan is both, and neither.

 Life Goes On by BigFatBumblebee

The Clone Wars are in full swing, the Galaxy is going to hell in a handbasket and everybody is pushed to their limits. But life goes on and these are short stories, centered around Obi-Wan Kenobi, of the small moments that make up the bigger ones.

New Perspective by ejejie

Theoretically, Ahsoka knew it wasn’t funny. Not funny at all, in fact. It was in no way funny that her master’s consciousness was no longer in his body. It was not a good thing that Anakin Skywalker, the Hero with No Fear, was currently the closest to a full-blown panic attack that she had ever seen him. It was not humorous in the slightest that she, in fact, was technically the cause of this—well, she hadn’t actually made it happen, she had just… pulled the trigger. Accidentally, of course.

Still, the sight (and sense) of Anakin being in Master Kenobi’s body, alternating between hysterics and subtly checking himself out—holy Force above, she would never forget it.

[talkfastromance4]

Are lily ,posy and Oliver helpings daddy deal with the stress of the album coming out in two days?

How about momma? Maybe a bj to help him relax?

I love this ask so so so much because you made it into the Luke&Lily universe 🥺 and the last part is *chefs kiss* I hope you like it!💕

***

With the album only two days away, Luke wanted to have one last listening party with everyone over at the house. You were more than ecstatic to abide that because he's been nervous ever since he announced a solo album release.

The two of you spent many late nights discussing it, more of you encouraging him to write his heart out. Ashton helped as much as he could as hype man as well considering he released an album almost a year ago now.

You were all gathered around the fire pit outside letting Luke's ethereal voice serenade you into the summer evening. Lily and Posy loved to dance to his songs, they twirled and did their own version of a ballerina's pirouette.

You were sat on Luke's lap watching the girls dance and everyone else's reaction to his heart coming through. Ashton had his head pointed to the stars alternating his eyes from open to close humming along to the choruses. Calum sat forward with his elbows on his knees staring into the fire, Luke's words resonating with him on a deeper level.

Crystal held Oliver in her arms, a soft smile on her face as she rocked with the ballads. Michael had his arm around her, staring at Oliver with a look of concentration and admiration.

"This is what I had trouble with at this next bit," Luke murmurs in your ear. His arms tighten around your waist, his lips move against your shoulder when he speaks.

You listen intently but in your ears, it's all perfect and beautiful. You know this album backwards and forwards. When the kids were asleep you'd listen to all of his alternate ideas. It made you warm inside that he wanted to share this with you, this project that was just Luke; soft, tender, real.

Halfway through, Lily climbed onto Calum's lap and listened quietly with the rest of them. Posy snuggled with Ashton, she played with his bracelets on his wrists humming along to her daddy's voice.

When the album ended there was a moment of silence. Luke squeezed you again, his breath hitching and then everyone clapped.

"It's sensational, mate, well done," Ashton shakes his head.

"Yeah, it's perfect," Calum agrees.

"Thanks," Luke sighs keeping cover behind your shoulder. "I've been feeling like I'm going to throw up all week."

"Everyone's going to love it, Luke," Michael adds.

"That's what I've been telling him," you smile at him proudly. You brush back a curl from his face. "It's beautiful, babe, truly."

It wasn't very long until Posy and Oliver became fussy. Posy was clinging to Luke and Oliver's cries were of the sleepy kind. With hugs and kisses and more words of encouragement, they all left.

You could see the stress in Luke's shoulders as the two of you did the nightly routine with all three kids.

"Does this mean you'll be leaving sooner?" Lily asks him as he brushes her hair.

"Leaving? Where am I going, sweets?"

"With Uncle Cal, on tour," she's playing with the ears of her pink bunny. The pink bunny Luke gave her when he first met her.

"Oh. No, I won't be leaving. This record is more like...it's like a diary," Luke explains. "It helps me sort out my thoughts and feelings and music helps as well."

"I want a diary."

"I'll get you one," he smiles setting her brush down and kisses the top of her head. "Into bed, my sweet."

Oliver is in your arms and Posy is hanging onto your fingers as you enter Lily's room. Luke tucks her in kissing her forehead.

"Sweet dreams sweet Lily," he murmurs. "I love you."

"Love you dada," she smiles.

Posy hugs Lily goodnight and Luke scoops her up in his arms, her head falls heavily on his shoulder.

"Your turn for bed, love bug," Luke tells her and you follow them into her room.

Posy sets her in her toddler bed, making sure her purple elephant is right next to her. You're patting at Oliver's butt when he makes a noise listening in to the short story Luke is telling Posy. This one was about a fairy Princess named Posy who loved to dance and dream.

"Sometimes, she would sleep on a star," Luke's voice is hushed, his hand stroking over the top of her head. "And it would take her high in the sky so close to the moon. The moon watched over the fairy Princess Posy until the sun came and woke her up with a warm kiss."

"I think she's out," you whisper. Luke kisses her cheek then you give him Oliver to hold.

"Goodnight my Posy girl," you whisper and kiss her forehead.

You leave her door open a crack then move into Oliver's nursery. He's already been asleep for a while so Luke sets him in his crib gently. You let him talk to his son for a moment and hold out your hand when he turns around. Luke takes your hand warmly in his bringing it to his mouth for a kiss.

"I love you," he whispers, baby blues steady on yours.

"I love you."

You thought you'd be getting ready for bed and fall asleep together but Luke mentioned he left something outside. You shrug it off and did your own nightly routine waiting for him to return.

Thirty minutes went by and Luke still wasn't in bed with you. You make sure to grab the baby monitor before you go to find him. Sure enough, he's downstairs in his music room, the sounds of his album luring you closer and closer.

Luke's sitting on the couch, his arms spread along the back of it with his head against the wall. His foot is bouncing with the beat and he's singing along quietly to himself.

You can feel his nerves from the doorway and an idea sparks in your mind. You close the door behind you in case the girls wake up but they're out like lights so you're pretty sure they won't come in here. Oliver's monitor is placed on a pile of records and you move in front of Luke on the floor. You touch his knee delicately.

"Hey," he mumbles, his head still pointed towards the ceiling.

"What're you doing down here all by yourself?" you ask touching his other knee. You're silently rubbing up his legs in a soothing way.

"Thinking. I can't believe this is gonna be heard in two days," he rubs his face with his hand.

"You know what I think?" you ask stretching up over his legs, your palms sliding up his thighs to the center of his crotch. You stroke your thumb over his clothed dick in a teasing manner and that gets his attention. His head perks up.

"I'd love to know what you think, lovie," he exhales watching you.

With your eyes on his, you rub over his growing bulge until you think it becomes a bit uncomfortable.

"I think," you undo his pants and tug them down, down, down to his ankles. He helps kicking them off. You're still rubbing at his hips, and you press butterfly kisses to his thighs, up, up, up. "I think you need to relax."

"Yeah?"

"Mhm," you nod grabbing his fully hard dick in your palm. You stroke him slightly and you nip at his love handle loving the way his stomach clenches. "And I think I can help."

"I think you can, too," he smiles.

You turn your head to kiss his hip, then leave open mouthed kisses up his shaft until you're at the tip. You bat your eyes at him as you close your lips around his head, swirling your tongue over him. Your hand moves down with your mouth as you swallow him as far as you can.

"Oh, baby," he moans. His hand flies to your hair, not adding pressure but just to hold you. You hum at his moan as you lift your mouth off him only to go back down again.

Your mouth and hand work in tandem until he's slick with your spit then you fondle his balls with your fingers.

"Fuck, lovie, just like that. Mm," he moans again lifting his hips to meet your mouth.

"Like that?" you ask and he gasps at the vibration of your words. "You're so good, baby. Everyone's going to love your album."

"Don't talk about the album now," he nearly whines, "just keep--ah doing what you're doing."

You smile and bob your head back down, gagging slightly when his hips meet your throat. Luke's thighs clench beneath your fingers and you know he's close so you start to move faster.

"Lovie, lovie, lovie, lovie," he pulls you off him and onto his lap.

"I wasn't done," you protest.

"I want you."

A shared desire is exchanged in both your eyes and you both work quickly to remove your shorts and underwear. Luke guides himself inside of you and you slip over him easily.

"Look at me, lovie," he whispers.

When you do, he takes hold of your hips and thrusts heavily into you, you gasp loudly.

"Shh, shh, c'mere," he silences your gasps with his own mouth.

You rock your hips with him enthusiastically, feeling the pleasure rise up your neck and down to your toes. You're a mess of heated breath and pants, movements becoming jerky.

"Come with me, lovie...let me feel you," he murmurs. With a final snap of his hips, you cry out against his lips and he lets out a loud groan as he fills you up with warmth.

"Luke," you sigh resting your body heavily against him. When you say his name he smiles against you because what you really said was 'I love you.'

"I love you, too, Y/N. Thank you for being my everything."

"You're my everything," you frame his cheeks in your hands. "I'm so proud of you."

**

Taglist: @calumance  @in-superbloom @calpalirwin @karajaynetoday @wiiildflowerrr @sunshineeeluke @littledrummeraussie @suchalonelysunflower @hoodhoran @Fobodob @thew0rldneedsmcreycghurt @sunshineeashton @ashtonsunflower​ @mymindwide​ @itjustkindahappenedreally @seanna313 @fivesecondsofonedirection @mulletcal @pandaxnienke @prentisswrites @princesslrh

[stevetonyweekly]

SteveTony Weekly - Dec 26th

Happy Sunday and Happy Holidays if you celebrate!! Here’s what I’ve been reading this week. As always, leave your fic authors some love if you read and enjoy their stories! 

**Indicates my recent favs 

~*~ 

Owl be Home for Christmas by S_Horne

“Really,” Tony said. He’d only been a dad, – well, only known he was a dad for the eight months it had been since Peter’s biological mom and step-dad had passed – but he was learning very quickly. Rule number one was no unnecessary tears. “Places are still open on Christmas Eve, right?”

Peter shrugged again. “I don’t know.”

“Right. You’re six. What you would know?”

“I know you need a star,” Peter said, smile dropping back to a frown. “Bet you haven’t got one of those.”

“A star?” Tony let go of Peter’s hand and placed his bag on the floor before he grabbed an unsuspecting Peter under the armpits and threw him onto his shoulders. “What do I need a star for? You’re tiny – you can fit on my tree!”

He was rewarded with a high-pitched squeal, which gave way to a wonderful laugh that Tony hadn’t heard since he’d picked his son up.

“No, Tony! Let me go; I’m too big for a tree. No!”

//

Tony and Peter go Christmas tree shopping for their first ever Christmas together, but there's an unexpected guest hiding in the tree that Peter picks out.

Every version of you by Ineedtherapy (gethelp)

“What does the other me call you?”

“Dad.”

After the events of Civil War and Homecoming, Peter Parker is slowly getting closer with his new mentor, Tony Stark. When his hero takes him with him to check out an abnormally, Peter gets switched with an alternative version of himself.

How will the two Peters handle living with a different Tony? How will ourTony react to suddenly having a son? Is there anything the Avengers can learn from their new Peter? If Steve and Tony are married in a different world, can they stop fighting in their universe? How will the two Tonys mange to get their Spider Kids back?

Handle with Care by Captain_Panda

"I’m not sick, I am allergic to magic."

Hypothesis by FestiveFerret, franzwantscoffee (XxWanderlustxX), XxWanderlustxX Aliens made them do it.

(For science.)

Against The Norm by justanotherStonyfan

When Steve and Tony wake up to find that they've been captured, they assume things can't get any worse. They're wrong.

Attack/Retreat by schmevil

Steve and Tony work out some relationship problems.

Unclaimed for too long by Captainstark12

In a world where alpha's hunt down Omega's as mates. tony has made it unclaimed his whole life until he meets a certain alpha by the name Steve.

Ink & Flowers by Gottoomanyships Was Tony being absolutely ridiculous? Probably, but what else was new? He wasn't going to simply stand idly by while Rogers insulted him (even if he did look like a inked up version of Michelangelo's David). Sure, sending some passive-aggressive flower arrangements might have been a waste of his time and resources, but that wasn't going to stop him.

Or

The Stony Tattoo-Flower Shop AU that no one asked for.

What Are Friends For? by Woad

A combination of the serum and an alien virus leaves Steve in an embarrassing predicament. Luckily, Tony is there to help. AKA, the one where Tony compares Steve to a salmon.

Sing Another Charlie Boy by justanotherrollingstony (adoctoraday)

A brief respite from the horrors of war leads to a song, a hope, a memory.

Blooms in Frost by Diomedes

Tony coughs up his first petal on the sixth of July. He has been married to the love of his life for two years.

Bury a Hanahaki corpse in earth and it will beget the most beautiful garden.

All that love, it is said, must go somewhere.

Hanahaki AU: Established relationship

Just Talk to Me by iam93percentstardust

Steve is staring at the file on the Maximoffs that Maria had handed him when he puts it together.

Living In The Future by Closer

Eighteen-year-old Tony Stark is the boy genius who woke Captain America, and now he's stuck with him. That's not a bad thing, but between Steve's wide-eyed wonder at the new world and Tony's little fanboy crush, the awkwardness just keeps happening.

***Sex Lies and Newsprint by nightwalker

A year of Cap/Tony romance as told by the tabloids.

Eavesdroppers Never by Sineala

When Tony made the decision to have a secret identity, he had several well-considered and carefully thought-out reasons. But there were a few scenarios he never took into account. He never imagined that he, Iron Man, would be cuddling naked with Captain America in a Canadian shack in the middle of a snowstorm. He also never imagined that Captain America would pick that moment to tell him, Iron Man, about his feelings for Tony Stark. Uh-oh.

Amor Fati by citsiurtlanu

Tony Stark has always known what the words on his wrist are supposed to lead to. What he's never known is who the words are for. 616 soulmate AU.

It Will Probably Accelerate by northatlantic (breakthecitysky)

So the working title of this was variously 'mixtape,' 'how steve rogers got his groove back' and 'oh my god quit thinking of things to add.' Steve's perspective of the assembly of the Avengers after the dust has settled and the rebuilding begins.

Title from Bob Mould's Circles, which is, was and ever shall be The Steve Song in my head.

A Fistful of Steves: This Town Ain't Big Enough by Raikishi, teaberryblue

When Tony Stark takes a bullet intended for Steve Rogers, he wakes up in a world entirely peopled by alternate incarnations of everyone's favorite Star-Spangled Man.

Steve Rogers Versus The Multiverse by copperbadgeAn

Agent Steve Rogers, callsign Nomad, has been pushed through a dimensional wall. Fortunately there are a couple of Tonys to set things right…

Empty Bottle and a Gun by Captain_Al

Steve Rogers finds himself with an unexpected traveling companion, and a good deal of unexpected trouble, on his way to a new life in Timely.

The words you choose to say by masterlokisev159After the SHRA, the events around Steve’s death and Tony discovering he deleted part of his brain, Tony finally decides he's done enough. With Osborn taken care of, Tony leaves the Avengers and decides to quit being Ironman effective immediately.

He tells himself it doesn't hurt when Steve agrees. Why should it? After everything he's done, the team's better off without him.

However before he can truly move on, there are things he needs to take care of, and it's not long before he realizes he's dangerously close to losing his company. He's desperate and willing to do anything to keep it together.

So when, after months of silence, Steve asks him to drop everything and come work for Shield, Tony finds he doesn't have a choice. He agrees, no matter how much he knows he shouldn't. His reputation isn't exactly the best after the SHRA and he's heard stories of what he'd done as Director. He's knows what he's done. He's knows he's responsible for what happened to Steve.

He just wishes someone had warned him first. He hadn't been prepared to deal with the consequences.

Cracks in This Reflection by FestiveFerret

Five months after Siberia, an alien threat pulls Steve back to New York, and back to a very angry Tony.

[sweetsubharry]

hey ! sorry to bother you but could you reccomend me some fics of footballer louis?? thank you !! love your acc

Hiya!!  💖you can never bother me!! ^-^ ohmgosh I’m so glad you like my blog! I love footballer louis djskasdhjag tysm(sorry it took soooo long!)

please make sure you read the tags and stay safe everyone!💖

Also these are not in any particular order, however I will say the first two are probably my favourites ;) I have to read them again right after this!

freeze this moment in a frame and stay like this by rosesau

Harry (not so) secretly crushes on the cute footie player and fills pages with sketches of him.

Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow by 1Diamondinthesun

Harry spends most of his time in an empty house or a lonely darkroom, dreaming of leaving his small town for art school. He's invisible to most people. And then Louis Tomlinson sees him. Life will never be the same.

Or, the American high school AU loosely inspired by She's All That.

Definition of Beauty by zanni_scaramouche

“Your book is upside down.” Harry nods at Louis’ book, his history text now that he sees it too.

“I’d rather study you.”

They both blink, startled by the slip.

“With you. Study with you,” Louis rushes to say. “Liam says I’m shite at history, can you help?”

Louis’ caught off guard by an omega he nearly takes out with an errant footie ball. It’s not that Louis’ never seen Harry before, it’s that he can’t stop looking, and he’s desperate to figure him out.

Coffee Cups and Football Boots by kimtaedumb

Harry’s stood behind the counter again, but this time he’s painting his nails. Louis strolls up to the counter and, thanks to his no brain-to-mouth filter, blurts out, “Isn’t that a little girlish, Haz?” leaning closer to inspect.

Harry lets out a little huff as his hand slips, “Oh, damn, now I’ve messed it up,” he pouts and turns to Louis, “Why should making myself feel pretty be girly?”

Louis holds up his hands in surrender, “’M not judging, jus’ curious is all.”

(The entirely cheesy and cliché Christmas AU, in which Harry doesn’t give a damn what people think about him – mostly – and Louis may be a little bit in love.

Alternatively, the one in which Harry owns a café that’s barely scraping by and Louis is a footballer and he takes Harry away for Christmas.

Featuring Zayn as a cocky little shit that most definitely needs to be put back in his place, Niall as the loveable Irish dude who drinks too much and flirts with Zayn more than the average girl, and Liam who loves everyone but hates them all at the same time.)

Way in the World by flowsque

When Louis Tomlinson enters the waiting room, Harry can distinctly feel his heart sinking to his stomach. The man's hair is ruffled and dishevelled and his red jersey, damp with sweat from training, clings to his perfect and chiseled body. He stands there, almost unreal, against the glass door, peering inside the office. Harry knew this would’ve happened, sooner or later. That he would have bumped into him. They play for the same club after all, even if they’re in different leagues. It’s not weird. It is not. Except it totally is. - Or, the one where Harry has a knee injury and an embarrassing crush on Manchester United's pretty number ten.

I Long For You by AnotherAnonymousWriter

Thirty minutes later, he's sat on a bench in Hyde Park with a book in his lap and a travel mug with hot tea in his hand. Not far from where he's sat, a group of boys are playing football and a bunch of children are chasing each other. Life is good.

Or at least, life is good until he hears a familiar “LOOK OUT!” and sees a football flying in the direction of his face.

And then everything is black.

(Harry gets hit in the head by various objects and falls for a boy with blue eyes.)

ease the quiet and talk me down by cabinbythesea

Harry's a model and Louis' a footie player.

(Louis teaches Harry some football and Harry is insanely good at giving a lapdance).

Baby, It's You by Bearandleonardwrite

"Oh, yeah. Um..” Harry lets his hands fall to his sides. His brows furrow, face full of concern, and he asks, “You’re not, like, stalking me, are you?”

Louis can’t help the loud cackle that escapes his lips and immediately slaps one of his hands over his mouth to muffle the sound. “Oh my god, Harry, no!” Louis tells him, a little breathlessly, giggles still bubbling out of his chest. “Lottie’s one of the makeup artists here today and she somehow got me to agree to come. I had no idea you modeled for, uh.. this brand until I saw you walk.”

“Oh,” Harry says dumbly, eyebrows still pinched. He lets what Louis just said sink in before a bright grin takes over his face and he goes back to doing up the buttons on his shirt. “Well, that’s alright, then. I’m glad you could make it.

(Basically, Louis' a footie player for Man U and Harry's a YSL model. They meet at a masquerade.)

Touch by kotabear24

Harry's shy and virginal with a past, new on the football team; Louis' the (experienced) popular star of the team and Harry's new mentor.

Come In and Change My Life by lightswoodmagic (sarah_writes)

He’d had the same neighbours since he’d moved into the building, a lovely, wealthy couple in their late sixties who had always invited him around for tea on Sundays. Martha had dropped off homemade biscuits the day he’d moved in, so Harry figured he may as well repeat the sentiment. He could hear someone getting closer to the door just as a flush ran through his body; oh fuck. His heat was close, too close to be knocking on a potentially unknown alpha’s door, but it was too late. The door swung open, and Harry’s mouth dropped. He’d never been overly interested in football, couldn’t find the fascination in watching men run around after a ball for hours aside from their uniforms, but he knew who this was. Louis Tomlinson, alpha, captain of Manchester United, star in a number of Harry’s heat addled fantasies, was his new next-door neighbour.

Or, Harry and Louis become friends when Harry looks after Louis' cat during away games, until one night at a party changes everything between them. It's just a shame Louis' going to be away for the FIFA World Cup for three months.

see the truth (it's me for you) by orphan_account

If you asked Louis the first day of his French Literature class what he’d be doing on the last, he’d probably never have guessed it would involve helping a poorly Harry Styles study for the final exam. Good thing he’s not a betting man.

(Or the one where Louis and Harry spend an entire semester ignoring each other after a one-night stand, only to come face to face when Harry manages to catch the stomach flu during finals week. Sometimes fate is funny like that.)

Use Your Words by zedi

based off this prompt: collage au where jock!harry always serenades flowercrown!louis with love songs in their music class. what nobody knows is that harry actually kinda means the words he sings.

But instead it's Louis as the jock and Harry as the flowerchild because I do what I want.

Stop The World (I Wanna Get Off With You) by ilikepianos

"You like this, don't you?", he asks breathlessly.

What? Sucking cock? Being dominated? Yes, all of that. A big fat yes.

Harry nods, lips still wrapped around Louis' throbbing dick.

Louis' lips curl into a smirk. "Keep going then. You're doing amazing, love."

OR: The uni-football AU where Harry may or may not have a minor crush on the captain of the team and suddenly discovers that the feeling is very much mutual.

Picture Perfect by LittleBubbleStyles

an AU where Louis Tomlinson is a misunderstood football player, and Harry Styles is a misunderstood photographer. Somehow, they're understood together.

I just think about my baby; I'm so full of love I could barely eat by mercutionotromeo

Harry and Louis are six hundred miles apart, but they have the same solutions to the same problem.

Or: a masturbation drabble featuring pillow humping, locker rooms, and copious amounts of dirty talk.

into another (another) serotonin overflow by mercutionotromeo

Harry wants this year to be different - wants it to be the year that he finally gets over this stupid crush. He’s going to uni, he needs to decide what he wants to do with his life.

Instead, he’s deciding what he wants to do to Louis Tomlinson.

Or: Sweet first time sex wherein Harry's adorably awkward, Louis is achingly cool, and Harry rides Louis wearing his jersey.

note: it says it in the tag but this is the edited version written in 2019, rather than the 2017 original- so there’s two put I put the link for the newest one :)

need a little sweetness in my life by mercutionotromeo

Harry's always liked feeling desperate and small when Louis touches him, but when he sucks Harry off...it’s fucking otherworldly. Desperate’s not really the word at that point - it’s helpless. Like… like the fucking world could stop spinning and Harry wouldn’t be able to do anything about it until Louis finished him off with his lips and his tongue.

Or, Harry and Louis go to university together. Harry really likes it when Louis sucks him off, and Louis really likes it when Harry calls him Daddy.

(Sequel to "into another serotonin overflow")

I made a map of your stars by brightbluelou

Harry does not have a crush on Louis Tomlinson. Yes, Louis is very pretty and funny, and Harry may have had more than a few inappropriate thoughts about him, but he certainly doesn’t like him. (Except for the fact that he totally does.) or, Harry is the shy boy in the back of the class that no one really notices. Louis is the loud, outgoing football player that everybody likes.

We Made These Memories for Ourselves by supernope

Breath held, Harry squints his eyes open and focuses on the first stick. A blue line. Harry breathes out an unsteady breath. He’s pretty sure he read that one blue line is a negative, but he fishes the box from the bottom of the pile just to make sure.

“Negative,” he confirms, voice echoing around the small room. “Next.”

Now that he’s feeling a little less shaky, he scans the rest of the tests at once, is met with a headache-inducing mixture of pink plus signs and blue double lines. His heart rate picks up until it’s pounding triple-time in the base of his throat and the pit of his stomach, thundering in his ears and throbbing in his temples. He flips over the rest of the boxes slowly, but he knows what they’re going to say before he even looks.

[or, Louis is a footballer, Harry owns a bakery, and they're having a baby.]

Kiss Me on the Mouth and Set Me Free by ls2k14   

Louis has his head thrown back in a laugh, his wet fringe hanging in front of his eyes, and a beautiful flush to his cheeks. From this angle, the sun hits his face just right to where the beams of light are shining in between the spaces of each individual clump of watered down eyelashes. His chest is showing through the soaked material of his white jersey and it seems that his biceps are attempting to break free from the sleeves that are clinging to his skin.

And Harry can do nothing except take it all in. He doesn’t even think he’s breathing at this point. He is literally stuck in place, admiring the true beauty of Louis Tomlinson, while being surrounded by fit footballers and generally attractive people. He doesn’t think he’s ever been in love before, but if Louis let him, he’s pretty damn sure he could change that in the matter of a few nanoseconds.

[keltonwrites]

I'm not sure if that's a good thing

“Well you’re definitely the first.” This past week, we screened-in the eastern facing porch on the side of the cabin. The porch slopes to the South, with the brick-on-dirt floor crumbling in that direction as well until it reaches uneven slabs of stone acting as steps down to the “yard” below. A mixed material retaining wall wraps beneath the steps to the south facing garage, holding up one corner of the narrow deck on the front of the house. The deck, in the heat of a high altitude summer, droops off the house like it’s daydreaming about the winter snow’s embrace. It’s safe to sit on, though I would not recommend leaning on the railing.

The side porch takes the brunt of the wind. Our wooden rocking chairs have been rocked some 20 feet into the yard more than once in the two months we lived here. In the myriad of threats we heard about the weather, most people included the wind. We all know how I feel about this ongoing weather intimidation tactic. I asked, “what speed are the gusts?” “Oh, they get up to 70 miles per hour on some days.” This was the first quantifiable piece of weather information someone had offered — an actual number we could react to with data and our historical personal experiences of various weather events. And our reaction was: uhhhh…. OK???? Look, I get it. No one’s preaching the skin benefits of -20 degree wind gusts at 70 mph, building snow drifts against your house in the span of minutes that Cooper could die in. I am not going to pretend that’s pleasant. But 70 mph? Any wind I’ve driven faster than does not intimidate me. I used to rally the horses at 12 years old in winds over 70mph to get them in the barn before the latest tornado whipped through. I helped shutter the resort in the BVI as the Category 5 hurricane rolled in. Even in Topanga, 70 mile per hour gusts were not uncommon in Santa Ana events. We had our single pane windows shatter more than once from debris in the wind. We taped cardboard up and went to sleep. That “70 mph” was all I needed to hear to confirm our next project: we were going to build a catio for these cats, and we were going to do it on the pre-existing porch structure to save time and money. We spent a week framing out the structure. We had to carve into the logs of the house to embed the wood supports for the framing.

And from there, every piece of wood was custom carved and cut to fit around the existing timber supports. The existing porch was so wildly uneven that there are gaps between each piece of old wood and the new framing. Our plan is to mix all the wood chips from the project with mortar/chinking and stuff the gaps — a good solution for the log cabin look. We built a plywood pony wall up to 28 inches from the interior of the porch, which gives a height of ~4-5ft from the exterior ground below. It’s capped with a 2x6” railing for even the fluffiest of cats to find a perch. The exterior will be wrapped with corrugated metal that we’ll quick-age to match the metal that wraps the bottom of the cabin. On the interior of the porch, we’ll use shiplap to hide the framing.

The screens themselves can withstand winds up to 120 mph, but to-be-determined if they can hold the weight of a growing maniac cat who has already tried to climb them. In the event the screens succumb to cat (or wind or snow or neighbor judgment) we’ll reinforce with metal mesh. We’re going to maintain this screen porch regardless of what the screen is. We had the pleasure of running into one of our more industrious neighbors the other day, and Ben asked him, “hey we’re building a screen porch. Is this a terrible idea?” He laughed. “Well you’re definitely the first.” But he liked it. Great way to diminish wind into the house. Simple way to regulate the temperature with massive south-facing windows. And indeed a practical outdoor safe haven for cats in predator territory. Just because you’re the first doesn’t mean you’re foolish — just foolhardy. There’s plenty of that here. This town has the typical mountain town’s truncated version of a colonizers’ history: “established 1881.” But it was plenty established prior to that by the Uncompahgre Band of the Ute Nation, removed by the U.S. Army on September 7, 1881, nearly 140 years ago. The government relocated the Uncompahgre Ute People to Utah, and one year after the Ute were forcibly removed from their ancestral land, San Miguel County split off from Ouray County and was made its own political subdivision in the newly-formed State of Colorado. In 1879, the ore-laden valley already had 50 people living in it, with a new narrow gauge railway only 2 miles away. By 1885, it was a town of 200 people. There was a hotel, a couple saloons, a pool hall. Winters were treacherous; the valley was and is prone to avalanches. But where there’s gold, there’s gumption. The power needed to run the stamp mill to process ore drove innovation. Timber was scarce at such high elevations, so a wood powered steam mill wouldn’t cut it. But the San Miguel River just a few miles down from the mine looked promising. Thus began the development and construction of the Ames Hydroelectric Generating Plant. It was a hit. In fact, it was so successful that the Ames Plant led to the adoption of alternating currents at Niagara Falls and eventually to being adopted worldwide as a viable power solution. The plant remains, but the gold rush obviously didn’t. By 1940, the U.S. Census declared this little town I call home as tied for the lowest population in the country: 2 people. By 1960, it was one of four incorporated towns in the U.S. with no residents. But the joke was on the Census — the town’s single resident was just out of town the day the census came through. 1960 population: 1. By 1980 the population grew to 38, 69 in 1990, and about 180 now. (Plus 51 dogs according to the town’s website.) With modern amenities, it’s easier to be here. Studded snow tires, satellite internet, solar panels, instant coffee. No matter the hardships, there’s the reality of the present. In the 1880s, as the town boomed, the Ouray Times declared, “it will be at no distant day a far more pretentious town than it is now.” That day hasn’t exactly arrived, but I guess it depends on what you consider pretentious. I don’t think the town claims any airs of excellence beyond what’s true. In fact, the town hardly claims anything at all. There’s no sign indicating it’s even here. There’s just the old side and the new side. The new side, the Eastern half, was drawn out in the early 1990s, some 100 years later, and is separated from the Old Town by an avalanche zone—preserved open space for hiking in the summer, preserved open space for surviving in the winter. The town forbids short-term rentals, no one has a fence, dogs roam free, and all the houses have that cabin look to them. A boulder nests in a grove near a trailhead in the center of town with a plaque paying respect to the Utes who called this valley home. There’s no industry here. No businesses allowed. If you want a $7 latte, you can drive the 14 miles required to get it, assuming there’s not an avalanche blocking your path. You can, however, buy a pink lemonade in a

solo cup at the permanent lemonade stand run by the local feral child mafia. Crystals (rocks) can be purchased for an additional cost. We bought one, hoping to buy favor at the same time. The town plan has a few guiding principles, and it’s all in the name of preservation. We must preserve: 1 - the quiet atmosphere 2 - the rustic character 3 - the natural setting

And finally: 4 - protect the health and wellbeing of the people here No snowmobiles, no ATVs, no drones. In fact, the only sign of the outside world here are the passers-through. When you take the dirt road through town to the end, you enter National Forest, and you can hike over the pass saddle at nearly 12,000 feet before descending down the other side into Silverton. The pass road climbs rutted through an aspen forest before scaling across a scree field and then lurching over to the other side. Every day, it seems like 30 or so Texans and Arizonans in lifted and loud Jeeps with unused mods climb over this mountain in the comfort of their air conditioning, simply to drive down the other side. You could hike it, ride it, run it, and ski it, but they don’t. They rev their engines, kicking up dust in a town of feral children and roaming dogs, staring at us instead of waving. I’ve lived here for two months and look how salty I am. I’ll fit in yet. But today, there is a temperature that whispers of perfect trails and the dwindling of ogglers driving 35 in a 15. It’s already snowed in the mountains we see from our kitchen. Today, like a dedication to the Septembers of our youth, you can feel a chill in the air. A temperature akin to pencils and sweaters and reinventing yourself. A temperature that doesn’t exactly sing “screen porch” but could if you had the right slippers on. That’s what I did this morning: put my slippers on and sat there in the cool mountain morning air, thinking about the cemetery behind our house, about the Ute tribe, about the miners, about the mailman who died on Christmas in 1875 on the pass, about the 5 people who died in avalanches here just last year, about the people in their cars on their phones driving through, and all the people who’s very first question to us was, “so are you gonna live here part-time or full-time?” Maybe it will be a hard place to live. But at least we’ll have a screen porch.

Every week I'm writing about moving to log cabin in a small town at 10,000 feet. Subscribe here for free: tinyletter.com/keltonwrites

[newmusickarl]

Album & EP Recommendations

My word, the music world has well and truly spoiled us this week!

The past seven days has seen a colossal avalanche of new releases, so much so I’ve barely had chance to keep up with it all. Although this is not the full list of everything from the past seven days, here are the 16 (yes, 16!) new releases I’ve enjoyed the most this week.

As there is so much to get through the rundowns are (mostly) a bit shorter than normal and there is no single Album of the Week, instead I simply recommend checking out whichever album or track sounds most appealing depending on your preferred taste.

So without further ado then, here’s what’s good:

Californian Soil by London Grammar

It’s been four years since the release of London Grammar’s last record Truth Is A Beautiful Thing - an album that I enjoyed, but I’ll admit also left me feeling somewhat underwhelmed coming off the back of their incredible breakout debut, If You Wait. As it turns out, the band themselves were also having a tough time around that period, with front woman Hannah Reid in particular battling relentless industry sexism, as well as the persistent physical pain caused by her fibromyalgia condition. With this being the case, it is amazing that the young indie-pop trio have made it to their third album at all, let alone delivering what is their best work to date.

Opening on a grand, string-drenched Intro, the record soon morphs into the sun-soaked guitars and soaring orchestration of the album’s glorious title track. It marks an early highlight as Reid catches the audience up with the tribulations of the last few years – “I left my soul on Californian soil.” From there the album doesn’t really let up as the band move through a series of career-defining tracks – the gorgeous contemporary groove of Missing, the dance-influenced How Does It Feel, the chilled-out ambience of the dreamy Baby, It’s You and the sublime, stripped-back closer America.

However, the album’s strongest moment comes when Reid confronts music industry sexism head on with defiant anthem Lord It’s A Feeling. Beginning with some twinkly xylophone, before evolving into an atmospheric synth-laced backdrop where Reid pulls no punches:

“I saw the way you made her feel, like she should be somebody else,

I know you think the stars align for you and not for her as well,

I undеrstand, I can admit that I have felt those things mysеlf”

The cutting lyrics against some blinding quiet rave instrumentation leaves quite the impression, as does this sterling record in general. After a slight misstep, London Grammar have well and truly rediscovered themselves and they have honestly never sounded better – a truly incredible album.

If You Could Have It All Again by Low Island

Oxford electo-pop outfit Low Island are another band that have defied expectations to get to this point. This, their debut album, was not recorded in a professional music studio – in fact, the vocals were recorded in a bedroom cupboard of all places. The band themselves don’t even have a manager or a record label. In every sense of the word, they are a truly independent band. For a self-financed, self-produced effort, If You Could Have It All Again is a quite remarkable first outing.

From melodic, uplifting opener Hey Man, the record quickly jumps into spoken word electro punk banger What Do You Stand For, featuring acid-drenched synths and a dancefloor-ready groove. Fans of FIFA 21 will recall Don’t Let the Light In, with the glitchy pulse of recent single Who’s Having the Greatest Time also standing out. That said, it’s the smooth, infectious sway of I Do It For You that still pulls me in the most.

Having followed the band since their early EPs, I’ve been rooting for Low Island for a while now and this is one debut album I was highly anticipating this year. Safe to say, my expectations have been met – this is a fantastic, accomplished record, which leaves me eager to see where they go next.

The Greatest Mistake Of My Life by Holding Absence

There was a time when the difficult second album used to be a thing, but listening to the sophomore effort from Welsh rock band Holding Absence this week, I’m really not sure that exists anymore. After a dramatic and impressive self-titled debut two years ago, the band have wasted little time taking things up a notch, with this new album cinematic and masterfully produced from beginning to end.

From standout singalong anthems like Afterlife and In Circles, to the album’s epic seven-minute penultimate track Mourning Song, The Greatest Mistake of My Life shows a band pushing themselves and driving forward with ambition at every opportunity. In a year packed with outstanding rock and metal albums already, this is most definitely another one you can add onto that list. Soaring, impressive and demanding of repeat listens.

We Forgot We Were Dreaming by Saint Raymond

It’s been six long years since Nottingham-born singer-songwriter Callum Burrows, AKA Saint Raymond, released his debut album. However it seems the time away has been well spent as this long-awaited follow-up finds Burrows in fine form, with this album packed to the brim with catchy, glossily produced indie-pop anthems.

From the brilliant title track that opens the record, to the bouncy riffs of Right Way Round, Talk and Solid Gold, to more subdued and heartfelt moments like Only You, this album will have you smiling, singing your heart out and dancing your troubles away.

Flu Game by AJ Tracey

AJ Tracey may have only been three years old when Michael Jordan was winning NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls, but that hasn’t stopped him making a record influenced by the legendary icon and his famous 1997 Flu Game. Like many others including myself, grime superstar AJ Tracey spent lockdown watching the brilliant The Last Dance documentary, and this record weirdly works as a fantastic unofficial companion, but also just a great summer rap record.

McCartney III Imagined by Paul McCartney

Even if like me you completely missed Sir Paul McCartney’s 2020 album McCartney III, it’s well worth checking out this reimagining, where he has called on the help of some of his famous musician pals. This is a real who’s who line up of guest features including Beck, Khurangbin, St. Vincent, Blood Orange, Phoebe Bridgers, Damon Albarn, Josh Homme, Anderson .Paak and more, making for quite a fascinating mix of sounds and styles.

Moratorium (Broadcasts from The Interruption) by Enter Shikari

And finally on the albums front this week, genre-benders Enter Shikari have released a brilliant compilation of all their lockdown live performances, headlined by an incredible string-tinged acoustic version of The Dreamer’s Hotel and a beautifully stripped-back “At Home” rendition of Live Outside.

Tracks of the Week

Introvert by Little Simz

Wow, wow and wow again. Still fairly fresh off the back of her masterful, Mercury Prize nominated third album Grey Area, this week British rapper Little Simz released the first taste of her next record in the form of this epic and triumphant opening track. At six minutes in length, this majestic and operatic political anthem aims to grab the listener by the collar and shake them awake. Without a doubt, one of the best songs of the year so far, the powerful video for which you can view above.

Smile by Wolf Alice

The second taste of their forthcoming album Blue Weekend, Smile continues Wolf Alice’s pattern for alternating Loud/Soft releases, with this one featuring buzzy guitars, punky vocals and a hypnotic chorus melody.

Beautiful Beaches by James

Although written off the back of the California wildfires that impacted front man Tim Booth’s local community, the lyrics on the band’s latest anthem purposefully offer a dual meaning, giving hope to those dreaming of a post-lockdown getaway and fresh start.

He Said She Said by CHVRCHES

The Scottish trio made their much-anticipated return this week, with Lauren Mayberry also sharing her experiences of sexism on this arena-ready synth-pop banger.

Matty Healy by Georgia Twinn

Georgia Twinn delivers an infectiously catchy break-up anthem, inspired by an ex-boyfriend, who’s most interesting feature was supposedly looking like the 1975 frontman.

Kill It by Vukovi

Underground Scottish rock outfit Vukovi’s new single is so good, they even managed to get KILL IT trending over the weekend of its release. Masterfully produced with big bold riffs and trancey synths, this one just sounds huge.

Can’t Carry On by Gruff Rhys

The latest solo single from the former Super Furry Animals frontman is a stunning, super-melodic tune with an instant chorus you’ll be singing before the track has even finished its first play.

Ceremony by Deftones

One of the highlights off their last album Ohms, the nu-metal rockers have now delivered a cinematic new video directed by horror legend Leigh Whannell. Check it out!

Chasing Birds by Foo Fighters

And finally this week, Dave Grohl and company released a trippy new animated video for this Medicine At Midnight cut to help celebrate 420 in their own unique way. Again, well worth a watch!

[honeypirate]

Easy Living part two

Part one

Obi Akitaru x Fem!reader

Obi Akitaru falls in love with the girl at the rock show

Also ducks survived the cataclysm

Song one

Song two

Song three

Song four

Song five alternate version

Obi didn't see you outside of the office where you were doing paperwork. He thought you were avoiding him but you interacted with him during office hours so he couldn't really convince himself at first. You had said you were too tired to eat with everyone and just wanted to rest, which is how you got out of family dinners and could sneak in and eat after everyone leaves.

After a week and a half of this, he plans to find you and talk to you. Oh how he missed your jokes and your presence. You get back from your physical therapy and he meets you at the door “come with me” he says and takes your good hand “we’re going out”

You get ice cream, and just walk the town for a while. You figured he would want to talk soon but to be honest you havent quite dealt with your feelings yet. You didnt know what to say. Hey sorry Captain I’ve been avoiding you a little so i could squash all the romantic feelings i have for you since you only want to be best friends. No hard feelings? Also I feel like a failure because Im useless right now?

No. You couldn’t be that honest, but you would be honest enough

He stops by a bench next to the trees that have started to bloom in the warm spring air. You sit beside him, a little farther than usual and he sighs “talk to me. Please” he says softly and you swallow “about what?” you ask, your voice a little shaky and nervous. “y/n” he sighs “okay, i’ll just ask. Why have you been avoiding me after we had tea?” he leans his elbows down on his thighs and looks over at you.

You swallow hard and look down at your toes, giving your ice cream cone you were nursing a lick to buy some time.

“Obi, i’ve just been really tired. It wasn’t you. I promise. As you said, we are best friends forever. Please dont think im avoiding you i promise im not really. It’s just so hard to not use my arm, i cant do my job like i need, i feel like im useless. And youre my Captain! i dont want to be less than you deserve as a team member”

He brushes your hair back behind your ear and you gasp, looking from your toes into his eyes. “I’m your friend first remember? And so here I am, asking you as a friend, please dont think you have to avoid me. I dont think less of you because youre injured, youre not broken or ruined, youre just hurt. And you’re perfect the way that you are at any moment so dont even start with thinking you’re less than anyone. Youre incredibly strong and smart always. Let me be there for you. Right now as a man and not as your captain. Okay?” you feel your heart rate beat erratically in your chest and you kick yourself form coming along. Those perfect things he said to you from the perspective of a f r i e n d. God you loved him so much it hurt. Hurt because he doesnt love you back. More than a best friend anyway.

You do your best to go back to normal, you talk to him more, forcing yourself to attend dinners and joke like normal, ignorning the growing cracks in your heart.

A few weeks later, after a mission you werent allowed to go on, Obi announces a celebration “Since we just had a successful huge mission, we will be celebrating and inviting the companies we have friends in. so the 5th, 7th, and 2nd, will all be attending.” you dont deny that youre excited. You love celebrations because it meant the best barbeque plus you cant wait to talk to Hibana and Konro.

That night after your physio you talk to Maki and Vulcan, planning to take care of the entertainment for the night. Vulcan on the drums, Maki on the electric guitar, and you on vocals. You spent the next few days preparing and getting all the music sheets for them from songs you all put together. A list of 8 songs that everyone would enjoy, or so you hoped.

Your arm didn’t have to be in a sling anymore, it was healed but the muscles were tight and the scar tissue hurt. you had to work through that but your physical therapist said you would work that slowly and it would be almost 100% again.

When the day arrived for the celebration you felt nervous as hell. “Are you excited to do this?!” Vulcan says and pats your good shoulder and you laugh “I’m nervous and excited” Maki squeals as she does a sound check on her guitar “this is going to be so cool!”

When you guys move out to the stage, you get everyone’s attention by tapping the mic, a squeal going through the speakers before Viktor adjusts some settings on the computer.

“Hey guys. We put together a little entertainment for you all. Hope you enjoy it” you look around at everyone as they make their way over to the stage. Obi’s eyes were wide and he was grinning ear to ear, you didn’t tell many about this so it could be a surprise and you knew that was a good choice with the look in his eyes. He made his was to front of the crowd, whistling loudly as Maki began to strum.

Vulcan hits the drums as you begin to sing

“Scar tissue that I wish you saw

Sarcastic mister know-it-all

Close your eyes and I'll kiss you 'cause

With the birds I’ll share” after the first verse your eyes flick down to Obi and he has the biggest smile you’ve seen. It makes your heart flutter as you wink at him as you sing the chorus

“With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'

With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'”

The end of the first song everyone cheers loud and you feel proud as you laugh with the excitement and atmosphere. Obi is your loudest cheerleader.

Vulcan leaves the drums to stand by the keyboard for the next song as Maki plays the chords.

“You belong among the wildflowers

You belong in a boat out at sea

Sail away, kill off the hours

You belong somewhere you feel free

Run away, find you a lover

Go away somewhere all bright and new” your eyes flick down to Obi and you smile softly

“ I have seen no other

Who compares with you”

Some people hold up lighters and those with fire abilities hold some fire up and sway side to side, the atmosphere is light and easy, a moment where no one is thinking about infernals and government problems.

You sang the four softer songs Maki chose first before taking a water break then going back on stage to finish strong with four songs you were excited about since you knew they were some of your and Obi’s favorites.

You look down at Obi when the music starts and the recognition in his eyes makes you grin. You know most people in your company know this song because of Obi. “You show us everything you've got

You keep on dancin' and the room gets hot

You drive us wild, we'll drive you crazy

You say you wanna go for a spin

The party's just begun, we'll let you in

You drive us wild, we'll drive you crazy

You keep on shoutin', you keep on shoutin'”

You feel your body feel with pride when the crowd sings the chorus and you realize more people know those song then you thought

“I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day x4”

The cheering at the end of this song makes you laugh before you take another drink of water and move on to the next few songs until you end with the last two you were excited about.

“Okay everyone. Two left” you smile at the boos that are scattered “ We’re glad you liked this show and hope you had fun here. There’s extra food so if you’re hungry make sure you fill up” You wink at Obi again as you begin to sing the song as he whistles loudly when the guitar begins, throwing his fists in the air doing his devil horns.

“This is a thing I've never known before

It's called easy livin'

This is a place I've never seen before

And I've been forgiven

Easy livin' and I've been forgiven

Since you've taken your place in my heart”

This one was one of your favorites and you got into it dancing around on the stage. When it ends you laugh and smile as they cheer. “Okay guys. I dedicate this last song to the companies here tonight thank you all for making this not a complete failure. I was nervous but now.. this has been a dream come true of mine honestly. Anyway. For you” you look down at Obi and he nods and then whistles again when he recognizes the song

“A company always on the run

A destiny, oh it's the rising sun” the crowd cheers and you get goosebumps

“I was born, a shotgun in my hands

Behind the gun

I'll make my final stand, yeah

That's why they call me” you look down at Obi and he sings with you

“Bad company

I can't deny

Bad, bad company

'Til the day I die

Until the day I die”

Your voice fades out and Vulcan and Maki finish their notes and the crowd goes nuts. You bring Vulcan and Maki up and you hold hands and bow before waving and exiting the stage.

A few pats on the back and many people telling you how great that was was a little overwhelming and Obi could tell. He pushes through the crowd and takes your hand “gotta borrow this rock star for a moment excuse us please” he says and takes you with him behind the stage where he could let you take a breather.

“Looked a little overwhelmed with the loving crowd” he says and leans against the side of the wall behind the stage. “Just a bit. Thank you Obi” he hasn’t stopped smiling and his eyes are filled with stars for you. “I didn’t know you could sing Little Duck” he says and you chuckle “there’s a lot you don’t know about me Obi” you say with a smirk and drink of your water bottle. “And I love discovering new things about you.” he says softly and you feel your cheeks flush under his soft gaze “is that right?” You ask in a flirty tone and you cock your head with a smile. “Yes. It is” he says and you stare into each other’s eyes for a moment, soft smiles and a warm feeling growing in your bones.

“Hey y/n I brought you some food since we missed out” Vulcan says and hands you a plate “you’re a lifesaver Vulcan thank you!” You say and take it with a grin. Obi kicks himself for not thinking of that and scowls at the weird jealousy he feels spike in his heart at the way you smiled at Vulcan. He shakes his head and excuses himself to go talk to Hinawa.

“That was weird” Vulcan says and you raise an eyebrow in question, mouthful but he understood you “he looked at me like I just flirted with his girl. How weird is that?” You laugh and your cheeks dust slightly pink “I’m sure there was something else on his mind, we’re just friends” you say and take another bite of your barbecue, moaning a little about how delicious it is. Vulcan just shrugs “that was really amazing. Great idea y/n! It was so fun. If you ever wanna jam again I’m down” you smile and nod “I’ll take you up on that sometime”

“Are you sure you don’t have feelings for her?” Hinawa says, acting like it’s annoying him that he has to have this conversation to hide the fact he finds it entertaining that his Captain is so blind. “She’s been my best friend for so long. Wouldn’t I have had feelings for her before today?” Hinawa sighs “are you sure you haven’t?” Obi feels like his mind expands as he connects the dots. “Well damn” Obi says with a slight smile teasing the corners of his mouth and Hinawa shakes his head.

After that night you didn’t see Obi outside of work for a week. It was weird. Like the tables have turned and now you don’t know why he’s avoiding you. He calls you into your office and you feel a little worried.

“You wanted to see me sir?” You said as stood at attention in front of his desk. Outside of this room you felt like he was your Obi but every time he calls you into his office you feel completely different. The atmosphere he held in that room for you, powerful and commanding, you were intimidated and slightly turned on but you never would allow yourself to think of that.

“I wanted to check in on how your therapy is going” he says, his face was stoic and level, but you see there’s something in his eye, something has changed. “It’s going well Sir” you raise your arm and show your limited range of motion “she says I’ll be back to good and cleared for duty soon, since I’m well enough now to have more frequent appointments.” he nods and makes a note on his small pad of paper. “Are your ignition abilities okay? Do you need training there?” You shake your head “no Sir. My abilities haven’t been effected” he nods once and then smiles, a soft smile that shows way more emotion from him than your used to “that’s all. I’m glad you’re doing well. Dismissed” “thank you Sir” you salute and then turn and leave, feeling extremely confused at the emotion you saw in his eyes.

You chew your lip as you pace the walkways of the company, pacing and thinking, (more like overthinking amirite) and trying to decide if you should talk to him. You somehow end up in the tallest room of the building, looking out over the town and the sunset. You get a flashback to your first day as a fire fighter, walking back to the truck with your team you were in the back of the group by Obi and he stopped to look at the sunset for a moment. “Remember y/n, take a moment to appreciate the beauty around you. It’s always taken for granted” that’s what he said to you that made you admire him. The original seed your feelings grew from. You smiled and turned, running down the steps to try and find him, to tell him.

“Hey Arthur have you seen the Captain?” You asked when he was the first one you saw “oh yeah. He just left with the girl from the flower shop” you raise your eyebrows “left with Margret? Why?” He shrugs “I don’t know. Probably a date. She seemed really happy” you laugh once in shock “huh” you say and he just shrugs, going back to his pretending to be a knight with his plasma blade as you walk out of the room.

You pace the halls again until you eventually give up. You won’t tell him. He’ll never know. You hope he’s happy with Margaret, she seems like a lovely woman.

Every day being around him sucks, you wish you could take some time off to go away for a little bit so you wouldnt have to see him, wouldnt have to feel the pain anymore. It made you look forward to your physio appointments but even those are ending soon, only two left before you're cleared. Dont get you wrong, you are excited to be cleared to work again, paperwork was beginning to annoy you, but you were going to miss the excuse to get out every once in a while so you wouldn't have to see him anymore. At least until you have gotten over him.

He notices you pulling away, avoiding him again. He doesnt understand everything was going so well. He was planning this big confession and spent forever with the florist planning the perfect bouquet and getting her help on what girls would like in a confession, he has the whole thing planned out but now you wont even look at him uness you have to. He’s so frustrated! When did communicating with each other get this hard?

You get back from physio and he meets you at the door again, this time hiding his emotions and just giving you a look that tells you to follow him. He takes you to the same empty room you were in yesterday, at the very top of the company. “Captain?” you ask softly, your eyes on the ground and your hands gripping the strap of your bag that is across your chest hard enough to lighten your knuckles. “Little duck” he whispers softly, his voice held something you couldn't place, something you never heard from him before, and when you realize what it is your eyes meet his. It was pain.

“My little ducky” he says softly “why?” you feel your walls break, your hard work to build them up and forget about your love for the captain turned to ash as you cover your face with your hands, tears burning your eyes. “I.. I just” you swallow hard and pull yourself together, you wont cry in front of him. You sniff and grit your teeth, dropping your hands and controlling the emotions on your face “I hope you are happy with Margaret” you say and look behind him, knowing if you saw his pain you’d for sure cry.

“What.. who the hell is margaret?” he says and you furrow your brows as confusing fills your mind. You look to your feet “Arthur said you’re dating Margaret, the florist” he laughs “her name is Margaret? I thought it was Molly, that’s awkward. But no, I am not dating the florist. Why would you believe aAthur? He thinks he's a knight ninja king or something”

“I uh, i gota go” you say and turn to leave but he takes your hand, pulling you to his embrace. “No you dont” he whispers and gently holds your head to his chest. “Tell me. I need you to tell me what is going on. Right now on this roof we are going to tell each other everything we’ve been hiding, starting with how you have been avoiding me again” you feel your eyes burn again, this time because of how frustrated you were with your stupidity..

“I feel so stupid i dont want to say” you mumble into his chest and he laughs “my precious ducky, please tell me” he says softly and you pull back, deciding to look into his eyes when you tell him the truth. “I couldn't deal with being around you knowing how much I love you since I thought you were with someone else. It hurt too much to see you. I thought i lost my chance”

He laughs softly “how could i fall in love with anyone else when the best woman is right in front of me?” you look up at him with a shocked expression and you almost turn to look behind you to see if there was anyone else there but you controlled yourself. You just cleared your throat and asked “what?” he laughs and cups your cheek, his strong callused hands holding you gentler than you could have ever imagined after seeing him crack a jar of pickles when he was opening it.

He leans down to your ear and whispers “I love you. I've loved you since the beginning. My little ducky” you gasp and turn your face to connect your lips to his. You melt into him as his strong arms wrap around your waist, lifting you to his chest as he kisses you deeply, his tongue swipes at your lip and you meet him with your own, making him hum in approval as you runs your fingers across his short cut hair on the back of his head, the shaved hair tickling your palms before you move higher to get his longer lengths in your fingertips.

You didn't even remember him picking you up until your feet touch the ground again. “You love me?” you ask when you pull back, right up against his lips and he sighs softly, pressing his forehead into yours. “I love you y/n” he says and you feel your stomach flip as a slow grin spreads over your face before your hands move to his shoulders as your bag falls to the ground and you jump, wrapping your legs around his waist as he catches you easily with a laugh

You kiss his lips again, overcome with happiness, pecking them a few times quickly before peppering kisses around his face “i love you” you whisper between kisses and he laughs as he holds you tight, his heart fluttering to know you feel the same. You pull back and smile down at him “i'm sorry i was such an idiot” you whisper and then hop down from his arms. “you’re not an idiot sweetheart. If i found out you were dating someone else and not me, that would hurt. I would have to avoid you for a while too. I dont want you to be with anyone else but me” he says and you blush, your heart melting as you take his large hands in your own “so when ya taking me out on a real date big guy?” you ask with a blush and he smiles “since you asked, sweetheart, that’s kind of the reason i was with Maggie to begin with” “margaret” “yeah margaret. She was helping me plan the perfect way to confess to you, i had this whole pan. So this friday, you and me, 7pm. I have a reservation downtown and will be getting you the best bouquet of flowers you ve ever seen so get ready” you laugh a little awkwardly “sorry for ruining your plan” you say and he smiles, kissing your forehead “you haven't ruined anything. you love me, nothing is better than that. Plus this means i can kiss you sooner than i was hoping” he leans down and presses his lips to yours softer than before shooting tingles down your spine “and it’s so much better than I imagined” he admits and you grin “then dont stop” you whisper and he smirks “anything for you sweetheart” he says before his lips are crashing into yours again

BOONNUUSSSSS

“So whats this about a duck”

Shinra asks at dinner and you groan as Obi laughs hard. You look pointedly at everyone there “okay but this does not leave this table and if it does i will beat ALL of your asses, so its more incentive for one of you to not say a thing because imagine how the rest of you will feel about the one who spilled” they all nod with a laugh and Hinawa rolls his eyes, knowing you’d never dare to beat his ass.

“Back when Obi and i were greenies” you look to him and he has a shit eating grin on his face as he lays his hand on your knee under the table. “We were just normal fire fighters, so calls like getting a cat out of a tree was nothing new. But this was a call about a duck. I answered the phone and it went a little bit like this” you put your hand to your ear like a phone

“thank you for calling the Fire Defence Agency, my name is Y/n how may i help you today?”

your voice changes to sound like an older gentleman “yes, my duck is stuck, please help.”

voice is yours again “your duck sir?”

“Yes. Herbert the duck. He cannot fly. Come immediately. 2836 the street name rd”

“Then he hangs up. Obi and i were the only ones there since we were greenies and had to man the phones during lunch hour so we roll out and get to his house and sure enough a duck is stuck on top of this mans roof” you hold your hands up and try to shape it out for them “he had this house where the top was sort of curved like this just above his front door” you bring your hands up and around in an arc. The truck we have doesnt have the laddder but it’s not too high so Obi puts me on his shoulders and as i go to grab this little bastard he screams in my face and pecks my eye” Obi is laughing remembering it “hush let me finish” you say to him with a smile

“So this damn Herbert the duck, my eye is watering and it hurts and i'm cursing up a storm as Obi laughs his ass off and tries to hold me steady. i get a hold on Herberts back, holding down its wings so i can easily lift it into my arms and as i pull it towards me he pecks my OTHER EYE” Obi is holding in cackles, he knows whats coming and can hear the mans voice as clear as day in his head “then Obi brings me down and im crying uncontrollably, my eyes burning as this duck watches me smugly hand him over to his care taker and then the gentleman goes”

You change your voice to mimic the mans again “watch out, he’s a pecker” Obi is laughing so hard along with Vulcan and Shinra, the rest chuckling along with.

“And i'm standing there, eyes leaking unctronably from being pecked in both eyes, and he just takes his duck and walks inside his house. I had to go to the doctor and get vaccines for all these diseases that ducks apparently have.” Obi catches his breath and wipes his tears “you should have heard her on the way back from the doctor, two eyepatches on and going on a tangent about how ducks should have gone extinct and left the geese since they are much cuter. I couldn’t stop laughing the whole drive home”

You slap his arm playfully “you saw that picture at the museum they look so cute and kind!” he smiles and holds your hand “I wonder how Herbert the duck is doing” he asks and you smile “probably not as well as I am” you smile around the table at your team and friends, all smiling and still chuckling softly imagining your story.

(Later)

“I can’t believe that one of the first things you liked about me was my tangent about ducks” you say as you crawl into bed beside him. He laughs and wraps his arms around you, hugging you to his chest “you were so cute and funny. I knew I needed to keep you around me because you made life fun and wonderful because that’s who you are” you kiss his cheek as he continues, rolling over and holding you “I knew I wanted to have you forever but I was too dense to realize I loved you” he nuzzles into your neck and lays on your chest, his weight and warmth comforting. “I love you” you whisper and he kisses you neck softly “I love you sweetheart”

[mimiwrites2000]

3,5, 18, 20 and 23 for the ask game uwu♡

omg thank you so much for the ask!!

alright let’s get started! this answer is so long omg 

Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

OH MY GOD LFJALFJA

Ok I basically love to explain these tiny details in my stories but I never do coz that would be lame, I think

Ok so, Legends is filled with symbolisms and a ton shit of foreshadowing, and I can’t really talk about them coozzz I don’t wanna spoil anything. But basically, every single line of every conversation has a future consequence, AND OH GOD I JUST FEEL LIKE THE SMARTEST BITCH IN THIS TOWN LMAO OK OK I’LL STOP

Alright sooo most of the metaphors I use are from real life experiences\emotions. I have notebooks where I write these emotions that happens for short moments, (coz I can’t risk forgetting about them)

One of them, is a sentence from Legends, chapter 13

Armin licked his lips, and he tasted salt, as if he kissed the ocean.

I wrote this line in 2019, before I even started writing Legends. I was on vacation, and just chilling by the beach, I licked my lips, and I felt like I kissed the ocean, so, with a sketch book in hand, I wrote that line, a year later or so, I used that line in Legends

Here’s the line btw, I know I have bad handwriting plz don’t judge

And also I tried to sketch Armin lmao

Anyway yeah, every emotion, is coming from a place within me, and I think that’s the reason why Legends means so much to me

here’s something else that I wrote in the same day in that sketch book:

The feeling on tiny waves bumping softly up against my feet. The air ruffling my clothes. The sea is trying to put me to sleep.

I’m so dramatic I know 

What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would

An Aruani musician AU, I have a scene of Annie, singing on stage, for the first time, singing a love song, as Armin watches in the crowd.

It’s a long ass musician AU that I wrote a rough outline for it, but to be honest I don’t think I’ll ever get around to write it, even though I REALLY want to write this scene gkhajghd

What character that you’re writing do you most identify with?

Both Armin and Annie, and that is the reason I’ve been only writing them for over a year now.

I identify with Annie way too much, much more than I do with Armin.

I guess yall can kinda guess what kinda person I am LMAO

Do any of your stories have alternative versions? (plotlines that you abandoned, AUs of your own work, different characterisations?) Tell us about them.

YES!

In Legends, Mr. Leonhart personality is supposed to be the complete opposite.

In the story, he doesn’t accept Annie’s feelings for Armin, and he’s so adamant that her happiness is in spending the rest of her life with him. (but, hey, don’t hate him, he finally reunited with his daughter after 9 years, and he feels so guilty, he wants to kind of force redeem himself, he’s too scared of losing her again.)

But, in my original draft, he was very accepting of Armin, and I even had a scene in my mind (that is still yet to come in the story) where he walks on them making out in the kitchen, and he either tells his worst dad joke or just walks right out with no comment, and then teasing them the next morning.

In my current version of the story… things don’t go like that.

But here’s the reason behind all this drastic change in character.

A very important plot was added last minute to the story.

The whole Annie losing her memory because of Eren and her father’s plan was NOT supposed to be in the story.

I was already 30k words in when I first published the first chapter, and my plan was to post the chapters as is, without any editing, buttt then, after posting a few chapters, I came up with the idea of Eren altering Annie’s memories… and, well, based on that, Mr. Leonhart character had to be completely changed.

And if you’ve been keeping up with Legends, you would notice that I used to post almost every week for the first month and a half or so, then every three weeks, and now, every few months, and it’s because of this plot change, I basically had to rewrite the story all over again, which is probably the best decision I’ve made in my life, but that’s a whole other topic and this answer is already getting too long.

What’s the story idea you’ve had in your head for the longest?

Oh… hmmm… well, probably Legends, other than that, there’s this new au that I’m working, I’m hoping I could share it soon uwu

 Oh God it was so fun to ramble gfjakjda thank you so much for the ask and your efforts in making my tumblr less dead hahahha

I really, really appreciate

Thank you !!

[posthungergamessyndrome]

so here’s my long overdue review of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes that no one asked for. I finally read the book, well listened to the audiobook, coz i dunno how to read a book anymore. 

This book was everything I expected it to be and also not. Definitely the first two parts was easily predictable, we all kinda assumed that was the general arc that story would take. So while I found the first two parts enjoyable, learning more about the history of the games and learn more of Capitol, i wasn’t really hooked until the third part.

But let me say this first tho, Ms. Suzanne Collins, you never disappoint. Also I have questions and I hate that she wasn’t able to go on a book tour (I haven’t read her Q&A tho). 

I still have the same qualms as i did about the prequel as i did before I read it. While I get the early records of the games were shoddy, and the 10th Hunger Games was erased but for one copy hidden in some vault, that doesn’t matter, what matter is Snow knows.

So If Snow had that relationship with the Games and Lucy, the first victor of d12, a lot of the decisions he made in the trilogy made no sense.

I get it, he wanted to forget, it’s decades until Katniss came along. While there might be parallels, Lucy and Katniss are very different characters. But all I can think off is the reason he didn’t kill Katniss sooner, was it really because she would end up a martyr or rallying cry for the district, which happened anyways, or he was practically disassociating the moment Katniss was reaped?

Were Katniss and Peeta unintentionally triggers to so many of his hidden traumas that’s why he made so many misteps? Katniss singing the meadow song to Rue, triggered. Peeta mentioning the Valley song, triggered. Mockingjay, triggered. The Hanging Tree, triggered. 

Was he so busy crying in the shower that he wasn’t able to stop Seneca Crane from making bad calls during the 74th Games? Two winners from the same district, would Snow really okay’d that himself?

And also, I’ve always thought that anything he did towards Peeta was coz he wanted to hurt Katniss. But no, he wanted to hurt that boy. Peeta reminds him of his young self, at least the young person everyone saw him as, charming, smart, and loyal. And in a way, had Peeta been born in the Capitol and was among Snow’s contemporaries, Snow would have seen him as his ultimate rival. 

Coz Snow was smart and knows how to manipulate people, but Peeta does it a lot better and a lot more successfully. With Snow, it’s right in front of his face and he still misses it. Often he is so close to getting it. How could he not have thought of the star-crossed lovers angle? How??  When one Peeta Mellark thought of it?

Which idk if there’s fanfics of that yet, but I need to read them asap, Katniss and Peeta and teen Snow, make it happen.

(But I was looking at my notes and I wrote probably the reason Snow didn’t think of the star crossed lovers angle because it was about his survival not about Lucy’s. Lucy was at best, seen as his possession. Even at the moments he was honestly in love with her, he still saw her as someone belonging to him only. )

Snow had two relationships going on: with Sejanus and with Lucy. I did find his relationship with Sejanus more interesting, because I think it’s that relationship that shaped him more that his relationship with Lucy.

I did like and even at some points enjoyed their Slytherin-Hufflepuff BFFship going on, coz despite how Snow let us know what he really thinks versus what he actually says, he was drawn to protect Sejanus, even though he’s reluctant about it or insist that he was made to do it or it’s also to benefit himself.

And I’m not saying there’s queerbaiting in this book, but certain pairings in this book makes more sense to ship than Johanna and Katniss. 

With Lucy, i know many were wary or didn’t want Snow to have a relationship with her. For me i was open to it, at least intrigued to see where it will go or how will it be handled. 

Honestly while it is still better written than most YA romances, I found it very insta-love. Again, my sense of timeline in this novel might be different coz I was listening to the audiobook instead of reading it, but they fell in love pretty quick. 

While listening to the audiobook, i thought, if their  relationship is at this point it must have been weeks since the reaping and the games haven’t started yet, and then Snow says it’s just been five days. They were making out I think by day 3 or something. 

Maybe because I knew they relationship was doomed from the start and we know how Snow ends up, I was amused by certain moments in their relationship, coz all I can think about it is, oh honey no. 

but also, I am mad that Ms. Collins is capable of writing amazing fluff moments in the midst of a dystopian world, and she wastes them on Snow and Lucy? Where was all that for Katniss and Peeta? i was given crumbs in the trilogy, Snow and Lucy made out so many times, at one point I even thought they were going to sleep together, like how dare you Ms. Collins.

For the many years we debated the meaning behind The Hanging Tree, Ms Collins, said no hun, this is what the songs means, let me tell you it’s origin story. And omg Suzanne, that was fucked up. Thanks.

One of the things I was worried about for this prequel is that while it is set in the future, the messages in it will seem outdated because a lot has changed since the trilogy came out. 

But she wrote this book well before it was announced in 2019, before it was released in 2020, but she still made it very relevant for today and I think the messaging of this prequel would be more resonant in the future, like the trilogy is.

She touched upon how we really value children, and that immediately reminded me of school mass shootings and how we haven’t done anything about it. She lives in Sandy Hook when the shooting happened so this makes sense she makes a statement about it. And now we are sending kids to school in a middle of a pandemic for political reasons not because we are concerned about their education. 

And there’s also mentions of a pandemic in a middle of a war,  let’s say it was a whole mental experience alternating between listening to the audiobook and watching the news on January 6. 

I also loved the lines: “why do people think the only thing they need for a revolution is anger?” and “we pour money into industries not people.”

While it’s almost unbelievable that the modern hunger games was merely a student group project by a bunch of privileged rich kids and one person who thinks slavery is okay ended up writing the whole thing anyways, that’s basically how this country and our system of governance was founded. 

Dr. Gaul is also every Security and Development professor I had in grad school who teaches that war never ends and it’s not about winning it’s about control to a class of future leaders at the state department, white house, and pentagon. i mean, it’s the cornerstone of US foreign policy since end of WW2.

While also listening to this book, I am dead sure that Suzanne could write a different version of Catching Fire where Katniss and Peeta were mentors and they uncover the hidden 10 hunger games tape, and it still will be a be hella of a story.

It also makes sense that the two characters that could possibly tell us or Katniss the connection of Snow to Lucy were the ones who can’t talk: Mags and Tigris. 

obviously lucy ended up in 13, possibly related to Alma Coin coz where else will she get that personal hatred against Snow? 

Snow could have at least picked Clemensia or Lys, but Livia? i guess make sense since her offspring ended up being Plutarch’s assistant. 

I feel like if i read the prequel before the trilogy, it would be a different reading experience. But at the same time, Snow, while he had his moments, is an unlikeable character even as an anti-hero, and his moral stand point is something i dont agree with, coz you know, he’s basically a republican. it’s like reading a book about a young Mitch McConnell, doesn’t matter if the system hurt him sometimes, as long as it hurts others more and keeps him in control, and i gag. I don’t think i would finish reading the prequel if i started with it instead of the trilogy. 

but it does solidifies my theory that Snow’s evil is not because he is out of touch with the rest of panem, he knows suffering that’s why he knows how to exploit it. He is not oblivious to the problems, but he arrived at different conclusions or convictions, because again he supports the system that controls his enemies, even if the system is cruel to him too. Again, a Republican. Don’t be one, don’t date one. 

I do wonder tho if he made good with champagne tuesdays when he became president. 

I don’t see how this prequel works as a movie adaptation tho, even if turned into three parts. It makes more sense for it to be a series, so if lionsgate hasn’t declared bankruptcy before they can adapt this into screen, maybe with the state of movies right now due to the pandemic, they will be more convinced to make this into a series for Netflix or to launch their own streaming service.    

[arsenicpanda]

Bughead Appreciation Day 1 Except It’s Day 2

So I spent yesterday nice and cozy in bed and put this off (good choice, tbh, I was very snug as a bug), but now, now comes the time for me to gush about some people in the fandom!  This is definitely not a comprehensive list, I have absolutely left some people out because I am very forgetful, but, in no particular order and under a cut because I’m a wordy bitch:

@tory-b: A delight and a dear, leading writer of monsterfucker!Betty, co-runner of @riverdaleprideandjoyzine, a legend and a friend, we have no choice but to stan.  Her stuff is so good and varied and just *chef’s kiss* a delight, two favorites of mine are Fangs/com/Match (Betty/dragon!Jughead meet via monsterfucker Tinder, has some great friendship moments with Kevin and Veronica and is v sexy and funny, features the horniest Betty) and Sticky Sweet Serenade ((past)-friends-to-enemies-to-lovers bughead, mixes up some statuses in Riverdale, excellent mystery, I remember reading it and going, “holy shit, a believable take on Northside!Jughead”).  I’ve also gotta mention Whats in a Name? (Betty and Jughead meet on tumblr, Betty writes poetry and Jughead is a shitposter, they slowly connect, it’s great) and To Balance the Scales (scientist!Betty/mermaid!Jughead, currently a slow build, I cannot wait for you guys to see the excellent worldbuilding she’s done).  I could keep going, or you could binge all her fics today, an excellent use of your Saturday, I assure you, because I’ve left a lot out.

@stillhidden: Always good for some great thoughts on the show, one of the best reasons for my your thoughts on Riverdale please show them to me tag, I get psyched every time I see a Riverdale text post or ask answer because I know I’m in for a good time.  Thoughtful and funny and nice, what a combo!

@satelliteinasupernova: So talented!  Author, artist, co-runner of @riverdaleprideandjoyzine, funny, haver of good thoughts on Riverdale is there anything she can’t do?  No, there is not.  Every time I see her art I’m like !!!, the colors! how well-drawn the hands are! the accuracy of their hair! the backgrounds! the way I can see the love in their eyes! I cannot even, there are no words.  Also!  Her fics!  So original!  One of my earliest memories in the fandom is reading The town called Riverdale (a sort of mystery about the meta fuckery going down in Riverdale, explores time loops, stories that control lives, the roles the Archie characters are “supposed” to have, a mash-up with concepts in Princess Tutu that requires zero knowledge of Princess Tutu) and going !!! is this a Princess Tutu mash-up?  Have I been #blessed enough to see a mash up between Riverdale, a story that fucks with archetypes, and Princess Tutu, one of the shows about fucking with archetypes and the way stories ontrol lives?  I was and I am and I raved to my non-fandom but Princess Tutu liker friend about it.  Has also wonderfully tackled eldritch horror in return to Eldervair and gothic horror/romance in The Lady of the Manor, does fluff, does angst, does it all, so go check her out!

@go-ldy: An angst and time skip queen, tbh, and always has some great thoughts on Riverdale, another reason I’m glad I have that tag.  Every time she answers an ask, I’m like, “Yesss, incoming Good Thoughts, I am HERE for this”.  But do not sleep on her as an author!  Into the Deep is some delightful dark!bughead, and I’ll walk with you in the shadows is such good time skip angst and a mystery and there’s a certain surprise I love but is a spoiler but you simply must read this, you must.  The Time after Time series is giving us that good angst bughead content that season 5 is not going to, and I’m so glad it exists and just thrilled that she trusted me to beta it.  I’m leaving a lot of stuff out though, so you should go check her out!

@milajovovich: One of the best gif makers in the fandom, I will fight you on this.  Makes absolute miracles with footage, the way she makes season 4 webrips look like they’re actual blurayrips is godly, they’re so crisp and so smooth and the coloring is always great.  And like, jesus, the way the bluray footage looks?  Fucking outstanding, the talent is off the charts.  Go marvel at their gifs, go, go.

@imreallyloveleee: A prolific, talented author and funny to boot!  loveleee is one of the people who has been here since the beginning, a mainstay in the fandom, and we are so, so lucky she hasn’t left.  How do I even begin to rec you some of her stuff?  She can write smut with fics like burn, baby (a 3x16 missing moment of bughead fucking in the car as the trailer burns, what a gift to the fandom, I can’t even), is queen of pining with fics like boy problems (season 1 post 1x05 canon divergence, a bughead get together but with that quality pining) and her i’m just a shot away series (two fics, one from Jughead’s POV and one from Betty’s, that are fully of pining and sexual tension and miscommunication and major teenage vibes, you gotta read them), and writer of one of the funniest fics in the fandom and one of my favorite, like spirits in the night (the core four + Kevin perform a seance to contact Jason Blossom and yes, it is just as funny as it sounds, perhaps even funnier).  And there are countless others, so settle in and go check her out because she does it all, fluff and angst too, I just don’t have time to rec them all.

@meditationonbaaal: Absolutely one of my all-time favorite fic authors, like across fandoms, the talent, I cannot even properly describe it, like the quality of the prose, amazing, iconic.  the devil’s daughter (a season 2 rewrite with some differences in season 1, jumps back and forth through time in the best way, has the best and creepiest dark!Jughead, has some great smut that includes dom!Betty and dom!Jughead can you believe we are so blessed, such a good rewrite of season 2, and you know how I love season 2, so that is some high praise, let me tell you) is easily in my top 10 all-time favorite fics across the many, many fandoms I’ve read many, many fics of, and you simply must check it out, you will not be disappointed.  develop, stop, fix just blew me away as a kink week fic of bughead playing with bdsm in a dark room, the layers, the smut, the trust, the feelings, I cannot even.  And doll parts!  doll parts is so good, just such an amazing take on drop dead gorgeous, a fabulous Jughead and Betty as per usual, dare I say even better than an already fantastic movie.  I am behind on loose lips sink ships, but I can already tell it’s going to be a great exploration of the Stonies and a great take on season 4.  Keep an eye on her stuff here and here, do not miss out!

@dieqohargreeves:  An icon and legend in gif making, just makes the most beautiful and intricate and creative gifs.  The coloring is amazing, the techniques are amazing, that shit is Art, I will fight you on this.  You gotta check ‘em out, you just gotta, I can’t do their work justice.

@sullypants:  The wit!  The humor!  The observational skills!  The talent, my god!  Sully is the genius behind @bettycooperoutfitwatch and @riverdalearthistory as well as a fabulous writer of both meta and fic, yet another excellent reason for me to keep up with others’ thoughts on Riverdale.  Her a comic miniverse series is so funny and sweet and such a great take on the Archie Comics version of bughead, and the after-party series (Betty and Jughead attend a, well, prom after party, and the events that happen, and I am not doing it justice, but it is v good, I promise) has such a great vibe and such great characterization.  And young adult friction (librarian!Jughead is in a kind of competition with librarian!Betty, it’s so funny and so great) is such a delight, and we do not have time to get into everything great she’s written, but go check it out here.

@lilibug--xx: The queen of bughead smut, can you believe she has graced us with her stuff?  It is steamy and it is in character and it is amazing.  Dark Cherry Chutney is still a fandom favorite of mine, just some great dark!bughead who are unaware of each other’s darkness (but oh, they find out!) as well as some excellent smut.  And Pressed for Time (Betty teasing Jughead with her skirts in an effort to get him to fuck her and he is barely holding on until he isn’t, alternating POVs in the best way) is sexy af but makes you work for it, it’s a delight.  And give you mine (Betty and Jughead fuck at work and it is so hot, I can’t even) is so goddamn good, just some of the best dom!Jughead out there.  Has also written monsterfucker!Betty, which you know I’m a fan of, in once upon a midnight (werewolf-hunter!Betty/werewolf!Jughead with sex pollen where she does not shy away from some wolfy-ness and it is hot af) and has written monsterfucker!Jughead, a rarity but always a delight, with reap what you sow (witch!Jughead/undine!Betty and Betty is so delightfully otherworldly and it is so sexy but also sweet), and there are countless other smut fics, we would be here all day if I went through them all, so you gotta check her out here.  One more thing though: she can also write fluff with Lemon Drops and Chocolate Chips, a sweet fic of Betty and Jughead as neighbors that you should definitely check out.

@thatiranianphantom:  Funny and thoughtful and talented and has correct opinions on musicals!  Writes such good explorations of post-4x17 (and post-4x17 adjacent) scenarios.  Like, the we are a masterpiece series is v good and so interesting, and no one else is singing my song is such great angst as a post-4x17 fic and a great use of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend songs.  I am forgetting a lot of stuff, I know I am, and I think I might be behind like a fool, so let’s go check out all her stuff together here, yes?  Yes.  Also?  Great for Riverdale speculation, especially about the season 5 musical episode.

@heartunsettledsoul:  So talented, queen of canon missing moments, and funny to boot!  I love reading her liveblogging of the episodes, and I cannot recommend her stuff enough.  Her Forgotten Moments series of canon missing moments is iconic, you must go read all of it, especially there’s witchcraft in your hips, a post-2x13 fic of Betty and Jughead being such teenagers and Jughead being a dweeb about his cheerleader girlfriend and I am not doing it justice but you gotta go read it, man, you gotta.  But the series is full of gems from the beginning with Midnight Silence (Betty and Jughead talk post-1x04 about the Grundy debacle and it’s such a delight) and going all the way through to the most recent it might’ve been a nightmare (a 4x12 through 4x16 fic that gives me a wide range of emotions and is fantastic) and your eyes look like coming home (Betty’s diary entries throughout season 1, simply inspired).  But she’s also so good at AUs!  a dark world aches (for a splash of the sun) is already looking so good as a bughead mystery with some varchie fun on the side, just some quality core four content, and won’t be the same (if you’re not here with me) is a favorite of fake dating, Christmas, and there was only one bed, just the best tropefest.  And there are so, so many more, so you must check her out here.

@lovedinapastlife: She writes such a variety of AUs, I am just in awe of them all!  The talent, I am amazed.  The dark!bughead in The Society is peak dark!bughead with a simply iconic yandere!Betty, and you are seriously missing out if you have not read it yet.  Oh, and there’s some more dark!Jughead with a side of dark!Betty in the key to harm(ony) that you must check out because it’s such a great ride and is sexy, what more could you want?  Every movie AU she does really takes the source material and makes it her own from works You Drive Me Crazy (but I'm gonna keep on loving you), based on Drive Me Crazy and definitely better than the movie, to the most recent to all the boys (but especially you), based on To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and just so sweet.  But also can write otherworldly fics like Heart’s Desire with genie!Betty and The Second Coming with fae!Jughead, as well as regular aus like Detention (Betty and Jughead in detention and it gets a little sexy but also quite cute), and pure porn like Eye of the Beholder (Betty and Jughead as sorcerers who hook up over sorcerer Tinder and it is sexy but also sweet), as well as some of the best ABO in fandom with her A/B/O Mine series (alpha!Jughead/omega!Betty in high school and holy shit is it hot as hell).  I am only just skimming the surface here, so definitely go check her out!

@kyloren aka @jughead-jones:  Mila is so talented at making gifs, like goddamn, and also so funny, but I bet you didn’t know that she also has written some damn good fic!  She hides it, but it is out there and it is very good, my favorite being let me hang my hook on your splendor, a fandom fave of a Scooby-Doo au that is so much more thoughtful and clever with its casting, and also very amusing, you must check out the rest of her stuff here.

@elizabethbettscooper: A delightful person and a delightful writer who is largely retired from the bughead fandom but still such a talent, like seriously.  Her Twin Peaks Riverdale AU The Past Dictates the Future is so good, you simply must check it out, like you must.  And yours was the first face i saw is such a fun AU of “what if Betty’s crush on Archie was a front for her crush on Jughead”, you must go read it.  And holy shit, her i may be bad (but i’m perfectly good at it) series is peak dom!Jughead/sub!Betty taking place when they’re in college and fucking in so many varied ways, like if you are into that, you must go read these fics, you must, you will have a great and sexy, sexy time.  And there’s so much more good stuff, you gotta go read it all here.

@bettycreeper: She does so much for the fandom and she makes such gorgeous gifs!  Like, the coordination she does on the @bugheadfamily server and @bugheadfanfictionawards and @riverdale-events and probably elsewhere cannot be understated, she is such a valuable presence in the fandom.  And have you seen her gifs?  Gorgeous quality, just gorgeous, and her movie poster gifs for fics are simply inspired.  Also?  She’s an amazing beta, just outstanding.

@stillscape: A very thoughtful person and excellent writer who I can’t seem to tag.  Dianthus Caryophyllus is still one of my favorite fics in the fandom, a high school bughead fic with some amazing pining from Jughead with an oblivious Betty, I can feel it, it’s so good.  And of course there’s Ninia, an amazing take on the soulmates trope, just so good, I cannot do it justice, you must check it out.  The for the life of me series is also such a good AU for Betty and Jughead getting together pre-Riverdale at a summer internship, I have such fond memories of it.  And la peste (the plague)!  So good, I cannot even.  We don’t have time for everything, except you should make time and go check all of it out here.

@theheavycrown:  God, where would we be without Sarah?  She does so much work for the @bugheadfamily and @bugheadfanfictionawards and @riverdale-events and @riverdalecentral and I’m probably forgetting some, tbh.  And so sweet and talented!  Her gifs are fantastic and so are her fics.  Like, Rain Comes Down (Betty and Jughead fucking in the car on the side of the road while cars drive by)?  Iconic, some amazing exhibitionism.  you had me howling(Betty in heat in the woods and then Jughead finds her and fucking ensues)? Fantastic ABO, so horny, so desperate.  Beneath the Silver Moon Rising?  Excellent dom!Jughead, excellent sexy times.  You must go check out all of her stuff here, you must.

@50shades-of-bughead:  Just some of the absolute cutest art that you must check out, especially their series of dark!bughead that is just fantastic.

@thepointoftheneedle: The variety of work here is phenomenal, the talent, I cannot.  Took my ridiculous double fake marriage/draft-dodging concept and turned it into an excellent, thoughtful period piece with phenomenal characterization and a great mystery with Never No Locomotive, I cannot recommend it enough.  And Ghosts and Clouds and Nameless Things (ghost!Jughead/grieving-dead-Jughead!Betty with a side of mystery) gave me so many emotions, I think I almost cried, and I am not a crier, I assure you.  Hey Pixie Dream Girl, I’m Coming for Your Man! (Betty in her bookstore saves Jughead from his date with a Manic Pixie Dream Girl) is so delightfully funny, and Sunflowers (Betty and Jughead share a working space and fall in love) is so goddamn cute.  I have actually found myself behind on her work, which is a crime, it all looks so amazing and I know it will be, and you must check all of it out with me here.

@hellodinoflower:  Such an amazing presence in the fandom, such a delight, so clever and funny.  She ran @bugheaddrabblechallenge this past summer and gave us all so much joy in the process, and, while her fics are deleted now (as is her right), I promise you that they were amazing, you all missed out if you slept on her.  She’s such a great follow, you gotta follow her.

@bluevelvetvideo:  A delighful soul, great character insight, great writing.  Like, her smut is fantastic, have you read Arsenal (a double feature of Betty and Jughead fooling around in public and then having some sexytimes back in private with some quality dom!Jughead, let me tell you, v steamy)?  Because you should.  Christmas Lights (Jughead ties Betty up with their Christmas lights, it’s fantastically sexy) is a delight, and you can’t blame gravity (for falling in love) is a very fun take on soulmates and soulmarks, and you simply must go read it.  She is a master of smut, let me tell you, and you must check out all her stuff here.  Also?  An excellent beta, 10/10, I’m so lucky to have her.

@a-true-janian-reply:  Very funny, has excellent thoughts on Riverdale!  Like, truly, every time I see an original text post or a reblog from her, I am PSYCHED because it’s always going to be SO GOOD.

@writeradamanteve:  Such great talent across genres, really impressive.  Drive (illegal drag racing Betty and college student but former-ish Serpent Jughead, just fantastic) is one of my earliest fandom favorites, I remember excitedly telling my non-fandom friend about it because I thought it was so clever, and we all know how good Daemon Bound is, yes?  Yes, I’m sure we do.  Let’s go make sure we’ve read all her stuff here.

@thugheadjones:  Has some great insights, some great responses to dumb anons, and some fantastic art, like holy shit, I cannot even.

@bugggghead:  A delightful soul, so nice, so talented.  Writes some amazing smut, like, have you read intimately acquainted (alpha!Jughead/omega!Betty, meeting up on an app to help Betty with her heat in a heat retreat, four chapters of excellent smut)?  Because you should if you’re even kind of interested in ABO.  And en pointe is the bughead knifeplay fic of dreams, you gotta check it out.  And there are so many other ones, we do not have time to cover them all.  She also does cute fics, btw, and Message Me (fanfic-author-who-is-actually-the -real-author!Jughead/gif-maker-and-fangirl!Betty meet on tumblr and fall in love and it’s great) is such a delight, definitely go check it out.  In fact, go check out all her stuff here.  Also a fantastic beta, I really owe her for that.

@heavy-lies-the-crown:  A talented soul who has written so much high quality fic, from the hilarious red ribbon winner (a Christmas fic comedy that I cannot describe well but I assure you is both hilarious and sweet) to the emotional and moving road to me (Betty and Jughead break up, find themselves, and come back together and it’s perfection) to the heart-ripping angst of apizza (a semi post-4x17-speculation fic of bughead together but apart at Yale and the way they will come back together and it is so good and so angsty) to many, many more.  You gotta go check it all out here.

@lurker-no-more:  Yet another funny person, we as a fandom are so blessed, you must check them out, you just must.

@iconic-ponytail:  Another excellent writer!  a revelation in the light of day is SUCH a great slowburn and  SUCH a great take on both FBI!Betty and Sheriff!Jughead and the two of them falling in love as adults.  Also, the side varchie is fantastic, and the mystery is amazing.  I have not yet checked out the nighthawks, but I already know it’s going to be good, I can tell, you can trust this author to be quality, so go check all of her stuff out here.

@soyforramen:  Funny!  Very funny!  Also?  Writes some great ficlets that are, I think, exclusive to tumblr, which is a tragedy, tbh, but as is their right.  But I do have the link to this genius fic about bughead and a platypus in honor of the platypus anon that was going around this summer.  Definitely go check them out!

And now I am very tired, I have used up my energy, and I am so sorry if I forgot anyone!

[birthdaysentiment]

The music in wtFOCK season 3 - Song #37

Maandag 11.03 // "Wildfire" - SYML (Part Two)

One of the most difficult things to do in life is to let other people into your life, to show them your world and what kind of person you are. It can be scary to let people see who you are, to let someone see the god and bad parts, because maybe they're not going to like what they find, maybe they're not going to stay once they learn the truth and when they see everything you carry around with you. No matter how terrifying it can be to open up to someone else, to lay everything out and say, "this is me, all of me", we all wish to find that person. We all want to find that one person, who we can be ourselves with, where we don't have to hide or pretend to be someone we're not, because we know they're always going to be there right by our side.

This clip, this scene in particular, is one of my absolute favourites, because for me, it felt like this reunion was the moment where Robbe and Sander realized, that they're always going to be there for each other, that they're not alone and lost in this crazy world, because they will always have each other by their side no matter what.

At this point, Sander had told Robbe about his fears, letting him know what he thinks about himself, because Sander believes that he's toxic, that he breaks everything he touches, that Robbe is going to leave him since he only causes problems, because sooner or later Sander is going to hurt Robbe again, and that thought alone is enough to make Sander want to give up his own happiness, if it's going to keep Robbe safe. But Robbe sees Sander in a different light, he knows that Sander isn't toxic, that he doesn't break everything he touches, because when Sander touched him, he had never felt anything like that before. Robbe isn't going to let the darkness swallow Sander, he's determined to pull Sander out of that darkness, just like he did for Robbe.

In that moment, Robbe wanted to remove all of Sander's fears, and he knew a way to do just that. Robbe takes Sander's hands, asking him to get up, so they can stand in front of each other. And in that same moment, the piano version of "wildfire" starts playing in the background where the calmness and soothing melody fit perfectly to Robbe's gentle and soft voice, which makes everything seem much more intimate, as they stand close to each other. Robbe is almost glowing, his skin and clothes is filled with warm colours, where his brown eyes really stands out, and it's an interesting contrast to Sander, who's bleached hair, grey clothes and tiredness, makes him seem a bit colder and more distant, like it's reflecting what's going on inside of him.

Robbe lets him in on the game, that they're not going to think "what if we ever", but instead, they're going to think "what if we, in the next minute…", and the thought of that seems to bring some comfort. Sander is a thinker, he has a lot of thoughts, especially about the time to come, if everything is going to work out, or if everything is going to fall apart. He can't always control them, but whenever Robbe is near him, his mind seems to be going a lot slower, not racing with hundred miles per hour, so when Robbe tells him what they're going to do in the next minute, it seems to bring some sort of peace to him, that he doesn't have to think about what will happen later or what will happen after they kiss, because they will just take it minute by minute.

As they lean towards each other, the alternative version of the song starts playing around them, where a familiar melody filled with so many emotions, replaces the pure piano tones, and suddenly everything feels overwhelming. Every emotion in that scene gets intensified because of the music, where the song really emphasizes the care, comfort, tenderness and love between Robbe and Sander, which makes the moment so special, and at the same time, you're trying to hold your breath, trying not to move, because you don't want to ruin that minute.

The kiss is filled with so much tenderness, it's so gentle and loving, but at the same time it's almost too much, because of the intensity and intimacy. We have seen Robbe and Sander kiss many times before; they have shares passionate kisses, longing and caring ones, they have shared kisses full of desire and lust, but they've also given each other featherlight kisses. But somehow this kiss seems different, like there is so many unspoken words put into it, but most of all it seems like a declaration of love, a promise from Robbe, that he'll always be there for Sander, that he never has to worry about that. And the contrast between them, with the warm and cold colours, seems to disappear for a moment, and it almost seems like Robbe is trying to give some of his warmth to Sander with the kiss, trying to give him all the comfort, love and safety he needs in that moment.

They continue kissing as Robbe puts an arm around Sander's shoulder, so he can deepen the kiss, but as the camera turns around, as Robbe holds Sander closer to him, Sander can feel how every emotion is coming to him all at once. He slowly moves away from Robbe's lips before he breaks down in his arms, a place where he now feels safe and loved. In that same moment when the tears start forming in his eyes, when his breathing gets unsteady, while he's trying to stay on his feet, the lyrics below can be heard in the background, and somehow it seems like everything is connecting on a deeper level.

Sometimes we break so beautiful

And you know you're not the only one

I breathe you in, so sweet and powerful

Like a wildfire burning up inside my lungs

The editing is once again spot on, because as they sing "sometimes we break so beautiful", Sander breaks down in Robbe's arms in a room that he considers "somewhere safe", and for me, that somehow makes the moment even more emotional. Because Sander is not only in the arms of the person that he loves, but he's also in a room that gives him comfort, where he has the opportunity to escape his thoughts for just a moment, because art is his safe place. In that moment, Sander feels safe enough to be vulnerable, because he believes that Robbe is going to be there to catch him if he falls, that Robbe is going to be there for him, he's going to just hold him in his arms and let him know that it's okay to let it all out, that Sander will always be safe in his arms.

I've written about the meaning behind this song before, but somehow, I feel like the thoughts behind it has a different meaning in terms of this clip, and once again I can't help but get all emotional and teary. Some people wake up with the same feeling every day, a feeling of missing something that has been taken away from them, thinking everything seem so hopeless, which sometimes can make it too hard and difficult to continue. But this song is meant to represent that there is someone out there, who will stop you from giving up, who will let you know that there's hope and how much you mean to them.

In this moment, as Robbe is holding Sander close while his sobs gets louder, Robbe lets him know that he's loved, that he never has to feel alone since he'll always have Robbe by his side, for there is hope in this crazy world they're living in, and they're going to get through it together. Because when you find yourself in a season of destruction and loss, you might need someone to tell you that there's hope, and that they matter, you might need to know that there's someone who will come and pull you out of the dark, which will make it easier to continue. Robbe and Sander is that for each other, they pulled each other out of the darkness, they showed each other that there was another way to live your life, a way that was real and filled with love and happiness.

I love the way Robbe is taking care of Sander, because he's just there for him, and that's exactly what he needs in that moment, and I'm sure it meant everything to Sander. He's never experienced that kind of care before, that kind of love, comfort and safety, because even though he thought he had that in the past, being in Robbe's arms reminds him of how real love should feel like. When Sander no longer can stand on his feet, Robbe takes a firmer hold of him and lowers them to the floor as Sander's crying gets louder, and Robbe just rocks them slowly back and forth while he strokes Sander's hair to let him know that he's there. He's being so sweet, so caring and so gentle with Sander, and that just makes my heart so warm, especially with the loving melody in the background, that makes the moment even more powerful, because every emotion rises to the surface.

I have a hard time watching this scene, actually the whole clip, and sometimes I get all emotional just by thinking about it, because there's so many emotions attached to it. But it always warms my heart to see how much love and care they are between them; how important they are for each other and the changes they've gone through. Seeing Sander break down was tough, painful and it hurt, but I think Sander needed it, I think he needed to let everything out he had been holding inside, he needed to break down in order for him to process everything that happened the last ten weeks. And as I wrote in the beginning, it can be scary to open up, to let someone else into your life, and I think Sander was terrified that the truth would come between them, that Robbe would treat him differently and eventually leave, once he found out about his mental illness, but Robbe was different. By holding him close and whispering comforting words to him, Robbe was letting Sander know that he was never going to leave his side, which was everything Sander needed to know in that moment.

Before the clip ends, Robbe says something to Sander, that always makes me emotional, because as the song is coming to an end, as the melody gets softer and more mellow, Robbe whispers "I'm so happy I found you", six words that holds so much meaning. Not only is Robbe happy to have found Sander in his art room, to know that he's safe, but I also think Robbe says those words to Sander, to let him know how much he means to him, how grateful and happy he is about finding Sander, about him being a part of his life. Because without Sander, Robbe would properly be living a fake life, where he would pretend to be someone he's not, while trying to hide his true feelings. But when he met Sander everything changed, not only did he meet the person that made him feel something he'd never felt before, but he also met the person, that changed his life for the better, because Sander made Robbe want to be himself, Sander made Robbe embrace everything his life had to offer.

After this clip, I found myself emotionally overwhelmed, almost drained, because I had felt every single emotion in that clip, something the choice of music also helped with achieving. For me, "wildfire" will always be Robbe and Sander's song, and sometimes it surprises me, that it wasn't written specifically for them, because it fits so perfectly to them and their story. I can't imagine a different song for this clip, or another song to be the theme of their love story and the journey they've been on together, and I guess that just shows how brilliant wtFOCK is when it comes to selecting the songs for the soundtrack. And even though I have a hard time listing to "wildfire" and its different versions, the song will always be one of my favourites from the soundtrack to season 3, just as it always will have a special place in my heart.