#They are there to make this wall of text readable

[cementcornfield]

https://www.tumblr.com/cementcornfield/754280825602932736

Hi new to this fandom and was told this is the Joe’marr blog . I’d love to know your favorite moment between these two and how would you describe this dynamic cause it seems like Ja’Marr don’t play

Hi anon, welcome to the fandom and to joe'marr in general! and lol yes i do definitely post about them a lot!

ja'marr does NOT play, i agree! neither of them do about each other i'd say <3. i've described my perception of their dynamic a few times in asks (and! important to remember it's just my perception because we don't actually know any of these men personally) but here goes way too many words about it below the cut 🫡

differences and similarities

to me, they're two good friends who are seemingly very different, but complement each other well, and are actually very similar on the inside! ja'marr is outwardly more extroverted, warmer and friendlier, while joe isn't cold, necessarily, but he seems to take longer to warm up to people in general; he's never friendly just to be friendly ("he'll walk right by you and not smile" per ja'marr), and, despite recent appearances lol, is more of an introvert. (although honestly, ja'marr recently has said he's starting to prefer staying in playing video games and joe has been more out and about! so it seems like they may be rubbing off on each other!) but at their core they're both stubborn, strong, brave and have an edge to them that i think they've recognized in each other since day 1 (all those fights at LSU practices! a love of taunting!)

taking care of each other

they care about each other a tremendous amount and it seems like they are always trying to take care of each other in their own ways. ja'marr with his (maybe???) buying joe clothes and taking him out and wanting him to live his life (he must be thrilled about France Joe), and always defending him in the press (and on twitter lmao). joe always getting in extra throwing sessions with ja'marr (including and most importantly ja'marr's rookie year when he was struggling and they'd stay after practice getting extra work in), always talking up ja'marr's talent and intelligence and work ethic in the press, and he basically guaranteed him a spot on the team during the 2021 draft.

mind reading - good

they've known each other for 6 (SIX!!) years now and according to both of them they "don't need words" to understand each other at this point. which is maybe my FAVORITE thing to analyze about them lmao. because that's definitely obvious on the field. i don't think i really understood how special their on-the-field connection is (despite announcers and coaches and analysts talking about it constantly!) until i finally started understanding how the game actually works (lol i didn't watch football until 2 years ago and started understanding it even later). like, ja'marr's ability to know when to break out of his route, when to improvise when joe needs him to, and joe's ability to know exactly where ja'marr's going to be??? and all of this is happening in SECONDS while people are actively trying to bring them down through any means possible?? that's such an impossible feat and it's one they pull off all the time! and this translates to off the field for them too. one of my favorite clips ever is ja'marr describing how he can tell how joe's feeling just by how he walks in the building, and that joe can do the same for him. "i know him like the back of my hand, he knows me like the back of his" like??? ok boys! that's some soulmate shit actually!

mind reading - bad

BUT on that note, i do think that, ironically, this ability to "read each others' minds" sometimes could lead to miscommunication for them! or at least it could lead to them NOT saying things that maybe they should say out loud. i don't have a lot of concrete examples here (obviously because if they're not saying things to each other they aren't saying them to the press) but there's an interview where ja'marr's talking about his hip injury. and how he "never talked to joe about it" but he "knew in his mind that he'd come back when joe needed him" which ???? what are you talking about ja'marr?? the double mind reading there of a. expecting joe to know that he'll come back when he needs him but also b. expecting himself to know when joe would need him! like! that seems really complicated, you could just, talk to each other? maybe?

ja’marr also said that joe didn’t believe him when he told him that his presence was enough at practice, that joe thought he was joking (i guess it’s not commonplace for ja’marr to come right out and say how important joe is to him and the team! so joe probably wouldn't know what to make of that rare moment of sincerity!)

and i think they aren't talking to each other about contracts (which, fair enough, that's business), but people sure were asking ja'marr about joe's contract anyway (and they're starting to do the same for joe about ja'marr!) and we all remember a lot of ja'marr's comments that came around to bite him lol. and, i have NO proof for this one besides my projections/feelings, but i wonder if joe's worried at all about ja'marr's contract this year. if he's worried that if he doesn't perform, ja'marr won't want to stay. now, ja'marr tells the press (and twitter. and his twitch chat. and his dad.) that he wants to stay with joe, but does joe believe that? has ja'marr ever come out and actually said that to him? or is he expecting joe to just know that?

(oh man i wrote a lot in that section, and i have so little actual evidence, but it's something i love thinking about! i don't want them being too cutesy or perfect tbh. they're flawed! they're men raised in stoic sports culture and honestly i am so sure they suck at communicating. i'm sure they've had misunderstandings. i'm sure they've argued. and that's so important!)

balance

i think another thing i love about their dynamic is that ja'marr is such a good check for joe. if you haven't noticed, joe kind of runs the organization lmao. from day 1 he's been involved in the play calling, drafting, overall culture and philosophy. and that's his right! he is good at all of that! he's The Franchise (worshipped throughout the team, the city, half of the state!) and, in the beginning, i think ja'marr felt that way about joe too. joe led him to a perfect season and a national championship in college and then a super bowl his first year in the league! he himself said, right before the super bowl in 21, "he's like a god to me" which is...just a WILD thing to say about your friend :') like??? the devotion? the loyalty?? okay ja'marr!!

but, then they lose, and ja'marr "coaxes joe out of bed" to go celebrate anyway. he gets to be the one to see joe at his absolute lowest and he's the one to build him back up. and i think that really affected their dynamic from then on, to the point that ja'marr became the only guy to think of joe as an actual human being in the organization. i don't think (until very very recently with zac) that a single person other than ja'marr ever said no to joe (the way joe stayed in that titans game last year despite being hurt, at risk, and losing by so much cemented that for me!) ja'marr was the ONLY ONE to say that joe should sit out as long as he needed to for the calf. the only one not celebrating (in fact, he seemed PISSED) when joe was running around during preseason games despite not being fully healed 😭 the only one saying "come on joe let's go out" instead of just coming to him (and it seems that's finally worked lol) and joe NEEDS that. he needs that desperately! someone who will support him but call him on his shit, someone who sees him as more than just his abilities and wants what's actually best for him!

teasing <3

finally (oh my god this is SO LONG) i really enjoy how playful they are with each other. joe tends to be very Stoic and Serious (not all the time, but it's a tendency) and i think ja'marr is good at bringing him out of that. he's talked about how back at LSU he would joke around with joe and it took him a long time to finally figure out how to make him smile and laugh. and i think that's a skill he's perfected over the years! every mic'ed up between the two of them, we get to hear them tease and mess with each other. "you see that big blue thing over there??" "you couldn't overthrow me and get me in stride?" "my guy you were wide open!" (ja'marr's hands on joe's hips the entire time) "you're looking pretty slow" "be serious" and "he said you underthrew him" "yeah right" and "i ain't gonna lie, you look slow as hell" and "i'll start taking it off for you ja'marr" and "joe swears he's sneaky fast" and "hey man you're so cool!" and on and on and on! i HATE that we've never had a long form interview/podcast with BOTH of them on it because my god i want to know what an actual conversation is like between them. but i think it must be a lot of that. a lot of fond jokes, compliments hidden in teasing; we see them laughing together so often <3 and of course we CAN'T forget the UFC moves they practice on each other :) "we mess around every now and then".

the end

okay i'm stopping myself because oh my god this is so much. anon i'm sorry, you absolutely aren't going to read all of this. but it's been two years and i STILL apparently have so much to say about these two. it's ridiculous. i'm ridiculous. (but so are they!!)

[squishmalloe]

okay i've been wanting to do a character analysis on tallulah for a bit, and bad's stream today (july 10th) has really inspired me sooo big paragraphs under the cut

(NOTE: remember that this is all roleplay, and i'm not talking about the ccs here, only their characters)

so, starting with tallulah's relationship with wilbur. at the start, wilbur found tallulah in the attic after she survived off of dirt for... however long she was up there. wilbur was resistant to the idea of parenthood at first, but tallulah persisted with questions like "are you my dad now?" and asking him to name her, among other things. whether she was aware of the way she affected him or not, she definitely pulled at wilbur's heartstrings. he made sure to explain to her multiple times that he wouldn't be around too much, but tallulah was so desperate for a father and love that she accepted him regardless of his flaws.

(speaking of the attic, the way tallulah's admin(s) incorporate her trauma from the attic, water/beaches, etc. is SO brilliant)

tallulah desperately wants wilbur to love her, and she loves him a lot. she said one time that she wasn't afraid of death itself, only the idea that wil would be sad after her death. she clearly doesn't have great self-preservation skills (which this is kinda worrying what with her being... not the best at combat related activities), and this is especially evident with her interactions with quackity, since he constantly has hurt her (the mean names at the beginning, him vandalising her house with gegg and the masked man, and possibly other things i've forgotten). she believes quackity will make wilbur happy, and she wants nothing more than to make him happy.

its also worth noting that wilbur gave her praise whenever she was kind to people (but in this case specifically quackity). this could also contribute to her desire to bond with quackity, because she thinks that being kind to quackity will make wilbur proud (and because she's just a sweet and intelligent person (egg?) in general, who's probably also recognized quackity's difficulties). she wants wilbur to be proud of her, and she's willing to risk her own safety to achieve that.

though, there is an exception to this rule; gegg. since meeting gegg, tallulah has been jealous, cold, and suspicious towards gegg, though there wasn't a very good (apparent) reason for this, at least at first. then, she reveals to wilbur that she's afraid that gegg will replace her, explaining her behaviour. she dislikes gegg but not quackity because quackity can't replace her; he's not an egg or a child, he's a human(?) adult. he wouldn't be a son to wilbur, he'd be a partner. gegg, on the other hand, would be a son.

so, gegg has the ability to replace tallulah, but why would she be afraid of that? she wasn't jealous of any of the other eggs when wilbur met them. the reason for her fear/jealousy is because gegg was an orphan and didn't have parents, despite wilbur expressing obvious distaste for him (guggets, anyone?). she wasn't jealous of ramón when wilbur and tallulah met him, but that was because ramón has fit. gegg has no one, and that made tallulah scared that she'd be replaced as wilbur's one and only child.

tallulah constantly expresses fear and sadness to phil about wilbur being away, and twice (to my knowledge) she's talked to bad about how she misses him. today (july 10th), she talked to bad about how she views bad and phil as her dads/father figures alongside wilbur. clearly she cares SO much about her family outside of wilbur, and the fact that she was so adamant that she doesn't replace him (even if she's not actually replacing him) when bad talked to her about how she has other family that love her too ties into the idea that she's terrified of being replaced (even though she loves her other family a lot), so in turn, she doesn't want to do that to wilbur. she loves wilbur so much, so much so that she puts aside her own wellbeing and feelings to think about his instead.

tallulah's character is loving, sweet, persistent, naïve, stubborn, and a bit clingy. she wants to be loved, she wants wilbur to be proud of her, and most of all, she wants wilbur to be happy. she's willing to put everything she loves aside just for him to feel happy, even at the cost of her own. she's extremely trusting, she's vulnerable, and she's emotionally connected to her family and those around her; even with gegg she was never too mean to him, despite her fears.

im excited to see where her admin(s) take her character next!

[apothekosm]

Belief & Apotheosis (a multi-part headcanon)

With this collection of words & references, I am hoping to provide both context and a 'mechanical understanding' to the following statement:

Ana'Hira fashioned herself into a God over the course of her life by rewriting her 'status' in the eyes of the universe, through sheer overwhelming belief.

By referring to herself as such (A God) and by getting others to believe that she is such (A GOD), she became as such (A GOD!).

Certain actions & events had to transpire in order to create the perfect conditions for Ana'Hira's ascension to be possible, of course, but an overwhelming majority (about 90%) of the 'evolution' from 'cosmic clone' to 'universal host' to 'divine being' came from within. A simple mantra of 'I believe in myself.'

To get there, i first need to take you here:

Skrull Religions & The Last Members of the Skrull Pantheon (or, Part One: The Book of Worlds)

In the eyes of the Skrull, RELIGION has often taken a huge, huge backseat to science and military might after the original printing of the Book of Worlds (The Skrull version of a Quran/Legendarium/Litany of Prophecies) was lost during the destruction of Skrullos by THE GREAT HUNGER. (An event PROPHESIED in the Book of Worlds, mind you)

[It's important to note: The Book of Worlds is much more similar to the Quran than a Bible or the Torah, because The Book of Worlds was written by The Gods themselves. It's not 'stories being told by those inspired by the actions of the divine, but a pen-to-paper transcription of the word(s) of The Gods themselves.]

Without the dedicated word of their Gods available for perusal, most Skrull cultures fell in line behind those they believed ordained by Gods: The Emperors, The Empresses, The Cosmic Cubes & The Super Skrulls.

Anyone with the might to rule was followed, as the base idea that 'their might was ordained by the Gods' still prevailed even if the more intricate and subtle lessons of the religions were fading over time. However, some houses, families, and even entire planets (separate from the Throneworld, though they may be) held tight to the idea of the Old Pantheon; to the worship of Kly'Bn the Eternal, and Sl'gur't, of Infinite Names.

Two Skrulls, born millions of years ago, that became THE First Two (and in the eyes of some, ONLY) Skrull Gods.

Millions of years ago, at the conclusion of the Skrull civil war between the three sub-species (Deviant Skrulls, Prime Skrulls, and Eternal Skrulls), after the Prime Skrulls had been exterminated, Sl'gur't the warrior queen of the Deviant Skrulls led her people against the last Eternal Skrull stronghold. When she found the last Eternal Skrull (Kly'bn) who was kneeling at an altar, he persuaded her not to kill him but to let him be their guide and proclaimed his love for her. The two were elevated to godhood because of the truth of his words. The two of them indirectly supported the creation and expansion of the Skrull Empire. They conquered and enslaved the pantheons of the conquered races, numbering nearly 1000 pantheons.

Now THAT THERE IN THE MIDDLE, that's the bit! The important bit. Kly'bn & Sl'gur't ascended to divinity and ruled over their people, literally uplifted into the realm of Gods, simply by finding the TRUTH in Kly'bn's words. A 'truth', mind you, that was simply:

(For a non-pontificating translation: You've killed everything on this planet that is not like you. But the entire universe is not like you. With myself here, as the pinnacle and mould for what Skrulls should be, I will guide us all to the subjugation, destruction, and conquering of the universe around us.)

And that Truth was enough. Seriously. That was it.

At that moment, every Skrull in the 'Empire' held the exact same thought: These two beings will lead us into our future, they will sit in the stars, eternal and infinite, and light the way for our species forevermore. I love them, as they love me... My Gods.

And that was enough.

The Power of Belief transformed two, otherwise ordinary individuals, into eternal (they lived MILLIONS OF YEARS after these panels. MILLIONS.), powerful (they fought Hercules' God Squad in a 2v5 and almost won), GODS.

And if it was possible for them, even when the Empire was statistically at its least populated? Then it could be possible for any child of Skrullos, should the right conditions be met...

ENTER: Ana'Hira. (or, Part Two coming soon!)

[itsillchangethislater]

Y/n - “Good thing I had those flash bangs, huh Moon?”

Moon - *family guy death pose*

It’s okay buddy, we’ve all been there. I’ve always loved this moment in the fic, the pure FEAR that y/n has at seeing Eclipse for the first time is just *chefs kiss*. Paired with the dca lifeless husk, the dark tomb, vampires on the loose??? It was a packed chapter!!!! And such evocative imagery!

I mixed my inks and digital on this one cause anyone who has ever worked with ink I’m sure can attest, once you go black, you can never go back. Going too dark is irreparable and FRIGHTENINGLY easy lol…I was a weenie and fired up procreate for the final shading. But! I am pretty happy with the final product! I’d like to have done more detail on the walls? But with the text going to be added there, I didn't want the readability to be affected.

I did originally want to do travel shots for the location of each new place the boys and y/n visited. So there was a draft for a scene of them sitting in the graveyard together. But I just kinda ran out of stamina lol. I also wanted to make sure I had a space for the vampire chapter header so, alas graveyard Sun, you shall not be included!

cryptid sightings by @naffeclipse

Eclipse design by @themeeplord

[blockgamepirate]

idk if anyone has done this yet but I just wanted to share close-ups of each of the custom signs Richas, Pomme and Bad made, with individual alt-text descriptions (the descriptions are a bit subjective but I wanted to make them as vivid as I could because I feel like these designs deserve that)

I might include my own feedback in a reblog, to get extra subjective, but the main gist of it would be that these are super cute and much much easier to read.

Note that these are not the final designs! Richas, Pomme and Bad said they're still working on them and asking for feedback, especially in regards to the accessibility aspect.

The same descriptions under a cut, just in case the alt-text doesn't work for some reason:

1:

Pomme's custom canvas sign on a wall. This will be the most detailed description since it's the first: The sign has a wooden frame that surrounds a red canvas. The canvas has a very subtle patchwork like texture and is slightly darker on the edges than in the middle. The text is a slightly transparent white (effectively beige) and reads Pomme in all caps.

The custom texture pack version is a much darker shade of red, which makes the contrast between the text and the background much bigger and thus the text much more readable. The frame is also decorated with a little French flag in the bottom left corner and tree branches with green leaves and apples on the right. The leaves and apples overlap the canvas portion slightly. The overall vibe is very classy and makes you think of a roadsign advertising a French vineyard. Or I guess more like an orchard in this case.

2:

Sunny's custom sign: The colour is a much softer and lighter orange than before, almost more like a warm yellow. The text is black like in all the lighter coloured signs. The frame is decorated with sparkly blue diamonds, a small diamond shaped one in the lower left corner with sparkles almost as big as itself, and one big one in the lower right corner which is in the princess cut shape. The general vibe is like a pre-teen girl's notebook decorated with glittery stickers.

3:

Chayanne's custom sign: The colour is a very soft and pale lemon yellow. The frame is covered in subtle vines on the top and the bottom. In the lower left corner there's a small orange pumpkin among the vines, and in the lower right corner there's a little yellow rubber duckie, also partially covered in vines, which does blend into the background a little bit where it overlaps the yellow canvas. The vibe is very cottagecore but also very childlike, this could be a sign for some kind of family vacation location with cabins and gardens.

4:

Tallulah's custom sign: The colour is medium pink, somewhere between her original pink signs (now used by Pepito) and her current magenta signs. Clearly lighter than the latter, but darker than the former. The frame is decorated with poppies in the lower right corner, and some kind of blue flower, maybe a blue lily, on the lower left corner. One of the blue flowers also sort of peeks into the frame on the right between the poppies, right in the corner. The flowers are of course framed by their leaves, which reach out towards the middle around them. This definitely has the vibe of a sign for a flower garden, probably one maintained by a little old lady who loves pink.

5:

Richarlyson's custom sign: The colour is a deeper indigo blue than his original signs, like deep blue denim. The text colour is the same light beige as Pomme's signs and as all the darker coloured signs. The frame is decorated with a tiny Brazilian flag in the lower right corner, and red-cap mushrooms in the lower left corner. The mushrooms seem to be releasing little white spores into the air, some of which can be seen in the top right corner as well. I can't quite pin down the vibe. There's something a bit fairy tale like, like a storybook maybe. You half expect a little troll creature to show up. But also… random Brazilian flag I guess lol

6:

Empanada's custom sign: The colour seems to be the same soft beige as before, I can't tell if it has changed at all. The frame is covered in golden syrup in the top left corner, which spreads out all over that side of the sign, dripping down in big goopy clumps. It looks delicious and I don't even care that much for syrup. The lower right corner across from it is decorated with white flowers, maybe white cherry blossoms? The flowers are stemless and leafless, just the flower floating over the frame and the canvas. One big one and one small one. There seem to also be small petals floating in the other two corners of the sign, over the canvas. One petal is even floating on the syrup where it drips down on the left. This would definitely be a sign for a small independent bakery.

7:

Ramón's custom sign: The colour is the same white as always, I don't think it has changed at all. The frame is very simply decorated with copper-coloured gears in the lower left and lower right corners, with one particularly big gear on the right side. It doesn't bring any particular vibes to mind but it is cute. The gears look very shiny and it fits Ramón very well. I guess the thing that it most reminds me of is actually Ramón's elevator shaft with its white walls and coppery create machinery.

8:

Dapper's custom sign: The colour is a darker grey than usual, I would honestly call it black rather than grey. The lower edge of the frame is decorated with what looks like darkened blotches of blood, with white ghostly spirits rising out of them towards the left and right edges of the sign, framing the canvas and partially overlapping it. The ghosts are similar to the souls that rise from soulsand in Minecraft but whiter, with only a hint of blue. The vibe is very Halloweeny of course.

9:

Leonarda's custom sign: The colour is a much deeper purple than before, you could even say a more royal purple. In the lower right corner there's a beautiful sparkly cluster of amethysts which are a lighter pinkish lilac colour and which look absolutely gorgeous, just masterful pixel art crystals. There is an amazing sense of depth and transparency in such a minimal resolution. There are also some pinkish sparkles in the lower left corner to balance out the composition a little bit. I don't know how to describe the vibes but it's beautiful. It's like a much classier version of Sunny's sign (not an insult to Sunny's sign, just a neutral description. It's like the cliché of the nouveau riche versus old money. Sunny's gems make you think of glitter stickers, Leo's look like she just happened to place the sign next to an actual cluster of amethysts with perfect artistic composition. Or maybe like she hired a professional painter to decorate each sign.)

(Okay sorry for the rambling, I just can't get over how pretty these amethysts are. Sunny's diamonds are also very pretty but they do look more like stickers to me)

10:

Pepito's custom sign: I think the colour is a softer and lighter pink than the original, it looks like freshly washed baby clothes. The sign is decorated with a tub of popcorn in the lower right corner, with the classic red-and-white design, which sits partly on the frame but mostly overlaps the canvas. Some popcorn seems to have fallen out and is scattered across the lower edge of the sign. There's also a stripe of alternating red and white on the right (over the edge of the canvas rather than on top of the frame itself) which vaguely makes me think of film reel, probably because of the popcorn. I should note that the white and red on both the tub and the "film" are a bit desaturated and dark, technically the white is more like light grey, which gives an effect of shadow and contrast compared to the very light pink canvas which looks very cool. There's also some subtle white flakes across the sides of the canvas; I'm not sure what they're meant to represent. They're very similar to Empanada's petals. The overall effect of the sign is very retro to me. It makes me think of the sixties.

11:

Gegg's custom sign: The colour is a softer version of the lime green of the original sign, and slightly lighter. The canvas is decorated with a little Gegg pixel art sitting in the lower right corner. Otherwise the sign is undecorated, but there's a subtle effect on the canvas itself that makes it look a bit goopier, like there's a thin film of slime over it. And there's a tiny reflection of light in the upper left corner which adds to the wet look. It's very subtle though, it could very easily be missed if you didn't look at the sign closely. The overall vibe is: Gegg

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

ok here i go full hc prompt🥳🤩🤩

m6 in the ✨✋Future🤚✨ or at least to them, relatively, from their medievaissance-y mixed bag nonspecified time period to something resembling our times! i personally like to consider it still Their World, fictional, which just progressed to look like ours now (it literally makes zero difference to anybody except the inner machinations of my annoying ass but yeah ifykyk) basically yknow shooting a medieval peasant into 2023 & giving him mountain dew type beat

The Arcana HCs: M6 in the Future

~ @tetsuooooooooooo this was so much fun, thank you for sending it in and I hope you enjoy these!! ~

-- for headcanon purposes, MC is from the future and is tasked with taking care of M6 during their 24 hours there --

Julian

It takes him less than two minutes to figure out where (read: when) he is and his response is nothing short of enthusiastic

Please, he's been around the world, and he's got a delightful guide, and he really, really wants to know if his theories about leeches ended up being correct

He actually gets a little emotional when a quick google search shows him how wrong he was and you end up having to take him exploring to cheer him up and distract him from his failures

You have a really hard time explaining to him that clinics don't allow doctors without medical degrees to waltz in and observe random patients getting treatments

You take him to see a movie and he's transfixed

The screen is so big. The actor's faces are so clear. The drama is so much more than anything he could have imagined. And they come with music?? Hums the soundtrack for the rest of the day

If you show him that one version of Jurassic Park with Jeff Goldblum in it Julian will imitate him sporadically afterwards

Enjoys fast food way more than he should. Especially instant noodles. Will spend half an hour trying to pack some to take back

Fascinated by the concept of typing

You hit a button to make the next letter appear instead of writing it? But MC, this means that everything he wants to communicate through text could be easily readable. Imagine!

Freaks out a bit when you try to take him in a car. He's surprisingly comfortable in a metro, though, so you'll have to do with public transportation and bicycles

Oh yeah, he loves bicycles. He only crashed into three trees, a wall, and a stranger's parked car before getting the hang of it

He's convinced that earbuds don't actually play music, they just trick your brain into thinking that you can hear it

Almost exploded when you gave him coldbrew coffee

Asra

They know instantly that they're in a different version of reality. Sure, they've never traveled through time, but they've traveled through plenty of other dimensions

He's the least ruffled, and unfortunately, the least impressed. Don't get him wrong, this looks super cool, but this isn't any more otherworldly to him than the otherworldly places he's already been

Wants to go on a food tour immediately. Not the nice stuff though

No, they want the questionable food. The is-this-going-to-make-me-regret-existing food. The food that, if it was shown in an anime, would be pixelated and have threatening auras around it

So chill about what you tell him to do it's almost concerning

"Here Asra, climb into this four-wheeled hunk of metal that can travel over 100 miles an hour and hold yourself in with a single fabric strap while I pilot this through hundreds of other things just like it, driven by people we don't know and can't predict."

"Cool. Where do I put Faust?"

Don't tell them about edibles unless you want them to spend their day hunting some down and absolutely going to town on them

You swear you saw his hair stand on end the first time he tried popping candy

When you took them to get their radioactive meal (a.k.a. the closest fast food chain with the fewest ethical violations) they insisted on picking up one of every sauce packet to try them all

... and when he saw a nine-year-old mixing two different fountain drinks, he of course grabbed the largest cup available and went down the line so he could taste all of them at once too

You've never seen them this jittery and sugar high, so of course the next place to go is a trampoline park, with the bright lights and loud music and bodies hurtling through the air

He should not be getting the amount of air time that he does

Has a meltdown over modern fluffy blankets. They're so soft

Nadia

Gobsmacked. As in, she's a highly intelligent woman, and therefore able to really wrap her head around what she's seeing

The future!! She's in the future, Arcana help her

But she's got you and she adores you and she knows she can trust you so she's going to be okay. That said, start explaining. Now.

First things first: how's the infrastructure? She can't see any canals or aqueducts. Or fireplaces or lanterns, for that matter, what do you do for light? And cooking? (Cooking uses fire, right?)

Literally cannot walk past anything new without stopping to try to figure out how it works and if there's a way to recreate it herself

Bicycles on a rack? She's spinning the pedal and trying to figure out the balancing dynamics of two-wheeled movement

Almost lost it when she found out that it was possible to lift the hood of a car and look at the engine inside that makes it go. You decided to take her on public transportation instead

Which turned into all kinds of excited brainstorming about public carriages, and gondolas built for 20 people ferrying people along the aqueducts, and new and terrifying uses for the catacombs

Wasn't very impressed with the fashion she saw

She knows what good quality cloth looks like. This is a women who grew up in silks and fine linens, polyester does not impress her

Except for the stretchiness. She does like that

The perfume counter, on the other hand, takes up a good hour and a half of her time. She's smelled plenty of fine scents before, but she's never been in a shop where she could sniff so many at a time

This one smells like Prakra. This one smells like Vesuvia. This one smells like the beach. This one smells like the woods. This one ...

Yeah, it was an excellent opportunity to take a nap, if you're the napping sort. You wake up to her testing perfumes on you because she ran out of space on herself

Gets so frustrated when you explain your government setup to her

Muriel

Oh no, please be very gentle with him

He likes to live in the woods because it is peaceful and quiet and it's one place he doesn't stand out in

He stands out in this place very, very much and he doesn't like it

Refuses to leave the room he appeared in until his appearance is as unremarkable as possible (which is not easy to do, by the way, the man is a mountain. modern clothes in his size are hard to find)

Does not want to go in the car. It's way too fast and it makes him seasick when he closes his eyes to shut it out

Buses are somehow easiest - they feel the least claustrophobic when they're not crowded and it's rude to stare on them

You two end up going to a natural history museum in the middle of a weekday when hardly anybody is there, and he lights up

There are so many animals, and there are enough other people in the world who find those animals interesting that they gathered so much knowledge people had to make a building to hold it all

Has never heard evolutionary theory before and is fascinated by it

Once he starts talking, it's hard for him to stop

He's not being loud at all - you can only hear him so clearly because you two are holding hands so he can't lose you - but he's being quietly submerged in his own special interest and he loves it

He just wishes there weren't so many skeletons. But he's glad the species they belonged to aren't forgotten this way

Long story short, Muriel's inner Nerd is unleashed and he goes hoarse from the amount of murmuring he does all day

Does not like getting food in public. Does not like eating food in public. Does not like being publicly perceived. As soon as it gets into afternoon and it gets busy, he wants to go home

Which is where you show him what the internet is and he's in awe

People can work from home? People can make friends without leaving their house?? People can talk without being seen???

Portia

Spends five minutes hopping in place and squealing into her clothes to let out her nerves and excitement before you can decide what to do

Then insists on taking half an hour to hear you describe every single fun or interesting thing to do so she can make a list

Yes, she's determined to hit every single one in one day

First things first: food. Take her to a cafe and watch her sigh over all the baked goods and sugar-loaded caffeine beverages

Then (if there is one nearby) a mall, so she can see all the stuff that people buy so they can have the lifestyle they do. You have to drag her out of both Bath & Body Words and Bed, Bath, & Beyond

Please, it's full of fluffy fuzzy things and good smelling mystery goo, she wants to live in it also what do you mean "no stopping at the pet store", what even is a "pet store" -

Oh. OH -

You will have to physically pull her away before she adopts all the kittens. She does cry about it later, just a for a bit, they're so cute

Next is a library and cafe, of course, because she lives for books

This place is way bigger than the Palace library! The one in the Palace is just a large room, this is a whole building!! And people get to come here, whenever they want, just to read, for free?! What?!

You had to remind her about the "no loud noises in the library" rule several times. She's doing her best, she's just passionate

Completely demolishes her first chocolate croissant

Goes feral at the amusement park she has you take her to afterwards. This woman is an adrenaline fiend. You're cursing the pop up add for it by the fourth consecutive free fall ride

The only way to get her to leave is to tell her that one of her favorite stories was turned into a movie and that you'd have to go home to watch it. Don't take her to Target to get snacks. She'll disappear

Flicks the lightswitch 30 times in a row because she can

Lucio

He's immediately panicking. Not because he's in the future, no, but because of what it's done to his arm

It's changed. It's not running on magic any more. The only way to resolve his design is for it to be some kind of high-tech electrical prosthetic that even modern scientists would have difficulty with

Once he's adjusted to using it, you're good to go

Lights up like a firework the first time he rides in a car

MC. MC how fast does it go. MC that's a very high number. MC, he wants to drive. Please. Please! Pleeeaaaassssseeee

DO NOT LET HIM DRIVE.

Makes you pull over after seeing ads for Sephora because he's convinced that he could pull off that eye makeup even better

Tries every single makeup sampler and then gets offended when one of the poor employees suggests an anti-aging cream

Him? Aged?? How dare they - oh wait that really does brighten his eyes. He'll take ten, please, they're so small, they can't cost much -

You'll have to pull him out before he sees you use a credit card, because once he does he's going to keep asking to use it and you're not sure he understands why maxing it out is a bad thing

His arm does run out of battery at one point, which does cause some panic. All of a sudden he's stuck with a limp hunk of metal swinging from his shoulder, it's not ideal

You're able to find the retractable charging cable on the side and plug him in, but then he's stuck sitting in the same spot for two hours and a bored Lucio is a dangerous Lucio

There is a solution to this, of course. You can give him an iPad with games on it. He won't move a muscle after that

The caveat is that he will turn into an iPad kid and get glued to every single screen he sees afterwards. You don't know how to fix it

Falls in love with vending machines and tries Cheetos because the leopard on them looks cool. Develops an artificial cheese addiction

[saffron-words]

Introduction and UtsuKare Translations Master Post

Some of you might recognize me as that Russian translator of Utsukushii Kare books from Wattpad. I decided to revive my tumblr to compile all the links and explanations here for those of you, MBM fans, who can't wait for official English releases of the books.

I could never keep a blog, so for now here I'll just tell how it all came about, and you can find links to all my MBM translations at the end (feel free to just skip the wall of text). So a couple of years ago I finally bowed down and decided to read Utsukushii Kare series in Japanese for language practice, even though I found the summary unappealing and I'm generally suspicious of overhyped media (as far as BL novels go, these books seemed to be The most hyped-up series in Japan). Much to my surprise, I loved it so much it was hard to move on. And while I waited for a chance to buy book 3 and Interlude, I gobbled up everything else related to the series that I could. The manga was only just starting, I didn't like dramaCDs (but I'm in the minority), and the drama somehow revived my love for watching Jdramas, even though I thought that this part of my fandom life has been over for years. When the second season started airing, I made a new friend in the Russian-speaking parts of the Internet who was even more obsessed with MBM than I am, and we fangirled to our hearts' content. At some point I promised her to translate the big sex scene from the end of book 3 as a gift for all the talks. I did, and since back then there was nothing for book 3 in any European language, as far as I know, I decided to post it online and give a link to English-speaking UtsuKare fans too. And since Wattpad doesn't allow copying text, and the browser translator feature from Google Translate was really inadequate, I also put up a link to the translation made with Deepl. As far as machine translators go, it is noticeably more comprehensible, and I didn't have the time (or skills to do the book justice, really) to translate it to English myself. Anyway, after this excerpt I thought I could manage one more important scene from book 3, then one more, and then I finally gave up and started translating it properly from the beginning. I also started correcting mistranslations in Deepl-versions that I kept doing for English readers, so some parts of the book are now much more readable than others. Now the third book is done and I started to work on book 2, Nikurashii Kare. I also translated several stories from Interlude and plan to do at least one more, but that is put on the backburner for now since I want to do as much of the book 2 as I can before book 4 in the main series comes out. Yes, we're getting a new Hira and Kiyoi book! This year too, probably. And unless it completely disappoints me or something terrible happens IRL, I plan to translate it as well.

So here are the links to everything I've translated from My Beautiful Man book series:

Book 3 "Nayamashii Kare" which continues the story past the movie (completed). The text is in Russian, but there are links to decent machine translations to English at the beginning of each part (I've also run through most of them and corrected the mistranslations). Or you can use the in-browser translation feature, but the results would be less readable.

Book 2 "Nikurashii Kare" which was technically turned into season 2 of the drama and the movie, but the script has deviated so much from the book, at times it's like a completely different story (in progress; about 1/4 of the book will be done with the next update which I plan on posting soon). I don't make Deepl translations for this since the official English release will be out in a couple of months.

Stories from other books in the series. The first part is a short scene from Nikurashii Kare, and the rest are stand-alone stories from Interlude. One of them had also been translated to English by Mauli before, but I didn't use her version when working on mine. The rest of the stories have never been translated by anyone else, as far as I know. These, too, have links to Deepl-versions at the beginning.

Disclaimer: my Japanese is not yet really on a level good enough to translate fiction, and there are bound to be mistranslations even if you read the original Russian versions. But I'm cross-checking myself on everything to try and keep those mistakes to minor things. I also know how to translate so I made sure that the text flows well, doesn't feel choppy and retains the same vibe that I get from reading the original.

[dariaslookalike]

Building Houses and Burning Bridges Pt 6: Chocolate Eyes and Decking Bosses

Summary:

It seems, oddly enough, that Gregory House lives to annoy you. He takes 'arseholish boss' to the next level. Wake up in the morning, ready to have breakfast, and drive to the hospital where you both work? Nope, you're getting a text that says you're late to his impromptu 4:30 AM meeting where he's had the 'breakthrough of the century' on the team's latest case. Get your hair cut and walk into work, for once feeling confident? Nope, he's saying that he would have done a better job blinded, hands tied and going through Vicodin withdrawals. Finally, 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, prove him wrong and attempt to wipe the cockiness off his face? Nope, you're simply slow because you didn't get to your diagnosis quicker and weak-willed because you didn't fight him for it in the beginning. Everything House does infuriates you, and it seems everything you do infuriates him. No wonder you end up pinned to the wall of your apartment and groping him like your life depends on. And knowing House, it very may well.

Warnings: Adult language, mature themes, eventual smut, female protagonist, no reference of y/n

Rating: 18+ MDNI

Current Status: Ongoing

Masterlist: Building Houses and Burning Bridges

Next Chapter: Pt 7

-----------------------

You realise very quickly that even your anger can’t warm you outside, where snow is falling in a thickening flurry.

Fuck. Why didn’t you bring a jacket? Now your boobs were going to get frostbite.

You make no move to cover yourself, however. You let the cold air whip around you, the wind practically piercing through your body. Your skirt is getting picked up in the flurry and your hair is crashing against your face. You’re fucking furious, and you simply stand there, trying to slow your brain down enough to think.

You should be asking yourself what you’re doing. Are you calling a cab? With what money? Are you calling Pop, begging him to come pick you up? With what phone? Ever so forgetful, your one was left conveniently at home. Instead, you’re staring out at the snow covered car park and not really seeing it. Your eyes are glazed over and all you can see is House in your head. Laughing at you. Blanching when he realised that you wanted tonight to be a date.

Was it that horrible? It’s not like you said you were in love with the man, for fuck’s sake. You had just finally let slip the tight grasp you had on your feelings, and suddenly you were back to 17, staring at people’s arms and hands, and wondering what it would be like to be held. Regrettably, yes, you were wondering about House, but it was still a crushing blow to find out he found you so repulsive, that the little flicker of a school-girl crush in you was worrisome enough to be stomped out immediately.

Your mind isn’t slowing down like it should be, it’s speeding up tenfold. You see Chase telling you that it was Cuddy who actually wanted you here. Cuddy speaking to House, thanking him for being kind. House replying that he wasn’t altruistic. Did they all know? Did everyone know what Cuddy’s plans were, is that why Cameron was telling Chase to shut up and Foreman telling him to stay quiet? Oh god, did they all pity you that much? Were you that readable? Surely you weren’t. Surely, they couldn’t see how much it had hurt to be belittled over and over again by House. Surely, they didn’t believe you just needed to see the good side of House to have some faith in him. Surely, they didn’t think you were that pathetic that you needed your fucking boss to take you out. Surely, they didn’t-

You flinch when something heavy wraps around your shoulders and you whip around.

Wilson raises his hands in defense, and you let go of the breath you were holding, a small icy cloud billowing out between the two of you. You glance down to yourself, and see his suit jacket slung around you.

Even though he breathes in shallowly in the cold, Wilson does his best to not shiver. You roll your eyes and reach up to your shoulders. “Thanks, but I-”

“Keep it.” He pins you with a stare. His chocolatey eyes are still warm. “If you try to give it back to me, I’ll scream.”

You huff. “Fine. Fine. Be all chivalrous then- it’s not making all of that,” you gesture with your head back to the hospital, “any better.”

Wilson bounces on the balls of his feet. “Yep.”

“Yep?”

“House is an arsehole. He’s probably the biggest dickhead I’ve ever met. I’m agreeing with you."

You tuck Wilson’s suit jacket tighter around yourself when the wind returns. You feel bad, but Wilson makes no attempts to retrieve his clothing. “I thought you two were best friends.”

“We are. That’s why I’m here.”

You roll your eyes, feeling that it will become a habit when talking about House. “He basically just said that he would never consider taking me out in a million years. Cuddy was conspiring with him to make sure I didn’t quit and had to pay him, just so that he could bear being my date for the night. If you’re trying to convince me that he’s not as bad as he seems, I’m sorry to say that you’ll have no luck Dr.Wilson.”

Wilson nods along, and laughs, his eyes crinkling. “God no. What Cuddy did was horrible; what House did was downright nasty. I thought I’d come out here to tell you that I was hoping to see you deck him.”

You flounder like a fish for a second, but then force your mouth to close. “What?”

Wilson blows warm air onto his cupped hands. “House deserves it. He’s been deserving it for a while, but no one wants to take a swing. Me too, I suppose. I like having my hands not-broken for surgery but it's becoming more tempting recently. Ever since you got here he's become worse, somehow. I think he's afraid of you; afraid that you could change him or make him better. Make him want to be better.” You're listening with a clenched jaw and his eyes sidle to you. “I’m sorry, by the way. I’m not going to say that I can’t understand why Cuddy orchestrated that whole thing but… You’re young. Beautiful.”

You feel yourself flush, but ever the gentleman, Wilson’s eyes are only on yours, not dipping down lower. He continues talking, “Of course you would want someone to think that, and take you out on a date. I’m just sorry that House’s chronic ability to screw things up got in the way.”

You nod. “Thank you…I guess. It’s not just that but-” You blink away the sudden tears springing up, and will your voice not to break. “He seemed horrified that I would want to be on a date with him. Scandalised.” You turn away from Wilson, and look up to the sky. This way, you can watch the snow fall and use gravity to make sure your tears don’t run down your cheeks. Your voice is quieter. “I didn’t realise he hated me that much- I think you're wrong about him being afraid of me. He's repulsed.”

Wilson huffs from somewhere behind you. “Now I really want to deck him. Look,” he calls out your last name, and you turn back to him with a weak smile. “He’s not repulsed by you. Far from it.”

You chuckle, and feel the anger rise up in your chest as you let out a sarcastic drawl. “Yeah. He’s just so madly in love with me that he can’t stand to be around me if he’s not berating me.”

You turn back, but Wilson says nothing and just stares intently at you, as if trying to make you convinced of your own words. You roll your eyes. “Shut up.”

As if catching yourself, your eyes widen. Wilson was still a coworker, and a respected one at that. This was only one of your few conversations; you had chatted with him in passing in the cafeteria a few times, and with the team in cases. “Sorry, I-”

Wilson waves you off. “It’s fine. That was definitely a ‘shut up’ moment. Just make sure you can say the same thing to House.” He grins, giddy for a second. “Or deck him.”

Even though it’s quiet, you still manage to laugh. “I’d get fired. But it’d be worth it, for all of three seconds, I think. Just to see his face.”

Wilson does a mock impression, with wide blown eyes and gaping mouth. When you laugh with more confidence, his eyes soften. “We’re going to get hypothermia. Do you want to come back inside?”

You breathe in sharply, as if the cold had finally hit you. “I don’t think I’ll stay for long; it's a bit hard to make small talk after yelling at House in front of 50 doctors.”

Wilson’s smile is kind. “I’d think it would make it easier. You just did something that everyone in the building has fantasised about.”

You nod, but he seemed aware that wweren't eased by his words, and leads you through a different entrance. The two of you observe the event from afar, and you silently thank him. No one has spotted you, and you’re able to warm your fingers up and gain feeling back in them.

Wilson shakes his head softly. “Brown from Oncology is literally doing laps trying to find me. I think I’ll have to love you and leave you.” His head whips to yours and you feel a flush crowding over your cheeks and nose. "I mean not love! Not that I don't want to love you! Ugh, I didn’t mean like that, just leave you-”

You snort. “It’s fine, I know what you meant. " You clench your jaw, willing your blush to fade away and not become a blaze of fury. Being lovesick with handsome doctors had done you enough damage for the night. "Before you go, could I please borrow your phone? I need to make a call.”

Wilson runs a hand down his suddenly flushed face. “Oh I’m sorry, my phone’s in my office. But look, there’s a really bad painting in the hallway. I mean, it’s against policy, but I keep a key behind there.” Even though he’s still blushing, he pins you with an attempt at an intimidating stare. The effort's lost in the rich ,dark tones of his eyes. "Don’t tell anyone that. Suddenly I’ll have House sleeping in my office 24/7.”

You nod. “I won’t. I’m not really planning on being a social butterfly now.” You shoot him a small smile. “Thank you. Really.”

Wilson opens his mouth as if he’s going to say more, but he closes it, eyes dipping down to yours. Instead, he simply nods, and strides away, once more becoming part of the bustling party in the foyer. You retreat the way Wilson brought you, finding a staircase and climbing it. Your heels make it somewhat difficult, and you’re trying you best to gather your hefty skirt and not eat shit.

You huff, but eventually exit on the right floor. Then, after a series of twisting turns, you spy it.

The really bad painting.

You stand in front of it, and tilt your head. It’s a portrait of…something. Honestly, it looks like a clown to you. But then you tilt your head the other way and see a weird blob of colours, vaguely resembling a dog. You try to take it all in, the days of your highschool art class coming back to you. Fleeting words like composition and practice float through your head. When they eventually trail out, you sigh.

You reach up, still having to go on the tip of your toes in your heels. Your fingers trace the gilded frame, and you lift the edge from the wall, and peer under. It’s an awkward position, trying to make sure the frame is still attached to the wall and not crashing down on your head. But then you spy a silver key and grab it earnestly. You ease the frame back against the wall and gaze down at the small key in your palm.

You’re interrupted by a cough from behind you.

“Fucking hell!” You shout, and spin, prepared to give the creep a piece of your mind. “You do NOT need to sneak up on people like that, I nearly-” Your words are lost however, when you see the creep himself. You let out a guttural groan and squeeze your eyes shut, as if you can block out the figure of House. “I can’t do this.”

He sounds closer when he sneers. “Can’t or won’t?”

You open your eyes and pin him a glare, feeling the same fury from rush through you. It’s not the red hot daggers but rather the icy flurry of snow you found yourself in earlier. “Both.”

You try to steel yourself, and smooth your hands down the front of your dress. House’s eyes track your movement. The tip of the silver key pokes out for a split second and your eyes snaps to House’s.

There’s a moment of baited breath. Did he see it? Did he see you scrambling at the painting? But then he raises an eyebrow and confirms your suspicions. “Do you really think I didn’t know Wilson kept a key there? I know where he keeps his spare underwear at work.”

You roll you eyes, trying to rein yourself in. “Good for you, House. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” You make a move to step around him, but his hand shoots out like a snake and grips your arm. He still clutches his cane with his other hand.

“Not so fast,” he drawls out your last name and you clench your jaw.

“Let go of me.”

“So what? You can go run outside and hook up with Wilson again?”

Your eyes bulge out of your head. “What?! Is that really what you think happened?”

House rolls his eyes. “Well, if you were desperate enough to want to go on a date with me, then you’re desperate enough to have a go at anything that walks on two legs.”

You seethe. “You’re unbelievable. First you can’t stomach the thought of taking me tonight without being bribed and now you’re jealous that I might have hooked up with someone else?”

He scoffs. “I’m not jealous.”

You nod down at his tightening grip on your arm. He lets go as if it burns him suddenly.

“Like I said, House. I’m not doing this. I’m not going to stand here and be berated for being upset at you.”

“Right,” he shakes his head. “You’ll just go home and call up your mother and bitch about it for an hour. How much you hate me, how disgusting I am, how you can’t believe I would do something like that. But you can’t do that, can you?”

Anger is rolling through you in dull waves. “What are you talking about?”

House stares at you, his blue eyes electric under the hospitals lights. “You’re my employee. Do you really think I would employ someone that I didn’t know everything about? Hell, I know the preschool you went to, let alone your family.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, House.”

He stares at you and you have to resist the urge to fidget. His calculating eyes sweep up and down your form, and you steel yourself to steady your gaze on his worn face. Don’t show weakness. Don’t show fear. He was a rabid animal, and you knew he would sense the second that you slipped up. "Really? You think you’re so good at being secretive and blocking people out? That’s my forte, sweetheart.”

He doesn’t let you speak, launching into his own words instantly. “I know about your older brothers. About your mother. EEvery timewe have a sick mother in, you turn away when you think no one is watching and do; what was it? A breathing technique? Or to wipe at your tears?” He waves the notion away, and your eyes start to bulge out of your head at his incredulousness, “At one point in time, you were close to your siblings, to your mother. And yet, you moved across the country. Left ‘em behind. Or, maybe you left even before you moved here. Now, away from home, all alone in the big city, you’re alone. But your father?”

At this, he whistles low. “Whole nother basket of fruit, right there. I can see it on your face everyt ime I tell you’re wrong and even moreso when I tell you that you’re right. Was daddy not proud of you? Spent his time working away, maybe at a hospital somewhere, and you just had to prove that you were worthy of his love and attention by becoming a doctor?”

You bark out a laugh but its humourless and cold. “No, daddy wasn’t too busy working. He was too busy drinking and smoking and screaming at mummy. I don’t give a shit about that man’s attention or praise or whatever it is that you think you have pyscho-analysed out of me. I haven’t spoken to him since I was thirteen.”

But House doesn’t relent at your revelation. If anything it spurs him on, and he speaks in a frenzy. “Uh-uh. I said I can see it. So what if you haven’t spoken to him? It’s pretty fucking obvious to everyone here what you’re pushing onto any older guy. Myself included. That’s why you wanted me to take you tonight. Do you want me to tell you that I’m proud of you, to tuck you in at night and say you did a good job? Or to kiss you and give you all that love that you never got?”

You flush deep with shame and anger and you can’t even stop yourself when you say, “Fuck you, House.”

He mockingly places a hand to his heart. “You wound me. But we’re not done.”

You can feel tears welling in your eyes and they’re threatening to burn down your face as he keeps speaking. “Do you want to talk about how in the time I’ve known you, you haven’t even looked at Foreman, or Chase, or hell, even Cameron with so much as lust? Sure, you see the way that Chase looks at you- but you were never going to give into him, were you? What is it, huh? Got touched as a kid or do you just like being a stick in the mud, ‘holier than thou’ virgin everywhere you go?”

Your hand connects with his face in an instant and it’s with so much force that his head whips to the side. It wasn't quite the deck you promised Wilson, but now your fist clenches. You can feel your face is wet and blotchy with tears now, and you’re not sure when you started crying in his horrible rant, but the tears continue to flow.

He’s staring at you, and his own hand raises up to touch where you slapped him. It's odd, admist the pure, unbridled rage flowing through you, you're struck with the thought to take a picture of is dumbstruck face and save it for later.

“Fuck. You.” You spit.

“Did that make you feel better? If you want I’ll make a space for you in the office and when you’re angry you can go have a tantrum there.”

You huff out a laugh. “I don’t know. Let me try again and I’ll see how I feel.”

You swing your hand at him again but the bastard grabs at your wrist an inch from his face. “Let. Go. House.”

“So what, you can hit me again?”

You’re still crying and you feel your lip waver. “You’re horrible.”

He sneers, yanking you closer to his face. “And what do you think that makes you, looking up to someone as horrible as me? Wanting to go out on a date with me?”

You wrench your wrist out of his grasp and stumble backwards. Cockily, he leans against his cane, and tilts his head.

“Why, House? Why hunt me down, why start this, why mock me, why be such an arsehole? Do you actually care that much about my feelings? About what I think of you?”

His smirk drops into a frown and you keep speaking, the words tumbling out of you like a hot mess. “You think you have me all worked out, but I think Wilson was right about you. Just the possibility of me being interested in you has you scared shitless. Because, if I like you, it must mean I think you have some redeeming quality, some semblance of good in your twisted heart. Even with all that daddy issue bullshit you brought up, if it was just the fact that you’re older, I would’ve only wanted to fuck you, right? That’s what you think happens when I take one stepo outside and start trying to hook up with Wilson, right?" You laugh, and it chokes out into a sob. “But tonight, me wanting to be on an actual date with you? How terrifying.”

House’s jaw clenches, but his eyes remain stormy and still. “I’ve had lots of terrifying things happen to me. A short and annoying girl wanting to date me is not one of them.”

You throw your hands up in the air. “Stop lying! You can’t even say that with a straight face. Because it does scare you. If I want to date you, it means you’re not this horrible, ghastly monster you keep making yourself out to be. It means you’re not unloveable, and that means that all this effort you go to, to push people away, to make them hate you as much as you hate yourself, is wasted. You’re so fucking miserable that when everyone else has left you, you try to push me away too. And when that doesn’t work, you try to make me as miserable as you are, to show me that there is no redeeming you.”

You’re heaving out air and trying to remind your lungs to work properly. “Guess what? It’s finally worked.” He chews his cheek but you just shake your head. “I’m done. I’ll get you my two weeks notice tomorrow.”

For once, you see House surprised. Shocked, almost. But then you turn, and you leave him all alone in the hallway. Like he always wanted.

[milosperfectlove]

decoding perfect love's encoded messages

perfect love's code contains secret messages in a few different ciphers/codes. these messages are from the perspectives of milo's three forms, as well as text in plain english from eris. this post lists and decodes all these messages.

this is applicable to version 1.0 of the game. if there's any more added in future updates, i'll update this post.

the lines with scrambled letters are in caesar cipher, with the letter shifts varying between lines. these lines are from the perspective of pre milo.

the lines with strings of double digit numbers are in nihilist cipher, with alphabet abcdefghiklmnopqrstuvwxyz and keyword manipulation. these lines are from the perspective of manipulation milo.

the lines with strings of dots and dashes are in morse code. these lines are from the perspective of violence milo.

the lines in plain english are from the perspective of eris.

each encoded message has its decoded form directly below it in italics. decoded lines may be adjusted for readability.

script.rpy, lines 1-4. these lines are placed at the very beginning of the script's code, and are meant to hint at which codes are used for the encoded messages.

Oh my dear, it's such a Lowly sight, to be loved Indefinately without a clear Mind. The Middle child is crying he wants to be hAppy, the youNgest wants to be just lIke them in every way, the oldest wants to Protect with an Undying wish and the LAsT Is the type that ONly cares for themselves. It's cynical. He hurts and for what? What does he reMORSE over? Let's have some fun, shall we?

script.rpy, lines 7-10. these lines are placed right after the previously mentioned lines.

U vgef imzfqp eayazq fa omdq rad yq, eayqazq fa xahq yq. I just wanted someone* to care for me, someone to love me. 56 63 57 55 66 57 46 35 89 67 78 64 56 36 48 68 58 60 63 35 77 39 85 48 74 65 54 58 77 77 42 44 58 48 67 48 83 26 75 78 87 56 85 I will be just like them in every form and in every way. .. / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / .--. .-. --- - . -.-. - / - .... . -- / - --- / - .... .. -. -.- / --- - .... . .-. .-- .. ... . / .. ... / ..-. --- --- .-.. .. ... .... .-.-.- I will protect them, to think otherwise is foolish. Milo will love you, he has no choice.

*originally says "somone" when decoded. i assume this was a typo, so i changed it.

script.rpy, lines 90-93. these lines are placed after the setup for default configurations, and before the script code for the main menu.

X'b hd wpeen iwtn rwdht bt. I'm so happy they chose me. 76 34 48 78 46 87 46 43 98 46 68 47 43 55 56 48 68 70 55 24 55 57 67 67 76 53 48 35 48 68 55 24 55 57 67 67 76 32 44 48 66 66 65 53 55 67 49 46 66 44 47 58 77 69 42 43 77 58 78 56 56 44 55 They are my god, a thing* I cannot reach. I cannot fail for a second or I am nothing. .. / .--- ..- ... - / .-- .- -. - . -.. / - --- / -... . / ..- ... . ..-. ..- .-.. / .- -. -.. / .--. .-. --- ...- . / .. / -.-. --- ..- .-.. -.. / -.. --- / ... --- -- . - .... .. -. --. .-.-.- / .. / .-- .- -. - . -.. / - --- / -- .- -.- . / ... ..- .-. . / -.-- --- ..- / -.-. --- ..- .-.. -.. / -. . ...- . .-. / .... ..- .-. - .-.-.- I just wanted to be useful and prove I could do something. I wanted to make sure you could never hurt. It's unfortunate that you chose him.

*originally says "think" when decoded. i assume this was a typo, so i changed it.

script.rpy, lines 7675-7676. these lines are placed after the househusband ending.

.. .----. .-.. .-.. / -... . / -.-. .- --. . -.. / .... . .-. . / .-- .. - .... / -.-- --- ..- .-.-.- I'll be caged here with you. Strange, even as a clipped bird you aren't the one who is in a cage.

script.rpy, lines 7929-7930. these lines are placed after the walls ending.

67 42 48 35 78 60 45 45 77 68 57 44 76 26 65 39 59 76 62 25 78 35 67 87 76 34 57 57 57 66 65 53 98 58 79 57 63 42 55 48 86 60 85 45 89 56 88 56 47 22 75 68 59 66 85 45 89 35 77 58 64 26 57 55 66 67 55 62 59 78 68 78 64 65 48 75 50 87 85 55 67 48 67 55 56 56 76 68 56 79 73 65 78 69 Please don't hate me, I'll do anything for you. I'll give you my heart if you ask me, I'll give you my everything, just for you. What you thought was a failure was a success. Some things perhaps are better not seen.

script.rpy, lines 8162-8163. these lines are placed after the marriage ending.

56 54 66 68 59 89 66 53 59 68 78 87 76 34 48 76 46 99 85 45 89 66 49 87 47 33 64 48 79 89 46 53 87 48 67 65 56 44 48 48 78 78 75 35 88 76 68 66 46 26 75 45 80 76 75 34 55 68 86 48 55 22 84 39 79 68 74 22 76 39 66 44 74 36 67 57 50 56 44 34 78 68 57 48 74 Isn't it pretty, the way your eye glitters in mine? Isn't it wonderful that we have the same mark on each other? As long as we get to match forever more, it does not matter how you mark me.

script.rpy, lines 8355-8356. these lines are placed after the cannibal ending.

.. - / - .- ... - . ... / --. --- --- -.. --..-- / . ...- . .-. -.-- - .... .. -. --. / .. / -- .- -.- . / -.-- --- ..- .-.-.- / .. / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / . ...- . -. / .-.. . - / -- . / .-. .. .--. / -- . / - --- / ... .... .-. . -.. ... / .. ..-. / -.-- --- ..- / -.. . ... .. .-. . -.. / .- / - .- ... - . / --- ..-. / -- . .-.-.- It tastes good, everything I make you. I will even let you* rip me to shreds if you desired a taste of me. How noble of you. Do not worry, if I desire a taste of you, you will know.

*originally says "me" when decoded. i assume this was a typo, so i changed it.

script.rpy, lines 8537-8538. these lines are placed after the doll ending.

56 55 76 57 69 89 42 54 68 45 57 48 84 26 75 39 80 88 55 44 66 68 57 48 64 22 66 78 87 56 85 54 It's not as if he were using them anyways. The joints don't seem to work as well as they used to? That's too bad.

script.rpy, lines 8705-8706. these lines are placed after the killer ending.

- .... . -.-- / -.. . ... . .-. ...- . / .. - / -- --- .-. . / - .... .- -. / .- -. -.-- - .... .. -. --. .-.-.- They deserve it more than anything. It's a strange joy to watch others hurt. You understand, right?

script.rpy, lines 9192-9193. these lines are placed after the burning ending.

67 42 48 35 78 60 55 25 68 38 58 77 43 42 64 45 69 87 85 45 89 48 47 64 47 44 76 39 49 69 75 22 75 55 86 57 76 34 54 48 77 60 55 56 87 68 45 76 86 45 78 57 50 60 45 26 58 48 78 85 43 54 44 55 66 66 65 53 98 58 79 44 65 25 48 75 50 87 85 55 67 48 67 55 55 22 76 35 66 97 42 65 87 36 49 48 65 32 67 66 89 79 76 Please, I did it all for you. I cleansed it all with fire, just as you needed. It was all for you, and everything has always been for you. Oh? Just for me? You shouldn't have my love.

script.rpy, lines 9421-9422. these lines are placed after the kidnapping ending.

-.. --- . ... / .. - / .... ..- .-. - / -- -.-- / .-.. --- ...- . ..--.. / -... ..- - / - .... .. ... / . -..- .- -.-. - .-.. -.-- / .-- .... .- - / -.-- --- ..- / .-- .- -. - . -.. .-.-.- .-.-.- .-.-.- .- -. -.. / .. / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / --. .. ...- . / -.-- --- ..- / .-- .... .- - / -.-- --- ..- / .--. .-.. . .- ... . .-.-.- Does it hurt, my love? But this exactly what you wanted... and I will give you what you please. Aha... is that what you were worried about? Do not worry, my love. This little thing could never hurt me in the slightest.

sprite.rpy, lines 205-208. these lines are placed between the file location specifications for some true ending assets and character sprites.

A oadd twugew ozsl A zsnw lg sfv escw lzwe zshhq. I will become what I have to and make them happy. 88 46 53 73 88 82 46 70 79 74 84 74 50 60 76 44 96 83 79 46 68 64 63 64 50 47 82 64 65 66 75 60 76 44 76 84 48 66 86 54 57 106 66 38 77 55 63 83 70 27 86 63 75 92 59 68 59 74 83 66 58 47 64 73 88 83* When they look at me with disdain, I can't help but cry. I did something wrong, didn't I? .-- .... . -. / - .... . -.-- / -.-- . .-.. .-.. / .- - / -- . --..-- / .. / -.-. .- -. .----. - / .... . .-.. .--. / -... ..- - / ..-. .-.. .. -. -.-. .... .-.-.- / - .... . / -.-. --- .-.. .-.. .- .-. / - .... . -.-- / .... .- ...- . / --- -. / -- . / .. ... / - --- --- / ... - .-. --- -. --. .-.-.- When they yell at me, I can't help but flinch. The collar they have on me is too strong. So meek and malleable - it's been a while since you found someone with such a lack of spine.

*this line uses alphabet zebrascdfghiklmnopqtuvwxy instead of abcdefghiklmnopqrstuvwxyz, and is the only one to do so. i assume this was a consistency error.

sprite.rpy, lines 1640-1643. these lines are placed between the file location specifications for character sprites and background images.

U'y eaddk rad xaawuzs mf kag rday mrmd, U'y eaddk ftmf kag tmp fa emhq yq. Oagxpz'f U tmhq nqqz efdazsqd? Bxqmeq paz'f xqmhq yq. I'm sorry for looking at you from afar, I'm sorry that you had to save me. Couldn't I have been stronger? Please don't leave me. 55 45 85 37 69 90 62 25 68 47 45 84 47 23 48 39 68 56 64 65 88 47 58 66 54 63 57 68 58 79 76 55 98 58 79 57 84 22 76 57 69 89 54 35 77 46 46 48 53 45 75 39 How could I have been anything without you? I was nothing before. .. / .-- .- -. - / - .... . -- / -- --- .-. . / - .... .- -. / .- -. -.-- - .... .. -. --. --..-- / .-- .... -.-- / -.-. .- -. .----. - / - .... . -.-- / ... . . / - .... .- - ..--.. / .-- --- -. .----. - / .. / -.. . ... - .-. --- -.-- / . ...- . .-. -.-- - .... .. -. --. / . ...- . -. / -- -.-- ... . .-.. ..-. / ..-. --- .-. / - .... . -- ..--.. I want them more than anything, why can't they see that? Won't I destroy everything, even myself, for them? But HE was the one who was seeking you. HE was the one who wanted to be with you.

sprite.rpy, lines 2655-2658. these lines are placed between the file location specifications for some true ending assets and code for image transforms.

Sjsb hvciuv W ybck kvoh mci rwr hc as, W kwzz ghwzz zcjs mci psqoigs mci aors as kvczs. Even though I know what you did to me, I will still love you because you made me whole. 56 54 56 58 80 76 45 44 88 47 45 84 47 53 78 57 46 97 42 65 55 45 78 48 74 63 56 35 79 68 46 55 78 55 48 65 47 I shouldn't have run away after what he told me. .. / ... .... --- ..- .-.. -.. / .... .- ...- . / -... . . -. / ... - .-. --- -. --. . .-. --..-- / .. .----. -- / ... --- / .-- . .- -.- .-.-.- / .. / -.. --- -. .----. - / -.. . ... . .-. ...- . / - --- / -... . / .-- .. - .... / -.-- --- ..- .-.-.- I should have been stronger, I'm so weak. I don't deserve to be with you. So really... isn't it just his fault?

that is all that i could find.

[the-starlight-project]

Theres a whole conversation up on the wall shopping... NO il take sonic NO who is this bossy dude

The yellow text isn't that readable (I realize that now ;-;) but it actually says "I'll take some" in reference to the alcohol that's on the shopping list!

Less of a bossy guy and more trying to make sure his fellow actors aren't SMASHED LMAO

[fruitmins]

Attention | Jimin

➭ summary: You’ve been stalking your ex ever since you two broke up. And he’s aware of this, but you know he won’t stop you cause he’s a little attention whore. Until he starts seeing some else so you have to remind him who he belongs too..

➭genre: smut with a little plot if you squint, ex’s au, drabble

➭warnings: unprotected s*x (don’t do that), kinda rough s*x, a wall, cuss words, relationship is hella toxic, stalking (don’t do that), murderous tendencies, he plays into your delusions, more s*x implied, Jimin is still the dominate somehow??

note: i haven’t posted a oneshot in a while and wanted to work on my smut so let me know if it’s readable or not but I actually kinda like this one ⚠︎ this is entirely a work of fiction and by no means is meant to be a projection, judgment or representation of real-life people. jimin is used solely as a face and a name for the story. this is not a representation of real-life scenarios.

Your blood is boiling.

Your sat posted up across from the small modern cafe he works, in a black cap and all black outfit. He can’t see you right now but you can see him very clearly.

You can see the way he entertained the female customer by biting his lip and looking her up and down. You can see the way the girl hides her face where he speaks, undoubtedly flirting with her and smirking at her pathetic reaction.

This isn’t what gets your blood boiling.

You wouldn’t even think past it because you know Jimin has always had a flirty personality. You’ve watched him flirt with most female customers before, even woman over the age of forty five. It was just who he was.

What’s annoying you is how this is the second day in a row where the same girl has come in, just to flirt with him. And eventually, the girl just took out her phone for him to put his number in. And he did.

Something in you still had faith in him. A part of you wanted to believe that he’d just ghost the girl and get her off his back. He still belonged to you. You weren’t ready to let him go yet. Therefore he wasn’t on the market.

And he knew this. But still, as a warning you lift up your cap and emerge from the bushes. You walk across the road and walk past the window to the cafe, visible through the big see through windows.

And you know he saw you. You know this cause you’ve watched him glance at the window every five minutes looking for you. Waiting for you. He knows you’ve been stalking him ever since the two of you broke up four months ago. You’ve made yourself known every now and then. Outside his house, outside his job, when he is out with friends. He knows you’re there. He’s caught on to your little game.

So you figured he was just fucking with you like he used to. Trying to make you jealous on purpose. After that he would simply leave the girl alone and in response unblock you instead of texting her.

That was until two days later you watched him get into his car and drive to the cafe. Expect he didn’t work that day, and you saw the same girl walk in a couple minutes after.

They were on a date.

He was on a fucking date.

You tired not to panic at first. You tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. He had to be fucking with you. Playing with your emotions to draw you out somehow. That’s what he always did. He treated you like a game.

But then you watch him, his guard slowly melting. His body relaxing as he finally pays attention to what she was talking about. Finally realizing that the girl might have a personality. You watch him stare at the girl as she talked, now so absorbed in the conversation that he wasn’t even glancing at the window anymore.

He wasn’t waiting for you.

He’s so predictable it makes you sick. He sees a pretty slut is giving him all of her attention right in front of him and crack’s immediately. He capitalizes on the effect he has on people and uses to it his own pleasure. Once anyone has every interest in him, he has to suck the life out of them, and then leave them to dry when he gets bored. Like he did with you.

You almost feel bad for the girl. But then you see her do something stupid like touch his thigh when she laughs and you think about burning her alive again.

You need to remind him that you haven't let go of him yet. That you still have your full attention on him. You need to remind him just how good you are to him.

So you watch him. You watch him smile and get lost in the girls eyes. You watch as he forgets about the world around him because of a pretty girl. You know this is happening cause you watched him do it on your couple first dates. So you watch for the entire hour and a half with a sick stomach.

Until they finally leave the cafe, and they finally break apart. The girl walks out of the store, and you think about slitting her throat as she struts down the sidewalk. Obviously feeling good about herself. That she had managed to strike a gold mine like Jimin.

You roll your eyes and wait for Jimin to exit the cafe minutes later after saying hi to his coworkers. You watch as he gets in his car and then you walk to his house as he speeds away in the same direction.

You take your time, thinking about all the fun you’re going to have when you get to his house. You ditch the cap on the way, your hair now flowing freely in the wind. You take off the large black hoodie as the sun shines down. You’re not going to camouflage yourself for this. You need him to see you. To see what he was missing. To remember all the good you to had.

You make it to his house and feel a little relief when he’s car is there. He could have easily went out to get some groceries or a snack after. But he was there. You entire his house easily, always knowing where his spare key was. No matter how many times he changed the hiding place.

You walk into the familiar house, taking a minute to glance around and smell the familiar air. Your heart races and thumps as you think about all the times you spent together.

You practically frolic through his house before finally going upstairs to his bedroom. You can hear the shower running as you walk up the stairs and your heart pumps even more with excitement and anticipation.

You enter his bedroom, glancing around the warm space. So caught up in looking at his baby pictures and sports posters that you don’t realize that the shower stopped running until you hear his voice.

“What are you doing here?” He says as you slowly turn around to face him, a picture of him with a pirate suit on in your hand.

He’s stood there, a couple steps away and in nothing but a wet white shirt that stuck to his body and didn’t hide the visible six pack and black sweats. His hair dripping wet and down his face as the smell of soap fills the room.

“I needed to see you again.” You say without thinking, sounding utterly pathetic but you know it amuses Jimin. You know this will only boost his ego.

“And you thought breaking in was the smart way to go?” He asks raising an eyebrow, his voice is soft yet stern and you can’t help but let out a smile when you hear it.

“I’m sorry I don’t do dates like all the other girls.” You respond back, rolling your eyes as you thought about watching the date he went on earlier.

He lets out a small chuckle, masking his amusement with a look of disbelief as he shakes the towel to dry off his hair. “You need to leave.” he says in a soft low voice.

“Oh I will. But first let me make something clear.” You stay sternly, taking a step towards him, causing his eyes to widen slightly with suspicion. He looks at you for a moment as you closes the distance between you, the smell the familiar scent of his soap and shampoo filling your nostrils.

“Just because you broke up with me, doesn’t mean you get to move on.” You say, your face suddenly darkening before leaning against his ear to lightly whisper. “You’re still mine.”

As you lean in to whisper your words in his ear his body stiffens, as he feels your breath on his ear. You can almost feel the tension building inside him.

“That’s not how this works.” he says, his voice still low but you can tell there’s a little nervousness in it, like he was now unsure of something.

You can practically see the thoughts and memories rushing through his head as he stared down at you. You can see his pathetic little heart beating faster as he drowns in your strong words. “That’s exactly how this works.” You say with a slight chuckle, knowing exactly what to make him crack.

“And I’m going to make sure you remember that every time you even think of going on a date.” You whisper with a smug smile and you can see his eye twitch.

His expression changes ever so slightly, thinking deeply about your words till his muscles tighten and he suddenly moves.

He puts his hand out as if he’s about to push you away, but instead he pulls you close.. “Let me make something clear,” he says with a growl, his eyes locking onto yours. His one hand lightly grips the nape of your neck while his other hand lands on your waist as he lifts you against the wall.

“I will be going out on dates, and I will be getting over you. Because you’re crazy.” he tells you, and if he was a cartoon character you are sure he would have steam coming out of his ears.

You know you’ve damaged him, you’ve pushed him to the limit and forced him to remember and care about you again.

“And that’s exactly your type.” You respond quickly with a smug smirk. You can’t tell if he’s still seriously angry but it’s obvious that he’s turned on by all of this. That he is in love with how crazy you are for him.

“And as much as you don’t want it to be true. You love how crazy I am.” You’re an automatic ego booster that you know he can’t let go easily.

“Fuck you.” He spits in return before slamming his lips meet yours roughly, demandingly as he tries to silence your words and his thoughts that he didn’t want to come to term with. That everything you said was right. And that he is just as crazy as you are.

You smirk in victory but kiss him back immediately, the kiss rough and hungry as it deepens. You can feel him giving in more and more, losing himself in your touch just like he always does.

As the kiss deepens, his hand moves from your waist down to the hem of your shirt, the feeling of his fingers grazing the skin of your stomach that sends you into a spiral.

As he touches your skin, he can feel you trembling and shivering underneath his hands, it feels like he’s holding on to a fragile being but he loves the way you shake in his hands. He loves how unpredictable you are and how you treat him like he’s some type of God.

His mouth sucks on your neck as he tugs your shirt up, slowly revealing more and more of your soft skin that is hot under his fingertips. His fingers dance along your skin, tickling and teasing as he kisses his way up to your lips again.

You lean your head back against the wall, breathing heavily as you wrap my legs around his hips to hold yourself up against the wall.

He continues to kiss you passionately as he pulls away again to look at you, this time leaving a trail of saliva across your face. His eyes are full of lust and hungry. His other hand travels southwards once again, touching your thigh gently.

He then begins kissing along your jawline before finally trailing kisses down your collarbone. "God...you're driving me insane." He whispers huskily against your chest.

“Good.” You whisper back, your hands in his hair as he pushes you more up the wall. He growls at your words, his movements become more desperate, his hands underneath your clothes now as he lifts you higher.

He kisses you deeply, as if silencing you again as his tongue pushing past your lips, gripping onto you tighter. You groan into his mouth, his tongue fighting with yours as you do him the honors of lifting up his shirt.

He moans loudly, loving how much control you have over him."Fuck..." he says breathlessly, breaking off their kiss briefly to help pull off his shirt, exposing his toned body. You can’t help but brush your hands over his abs off letting out a breath before he takes off your own shirt.

You move your hand from his abs down to his v line. You can’t help but quickly move your legs higher so you have complete access to slide down his sweats and he is quick to help you undress him, pulling down his boxers along with them.

His cock quickly reveals itself, slapping against his stomach as it escapes his tight boxers. It looks bigger than usual because of how hard he was, even throbbing with some precum at his tip.

“You’re crazy.” He whispers again, almost disappointed in himself for wanting you so bad as he pressing himself closer to you, bending his head down and kisses your neck.

“I missed you so much.” You respond back, delighted that he was back in your clutches. His hands find their way into the waistband of your pants.

His hands slip under your pants, your body jolting when you feel his fingertips rub against your wetness. “Jimin..” you whisper breathlessly and he can’t help but smirk at your desperation.

“I want to hear so much more..” he says in a low husky voice, placing light soft kisses on your neck as his middle finger presses against your slit.

Your back arches letting out a soft moan as you hold onto his hair tightly. Your body shakes an anticipation until he effortlessly removes my bottoms all together. He stares hungrily at your exposed lower half, admiring every inch of it.

He pushes you against the wall, slowly lining himself up before letting out a groan of relief as his hard cock slides into you. You're so wet and warm around him, it feels amazing. His hands move to your hips, holding them still as he starts thrusting slowly. He feels so perfect inside of you, fitting so perfectly and like he was always meant for you.

"Fuck." Jimin says quietly, kissing your neck. He hips buckle as he slowly starts moving faster, don’t being able to resist wanting more as his grip tightening around your hips.

He pulls out a little and then thrusts back in, feeling you tighten around him. His movements become faster, more erratic as he can't control his need for you. “So perfect..” he groans, his hips slapping roughly against yours earning a loud moan from your every time.

Your mind is hazy from the intense pleasure, pulling on his hair tightly as your body trembles. You loose all of your senses and thoughts, soaking in the feeling of him inside of you.

He moans when he feels you tighten around him, loving the feeling as you reach your climax and spill out all of the butterflies in your stomach.

He slows his pace, but makes sure to keep moving inside of you, watching your face contorting from the high of your orgasm with pride.

“I’m gonna drive you as crazy as you drive me, darling.”

[ryanyflags]

min- | fin- | nbin- lin- | glin- | agin- nin- | mvin- | xin-

min- / minsexual / minromantic / etc. : attraction to people who consider themselves masculine.

fin- / finsexual / finromantic / etc. : attraction to people who consider themselves feminine.

nbin- / enbin- / nonbin- / nbinsexual / enbinsexual / nonbinsexual / nbinromantic / enbinromantic / nonbinromantic / etc. : attraction to people who consider themselves nbine/enbine/nonbine/nonbinarine (nonbinary gender quality).

lin- / linsexual / linromantic / etc. : attraction to people who consider themselves androgynous.

glin- / glinsexual / glinromantic / etc. : attraction to people who consider themselves genderless.

agin- / aginsexual / aginromantic / etc. : attraction to people who consider themselves agenrine (agender gender quality).

nin- / ninsexual / ninromantic / etc. : attraction to people who consider themselves neutral. (the original definition also includes nonbinary and null, though people mainly just use nin- to mean neutral now.)

mvin- / mvinsexual / mvinromantic / etc. : attraction to people who consider themselves maverine (maverique gender quality).

xin- / xinsexual / xinromantic / etc. : attraction to people who consider themselves xenine (xenogender gender quality).

-★-

The terms are prefixes basically, so they can be attached to any attraction ending (such as -rose/-romanticsexual, -tertiary, -platonic, -alterous, -sensual, -aesthetic, -physical, -emotional, and more). I only listed the -sexual and -romantic variations to keep it readable.

For the definition of these terms, I reworded them a bit from common wiki definitions, but it follows the general idea I've seen in other posts discussing these terms.

Basically, when it comes to gender qualities, what counts as what can vary greatly between people. What one person considers masculine, feminine, androgynous, etc. can be really different from what another person considers it to be. Especially when you factor in things like different cultures, people with complex identities, or really queer people in general (as they can challenge such definitions).

Who's to determine what counts as what? Or say one definition matters more than another? I think it should be determined by the person in question. I can imagine a few issues otherwise. Wouldn't it be weird to put other people in boxes they don't identify with?

Also, these orientations aren't just being attracted to men, women, enben, etc., they're attractions to gender qualities (in either presentation or gender identity). So, for some examples, someone could consider themselves masculine while not being a man, and so be included under min-. It's the same for the others, someone could consider themselves maverine without being maverique. Or present femininely while being nonbinary. The combinations/examples are practically endless.

So the point of these labels is to be broad, and include those who want to be included, and exclude those who wouldn't want to consider themselves under that label.

Now that that wall of text is out of the way haha,

-in orientation flags :D [part 1 of 2] second post

It started with me wanting to make a couple of flags that I felt should exist, finding the 7 stripe -in orientation flag format and really liking it, wanting colourful matching versions, and so, an entire set (along with really thinking about the definitions). (like usual hah) There's so many flags I split it into 2 posts, and the second one will have 9 flags too.

For the flags, I based them off of the 7 stripe -in orientation format, where it gradients to darker stripes on the outside, with a dark stripe in the center (minsexual, finsexual, ninsexual examples). I chose them because I thought the format looked really nice, and also because I don't know how to make symbols for these flags (if anyone wants to make symbol versions, feel free to do so). Unlike the original format though, the stripes on both sides don't mirror each other. I did this just because I wanted (more) colourful versions.

As for the colours, they're inspired (not exactly colour picked) by the corresponding gender quality flags. So masculine for min-, feminine for fin-, nonbine for nonbin-, androgynous for lin-, genderless for glin-, agenrine for agin-, neutral for nin-, maverine for mvin-, and xenine for xin-.

[crownsandbishops]

Crowns and Bishops Behind the Scenes (part 1)

In today's extra long post, for the anniversary of Crowns and Bishops I will be giving you guys a peak behind the process of creating a comic for the Blog, in this case, Vine's Lore post! The Final one of the main set! For extra long asks like this I always start out by typing up a script, laying out exactly what I might want to say in response to the question at hand! Here's the full typed script for Vine's lore post [it ended up SUPER long, I think because I've had the most time to think about Vine's character and what I wanted for him haha!]

From there I start on the first panel, and as anyone who has seen my wips or just knows how I drew things, every Jir character starts their life as a circle!

I reuse some assets mostly for backgrounds to make the process go easier, such as these pillars and skulls in Narinder's realm!

Because mspaint doesnt have layers, different coloured outlines are used to create what is essentially different layers so that adjustment to one section doesn't affect another!

I kept this one mostly the same but adjusted the legs because it wasn't looking quite right!

for details like the shawl stripes I overlap the lines like this and then paste over it with the red being transparent, so only the details on the red remain!

When I'm happy with the main image I then add the text from the script!

It usually takes 4-5 iterations before I'm happy with placement, clarity and spacing! I also often have to account for the colours i use to make them the most readable against the background of each panel!

I look up reference images for this, like the standard way that a cloak like this one would be held together!

And since the Lands of the Old Faith is a closed-off continent in the preindustrial era any background will be confined to one of the five Bishop's lands! For this one I've chosen a forest like the one in this trailer for the game, but with an adjusted colour pallet!

I decided for the next panel, since Vine's mother's characterization was kind of a messed up allusion to the virgin Mary, that I should reference a biblical painting related to it and found this one

Though the cosmology and relations are different, the Seller was the obvious stand in for the Angel Gabriel in the picture!

Some panels start with the background, others with the character depending on what makes the most sense! Here I have a bit of both worked on but I'm focusing on drawing Vine!

For the ritual sacrifice Vine and his mother created a fake traitor's razor as the ceremonial dagger, and a clasp reminiscent of Gaap's, Narinder's most favoured vessel up to this point, as well as utilizing ceremonial paint and other decorations and representations related to Narinder!

When drawing imprisoned Narinder the hardest part tends to be fitting the veil properly above his opened third eye!

For the next panel, I show the intersection between the three vessels, as though Vine would've been born while Nelly was Narinder's vessel, Acedia does come before him in the order, so I had to square away how that would work!

When I initially decided on the order for Narinder's vessels I hadn't decided on the broad strokes of who they were and how they would've been chosen, so Acedia being before Vine but only for a single year between Nelly and Vine ends up quite silly!

If there's no real room like here, I'll sometimes extend the canvas to add black bars to add the text in.

I asked my chat for a follower form and was suggested Wolf, so the follower Vine is charming here was made a wolf!

I use this wall asset for the cult grounds in the background!

And I have various colour references for other things like Camellias and the outfits for non-cult affiliated denizens of the Lands!

( apparently, I can only have so many pictures so >:3 Part 2 awaits!)

[unma]

Top 3 favourite Frans au pairings in no specific order and a short (or so) explanation on why? (Frans doesn't have to be canon in the au, it can be aus you just like to make them canon in/ explore their dynamic)

Underfell I blame Vene for this, her Underfell Frans comics made me fall madly in love with the pairing in this AU. I find it wonderful, the amount of angst and fluff you can squeeze out of this situation. It's basically my default because you are rather flexible in what you can portray using this AU, and it's definitely an easy AU of choice for any oneshot ideas I have picking at my brain. What can I say? Underfell Sans lends himself rather well to fun and wacky romantic situations (as well as angsty ones)

Dusttale I'll admit, this was the first one that came to mind when I got the ask. I definitely write about it the least on this list, but it's the AU I spent the most time thinking about. It's just so juicy, seeing these two who are downright obsessed with each other further that obsession in many ways, including romantic. It also helps that I'm a yandere lover, so this kinda romance is right up my alley. I do also have an AU in the aftermath of a Dusttale AU where both are returned to normal, but that's a story meant to focus on the aftermath, picking up the pieces, and the importance of forgiveness. I do really like that AU too, but given how much is connected to it it would take a long time to actually put that into writing. I'm referring to the Fallen Angels AU here, and a few people might remember that I'd written to oneshots for this (one is part of my latest fransweek collection, the first chapter).

Swapfell I'm gonna be honest, I frankly never cared much about this AU until I started writing it for a Secret Santa present. It was because of that fic that I'd even first thought about Frans in Swapfell, and honestly I fell in love quickly after that. Whether in versions of the AU where Frisk is alive or a ghost, their interactions with Sans were always so fun, and whether you wrote Sans as tsundere or Frisk as tsundere, or perhaps just have them both be awkward, there really is something lovely about pairing up the vice leader of the Guard with the princess of the Kingdom. You can probably tell how much I love it by how I proceeded to write more and more for my own Swapfell AU afterwards. Don't even get me started on other SF!Frans pairings, such as those of Lord Yabadoo, or the royal Frans Swapfell AU, and so on that are all really beautiful (the two mentioned here are really inspirational for my own SF work, especially the former) . It's great, and I would probably wax poetic longer about it if my laptop wasn't almost dead, lol.

Much apologies for this wall of text, but I had so much to ramble about and not much idea of how to go about formatting it. When I get back on my phone (or when I get home so I can charge my laptop) I'll take a look at the post to see if I can make it more readable. No promises tho. Thank you for the ask!

[thesoupisburning]

welcome to the literature club!!!

[photo id under read more bc it did not fit in alt. sob. sorry it's so long there's a lot going on here]

monika from doki doki literature club, a young woman in a school uniform consisting of a light skirt, a darker blazer, and dark tights, is half bent over and looking at the camera with her hands clutched behind her back. she is drawn in sketchy pen on lined paper. her hair is long and in a half up, half down fashion, such that a few strands fall in front of her body, and the rest flows behind her. she is smiling at the camera, and drawn within a frame with stars in the background, the frame itself lined with the phrase "welcome to the literature club" in all caps, at the bottom the phrase repeating over itself and turning into an unreadable mess. her feet fit out of the frame in black shoes. at the corners of the frames are hearts, the bottom left corner filled with the phrase "load me," the top left part of the frame having an extra horizontal line where "club" is repeated both inside the frame and outside it, and the left side designating the subject of the frame as "president monika" in all caps, overlapping with the text "welcome to the literature club." inside the frame, five colored post it notes change what is happening in the picture itself. the pink one covers monika's face (still smiling, now blushing), makes her blazer lighter, and changes the background from asterisks in horizontal lines to hearts in vertical lines. the orange one, in the top right corner, covers a text box that contains "monika's writing tip of the day!" with the phrase "i love you" repeated in caps, breaking out of the textbox's frame, ad infinitum until the post it note ends. the blue one covers part of monika's skirt and legs, showing the pen she is holding behind her back dripping black ink into a pool at the bottom, changing her skirt and hair to be darker, and putting her in light thigh high tights. the green post it note, near the bottom of the frame, only touches part of monika's leg. it depicts the pooling ink from her pen, mostly covered in scribbles, text only faintly readable: "save me." the final post it note, yellow, depicts monika's hand in a different position, grabbing and shaking the wall of her frame. there is no background in this post it, on either side of the frame. her sleeve is black.

IM SO SORRY I DIDNT REALIZE HOW LONG IT WOULD BE I HOPE ITS ALRIGHT

[vampylily]

Transcription of Fall Out Boy's interview with Rock Sound

Since I was going to read the article anyways, I thought I'd transcribe in case it'll be more accessible to read for others. The interview with Pete and Patrick goes in depth on the topics of tourdust, evolving as a band, So Much (For) Stardust, working with Neal Avron, and more.

Thank you to @nomaptomyowntreasure who kindly shared the photos of the article! Their post is linked here.

PDF link here. (more readable format & font size)

article in text below (and warning for long post.)

Rock Sound Issue #300

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

WITH THE TRIUMPHANT ‘SO MUCH (FOR) STARDUST’ CAPTURING A WHOLE NEW GENERATION OF FANS, FALL OUT BOY ARE RIDING HIGH, CELEBRATING THEIR PAST WHILE LOOKING TOWARDS A BRIGHT FUTURE. PETE WENTZ AND PATRICK STUMP REFLECT ON RECENT SUCCESSES AND THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM TWO DECADES OF WRITING AND PERFORMING TOGETHER. 

WORDS: James Wilson-Taylor

PHOTOS: Elliott Ingham

You have just completed a US summer tour that included stadium shows and some of your most ambitious production to date. What were your aims going into this particular show? 

PETE: Playing stadiums is a funny thing. I pushed pretty hard to do a couple this time because I think that the record Patrick came up with musically lends itself to that feeling of being part of something larger than yourself. When we were designing the cover to the album, it was meant to be all tangible, which was a reaction to tokens and skins that  you can buy and avatars. The title is made out of clay, and the painting is an actual painting. We wanted to approach the show in that way as well. We've been playing in front of a gigantic video wall for the past eight years. Now, we wanted a stage show where you could actually walk inside it. 

Did adding the new songs from ‘So Much (For) Stardust’ into the setlist change the way you felt about them?

PATRICK: One of the things that was interesting about the record was that we took a lot of time figuring out what it was going to be, what it was going to sound like. We experimented with so many different things. I was instantly really proud. I felt really good about this record but it wasn’t until we got on stage and you’re playing the songs in between our catalogue that I really felt that. It was really noticeable from the first day on this tour - we felt like a different band. There's a new energy to it. There was something that I could hear live that I couldn't hear before. 

You also revisited a lot of older tracks and b-sides on this tour, including many from the ‘Folie à Deux’-era. What prompted those choices? 

PETE: There were some lean years where there weren't a lot of rock bands being played on pop radio or playing award shows so we tried to play the biggest songs, the biggest versions of them. We tried to make our thing really airtight, bulletproof so that when we played next to whoever the top artist was, people were like, ‘oh yeah, they should be here.’ The culture shift in the world is so interesting because now, maybe rather than going wider, it makes more sense to go deeper with people. We thought about that in the way that we listen to music and the way we watch films. Playing a song that is a b-side or barely made a record but is someone’s favourite song makes a lot of sense in this era.

PATRICK: I think there also was a period there where, to Pete’s point, it was a weird time to be a rock band. We had this very strange thing that happened to us, and not a lot of our friends for some reason, where we had a bunch of hits, right? And it didn’t make any sense to me. It still doesn’t make sense to me. But there was a kind of novelty, where we could play a whole set of songs that a lot of people know. It was fun and rewarding for us to do that. But then you run the risk of playing the same set forever. I want to love the songs that we play. I want to care about it and put passion into what we do. And there’s no sustainable way to just do the same thing every night and not get jaded. We weren’t getting there but I really wanted to make sure that we don’t ever get there. 

PETE: In the origin of Fall Out Boy, what happened at our concerts was we knew how to play five songs really fast and jumped off walls and the fire marshal would shut it down. It was what made the show memorable, but we wanted to be able to last and so we tried to perfect our show and the songs and the stage show and make it flawless. Then you don’t really know how much spontaneity you want to include, because something could go wrong. When we started this tour, and we did a couple of spontaneous things, it opened us up to more. Because things did go wrong and that’s what made the show special. We’re doing what is the most punk rock version of what we could be doing right now. 

You seem generally a lot more comfortable celebrating your past success at this point in your career. 

PETE: I think it’s actually not a change from our past. I love those records, but I never want to treat them in a cynical way. I never want there to be a wink and a smile where we’re just doing this because it’s the anniversary. This was us celebrating these random songs and we hope people celebrate them with us. There was a purity to it that felt in line with how we’ve always felt about it. I love ‘Folie à Deux’ - out of any Fall Out Boy record that's probably the one I would listen to. But I just never wanted it to be done in a cynical way, where we feel like we have to. But celebrating it in a way where there’s the purity of how we felt when we wrote the song originally. I think that’s fucking awesome. 

PATRICK: Music is a weird art form. Because when you’re an actor and you play a character, that is a specific thing. James Bond always wears a suit and has a gun and is a secret agent. If you change one thing, that’s fine, but you can’t really change all of it. But bands are just people. You are yourself. People get attached to it like it’s a story but it’s not. That was always something I found difficult. For the story, it’s always good to say, ‘it’s the 20th anniversary, let’s go do the 20th anniversary tour’, that’s a good story thing. But it’s not always honest. We never stopped playing a lot of the songs from ‘Take This To Your Grave’, right? So why would I need to do a 20-year anniversary and perform all the songs back to back? The only reason would be because it would probably sell a lot of tickets and I don’t really ever want to be motivated by that, frankly. 

One of the things that’s been amazing is that now as the band has been around for a while, we have different layers of audience. I love ‘Folie à Deux’, I do, I love that record. But I had a really personally negative experience of touring on it. So that’s what I think of when I think of that record initially. It had to be brought back to me for me to appreciate it, for me to go, ‘oh, this record is really great. I should be happy with this. I should want to play this,’ So that’s why we got into a lot of the b-sides because we realised that our perspectives on a lot of these songs were based in our feelings and experiences from when we were making them. But you can find new experiences if you play those songs. You can make new memories with them. 

You alluded there to the 20th anniversary of ‘Take This To Your Grave’. Obviously you have changed and developed as a band hugely since then. But is there anything you can point to about making that debut record that has remained a part of your process since then? 

PETE: We have a language, the band, and it’s definitely a language of cinema and film. That’s maintained through time. We had very disparate music tastes and influences but I think film was a place we really aligned. You could have a deep discussion, because none of us were filmmakers. You could say which part was good and which part sucked and not hurt anybody’s feelings, because you weren’t going out to make a film the next day. Whereas with music, I think if we’d only had that to talk about, we would have turned out a different band.  

PATRICK: ‘Take This To Your Grave’, even though it’s absolutely our first record, there’s an element of it that’s still a work in progress. It is still a band figuring itself out. Andy wasn’t even officially in the band for half of the recording, right? I wasn’t even officially the guitar player for half of the recording. We were still bumbling through it. There was something that popped up a couple times throughout the record where you got these little inklings of who the band really was. We really explored that on ‘From Under the Cork Tree’’. So when we talk about what has remained the same… I didn’t want to be a singer, I didn’t know anything about singing, I wasn’t playing on that. I didn’t even plan to really be in this band for that long because Pete had a real band that really toured so I thought this was gonna be a side project. So there’s always been this element within the band where I don’t put too many expectations on things and then Pete has this really big ambition, creatively. There’s this great interplay between the tour of us where I’m kind of oblivious, and I don’t know when I’m putting out a big idea and Pete has this amazing vision to find what goes where. There’s something really magical about that because I never could have done a band like this without it. We needed everybody, we needed all four of us. And I think that’s the thing that hasn’t changed - the four of us just being ourselves and trying to figure things out. Listening back to ‘Folie’ or ‘Infinity On High’ or ‘American Beauty’. I’m always amazed at how much better they are than I remember. I listened to ‘MANIA’ the other day. I have a lot of misgivings about that record, a lot of things I’m frustrated about. But then I’m listening to it and I’m like, ‘this is pretty good.’ There’s a lot of good things in there. I don’t know why, it’s kind of like you can’t see those things. It’s kind of amazing to have Pete be able to see those things. And likewise, sometimes Pete has no idea when he writes something brilliant, as a lyricist, and I have to go, ‘No, I’m gonna keep that one, I’m gonna use that.’ 

On ‘So Much (For) Stardust’ you teamed up with producer Neal Avron again for the first time since 2008. Given how much time has passed, did it take a minute to reestablish that connection or did you pick up where you left off? 

PATRICK: It really didn’t feel like any time had passed between us and Neal. It was pretty seamless in terms of working with him. But then there was also the weird aspect where the last time we worked with him was kind of contentious. Interpersonally, the four of us were kind of fighting with each other…as much as we do anyway. We say that and then that myth gets built bigger than it was. We were always pretty cool with each other. It’s just that the least cool was making ‘Folie’. So then getting into it again for this record, it was like no time had passed as people but the four of us got on better so we had more to bring to Neal. 

PETE: It’s a little bit like when you return to your parents’ house for the holiday break when you’re in college. It’s the same house but now I can drink with my parents. We’d grown up and the first times we worked with Neal, he had to do so much more boy scout leadership, ‘you guys are all gonna be okay, we’re gonna do this activity to earn this badge so you guys don’t fucking murder each other.’ This time, we probably got a different version of Neal that was even more creative, because he had to do less psychotherapy. 

He went deep too. Sometimes when you’re in a session with somebody, and they’re like, ‘what are we singing about?’, I’ll just be like, ‘stuff’. He was not cool with ‘stuff’. I would get up and go into the bathroom outside the studio and look in the mirror, and think ‘what is it about? How deep are we gonna go?’ That’s a little bit scarier to ask yourself. If last time Neal was like a boy scout leader, this time, it was more like a Sherpa. He was helping us get to the summit. 

The title track of the album also finds you in a very reflective mood, even bringing back lyrics from ‘Love From the Other Side’. How would you describe the meaning behind that title and the song itself?

PETE: The record title has a couple of different meanings, I guess. The biggest one to me is that we basically all are former stars. That’s what we’re made of, those pieces of carbon. It still feels like the world’s gonna blow and it’s all moving too fast and the wrong things are moving too slow. That track in particular looks back at where you sometimes wish things had gone differently. But this is more from the perspective of when you’re watching a space movie, and they’re too far away and they can’t quite make it back. It doesn’t matter what they do and at some point, the astronaut accepts that. But they’re close enough that you can see the look on their face. I feel like there’s moments like that in the title track. I wish some things were different. But, as an adult going through this, you are too far away from the tether, and you’re just floating into space. It is sad and lonely but in some ways, it’s kind of freeing, because there’s other aspects of our world and my life that I love and I want to keep shaping and changing. 

Patrick: I’ll open up Pete’s lyrics and I just start hearing things. It almost feels effortless in a lot of ways. I just read his lyrics and something starts happening in my head. The first line, ‘I’m in a winter mood, dreaming of spring now’, instantly the piano started to form to me. That was a song that I came close to not sending the band. When I make demos, I’ll usually wait until I have five or six to send to everybody. I didn’t know if anyone was gonna like this. It’s too moody or it’s not very us. But it was pretty unanimous. Everybody liked that one. I knew this had to end the record. It took on a different life in the context of the whole album. Then on the bridge section, I knew it was going to be the lyrics from “Love From The Other Side’. It’s got to come back here. It’s the bookends, but I also love lyrically what it does, you know, ‘in another life, you were my babe’, going back to that kind of regret, which feels different in  ‘Love From The Other Side’ than it does here. When the whole song came together, it was the statement of the record. 

Aside from the album, you have released a few more recent tracks that have opened you up to a whole new audience, most notably the collaboration with Taylor Swift on ‘Electric Touch’. 

PETE: Taylor is the only artist that I’ve met or interacted with in recent times who creates exactly the art of who she is, but does it one such a mass level. So that’s breathtaking to watch from the sidelines. The way fans traded friendship bracelets, I don’t know what the beginning of it was, but you felt that everywhere. We felt that, I saw that in the crowd on our tour. I don’t know Taylor well, but I think she’s doing exactly what she wants and creating exactly the art that she wants to create. And going that, on such a level, is really awe-inspiring to watch. It makes you want to make the biggest, weirdest version of our thing and put that out there. 

Then there was the cover of Billy Joel’s ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’, which has had some big chart success for you. That must have taken you slightly by surprise. 

PATRICK: It’s pretty unexpected. Pete and I were going back and forth about songs we should cover and that was an idea that I had. This is so silly but there was a song a bunch of years ago I had kind of written called ‘Dark Horse’ and then there was a Katy Perry song called ‘Dark Horse’ and I was like, ‘damn it’, you know, I missed the boat on that one. So I thought if we don’t do this cover, somebody else is gonna do it. Let’s just get in the studio and just do it. We spent way more time on those lyrics than you would think because we really wanted to get a specific feel. It was really fun and kind of loose, we just came together in Neal’s house and recorded it in a day. 

PETE: There's irreverence to it. I thought the coolest thing was when Billy Joel got asked about it, and he was like, ‘I’m not updating it, that’s fine, go for it.’  I hope if somebody ever chose to update one of ours, we’d be like that. Let them do their thing, they’ll have that version. I thought that was so fucking cool. 

It’s almost no secret that the sound you became most known for in the md-2000s is having something of a commercial revival right now But what is interesting is seeing how bands are building on that sound and changing it. 

PATRICK: I love when anybody does anything that feels honest to them. Touring with Bring Me The Horizon, it was really cool seeing what’s natural to them. It makes sense. We changed our sound over time but we were always going to do that. It wasn’t a premeditated thing but for the four of us, it would have been impossible to maintain making the same kind of music forever. Whereas you’ll play with some other bands and they live that one sound. You meet up with them for dinner or something and they’re wearing the shirt of the band that sounds just like their band. You go to their house and they’re playing other bands that sound like them because they live in that thing. Whereas with the four of us and bands like Bring Me The Horizon, we change our sounds over time.  And there’s nothing wrong with either. The only thing that’s wrong is if it’s unnatural to you. If you’re AC/DC and all of a sudden power ballads are in and you’re like, ‘Okay, we’ve got to do a power ballad’, that’s when it sucks. But if you’re a thrash metal guy who also likes Celine Dion then yeah, do a power ballad. Emo as a word doesn’t mean anything anymore. But if people want to call it that, if the emo thing is back or having another life again, if that’s what’s natural to an artist, I think the world needs more earnest art. If that’s who you are, then do it. 

PETE: It would be super egotistical to think that the wave that started with us and My Chemical Romance and Panic! At The Disco has just been circling and cycling back. I remember seeing Nikki Sixx at the airport and he was like, ‘Oh you’re doing a flaming bass? Mine came from a backpack.’ It keeps coming back but it looks different. Talking to Lil Uzi Vert and Juice WRLD when he was around, it’s so interesting, because it’s so much bigger than just emo or whatever. It’s this whole big pop music thing that’s spinning and churning, and then it moves on, and then it comes back with different aspects and some of the other stuff combined. When you’re a fan of music and art and film, you take different stuff, you add different ingredients, because that’s your taste. Seeing the bands that are up and coming to me, it’s so exciting, because the rules are just different, right? It’s really cool to see artists that lean into the weirdness and lean into a left turn when everyone’s telling you to make a right. That’s so refreshing. 

PATRICK: It’s really important as an artist gets older to not put too much stock in your own influence. The moment right now that we’re in is bigger than emo and bigger than whatever was happening in 2005. There’s a great line in ‘Downton Abbey’ where someone was asking the Lord about owning this manor and he’s like ‘well, you don’t really own it, there have been hundreds of owners and you are the custodian of it for a brief time.’ That’s what pop music is like. You just have the ball for a minute and you’re gonna pass it on to somebody else. 

We will soon see you in the UK for your arena tour. How do you reflect on your relationship with the fans over here? 

PETE: I remember the first time we went to the UK, I wasn’t prepared for how culturally different it was. When we played Reading & Leeds and the summer festivals, it was so different, and so much deeper within the culture. It was a little bit of a shock. The first couple of times we played, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, are we gonna die?’ because the crowd was so crazy, and there was bottles. Then when we came back, we thought maybe this is a beast to be tamed. Finally, you realise it’s a trading of energy. That made the last couple of festivals we played so fucking awesome. When you realise that the fans over there are real fans of music It’s really awesome and pretty beautiful. 

PATRICK: We’ve played the UK now more than a lot of regions of the states. Pretty early on, I just clicked with it. There were differences, cultural things and things that you didn’t expect. But it never felt that different or foreign to me, just a different flavour…

PETE: This is why me and Patrick work so well together (laughs). 

PATRICK: Well, listen; I’m a rainy weather guy. There is just things that I get there. I don’t really drink anymore all that much. But I totally will have a beer in the UL, there’s something different about every aspect of it, about the ordering of it, about the flavour of it, everything, it’s like a different vibe. The UK audience seemed to click with us too. There have been plenty of times where we felt almost like a UK band than an American one. There have been years where you go there and almost get a more familial reaction than you would at home. 

Rock Sound has always been a part of that for us. It was one of the first magazines to care about us and the first magazine to do real interviews. That’s the thing, you would do all these interviews and a lot of them would be like ‘so where did the band’s name come from?’ But Rock Sound took us seriously as artists, maybe before some of us did. That actually made us think about who we are and that was a really cool experience. I think in a lot of ways, we wouldn’t be the band we are without the UK, because I think it taught us a lot about what it is to be yourself. 

Fall Out Boy’s ‘So Much (For) Stardust’ is out now via Fueled By Ramen