#a self-contained excerpt

[howifeltabouthim]

What she saw and heard offended her; it rasped her tender unused sensibility, it blinded her inward-turning vision and shouted down her grief. Its very miscellaneousness confused and worried her; for she was used to seeing what she chose to see, and hearing what had been especially composed and orchestrated for her ears.

L. P. Hartley, from The Hireling

[cowboygideon]

Here's a little self-indulgent Sam and Vincent scene I wrote that may or may not be terrible I cannot tell anymore (featuring Reagan incredibly briefly at the end, another main character whom I love dearly)

(A little backstory if this makes no sense: some of the characters are in college, and this is set in Vincent’s dorm's bathroom. Prior to this Sam got the shit beat out of him at a bar because some guys were being assholes and he punched one of them. Also, the reason they keep saying Sam is dead is because he is dead (ish) he died in a fire about a year before the story begins.)

tags: @blondeandfivefeeteven @exycutive-dysfunction :)

[apocraphelion]

"I could teach a masterclass in blaming one's self so thoroughly as to forget the other people involved might be feeling some responsibility too.

Weird way to be a narcissist."

[swampjawn]

If you wanted to animate an object spinning really fast, there are three main embellishments at your disposal. You could add smear frames, you could add doubling, or if you wanted to get a little crazy with it, you could have that object bend and stretch to really emphasize the inertia of the motion.

Or you could do all three at the same time!

I didn't want to like Zenshu at first.

Saying I'm not a big fan of isekai as a genre would be an understatement, so I was straight up peeved when I found out that what I initially thought would be a flawed industry's unflinching look in the mirror made by THE studio that has become the symbol of the Japanese animation industry's broader problems with overworking and underpaying, this was just gonna be yet another in a long line of paint-by-numbers escapist power fantasies in a genre that was tired from the moment it was born, just like yaboy, sleepy to the max if you know what I'm saying.

And this recreation of a scene from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), (which was one of the first breakout roles for anime legend and Evangelion director Hideaki Anno) certainly helped soften my attitude towards it, but a series of references to old stuff wouldn't be enough.

(both versions trimmed here)

But its tribute to classic anime and animation in general goes beyond just references.

This absurdly over the top modernized version of a magical girl transformation animated by Keisuke Toyoda (豊田 桂祐 ) feels like it contains all the possibilities of animation and imagination in just 3 preposterously dense cuts. There is just WAY too much going on here at once, in a way that feels very self aware.

Every color you could imagine, lighting from three different directions, what looks like three different layers of effects and sparkles, countless compositing effects, what looks like some sort of 3D particle simulation in the background,

this psychedelic background art that seems to represent Natsuko's blood vessels, a bit where you can see what it took me several episodes to realize are Natsuko's actual blood vessels and skeleton through her body,

and… some birds of course.

Most of the main elements are animated on 2's, but there are so many layers -- the timing of each offset from the rest -- that it almost feels like the whole thing is animated on 1's because there is practically no single frame where at least something doesn't change.

It's really an assault to the senses that contrasts hilariously with the mundane action of actually sitting down at a desk and drawing. There's even a little death note reference thrown in there to poke fun at this contrast!

And fully committing to the sailor moon bit, they repeat this stock animation in almost every episode. While it's no masterpiece plot-wise, it is at least more than I expected on that front too, but that's more than I can get into here. I talk about that some more and a bunch of other stuff in this video, from which this post is an adapted excerpt! Go watch it and comment, "wow sWIMP John, I used to like your videos but you've really fallen off hardcore. Go back to making magic school bus AMVs. Unsubbed."

[f1cflcfic]

The Prophecy (SMAU ft. Lando Norris) Part VI

pairing: lando norris x singer!reader (fem!y/n)

summary: what happens after the break-up that noone saw coming? as Y/N L/N gears up to release her next album, each song reveals a little bit of the past, present and future of her relationship with Lando Norris. Inspired by a curated playlist built around "The Prophecy".

note: this is RPF and is obviously in no way, shape, or form reflective of real persons. also, this chapter contains some (implicit) references to sex.

genre: social media au (with written parts), angst, exes to lovers, happy ending

[A/N: and with this chapter, we come to an end of the Prophecy series! I've got some deleted scenes/bonus content, but other than that... time to say goodbye. I hope you've loved this journey as much as I have, do let me know!]

part i part ii part iii part iv part v

♥･*:.｡ ｡.:*･ﾟ♡･*:.｡ ｡.:*･ﾟ♥

December 8th, 2026

Second week of December, 2026

[Excerpt from Chicken Shop Date with Y/N L/N & Amelia]

“Are you a romantic?”

“I do – but I’m quite cautious, too. It takes me a while to open myself up to someone else.”

“What’s the most romantic thing someone’s ever done for you?”

Y/N thinks hard, then points at the food in front of them. “I think consistency, actually. Like, I had someone surprise me with my favorite meal every single time after major milestones. I thought it was really nice, especially because when you're tired you just want to spend time together, instead of having to work on putting dinner together for yourselves.”

“Really? You'd rather take-out over a homecooked meal?"

"Knowing your strengths is important in a partner. If you're not the best cook, take-out is the next best thing! And like I said, it's also about time."

"So what you’re saying is going on chicken shop dates is the epitome of romance to you?”

“Exactly,” Y/N says emphatically, pointing a fry at Amelia.

(...)

“Your album is called The Prophecy. Are you very superstitious?”

“Not really, no. But desperate times call for desperate plans. I think things like manifesting can't hurt,” Y/N giggles.

Amelia frowns. “Are you desperate, or are you calling me desperate?”

“Maybe not desperate. Let's go with yearning.”

(...)

“What do you think, is Christmas a good holiday to bring a date to?”

“Hmm , set the scene for me. Is it a friends only party, or family dinner?”

“It’s a dinner party with friends. Would, and should my date be willing to come?”

“Amelia, are you asking me on a second date?”

“Well, no. Maybe? Aren’t you...?”

Y/N blushes. “Let’s be present in the moment!”

“Okay, so tell me – can it be a good second date?”

“I think if you feel super comfortable with them, and you have great friends, the vibe isn’t super formal, then why not? It could be a great trial by fire. Like a new and improved orange peel test.”

“Has someone ever peeled an orange for you?”

“Yes,” Y/N nods. “That’s funny – there is an orange on our table right now.” Camera pans to a Terry’s chocolate orange.

“I’ll peel this one for you,” Y/N offers.

Third week of December, 2026

Last week of December, 2026

January, 2027

[Excerpt from Vogue]

It’s hard to think of the popstar as anything but unflappable, but she assures me there are plenty of moments in which she doubts herself. “I think anyone who craves that recognition at being good at what you do, is going to struggle with the reality of having people see you all the time. As a perfectionist, I wish I could control everything so people’d only ever see my best self all the time. But that’s a pipedream. There’s so many expectations, it can be difficult to figure out which ones were really your own to begin with – and which ones you’ve started to believe because you don’t want to disappoint anyone.”

Indeed, as a female popstar, L/N has had to deal with her fair share of hate online, oftentimes masked as mild concern or constructive criticism from supposed fans. For example, a leaked song earlier this year spurred fans on to comment and speculate about L/N’s ambition – Did she have enough of it? Was she going to give it all up for a man?

L/N’s the first to admit that it’s not entirely unsurprising, given that the song in question includes a lyric describing her willingness to carry the burdens of someone else by herself. “It’s never fun when stuff you chose not to release ends up finding its way to the public after all. There’s a reason I didn’t want it on the album,” she explains. “But in this case, I wrote the song with my friend Louis [Tomlinson] ages ago. We used it as a reference when I started writing in earnest again earlier this year, but that’s all it was meant to be. A reference.”

So why did it become such an obsession to her fans? Well, if one adds a high-profile relationship on top of a high-profile career, that’s a recipe for things to get complicated. The singer’s latest album details her experience with the subsequent public fall-out. While she previously hasn’t spoken much of her relationship with F1 driver Lando Norris and how it influenced her art, she is candid about it now. “I think for the first time, rather than wanting to use songs to capture the great moments, I used songwriting to help me reflect on what could’ve been, what it wasn't, where it went wrong. And in doing so, that also opened the door for me to grow.”

“It’s really painful to have to come to terms with the fact that sometimes love isn’t enough. Especially when in retrospect, there’s much more room for acknowledging how you contributed to the problem. So yeah, by challenging myself to be vulnerable in my art, I also had to put my own hurt and heart out there again. But I think it’s made me a stronger, better person.”

And what of that relationship now? She has a coy smile on her face.  “Good, I think, really good. I firmly believe my life is a lot richer when he's in it. So I count myself lucky that I get to have his back and he has mine.”

We are just about wrapping up the interview when her phone lights up with a message from L. It’s a link to an IG reel of dogs being bundled up like tiny burritos. It’s so innocuous, you’d almost forget that the person sending it is a star in his own right.

Celebrities, they’re just like us sometimes.

February, 2027

[Excerpt E! Online Grammy's Red Carpet interview]

"And we're here with the lovely Y/N L/N! Not nominated this year, but a presenter and performer on this night all about music."

"Hiii, thanks for having me!"

"Now tell us, you've had a super exciting year in 2026 - what are you most looking forward to tonight?"

"I'm doing a duet with Miley, which is awesome. I feel so honored they asked me to do this, and I love her so much. She's really one of the iconic voices of this generation, so to stand next to her on that stage? Amazing."

"That's super exciting! The two of you are also both heading on tour, Miley over the summer, you are literally heading out next week. How are you feeling about that?"

"Really good! I'm so excited to see the fans, I've done some shows here and there, but touring life is on another level."

"What else are you looking forward to? Some of your other friends are here tonight, as well, correct?"

Y/N nods. "Yeah, I actually just saw Louis [Tomlinson] arrive - he's nominated tonight so I'll be rooting for him. The Grammy's is always a great moment to catch up with friends as well, so maybe I'm even more excited for the after parties."

"Drink of choice tonight?"

"Probably champagne? Quite like the taste of it, always," Y/N winks at the camera.

March, 2027

April, 2027

FIN.

♥･*:.｡ ｡.:*･ﾟ♡･*:.｡ ｡.:*･ﾟ♥

You can read the previous parts by going here. Keep an eye out for the bonus content/deleted scenes!

The epilogue is now available here.

♥ likes, comments, reblogs are always very much appreciated ♥

taglist (open) : @charlesgirl16, @linnygirl09, @hoeforsirius, @motorsportloverf1, @sarx164, @idkimbadwithusernamesandstuff, @formulaal, @tvdtw4ever @sadiemack9 @seonghwaexile @screamingwines

[yeoldenews]

An excerpt from an April 13, 1896 letter from Will's mother containing a timeless Mom Lecture (tm) written after she learned Will had begun smoking...

"He [Will's father] was very sorry to hear you speak as you did about smoking and we felt that you were letting down your former high standard. We want you to remember that you have a good inheritance and have had reasonably good training, and that you have many people here at home looking up to you as a good Christian boy and therefore much is expected of you.

You don't want to be [an] influence to do any foolish things but you want to be able to hold up a high standard to other boys and keep some of those who are weak from taking the first foolish step.

I am very glad that Allen [Will's roommate] has given up smoking I am sure after a few years you will both of you be glad if you keep out of it,

& I am sure that holding out against this will make a stronger character it will be a good lesson in self control.

If you think it will help you I should be willing to get you a bicycle, or will do it as your Papa suggests if you really care about it, but I would rather have you be able & willing to decide the smoking business without that. Let me know what you think of it yourself. I would like to have you think of this matter as you would on the day when you received the telegram which led you to have a good many serious thoughts."

The last line refers to an event the previous month where Will misinterpreted a telegram informing him of the death of his Grandmother's companion, and mistakenly believed for several hours that his mother had died instead. So... "remember that time you thought I was dead and how grateful you were when you found out I was alive? That woman says make better choices."

I also love how it appears that she attempted to smudge out "bicycle" after she wrote it - maybe having some second thoughts as to whether she wanted to resort to bribery yet or not.

The letter continues...

"I wish you would write to Jack [Will's younger brother] also before long and remind him of some things that you both have to be thankful for and ask him if he is doing as well as he can. I don't see why his reports are not better Papa thinks he ought to be higher in Algebra surely if he is able to do well in higher mathematics. I think he was C in most of his studies only A in English History."

[starry-bi-sky]

DPxDC Masterpost

Almost all of my DPDC posts have the #Danny Fenton is Not the Ghost King tags, barring perhaps my earliest aus like my Thomas Wayne Au (which will be included in the post). This tag includes art i've made, asks i've answered, and non-fic au posts I've created. This is my main tag!

DPxDC posts under the main tag that don't have their own tag: Danny's Life-Changing Cross-Dimensional Roadtrip with A De-Aged Batman Danny is also Bruce Wayne (Starry goes back to their middle school roots) Danny being the first batkid (if i can get the creative juices flowing I will expand on this. mark my words) There is a Damian clone LOOSE in Amity Park. Oh wait, Danny's got him.

My Biggest DPxDC Aus #Danny Fenton is a Clone: all my posts talking about clone!Danny.

Clone Danny Masterpost: previously my pinned post. A no-powers au where Danny is also a clone of Bruce Wayne, also includes some clone^2

#Clone^2: Clone Damian + Clone Danny au combined, explores themes like identity, found family, and growing into your own as a person. Starting post Here.

#Childhood Friends Au or #Cfau: A childhood friends dead on main au that explores grief, how it may change a person, and how growing up in Crime Alley changed Danny. Contains heavier themes like smoking and mild violence.

#Danyal Al Ghul Au: No longer just my "older brother danyal" au, instead it hosts all of my Danyal Al Ghul aus! An excuse for me to delve into the psychological effects that growing up in the League would have on Danny that I don't really see in other DAG aus. Putting the 'assassin' in 'raised by assassins'. Now with a secondary masterpost listing all of my DAG aus!

My Minor DPxDC Aus Danny Fenton is Thomas Wayne: an oldie but a goodie! An reveal gone wrong au where Danny decides to go by his middle name 'Thomas' shortly after the events of TUE, and leaves Amity Park two years later. He finds out that Vlad cloned him again and finds an infant in the lab. Danny takes the baby, names him Bruce, and ends up adopted by the Waynes.

#Danny Fenton is Jason Todd au: An au where Danny is Jason Todd! He was adopted by the Fentons shortly after the events of the carjacking.

#Older Brother Danny: contains all of my aus where Danny is an Older Brother. This currently includes only my DAG posts but it's not limited to Danyal Al Ghul.

#Changeling Danny: a half-ghost? oh, wait, no. that's a changeling. even worse! Danny's got latent fey blood from a Fenton getting freaky with a faerie some dozen generations ago, and it reactivated with a fervor when he had his accident! Instead of a halfa, he became one of the Fair Folk.

#Blood blossom au: currently the name for the time being. A Nightingale/First Batkid au where Vlad poisons Danny with blood blossom extract, and it results in Danny running to Batman! Currently only one post, but it has a lot of branching pathways in the reblogs. Batdad centered! Now comes with its own fanfic!

#tales of the passerine: the official au name for my "Danny being the first batkid" post! This au is what inspired changeling Danny. It's the idea that Danny was the first to be adopted by Bruce, and features me favoring batdad over "lmfao Danny goes fuck you bruce and adopts the other kids" au. Because I want batdad.

(Nightingale is, so far, the official vigilante name for the Eldest Batkid Danny concept on my blog.)

#mother of monsters danny: specifically its mother of monsters dan but i digress. I was messing around with my fem!Danyal au and boom! Her evil timeline self is Layal, the terrifying Mother of Monsters who raises any manner of monstrous beasts. I love her <3

#martha knight au same song, different dance! This is a fem danny version of my aforementioned "Danny is Thomas Wayne" au. Except this time around, Danny is Martha! Arguably my favorite between the two, I feel like I'm able to do more with her than Thomas. Her au's vibe is After All by Christine Ebersole

Bonus Excerpt: a ficlet I made in response to a DPxDC Dead on Main prompt! It's not under the main tag as I didn't make the post, however it can be found if you search #fem danny fenton on my blog. I actually really love this idea so I may make it its own tag in the future.

[romantic-revolution-iv]

Recently I came across an interesting article reviewing the second season of 'Andor'. Below is a translated excerpt from this article: […In the early version of the series developed by showrunner Steven Schiff, K-2SO was used much more actively and essentially served as the second main character. Gilroy found this format too dull and completely rewrote the plot from scratch.

Upon learning that Cassian’s first encounter with his mechanical partner K-2SO had already been depicted in a comic, Gilroy flatly stated: "No, I won’t be using that." However, Andor doesn’t exactly offer a worthy alternative. K-2SO only steps into the spotlight near the series’ finale, Cassian’s decision to take him along feels contrived, and the friendship between the two is, once again, established off-screen. Gilroy might as well have skipped rewriting the comic and simply introduced the droid without any additional buildup, just like many other characters in Rogue One.

Andor has a complicated relationship with Gareth Edwards' film in general. The series tells a mostly self-contained story, and most of its characters don’t even appear in Rogue One. If the creators had wanted to make a full-fledged prequel, the focus should have been on the military officials of the Rebellion and the Empire, the family of the brilliant engineer Galen Erso, and/or the fanatical partisan Saw Gerrera. In reality, the latter doesn’t even get his own arc in the series, he just occasionally shows up as a dark reflection of Luthen Rael and his spy cell, the true protagonists of Andor.

Yet, in the final episodes, Gilroy explicitly steers Cassian toward the events of the film, essentially abandoning the climax of his own story and handing it off to Edwards. The result is an absurd situation. To fully grasp the series' ending (What’s this about Jedha? Who’s Erso? What’s Tivik’s deal?), you need to have already seen Rogue One. And yet, Rogue One now demands a rewatch after Andor, otherwise, the story feels abruptly cut short. Even Rebels, despite being simpler and aimed at a younger audience, handles this balance far more elegantly.]

[blue-eyed-belladonna]

How Can Anyone Hate the Rain? (Sherlock x Reader)

~~~~Author's Note: Hey everyone!! I haven't posted a fic in a hot minute because the ones I do write are self indulgent as FUCK but I really liked this one and my friend convinced me to post this excerpt. SO enjoy!! I hope y'all like it!!~~~~

Word Count: 2,446

Fem coded. If y'all like it I will definitely make a gender neutral version too!!

Warnings: Cussing?? Ig??

Something was wrong. She knew it. Sherlock had been acting…off the last few days. She wasn’t sure why or what to do but the awkward silence in the flat was suffocating her. She looked outside when she heard a soft pitter patter against the window until it became a constant. She smiled to herself, deciding to go downstairs to enjoy the rain from the bigger windows.

She entered the living room, seeing Sherlock sitting by the window. He looked lost in thought, almost as if he was somewhere else entirely. She saw his hand clench and unclench under his chin. She frowned. She took a quiet deep inhale before walking towards him with her arms behind her back. She stopped next to him, also staring out at the rain. There was a peaceful silence for a few moments between the two. He didn’t acknowledge her, which she was used to when he was deep in thought, but it was like he was entirely unaware of anything surrounding him. She didn’t like it.

“Do you like the rain?” She asked softly, finally turning her head to see if he’d react. She was pleasantly surprised that he actually turned to meet her gaze. He looked exhausted. “I do.” He answered. She offered a smile, looking back outside. “Me too. It’s my favorite kind of weather.” He didn’t say anything, silence lapsing over the two. “You know, this is my first rain in London. I know it’s silly, but I think it’s almost monumental.” He scoffed almost. “It’s just the weather.” He grumbled. She tilted her head downward to him, leaning against the table. “Well…yeah I s’pose it is. But it’s my favorite weather. In my favorite place.” A shy smile spread across her cheeks. “With my favorite person.” 

That caught his attention for sure. His head whipped around to her, his curls bouncing from the speed. She shrugged, looking out the window as she crossed her arms. She didn’t want to move too fast to give off that she was embarrassed for admitting that, but she feels she failed to look unbothered and as confident as she hoped. He gently cleared his throat. “Yes. Right. Well…” he paused, following her gaze to the window. “In that case, I believe it’s cause for celebration.” She let out a surprised chuckle. “What?” She looked at him in disbelief. He stood up, going to the front door, wrapping his coat around him. He glanced at her as he buttoned it up, nodding to the door. “Well? Are you coming?” “You’re being serious?” She giggled, uncrossing her arms to walk towards him. “As the plague.” This caused another giggle to bubble out of her. She took her coat as well, quickly tying on her shoes. “Then there’s no time to waste.” He announced, grabbing her hand the second she stood up right. The two bounded down the stairs, the girl giggling the whole way out the door.

            “Sherlock, the rain!” She warned, putting her hand over her head as if it would do anything. “Blast the rain,” He grinned back at her, rushing to an undisclosed location. She only laughed again, taking a breath when they stopped under an awning. They looked at each other, barely containing their laughter at seeing the other soaked to the bone. “When you said celebrate, I didn’t think you meant running in the rain.” She sassed, their hands still holding each other as she rocked on her toes. Neither seemed to notice, or they just didn’t seem to mind. She lifted her glasses to be perched on her head, unable to see with them anymore due to the rainwater on them. She looked at Sherlock sneakily, her grin turning into a soft smile. She’s never heard him laugh this much before. She exhaled, taking her glasses off her head. “Is this our destination? I’d like somewhere to dry my glasses if, at all, possible.” She lightly teased. He motioned her to the door. “Then by all means,” She grinned again, opening the door and held it open behind her for him to enter.

They were sat at a table within moments, chatting light-hearted until she decided to look at her menu. He was staring out at the rain again, she noticed, as she glanced over the menu. She knew it. It was a façade…She thought. She’s seen this type of behavior before from someone very different. She bit the inside of her cheek, putting the menu down. “Sherlock?” She asked quietly. “Mm.” He hummed, lifting his chin from his hand again to look at her. “You don’t…have to act like everything is okay around me, you know? You can tell me if something is wrong.” She offered, closing her menu. He only stared at her, seemingly at a loss for words. She crossed her arms, leaning against them on the table as she awaited his answer. After a few short seconds of him staring at her, she motioned at him with her shoulders. “That means…you can express your problems with me. We’re friends after all.” She offered. She saw a flash of an unreadable emotion pass his eyes.

He exhaled, the sound almost like a scoff from his nose. “Friends, are we?” He asked distastefully. She sat back at his reaction, suddenly feeling uneasy, hurt. “Well…yeah…at least I thought we were.” She mumbled, not so sure anymore. Did he dislike her that much? She thought they got along great! She even thought…maybe…maybe he liked her. The way she liked him. He rolled his eyes, standing so fast the chair squealed on the floor. She just looked up at him, unable to tell what she should do to ease the situation. He adjusted his coat, not looking at her. “The rain has eased up. We should go while it’s still a drizzle.” And without another word, he walked to the exit. She rushed putting her coat on, haphazardly standing from the table at the same time. She went to catch up, seeing him walk by the window as she finally got her arm through the second sleeve. She felt dejected, her arm slowly coming close to her body. She was speed walking to catch up to him, thanking and apologizing to the owner at the same time as she hurried out after him.

“Sherlock!” She called, her pace speeding up to a jog to even catch up to the man. Who, she may add, didn’t stop or even slow down to wait for her. “What was that about?” She asked, a bit winded due to a misstep a few feet before. “All I said was you could talk to me!” She pleaded, not understanding what she did wrong. She didn’t pay attention to where they were going, so when he suddenly stopped but she kept walking, she wasn’t expecting him to yank on her arm to pull her back. He had prevented her from walking into oncoming traffic. “Are you daft?!” He shouted. She pulled her arm free of his grasp, holding the spot he was previously gripping as she looked at the onslaught of cars moving due to the changed traffic light. “No!” “Clearly. Someone clever would obviously walk into oncoming traffic.” He bristled sarcastically, irritated and short. He was acting as if he was above her again, sitting on his high horse looking down at her. “Then fucking answer me instead of walking off! What did I even do wrong, Sherlock?? You just up and left. I thought-” “What did you think, Y/N? Please, enlighten me. You thought I was having fun? That my mood would suddenly change just because you wanted it to?” He demanded, stepping closer to her, his hands in his pockets with hunched shoulders and a cold look in his eye. She stepped back with each step he took to her. “N-No,” She stammered, wanting to speak but finding her tongue heavy. It’s not like Sherlock would let her get a word in anyway. “Or maybe, you came to your own conclusion once again that you could somehow help me?! Not everyone needs the nauseating amount of empathy you reserve. Especially not me.” She blinked up at him, feeling her eyes begin to sting. He suddenly pushed past her, his arm bumping into her shoulder as he walked the crosswalk. Her legs followed before she thought anything of it. She had to cross either way. The rain began to come down harder, no longer a drizzle but a steady flow. “I wasn’t being empathetic – I just wanted to help!” she called over the rain. He scoffed aloud this time, turning to face her. “God, you really are an idiot, aren’t you?” He spat. She retracted her arms to herself. “I-” “Why not waste your time on your boyfriend?” Her offense and hurt had paused. Now she was just…confused.

“Boyfriend?” She repeated. “I don’t have a boyfriend.” She told him, wondering where he could’ve gotten such a crazy assumption. “Oh, don’t play coy. I heard you on the phone. Going on and on about a brilliant man with such pretty eyes,” He repeated in a high pitched voice to mock her. She continued to stare in confusion until it hit her. Oh…She put her hand over her mouth to hide how her jaw dropped. Oh my God…he heard me talking about him. He lifted his chin, huffing through his nose. “Precisely.” He turned to keep walking but she grabbed onto the back of his coat. “Sherlock, I wasn’t-” “Let. Go.” He spoke scarily calm. She didn’t. If anything her grip on his coat tightened. She breathed a single chuckle, catching his attention. He glanced over his shoulder, unable to fight the curiosity as her chuckle grew into a laugh. He glared. “Laughing in my face and mocking me is hardly-” “Sherlock you’re such an idiot.” She laughed, finally letting go of his coat to hold her stomach from laughing so hard. He turned to her fully, offended like a child. She was laughing. Laughing. At him.

But the fact she called him an idiot…perplexed him. It caught him off guard since he was never called that except by John and occasionally Gary. “What? What’s so funny?” He demanded. She finally stood up right, pushing her glasses atop her head once more. “Sherlock, I don’t have a boyfriend.” She giggled. “Regardless, the man you spoke of is clearly a priority to you. Go cause him trouble.” “Sherlock the man I was talking about was you!” She confessed, having to shout since a car drove by at the same time. He froze again. Staring at her. He couldn’t have heard her right. “Come again?” He mumbled, taking a step closer. She also took a single step closer to him, looking at the ground this time. “Sherlock…I like you. The man you heard me basically gushing over? It was you. It’s always been you.” She confessed, her nerves catching up to her finally as she refused to meet his eyes.

The rain was coming down in buckets, but neither cared. The roads and sidewalks were empty now, save for the two of them. “I…” He started, but couldn’t find the words. The only sound for a few seconds was the rain, and to each individual, their heartbeat. “I thought…a man like me doesn’t do emotions. Relationships. I thought that may haps I misread the situation we found ourselves in.” He confessed, his voice smaller now like he’d been caught. She snorted lightly, finally able to lift her gaze to his own. “From those things you said, I could tell. Is this why you’ve been in such a mood? Because you thought I found a boyfriend?” She couldn’t help but ask. Despite the rain, she could see how his cheeks grew warm. He looked to the side, squinting now due to the rain coming down so hard. Both were soaked anyway, and this conversation was too important to just drop and run off. “Oh my God, it was.” “I’m a very complicated man!” “And I’m a patient woman!” She countered. He looked at her at that. “Oh please, I’ve seen how you rush around.” He jabbed, but both knew it was a tease.

She took another step closer, reaching out with a shaking hand to gently hold one of his. He turned his hand so his palm was facing up to help her steady her hand. And to feel her pulse. She swallowed thickly, her throat dry. “I was wondering why you were so upset with me. I thought I did something wrong. I thought I was misreading everything after what you said in the restaurant. I know you’re a complicated man, Sherlock, but I can’t find myself to care. All I can think about…is you.” She confessed. She was blushing now, that much was obvious to any passerby (if there were any, that is), so she knew Sherlock could see it too.

 “I’m dangerous-” “Well then it seems I have a type.” She shot back, not even knowing where that came from. It was almost a knee-jerk reaction. He sighed, squeezing her hand. “Are you sure you want to do this? Be with me?” He asked, his voice quieter than before but still loud enough to be heard over the rain. “Only if you like me back.” She answered. “Be kind of awkward if you didn’t.” She lightly teased despite the seriousness of the situation. He cracked a grin, looking down at their hands. He finally looked back up to her. “Well, I can’t say I like you necessarily, but the affection is there.” He joked back, making her grin too.

“So? What’s the verdict detective?” She jested, rocking onto her toes. He took the moment to cup her cheek with his free hand and pull her in for a kiss. She was caught so off guard she actually made a noise. She damn near fell back when she rested flat footed again, eyes wide at his action. He pulled back at her reaction, concerned he read the entire thing wrong again and made a horrible mistake. That was, until she grabbed him by the back of his neck with both hands to crash their lips together once more. It was his turn to be surprised, but soon both relaxed into the kiss, sighing in relief and living in the moment. She had the off-handed thought that his felt like a scene from a book or a movie. When they broke apart, both catching their breath, he grinned at her. “Does that answer your inquiry?” He pushed a piece of soaking hair behind her ear making her giggle. “Yeah, I can be satisfied with that.”

[starrynightarchive]

link to the fic

(dedicated to my dear friend @softzosan)

why you should read it:

dude im not gonna lie to you. i don't know what else to say other than that it's fun. it's so fun. we got it all here we got ANGST we got HURT AND COMFORT we got SEXUAL TENSION we got TRAUMA AND SELF HATE we got PINING we got SO SO MUCH LOVE.

anyways i can't say much without spoiling how the story goes but it's basically about how (terribly) sanji deals with his feelings for zoro. it follows a very vague timeline from post alabasta till post wano but pre egghead. I've taken so many creative liberties with the timeline you wouldn't believe it. there's sooo much pining here and there's also them being down bad for each other the whole time in every way possible. here's an excerpt:

here are some texts of me telling about the fic and some scenes it contains:

as i said. fun as hell.

[chaoxfix]

papers i know for sure were written through the ages:

A study in universal medical care. Robotnik, G.

A study in non-human universal medical care. Robotnik, G. 

A study in chaos energy. Robotnik, G.

The history of the chaos emeralds and the history of the echidna tribe. Robotnik, G.

A study in chaos as healing energy. Robotnik, G. Funded by GUN

A study in chaos energy as a replacement for nuclear technology. Robotnik, G. Funded by GUN

A study in self-perpetuating appliances. Robotnik, I. Undergrad in Robotics thesis.

A study in AI. Robotnik, I. Master of Science in Computer Engineering thesis.

A study in energy conservation. Robotnik, I.

A study in chaos energy, revisited. Robotnik, I. Excerpts from Robotnik, G. 

A study in non-human energy conversion. Robotnik, I.

A study in non-human energy conversion in robotics. Robotnik, I.

A study in non-human energy conversion in AI. Robotnik, I.

An applied study in ring-induced invulnerability.Robotnik, I.

A study in non-human chaos energy conversion, and conservation. Robotnik, I.

An applied study of the chaos emeralds. Robotnik, I.

How the chaos emeralds function. Prower, M. Excerpts from Robotnik, G, and a strong rebuttal to Robotnik, I.

Decontamination of Green Hill Zone: Three Key Principles! Prower, M.

Ring-induced invulnerability: What we know, and what we’re learning! Prower, M.

A study of Chaos: Mythologies of the echidna tribe. Robotnik, I.

Restoration of Chaos: What we know about Angel Island and the Master Emerald. Prower, M.

Falsified chaos emeralds: abilities and limitations. Prower, M.

A study in safely containing infinite power. Robotnik, I.

The history of Gaia: Non-human mythology. Robotnik, I.

Robotics and safe utilization of chaos energy. Prower, M.

A study of Planet Wisp. Robotnik, I.

Super: A look into chaos emeralds and those that can utilize them. Prower, M.

Energy conversion recovery: Flicky, Wisp, and beings beyond. Prower, M. 

An applied study of the phantom ruby. Robotnik, I.

Chaos energy: Ability to Heal Chaos-Sensitive mobians? Prower, M.

Time-Travel: Why now? Prower, M.

Digitized consciousness recovery: Cyberspace edition. Prower, M.

A study in AI recovery. Robotnik, I.

Alien Technology: A revision of the history of the chaos emeralds. Everything we know from Starfall Islands. Prower, M. Excepts from Robotnik, G. 

[whatdoeseverybodywant]

Masterlist 🌹 🌶️ = contains smut SERIES:

You're the Only Girl for Me. 🌶️- [ONGOING]

All I Want Is You - [COMPLETED 8/29/2023]

LOVE - SEQUEL TO ALL I WANT IS YOU. - After getting back together, Janelle finds out thats she's pregnant. Follow along with Josh and Janelle as they deal with the highs and lows of her pregnancy. [ON HIATUS]

ALL FALLS DOWN. 🌶️ - Kiyana Fatu's world is now in shambles after her husband comes home and tells her he has been having an affair. [COMPLETED 03/25/2024]

REBUILD & RESTORE. 🌶️- SEQUEL TO ALL FALLS DOWN [ COMPLETED 03/15/2025 ]

THE BOY IS MINE 🌶️ - COLLAB WITH @paigereeder ~ Josh was at the tail-end of his marriage and has told himself he doesn’t want anything serious. He just isn’t a casual type of guy, and all his actions have consequences. [ONGOING]

TORN - One night, that’s all it took for Josh and India to fall for each other. One night was all it took for her life to turn upside down. She thought she had found the one. Then he had told her the truth… he had someone waiting for him… someone whom he had betrayed to be with India. [ONGOING]

Just You and Me - Toxic!Jey Uso x Black Original Character. 🌶️ [ONGOING]

DRABBLES/ONE SHOTS:

You're the Only Girl for Me ; May 200 Word Challenge - A part of my You're the Only Girl for Me series. Set in the future

YTOGFM - May 200 Word Challenge (2)- A part of my You're the Only Girl for Me series. Set in the future

What We Used To Be - Six months of silence and heartbreak leads to this... (ONE SHOT)

"It's always been you"- A part of my Phrase Series

“All I ever wanted was to love you, none of that other shit matters.” - A part of my Phrase Series.

Needy - Jey Uso x OC 🌶️

My Champion - Jey Uso x Airielle Jones.

Mile High - Jey Uso x OC! (Based on Mile High by James Blake ft Travis Scott)

Mile High (2) - Jey Uso x OC! (Based on Mile High by James Blake ft Travis Scott)

REQUEST:

Miss Independent - Can you do a story where jey starts dating this girl and she is veryyyyy independent and like to do everything her self but jey has to always tell her to sit down and let him do basically Ms.I can do it myself meets mr.sit tf down imma do it plz 🤭

4 a.m Cravings - a part of my LOVE series but also requested. Request: heyyyyy can we get a short lil page or story of Janelle’s pregnancy cravings pls🤍🤍🤍

Jey Rizzo - Okay so yk how the raw before war games when they were mentioning how they needed a 5th member? Well, this universe, it’s a mixed war games so Rhea is in. Cody makes his “call” Randy and a former NXT, newly signed Keiarie or Kabana Love for her ring debut with them. Mr. Main Event takes a notice to her and tries to yk, get his game on the whole night with her

SERIES:

Sorry [ONGOING] - I SUCK AT SUMMARIES... 😬

Pieces of Her 🌶️ [DISCONTINUED] - Five months away from her dream wedding, Kenya’s world is turned upside down and her heart is shattered leaving her heartbroken and confused.

DRABBLES/ONE SHOTS:

May 200 Word Challenge - An excerpt from a One-Shot that I have been working on for a while

Untitled 🌶️ - Jimmy Uso x OC (Alani)

With You 🌶️ - Jimmy Uso x OC (Serena)

REQUEST:

The Bridesmaid- I hope you’re having a good day! I wanted to request a fic with Jimmy (or jey, I love them both) where the mc is a bridesmaid at their sister’s wedding and she meets one of the groomsmen (Jimmy) and they start to really like each other. The sister warns mc that Jimmy is a playboy but things start to heat up quick between the two anyway! You can add or take away any aspects, have fun with it. Thanks, I love your writing!

ONE-SHOTS: (Discontinued)

Til Further Notice - (based on Travis Scott's song) - He's been gone for 4 months. 118 days without a phone call or a text. What happens when he finally shows back up to work? Will he give Kaela the answers she's looking for?

Til Further Notice - The Reactions: How did the WWE universe react to the first time Roman was seen in 4 months...

"It was mine from the moment I touched it." - A part of my Phrase Series 🌶️

ONE-SHOTS:

Tongue-Tied

Begging 4 U’ - He ain’t too proud to beg 🌶️

[sam-keeper]

There Is No Antimemetics Division reminded me why I keep coming back to speculative fiction.

---

Here's a short excerpt from qntm's novel There Is No Antimemetics Division:

Kim is so deeply buried in work at his terminal and the airlock is so quiet that he almost doesn't notice when it starts to cycle open again. "We need to check you for notes," he begins, but then he sees that Marion Wheeler is curled up in the bottom of the narrow cylinder, panting as though she just finished a marathon run. Kim holds a hand out but she shakes her head, electing to stay lying down, knees bent up to her chest, sucking down lungfuls of air. "What in the world happened in there?" Kim asks. "Just need…" she gasps, "…to breathe. Be okay in a… second. Haaaaah. I think I blacked out for a moment, might have inhaled some. Haaaaah. I think I'm okay. I remember the plan." Kim looks confused and worried for a second, then they replace him. "You shouldn't be able to remember anything… what did you do?"

Look at the bolded line. I couldn't make heads or tails of that the first time I read it. It's grammatically weird because "they" as a pronoun has an ambiguous referent. Typically one would expect an antecedent--a noun that a pronoun refers to--somewhere in the sentence or at least the paragraphs before that pronoun pops up. So, I fumble around for a second. Could it be a bizarre, metaphorical way to refer to the verb phrase in the sentence, like, confusion and worry "replace him", like completely consume all his thoughts? A pretty, if strange, turn of phrase. But no, "they" is an external entity. I might have understood more readily if the pronoun was "IT replaces him", but that's part of the fun of the sentence. Because in the span of a few words, having been exposed for just a few seconds to a toxic idea, agent Paul Kim is hollowed out and replaced as a person, and if you knew who "they" are, doing the replacing, you'd already be replaced too.

To know the antecedent is to be consumed by it.

That's the hook of There Is No Antimemetics Division. Antimemes are self-redacting concepts, and the story, told episodically and nonlinearly through a series of encounters with antimemetic anomalies, is about an antimeme so vast and monstrous that it ends the world. That probably sounds familiar if you were a Magnus Archives fan; Antimemetics Division is basically like that but more compressed, chaotic, and... seemingly more sincere about being a Creative Commons work. The novel only exists, after all, because of the creative commons work of countless contributors to the SCP Wiki, a large collaborative fiction writing project about the titular SCP Foundation. This organization exists to Secure, Contain, and Protect dangerous anomalies. The novel, then, poses a specific challenge to the Foundation: how do you contain a threat you can't remember?

Read The Rest Of The Review

[talonabraxas]

"I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.” ― E.E. Cummings Blue Electric Eagle Talon Abraxas Blue Eagle is your Conscious Self - who you are and who you are becoming. Blue Eagle reminds you to step powerfully into your commitment as a planetary server! Your assignment includes whatever furthers your personal evolution and the evolution of global mind. You are an awakener, a transformer, an empowered gloal visionary. In your vision, you have compassion for others, and your decisions are made in the light of global consciousness. Ask yourself how you might experience compassion toward self, the Earth, and others. Be guided towards types of work, relationships, places to live, and projects that will benefit the Earth and her creatures. Allow your spirit to expand. Soar on your spreading wings and planetary perspective. Affirm: "Through your, Gaia, I am also transformed! I am awakening as the return of divine love and light. We are all one. Gaia, as you awaken, I heal myself. As I awaken, you are healed, and together our petals open ecstatically to the new Sun of Flowers." You are a member of the one global family, a planetary server and transformer. Blue Eagle asks you to join in lifting the collective mind. It is up to each one of us to hold a positive vision and affirmation, for the means by which this miracle will occur is through changes in the one affecting the greater whole. Imagine the profound impact your loving thoughts have on planetary mind. You do make a difference! As you connect individually with the larger crystal grid network, your power is multiplied exponentially. This galactic grid is also known as the Mayan cobweb. The greatest gift you can offer to the planet is to simply be the love. Believe in yourself and your dreams and visions! Remember your special gifts, your path of service on Earth, your promise to serve the light. Everything you are connects to the greater whole. You are starseeded! You have the vision of the eagle. Believe in your dreams. You are the hope and the vision revealed. Blue Storm is your Higher Self & Guide. Blue Storm is the initiation by fire, the lightning path, the arrival of the thunderbeings who bring the final transformation. To the Maya, Blue Storm represents the storm, the thundercloud full of purifying rain, and the lightning that shatters any false structuring of reality. Blue Storm is the purification of the 'body temple' and the ignition of the light body. In these last years of a twenty-six-thousand-year Mayan grand cycle, Blue Storm comes to help you in the disintegration process that moves you from separation to ascension. This initiation by fire breaks any false containers of self that cannot withstand the flame of transmutation. Only your true identity will live through these fires, for you will be reborn in the heart of All That Is. Blue Storm provides the water that purifies and quenches your spiritual thirst. In this state of consciousness, you stand willing to surrender everything. You give up what you seem to be in order to become fully what you are. You step into the fires of the unknown, and you are changed forever. These excerpts were taken from the book, "The Mayan Oracle - Return Path to the Stars" by Ariel Spilsbury & Michael Bryner

[lemonsrosesandlavender]

rolan as a sex crier you say... tell me more 👉🤲

There’s just something about the way he bottles everything up in canon, only to explode when he’s pushed to his limits… it’s just BEGGING for him to be pushed in the bedroom too you know. Fucked until he cries, from overstimulation or just because at last, in the heat of the moment, he can vent all the weight he carries day to day just working to seem like the perfect, self-contained Archmage. Tav shatters him and lovingly picks up the pieces on a regular basis (and frankly, once he’s settled in his role as master of the Tower, Tav’s mastery of him is the best check on his ego).

… anyway let me share a dacryphilia excerpt from Nailed, with Rolan crying on Tav’s warhammer handle:

‘Mmmhmm.’ She wraps her fingers around it one by one, stroking it as if it were her own cock. ‘Well, go on then. If you want more than just my fingers inside you. It won’t wet itself.’

He only hesitates for an instant; then he obeys. One knee up on the bench, he crawls over her, mouth hovering over the thick metal.

‘Zurgan - what am I doing - oh gods -’

It’s her hand in his hair that elicits that last curse, though she doesn’t push. There’s no need. He chokes down the handle urgently, gagging and then pulling back, and again, and again, and now Tav is pushing, watching his hips buck harder and more hopelessly in the air the more she does it.

‘Good boy,’ she murmurs, and Rolan whines sharply, thrusting it even further down his throat. ‘Enough.’

When she drags him off, and onto her lap, facing her, his face shines with wet tracks that shine even in this low light. Drool and tears. The prettiest makeup a lover can wear, in Tav’s opinion.

Sucking one finger, she probes up his asshole, rubbing briefly against his prostate. Rolan whimpers, the tip of his tail digging sharply into her calf.

‘Just take me! Now!’

[jmdbjk]

The Drama. It's Jimin.

We don't know yet how Jimin will tie together that sheet of music La Lettra (The Letter), containing the music of The Truth Untold and the Legend of the Smeraldo flower in this album but he's named the album MUSE.

The Truth Untold lyrics

You know that I can’t Show you ME Give you ME I can’t show you my miserable self, so, yet again, I wear a mask and go to meet you But I still want you

A flower that looks like you bloomed in the garden of loneliness I wanted to give it to you after taking off this silly mask But I know that I can’t never ever do so

And the story it is based on, The legend of 'Smeraldo' about a flower created just for the girl the man couldn't reveal himself to.

Here is an excerpt from this link:

The man wanted to help the girl. He wanted to teach her every method of growing flowers he knew, he wanted to teach her how to grow beautiful flowers. But he couldn’t come forward to the girl. She would be scared of him, she wouldn’t love his grotesque appearance. In the end, the only thing he could do was to grow and take care of the flowers so she could keep coming to his garden.

The vibe of The Truth Untold is yearning, desperation, unfulfilled and unrequited love due to one's own inner turmoil holding them back.

The gist of the Legend of the Smeraldo is that you cannot remain withdrawn if you are to achieve the thing you desire most. If you wait too long it will be too late. You must overcome the negative perceptions of yourself in order to reach for the thing you desire.

"Muse" can mean what Jimin is to others and what Army is to Jimin, but Jimin's muse is most likely an element of his inner persona that he keeps to himself, that he draws on for his creativity.

It could also be the stage, the desire to visually express his creativity. I have heard music artists claim their muse or mistress is the stage, they cannot stay away from it, their passion, their obsession, their life's blood and breath to the point everything else is secondary.

The definition for the word muse is:

a person or personified force who is the source of inspiration for a creative artist.

Muse is also related to Greek mythology. From wikipedia:

The Muses are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric songs, and myths that were related orally for centuries in ancient Greek culture.

Where have we seen this inspiration before in Jimin's creativity? I wrote about his Artemis/Apollo concept for his photo folio here.

I know too often Jimin is reduced down to his visuals and his singing...he is a walking melody-maker after all. But he's much deeper than that. He is well-read, he excels at math and science, he understands the human condition better than anyone else around him.

Perhaps in this project, he will explore something that expresses these concepts more deeply.

Motifs he's using in the album's concepts:

Blooming: ME

Serenade: US

A field of flowers, not just any flower, a simple small white flower. Thousands of them. Do the flowers represent us?

I wonder what the blurred out center image of the album covers will reveal.

In his Sept. 1 live last year, among the things he spoke about (besides his Jungkookie's birthday) Jimin told us he was doing things differently, like starting from scratch.

During this live, commenters kept asking about his beat up knuckles and he said just wait and we will find out. He also showed us his workout room in his house.

He also showed us his solar system mood light casting images across the ceiling of his bedroom. He says he falls asleep with it on.

Yet he's an expert at talking to us for a great length of time without really telling us anything. Masterful in fact. He rarely reveals anything personal. We were astonished when he walked through his own home and showed us various rooms in it.

But he wasn't always like this. Whatever circumstances, whether it be outside forces or his own inner growth and maturity, he's changed over the years. He's an expert at hiding parts of himself and his life from us.

How difficult is it for any of us to be our REAL selves in front of anyone? How many of us hide the fact we are Army from our friends, family and co-workers? How many of us behave a certain way in certain situations in order to hide what we perceive are our weaknesses? How many of us are reluctant to speak out, even about frivolous things or dress a certain way or avoid wearing certain colors because what people might think or perceive about us?

Now imagine that you make your living by putting yourself on stage and in front of cameras for millions of prying eyes.

I do think Jimin loves the drama of it all, the mystique. I believe Jimin loves sensuality and provocation. And I think he loves creating visual expressions of all of it.

Many of us share the same inner muse but few of us possess the tools like Jimin does to express these inner musings outwardly. But if we did too, could we? Do we have the fortitude to put ourselves out there? Sure, it's easy to say "if I had a body like Jimin's I would walk around naked all the time." Would you really? Would you really invite the eyes to look and pry and critique? Would you welcome the amount of judgement that would take place? Because it never stops at just one thing. Offering yourself up invites judgement about everything, even things you don't have any control over, from the shape of your fingers to the tone of your voice.

Over the years, Jimin has shown how self-critical he is, constantly wanting to improve himself, always seeming determined to take it to the next level. Determined to show us another side of himself. Brave enough to keep revealing what he draws from his own muse.

MusE... blooming... ME

mUSe... serenade... US

Jimin's blooming and in this record, he will serenade us with his love. He really didn't want to leave us. Perhaps he felt he was just hitting his stride. I felt it.