#bc Set is undercover on earth

[pacificgrimsarc]

@sevensaith | set & ?

"Fuck. I hate this." Set kicked her boot at the foundation of the diner, literally shaking in her boots in attempt to get warm. The temperature was in the single digits, Fahrenheit, and she could swear everything was frozen. Glancing up at the sky, she knew a snowstorm would blow in through town soon. It was just the sort of thing that she could sense.

Sure, she could go inside the diner, but she was on a break—and she only got 30 minutes per shift to be away from waiting on the idiotic customers inside, so she was intent on using her break to her fullest. She looked over at the other, shivering, blowing a raspberry. She was a long way from the fires of Hell. "Brrrrr. How are you so used to this? This shit is not normal."

[s1utspeare]

The Long-Awaited: WILLIAM WATCHLIST UPDATE!!!!!!!!

hello beloved members of the William Community! It's been a while since we've had an update as to what William is doing in his latest film projects!!! And I gotta say, we're all in for a surprise here!

Once again, this is the William Watchlist, where I watch all of William's filmography, so you don't have to!

Faces in the Crowd (2023)

Williams back, and he’s having a myriad of queer-coded relationships with men!!! If u liked seeing Zhu Yilong get his shit rocked by a zaddy with a gun, you’ll love seeing William get his shit rocked by a zaddy with a gun, cause that’s basically all this movie is.

Faces in the Crowd is about a lil guy named Jiadong who is in the Chinese army and is hunting some communists bc that’s what they do in these movies. He teams up with his old zaddy who was a communist and then decided to have money instead, and they work on tracking down a communist who looks shockingly like bai yu. William runs round and shoots a gun (except he’s. Shockingly bad at it) and learns about communism

What I don’t get is why they keep having william do rom coms bc every time he’s in a rom com I forget he can actually act sometimes. Anyway he’s stupid in this like most of his other shows, but I really enjoyed watching it!! Definitely the best out of his three 2023 projects

TW: there is a sexual assault scene; nothing super graphic, but be aware!

Overall Rating: 9/10 there wasn’t really anything super new or original here. Also the final fight was ???? William outran a machine gun and then got set on fire but he lived

William Rating: 8/10 he’s JUST about to get to the point where he’s a little too old to keep playing characters in their 20s, so I don’t quite buy the naivety thing from him anymore and he kinda hams it up with that one in this. Otherwise he’s fantastic, lots of action and running around and making men fall in love with him by using his cow eyes and pretty smile

BURSTING POINT (2023)

Literally Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ William what the fuck. What the actual fuck.

Y'all know me, I love a drug cartel-action heist-undercover agent shebang as much as the next girl but HOLY SHIT. This is a particularly good genre for William and he likes to do them, so there have been a few but this one. Crossed a lot of lines. And I'm not really surprised it hasn't been allowed on any streaming services.

The plot is that William is a cop but no one at his job likes him, so he gets blackmailed into going undercover in a drug cartel. William's really good at going undercover in a drug cartel. He is a little too good at going undercover in a drug cartel, which leads to a falling out between him as his boss who he is in gay love with. You can kinda get the gist.

What you can't get the gist of are the trigger warnings that should be on this movie! So, I highly do not recommend this film if you are triggered or made uncomfortable by any of the following: extreme violence, blood and injury, major character death, extreme violence against children, sexual assault, drug use, drug overdosing, police brutality, and William's superhumangift tattoo being on full display the whole time (seriously though, this movie shows a lot of shit so definitely go into it with that in mind; I can always answer any specific questions if u have them!).

Overall Rating: 8/10 like it was really well-plotted and it was very well executed in terms of acting and script but it was. A Lot.

William Rating: 8/10 where did this boy learn how to act???? cause he's acting in this. Minus 2 because his ass is way too good at acting a little stupid and a little gay and making old men fall in love with him.

A Date With The Future (2023)

This show is fucking stupid oh my gosh. So so stupid. There are some great bits, like william being in a very homosexual relationship and also aroace coded, and he’s cute with a dog, but everything else was BAD

plot is that a girl named Xu Lai gets trapped in a building during an earthquake and william saves her so she falls in love with him and then harasses him at his workplace. William is like “I am not interested in dating never have been never will be” but then she has a dog and he really likes dogs so I guess they’re gonna fall in love?? It’s ridiculous all of it. Xu Lai is also sooooooo fucking annoying like girl stop stalking him!!!!!

But huge fan of william being aroace! Also for some reason they kept having the firefighters do sexy rain scenes??? And made them do like three stupid little dances and william looks like he’s the only one having any fun

Overall Rating: 4/10. It’s just really not good or interesting!!!!! williams a goofy goober tho so that’s fun

William Rating: 5/10 he’s cute and stupid but he could have done something way better than this. Literally anything

[burins]

@try-set-me-on-fire tagged me in the fic stats meme!

Rules: post your fic with the most hits, the second most kudos, third most comments, fourth most bookmarks, fifth most words, and fewest words!

this one is fun bc i normally have a tampermonkey script on to hide most stats so i can't succumb to Numbers Go Up disease, which for me is terminal.

most hits: mission parameters

"Bruce." Clark turns towards him, leaning back against a bank of consoles. "We're not actually going undercover. We don't need an elaborate backstory– if anything, it'll be harder to keep straight. It doesn't have to be complicated." He spreads his hands. "Here's a story: we're members of the same elite fighting force. After years of saving each other's lives in the field, we fell in love. That's it." Bruce swallows past the almost-truth of it. In Clark's warm smooth radio voice, it sounds plausible. It sounds like something that could happen. — Bruce and Clark pretend to be married for diplomatic reasons. When they return to Earth, things are a little different.

this is tbh a little surprising to me bc it's only been up a couple months??? i would have expected one of my mdzs fics to be on top. superbat fandom y'all are too powerful

second most kudos (and also third most comments AND fourth most bookmarks): talk about all the good things (and the bad things)

In hindsight, Wei Wuxian perhaps should have taken “everyday is everyday” as a metaphorical statement of Lan Zhan’s devotion and love and incredible sexiness, rather than as a challenge. And definitely he should have cottoned on by the third half-hearted hai hour handjob. But how can he look at his husband, the sexiest man he has ever seen, and say “you know what, sweetheart, darling, love of my life. I think we should fuck less.” Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji talk about… sex.

this one is the one i expected to have the most hits lol. but a full four-way sweep would have been even wilder.

fifth most words: flash in the pan

Here’s the thing. Clark does understand. Superman and Batman are fucking. Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne are not. Clark can handle this. He keeps parts of his life separate all the time. It’s possible, Clark thinks, as he glares at a lurid tabloid cover of Bruce’s latest scandalous yacht party in the grocery store checkout aisle, that he can’t handle this. — At the Wayne Foundation's annual holiday party, things come to a head.

awww it's the second superbat i ever wrote! i have a soft spot for this one bc i became fully possessed while writing it. i wrote 3k words On Christmas Day. (i do NOT know when i found time to do this bc we were busy with family most of the day. maybe that night?)

fewest words: fif-teen

this one doesn't have a summary but it's a 15 days of Friends at the Table drabble collection except i only wrote one drabble. so it's 300 words of hella and adelaide dancing.

bc talk about all the good things dominated so much i ran the numbers with just dcu fics for fun:

second most kudos is mission parameters, third most comments is flash in the pan, fourth most bookmarks is there when the light comes in (timkon road trip au! my beloved), and fifth most words bumps down to unfurl (superbat alien junk with bonus timkon.)

and then wrapping it up with fewest words is all my love and terror balanced there, my jason & bruce fic for Bruce Wayne Week. which makes sense because i wrote almost the entirety of it on my phone when i was supposed to be going to bed lol

[zilodak]

so what drove will to kill in your au

When I tell you my AU is all over the place and takes like... popular 80s tropes and put them in a blender I mean it bc Will was a trained assassin assigned to be Mrs Afton's (at that time not married) undercover bodyguard (she had no idea abt this) while they (Mrs Afton, Will, Henry, Mrs Emily) were doing research as scientists so he already had like experience killing ppl. Along the way they started theorizing abt remnants and immortality through technology etc etc but they decided to get married and quit their jobs and lay low and live a normal life they never had so they abandoned the research but Will never like. Let it go entirely bc he's scared of death.

Anyways Mrs Emily dies, Mrs Afton also dies (partially bc of William's neglect and him telling her there was nothing wrong with her even though she was deathly ill) and then CC dies (again bc of Will's neglect this time as a father) and he accidentally kills Charlie bc of drunk driving. He realizes that Charlie is the Puppet, but he doesn't help her. Now Will dusts off their old files on the project bc he wants to bring his family back to life somehow, fix his mistakes yaddi yaddi yadda. His next victims aren't accidents but in his deteriorating mind he thinks it's okay and necessary bc he's gonna bring them back to life anyways but then Elizabeth dies and he loses hope, blames it all on Michael, yells at him and just leaves, completely abandoning Michael.

He comes back obviously, at that point Michael and Henry know what he's done and they try to lure him back into the diner to arrest him. Problem is traumatized Michael wants revenge, for both himself and the kids that suffered. He goes off plan, confronts William face to face at the diner, they get into a knife fight, Michael realizes that he can't bring himself to kill his father. Will slightly injures Mike, doesn't kill him, tells him to stay down, Mike refuses, launches at Will to stop him from getting near the withereds and the springlock failure incident happens. Will dies in front of Michael as Mike manically tries to get him out of the suit, realizing what he's done. Mike sets the building on fire, hoping it would free the kids and he'll finally be with his family again, but it doesn't work bc he strikes a deal with Charlie and CC where he cannot die until every last part of his father has left the earth.

Springtrap from then on becomes blinded by rage and anger, at that point abandoning everything abt remnants and going after Michael and everybody he loves, slasher style.

[chaos-burst]

GREYSTORM ARRANGED MARRIAGE, please feel free to take the opportunity to ramble about what you have so far as a response to this ask 💅👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀 (if u want)

OKOKOK

i will not pass up the opportunity to ramble about my projects :D

BASICALLY i build a canon adjacent setting where the genasi people all have their separate kingdoms and ashton is the bastard son of the earth genasi's people king and he's called on by his biological dad to enter an arranged marriage with the air genasi people to prevent a war.

ashton still lives in the krook house (with milo, fcg and anni), both of them basically retain their original backstories.

ashton is super against the whole thing bc he hates nobility and rich pompous asses but they and their friends are in financial trouble and he basically only agrees to rip his future husband and his dad off and then fuck off with his found family into the sunset with a bunch of treasure

dorian meanwhile is also not a fan of the whole arranged marriage but he's still desperately trying to please his parents so he agrees to it. the two of them meet for the first time without knowing who the other one is with dorian performing (undercover/his stage name) in a bar that ashton frequents and both of them have a whole "holy fuck that guy is hot" moment

which is where i stopped writing.

and i remember debating whether i wanted them to hook up without knowing who the other one is, but i decided against it bc dorian simply doesn't seem much of a one-night-stand guy to me.

i also still have a beauty and the beast au lying around in which dorian put on the crown and became the beast with dariax as the beauty who's immune to the crown's influence and a prince/thief au for doriax in which dariax breaks into dorian's room at night as a "meet cute".

[bradenthompson]

Divergent (2014) notes

>lemme just say at the top I'm not here to dunk on this movie for the sake of it and, moreover, I like every movie I've ever seen.

>I like getting a location card in the middle of the opening credits, definitely nowhere else that coulda gone

>so here's how this faction society shakes out, as I'm to understand five minutes in:

-Amity is a bunch of farmers -Erudite is the entire science industry and ig everything that entails -Candor is just the legal system -Dauntless is parkour cops -supposedly Abnegation is literally everything else. What would the subway driver be?

>realtalk I can forgo the "hurr durr faction society doesn't make sense" thing bc it's clearly analogous for teenagers entering adult society for the first time. So we'll be looking at it through that lens as opposed to the cinemasins bullshit

>lol why is the faction test like getting an ultrasound. thought it'd be like a pen and paper, Myers–Briggs thing. Faction society doesn't fuck around

>odd that a drink would inoculate Beatrice in like two seconds. Second verse same as the first

>drug trip faction test is still funny but good on the visual medium for doing visual metaphor

>set design looks like when the new star wars stuff has to make an in-universe version of a normal earth thing

>not a fan of nondiegetic licensed songs in movies, less so songs with sickass EDM drops

>lmao Beatrice just immediately talking shit unprompted

>so are they cleaning that Choosing Knife between initiates or what

>when you pick your faction you walk over to their quadrant and someone already in a seat has to get up and leave. Where do they go. Why is it set up like this. Remarkably inefficient systems here.

>you really can't trust a writer to be impartial with all their special clubs. Trust they will be biased towards one and make it the obviously coolest choice. Who tf is picking Abnegation

>presumably most people joining dauntless are gonna be doing dauntless shit for the first time, lmao, why is there no orientation. "K, welcome, climb an elevated rail line pussy"

>the percussion in the (licensed) song synching up to the chugging of the railcar is a cool editing flair. That's it. Just giving props

>why do all the dauntless initiates have cold feet about jumping in a hole. Jumping around is all these guys do. What did they think this was gonna be

>I promised not to do cinemasins shit but I'm really struggling with wtf Abnegation is. Apparently Beatrice has only eaten plain, spiceless food bc it'd be selfish to have salt? They're just so selfless they take precautions to never enjoy themselves? Why do they shower? Why do they have hair? What is their definition of vain bc so far it feels very arbitrary

>lmao Beatrice realizing cheeseburgers are good like "holy shit why did I eat rice cakes and tap water for eighteen years"

>Dauntless orientation is, in order: -jump on a train -jump off a train -fall in a hole -beat someone up -shoot a gun

>Miles Teller giving undercover cop energy

>cool of Dauntless to pair up the girls to fight other girls. Odd amount of inclusivity on their part. Thought they were bad boy cool dudes who don't bake you cakes and tuck you into bed

>would Dauntless let me get a tramp stamp

>does Faction Society have money?

>Girls loves throwing knives, write throwing knives into your thing and I promise they'll be like YOOOOOOOOO

>running w the theory that miles teller isn't a dick on purpose, he's just really clumsy with social cues

>Divergents as a plot device are still very unclear to me

>Candor is the faction that tells the truth but faction society as a whole has, so far, two separate means of looking inside someone's subconscious so, I ask, how does anyone keep secrets in this world

>how is anyone affected by the fear hallucinations the second time around. Beatrice is telling herself "this isn't real" but i refuse to believe only divergents would think to do this

>too many actors in this movie end their sentences whispering. it's not everyone but its enough to notice

>wait so factions don't do their jobs based on applicability? Whaddo they mean Erudite is gonna be running the place soon? If another faction decided they wanted to be the parkour cops could they just challenge Dauntless for that right?

>I have a theory about the nature of Divergents I may elaborate on should I watch the other movies, but for now: if we are to take the whole faction dynamic as analogy for entering adult society, what's in the suggestion that being a sociological individual (Divergent) is a rare, unique trait? It may empower the reader who fancies themselves a "Divergent" of sorts, but I'm not yet sure how to feel about this archetype being like the sigma male of YA girls. Seems like a device that's talking down to the rest of the non-Divergent cast (I will assume we meet more than one Divergent in the course of these movies)

>I remember when this movie came out and some circles were in a tizzy over Woodley and Elgort playing brother and sister the same year they were set to play a couple in TFIOS, which I'll tell you rn is a nonissue bc at no point do they feel like siblings in this. Could be intentional since Abnegation kids are homeschooled and eat off the ground with their hands, or that's the vibe I take.

>Beatrice: *punches a guy in the mouth* Kate Winslet: "Are you alright?" Beatrice: "yeah, s'all good"

>icking me out, how much unintentional blood swapping goes on in this. Four goes and injects himself with a needle, doesn't replace it, immediately injects Beatrice. Do people find that hot or something

>sorry to all the Divergent haters but the fear scene with Beatrice and Four is cool. I like the problem it proposes; Beatrice has to confront common fears but critically in ways she herself normally wouldn't, since doing so would reveal her Divergent-ness. Also the only scene thus far filmed in any compelling way (I like the pullout where it looks like they're still trapped in the tiny box but turns out they're against a wall in an open space. It's cool)

>spending a lot of time with Beatrice and Four just hanging out. Will suppose the author just wanted to do a bunch of scenes with them but wasn't gonna space them out

>What exactly is Four's status within Dauntless, even? Is he just the camp counselor? He shows Beatrice how Erudite is up to some funny business with Dauntless as if to suggest he has no control over them doing that.

>what--is--up--with--all--the--injection--serums--in--this--movie

>k the fakeout ending in Beatrice's final test was neat but made a little funny by the fact that a. everyone watched Beatrice and Four almost screw b. one of Beatrice's greatest fears, apparently, is taking things too fast. Like it's right after burning to death

>How does Kate Winslet know about the "shooting innocent people" thing? That was one of Four's fears, and I thought what fear trials one goes through are personalized

>calling it right now: bullets in the gun are blanks but Beatrice doesn't fire regardless.

>DOUBLE FAKEOUT, IT'S VERONICA ROTH'S WORLD AND YOU'RE JUST LIVIN IN IT, BITCH

>hey guess how the Dauntless graduates get their tracking devices implanted. Guess. Make a guess. Guess how they do it. Did you guess injection bc its an injection.

>must you overthrow Abnegation by force? Just tell them it's egotistical to run the government and they'll go back to eating Corn Flakes with water.

>I'm not seeing how Abnegation stands to destroy the faction system. Why would a faction capable of doing that even be a faction. who came up with this

>Beatrice having a buckwild couple a minutes, here

>inspired mother-daughter firefight goin on. "Oh, so you shot one of your friends, Bea, come on, I've split like twelve wigs in the past two minutes, you don't see me crying about it."

>I like that Beatrice just uses a gun. All the other YA girlies are stuck with weapons arguably more graceful but if you fuck with Bea you're gettin the Blick.

>Beatrice noticeably less bothered over her dad dying as opposed to her mom, then again she's on a Horrors of War crash course rn.

>gonna attempt to call it again: Four is Divergent, he's just doing a bit rn

>lmaooo Beatrice hittin the fuckin hurricanrana on Four, why do people think she's lame

>"you won't kill me; I'm the only A-lister in this movie, barring Miles Teller who's still in the B-list incubator."

>one more injection to send the crowd home

>narration's back, wooooooooooooooooo

>why are the credits in Courier

That's all, folks. Movie's fine. Nothing outright terrible about it, least nothing we shouldn't be holding other YA movies to. When I watch Insurgent I'll be sure to make a count for all Needle Imagery

[wrecking]

splatoon 3 end of season 2 summary post

back at it again !!  technically season 3 is out already but like work with me here

general set of stats first:

- 470 hours in it atm - level 60, s+2 highest still (i didn’t play ranked that much LMAO) - total wins: 1379, turf inked: 2,105,815p, badges: 95 - peak x powers were : sz 1880.0 ... and rm 2215.2 :) - i didn’t screenshot catalog level so i’m skipping it

- 4* weapons (since i have no 5*): range blaster, octobrush, goo tuber + ttek, blaster, big swig, tri-stringer - 3* weapons: aerospray mg, rapid blaster pro, e-liter 4k, e-liter 4k scope, tri-slosher, explosher, ballpoint splatling, dark tetra dualies + sploosh, aerospray mg, clash blaster, slosher deco, splat brella, splatana stamper, splatana wiper - weapons not played at all: splat roller*, inkbrush*, mini splatling, dapple dualies, undercover brella + aerospray rg, inkbrush nouveau,  * these weapons were in the testfire where i did try all of them

- best splat zones stage (according to the app, by winrate): museum apparently?  100% winrate STILL. - best tower control stage: mincemeat 72.7% - best rainmaker stage: inkblot 73.1% - best clam blitz stage: undertow 100% STILL - maps i haven’t played sz on: eeltail, wahoo + flounder - maps i haven’t played tc on: (none) - maps i haven’t played rm on: (none) - maps i haven’t played cb on: ...y’all ready.  scorch, hagglefish, mincemeat, hammerhead, museum, mahi, inkblot, sturgeon, makomart, wahoo + brinewater, flounder

- best salmon run rank: evp 999 golden rotation on marooners :) - scales: 447 bronze (saving for next season), 39 silver (have all suits currently), 33 gold (i still want goldie statue) - 1505 shifts worked, 411584p total points,145 king salmonids defeated - highest salmon run shift score: idr but gold rotation highest was apparently 164 gold eggs so

- - - - -

now as for some general thoughts on the state of the game: - weapons i think are the best (overall, in meta): splash, ttek, stamper - weapons i think are the worst: all brellas.  just all of them - weapons i don’t really like fighting atm: stamper, nautilus - other notes: ttek buff was a bit overkill imo and now 3.0 is coming in with so many changes to crab specifically it makes tristrike feel 10x more terrifying tbh.  tacticooler still not being breakable sucks and i think objects on tower are a perpetual problem

- stages i think are the best: makomart, flounder, undertow tbh - stages i think are the worst: SCORCH.  easily scorch.  mahi close second but scorch is just painful to play on. - thoughts on the new maps: brinewater is just fine but it can be hell and it’s not perfect at all.  flounder is a bit more awkward in this game than i remembered it was in 1 but that might be my memory failing me, conceptually tho it still slaps and i think it’s defs the most fun stage in the game atm - other notes: i’m starting to feel the pain of the map design a bit more but i also think it’s not As bad as it could be.  the changes in 3.0 were also at least a start :/

(skipping thoughts on each mode bc i have none)

thoughts on the game as a whole / stuff in the future bc i combined these <3: - the idea we’re only getting 8 returning maps total is making me spiral currently - really like the dlc so far - kits are overall a little better but some of them are just so redundant or bad idk what’s going on.  need more asap tho we’re in hell for certain classes - i’m hoping they have a new ranked mode & more returning maps up their sleeves bc this is a mess atm - need all maps back asap.  and also third kits. - still desperately want custom kits in privs at the end of the game’s life - big runs are slightly too infrequent imo - need new salmon run content asap like i need contest mode to come with more enemies or bosses or events

thoughts on 3.0: - new maps are both so sexy - like a lot of the new weapon kits design-wise and kit-wise ... A lot but not all. - inkopolis plaza is cool altho no new lobby or hotlantis >:( - balance changes seem overall alright but i’m worried abt how the game is gonna feel come next patch lmao - where tf is league nintendo - no salmon map this season...?  hell on earth

datamine/leak talk below

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

thoughts on leaked/datamined stuff: - eeltail tricolor looks so sexy - makomart tricolor...?  nintendo forgor - gold dynamo still not being in is egregious - the fact they removed the reef thing is making me so sad - dlc being a tower has me hype - the new king salmonid not being bigballoon has me surprised but hopefully that means we’re getting more asap - where are freckles / face detailing... need it need it asap

ok that’s it i’m out of thoughts this time sorry for it being a bit less.  my brain is turning off <3 tune in next time to hear about super chump meta i guess

oh actually very early thoughts on 3.0: - map changes are cool i like most of them but the poles are so fucking funny - kraken is SO sexy... i love using it i love it i love this game - super chump is very fragile but that’s so good - umami ruins is SOOOOOO GOODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD EARLY CONTENDER FOR BEST MAP - manta boat being paintable in spawn is destroying me but i love it so much.  also it looks so sexy

[meduseld]

Since fear street already has fantasy elements like witches and magic, what could happen if it was a straight up high fantasy or even urban fantasy story?

Hm, it's interesting to read this because my brain went, "well isn't it already urban fantasy?" I mean genre classification has the same problems as taxonomy (you're on Tumblr, you know the featherless biped jokes). I mean, how hair splitty do we want to get on whether is supernatural or fantasy? Isn't there a point where it's the same thing? And yes, Fear Street's elements of supernatural/magic/witches/devils/zombies so forth are what I'd place in urban fantasy, as the way I understand it is that it's like our world but with magic in a way that doesn't put us in a D&D/Middle Earth style world (which is what high fantasy brings to mind for me). And some people would say the genre is horror, but I don't think that means it can't also be supernatural or fantasy or urban fantasy and so forth.

The real difference I guess, is that generally when we talk about fantasy (descriptor added or no) it's a world where everyone knows it's fantasy. They know ghosts and magic and witches and demons are real. You know your neighbor is hexing you and get an over the counter anti-hex. Or well. Hire a Witcher for your supernatural pest problem. (Of course there's the Harry Potter way of doing it where there's the ordinary world and the extraordinary hidden in it but then we have the story there where everything can be done out in the open and so on). So there's two ways in which we could apply the question to Fear Street and have it actually change things to what we have.

1. Make it in a High Fantasy Tolkien style world. Which might just be back in 1666, but with people aware of witches not in a false accusation sense but in a practical what can be done sense. Which sounds like a fun time for a Witcher crossover honestly. Which leads me to #2

2. Like we had it, except everyone is 100% aware that the Curse is indeed a thign, and the Goodes aren't just the First Family of Union but are known as a highly powerful and ancient bloodline of witches. The thing that would stick out to me is, how did it get to go so long in a world where people can be like "yeah this is a demon curse, obvs, and there's ways of breaking it, and uh, clearly the witches using demonic magic are the ones that did it?" I mean we could just use setting #1 to resolve it and have the future be free of Goode problems and have other more "ordinary" magical issues? Or maybe the Goodes are just like. Openly tyrannical dictators opressing the masses like Sorcerous Overlords. Or it's another form of con, a la Saruman, of pretending to be on the side of the light until they can't hold the facade. (Hey we did talk about how it could be modelled on Star Wars too, and honestly Sith undercover are essentially evil wizards undercover bc the Force is space Magic). That would be interesting, definitely, we also have good examples of political intrigue in fantasy/magical worlds, but it would be a pretty different story. I'd bet Nick and Ziggy are still star crossed doomed lovers though.

[rahleeyah]

SVU 2.0 Watchlist

a quick and dirty guide to 2.0 for Olivia stans. I’ve broken it out into categories so y’all can pick and choose. I have given notes about some of the episodes to help you decide if you want to watch or not. Please note: this is my opinion and other people may have different takes. 

Olivia/David

13.12: Official Story 

13.13: Father’s Shadow (ok David is barely in this one, this goes more into the Olivia is in Danger category, but it’s worth watching)

13.15: Hunting Ground

13.17: Justice Denied

Olivia/Cassidy

13.23: Rhodium Nights

14.1: Lost Reputation 

14.17: Undercover Blue

15.3: Internal Affairs

15.14: Comic Perversion

15.19: Downloaded Child (the breakup)

19.14: Chasing Demons

20.16: Facing Demons

Olivia & Simon

13.16: Child’s Welfare

21.6: Murdered at a Bad Address

Lewis

14.24: Her Negotiation 

15.1: Surrender Benson/Imprisoned Lives

15.9: Psycho Therapist (brace yourselves it’s a lot) 

15.19: Beast’s Obsession

15.20: Post-Mortem Blues

Olivia/Tucker

17.5: Community Policing

17.14: Collateral Damages

17.16: Manhattan Transfer

17.17: Unholiest Alliance

17.22: Heartfelt Passages

18.7: Next Chapter

18.8: Chasing Theo (the breakup)

21.12: The Longest Night of Rain

Olivia is in Danger!!

17.10: Townhouse Incident (I also maintain this is where she hooked up with Tucker)

18.7: Next Chapter

19.23: Remember Me

20.18: Blackout (this is the start of an arc with Liv in trouble)

20.23: Assumptions

20.24: Endgame

Olivia & Noah

15.13: Wednesday’s Child (this is just where Olivia first finds Noah)

15.23: Spring Awakening (Liv gets a baby!!)

16.1: Girls Disappeared

16.19: Granting Immunity (baby Noah gets the measles)

16.23: Surrendering Noah

17.8: Melancholy Pursuit

19.2: Mood (Liv is accused of child abuse, watch 19.1 for context)

19.9: Gone Baby Gone

Miscellaneous 

13.1: Scorched Earth

13.2: Personal Fouls (I recommend this one solely bc it’s where we meet Nick, and if you want to see Liv’s initial interactions with her new partner, it’s worth it)

14.9: Dreams Deferred (this is just a really good case/perspective episode)

14.10: Presumed Guilty (it’s Christmas! We get a Christmas episode! Happy feelings!)

14.13: Monster’s Legacy (Liv and Bayard Ellis hold a special place in my heart)

14.18: Legitimate Rape (Liv defends a woman who got pregnant by her rapist)

15.10: Amaro’s One-Eighty 

15.11: Jersey Breakdown

15.17: Criminal Stories (yeah ok maybe I think Liv fucked Alex Baldwin too so sue me) 

16.15: Undercover Mother (Olivia!! In!! Leather!! Pants!!)

17.13: Nationwide Manhunt (I just like seeing Olivia about to murder that Brownyn bitch with her bare hands)

17.21: Intersecting Lives (you don’t have to watch this one but it gives context for the next one)

17.22: Heartfelt Passages (DODDS)

18.5: Rape Interrupted (Olivia’s very first partner is Anthony Edwards love that for her) 

19.7: Something Happened (mostly a bottle episode centered on Liv, Good Shit)

19.13: The Undiscovered Country (Barba leaves)

19.19: Sunk Cost Fallacy (ALEX!!!)

20.3: Zero Tolerance (Liv will fight the whole goddamn government if she has to)

20.14: Part 33 (Another bottle episode, and a personal favorite)

21.5: At Midnight in Manhattan (the squad is overwhelmed with cases, just a really good episode)

21.11: She Paints for Vengeance

21.18: Garland’s Baptism by Fire (Liv gets set up with a Very Tall Man)

22.4: Sightless in a Savage Land (Barba comes back!)

[le-amewzing]

Soaring

A necessary fic bc Parknight fanart wouldn't stay fanart in my head, GAH. X'D

Fic: "Soaring" [FFN] [AO3]

Pairings/Characters: Alden Parker/Jess Knight, minor OCs

Rating: K+

Words: ~3,240

Additional info: romance, 3rd person POV

Summary: Parker and Knight have their first, proper date, thanks to some surprise planning on Knight's part. Not even Parker could've guessed this in a million years.

      "So I really don't get to know where we're going?" Parker asks this fine Saturday afternoon, his eyes sidling over to Knight, who's been driving the last several minutes with this scheming smile on her face.

      "Nope," she replies, and he believes her. Knight's a stubborn one. She's happy to change her mind about certain things, but that usually occurs in the office where one needs to be flexible. Outside the office? She's plenty happy to wear her stubborn streak loud and proud.

      Not that Parker minds. It's that stubborn streak that eventually led them to this point, that led to them, and he wouldn't change that. What he would change… He surreptitiously glances down at his seat belt across his chest.

      It's been a while, too long, since his last date, and he felt that pressure badly this morning, getting dressed for today. He even risked calling Billy, of all people, for advice. Billy laughed for a good five minutes before telling him to wear a "damn band shirt" and put a jacket over it, because "women love that sleek rocker look these days and, Park, you'd wear it well."

      Parker wonders if he does. He's gotten so used to wearing suits for work, except when going undercover calls for something different. It doesn't feel quite right to be comfy and casual in jeans and a tee. His eyes wander back to Knight.

      Knight always seems comfortable these days, around him, no matter what she wears, no matter their setting. Although she has part of her hair plaited in front, a little something extra, something special, for today's occasion. The style's charming and brings a smile to his lips.

      A little less nervous and happily enjoying the view, Parker concedes that Knight won't tell him where they're going for their date. He grins when she seizes an opportunity during slow traffic to turn the radio station to one they both enjoy (ah, so she likes the shirt…or the band…after all). After that, Parker keeps an eye out for signs to give him any possible clue as to their destination, especially as Knight drives them further into Virginia and a bit off the beaten path.

      They've been on the road for the better part of an hour when Knight starts checking signs, too. She hunches over the steering wheel, squinting until she spies the exit she wants. Parker assumes that's the case because, the next thing he knows, Knight turns to him with a big grin and says, "All right! We're close, so cover your eyes."

      He stares at her, eyes narrowed. "…really?"

      "Parker! C'mon. Don't be a spoilsport."

      Of all the things he thought he'd do today… Wear jeans (and not for work). Go on a first, proper date (and not just dinner or a walk or back to one of their places between cases). So, he covers his eyes, because Jess Knight is not one to disappoint (and he can't imagine how she ever might).

      The road underneath the tires changes from smooth asphalt to less even terrain. It's not exactly rugged, per se, just bumpier, like loose gravel and packed earth, and it makes it hard for Parker to keep a hand over his face. "No peeking!" Knight scolds.

      He sighs. He's not sincerely going to be able to keep this up if the road gets any worse, but he obliges because she insists.

      Their ride evens out, signaling the return to smoother ground. Knight slows the car down and steers them to the right, small, mechanical groans sighing underneath them once she puts it in park and unbuckles her belt. "We're here," she announces.

      "Yes, but you didn't say I could take a look yet," Parker quips, feeling a tad cheeky.

      Knight huffs in exasperation and yanks his hand away. She kisses him briefly and pulls away, that scheming smile back on her lips. "You can look now," she declares.

      He snickers. Parker follows her out of the car and catches up to her side, but his curiosity gets the better of him, surrounded by the sparse foliage and embraced by the earthy scents. Of all the possible places he imagined them coming to today…any kind of ranch definitely did not make the list. He quirks an eyebrow at her, but Knight's focused on what's straight ahead.

      She leads him past a sink and a drinking fountain to a window counter at the far end of the primary structure's wooden porch. "Knight, two for two," she supplies the receptionist.

      The curly-haired man checks a clipboard behind his counter. "Ah, have you right here. The two o'clock." He clicks his ballpoint pen and scratches a checkmark on the clipped paper. "You're all set, Miss Knight. Head around back."

      "Thanks so much." Knight scrunches her nose at Parker, her smile impossibly broadening as she takes him by the hand and tugs him along.

      Parker remains mystified, with only animalistic screeching behind the main building as his clue. Then they round the back and the sky is clear, and he sees the winged silhouettes. Falcons and hawks.

      Their date is a private falconry lesson, for the pair of them.

      Parker's stunned, his eyes following the raptors as Knight leads him towards their instructor.

      She chuckles as Parker's steps slow in amazement. "Surprised?"

      "Absolutely. How'd you come up with this idea?"

      "Well, ornithology covers a lot of ground," Knight points out, "but I bet in all your birdwatching you've yet to partner up with any of these feathered beauties." She throws a look at him over her shoulder.

      "No, I haven't. I'm—" Parker blinks and wills his gaping mouth to close. He nods his thanks, but that's nowhere near enough. "…thank you."

      Knight beams at him.

      Their instructor, an older African–American man with a wide-brimmed park ranger's hat, has his attention directed at the birds high above them and doesn't let his eyes stray once Knight and Parker are within earshot. But they near and he cracks a smile. "My two o'clock?" he prompts.

      "Yes. I'm Jess Knight, and this is my partner, Alden Parker." Knight doesn't hesitate for a second with her words. Granted, they've had a few months getting comfortable with each other, and "partner" means something entirely else when on the clock, but Parker can't help himself, ducking his eyes briefly and keeping a small smile for himself at the gesture.

      The instructor sticks his gloved left hand out and doesn't even whistle. One of the birds shifts its body and zeroes in on the familiar perch, coming in at a deadly speed if that hand were prey. But then it lands and squawks, and the instructor faces them, tipping his hat to the couple. "Welcome, Miss Knight, Mr. Parker. I'm Warden Mac Singleton, retired." Singleton strokes the feathers on the bird's neck. "And it's my job to keep and train raptors, as well as to educate those willing and interested. Would you like to touch Rachid here?"

      Knight exchanges a wide-eyed look with Parker. "We can just—jump right in?!"

      Singleton laughs. "Well, approach with caution, but yes. Rachid's a trained tiercel northern goshawk. He's accustomed to people by now."

      "I have no idea what some of those words mean, but sure thing," Knight points out, snorting at herself.

      "He's a male raptor," Parker elucidates, letting Knight pet Rachid first. Delighted that the bird shows no indication of nipping their fingers, Parker strokes the same spot next.

      "Correct!" Singleton praises. He quirks a graying eyebrow. "A fellow austringer, Mr. Parker?"

      "In another lifetime, maybe. Being a federal agent eats up a lot of your day and quite a few nights, too." He kicks himself, bringing up work, but he catches the little empathetic smile Knight shoots his way. Ah, well. Work takes a lot from them, but it's given them plenty, too.

      Singleton sagely nods and feeds Rachid something from a satchel attached to his belt. "That, I understand. Being a game warden meant being an officer of the law." He shakes his head and watches Rachid eat. "But my time as a conservation officer introduced me to my calling, in the end, so I consider my time spent working for the state worth it. So! Let's have a beginner's lesson in falconry!"

      Parker knows some words that Knight doesn't, sure, but Singleton essentially gives them a crash course in the necessary terminology—and there's a lot to absorb. There are nearly a dozen terms referring to raptors themselves alone, at different stages of life ("A brancher basically has his feathers but can't really fly yet," Singleton says, before explaining eyases versus haggards) as well as by type (accipiters and buteos and more). Before he gets into discussing how to do little more than pet them, Singleton calls the other bird to their gathering with a shrill whistle out of the side of his mouth.

      The remaining bird stops circling and swoops down, landing gracefully on a thin, metal perch behind the warden which Parker and Knight hadn't noticed before. The bird trills in the back of its throat, a huffy sort of sound, as if it weren't ready to be called from the sky yet.

      "This one's Asuka," the warden says of the obviously larger raptor. "She's a prairie falcon younger than Rachid, but you can see she has a certain advantage to flying around in what would normally be his territory."

      Knight grins. "So he doesn't mind sharing the sky?"

      "No, not since I've brought her up alongside him, so he's had time to get used to her. You could say she wore him down," Singleton says fondly, attaching a tether to Asuka's right leg from the perch and placing a tiny hood on her head.

      Knight turns her face, hiding it by Parker's nearer shoulder, her amusement lost on the confused warden. But Knight tames her case of the giggles and straightens up a moment later, only to fight another smile when Parker settles her with a dry look, because, yeah, the warden's words aren't lost on him either.

      "Notice I've got Asuka on a lighter, thinner cord than Rachid," Singleton continues, unperturbed. "It's called a 'creance,' and it's for training, especially for newer birds. Although notice how calm Asuka is—she's almost ready to be off that now." He steps back, his arm with Rachid swinging wide the whole time, and he points to his glove where Rachid's talons are tucked in. "As for Rachid, these smaller, leather tethers are called 'jesses.'" He smiles, knowing there's a chuckle to be had here.

      Parker snickers, too, at the light flush that dusts the apples of Knight's cheeks. "But if Rachid's trained," he prompts since Knight's a little wordless at the moment, "then what's the purpose of tethering him at all?"

      Singleton nods, as if he appreciates the shrewd question. "Well, a jess is the kind of tether meant for more than training. You can use them as I do here, while I have him on my glove, or to secure him to a perch. This is all for when the raptors are outside the aviary, that is." Singleton strokes his dark chin with his bare hand, thinking best how to explain it. "I mean, we all get a little lost sometimes, right? So it's great to have a tether to keep you grounded," he quips, and he looses a hearty laugh, quite proud of himself.

      This time, however, Knight's not the only one at a loss for words. Parker catches her eye when the warden turns his back to them to toss the impatient falcon a treat, and Knight holds his stare for a beat.

      A jess, to keep one grounded.

      Suddenly Warden Singleton's words cover so much more than training and hunting with birds of prey.

      Caught unawares by the moment, Parker and Knight both focus on Singleton's lesson in earnest after that. Neither of them is too fond of fresh quarry caught by either raptor, but feeding them from Singleton's satchel is a pleasant experience, and then flying either bird—

      It's quite the experience, Parker thinks, feeling the weight of Asuka on his arm before he gives his arm a slight wiggle, a sign to the falcon to take flight. In an instant, all of Asuka's weight launches from his arm, a bullet of energy that vanishes into the sky with a gust. She's a rusty streak against the bright blue, cloudless backdrop of the day.

      Knight's good at this, too, though she's rather fond of stroking Rachid's neck before takeoff. Being on the smaller side, the goshawk doesn't create the same disturbance in the air as his younger counterpart. But it doesn't make his flight anything less to behold.

      Singleton demonstrates how he calls them back and the various ways he tethers them, as well as leaves them be to do their own business. "They may be birds of prey and enjoy the hunt, but preening's just as important. Here, let me show you to the mews while they're cleaning themselves."

      The tour of the raptors' housing is short, because Singleton and his colleagues keep other birds in here, as well, not to mention Knight didn't sign them up for anything more than an introductory course. "I definitely don't think my landlord would let me take in a falcon or a hawk. It'd make for a cool mascot, but I think NCIS would object, too," Knight says with a sigh, her eyes following the barn owl's head as it turns to watch them exit the structure.

      "Well, it never hurts to learn," Singleton says, and there's a salesman's glint in his eye. Can't blame him for being good at business.

      Rachid and Asuka are ready and waiting when the trio returns, and Singleton checks the hour. There's ten minutes of their allotted lesson time left, but that's plenty for another flight. Since they've befriended the birds, Singleton nods his silent consent, that they try going through the motions on their own. It's time to put into practice what they've learned, without assistance, and Singleton takes a couple steps back—close enough to intervene if needed, far back enough so Knight and Parker can appreciate the private part of what Knight paid for, as if they'd come here on their own, just for the raptors and the open sky and nobody else.

      Parker's reluctant to set either bird skyward once more, and he finds the same reluctance in Knight's small smile. "Lesson's gone by fast," he remarks to her.

      Knight nods and chuckles. "I could easily spend the whole day out here with these two."

      "See? Hard to knock this call of nature. And, to think, all this time Torres has been calling me 'Bird Man' when he thinks I'm not present." Parker quirks an eyebrow, not bothering to tack on that he's heard the moniker out of McGee's mouth, too, and a few times out of hers. He never takes offense, of course, because he rather likes the title.

      Still, a touch of color brushes her cheeks again. "Well, I definitely don't blame you for enjoying this hobby. Besides"—her fingers drift over Rachid's head, down his neck, and stop above his shoulders, where his wings are folded, and Rachid affectionately butts her hand for more attention—"this one's got salt-and-pepper feathers…just like you." Her grin is wide, her eyes crinkle, when she looks to Parker for his reaction. She can't hold her laugh in for long, though, although the birds are trained well and don't fly off at the burst of nearby noise.

      Parker snorts at the comparison. He considers the draw of their aesthetic. The goshawk and the falcon are regal creatures, indeed, to behold. But…truth be told, he's fonder of Asuka's large, amber-speckled copper eyes. They hold a quiet intelligence and remind Parker of a pair he gets to stare into a hell of a lot more these days.

      Said eyes flicker to his, as if Knight can guess where his mind's gone. Her smile's more wry this time.

      Asuka does a full-body shiver, ruffling her feathers, itching to fly, so Parker and Knight work together to prep her and Knight sets her in motion. Rachid, calmer and curious about the newcomers, makes none of the same indications he's interested in another go, but Parker tries getting him airborne. The goshawk takes to the sky, catching a low current and circling back to his perch just as Singleton joins the couple and the lesson ends. The falcon maintains pitch high above the group.

      "A job well done," Singleton appraises, passing Knight and Parker more food from his satchel to feed Rachid. "I wouldn't've guessed this is your first time. You're naturals, Mi—ah, Agents Knight and Parker," he adds, correcting himself after recalling details from the day.

      Parker and Knight both shake their heads, though. "It's only thanks to having a great teacher and good company," Parker insists, though "company" definitely refers to more than just the raptors, and Knight knows this, raising her eyebrows at him.

      "Well, please come back for another lesson anytime," the warden says as they wave to him and turn to go. "Whether you want to pursue falconry or to learn more about conservation, especially as fellow law enforcement agents!"

      They pause briefly on the porch once more, since now it makes sense, the presence of a handwashing station as well as a water fountain on the other side of the reception window. They give the receptionist a parting nod, as well, and then it's a short walk back to their car, the tiniest of strolls, but one of leisure, a spot of time to themselves, enjoyed in quiet contentment.

      Back in the car, though, the quiet is broken when Knight's stomach grumbles. She glances at Parker while she turns the engine over. "Is it bad that, despite the awesome afternoon here…all I can think about is eating chicken for a late lunch?"

      Parker bursts out laughing with her as they back out of the ranch's lot. But he shakes his head. "No, I get that. That sounds good, actually. So if you have a place in mind…" He pauses briefly. "Though I've met my quota of surprises for the day, Knight."

      Knight smirks and she shrugs, playful, as though she hasn't made up her mind yet about whether he'll need to cover his eyes once more.

      …frankly, though, Parker knows he will if she asks, and he doesn't mind it, really. Honestly? Today's been better than he could've imagined, he realizes as they get back on the main road and head home. Parker's glad he took Billy's advice, much as he's glad he and Knight stopped tiptoeing around each other.

      He's glad he and Knight have these moments, that he has her, and she has him.

      Parker's mind strays for a minute, today stirring up old feelings and memories. Today…today reminds him of his youth, of a different time. It feels a little like his first love all over again, back when he was a teen, long before he met the woman who'd become his ex-wife, even before he and Billy got into too much trouble… Granted, one can only experience a first love once, but the rush of positive emotions feels the same, and this time?

      This time, these feelings aren't going anywhere. This time, Parker's got the chance to enjoy this love and share it, with Knight.

This is what happens when I have a steady diet of Korean r&b and indie Jpop, folks. -w- *has all the romance feels* So, fluffy gushing aside XD, I bet you never thought you'd open an NCIS fic up and expect so much birdbrained nonsense, huh? ;DDD While I've never personally taken a falconry course or a single lesson (this is yet another story that required some research, *lol*), I'm a fan of birds, same as Parker. I enjoy drawing them, hence the original idea that started as fanart and later became this oneshot, and I think owls and raptors of various sorts (esp kestrels) are neat! I've actually been to a live owl show, which had a few non-owl birds of prey, and, gosh, it is so hard not to enjoy time spent around these birds, even for an hour or so. They're so intelligent and curious and mischievous! XD I highly rec seeing some birds of prey up close, if you ever have the chance outside of a zoo. :3c Let's see, final thoughts… Hmm, I threw in a couple of tiny hcs for Parker here, but the thing about jesses being an actual item in falconry? THAT'S A REAL THING! When I learned that myself, I just KNEW I had to include a reference here… Man, it's almost as if Parknight is fated, *LOL*. OH! Also, my adorably enthusiastic warden OC, Mac Singleton? That's just Animal Planet rubbing off on me bc I watch waaay too many zoo and warden shows (fun fact: it's true that game wardens, a.k.a. conservation officers, are officers of the law! They're rather close to state cops, in a lot of functions and abilities, with the added responsibilities of looking after our wildlife and policing how people interact with our ecosystems). So yeah. Just. Had a lot of fun with this one! XD And also needed smthg far lighter after completing "Token," *lol*. But! Any Parknight, heavy or light, sad or sweet, is worth a read, so check out my others if you haven't yet and/or feel free to request or come chat with me about them bc the Parknight love just won't stop~

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

[wakeupflawless]

First of all I’m so happy you’re doing this because I have so many ideas but can’t write to save my life and I LOVE everything you write. Ok, so Beth has been in the FBI for awhile, she’s had to fight and claw her way up the ladder, her dream is to do undercover work, but they don’t let her bc (a) she’s a woman and or (b) she doesn’t have the right look, but then she finally gets the chance to go undercover and prove herself, except the guy in charge of the case is some young hotshot who she has to take orders from and pretend to be married to for the case. Sorry, that’s not the best description, but I also have a moodboard to go along. This idea has been rattling around in my head for a looooong time.

OMG YOUR MIND!!!! And this MOOD BOARD!!!!! Christina in the glasses. Manny with his sleeves rolled up. shiittttt you gonna make me act up!!!! I have enough WIPs!! But.... here we go.

“Smile, honey,” 

Beth seethes, gritting her teeth so hard it feels like they could crack. She squares her shoulders, steadying herself, before taking a breath and plastering on the biggest smile she can manage. The flash goes off, momentarily blinding her. The FBI photographer checks the image and nods. 

Finally, this bullshit photoshoot could be over.

“Let’s do another one,” he calls out, “Rio - pick her up bridal style. Look at each other all lovey dovey, don’t look at the camera.” 

Beth squawks in outrage, springing up from where she’s sat on the blue and white checkered picnic blanket, completely forgetting she’s wearing a short, flowy sundress, meaning Rio probably got a nice peak at her panties.

“No,” she shouts, “we’re done here. We got enough of these photos!” 

“Shut it, Boland,” her commanding supervisor calls out, eyes glued to his phone, “We need pictures for the house.” 

It’s Marks now. Beth refrains from snapping.

“Yeah, sweetheart,” Rio drawls, lazily sprawled out on the blanket, the sun glistening off his white teeth, “I think these could go in the bedroom.” 

“Shut up,” Beth hisses through her teeth. 

Rio just grins in response, leaning back against the picnic basket. The bottle of champagne artfully placed inside the basket is unfortunately fake. Beth could go for any sort of alcoholic beverage right about now. 

He makes a show of standing, slowly untangling his legs and rolling his shoulders back as he stands. The sleeves of his button down are rolled up to his elbows, his skin dark in comparison with hers. 

“On three,” Rio says with a nod.

“Don’t you dare,” 

“Three.”

Without warning he lounges, scooping her up all too easily in his arms. Beth yelps as her feet leave the Earth, and she instinctively throws her arms around his neck to keep from toppling over. 

His right arm hooks under her knees, while the other supports her back. For such a lean guy he’s actually quite strong. She’s seen him working out in the office gym. 

It’s annoying. 

“Okay guys, at least try to look like you tolerate each other,” the photographer calls out, sounding absolutely exasperated. Beth knows the feeling.

Beth forces herself to look at Rio, who’s dark eyes are somehow sparkling. She tries to force a smile, but can’t bring herself to show teeth. 

“One, two, three,” 

As soon as the photographer calls out three, Rio squeezes the outside of her thigh. She’s always been extremely ticklish, and how Rio knows this is beyond her, but she can’t help but break into a laugh, squeezing her eyes shut. 

The flash goes off and Rio doesn’t immediately put her down, he just stares at her. Smirking. 

Beth kicks her legs out, and Rio laughs, finally setting her on her feet. 

“Looks good,” the photographer says, surprise lacing his words.

Beth frowns, and joins the huddle around the camera. 

The shot is.... it’s good. And looks surprisingly real. Beth’s got her head slightly thrown back, a huge smile on her face as she laughs. Rio is staring at her, a half smile on his lips and that sparkle in his eye. He actually looks smitten.

“Damn,” Rio says from behind her, leaning over her shoulder to get a look, “I got a hot wife.” 

“Fuck off, Agent Rivera.” 

“That’s Captain Rivera, to you.”

[smalltragedy]

* ryan destiny, cis woman + she/her | you know kira blake, right? they’re twenty four, and they’ve lived in irving for, like, ever? well, their spotify wrapped says they listened to babooshka by kate bush like, a million times this year, which makes sense ‘cause they’ve got that whole lazily stretched out in a ray of light, daisy shaped irises and daisy chain braids, performing an intricate dance to move the ocean's waves thing going on. i just checked and their birthday is october 31st, so they’re a scorpio, which is unsurprising, all things considered. ( james, 22, est, they/them )

hllo ive hd kira in my head fr a bit bt i also know ntohing abt her! this is me winging it even though i hv no right to <3 this is my third character maybe whose birthday is in honor of ella n coincidentally 2/3 of them r in this rp. yea im messy smirks sexily.

DEATH, GRIEF, DRUGS TW

mini playlist.

wuthering heights ;; kate bush / babooskha ;; kate bush / dreams ;; fleetwood mac / california dreamin’ ;; the mamas & the papas / lavender moon ;; haroula rose / time of the season ;; the zombies / after the storm ;; kali uchis / left hand free ;; alt-j / always forever ;; cults / wait a minute! ;; willow / your dog ;; soccer mommy.

statistics.

full name: kira blake

nickname(s): keely.

birthday: october 31st, 1996.

zodiac: scorpio sun, cancer moon, aquarius ascending. 

mbti & temperament: esfp & catalyst / sanguine. 

label: the ebullient.

sexuality: bisexual.

pinterest.

biography.

born to two original hippies which hs pretty much set up who kira is fr the rest of her life <3 the type of ppl who didnt like the boundaries of marriage n held off frm it fr as long as possible until theyd hd a spur of the moment elopement involving a celebrity impersonator at fannie’s <3 yea theyre lesbians lets go <3

nvr rly took things srsly until kira ws like 5 yrs old n then they were like ah gee ah fuck we probably shld probably settle settle. n they job hopped n worked many odd jobs until they found their footing in careers they liked n one of them probably does like. blown glass art. n the other prob fixes old computers n other ~vintage~ mementos of the past fr ppl.

they make a decent living n they live in delpinius heights n they try a few times fr another kid bt it nvr rly works out (raises an eyebrow. adopted siblings anyone?) n fr the most part kira as a child spends her time running around town and tugging on the hem of other’s shirts to ask them small favors (mostly to play a game with her)

often left unsupervised as a kid, bt not in the way tht her parents dnt care (bc her parents love her a lot a lot a lot like she is their world) bt in the way tht they simply raised her the way they were raised. running amuck all day n coming home jst in time fr dinner, front porch light always on, cat always waiting faithfully on their stoop.

pretty evident frm a young age tht kira’s mind saw things differently, in a different light - the world an array of light n mystery n sound n taste n sometimes those collided n created new experiences. prob hs some form of synsthesia bt dnt ask me which one yet. she’s a painting prodigy with an excellent understanding of color theory.

always ws known as a kind of like. rambunctious kid. a well meaning class clown who cld nt keep her mouth shut fr the life of her. grew up constantly with a yellow card beneath her name in school bt ws always well liked by her teachers n classmates alike.

jst a very bright child who did well naturally bt always ws turned more towards art.

feel like her parents very noticeably turned a cheek when she started smoking weed w the cool older kids when she ws 13. the type of person who wnts 2 b liked so bad she’d jump over a hurdle fr it. hs jumped over many hurdles n many fences n many other obstacles to be liked bt does it without breaking a sweat.

(edit: nw tht i think abt it hwevr i dnt think she does tht anymore i think while a bit of a mess atm she. likes herself. n doesnt rly want or need the approval of others anymore she jst does her own little thing. bt when she ws younger? she jst wnted 2 b friends w the entire world.)

nothing bad rly happened fr like. a good bit of her life. got into psychedelics at some point in high school n tht only heightened her artistic abilities. most of her high school art portfolio ws probably done while high bt <3 does it matter.

hd a high school sweetheart n they were pretty serious like. full on in love. a total believer of soulmates kira ws jst like. this is the one. there is nobody else i cn imagine my life with.

death tw

death tw

death tw.

death n grief tw // yea. sometime during their freshmen year of college. car incident. kira ws nvr the same though she’d like to pretend tht nothing’d ever happened. like theyd nvr existed. like she didnt plan out their entire lives together hiking thru hills n valleys n boating across various bodies of water n traveling together until they were old n wrinkly. end of death tw //

cld nt explain 2 u why kira hd bought a van n completely demolished it only to drain all of her savings remodeling it bt nw she lives in it by the beach. hd dreams of travelling the world bt cannot go long distances in a car without feeling sick. sees planes n feels envy. stopped painting fr a long time bt she’s started back up recently. took on surfing. told her parents tht it ws fine n tht she ws fine n theyre concerned bt shes always by the beach, her van rarely leaves. she’s trying her best bt its only been a few yrs n i think ppl cn sense tht shes jst nt the same cheerful girl as they once knew. end of grief tw //

anyways. tugs on my collar. tht’s kira! she lives on the beach n surfs everyday n is obsessed with daisies n is prob growing her own shrooms somewhere. 

personality & facts.

always been very emotional n a little dramatic. nt a drama queen bt is a little messy n does not hv like. many rational thoughts up in there. very cup full or cup empty.

regardless though she hs an. overall reputation fr jst being. enjoyable to be around. her her little moments bt shes also pretty like. laidback. in a way. KDSHFSDLKHGHFLKSD

prob bc she smokes a lot or is often <3 on a trip if u know wht i mean <3

god. got obsessed with the 60s n 70s aesthetic at some point n hs not gone back evr. big fan of psychedelic rock. is a prodigy painter bt her life dream outside of traveling ws always to own her own record label. hs nt happened yet, maybe will never happen? works at a record shop though n does hide the good vinyls tht she wants away frm the customers.

very cheerful n usually uplifting n she doesnt like to b negative around others bt smtms she cnt control it n smtms thinks tht ppl r out 2 get her jst out of. anxiety. hs long bouts where she’ll sit in a still sort of sadness n then shake out of it n hop back into conversation like nothing’s happened bt. its fine we’re fine kira is fine.

shes not gullible or naive bt wants to believe tht everybody hs a heart of gold even if its false. keeps giving ppl second chances bc she hs a savior complex n thinks she cn change ppl.

is very into zodiac n will judge u by ur chart. knows everybody in town’s natal chart. even newcomers. it’s a little scary hw quick she finds this information bt its very important to her.

kind of like. into spirituality bt i wont lie its very surface level n a little superficial. learning tarot cards bt cannot fr the life of her memorize the meanings so smtms she jst makes up things on the spot. hs so many crystals she will not stop buying them.

i think a part of her is desperately trying to cling onto tht like. think positive. self care. msg thts super prevalent online without addressing or actually helping any of her problems. it is her flaw </3

hates to admit when she needs help. wld rather do everything herself.

head is a little in the clouds n her parents r a little concerned fr her bc shes nt rly doing much rn bt like. she jst needs time i think. shes jst doing her little thing.

does not give up on ppl easily she absolutely hates dropping ppl frm her life even if she grows 2 resent them over time which is bad bc she is bad at hiding when she is upset at someone or when she doesnt like someone.

like shes jst passive aggressive abt it n does not properly communicate <3

bt this is rare i think ... negative feelings abt other ppl

self centered bt not selfish if tht makes sense. she will do things fr others without a problem n sometimes trips over herself 2 do it bt at the end of the day i think she cares abt herself the most.

hs only been in love once bt hs hd many infatuations n many like. admirations n very surface level feelings. her body is a temple n she loves 2 b worshipped.

prob does fkn. beach yoga. probably vegan bt also maybe breaks tht every once in a while. almost noncommittal its hard 2 distinguish between her being carefree, not taking care of herself, or jst hving commitment issues? flaky or not? who knows.

feels jst a bit too strongly bt tries to contain it. jst full of multitudes or smth. idk. icon <3

like. cares bt doesnt care. does thinks tht r purposely self destructive n then acts like shes like. cool girl monologue frm gone girl. bt does it while being like peace n luv on earth x

ok thts all i hv goodbye

wanted plots.

a pseudonym 2 fool ‘em... ;; jst hd this idea pop up bt i like the idea of kira going undercover 2 expose cheaters. whether she does this on her own accord or is personally requested by smbdy is up in the air. a plottable point. she h8s cheaters n is chaotic good she prob thinks shes the relationship vigilante testing the strengths of other’s relationships. once again she cld b. specifically going undercover fr smbdy 2 help them out. im sure she wldnt go 2 very. extensive srs measures like actually. sleeping w the assumed-cheaters bt once again. world is our oyster n i lov drama?

crystal visions ... ;; once again. shes super into crystals n astrology n she will base sm of her opinions of others on it. this is nt just abt her being judgmental of others bt also jst. catching her running around in the rain trying sooo hard 2 fkn. charge her crystals in the rainwater bc she forgot 2 charge them under the full moon the night b4. this is her giving wrong tarot readings. she hs no idea wht shes doing at any given time bt acts like she does know. acts like she knows the entire world. she gives crystals as gifts n will do ur natal chart for u bt will also pack her things n leave if ur a capricorn.

time of the season... ;; i dnt knw admittedly. this song’s abt being horny so perhaps? perhaps. kira isnt rly able to keep a grasp on long term relationships rn due to. factors in her life so she hops frm person 2 person often. smtms jst flings smtms its jst a relationship accidentally led on. shes noncommittal n a little flaky atm when she’s usually ride or die fr others. perhaps this is all in the name of some good fun! world? oyster. 

literally anything .dsfskhdkgs ;; god. shes so new i jst dnt know. childhood friends. current friends. friends shes hd frever. enemies n ex lovers n ppl shes constantly pushing away or scorned lovers or both or anything?? she pushed them out of the roller rink to make more room fr herself or maybe they did tht to her. perhaps theyre both constantly pursuing some sort of fkn. meaning in their lives tht they cnt quite grasp. mayb they go on an acid trip together. who knows. 

[jayisa]

He’s blushing bc he’s totally showing off to yams lmao

Water bender Tsukki, I was so tempted to make him a fire bender but he’s the moon boy and all that so I couldn’t resist haha

More Haikyuu/ATLA

I’ve been imagining my AU is set during Avatar Roku’s time, about 25 years before the air nomad genocide and the official start of the hundred year war, so about 10 years before the birth of Avatar Aang. Tsukkishima is from the Northern Water Tribe and he is of a noble family(perhaps even the son of the chief? But either way high enough to be expected to be heavily involved in world politics when he’s older) He and Yamaguchi are still childhood friends as Yamaguchi grows up in the Northern tribe believing he is a nonbender, when he’s actually a child of a renegade air bender who fell in love with a water tribe man and decided to settle down there. Yamaguchi realizes he’s an air bender fairly late, at around 11/12. When this happens he is sent to the nothern air temple to train his ability bc there’s a sort of attitude at the time that benders of a certain type should stick with their own (political tensions are very high at this time, even though the war hasn’t officially started this would be around the time Sozin begins occupying earth kingdom territory and growing its military power). So Yamaguchi sadly has to say goodbye and he begins training with his airbending master Shimada. He trains for about 6 years before political tensions reach an all time high. Diplomatic groups are sent from the air nomads to each of the other nations in attempt to balance these tensions. Yamaguchi is sent with Shimada and a small group of some other air nomads to the northern water tribe on one such diplomatic mission. Meanwhile Tsukki has been training as a water bender and is highly educated and ranked. Anywho they meet again, the old childhood friends after so many years, and they both develope a massive crush on the other now that they are young adults. Their blossoming romance would have to be pretty secretive, as Yamaguchi is an airbending apprentice expected not to have any ties to the physical world, especially one the would link him to a foreign nation in such turbulent times, and Tsukkishima is a high ranked water bender of the very traditional northern tribe who is likely to be expected to make a politically beneficial marriage(think Yue and that jerk). Also most gay relationships still have stigma attached to them(as avatar Kyoshi experienced with her gf and later Korra) so that doesn’t help. But they can’t resist each other and through many mishaps and misunderstandings they eventually confess. That’s mostly what I have so far for the two of them. It’ll probably go further into the tensions and eventually they’ll both go undercover? Maybe as time goes on the air nomad diplomats head back to the temples, but Yamaguchi stays and gives up the life of a nomad, maybe they go on the run in the earth kingdom? Lmao I haven’t gotten that far yet sorry I also have to streamline the dates and stuff. I also have other headcanons and plots for the other Haikyuu characters and ships that I hope to get out sometime :)

[moonlightjeno]

I demand a 4,4,4 with Jeno queen 😤

but you are the queen :) two things a. sorry youwaited so long and b. asdfg this wasn’t supposed to be this long lmao but ENJOY 

𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐬: [4. mafia!au] + [4. meet messy] + [4.  “You said so, didn’t you?”]

𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: crack, angst and a sprinkle of le fluff. 

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: blood, guns, drugs, cursing !! and this is a fem reader bc made my life easier im sorry !!

𝐰𝐜: 4k 🙃

You’d hated following orders since the day you’d been pushed off for the attacking team just because you were a girl. The day had started with a tang of metal in the air, like how animals can tell when there’s a storm to come from the change in winds from one side to the other, you could tell that blood was going to be shed on your thirteenth birthday. Guns had left blazing the undercover hideout where the attacking team resided, you had been told you’d be able to go and scout the area, after all, you’d be the best scout the mafia had ever seen even at the mere age of thirteen. You had thanked all the late nights spent pent up in a mansion you had no interest in residing and instead of climbing out of the windows and searching the forest for something to distract you from the emptiness of the house. The forest thought very much dark and looming with shadows that should have scared you, a small child, was the least of your concerns when growing up in one of the most aggressive and the bloodiest mafia in the country. Instead, the forest with it’s chirping sounds and looming figures that would occasionally be illuminated under the white moonlight of the celestial being that you had always thought to be more impressive and beautiful than the sun itself. After all, it was the moon that could be seen at all times during the day, though faint it still held a presence on the earth’s surfaces, and then at night it would illuminate the world and control its tides. 

The first set of yelling startles you out of the memories, the shouts are distant and fuzzy far far away from you. You pick up your gun, the weapon a dead weight at your side, the earpiece is placed in your ear receiving feedback from the multiple calls that are being sent out from the base and into the field. Boots crunch against the gravel floor and you feel a hand almost larger than your shoulder tap you in the back, a look of defiance fills your father’s face as he tells you to get back into the base, “the field is no place for you”, the words aren’t said but you know that he doesn’t mean you, because you are the heir to the mafia or because he actually cares about his only daughter and child. No, he says you, as if a girl weren’t able to do any fieldwork because that isn’t what they were born to do, instead they had to stay inside the safe walls of any base they could scout out to protect under the men’s gaze. A protest rose from your mouth, willing to defy your father’s direct order, the cold fire that illuminated his eyes something you’d seen too often every time you’d sneaked out of your room to find him torturing victims, most of them innocent that ended up coughing in the crossfire. It was a look that should have scared you, and it had for a long long time the way his smile would turn into a humorless and mocking grin, the laugh that escaped his lips seemed to be poisonous as everyone around moved farther away, and you stood the same fire rising in you. 

“But I want to help father” the determination you had was visible by the way you held yourself, hand resting on the weapon at your side, feet shifted slightly apart - a “power pose” they called it in one of the many comic books you’d read about wonder women. You could feel the impatience beginning to roll off your father in waves, first, it was the clenching and unclenching of his fists then it was the slight twitch in his eye that made you want to glare at him, that is until he kneeled just slightly grabbing onto your small wrist enough to leave a bruise. You knew the black and purple would be there tomorrow, branding you as weaker than the man who bore you, from the numerous times it had happened before, and you wouldn’t care didn’t care as long as you could prove how good of a scout you were. Truly, the fear had seemed to leave your mind, replaced by anger and determination being the only thing you saw, “i can tell you right now that there are five guards waiting at the parking lot, two of which are probably newbies, those of which are probably paired up with older members of the group, and the one that remains will probably be the most alert as they left him alone a backup” you voice is clear, as you recite what you already know, what you’ve seen with your eyes only an hour before this whole debacle occurred, and your father looked at you again the grip on your wrist tightening, the cold rings in his hand cooling the touch, crushing your skin, before letting out a scoff. The scoff causes his head to move to the side slightly, balding head tilting and you catch a glimpse of your mother, who’s face is usually warm even under the constant threats your family lives under, is stricken with fear. 

Her fear is directed to you, and herself because you know, a deep part of you knows that the shadows that fill her arms and legs in the early morning when she thinks no one can see her, the pots of foundation that you find in the broken cabinets of the abandoned rooms belong to your mother, and the beating she receives both mental and physical every time a case goes bad. Every time her daughter defies the orders the “grand” master has declared so you back down, eyes lowered, and whimper slightly at the pain that is cruising through your wrist. Your father lets go, content with the submission before ordering more guards around, including your best friend, lee jeno. 

That night you don’t sleep, you toss and turn and you miss the ability to climb out of your window and visit jeno. You know by the way the thud of the door and clang at four in the morning that blood has been shed. You know that jeno hasn’t come back, you know half an hour before everyone else because you’ve seen them take him away. The scream threatens to rip from your throat, tears falling falling, turning silver by the moonlight. It’s 3:30 when you watch them take your best friend away, it’s 3:35 when you can control your breaths. The clock ticks 5 in the morning, when you decide that you aren’t listening to any word your father tells you again because you knew where the boy was set up, you knew how jeno could have been saved if only they’d let you go. If only.  

It’s been seven years since the promise you made yourself to never break is bent. A year has passed since your father passed away, an illness that you recently found out had been in the years making but something he had never bothered to take care of because he thought he was above it. You would have thought your father’s passing would have been the turning point in your life, no longer did you have to fear the violence that would be placed against your mother or yourself. It should have felt like a weight on your shoulder the day his casket was incinerated in the grass fields in front of the manor’s garden. Instead the mafia seemed to break down, it’s collectiveness and faith in each other broke until the only group that remained in what used to be the country's strongest mafia lay in front of you. Their bodies sprawled on the floor like rag dolls, a light stench of metal and blood filled the room, and your hands burn from holding onto the guns for too long the rubber outlets hitting every single time at their proclaimed target. 

“Miss y/n, your mother awaits for you at the entrance hall” the scuffle of feet and light scratch of the door opening catches your attention as a boy only a couple of years younger than you comes through the door and requests a mumble from his lips.

“How many times do i have to tell you jisung” though you smile, you’re tired from the never-ending training sessions you put yourself through, and as much as you put up a cold front, the laughter and mocking from some of the members is exhausting too. The way they snicker and mumble under their breaths “she’s crazy”, and “no wonder jeno left” cause you to just push yourself that much, place that many more bruises and dark black lines across your arms. The tattoos seem at times the only source of power and freedom you are allowed, and you trace the back of your arm, a sense of comfort washes over you, and you speak up again “don’t call me miss. y/n is perfectly fine kid” you ruffle his hair even if he is taller than you, and walk out of the training room, the agents that were on the ground began to shift behind you, grunts and complaints leaving their lips but you’ve already walked out of the room. Out of sigh, out of mind. 

The click and clack of heels on the wooden floor surprise you, and you find your mother dressed in a white suit, black heels still clicking against the marvel floor of the entrance as she paces up and down the stairs, her hair is tied up in a bun, pulling back her face. The sound her heels make are drastically different from the silent almost soundless thumping of your boots against the floor. You weren’t used to seeing your mother in anything but training gear, the black gear and leggings replaced by freshly pressed white suit surprised you to say the least, but you knew something was wrong. More wrong than the daily notifications you would receive from jisung that more members were being recruited or killed off in the streets, for every member that died a new line would be added to the black swirls that decorate your right arm, for every member that left more hours would be spent trying to figure out how to save the corrupt business that was running a mafia. It was sad to say that as much as you hate the way things worked, and the blood and death that it brought to your doorstep you couldn’t deny that you loved scouting, you loved being able to be high up in the trees or buildings where it was just you and the wind noting, counting, looking at the world around you to help. 

“What’s up?” was your way of greeting, steps stopping in front of her, whose mouth twitched slightly into a small smile.

“You know how much i love you,” she started, eyes casted towards the landscape in front of you, if you thought hard enough one could still smell the burning of flesh, from your father’s body, and then the smell of booze and weed that stank the air only hours after his burial. No one was sad that night. 

“What do you need me to do?” you dreaded the response that was to come out of her lips, but her eyes focused on you and you could see how tired she was. Mother who was always bright and full of energy, her hair was close to being purely white, ebony almost, and the dark circles under her eyes made you want to demand she get some rest but you knew even as hard as she tried there was no way to escape the horrors of the mind. 

“I need you to infiltrate a base camp” at seeing your nod, she continued, infiltration was nothing you haven't done before, “now before you refute anything I say, this might be the only way to get us out of this shitshow so please bear with me darling” another nod, and you could almost see the breathe leave her body, shoulders becoming slightly more curved, as the anxiety begins to diffuse. 

“What camp? I mean we have almost all of them figured out, even without low numbers i’ve scoured most of them and jisung said he had checked on the one’s downtown” 

“That’s the thing darling, it isn’t exactly a home base. It’s a training center of sorts, but the Lee’s are running it. One of the heir’s is supposed to be taking part in the camp, so I need you to infiltrate without anyone noticing what group you belong to, it shouldn’t be that hard no one’s seen you since the attack seven years ago, and you’ve grown. See how they're getting our recruiters and try to get them back”  her hand at one point has come to hold onto yours, her big rings that she had taught herself how to make adorning almost every finger, it was a comfort the squeeze of her hand on your calloused and scarred one. 

“When do i head out?” The question leaves your lips slightly harsher than you’d wanted to, because in no world would you have ever wanted to go hang out with anyone from the lee family, but you knew as it had been drilled into your brain, for as long as you could remember that family is above all others. And you normally would have disagreed, because blood families shouldn’t define who one is willing to risk their life for but your mom looks at you again before letting go of your hand.

“Tonight” she is no longer looking at you, and you aren;t surprised because you can almost feel a sort of resentment towards the time, that only gave you a couple of hours to get ready and say goodbye to the only remaining friend you had here, well at least you told yourself jisung was a friend, after all he helped you bandage up your cuts and would keep you company into the late nights his soft smile always there, a shoulder to rely on. You manage to murmur a “fine”, and right as you're about to head back into the manor, mind running on what to pack and prepare you hear the light voice of your mother, “and y/n. For the love of god, do not fall in love”. The remark made you stop for a slight second because who would you fall for, the patriarchal society and male’s ego’s where too high to get close enough to care, and you truly didn’t care for romance. 

Bright spots in the sky, constellations that spread across the sky like a blanket keep you from falling asleep in the black car. Everytime you look at a constellation you name it, leo - the lion -, followed by the big dipper and small dipper always next to each other, always close. Time passes by, and your eyelids become too heavy to not keep open, until the spots in the sky are no longer there and instead darkness washes over you. 

It’s the smell of black coffee that wakes you up, where you find yourself half naked and disarmed under scratchy sheets and a bed that creaks every time you move. It takes you a second to gaze up the room around you, finding every exit possible and anything that might serve as a weapon, there’s only one exit and the most dangerous thing in the room seems to be the mug in front of you, steam rising from it the lettering of “LEE’S WEATHER CHANNEL” imprinted on it. The scowl on your face causes the boy in front of you to chuckle, a boy who is also half naked, it takes everything in you to not take in the firm muscles in the boy’s chest until you look up into his face, blonde almost white hair hanging slightly. 

“Well good morning to you sleeping beauty” his voice is gentler than what you expected, and he stands up from the brown chair, hand wrapping around the coffee mug as he hands it to you which you refuse, arm coming out of the sheets revealing your tattooed arm to refuse the cup of caffeine that instead of giving you energy would only leave a bitter and awful taste in your mouth. 

“Yeah, no thanks that tastes like shit” you murmur, and the boy in front of you laughs, causing the muscles in his arms and chest to flex slightly, and his eyes to become small almost like small moons. Fuck why does he have to be cute, you scold yourself before pushing yourself of the bed. It isn’t like you weren’t used to being around those of the male species in a sports bra and shorts, just like a normal training day just like a normal training day. But you do spot a pair of leggings and muscle tee by the corner of your bed that you change into, the boy with almost white hair still inside the small cot with you, though when you are done pulling the shirt over your head the boy is also wearing the same shirt with the words “training co.” printed behind him. 

“Jaemin” the noise startles you slightly, until you realize the voice belongs to the boy who is holding his hand out, as if in greeting to which you just nod too and walk out the small door, your name leaving your lips right as the door closes. Jeno can’t stop the smile that spreads on his lips, as he walks out of the cot that he’s too familiar with. The best friend he thought he’d lost back in his life even if you hadn't recognized him, his smile falters slightly at having to lie to you about who he was but is forget quickie as he leaves the room. In the short span of five seconds he’s caught up with you, an hand placed on the lower of your back which causes you to squirm, before turning around and twisting his hands around. 

“What the fuck” the words slips from jeno’s mouth, his arm in your hand and you loosen your grip on it, the twist to disarm an opponent, a subconscious action from distrust and too many times being led on by men who think they’re in control. “What were you doing?” you snap back, and though you’ve released his hand you keep your distance, to which he responds by putting his hands up in a sort of defeat, “umm you asked me too? Well didn;t deliberately ask me to, but before you passed out on my bed yesterday after, i really don’t know what you were doing, you told me to tour you around the camp, hence what am doing” his voice is teasing, and the words shock you but don’t surprise you, you might have been a little tipsy before you left the van, a last fuck you to the world before being imprisoned in this hellhole. 

“Hmmm, fine”

“Fine? No thank you? Or oh, yeah am sorry?”

“Do you want to get hit” your answer isn’t much of a question but more of a demand and jeno shrugs, “no ma’am” and you can’t help but stop the smile that slips from your lips by his response. 

Jeno does as he says and walks you around camp, and it isn’t until the two of you are paired together to spar names written down on chalkboards that you almost have a heart attack. Because the boy who’s made you laugh during the blazing hot sun, and given you small piggy back rides as a punishment for losing in a game of rock paper scissors which you can’t recall what for, and it isn’t until you see the small moon tattoo on the base of his wrist, that the realization rushes through your body. Because in front of you isn’t na jaemin the boy who you were supposed to look out for. Instead the blonde haired boy, with eyes like the moon and voice that you thought you would recognize anywhere is in front of you, your childhood best friend, who no longer has brown hair but white locks.  Jeno stands before you, eyes smiling words as charming as ever, and you know you’ve been taught better. You know that this is exactly why you trained so hard, why you wasted so many nights scouting the woods and having the bruises bloom so when you did face him you would feel nothing. But no one can stop human emotions from getting in the way of a mission, an infiltration in which you have lee jeno wrapped around your finger, but anger not sadness, anger pushes you forward as you slap lee jeno. The crack echoing around camp, and jeno doesn’t back down. 

“The fuck?”

“The fuck jeno?” the fuck?” your voice almost breaks, but you manage to spit the words out because in front of you stands the boy who broke your heart and in the span of a day managed to begin to repair it again. The second his name escapes your lips, Jeno's face comes into realization, and he holds onto your arms, he’d always be stronger than you even as you struggle against his grip, tears threatening to spill. You are aware of the eyes that are on you, aware that this could jeopardize everything you’ve worked for, the gun in your waist holster feels more like a dragged weight than ever. But a look from jeno and the eyes have scattered leaving the two of you alone in the dipping sun, the red rays igniting flames in the lake behind jeno, “why?”

“Why? Why did i leave? Why did i not come find you? Why did i leave my heart with the girl who held it? Why what?”

“Why did you lie?” you seethe, the confession not being processed through your clouded thoughts, too much too much.

“Because darlin, you said so, didn’t you?” the words are smooth and slightly broken, they make you want to scream and hit him again and again, pushing away the pain. Because the memory was hidden, hidden so deep in the pain and anger that you’d forgotten that you had begged jeno to leave the corrupted world you lived in, begged him and asked him to leave you with your father because jeno would be next to be killed.  

“I… I…” you can’t seem to form the words but it doesn’t matter because jeno seems to now, like he always does. His hair falls and grazes your forehead when he hugs you closer, and for some reason that you can’t point out it keeps your fallen pieces, the broken ones and those that were glued together by black lines. And you let him comfort you, you let him hold you in the middle of a grassfield, as the sun dips down the red that flares in the forest turns ruby almost like blood, like the way the blood feels warm on your hands, the salt and metal tang of blood fills your mouth, as a sob escapes your lips and then jeno’s. And you hold him, his head cradled between your hands as you repeat over and over how much you love him and how sorry you are.

The gunshot rings in the air, metal mixing with blood, warmth seeping into your clothes and mixing with the sweat from your hands that continue to cradle the boy you love in your hands. The life slowly dies out, fluttering slightly, dark brown shutting close. Because as much as you love jeno, more than life itself, you’ve been taught family over everything, even if that means feeling yourself crumble underneath him. Quite sobs wrecking through your body, as you whisper the same words over and over. 

The sun is no longer there, the ruby red of blood no longer coloring the forest red and your bodies in orange and yellow sunlight. For when the field council comes out, they find two lovers lying down next to each other, a silver bullet between them both, ruby red lips pressed against each other in a final goodbye. 

masterlist requested from this prompt list

mymy my queen I'm sorry. pls don’t hurt me. 

[viterbofangirl]

first line meme!

@fallynleaf​ said in her post to consider myself tagged, so I’m happily indulging in this lil’ ego boost! Thanks for the opportunity, m’dear! ^_~

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. Then tag 10 authors!

NB- These are all unfinished and unposted WIPs. It behooves me to note that some of these are not at all recent. However, they ARE fics that have “first lines” at all, which is not necessarily a given as my Creative Muse is obnoxiously nonlinear in her inspirations.

~~~~~

1- The Gray Ghost had suffered some engine trouble somewhere on Interstate 65, so Mom and Dad hadn’t managed to make it to Chuck’s wedding. (Early Edition: ”Belly Up to the Bar”, a canon-compliant continuation of the episode “Occasionally Amber”, Gary/Toni except kinda not really because she’s totally pissed)

2- Oracle, Texas. 1878. A gnarled husk of a town still trying to deny that its glory days are past. (”Gunslinger”, my serious treatment/retelling of the Roger Corman western)

3- The gate clanged shut behind him, and Meng Yao took a deep, steadying breath. (MDZS: ”Leverage”, an Untamed AU based on inspired by pretty much continuing @littlesmartart​‘s brilliant setup and concept)

4- Many, many nights would Jiang Cheng lie awake at night, staring at the ceiling and pondering the razor’s edge of chance he’d toed. (MDZS: an Untamed chengqing fic set post-canon, current working title is “Second Chances” but I don’t like it)

5- Napoleon Solo flipped though an outdated magazine with little real interest as he lounged in one of the chairs lining the lobby of the car rental establishment. (TMFU (2015): ”Girls Just Want to Have Fun”, a fic set in my “Eight Strapping Daughters” universe where it is currently 1987 and Gaby and Illya have had eight daughters, any of whom are capable of taking over the world... and all of whom are about to spend the day at a shopping mall)

6- He felt the phone vibrating in his pocket. (Sailor Moon: ”Moon Revenge”, a Minako/Kunzite bodyguard AU)

7- The Moon was visiting Earth. (Sailor Moon: ”No Miracle for the Likes of Us”- another working title- which is Venus/Kunzite-centric exploration of the end of the Silver Millenium)

8- Chibi-Usa hasn’t stayed very long after Helios departed. (Sailor Moon: ”Rebirth AU”- you guessed it... working title- a Minako/Kunzite-heavy-but-not-exclusive AU that deviates from the manga/SM Crystal canon after the end of the Dead Moon Circus arc where the Shitennou are revived and the events of Star never occur)

9- Monday, 7:00 AM: Alarm goes off.

Monday, 7:00:08 AM: Alarm thrown across room. (Sailor Moon: “Codename: Teen Idol ‘Dite”, a side arc set in the above AU where, lacking any catastrophic galactic conflicts to fight against, Minako is going out of her mind with boredom and takes an undercover job as an idol as part of a police/Interpol sting operation)

10- Normally, Salazar Slytherin took great pride in his self-control. (Harry Potter: ”Release”, a short Hogwarts founders one-shot involving a maddening magical construction project and a sudden bout of swearing)

11- It was the first truly warm day since winter had broken, and Salazar Slytherin wandered the grounds with no purpose or destination in mind, simply basking in the sunlight until he began to feel the chill of the dungeons recede from his bones. (Harry Potter: ”And Treat Them All the Same”, a Hogwarts founders story about Helga Hufflepuff’s background and why she feels very strongly about equal treatment)

12- Salazar Slytherin stared at the wardrobe for another minute before finally deciding to throw another fur over his fur-lined cloak, leather jerkin, and wool tunic.  (Harry Potter: another one-shot Hogwarts founders fic with a teeny bit of Helgazar where the very cold-blooded Slytherin has to deal with a snowball fight, currently but not definitively titled “Snow Day”)

13- As the sun disappeared beneath the horizon, Brooklyn burst through the thin stone crust encasing him, his awakening roar shifting into a yawn as he stared blearily at the skyline and tried to remember what century he was in. (Gargoyles: ”Return of the Time Dancer”, Brooklyn’s return to New York- family in tow- after his Phoenix Gate adventures)

14- The couple breaking their fast that morning were strikingly handsome, if perhaps past the most fashionable age. (The Scarlet Pimpernel, Pride and Prejudice: “Scarlet Impressions”, a crossover fic that pretty much unfolded itself when I a) crunched numbers regarding the dates and years of respective storylines and b) realized that while Lizzy and Marguerite would get on like a house on fire, Darcy’s only possible reaction to Sir Percy would be unmitigated horror poorly repressed due to the latter’s much higher social standing)

15- Paris really was lovely this time of year. (MCU: “Threads and Patches: Part One”, first part of a three-part Clintasha AU set after the events of Civil War and most emphatically *not* farm-family friendly)

16- The briny air filled her lungs to bursting, but she continued to draw in breath until it hurt. (Highlander the Series: “The Mad Viking Saga”... because, frankly, EVERYONE should have an Immortal™ self-insert character and I refuse to apologize or feel ashamed of mine)

17- “Your Highness?  The oracle is here.” (Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas: “Sinbad and the Garden of the Hesperides” a sequel to the animated movie that actually should be titled “Proteus and the etc., etc.” bc it’s mostly about him and giving him the ending I think he deserves, a.k.a. an OC love interest and a chance for adventure while on a quest to save his city from a plague)

18- Bare feet pounded on the hot, rough pavement as Sinbad dashed around another tight corner. (Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas: “Fast Friends”, an eight-chapter prequel telling the story of how Sinbad and Proteus met and grew up together, wherein each chapter progresses with each year they know each other from when they meet to when Sinbad leaves)

19- Reed was well-known as your stereotypical absent-minded professor. (Fantastic Four: “Shut Up and Dance With Me”, a Reed/Sue fluffy one shot where Reed is adorable because fight me)

20- The spaceport on Aruus Minor reeked of fuel, welding torches, and sweaty coveralls, but it was a welcome change from the recycled air of the Lambda shuttle. (Star Wars Legends Expanded Universe (BITE ME DISNEY): “Everything Unsaid”, a Luke/Mara chance encounter set during the we-share-an-unbearable-degree-of-compatibility-to-say-nothing-of-the-overwhelming-sexual-tension-but-both-of-our-lives-are-kind-of-a-mess-and-neither-of-us-feels-ready-to-deal-with-our-feelings-for-each-other-so-we’ve-individually-decided-to-just-ignore-said-feelings-while-simultaneously-being-drawn-to-each-other-whenever-we’re-so-much-as-in-the-same-fucking-hemisphere years)

~~~~~

WHEW! Well, it sure was fun to tease all my followers with a taste of fics that will neverrr be finished! As far as patterns go, seems I tend to prefer either set-up paragraphs or punchy one-to-three-liners intended to trick intrigue people into reading further. My favorite is definitely #9. It’s a diary/log of Minako’s day, and her POV is hilarious and sooooo much fun to write like that!

Anyone who wishes to participate should consider themselves tagged, and PLEASE TAG ME IF YOU DECIDE TO PARTICIPATE!

[velvetinewitch]

tell us about other ocs from FaF!!

asdjask hi Tyler, thank you for seeing my rambling and asking haha

there’s a lot of ocs to talk about, because i wanted to make the magical school everyone goes to seem realistic in the way that there are tons of classmates… so um, here are my three hundred ocs, plus some extras. this got way longer than i expected lol

Pallet: her name is technically Penelope, but no one calls her that. she’s an artist, which means she can bring her art to life for a short period of time. she uses this skill to get revenge on the other art students who steal her brushes. she has a crush on the cute girl who works in the school gardens, but they’ve never actually done anything more than make eye contact. Pallet is also mute and uses ASL, although she also likes to mess with people by playing “living pictionary.”

Tinilia: Ara’s absolute best friend/vague crush. separate from Ara, she has braincells, but when you put the two together it’s just “wow i’m gay and want to commit arson with you.” Tinilia has a lot of nicknames… Tils, Tilly, Tinsel, etc. she’s pretty popular, probably because she’s such a generally funny person. however… she has a lot of secrets. the first one being, what exactly is her magic?? and why is she so friendly with that crow? she’s also… not having a fun time with all of these time resets.

Ella: the “mean girl” with a famous dad and a modelling career already set in action. her magic is makeup art and swimming- giving her water and shapeshifting-like powers. she hates Ara for seemingly no reason, but later they end up being amazing friends. their relationship development is my favorite thing. watching them go from disastrous rivals who hate each others guts to roommates who are disgustingly domestic and act like a couple is… fun. it sucks that it takes a tragedy to get them to bond, though.

Caden: one of the schools triplets (one of them is adopted but no one is allowed to mention it), Caden is possibly the most horrifying magic user. he’s a Nursing Gifted who spends a large amount of school time interning with the school nurse. he can speed up the rate someone’s wounds heal at the cost of his own energy. he can also slow your heartbeat, stop it, inflict wounds, transfer wounds from one person to another, or anything along these lines. luckily, he’s a pacifist. he’s also one of the three “parents” of their grade, a major Mom friend.

Maryline: she’s the one who gives Caden nightmares. we’re not… entirely sure what her Gift is, actually, we just know she can do things like float and pull really fun pranks. she’s… a cat-loving mischief-maker who skips class all of the time. ngl she’s a bit of a mystery, but she’s incredibly important for some of her secrets. such as- her relation to Ara, her source of magic, why she seems so nervous when everyone mentions the antagonist (although not for the reason you’d think), and what exactly a Keeper is. she also is one of the few who are aware of the time resets that Ara keeps doing, and she’s not thrilled- but she’ll never tell Ara that.

Rain: a musician! her violin, trumpet, piano, and vocal skills are formidable, and if she wants to she can use them like a siren would. she’s the second parent, the Dad friend, who’s incredibly exhausted but still manages to reign everyone else in. her best friend, Orange (no that’s not her actual name, she’s just a redhead who has a citrus allergy), has a very interesting character arc- she starts out very quiet and reclusive and ends up a major flirt who wrecks havoc everywhere. Orange is a painter, a photographer, and a theatre kid- she has magic with all three, which means she’s always falling asleep in class.

Bri: Asrian’s half-sister! she’s the school Mood Ring- her eyes change color depending on the emotions of the people around her. her magic is psychology, she’s a Counselling Gifted, which allows her to sense people’s emotions and understand why. she also, uh, bottles her own up. 

andddd some extra ocs, who aren’t students at their magic school:

Reve and Persephone: the last queens of the largest kingdom in Ancient Aromae. they were involved in a lot. long story short, Reve was a princess who went undercover during a war and ended up hiding in a captured kingdom with Persephone, an engineer/pilot who pretended to know her to protect her from authorities. after a very long adventure to win the war, the two got married, and…. well, i can’t reveal much, but they were involved in the end of Aromae. there was a reason that Aromae and Earth collided, forming Aromayan Earth and wiping everyone’s memories, making it seem like nothing had ever happened and that Earth still existed. 

Elena: majorcharactermajorcharactermajorcharacter- Elena is the High Goddess of Ancient Aromae. there were plenty of smaller gods and religions worshipping them, but Elena was in charge of overseeing everything. she’s also the woman who created my worlds version of soulmates- reincarnation had already existed, and she invented a way for relationships to grow strong enough that, while still breakable, they could transcend lifetimes. in the process, she took three souls and permanently made them soulmates, with no way for the bond to be broken. there’s a big reason for this! 

Raine: one of Rain’s past lives! they share a name, lmao. Raine is the Ancient Aromayan version of King Arthur- she was a queen who ruled over a great kingdom during a time where magic-users were prosecuted. she also incidentally fell in love with a witch, but that’s besides the point. the common time system in Ancient Aromae was centered around her- BC was “before coronation” and AD was “after Dolivaesal” (referring to her kingdom’s fall). the years of her reign (and the few years her daughter reigned) are called the Negative Years! imagine being so powerful they name time after you.

okay, i’m going to cut myself off before i go on too long. thank you sooo much for asking!